Episode 03 | Ascending Deity

Windshell Activates.

INT. COTTAGE ATTIC – NIGHT

Raka shares a Bedroom with Sæa, the daughter of the Headmistress. They’re enjoying each other’s company with some wine and friendly chatter.

Raka takes a chug as the Windshell activates. Sæa giggles, slightly tipsy. She speaks with a slight slur.

Sæa:I love what you did with your hair. You look wild- Oh. Your jewelry makes nice sounds. Is that a music shell?

Raka:(downs her drink in one) Ah, it’s just a silly magic-project a friend from university imposed on me. No music, I’m afraid.

Sæa:Aww… hearing some music again would’ve been nice. It’s been a while since we had musicians visit us, and the ditties our staff sing are… bland to say the very least.

Raka:(laughs) Evens out the spicy food they cook.

Sæa:(giggles) True that.

Raka:My throat is still burning.

Sæa:(giggling) Drink more wine.

Raka:For what it’s worth…

Raka takes another jug.

Sæa sighs and leans her head lazily on Raka’s shoulder.

Sæa:Why did it make that noise?

Raka:The shell?… Er, it does that when it activates. Now it is connected to another one like it in the university of Kærun … My college is probably listening to us now.

Sæa:Oh? Is that possible?

Raka:I don’t know, he told me it is… Creating magic-technology is entirely his field of study, not mine.

Sæa:What’s it good for?

Sæa playfully pokes the windshell around Raka’s neck.

Raka:It can sense nearby spirits and will warn me with that sound. Then transfers any sound around me to my college… for analytic purposes, I believe.

Sæa:Does that mean there are spirits nearby? Should we tell my mother to be on guard?

Raka:No, there’s no threat. I can sense spirits, myself, don’t really need this toy for that. There’s nothing within a 70 tail-long radius around us.

Sæa:(giggling) Your tail, or my tail?

Raka:(with a grin) A Faraksha standard tail.

Sæa:Of course.

Raka:To be honest, I don’t know what reach this thing has. It’s much more likely Auril just needed an excuse to listen in on me and turned it on manually. Couldn’t prove it, though.

Sæa giggles.

Raka:He’s the kind of person to do that.

Sæa:So his name is Auril,hHm?
(with a sly smirking laugh she takes the Windshell and speaks softly into it) Hello, Auril, how’re ya doing? Did ya want to listen in on Raka and me enjoying ourselves? Should I describe to you what we’re doing right now?

Raka:(sighs) Don’t encourage him… Just ignore it.

Sæa:Aww… but I heard it is so hard in cities to find someone to have fun with. Maybe he needs something to cheer him up?

Raka:HE sure does.

Sæa:Then indulge him a little. You consider him a friend, don’t you?

Raka:Not interested in him, and he knows that.

Sæa:Aww… What a shame for him. Hmm… What Rontar is he?

Raka:He’s a Dezaareus.

Sæa:Is he good looking?

Raka:I don’t know what you consider good looking.

Sæa:(laughs) YOU are good looking.

Raka:Well then I can ensure you that he looks nothing like me.

Sæa:(sighs) Oh well. Hmm… (disappointed) I ran out of wine…

Raka:Your housekeeper just brought us a full decanter.

Sæa:Yea… But it’s soo far away…

Raka:(sighs) I’ll fill it up for you.

Sæa:(sly laugh) Thank you!

Raka sits up, takes the cup from Sæa’s hand and puts it on the night table, then pours some fresh wine into it form an earthenware decanter.

Sæa:Pour yourself another cup as well!

Raka:I think I’ve had enough for tonight. (yawns)

Sæa:The night’s still young, love. The moon is shining bright and the weather’s pleasant. We could still go out on a hunt.

Raka holds out the cup to Sæa.

Raka:Sorry, I don’t hunt at night.

Sæa:(sighs) A shame. I was hoping that would help loosen you up a little.

Raka:You think I’m uptight?

Sæa:I do. Why would you pass on a nice warm cup this early otherwise?

Raka:I have a lot of work to do tomorrow, I can’t afford a hangover.

Sæa:You’ve only had two cups and you’re hardly tipsy. You’re a Miru right? I heard your Rontar can stomach a lot of wine.

Raka:(groaning sigh) Alright. One more.

She pours some wine into her own cup.

Sæa:Good girl. Better to drink it while it’s still warm.

Raka sits back down on the bed and leans against the wall, then picks up her cup and blows on it.

Raka:(takes a long sip) Guess I’m too used to University rules. No intoxicants past the 26th hour.

Sæa:University life seems to be engrained in you. You even brought your work to bed.

Raka:My work?

Sæa:This thing.

Sæa leans over the squeaking bed to tap the windshell.

Raka:(sighs) You’re right.

Raka takes a long sip from her cup.

Raka:When I’m at university… the amount of work I have to do can become quite suffocating. Sometimes I wish I could just drop it all… Do freelance work, you know? Outside of university. I still enjoy fixing tangleweaves, doing it as delegated patcher’s are the only few moments of freedom I get. I’d still like to continue doing that… making rune-charms for villagers and make sure the aetherweb is kept in balance, that sort of thing.

Sæa:(takes a huge sip from her cup) Then why don’t you?

Raka:(sighs, defeated) Because I crave the knowledge the university has to offer. I dread missing out on news about the Aetherweb or stepping into a situation that has not yet been studied or documented. The weave changes continuously, the gods add new methods to weave it all the time. Sometimes, long forgotten weaving methods resurface and gain popularity. I don’t want to wander Zäa aimlessly and suddenly finding my knowledge dated.

Sæa downs her cup and puts it down on her night stand. Then she grabs a pillow, puffs it up, then rolls on her belly, hugging the pillow as she speaks to Raka.

Sæa:You should help Auril develop this shell then. With long-distance communication you could be kept up to date on anything, couldn’t you?

Raka:Hmm… You’re onto something there.
(takes a sip from her cup) I haven’t considered that.

Sæa:If you and your friend get that shell to work as a communicator, you could come visit me here sometimes. We do have need for a shaman or spiritualist in this area. I quite like you. Were you ever part of a household? You could join mine, once I inherit it.

Raka:(snorts) I was main heir to my mother’s household. But I never had an interest in becoming a mistress.

Sæa:(impressed) Brave! I’m also the main heir, but… I couldn’t stand to leave the household and the entire village hanging.

Raka:(talking into her cup before she sips) One leader is as good as the next. They’ll find someone to replace you. They managed to in my mother’s household.

Sæa:(smirks) Maybe so, but that’s just passing the responsibility on to the next person. (sighs) You know, I’d love to receive a higher education like you. Attending a school or even a university has always been my dream. Staying here, reading is all I can do. And I’ve been through the entire village library trice already. I envy you for taking that step – I’m certainly not looking forward to spending the rest of my life commandeering a handful of staff members around.

Raka shifts to lay sideways on the bed next to Sæa, leaning her head on a hand for support.

Raka:Same for me… I mean, the men in my mother’s staff were diligent and well behaved, but… We had absolutely nothing in common. When I wanted to talk natural sciences, all they could talk about was their work in the fields and their crafts. And most of our maids didn’t care for education at all.

Sæa:(agreeing) Urg, yes I hear you. Let’s not talk about that anymore. I’ll have the rest of my life to deal with them. (sighs)

Say, what are your plans beyond university?

Raka:What do you mean?

Sæa:I mean, you’ve achieved being able to study as much as you want, free of the responsibilities of a household. Any plans beyond that?

Raka:Well… I do have a plan beyond that but…

Sæa:What is it?

Raka:It’s… you might consider it silly…

Sæa:Hey, I just admitted that I’d love to become like you. If your desires for the future are silly, wouldn’t that make mine silly as well?

Raka:(smiling scoff) No, of course not.

Sæa:So what is it?

Raka sits back up to deposit her cup on the nightstand. She grabs a pillow and puffs it up to lean against the head of the bed.

Raka:I want to make a name for myself, become the greatest patcher in zäan history. I want to be recognized by the fourteen themselves.

Sæa:By the Gods? But why do you need their recognition if you can have the adoration of people like me?

Raka:Because anyone affected by tangleweaves, even those that aren’t aware of it, are dependent on a Patchers work. They NEED our service because it is something none of them could do yourselves.
They don’t adore or respect us because we do good work, not that any commoner would know the difference between a hole patched well or badly anyway. They adore us because we do NECESSARY work. Work no one else could.

Sæa:Yet we adore you all the same.

Raka:(sighs) Of course, but… see, gods have the tendency to acknowledge those that do things that benefits other mortals. Like inventing the wheel, or using agriculture to our benefit, or learning to speak… all those are efforts that have been acknowledged by the gods. They knew about those things already, of course, but they it would never have occurred to them to teach us about that. Maybe it amuses them when mortals manage to master a subject and use it in way that benefits them. Tangleweaves are no different. When people who can use the aetherweb cast too much magic without proper balancing, tangleweaves are the results. But this is something we have only really understood two generations ago, and the knowledge to fix tangleweaves has really only been studied in the last generation. The gods made it so that excessive use of the web would make it rip, but they never bothered teaching us how to fix it. We can’t survive in a world with a broken aetherweb, and the gods knew mortals would learn how to fix it eventually. Our methods aren’t perfect yet, but… patching requires those who fix it to give up a lot. I’m sure the gods are aware of this and will acknowledge those who commit the most of themselves to the cause.

Sæa:So you think they see patching holes as an act of charity?

Raka:To some degree. Patchers do things that benefit all people affected by tangleweaves. Earning the recognition of gods is just a matter of how well we do it.

Sæa:What makes you think the gods even care if you mend the holes at all? For all we know, they might just be using the weave to study the behavior of people. Maybe the gods just tore a hole into the weave to see what mortals do with it?

Raka:(laughs) I highly do ubt that.

Outside, a slight breeze picks up. It rattles on the wooden window. It gradually increases as the scene progresses.

Raka:Do you happen to have the Yontraias þorias in your village’s library?

Sæa:The book of teachings? Of course, it’s one of my favorites!

Raka:Then you might know the story of Eväi, who became the most adept rune-mender in history.

Sæa:Wasn’t she a pioneer on the field of rune mastery? She was the first to document the names of the runes and their effects, right?

Raka:That’s her. She started off researching the breaking and mending of runes, but she discovered a whole lot more about them than was known about them in her time. Her knowledge was the basis for patching, and many of her methods are still in use today. Bottom line is, Eväi was recognized by the gods because of her discoveries and was made an immortal deity.

Sæa:So is that what you want, then? You want to become a deity?

Raka:Exactly.

Sæa:You want to become immortal?

Raka:(dismissive) Not necessarily. That’s just a nice side-effect, really.
What I want is to learn the knowledge of spirits and Væron. They are wise beyond our understanding. But they don’t share their knowledge with mortals.

Sæa:Who said spirits would share their knowledge with deities?

Raka:One of them told me this.

Sæa:THEY told you?

Raka:Yes. You see… These markings on my face allow me to speak and hear spirits.

Sæa:Is that what they are for? I had been wondering that…

Raka:It’s part of my job. I… know someone that has very close ties to a Væron. They told me that I just need to make enough “noise” for the gods to notice me. And for the many tangleweaves I’ve fixed in my life, I very well deserve to be recognized by them.

The shutters of the window are now rattling as the wind outside howls.

Sæa:Speaking of noise… that wind outside is pretty loud… That’s… unnatural.

Raka:How is a little wind unnatural?

Sæa:That’s not a little wind, it’s quite stormy.

Raka:It doesn’t sound so strong to me…

Sæa:Oh trust me. That’s just because the shutters are fairly sturdy. This house is closest to the Cliff face, it’s the most sheltered house here. The shutters shouldn’t rattle this much if a storm was howling outside.

Raka gets off the bed and walks over to the window. Sæa softly groans and shivers in discomfort as she is now exposed to the cold of the room. She grabs a blanket to cover herself.

Raka:Can I open it?

Sæa:If you can figure it out, but…

Raka undoes the lock and rattles the window frame in an attempt to open it.

Sæa:(sighs and rolls out of bed herself) It needs some force. Here, let me.

Sæa walks over to the window.

Sæa:You push this thing up a bit and then (with strain in her voice) with a little force… There you go- (shivers) O Fiyar’ta it’s cold!

The wind billows into the room as Sæa opens the squeaking window shutter.

Raka:Fiyar’ta…

Sæa:How is it snowing, we’re not even halfway through autumn!

Raka:Is snowfall unusual for this region?

Sæa:For this time of year it is.

Raka:Could the wind have blown it down from the mountain?

Sæa:Oh no. Not in mid-autumn. Not in this region. We’re facing north, we still get the warm winds from the Luri-region here.
I’m closing this again before we have to dump out the snow in shovels.

Sæa heaves the window shut against the wind with much effort. She sighs as she manages to close the lock.

Sæa:We’ve never had this much snow and wind during this time of year.

Raka:Hmm…

Sæa:Could it be related to your work?

Raka:Possibly, but I can’t hear any spirits nearby.

Sæa:Is your shell still…

Raka:Oh. Yes, I almost forgot about that. Hm… If I turn it off, there’s a chance it will turn back on if there is a spirit nearby after all.

Sæa:Then you’ll know if it has a wider radius than your ears.

Raka:Indeed, and that there is definitely something going on out there.

Sæa:Worth a try.

Windshell deactivates.

Cedits

INT. – AURILS STUDY – DAY

Auril:(excited) Ah, finally, the first activation through the presence of a spirit! Though… hm… I wonder what activated it the first time… Well, there’s no way to figure that out now… hmm… Note to self…

He looks under several pages for a specific book and pulls it out, then writes something on the page.

Auril:(writing voice) Research enchantments for output protocols… (murmuring to self) I’m sure I’ve seen one used for rigged scribers before, the ones used to spy on… (sighs) Well, disappointing that Raka still thinks that way of me – unfortunate that the windshell activated in that private moment, of course, but… Hmm, I suppose I could try adding… (writing voice) Try to find an enchantment that allows to switch between “All Disturbance-Activation” and “Spirit Presence-Only-Activation” mode for privacy…

He throws his pen in the center of the book.

Auril:(speaking normal again) Not sure if this can be done, but better to keep it on the list for now… even if it’s just to satisfy Magistrate protocol…
Anyway, date of recording was the same like the last one.
Vocal enchantments were woven by Kessir Riliniki, Tanja Milojevic and Travis Vengroff.
Music-Shells provided by Fuimadane.
Audio-Enhancements by Sarah Buchynski.
Written and Produced by Kessir Riliniki.
Anyway, next transmission is already being enchanted in the receptor, so onto the next one.