"The Hours of Wisdom, no Clock can Measure"

A swirling and energetic mass resembling a star of silver and white flames beat at the heart of the void I found myself in.

A void bearing sovereign something of a contradiction, the silver star shifted and flared with a familiarity, as if it acknowledged my presence. While it roared with a force that was muffled by the shadow all around, the silver star's light battled against the omnipresent smoke. 

Walking through the walk of smoke, I felt my mind center itself as I bathed in the silver light, a barrage of thoughts and memories, none of them my own yet still familiar rushed through me like sand through cupped hands.

As my mind mind danced around the scenes and sensations of a life I never lived, my 'body' moved closer to the silver star, bathing more in its argent flames, the feeling was strangely comforting for what should have been torturous to experience, but before my rising hand could reach the surface of the star, I was pulled away, back into the grasp of the shadows after she slammed the collection of notes in her hand against the bedside table, waking me from what felt like a long dream experienced through a very short sleep.

With her little act, something was loosened and once again, her gaze was affixed on my mind, ripping away any resistance I had left as she claimed what she sought from my mind.

She was now looking at me with a more emotive face, showing lines of focus on concern, spelling out the struggle she had experienced. 

"Sir Winnroad, I would advise against Mindwalking with an understanding of the art. Our little demonstration has proven a worthy warning against such an impulsive act."

"I understand, Miss Signe. Though if I'm being entirely honest, I have no idea what just happened, still if you're suggesting caution, then I will listen."

"Excellent. While I would have preferred to have our conservation without alerting your caretakers to your distress, I do not believe we will make much progress if we remain here." She offered her hand towards me, urging me to come closer.

"Mindwalking without permission can lead to great dangers, sir Winnroad. The backlash when done poorly is hard to miss. If we stay here, you will be put to rest and I will be reprimanded for disrupting the rest of the other Travellers. I think we can both agree that we would like to avoid that." Her response seemed steeped in its own curiosity but I eventually took her hand, and helped her to her feet, seeing her stand.

By her suggestion, I followed her from the ward to the floor just above us, arriving in a room similar to the ward below us, though this one held no patients, or further, with most of the space covering in dust and cobwebs while the windows were so smugged that you could barely see the breathtaking moon and its dance across this unfamiliar sky..

"I have garnered some privacy for us. You may speak as plainly as you wish, and I will do my utmost to aid you in your desired capacity." She said, avoiding any of the dusty surfaces.

"Will the caretakers not be displeased with how we are using this space?"

"They will not, so long as I am with you, your safety is assured in their eyes. In fact I am certain they have their hands full with their other Travellers, so who have just awoken."

"I see. I would hate for us to do any unpleasant work for them so I do appreciate it if we do nothing to upset them, they helped shed some light on what was happening when I arrived. I owe them that much"

"Understood. You sought inquiry immediately upon your arrival...Am I correct in assuming that you may find additional information beneficial?"

"Yes, of course."

"Well then, sir Winnroad. You need only ask, that is my role as your aide." While she was comfortable with the use of the word aide, it felt like I might find myself quickly misunderstanding the lengths the definition of such a role may extend to, still, she offered her assistance earnestly, and the greatest danger to me right now was my ignorance.

I understood that I had to remedy it.

"Can you start by telling me what is inside the warchest we received?"

"You wish to know the contents?"

"I would like for you to help me understand them, and if possible, what is expected of me as your..."

"I will be your aide, which means you'll be my master..."

"No, that won't do. We've only just met, miss Signe, and you belong to Count Arlosse"

"And I am your aide, sworn to serve you. My lord understood that may be the case, though it was his initial intention to share this knowledge with the Travellers that chose to fight only after we had completed tomorrow's ceremonies. Much like you earlier consideration, he feared that many Travellers would only be interested in satisfying themselves if they knew about receiving the help of an aide."

"...." I wasn't sure how to respond, to know that Count Arlosse thought this far, and planned in such a manner, made me more impressed than insulted by what such an action suggested about our intention.

"Am I the one that defines how you may serve me?"

"Yes, sir Winnroad. In any capacity you see fit, as long as it will not tarnish the goodwill or name of Count Galland Arlosse"

"Then it will be as you said, accompany me, I have no need for your servitude, I would ask that you teach me, help me remedy my ignorance."

"It would be my pleasure, sir Winnroad" She answered with a blank expression, as if she didn't understand reason behind my decision, but at the very least, it helped to put my mind at ease.

She eventually asked me to hand over the warchest. After going back to my ward and retrieving the chest, I handed it over to hear before mentioned something interesting.

"Sir Winnroad, I don't understand why you would not dispell the summoning spell/ Here allow me." She opened the warchest and wadded her hand until she pulled something out of its depths, with the smoke taking the shape of a simple metal key, though its shape did not look like it could open any familar lock

When she held the key up to where the latch on the chest would be locked and turned the key, an etherial lock manifested before vanishing as the warchest did in a similar cloak of smoke.

"Now, if you need the contents of the warchest, simply turn the key, and the warchest will be summoned. Try it" She handed me the key, it felt cold, and fit oddly in my hands, but by following her instructions, a simply turn of the caused the warchest to reappear at the end of it, giving me enough time to teach out and grab.

"Excellent, sir Winnroad. Now we can assess all the contents of the chest" As I held the chest open, she started her explanation.

One by one, we drew out all the items from the war chest, placing them on the floor while she pulled a chair away from the nearest stack of covered furniture and sat herself in front of the displayed items.

Acting patient even with her suggestion, she let me choose the order of the items she would explain, and she would indulge me accordingly:

1x Glasscript Tome

- Is a unique writing system that allows the instantaneous documentation of specific thoughts. Requiring only a drop of blood for the ink that marks the pages, the pages will be filled with the thoughts of the author until the book is closed, stopping the writing process.

1x Basic Set of Astral Keystone Uniform

- The standard garb of the attendants to the Pillars of Communion, the towers that all Travellers must visit to begin their journey as protectors of Ultreia.Made from sturdy enough materials to help protect the wear against the elements, though they have no special enchantments beyond being quite durable.

1x Basic Set of Astral Keystone Leather Armor

- The standard armor of the attendants to the Pillars of Communion, the towers that all Travelers must visit to begin their journey as protectors of Ultreia.

1x Iron Longsword, Iron Knife, Iron Spear

- Made of simple iron, while they hold no significant enhancement, they are durable albeit carrying some heft.

A sum of 200` golden marcs.

- The coin purse is meant to support our endeavors once our time at the Astral Keystone has concluded.

3x Basic Scroll of Wanderer's Odyssey

- They allow someone without magical talents to use practical magics, in this case, paths that have been traversed or walked are committed to memory, both landmarks and roads that have been recalled. The higher the quality of the scroll, the more details are committed to memory, even updating an already committed mapping.

1x Basic Scroll of Corpus Tabulation

- They allow someone without magical talents to use practical magics, in this case, functions to translate known written languages from any gleamed text, be it from sight or memory. The higher the quality of the scroll, the more accurate the translation. The result of the translation is stored on the pages of the scroll and committed to memory.

5x Basic Scroll of Appraisal

- They allow someone without magical talents to use practical magics, in this case, to accurately assess the quality, function and value of an item. The higher the quality of the scroll, the more details can be gleaned and the more accurate the assessment, even bypassing seals preventing appraisal.

"Was my assessment sufficient?"

"Yes, though, the idea of magic is still one I am battling to grasp, to think it would be capable of doing such things. Thank you…"

"It appears I have yet to satisfy your curiosity in its entirety." She gave a look resembling a puzzled teacher hoping their student just grasped whatever concept they've shared.

"Pay me no mind, Miss Signe–"

"No, what is it? Was there something you intended to hear?"

I felt a little guilty about what I was about to say, or what this aide believed I thought of her, when the truth was I was more interested in the book. From what I could understand, there were pages upon pages of the wisdom of previous Travellers, knowledge that would relate more to another Traveller than anyone else.

I looked her quizzical expression, and thought for a moment before I answered.

"Perhaps, Miss Signe, you could use this" I drew out the Traveller's Legendarium. "I think this might help to breakdown a lot of the concepts of your world that I am still unfamiliar with."

"My apologies, sir Winnroad" She took up the tome and presented me with a page at random. "I cannot discern the contents of this book, they are meant for your eyes alone. Glasscript is a challenge writing system only truly understood by your forebears."

"Hmm" I stared at the page, reading the title at the top of the page: "Anatomy of Chromatic Beasts." I read aloud before an idea formed from the text.

"Miss Signe, if I can read it, can you explain it to me?"

"I can, would this be satisfactory?" She said with a excited tone disguised behind her doll-like face.

"It would. Lets give it a shot"

I paid attention to everything she said, asking as much as I could, before she had to leave to attend to her other duties. 

When she had to leave for her lord, I followed soon after, feeling the call of the night breeze through the opened window of my ward. Granting me the occasional sight of passing shadows belonging to great and grand things that danced among the clouds and the violet night sky.

Following the symbols etched into the doors that I could now make sense of, I explored the lower floors, going from the ward to the common area, while making a stop at the bathroom and then the veranda jutting out from the floor all the Travellers stayed on. 

With a frilly awning that allowed the moonlight to stream through its thin fabric and onto the tiled footpath between the gentle tended-to garden of strange flowers. With onyx and violet petals that shimmered like a starlit night.

But the beauty of the shadowed garden wasn't the only thing on my mind. From the moment I stepped into the moonlight, I couldn't shake the feeling of a set of unshakeable eyes on me.

"Can I help you, whoever you are?" As I sat on the stone benches and finally called out to the curious shadows, while my gaze was set on the curious structure calling the sky their home.

"You're quite the odd one, leaving yourself open like that" The source of the voice appeared behind me, tapping my shoulder before vanishing just as I turned.

"And yet, those eyes of yours, there's something that dwells in them that I can't seem to ignore" The source of the voice now came from beside me, seated on the bench as a gentle and soft breeze brushed past my cheek.

"I can't say I would know, but if you're saying that you find my eyes attractive, who am I to say otherwise?" I tried to pass off his comment as a joke when I felt the breeze end and the sensation of her presence disappeared along with the breeze.

'Was that…?' The thought came to me as I touched the fading warmth on my cheek before the flowing breeze stole it away. Snapping him from his delusion. 

"The women of this world are going to be the end of me"