Memories

[winterblood 11181]

 

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zw7ryWi-a0E]

 

It was the middle of the night and Nemir was found in her alchemical laboratory in the depths of The Grand Library of Dragur.  The scholars of the Library had retired to their rooms hours ago, now either soundly asleep or heavily contemplating finishing their late night studies another day; either way, the halls were silent and the elfess was alone.

 

She faced one of the counters in the dimly lit room, her body rigid and her fists clenched.  The elfess took in and released unsteady breaths slowly as an attempt to calm herself, concentrating on keeping the tears welling in her eyes from rolling down her pale cheeks.  “It wasn’t real,” Nemir hissed out quietly to herself, forcing her quavering words out.  “Only a dream… They’re gone.  Gone… They can’t bother us anymore, they can’t.”  She used the heel of her hand to wipe the corner of one of her heavy eyes, then looked to where she kept a small, ornate strongbox along the wall.

 

Nemir turned the small latch which kept it sealed, carefully turning up the top of the box to reveal what laid within:  a finely crafted circlet of gold bearing intricate and smoothened engravings of Dwarven runes along the surface.  The warm colors of reds and oranges coming from the single small torch on the wall, the only source of light in the room, softly reflected off of the polished surface of the old gift the elfess had received years ago.  Her hands gently lifted her circlet of silver off of her head and onto the counter in front of her before setting the one of gold in its place,

 

Her memory of receiving the circlet always filled her heart with guilt and regret to the point where her chest actually felt heavy.  There’d be some days where the elfess would think to herself, How could you have been so idiotic?  To have hurt a friend so dear to you when all they wanted to do was to help you, even after you had just offended them.  Nemir wasn’t even sure if she deserved such a wonderful present, causing her to feel so overwhelmed with guilt that she forced herself to not use the circlet certain nights where her nightmares had been too much to handle, and beating up the training dummy wasn’t enough to calm her.  “You fool…” she uttered, keeping her fingers on the golden circlet atop her head as she debated whether or not it should be removed and returned to the strongbox.

 

Finally, after a long moment, her hands dropped and the headpiece remained with her.  The elfess turned so her back faced the counter and she lowered herself onto the floor, leaning against the pantry doors beneath the countertop with her knees bent close to her chest, arms wrapped around them.  A single word was whispered, and Nemir closed her eyes.

 

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryU65rdE-O8]

 

As the circlet was activated, memories began to resurface in the elfess’ mind of lighter times.  Nemir saw quiet mornings with a smiling, red-haired elf sitting across from her at a table of chess with delicious treats sitting on a small tray with refreshing drinks.  A black cat purred in her lap as she stroked it, her other hand sliding forth a pawn.  Then the vision shifted, melting into a different scene.  She now saw herself sitting on the floor behind a desk at The Grand Library of Dragur with a soon-to-be-sorted book in her hand, more were in a pile that were beside her.  Her sight rippled as she was turning a page, then she was in a kitchen with a silver-haired elf pulling a tray of freshly made cheese scones out of the furnace.

 

The pattern continued.

 

Nemir was guided back more and more by the circlet showing her past lessons of various subjects she had given to friends, and herself decades ago when she’d discover a new recipe in alchemy.  She even revisited her ancient memories of her time in her youth when she fancied a sword over the arcane, wore armor, and lived in a home with dirt for a floor.  It was more of a hut than a house, but she never minded it.  As this had continued, she had calmed down.  The elfess’ tense shoulders softened and so did her arms which had embraced her knees tightly before.  Her breaths were steady and her tired eyes relaxed.

 

She rose her hands up to lift the circlet up from her head and to sat it onto her knees where she released a deep sigh, resting her head back to gaze up at the ceiling.  The sun was just about to rise in the west and Nemir’s day had begun.

[Ford 1996]

Maaz blankly stared at the library's entrance from behind the desk.

[garentoft 9265]

"Yikes," states Dirk as he fumbles with a plate, dropping it.

[bumblefina 2766]

Aislin sat in the depths of Dragur, her presence unknown to all others within the facility but one. She had remained hidden since her return from the Far Glade, though she was beginning to consider otherwise. A single letter had been sent out, and she patiently awaited it's reply. 

Perhaps, if things went well, she would return. Perhaps she could once again try and patch things over with the people from her past. There was, she thought, much life left to live for her. Continuing to hide was only prolonging the time for her to forge a more morally sound path for herself. There were those in the world who she still needed to speak with, and the longer she waited, the more she risked losing those chances. They were, after all, mortal.

[rukio 8924]

((Reminder: Keep it in character and no anonymous characters.))

Lily Wolf sat in an upper floor of the library, unaware of what was transpiring below, caught up in her study of books on souls and death.

[ThatGuy_777 220]

Guyden Aureon jolts awake. Lifting his head off the table on the Dragur Library's second floor, panicking at first as he took in his surroundings. Laying a hand on his chest, he lets his head sag with a sigh. His vision falling upon several books. "Frost Witches...Mental Barriers...Alteration..." He repeats each random title in his mind with a dull stare, as though he was about to give into slumber once again. Moving sluggishly, he picks them up, returning them to their appropriate shelves.

He saunters over to the railing, leaning forward slightly as he let his eyes scan the library. Gradually, a frown creases his face. "...Not here again..." He whispers under his breath, shrugging his shoulders in defeat. Turning on his heel, he carries on placidly.

[Gladuos 869]

As a Mali tests at charms between the grounds and a floating complex, Nemir passes through his mind several times. Finally with a flash of white he would re-materialize within their home, heading into the upper levels to continue his day and contemplate things as he normally does.