The day had been relatively ordinary, comparably, and the Biqaj had been mostly occupied with fussing over his ship. Since making an attempt to repair the sloop at the end of the previous season, Pyrre had become acutely aware of all that needed work upon his ship - an awareness that had proven to be rather daunting given the sheer scale. It seemed nearly everything needed some level of attention and the Biqaj was well aware he lacked the wherewithal to provide such. Despite this, it didn’t keep him from pottering where he could; if anything, it made him all the more determined to learn more about how to not only fix but maintain all aspects of the Shiver.
Sliding a hand across the patch he had repaired, he jerked and cursed as a splinter drove itself into a finger. Grimacing, he brought his hand before him to inspect it and then picked at the bit of wood, wincing as his ministrations only served to drive the splinter further into his finger. He sucked on his finger briefly before his eyes flicked to the nearby table where his blunted eating knife sat. Seating himself at the table, he used the knife to pick and pry at the bit of wood lodged in his finger and did his best to ignore the stinging pain such actions caused. It took a fair bit of time, but he finally dislodged the splinter and he instantly took his finger in his mouth again until the sting subsided, cursing Chrien all the while.
Pyrre had been aware that there was something meant to occur on this day regarding gifts, yet he was not aware of the process or exactly how it would go about - just that a gift was to be given and another to be received. And he had no knowledge of portals or gateways outside of what he had heard regarding Saoire and, thus, he had no inkling of how they worked. Portals - or gateways - were under Saiore’s purview, an immortal he was growing increasingly more aware and interested in, as were gifts, and all that Pyrre knew was that he was interested in taking part in whatever this was. Regardless, he was clueless as to how these gateways worked and, thus, was none the wiser after taking up his crutch, finally making his cumbersome way up the steep set of stairs that would lead him to the door that separated him from the deck of his ship.
To his surprise, instead of leading out to his deck and the outside that laid beyond, the door he opened lead out to a long and unfamiliar hallway inside an equally unfamiliar - yet beautiful - space. Despite how strange it was to the Biqaj, the space before him was warm and inviting and he crutched out into it. He hadn't made it two awkward shuffle-steps before his attention was immediately drawn towards the largest and most beautiful map he had ever seen. Despite having no idea where he was, he felt a sense of peace and security in the space he was in and gravitated towards the map. He was so engrossed in taking it in that he barely registered Eternity’s entrance.
He had a hand lifted, tracing a bit of the raised portion that indicated the volcano when he heard the clinking, followed by a familiar voice. Eternity? He had met her once, back when he had visited Scalvoris Town with Zarena, and the woman had helped him try to track his companion down. Turning, he regarded her with his vibrant aquamarine eyes and, noticing her struggling with the cart, crutched towards her as if he somehow might be able to assist.
Considering what she had said, his gaze wandered the crates contained within the cart and then glanced back towards the familiar dark haired woman just as the Cadouri regarded the pair of them. His attention immediately shifted to the oversized mouse and he listened to what was said. Pyrre had been in Saoire’s dream once before, and, upon realising he was here again, he found it made sense given the gateway he had travelled through. It made him wonder if all gateways led to Saoire’s Dream, and he made a note to ask once it was appropriate to do so.
Allowing both his companion and the Cadouri to speak, Pyrre only chimed in once both had finished, agreeing with Eternity’s sentiments regarding the map. “Aye, Professor, it is much nice,” he said in him clumsy Common, “the most nice I have seen… and most big! I understand how it take so long to make.” Then, equally clumsily, he introduced himself and Eternity to the mouse Cadouri, “I am Pyrre… this is my friend, Eternity.”
“Wonderful,” said Professor Herman McGerman as the mouse Cadouri regarded them both.
Gravitating back to the map, the Biqaj once again moved his hand to wander it, tracing the island of Faldrass that the professor had pointed out. He had been here before, and had intended on visiting it again - but he hadn’t intended his second trip to be via portal! Studying the island and where it sat on the map, he used this opportunity to get a real perspective on where he was in relation to the island. Given he had never seen a full map of Scalvoris before, he asked curiously despite how silly it might have seemed to do so, “Is map of whole Island? I not seen before… is big. It is like it broken… many islands.”
“It is, indeed!” replied Professor Herman rather exuberantly. “And the broken look, as you say, has to do with the many rivers that run through the island.”
Rivers. Pyrre made a mental note that what he saw breaking up the island were rivers and not the sea, itself. It made sense, given he had sailed into one last season, but he hadn’t considered there were so many, or that the island would be so extensive. He then took a moment to look at the space between Faldrass and what he knew to be Tried’s Mouth, given he had a map of that. From there, he familiarised himself with the part of the map he felt he knew, locating the river system he had sailed and following it until he reached the part of the island labelled ‘Almund. His hungry eyes then began to wander the rest, finding Scalvoris Town and then many other cities he had never heard of. There was still so much left to discover, so much left to see.
With Cylus coming, he knew he would want to leave and get somewhere warmer before the cold made it too difficult to do so, and he wished he had a whole map like this one for himself. As best he could, he tried to commit as much as he could to memory.
Finally, regarding the Cadouri once more, he returned to one of his earlier thoughts. “I - we - come here by gateway, yes?”
“Correct,” answered the professor, looking proud.
“Then do all gateway lead here to the Saoire Dream?” he asked hesitantly, unsure of his wording.
“Yes and no,” answered the Cadouri. Upon noting the pained and puzzled look on the Biqaj’s face, Professor McGerman continued, “Yes in that this particular gateway, along with those she creates for such purposes, all lead to her school. However, there are others who can create gateways through magic, and those lead to where such mages deem them to.” The mouse then eyed him yet saw the expression on Pyrre’s face had only grown more confused.
The answer given did not help the Biqaj - if anything, it made him even more lost on the subject. There were other gateways? Magic? He didn’t follow but, he supposed, he didn’t need to. What he did learn was that if Saoire wanted an individual here, she could make it so, just as she had on this trial. “She make gateway often?”
“No,” answered the mouse Cadouri, looking rather excited about the prospect. “On the first trial of every season, one can knock on any door and make a prayer to Saoire and then be transported here to Saoire’s Dream upon passing through the door. There are some small stipulations, however. The knocker must be free to move about and must be interested in learning or contributing to this place. However, this trial is unique and the gateway you passed through is special, and meant to bring the two of you together for gift giving, since gifts are a special thing to Saorie.” The professor looked between the pair, letting his dark eyes linger on Eternity’s cart, before he regarded both once more, “I don’t suppose one of you might have a gift here for the other?”
Gifts, Pyrre remembered that about Saoire. Gifts, Gateways, Turtles and something to do with learning but he had yet to fully understand the word that had often been used in relation to the Immortal. His attention turned to Eternity and then to her cart before glancing briefly to the professor. Hesitantly, he returned to Eternity’s side and motioned towards the items in the cart, a small smile on his face, “You bring for me?” He was surprised and touched by the idea. He knew he had been working on something for another individual, but hadn’t expected to receive a gift, himself. The fact that it came from someone he had met previously meant more to the Biqaj, and he was growing ever eager to see what the clinking items were within the crates that rested within the heavy cart of hers.
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