SepticGentleman

Silverspell University; Sandbox-ish Dorm/Apartment Life Fantasy Creature RP

Ethra

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“I don’t mind at all.” Ethra replied to Griffin, as he planted himself in the seat next to her. She veered her eyes away from her book for a moment to say, “I apologize for leaving unannounced earlier.” All Griffin gave in reply was a lax wave of his hand, proclaiming his being fine with the act.

With the two of them there, Ethra’s thoughts wandered back to exactly what Griffin was. Irsk said he was an Eaten, but she’d never heard that term before, not even in any books from back home, or from checking the index of Creatures Created and Conceived. He was absent from all of them, which struck her as being exceedingly peculiar.

Many species in the world beyond mundanity were very, very rare, and with rarity often came a distinct lack in overall population. Bagoyép were always known to be very uncommon creatures, rarely more than two or three ever being found in one place. The only one Ethra knew personally was Kantus - everyone else back home was something else entirely, some mundane and some absolutely steeped in magic, and just a few of them fitting in with the ‘uncommon’ tier.

Ethra had a thought, though, a simple thought, that Griffin beat them all in terms of rarity. And curiosity tended to get the better of her over her usual aversion to socializing, when scholarly interests were involved.

So she decided to inquire.

“Griffin.” Ethra began, causing the Eaten to look up from his book. She continued, “Assuming it would not be too impolite of me to ask, would you tell me about… what you are?”

@Pathfinder

Silverspell University; Sandbox-ish Dorm/Apartment Life Fantasy Creature RP

Ethra

---

“Creatures Created and Conceived, Vol. V.”

She laid the book on the counter.

“Memoirs of an Undead Councilor.”

She laid the book on top of the previous book.

“The Profane Duke, Behold thy Screaming Monument, and The Defiance of the Moleod Magi.”

Ethra laid three more books on top of the counter, totalling up to five. She figured she should pace herself with her reading material - once classes started, she would be focusing a lot less on personal interests. Five books for now - some fiction, some not.

Ethra watched as one of Yg’ntha’s tentacles stretched out from whatever void they were housed in, grabbing a nearby pen and writing down a record of all five books on a simple yellow notepad.

“Forgive my curiosity, but would you know if Creatures Created and Conceived includes any information on… your species?” Ethra asked.

"͢Th͏er̕e arè fe̸w̨ to͠me̶s̴ on the ̡Ch̸i҉ldr͝e͜n̨ o̡f̶ ́t͞h̴e ̨Fi̷lt͏hm͠ong̵er͠.̛"͜

“Are any of them here?”

"͡N͞o. If y͟ou ͟wish,̷ ̨we͟ ma̸y̨ s̡it a͝n͠d̨ ͜d̨i͜sc̶u̴ss it̴ s͡o̸m̸eti͡me."̧

“I think I would enjoy that. Thank you, ma’am.”

Yg’ntha nodded her head, and turned to handle a bit more paperwork as Ethra turned and left, looking for a place to sit. She found an empty table with a dozen chairs seated around it, and eased into one. She laid the books down and picked up Creatures Created and Conceived, opening it to the index. She could already see several dozen passages on species she hadn’t covered in other books. She figured she’d sit and gloss over them for an hour or two before heading back to her dorm, or maybe the cafeteria for something to eat.

All now was nice and quiet.

Silverspell University; Sandbox-ish Dorm/Apartment Life Fantasy Creature RP

Ethra

---

The Silverspell Library was, simply put, vast. As Ethra stepped inside through the front entrance, she was met with two-storied platforms built into tall, replete bookshelves. It was no surprise, the sheer number of books kept here, most on all the species known to inhabit this world, and many others pertaining to the arcane. Ethra’s guardian Kantus owned a plethora of books back home, practically all of which she’d taken the time to read - but it paled in comparison to all of this.

Ethra moved forward with the intent of procuring any number of books on whatever species she’d yet to cover. That had been her goal for a long time, even before Silverspell - to act as a scholar of sorts. In fact, a frequent thought of hers was that she wished to own a library herself one day. A calm, quiet establishment, nothing too opulent. Somewhere she could be at ease.

Thoughts for another time, however. Now, just more books. As she moved forward however, Ethra felt something tap her upper right shoulder. She swiveled her neck around in classic owl fashion to behold a lumpy, spindly black tentacle jutting upward from the floor, out of some sort of small black rift in the air. Ethra’s feathers stood up some as a small black puddle emerged next to the tentacle’s base. Out of it rose a tall, lean, limbless figure, clad in ragged purple robes, and wearing a white, almost porcelain-like mask, with several holes carved into it. Nothing lied behind them but an empty void. Out of the back of the figure’s head, three intertwining tentacles flowed back into the rifts on the floor, slowly undulating, lifting the figure just a few inches upward.

"Ma̢y͟ I h͏e͘lp͞ ̨y̨ou, ̵y̕oun͘g ͞bag̨o͏y͢ép͠.̡"

She spoke with no mouth, and her words carried a faint echo, with various other sounds mixed in. Ethra hesitated for a moment before her feathers settled, her body turned to standard orientation, and she regained what composure she lost. “I…” She began, “I came to browse. Perhaps check a few items out.”

"͏Ár̷e ͘yoų ̛à ̶new ̷s͝tud̨en̴t.́"

“Yes. My name is Ethra.”

"E҉th̨r͟a. I am̛ ̛Y̨g'̸n̴t͘ha̶s̨i̴i̡-Sr̶ag-Ura. ̵I҉ ́m͢anąge thi͞ş ar͏ch̢ìv̴e."͟

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Ethra replied, bowing her head just the slightest bit. “I… may be here for a while, letting you know in advance.”

"̴T̨h͠a̧t i̕s̨ all̷o͡w͟ed.͝ Le͏t͠ ̶me̷ kņow if ̨so͞met͘h͜ing͘ el̀s͠e ͏i͏s̨ re̸quir҉e͢d.̶"

“I will. Thank you.”

And with that, Yg’ntha slowly receded into the floor, the rifts vanishing afterwards. Ethra lingered for only a moment before turning and heading for the shelves once again. There were very few other students around, most understandably not interested in studying so early before classes officially began. Which meant it’d be all the more easier to find a free seat.

Silverspell University; Sandbox-ish Dorm/Apartment Life Fantasy Creature RP

Ethra

---

With introductions out of the way, Ethra took it upon herself to go and see her room. She took the furthest one away from the other two because… well, it just hit her that she was going to be living with Griffin and Raven for the next few months. Griffin seemed alright, but Raven was…

She really didn’t have a word for what Raven was, at this moment. All she knew was that she’d rather be away from him during the night hours, for the time being. Her mind wandered to the University’s co-ed roommate policy, and how odd it was. Little she could do about it now, though.

She entered her room with her belongings in hand. It was just as luxurious as the rest of the apartment, with a large bed being most prominent. For a bagoyép, this was a good site. Her eyes drifted to the open doorway to the bathroom past the bed - containing standard implementations. Oh, well.

Ethra set her belongings aside and sat down on the bedside for a moment. She looked at the large, black, rectangular piece of equipment on the wall, her faint reflection lying within it, staring back at her. Since she got here, she’d seen several students in possession of various technological devices that were far, far beyond anything she knew. Growing up in a rural community for most of her life was probably going to lead to some questions in the near future. She was essentially a savage among modern beings.

Another moment passed of her sitting still on her bedside.

“I think I’ll just explore then.” She said, half-directed at Irsk.

I don’t care.

“Your lack of care is noted, Irsk.” Ethra replied, “Now direct me to the University Library.”

Fine.

And with that, the bagoyép stood up, grabbed her satchel, and exited her room. Walking into the living room, she found Griffin and Raven to not be present - perhaps they had retreated to their own rooms to see to their own furnishings. Ethra didn’t want to waste the moment of calm then, so she headed for the door and slipped out unannounced.

Onward to the Library.

Silverspell University; Sandbox-ish Dorm/Apartment Life Fantasy Creature RP

@Rhiannon Are we at all allowed to make up NPCs to use as faculty? Because I had an idea for the University Librarian.

Silverspell University; Sandbox-ish Dorm/Apartment Life Fantasy Creature RP

everyone certainly took off running without me lol

@Noxx

Yeah sorry about that, the trio were all active at the right time to get our own introductions out of the way. We stopped before we went too far though.

Silverspell University; Sandbox-ish Dorm/Apartment Life Fantasy Creature RP

Ethra

---

It was always difficult to determine what emotion a bagoyép was experiencing just by looking at their face. Zero expression-making abilities was a bit of a hindrance at times. Suffice to say, no one could tell what Ethra was experiencing at this exact moment - heart-spurring fear. She reared her head back as the warlock flew in through the open window, raising her hand to her chest beneath her cloak.

Neither she nor Griffin said a word as the warlock stood there before the two, awaiting a reaction. Once Ethra took a second to calm herself from the surprise, she finally provided a response.

“You…” She said, a little weakly, “Must be our third?”

Silverspell University; Sandbox-ish Dorm/Apartment Life Fantasy Creature RP

Ethra

---

“I am.” Ethra replied, “Unless, of course, our third roommate was already here, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.”

Ethra took a moment, fidgeting beneath her cloak, and then removing a satchel from her person, laying it on the couch cushion next to her. “As for our room selection…” She continued to speak, as she quickly went through the contents of the satchel to make sure nothing was missing - all she’d brought with her were a few books, journals, and writing utensils. She was told all other necessities would be seen to on-site.

“I wished to wait until all three of us arrived before we made that decision. It seemed only logical.” She said, as she returned her gaze from her satchel to Griffin. “Our yet-to-arrive is a warlock, I’ve been told.”

Silverspell University; Sandbox-ish Dorm/Apartment Life Fantasy Creature RP

Ethra

---

Ethra knew what warlocks looked like from illustrations in books she’d read in the past. This man standing before her was, without a doubt, not a warlock. He was the Eaten, which she knew rather little about. And though she’d rather have read on the topic, she couldn’t bring herself to being dismissive of a live example.

He was wrapped in bandages, all around his head and arms, and she assumed elsewhere on his person as well. Ethra's eyes let her see just past Griffin's sunglasses, at the empty spaces behind the tinted lenses. Very peculiar, to her.

“I am Ethra.” The bagoyép replied, raising a hand from within her ivory cloak to shake the Eaten's. Griffin himself looked just the slightest bit surprised at the arm’s reveal, most likely having assumed Ethra simply possessed the anatomy of a normal owl.

Which was fair.

“So…” Ethra continued, “We’re going to be living together.”

Silverspell University; Sandbox-ish Dorm/Apartment Life Fantasy Creature RP

Ethra

---

“Silverspell is… a very distinct institution, Ethra. Open to all beings, of all different makes and calibers. If you attend, you may find much of who you are, your fiber, being tested. Perhaps criticized as well, and not always for your better. It may not ultimately be for you.”

“I understand.”

“Then you still wish to go?”

“Absolutely.”

“Well then. Start packing.”

…

“Are you certain I’m going the right way?”

I know this place far better than you think, girl. So yes, I’m certain.

Ethra did not return a retort to Irsk’s rather rude reply. He lay nestled in one of the folds of her scarf, almost dead still, as if living up to his horribly malformed appearance. Even if he weren’t her Familiar, Ethra would never resort to eating something so sickly looking, even if she were on the brink of starvation. That thought caused her to wander over to what this University served in terms of food - she was confident they would cater to species with purely carnivorous diets such as her own, but she still didn’t know if they served purely mundane meats or… otherwise. She’d yet to press Irsk about it, as in the short time she’d known her, he’d only come off as a rude little mouse. She was, however, doing her best to bear with it.

She was in the dorms now, on her first day, a week before classes began. Ethra had received her key and been told her destination, which Irsk was now leading her towards. She passed several other students along the way, some giving her a short stare. She found it to be understandable, though. Most of them had probably never seen a bagoyép. Ethra’s kind were not a very widespread one. Bit of a sad thought, but she paid it no mind. She was here to learn, not to mourn.

This is it.

Irsk piped up as Ethra stood before the door to her new abode. Room 308. Without hesitation, she unlocked the door and stepped inside. She was then witness to all the luxuries laid out before her - fine furniture, clean walls, and carpets. None of which she knew back in her hometown, a much more rural place. This was what she was gearing up to get used to, this… lavishness. But she figured she’d fare just fine. The decor wasn’t life-threatening, after all.

She stepped inside. Seemed Ethra was the first among her trio of roommates to arrive.

“What species did you say my roommates were?”

A warlock and an Eaten.

“An… Eaten?”

Ask him about it, I’m not interested.

And once again, Ethra did not reply. She merely stepped towards one of the couches in the dorm’s living room, and sat down. Waiting for her roommates to arrive, so they could discuss who gets what room, or other matters to be decided.

She wasn’t exactly thrilled about it.