Flames of Shadow and Sky

Once they got down to Pyrrha’s room, they got the looms set up. Yang smiled. “There you go. I can show you how to use them. Even kids can do starlight rune runners and phoenix feather tapestries. It’ll take a little while to master them, but for starting off, you really can’t go wrong with these.” “Um, okay. Do you have anything to weave with…?” It didn’t look like Yang had anything to weave with. “And starlight runes… Aren’t those a form of magic?” Pyrrha was no mage. She hadn’t awakened to be an Aetherian when she’d passed the age of the Rite of Awakening. As long as there was a Diviner or a Sanctum nearby, everyone underwent the Rite to see if they were Aetherians or not. Pyrrha hadn’t been granted with magic. She wasn’t sure about her family history, really, because she’d been so young when her parents had sent her off to become part of the Sisterhood. She still felt betrayed by them, though she had mostly enjoyed her time there…barring the religious side of the order. Yang shook her head. “It’s not really about magic; it’s just about putting intention into the thread to make it shimmer. I mean youcanput magic into it if you’re an Aetherian, but that’s not required. It’s really just about geometric patterns. You can learn to do that in time. Right now, though, I’ll go back to the Sanctum and get the required materials for both types of looms, and then show you how to do them. Sound good?” Pyrrha nodded. “I’ll be back later, then.” Yang waved and left the room, leaving Pyrrha alone with Lumesong. Pyrrha flopped down on her bed and closed her eyes, not really sure what to do next. This was all so out of her realm of experience. Weaving, looms, and too much free time… She just didn’t know what to do with herself really. She was trying, but she was failing miserably. She really wished she had died during the winter and not had to deal with any of this anymore. She was tired. Tired down to the level of her soul. All she wanted to do was sleep, but she also wasn’t the type to be idle as well. She hated sitting around; the Sisterhood had definitely lived by the idea of where fire lies unkindled, the spark withers in silence. Idle hands werenotseen as a good thing in the Sisterhood and one always had to be doingsomething.Even if it was just sitting in meditation and thinking on Heshia’s teachings. One always had to be engaged and doingsomething. Lumesong started tweeting and Pyrrha craned her neck up to look at the bird. She fluttered over and started running Pyrrha’s hair through her beak. Pyrrha just looked at her. “What are you doing?” She had no idea how to deal with the bird or anything like that… That was why Yang was here. To take care of Lumesongforher, at least until she could get a feel for it…and remember all the how-tos. She was out of her depth with sacred birds like this. She just… She didn’t know how to handle any of this. She wasn’t used to a sedentary life, not with all the training and traveling she’d done. Lumesong tweeted, making Pyrrha sigh. “I can’t understand you.” She really had no idea what the bird was saying. Yang seemed to understand what she said, but that wasn’t in Pyrrha’s capabilities, at least not yet. All she wanted was to be left alone, to die. Granted, she knew Nendia wouldn’t take her death well but it was all she had left in her to do. It was so hard when she had so little energy left. How she had managed to survive the winter was honestly a miracle unto itself. Maybe she ought to go explore the house a little bit. She sat up slowly, trying to avoid making her head spin, and Lumesong fluttered onto her shoulder. The little bird remained silent, though she kept running Pyrrha’s hair through her beak. She really didn’t know what that was all about, but it wasn’t like it wasbad.Just kind of annoying if anything… She’d have to ask Yang what the behavior was. It wasn’t like she had spent a lot of time around birds or anything before. Pegasi had wings, but they were far closer to horses than they were birds. They were flying horses with extra intelligence as far as she could tell. She started to wander around the house aimlessly. She knew she wouldn’t have too much energy to wander too long until she needed to rest again. Her body was recovering from the lack of food and proper rest for half a year, but it was still annoying to have so little energy. She hated how little energy she had to do anything. Part of her did just want to lay down and die, but the other part, the stubborn knight, refused to simply lay down and accept death. She didn’t know why she clung to life so much. She had such dissonance when it came to it all. It would’ve been so easy to just give up, yet she hadn’t…and now she had accepted Weiss’ help. She just legitimately didn’t know what to do with herself. She wandered around until she wore herself out. She didn’t really find much of interest, just more rooms which were unoccupied. So she went back down to her room where she curled up on her bed to rest until Yang came back. Lumesong went back to her perch on the dresser. Good. Pyrrha wasn’t fond of the Divarchon anymore, but she still didn’t want sacred birds getting hurt. Heshia had straight-up abandoned her and the betrayal would sting until she died. She wasn’t sure if she would ever get to speak to the deity directly after death… She really didn’t know what death would hold for her beyond going to the Twilight Veil. She just…didn’t know. The next thing she knew was a knocking on the door. She roused herself and opened the door to find Yang there with a bulging sling bag at her hip. She grinned. “Mind if I come in?” “Why?” Pyrrha looked at her, eyes squinted. “The looms, remember?” Oh, right. She moved aside and let Yang in. Yang went over to the looms and dropped the bag onto the table where they were set up. She explained a lot of stuff to Pyrrha which she definitelywould notremember without multiple lessons to reinforce it. She showed Pyrrha how to do the starlight rune runners and the phoenix feather tapestries slowly, letting Pyrrha try the steps. It wasn’t too hard with Yang right there over her shoulder, but she knew she’d forget in due time. She did have a tincture to help with her memory, but the apothecary had said… She couldn’t remember. Pyrrha sighed. “What’s up, Phyr?” Yang asked. “Just…my memory issues. I can’t remember what all the apothecary said and I’m not going to be able to remember how to make this without having you over my shoulder.” No point in hiding what was bothering her. “Do you know how to read and write?” Yang asked. Pyrrha nodded. “How about we go get some loose paper and then you can write down the steps? Put it in your own words and it’ll be easier for you to understand rather than me writing it for you.” That…was a good idea. “I can run up to the library if you’d like.” “Please.” “Be back in a minute.” Yang jogged out of the room and came back about five minutes later with a quill, ink, and paper. Pyrrha sat at the table and had Yang run over the steps for the starlight rune runners for what felt like an eternity. Then they repeated the process for the phoenix feather tapestries. Despite everything, Yang never lost her patience with Pyrrha which she was grateful for. Yang answered any and all questions she had and went over a step as many times Pyrrha asked her to. Honestly, she was surprised Yang was so patient with her… Most people wouldn’t be so forgiving. They’d only do something once, then move on. But no… Yang spentas muchtime as Pyrrha needed on any one given step. Though, by time they finished, the sun was on its lower decline. They had spent nearly all day on this. “We might as well get some grub,” Yang said, stretching a bit. “Probably for the best…” Pyrrha knew she wouldn’t eat a whole lot, but she was definitely a bit hungry… She wondered if they’d see Weiss at the table or not. Considering she and Yang had been in her room all day, it only made sense they hadn’t really seen much of Weiss at all. Plus, Weisswashere primarily on a job… She had to do her job and delaying her from that wasn’t really a good idea. They headed down to the kitchens where they practically bumped into Weiss. “Oh, hey, Yang, Pyrrha,” Weiss said with a smile. “What’s up? I haven’t seen you for most of the day.” “Oh, we were setting up some looms and Pyrrha was writing down the steps to help keep her occupied,” Yang explained. “We could both use something to do while we’re here, so I figured I’d help her with the looms.” “That’s entirely fair… I havetoo muchto do here…” Weiss sighed while they headed to the kitchens. “It’s been far,fartoo long since an Illuminator was last here. This archive is a complete and absolutemess.It may take meyearsto reorganise everything and get it up to my personal standards. Ihatewhen people let their systems go like this. I know an Illuminator is an expense, but letting it get tothispoint is asinine. Records were pushed into there with no rhyme or reason and the last Illuminator that was here had a system that makesnosense to me. So I have to not only organise more recent documents but I basically have to start fromscratch.It’s stupid.” She shook her head. Yeah, Pyrrha couldn’t blame her for being frustrated if it wasthat bad…If she weren’t so weak, she’d be willing to help out Weiss… Then again, maybe it was for the best to just leave things to the person assigned to the task… They reached the kitchens and settled down at the table. “So, Pyrrha, what’s the Sisterhood like?” Weiss asked. “They tend to be pretty secretive and not really allow outsiders inside. I’ve been curious about their history and culture for a long time.” Pyrrha looked away. Yes, it’d been half a year ago, but she still didn’t feel like discussing it. Shedid notfeel up to discussing what she’d been throughwhatsoever.The wounds still felt far,fartoo raw for her to discuss. She didn’t want to disappoint Weiss, but she also just…couldn’t talk about what had happened, not yet. “Sorry.” “I just…don’t want to talk about it,” Pyrrha muttered. She really didn’t. She’d lostliterally everythingshe had known. She could barely remember her family; the Sisterhood was what her lifehadbeen. No, she hadn’t been crazy about the ritual aspects of being a pegasus knight, but it was what she had come to know and expect from her life. Now without it…she was lost and adrift. She had no idea how to handle any of this. All she wanted was to go back…but then again, could she really face down those that had betrayed her? She still hoped that their pegasi would abandon them for breaking their vows of honor and betraying their own morals. She knew a lot of people had a price, but she didn’t think pegasus knights had such a price… It still hurt to think how her sisters that she’d been training with since childhood had betrayed her so easily and literallyjustfor money. Weiss nodded. “All right. I will admit, I’ve always been interested in the knights though I never really wanted tobeone. Religion…really isn’t my thing.” That had never been Pyrrha’s thing either. Her heart justwasn’tin the ritual or religious side of the knights even though they were a monastic order for all intents and purposes. “I just admire the elegance, grace, and beauty of a rider and their bonded pegasus… They were always my favorite part of the parades back in Elentharis.” She sighed wistfully, obviously thinking of said parades. “That’s not what it’sreallylike in the knights,” Pyrrha said. “That’s all just pageantry.” She couldn’t really stop it from tumbling out of her mouth, but she realised far too late what she had said. She swallowed hard, hoping Weiss wouldn’t force her to talk more about it. The last thing she needed was recalling those memories and how awful they were. There had been good times and bad, of course. That was just how life was. But this… This went beyond good and bad times. Now, the entire thing felt like it had been for naught and like she had wasted her entire life, being kicked out like this… Weiss nodded. “I guess I should’ve figured as much… Parades are all about showing off and being strong, not necessarily the day-to-day living of the different arms of the military that do said parades.” She smiled. “Do you think I could ride your pegasus sometime?” “I’m honestly not sure how Nendia would handle someone else riding her… Generally, pegasi bond only to their rider and don’t tolerate other people’s touch too well unless it’s an emergency. Plus…she’s weak as well. I’ve kept her grounded due to the lack of nutrition both of us have had to deal with.” She knew that, in some regards, not letting a pegasus fly was mental torture. But both of them were incredibly skinny and weak due to the lack of food. Nendia’s flight muscles had no doubt deteriorated due to being grounded for so long. Flight just took far,fartoo much energy and it would’ve probably led to Nendia’sdeathhad Pyrrha allowed her to fly as she wanted. “That…does make sense. Well, maybe when you and her are more recovered, you could take me on a ride.” Weiss smiled warmly at Pyrrha, though she didn’t return it. “Until then, take whatever time you need to rest and recover.” Pyrrha nodded and dinner was served. Her portion waspainfullytiny, but it was really all she could handle. Even then, she only managed to eat about half of it. Weiss frowned. “You really aren’t eating a lot…” “I know…but I’m not used to eating much anymore. Plus, I’ve heard from healers that extended periods of malnutrition and lack of food can cause the body to go into shock if you eat too much at once… You need to start at small amounts and work your way up.” She wasn’t sure how true it was, but she’d rather not risk her body being overloaded and potentially getting hurt or evendyingdue to a suddenly huge amount of food. She didn’t want to leave Nendia. Yes, part of her did just want to curl up and die, but on the other hand… Nendia was her bonded pair. She didn’t want to leave the pegasus alone. Maybe she should have just taken the Trial of the Winds. But it was far too late for that now… Even if she had chosen that…would shereallyhave been able to face her sisters who had betrayed her for the prince’s money? She had no idea. She just didn’t know what to do. “Would you like me to show you how to take care of Lumesong tomorrow?” Yang asked. Pyrrha blinked and looked up, then over at Yang. “I suppose.” She still didn’t want the damn bird, but it seemed as if Lumesong was now attached to her. She hated it. She hadn’t even been able to properly care for Nendia when on the road. Granted, they were near a Sanctum now, so they would have the resources to care for both Nendia and Lumesong. At least they wouldn’t have to worry about not having enough resources… She hoped and prayed that Nendia would also recover from the long malnourishment… Seven months was far,fartoo long foranybodyto go without food, human, Faunus, or animal. She was honestly still shocked that both of them had made it through the winter with the limited forage. “Thankfuly, they’re not too hard to care for… The hardest part is the embers.” “Embers?” Pyrrha blinked. They atefire?That…seemed dangerous. Yang nodded. “I’ll need to bring a sacred flame here and keep it ablaze for Lumesong. And it canonlybe sacred fires. Normal fires don’t contain the same energy that makes Vareya’s flames sacred. Plus…the fire isgreencompared to the normal orange and yellow.” “I see… Do you have to have a connection to Vareya to keep it burning?” That was what she was worried about… Yang was only here to help her learn about caring for Lumesong. Pyrrha didn’t have a connection to Vareya in the same way that Yang did. If a Flamekeeper needed to tend the fire, then Pyrrha was shit out of luck. She wouldneedYang to stop by and stoke the fire to keep it burning. Shedid notwant Lumesong to die because she didn’t have the proper diet. “Once a sacred fire is burning, all it requires is feeding like a normal fire. But if it goes out, you’ll need to get it from the Sanctum again. I’d suggest not letting it go out. We have a small sacred fire in the pyrelark enclosure so they can get sparks as necessary. But since you’re recovering, I’ll say that you should probably let her get embers at least three times a day, and let her perch either in the sun or near the sacred fire at noon.” Pyrrha sighed at Yang’s words. There was no way she could remember it, not yet. “Don’t worry so much, Pyrrha; I’ll help you establish a routine. They also need sunfruit which I’ll bring from the Sanctum and teach you how to store it for the long term. Okay?” Pyrrha nodded a bit. “And you can write down anything you need to. Got it?” Yang smiled. “All right.” They finished up with dinner and she noticed Lumesong was glowing more brightly than normal. “What’s up with that?” “Pyrelarks prefer to be active at dawn and dusk and since it’s dusk right now, she’s growing more brightly.” Pyrrha frowned. “You mentioned the embers. Will she be okay without them for a day?” “I’ll go to the Sanctum and go get the fire, then start it in your hearth. Thankfully, sacred fires are generally pretty resistant to going out unless youreallystarve them. I’ll be back in a bit.” Pyrrha nodded at Yang’s words and collapsed on her bed in a heap. After Yang got back, she would probably go back to sleep. All of this was taking it out of her. The long hours of dealing with the looms had definitely taken a toll on her as well. She wasn’t used to such intensive mental activity even if she hadn’t really beendoingmuch physically. Even mental activity could take a toll on the body. If anything, she often found mental tasks much more draining than physical ones. Before she knew it, a knock came on the door again. Apparently she’d drifted off as well. She shook her head and stood, opening the door. Yang bore a lantern with a small green flame. She quenched the normal fire with a flick of her hand and then directed the green flame into the hearth. It hungrily lapped at the wood in the hearth, but it didn’t really seem to burn the wood in a normal way. Pyrrha looked at Yang. “Why isn’t it going after the wood?” “Sacred flames feed on magic rather than physical fuel. You’ll have to withdraw the wood every so often to keep the fire going. Once the fire has burned away the wood’s magical force, then it’s no good anymore. Do it in the morning and in the evening and it should be fine.” Pyrrha knew she wasn’t going to remember any of that. As if sensing her thoughts, Yang smiled. “I’ll help you with it; don’t worry so much.” Pyrrha nodded a bit. “But for now… Yeah, probably best you go back to sleep. I canfeelyour exhaustion.” “All right. I suppose I’ll see you tomorrow.” Yang left the room after Pyrrha’s words. Thankfully, the firelight wasn’t too harsh as the sun continued its descent. She took a bath, wallowing in the warm water until it turned tepid, then curled up on her bed. Within moments, she nodded off, the fire offering her a warmth she hadn’t known she’d been missing.