Futures and Legacies

[Stare]

They lurched to a halt, breaking her stupor. Looking up suddenly, knowing they had stopped, Avis caught sight of where they were. A giant tower, spilling into the sky. A hedge surrounding it and more stone building. A massive iron gate set into the hedge, but barred from outsiders. A short stocky man ambling his way over, a limp in his step and a foul look on his face. As he lurched with each odd step he jangled. And he was ready to shout at them from the other side of the gate.

"Eh, Stare?"

Rapidly, she blinked and glanced over to see Raevin across from her from his perch beside the driver, pointing at the floor. She paused, blinking. He was wanting her to open the duchess' door.

"Why the fuck-" she began to say.

"Hoi there!" The stocky man began to say, his voice full of venom. "You can't park-"

Sighing, Avis moved. She leapt straight from perch to ground, allowing her hard feet to take the impact. It worked, and she nodded a little to herself. Ignoring the man as he continued a rant about how she could not park there, "you bird idiot," see grabbed the carriage door and yanked it open.

"Your grace," she stared at the woman within. "You are home."

A gasp went up both from the stocky man and the duchess. His was much longer and less controlled. Grabbing a jangling key from his belt, he began to work on the gate lock.

The gasp from in the carriage lasted much less. Carefully the duchess ended hers with a hand to her mouth. Her eyes looked around, then set to focus on the city castle behind the gate. A breath rushed from her and a look of peace finally settled over her face.

"Thank you," she whispered as she began to move, hand quickly grabbing her bag of few belongings. "Thank you."

Then she was coming out of the carriage, trying to hide her eagerness to simply be away. Avis tried to offer a hand to the clearly shaky woman but it was refused.

"I would perhaps review the texts of Karas the Wise," she said in a low tone to Avis, speaking of the only famous kenku in history. The master writer who was responsible for a lot of their history and theory. Whom was near worhsipped as a saint by some of the scribes. "Though I am sure you know your people, there is definitely mention of the tengu. Read his treatise on Keribas."

Avis slowly blinked, but kept away from the desire to stare at her. She thought that the duchess, considering what she had already been through, would not appreciate it.

"And you are kinder than your master. Hold onto that, kenku," she murmured as she raised her chin and smiled dimly at the stocky man.

"Your ... My grace?"

"Take me home, Greyson," she said in a quiet voice to him. Rather quickly the gate swung open enough to let her through.

The duchess smiled more, and without another look at the people behind her, she strode right in in. Leaving Avis bewildered and confused as to her comments. Tengu. What did it mean? What else could Karas have written of importance aside from the basic Karas Theory that all kenku children learnt? Apparently his treatise on Keribas. That lonely, strange and bizarre continent, over the far sea. Where the island city state of Hernsford lay in wait, and a thousand other places to be explored. What could be wrong with kenku traditional stories, apart from some of their vagueness?

[Stare]

Tearing her eyes away from the duchess, and the now closed gate, Avis left the woman to cause a joyous turmoil in her world. Closing the door and climbing up to the back, with lithe movements, she managed to ascend in less than a second. Then she nodded, not caring if Raevin saw, for she certainly wasn't interested in speaking. Instead her mind was elsewhere, dreaming of what Karas had written that was deemed unimportant to basic kenku learning. What he had said on them and Keribas. Was that their ancient homeland then? Was that where they had come from, the land that the Kami, their guiding god spirits, had brought them from in order to escape the darkness - otherwise known as the Kage, or shadow?

The carriage lurched back into movement, speeding away from the duchess and that part of life. Taking a bemused kenku with it. She closed her eyes, lensing her head against the railing, thinking of what the duchess had said and how Skra had seen her. One simply journey and so many things. A day in the Hollow as a new person and life had changed. She swallowed hard, and waited for the mansion, Vitruvion's city mansion and Avis' home, come into view. Immediately when it did, Avis threw herself off and began the trudge up the stairs and too the huge wooden doors.

They were opened by the out of breath butler Mesis. He blinked in surprise. "Miss Stare?"

"I'll be in my room," she said quietly. "If anyone asks ... I am there."

The butler paused, glancing outside. He saw Raevin and opened the door further, but Raevin shook his head, settling down as the carriage moved ... Again.

"I see," Mesis closed the door and hurried after Avis, who was tiredly and confusedly climbing the stairs. "And will you be taking dinner my lady?"

"I'm not my lady," Avis told him, not for the first ever time. "Just Avis. I mean Stare. Don't call me that, he'll hate it."

"Yes, Miss Stare, I know. But would you take dinner?"

She sighed, taking each step slow, him frantically trying to follow at a slow pace. "I'm tired. I'll be fine. Maybe a few sandwiches but that is it."

He smiled and nodded. "Of course my la- miss. I will let you rest."

"I'd appreciate that," Avis said exhaustedly.

She reached the top of the stairs and began the trek along the hallway, with the balcony side, to her room. It took time, but she got there. And from there it was just to get to the door. And from the door to the rug. And from the rug ...

Fall, fall, and crash into the bed. Inviting sleep. To take away all that had been. At least for now.

[Stare]

The next day was a day of research.

With the freedom of movement around the house - not that she was certain Vitruvion was watching at all - the next day Avis headed for the library. Her mind filled with questions for what the duchess had said. She had been adamant about the word 'tengu' and the fact that Karas the Wise, also known as Karas the Scribe, had written a treatise on the origins of the word. All that Avis knew about Karas, was that he had spoken vaguely of his people's origin in running away from the Kage, the Shadow, but that he focused on the history ever since they had landed on the shores of Corone. The way the feudal system had developed, with the teirs of the society had come about.

Vitruvion, luckily, was a man of academic interests and thus had a vast collection of books that he had bribed for, bought and stolen over his one hundred years of life. He had everything from the adventures of Nightshade and Farsee, to a detailed account of the Aleraran and Raiaeran wars. Avis found a strong theoretical section on the idea that there was more than one strong source of magic other than the Tap (now apparently a theory proved to be correct) and books on the influence of other worlds into Althanas (apparently not as yet proven). The presence of Planeswalkers seemed a fact, whilst the idea of gods was more of a perspective, apparently. A whole alcove was dedicated to the different forms of magic, and an entire back wall was filled with religious books and texts, from the Church of the Ethereal Sway to the Hall of Fire, an apparent Corone recent invention that proposed all gods were part of a larger pantheon.

Avis sighed as she worked her clawed fingers carefully over the various titles. She picked out a religious book on, 'Spirits and Other Worshipped Anomalies,' and tucked it under her arm. As she gained to a culture section she wove her way through the major races and their various exoduses, then found a smaller section. A book entitled 'The Book of Pan' told her about the origin of fauns and satyrs whilst another spoke of various elementals, come alive. After a while it took Avis to realise that the books were sorted by country and area, and so after looking into Corone a little more she found the basic kenku text, 'Karas' History.' This she tucked with 'Spirits and Other Worshipped Anomalies.' Then, furthering on and into Keribas' section she finally found it:

'A Treatise on the Off Continent Origin of the Kenku.'

Finally.

Rushing to a table Avis put down the two books she had under her arm. Settling then into a cushioned seat she brought her legs up and rested the Treatise on them. Staring at the brown leather cover for a moment she took in a slow breath, thinking of all the things that she might find out inside. Who she was. Where her power might have come from. Whether she was magic or not. A, "specific type of magic," Raevin had said. One that worked in the guarded tunnels of the Hollow.

Very slowly she opened the first page, passing by the flimsy protector pages. Her eyes settled on the heading, "The Treatise and Where I Began," and her heart began to pound.

Then, she began to read.

[Stare]

Avis learnt more that day about her race than she had in her sixteen years of kenku life. Being raised within the outcast class, the kegareta, had meant she had no formal schooling. Instead there had just been her mother's tales, and those folk stories that the old thieves of the clan she was in used to tell around camp fires. They were the adventures of the first kenku, who came over the Vast Sea, guided by the Kami to escape the Kage - the Shadow. Other tales had the Vast Sea described as the ocean, but the stories were the same enough. Over the generations the kenku had come to believe as fact that they had come from a distant land, and were once birds. The Kami looked after them, had created them and guided them, protecting them from such horrors as the Kage. That was the basis of the kenku religion and it provided a whole structure to worship under.

The Treatise, however, gave an entirely new perspective. According to Karas' new research, there was little to no evidence that the kenku had ever had the means by which to travel far. Their history of ship building was poor. Thus, he proposed, that the kenku came over from Keribas, when exodus ships had brought other races across. The kenku being few in number could have bartered their way along with a number of any trading ships - or, as he dared to say, they might have even been slaves. This he claimed was far more likely, for the kenku were quick to adopt the closest culture they came across - that being of Akashima. If they had been a slave race, then it would explain for their lack of history before ever landing on Corone shores.

The thought made Avis' heart beat wildly. According to kenku tradition, they had nothing to do with Keribas. Instead they claimed to be from another, as yet unknown land, which had since been devoured or taken over by the Kage. Anything there now could not survive, hence Keribas being out of the picture. Keribas, despite its exotic nature, was known to have life, with rich cultures. So it was thought that they could not be the kenku homeland, for the Kage took everything.

However, could it be that their ideas were all wrong? That the Kage, whatever it was, a literal shadow or some other beast, was more metaphorical than real?

Taking a deep breath Avis plunged back into the book. And learnt that the word 'kenku' had only first started being recorded about a hundred years after their reported sightings in Akashima. Karas proposed that it was a name given to them, after they developed the beginnings of their culture. A name that was a mishearing of the word 'tengu' - an ancient term that meant 'bird one'.

Wham!

She slammed the book shut. Her eyes staring around the room, Avis could barely breathe, so erratic was her mind and body working. It made sense, really. It was true that kenku had not always been how they termed themselves, and it was true that they didn't have any ship building history. The Kami were said to be guiding spirits, but also creators - was it that the kenku had been around before them? That they had existed as a slave race for another being, had been brought over from Keribas, where, Karas wrote, there were murmurs of other bird-like bi-pedals. As Avis opened the book back up, very tentatively to catch sight of Karas' comments on these other races she felt a gust of wind. And Brer stepped into the room.

"Hello," he grunted, moving into the room and heading over to a far bookshelf. He sat heaboly down into a seat there.

Avis swallowed hard and kept staring at the pages, her black eyes above her black beak stoic and unable to collate words, let alone thoughts.

"Going to keep an eye on you," Brer said. "Orders."

She closed her eyes, biting back a retort. Whatever garbled mess it would come out as.

"Hmm," the half-giant put his head back, looking up at the ceiling.

[Stare]

Avis set her head into a hand, shutting the book closed again. Pausing, and struggling with the ideas that Karas proposed she sat there for a while, just staring at the book cover. No sound came from Brer, who soon took a book out from his massive pockets somewhere and began to read himself. Probably one of his diehard romances the strange huge man loved so much.

Minutes passed, and it seemed like hours, as Avis considered what she had read. The kenku had been slaves. It made her sick to her stomach; she could feel the acidic taste burn at her oesophagus. And their name, kenku ... It was just a mispronounciation. That was all. A flaw from a group of creatures who had had no culture of their own so stole the one closest to them. Then rewritten their history so none would know the truth.

Being proud as the kenku were, they would never accept this theory as true, even though the evidence all fitted. That was why Avis had never heard this theory before. Just what this meant for her people was huge - they weren't as special as they had once thought, and had once been just possessions to another race. To what race, it was not clear, but Avis was sure some more research and she could find a few strong candidates. Blinking back tears she reached for the book on the spirits, wondering if any more information on their worship and purpose could be gained. It was at this moment when Mesis strode in and announced it was dinner.

Over the next two days Avis threw herself into research. Quiet and grumpy she did not respond much to anything Brer said. He followed her from room to room, house to garden, not asking any questions but looking at her in brief moments of concern - especially when she gasped in despair. What Avis learnt over her time was that slavery was indeed prevalent in the period of question, and certainly towards the Keribas area. Several large scale slavery rebellions also took place, as well as occupation of the Corone shores. She also studied the origins of the word tengu, and found it traced back much further than kenku, and was very likely the first term used. Hence the duchess using it over kenku. Spirit worship was, too, particularly situated within the area of Keribas often associated with trade and included the island city state of Hernsford, famous for its international slavery standards - a thing Avis knew far too well, Vitruvion having produced faked but all too official documents in the past with regards to her. It was what he called his 'last resort,' in case she ever did get away from him. He would send out a large scale reward for her capture and return. That was if the cuff ever stopped working.

It seemed though, Avis thought with a bitter heart, that being a slave just ran in her blood.

It was on the third day that Vitruvion finally returned to the mansion. When he did it was with Raevin. The elf Captain burst into the living room, where Brer and Avis were deep in reading. Avis now had a sheaf of papers, making notes about the horrific past of her people.

She looked up, the ugly, haunted, angry and depressed look that had become a consistency in her eyes. Pausing for a moment, Raevin frowned and then folded his arms, going from his energised state that he had been in, to now an irritated one.

"You're here?" She asked in a cold, quiet voice. "You're never here."

Raevin curled his lip. "Well. Aren't you in a foul mood?"

"I'm not in any mood," she growled back before going back to her writing.

Throwing a curious look to Brer, Raevin asked what was the matter by mouthing. When the half-giant simply shrugged, the Captain let out a sigh.

"Well. Your master is back."

"He's not my master," Avis abruptly snapped. She hated the word. Now of what she had discovered she hated it.

"Fine. Sir Vitruvion is back and he wanted you to know."

"Great. That is really nice. Now you have found us you can go." She folded her arms over her breasts as she stared intently at a book.

Raevin furrowed his brow. "Stare, you can at least be cordial."

"If all you have come here to do is give information then you've done it. So you can go now. Go and tell the bas-"

Get out here. Now.

[Stare]

The words rattled around her head like an avalanche. They were couple by an icy, thundering pain to her head which felt as if a frozen, stone fist was making contact with her skull. But on the inside. Jarring her brain and sending her eyesight reeling and her rocking forwards in agony.

Hissing darkly, chattering a verbal curse in avian, Avis gripped the side of the table as she gritted the sides of her beak together. Uneasily, she tried to stand, but as a wave of pain came back into her head her footing faltered.

Now, girl! Now!

If you fucking let me stand I might! She growled back, making the thoughts as clear as day. She felt his powerful presence at the edge of her mind consider for a moment.

Come out now. You have two minutes.

Clearly Raevin and Brer had noticed her torment. They now looked at her with curiousity in their eyes, with a hint of concern. Avis tried to ignore them as she pushed herself to her feet and left the room, pausing briefly to slam the book shut and grab her papers. As she stalked out she folded them carelessly and stuffed them into their now usual place in a pounch at her belt. She stormed through the door, into the smaller chamber outside, and from there into the main hallway of the mansion, where the stairs rose from to and the balcony overlooked.

She had gone some distance when a forceful hand slapped over her upper arm, pulling her to a halt. A cruel voice, teeth at her ear hissed.

"You will never speak to Raevin like that again, do you hear? He is worth ten times more than any of the rest of you are. He is your superior and your better. You will give him the respect that you should give me and never swear at him, never. Do you understand that, you little bitch?"

Rooted to the spot she didn't move. And did not answer. Instead she just glared at the floor, her heart racing, waiting for the whatever punishment to just start. Then she could suffer, hate him more ... Then continue this -

The hand moved, releasing her upper arm and providing restbite briefly before he grabbed the nape of her neck. He cut off her thoughts processes with a continuation of his words.

"And I am your master. Whatever you want to say that you are - my secretary, my worker, whatever - understand this, Stare," he gripped her neck harder and she was forced to freeze, hunch, breathing short and rapid. "I will always be your master, one day I will drag you to Hernsford and make it official. You will never escape me, never get away, no matter how powerful-"

Then he broke off. He paused. And suddenly the pressure at her neck was gone, the pain was gone. Avis let out a light gasp, but it did not stop her anger and frustration, the dark look in her eyes. Instead she remained where she was, out of knowing he required her to be there, with her heart still racing.

Then he appeared in her view. His white-blonde hair, his tall, handsome form, his bright blue eyes. His brows lowered, his expression somewhere between pure rage and sudden ... Concern.

A hand came under her beak and tipped her head up. Bringing up her eyes to meet his he took a long moment to gaze at her, lips forming a thin, passive line. Not caring, she stared back, the frustration beneath her roiling like a constant storm. All born from her days if searching, discovering, hating to admit the truth.

She dropped her eyes from his, the now familiar lump forming heavy in her throat. Slowly Vitruvion let her head slip from his hand, a strange look crossing his face. Pursing his lips he took in a long breath before stepping back.

In a much softer tone he said, "Go upstairs to your room. I will be up shortly." As her rigid, hateful form began to stiffly turn and skulk that way he stopped her with a light hand on her shoulder. His quiet voice continued. "Just ... Be respectful to Raevin, please." Then he let go. "You may go now."

And then she was off, her heart hammering, her breathing ragged. She ran up the stairs, not sure what he was saying or meaning, but knowing she only wanted to be alone. And the few moments she was going to have ... They were precious. So she fled to her bedroom and shut herself tightly in. Into the window seat she curled, a tight ball of confusion, twisted emotions and anxiety, unsure of what the past and future even was.

[Stare]

It was only ten minutes until he came in. This time, however, he did not storm in, a torrent of fury that he had been before. Instead he was calm. He was peaceful. And he was purposeful. He strode over to her after a general pause and sweep of the room. He took a moment to look at her, then there came a loud sound. It made Avis jump slightly, and look up. Just in time to see a pile of books being ceremoniously dropped on the small table beside her. A brief look of them showed that they were her books, the ones she had been reading steadily for the past three days.

"You have been writing notes as well?"

She kept staring at the books. It took a moment but she gave a small nod. There was a moment of silence, then a hand appeared in her vision.

"Please."

His soft tone and his word choice made her startled. Blinking a little she slowly pulled out her papers from their pouch and pushed them into his waiting palm. The fingers folded around them and extracted them from view. With a small sigh she looked away, gazing out of the window.

There was quiet then for a long time.

Avis remained seated, looking out over the gardens. She watched as two small birds darted in and out of a laurel bush, gathering twigs and so on. One would disappear for a while, then come out chattering. Another would then appear from the end of the garden and they would talk until they found more foliage. Then they would both dart into the bush, clearly enamoured and making a nest. It fascinated Avis, the way their simple lives could be so complex, their language and their dance so meaningful.

She got lost in their seemingly mundane lives, and it felt like hours as the silence became normal. She watched as the two gardeners Vitruvion employed, Fain and Celedro, worked their way around the hedgerow and flower patches. Other animals, including a squirrel and a stoat, popped their way into her life, and slowly the peace of it all quelled her racing heart. It calmed her, instilled into her a sense of peace. And despite the tiny sounds of paper being moved intermittently, Avis felt comfort.

Eventually his voice broke the stillness.

"Well," he almost whispered in a low, understanding manner. "I see how this has come about."

Breathing slow Avis turned her head to look at him. Perched on the window seat Vitruvion poised comfortably, with her notes spread out before him on the table . He had also opened and marked a few of the books, a hand resting on one.

"First thing I should say is that you have a very fine calligraphic hand," he raised his eyes to hers, curiosity dancing in them. "Where did you learn?"

She sighed with her first words, "My mother. All kenku are taught calligraphy as an art at school and even though I did not have formal schooling because of my family's social standing my mother remembered enough." She closed her beak and dropped her eyes after, the thoughts and sights of her grey-headed (or 'hooded') mother fill her mind.

He gave a small nod. "I see."

He set the papers down carefully. "Have you found any information to refute these theories?" He asked, gesturing with a hand at the books and papers.

"Only that of oral tradition of my people," Avis replied in a hollow, tentative voice.

"And the Kami can not be creators as ...?"

Her hand moved awkwardly and slowly. From the pile of books she pulled out Spirits and Other Worshipped Anomalies. Without looking at him she pushed it towards him and flipped over the page where she had marked it.

"By Keribas tradition spirits are guiding souls, sometimes those of the dead," Vitruvion read out loud, "There has never been a case of them associated with the direct creation of anything, aside from mythical theories. After the writer communed with the spirits of Venshow, however ..." His voice fell quiet as he read, lips moving slightly. Avis eyes dropped.

[Stare]

He was silent again for a while. For a strangely long time. Avis was watching out the window again when she heard the rustling of paper. Looking back over she saw Vitruvion grabbing her notes again and pouring over them. His eyes were now intense, strutinising, lips murmuring silence.

"What is it?" She asked in a whisper, starting to feel strange.

He held up a hand to her, shaking his head as he asked her to wait. She grunted and sat back, her familiar grumpy mood taking over. Messily she folded her hands on her lap.

Another few minutes passed. Avis grew agitated, closing her eyes to try to calm herself: if she couldn't see then that might help.

Eventually.

A hand. On hers. The soft, warm flesh cupping over her own rough-skinned, clawed fist. And it was gently placed. Oddly gently.

Her eyes flashed open, and she stared down, where his pale skin was obvious against her dark grey flesh. She froze entirely, unknowing what that touch meant. Was he really, right now, while she was going through this, trying to initiate a sexual encounter?!

"Stare," he said quietly. "I think I know who created your race."

The breath woodshed from her lungs. Eyes wide and full of intrigue, full of confusion, full of wonder, swept up to fix on his. Once again her heart beat. Wildly.

"What?" She stared at him, not caring about her tone or choice of words now. He could not expect her to watch her mouth, not after the three days of terror she had had, not after dropping ... That.

"What the fuck?"

His blue eyes, the colour of the summer cloudless sky, blinked and a bright smile came to his lips.

"I said, that I think I know who created your race. Where you came from ... Everything. It's a rather bizarre set of circumstances but it explains a lot." He looked down at her notes. "Those for a start." He waved a hand at her collected books, "Those." And he then paused, eyes rising up to fix her with a solid, unexplainable gaze.

His hand unfolded from her books and formed into a fist, but the index finger extended. Slowly he raised it and pointed with all the authority of the earth.

"I think, we can finally explain you."

All time seemed to stop. Frozen, in midair, the atoms of the world stopped their movement, the gases stilling to take into account this one, vivid moment. His hand, formed and prodding the air about her heart. Meaning, but not menacing. Profound, but not provoking.

Then the hand curled back into a loose fist and fell down to the table. A soft gleam in his eye caught her breath, her attention, her entire being.

"What are you saying?" She whispered, barely even able to stutter the words.

"I am saying I think we finally have an explanation as to why your powers ... Your magic as I am sure it is now, developed in such a fast and significant way, and only when you were in the Hollow."

Avis began to shake her head, "No-no," she said fast, her hands splayed, trying to to reason with him. "No, the Hollow does not allow magic. Everything apart from yours. I spoke to Reign, and she explained it. You cast a spell, a powerful one, when you first settled in it and-"

"Blocking all use of magic that occurs naturally in this world," he nodded. "Including anything divine, from the Tap and it's associated similars, from the ground, genetics ... Anything." He spoke as if it were all simple science. "Yes. There have been no occurances of this rule breaking at all."

She sighed and gestured at him, her voice becoming cracked. "Exactly! So what I do can't be magic!"

"Unless ..." He looked at her firmly, a smile at the corner of his mouth.

Avis heart beat erratically. She shook her head, at a loss. "I don't know what your inferring, Vitruvion. At all."

"Unless your power source is not of this world."

[Stare]

Once more, silence.

Dumbfounded, and utterly bewildered, Avis stared at him.

"I don't ... What?"

"You told me that your race does not show magic often."

Avis nodded slowly. "Only if they have a reason ... A goddess blessing or a magical item," she murmured. "Never naturally."

"And that you have always had some power with staring. Latent and never truly powerful."

She swallowed, uneasily. "I would not describe it as that."

It was strange that this man, who not an hour ago had been holding her by the neck and telling him that she would never be free of him, was being so kind. This conversation, though it was going somewhere, and though a part of her still wanted him out of the room and away from her. Preferably forever.

Vitruvion took a slow breath, keeping his eyes level with hers. He folded his hands on his lap.

"What I am about to tell you, Stare, does not go beyond you or I. The only others who know the full truth of this is my sister Ventrua, and Raevin." He looked at her seriously. "If I even suspect that you have even hinted at this to anyone there will be serious reprocussions. And I mean, I will be forced to end your life, my dear, something I do not want to do, not in the slightest, now knowing what you are."

To use the terms 'my dear' and 'end your life' in the same sentence was threatening to say the least. It almost defined Vitruvion's strange mixture of personality - the power-obsessed emperor of a sex-fantasy and the sometimes kind, understanding man who rewarded good service with honest reasoned advantages.

Avis stared at him with large, almost fearful eyes.

"Then don't tell me," she said in a hushed, fast voice. "Because I don't want that."

Vitruvion shook his head a little, giving her a sad smile. "What is more important to you, knowing what you are and the truth about your people, or your life?"

Jaw tightening, Avis honestly felt thrown into a volcano. In all honesty, it was a very difficult choice. Her life was worth something to her, but it had been dwindling over time. Then again, being now in the mansion and no longer in the Hollow gave her new purposes and new direction, despite the firm fact that it seemed she would never be free from him. Suicide had felt like a viable option several times, but Avis suspected that if she ever came near to conducting a plan that Vitruvion would act. A raised eyebrow told her the truth of this. No, instead, she had to deal with that which she had - which certainly had its advantages in some ways. She had a home, good food, friends, if one counted Brer and the servants in the house. And that was more than others could ask for. So was that really something she valued more than all the ideas, thoughts and emotions that her discoveries had racked her body with over the last three days.

Knowing what a kenku truly was. Knowing where they came from. Knowing where she came from.

"I don't know," she whispered, in complete honesty. And she dropped her eyes from his.

Taking a moment Vitruvion paused, then nodded slowly. "It would be a hard decision for anyone to make. But for the sake of your understanding of who and what I am," he paused, raising a hand to elegantly curl a piece of stray hair to behind his ear, "And for the sake of the ongoing future, I will tell you."

He took a moment, pausing.

"You will have noticed I am powerful."

Avis almost laughed. Instead a wry cough came from her throat. Him? Powerful? He was the most powerful man she had ever heard of. To hold a constant spell in one large location that stopped anyone else from being able to use magic surely required a significant amount. Avis had been considering the Forgotten Ones level for some time. Or at least aiming for that.

"As well as the spell on the Hollow, I have thirteen other full time magical committments," he said, "Those that I will, depending on what uses I have for you, reveal to you. Some of them are supported by Ventrua, but then she has her own as well." He blinked. "Stare, this would be better if you looked at me."

She grimaced in the way that a faceful of beak can allow. "I ... Don't know if I can," she replied hoarsely.

He frowned a little, but nodded. "I see. Very well." He sighed a little, took another pause, then went on.

[Stare]

"It is my belief - and I will confirm this later, but I have very high assumption that it will be confirmed - that the history of your people and the source of my power are connected. You see," a small smile came to his face. "I know for a fact that there were several races who arrived in Keribas between seven and one millennia ago from another world. When they arrived they were without memory of their previous cultures and all of them shared a distinct idea that they were running away from something."

Avis gripped her legs tight, bound as they were by her arms to her chest.

"Clearly your ancestors, your people, fit into this category fairly well. They know little of their past, they could easily have been come across by slavers, who caught them in confusion, then been taken to Corone where they escaped or gained freedom in some way. Being of no clear cultural memory they adopted that of the Akasimans, built the idea for themselves that they were guided by the spirits you call the Kami, an idea very likely taken from their Keribas masters, and deliberately forgot their slave and confused past." He leant back slightly, raising his smile into a grin. "And it explains the shadow, your Kage. The fear that they are running from, the unknown beast that their instincts were left with. The only hint of their past lives."

He fell silent, his eyes dancing over her form. She still sat there, curled up and trying to take it all in. Certainly it fit what she had learnt from Karas' theories. But to be from another world ... Another place that was not Althanas ... That was mad. Surely.

Vitruvion lost his grin. Seeing that she was not moving he sucked in his breath. "One moment," he said. "I'm just going to-"

There was an audible pop. Startled, Avis looked up, eyes wild and the instinct to fight or flight awakening in her. Blinking, she saw Vitruvion's mouth move but no words come out. Then it seemed as if time moved slower, more inexporably ... Then sped up again. He was talking, normally. The pop was gone. Everything was as it should be.

"No one will hear us now," he explained, catching her gaze. As he held her eyes, he gave a small smile, genuinely kind and patient. "Are you able to listen?"

Solidly, she swallowed, but she nodded, having nothing better to do.

He was going to explain now, even if she refused.

"All this also explains why your powers don't work on me. They also wouldn't work on Ventrua, as she is of the same genetic make up," he coughed. "You have had my inheritance explained to you as half-celestial, correct?"

Slowly she nodded, not quite remembering where that idea originally started. Perhaps it was Raevin who had told her, or Blaze. Even she might have just supposed it herself. But everyone called him that. So that was what he was.

He smiled then, and for the first time Avis saw him actually uncomfortable.