A Brave New World Ch. 05

Madeline stopped and offered Istvan an appraising look. If he had to guess, those expressions were few and far between, where she was concerned, and so to earn one was something of a sign of respect. Istvan smiled genuinely in return. "Ok, I'll bite," she replied with the first hint of interest in her tone that he had yet heard.

Istvan smiled again, this time revealing a row of bright white, perfectly straight teeth. Madeline found herself blushing slightly. Istvan was a very attractive man. "Ah. May I?" He asked, gesturing for Madeline to hand him her book. She did so freely. "Now, I shall make this tome levitate using magic as the appropriate energy source," he explained in an academic tone.

Madeline instantly frowned in hesitation at his announcement of what he was to do, and as Istvan began murmuring the ancient words and the book slowly rose from his hands, the woman gasped in horror and threw her hands over her mouth to keep from screaming.

That was not at all the response he had been looking for.

Madeline's physical posturing suggested one of fear while her eyes were wide and her pupils were dilated. Her breathing had begun to increase rapidly as well.

Her nostrils flared a bit and her voice quivered as she spoke. "You're one of those... things..." She swallowed hard. "Dear god." She swallowed again and overcame her fear enough for one last statement: "Stay the fuck away from me, got it?" She told him in a gravely serious voice as she promptly turned around to head away from the village and back toward her cabin.

Istvan had no way of knowing that Madeline's first and only exposure to magic was through the demons that destroyed her lands. Suddenly, Albus's advise that he keep his magical abilities quiet, seemed to repeat themselves in his head. There was apparently more than one reason not to advertise his ability.

It was the second rejection he had felt and the sun had barely risen past the horizon. Hanging his head in defeat, Istvan trudged his way back to the village, walking into the library and dropping heavily into one of the chairs with a dejected sigh. Albus was already hard at work, finalizing a sketch he had begun the previous day of a bugbear. He looked up and offered Istvan a warm smile as he entered, but upon seeing his expression, his look turned to concern.

"What has happened?" He asked, putting down his quill.

"I am an idiot," he explained, as if that was all that needed to be said.

"I was walking with Madeline on our way to town and decided to show off. I infused her sketchbook with a simple levitation spell and she went crazy. Apparently, her people are horrified of magic. It was much like the others reacted to their speaking of Infernal. I am afraid I set any progress back a few centuries."

"I should have listened to you, I have a big mouth," he explained, deflating onto one of the chairs and sighing.

"Horrified of magic?" Albus repeated in awe, his eyes wide. "In what context? As in that they chose not to believe in magic or they have never experienced it?" He asked, trying to understand the situation. "Those are two very different things, my friend. Do you have a sense of which?"

Albus didn't even address that Istvan didn't listen to him. It didn't seem to matter to him. The old man's reaction was one of concern and even comradery. It left him with the feeling that Albus was a true friend.

Istvan opened his eyes and sighed, sitting up and shrugging.

"She said I was one of 'them' and to stay away from her. I guess it could be that she meant the demons that seem to have ravaged all of our lands, I am not sure. If that is the case, then I would say that they have never seen magic before the invasions."

"You should see her equipment, Albus," he added with wide eyes, before he blushed and considered his words. He had not meant her physical equipment.

"She has a device that holds a knife as well as other utensils all together with such fine details. I don't think I have ever even seen Elf or Gnome work that fine. She even scoffed when I mentioned Gnomes, as if she did not believe in them either. It is really weird," he adds finally, leaning back and pondering the strangeness.

Albus digested the information with intrigue. "I visited a land once where no magic had been for many centuries. The Cuthbertian's had killed all of the mages in the area and it was isolated. Over the centuries, the people simply forgot about it. In their eyes, no such thing existed, nor was it a part of how they were able to understand the world. I was young then, and, I conjured a flower to hand to a pretty girl. I thought it would help her see the truth; that magic did exist."

"To make a rather lengthy story short, I am lucky to have survived the response of the people. In fact, this scar is from my escape. The response was violent and swift, much like the response that the clerics had toward learning that the holy book of the Three is written in infernal, with one difference: It is the look in their eyes. The people of that village had a terror in their eyes like nothing I had ever seen. It was all that was there. The cleric's last night had a look of hatred in with their fear. Hatred can be pacified with logic. Not eliminated, but abated. Pure fear cannot be."

"It wasn't until I got older that I actually realized my mistake. You see, that flower was not for the pretty girl; it was for me, to satisfy my own need to be right, rather than to provide that young girl with what she actually needed to accept the truth." Albus sighed slightly as if regretting the error of his ways and the potential love he lost.

He shook his head slightly. "Tales of times long past. You said that Dr. Parker went crazy; tell me: how did she behave? If it is true that her only exposure to magicks is from the demons, I am surprised that you have no claw marks. It also is an important piece of evidence regarding the state of these strange people. And this tool she has... could you describe it? Draw it, perhaps?"

Madeline had offered to provide Istvan with more than just a drawing, but it seemed unlikely that she would do so now, given her reaction.

Istvan thought back to the encounter and frowned. He had lost more than he had thought.

"She actually reacted fairly well. She was angry and scared; but she did not threaten violence, simply removing herself from the situation," he recalled, slumping even further into his chair. "Rao would be pleased," he reported dismally. "The hand that stays violence is the hand that builds bridges, or so the saying goes..."

Istvan started to describe the knife as well as the other contraptions he had seen on her key chain of wonders. "I am sure she will not draw it for me now," he lamented. "Perhaps she would do so for you though? She seems keen to interact with those of an open mind and I cannot think of a mind more open than one belonging to Delleb." He offered his friend a weak smile.

Albus was clearly fascinated by the implications. "I am most interested in this contraption that it impressed an Artificer," he replied, stroking his white beard as he thought. "It must be remarkable indeed and it is interesting that she volunteered to share it's design so freely, when she has volunteered so little else. Given all of the scrutiny surrounding them, I doubt she would do so if it were of evil orient."

"As for her response, perhaps there is yet hope. It is a rare person who can temper their fear with logic, but, perhaps that is what she has done. Most interesting, most interesting indeed. If she can think rationally even in the presence of great fear, then, she will not cling to hatred, my friend," Albus told him gently, as if to try and raise his spirits. "I will speak on your behalf, as best I can."

"I suppose I ought travel to their cabin before this confusion has opportunity to spread," he said, rising from his seat slowly. "Shall I tell her anything on your behalf or ought I restrain and allow you the opportunity to reconciliation yourself?"

Istvan waived a dismissive hand. "Nay, it would only hinder your efforts. If it becomes a topic, perhaps express my displeasure to have offended her so, that it was, of course, unintentional, but only if she makes the issue her own."

Albus nodded and gathered his bag, leaving Istvan alone in the library for the piece of real solitude he had experienced upon arrival.