[tibet] not all who wander [memphis]

A broad smile covered Hilde’s face as she laughed at the man in front of her. She was at a table full of scholars at a small wizarding restaurant, and hadn’t felt like she’d belonged in a place for awhile. Her hair was uncharacteristically loose, falling down her back in dark gold waves matching her out of character tanned skin. Tibet was an interesting place, one of the many she’d seen on her travels. Hilde Meer hadn’t been home for eight months, maybe nine. She couldn’t really remember. It’d been such a blur, traveling constantly and meeting new people. It’d been the first time she’d left the safety of Europe, and her family and it was a burden off of her back. While she did do small quick jobs for her family, her focus was mostly on educating herself. Hilde hadn’t done anything big for herself for such a long time as her life had been focused on the prosperity of the Meers, and this life was much better.

After she’d lost her place in the world and lost her best friend, Hilde had been cast adrift. For a few weeks she’d gotten so drunk that the days had become one, then a friend had dragged her out of a pit and thrown her in a cold shoulder. It’d taken days of convincing, tears and getting yelled at for it to be beaten through her skull that she didn’t have to be where she was. She was only tied to her family, and no one else. That had been disheartening to realize that what she’d thought she’d had was worth nothing, and she’d had to start from scratch to make things that were worth her her while. Luckily, her habits of being a scholar had led her down a path she hadn’t expected

Hilde’s specialty was runes, and her inadequacy in the wanded magics were surpassed by her skill in them. Being a Meer had allowed her to delve into the darker libraries and magics, and blood runes had come easier to her. Tying her creations with her blood had appeased something in her secretive nature, and she’d been trained by some of the best Eastern European rune masters. Tibet specialized in the more esoteric schools of blood runes, and she’d been here for at least a month trying to learn as much as she could. She’d met so many new people, and her heart was lightened by the lack of stress.

She was taking a sip of her tea when her name was called in an accented voice. Using her wand, she renewed the translation spell that was anchored on the necklace before walking over to Sangye, who was her teacher. Rapid Tibetan slid between them before her grey blue eyes met the eyes of the man sitting at the table beside her. He was a student of runes and Sangye thought that with her finer grasp of English she could help him learn the basics of what he wanted to know. Would she do it? Of course. Education was what this school of traded with, and she would work the currency. Watching Sangye walk away, she slid into the finely carved chair and smiled at her new friend. A waitress brought a pot of yak milk tea to the table, and two finely wrought cups. German accented English danced from pale pink lips as she smiled gently at him.

“You come a very long way for tea, sir.” Her eyes danced teasingly as she poured them both cups of the steaming hot mixture. “I am Hilde. Sangye suggested that I show you around. Welcome to Tibet.”

It wasn't the first time the air elemental had left Neroli in search of knowledge but it was the first time he had been to Tibet. The country was shrouded in mystery and fog and Memphis was soaking it in. The vast mountain ridges made him wish he had brought a camera, but pictures weren't why he was here. After trekking a short distance he fell upon a small village that housed the school he was searching for. Children and men draped in orange crossed his path as he took the steps and entered the small restaurant that was bridged to the school. The atmosphere was exactly what Memphis had been expecting and it caused a small grin to form on his features. He loved being in places like these. Places where knowledge was most important. No politics, no emotions, just knowledge. After a moment of appreciation the Welshman moved further into the establishment and took a seat at one of the small hand crafted wood tables. It wasn't long before an older man approached him graciously. Within minutes he learned the man's name and had introduced himself and explained why he was here. The old man didn't seem surprised, why would he be, Memphis was sure lots of wizards came here in search of something.

When the man said they could help Memphis' smile grew and he watched him get up off of the stool. Memphis wondered where he was going and if he was supposed to follow but he remained seated. Sangye, as he had come to know, spoke to a blond witch not far from them and Memphis watched the reaction on her face. The restaurant was small so it wasn't hard to over hear the conversation between the two of them, even at the whispered tones of the monk. Unfortunately he had no idea what they were saying. Memphis knew a lot of languages but Tibetan was not one of them, though, he was reconsidering learning it. After a moment the tanned witch sat down next to him and he was happy to hear her speaking in a tongue he understood. Sangye took his leave and Memphis wondered if they were supposed to bow back. Memphis was not afraid to mold to the common customs of places he was in. He was quick to adapt, but she hadn't bowed in return, so neither did he. "It's very good tea." He replied as she poured them both a cup of the liquid. Memphis had no idea what kind of tea it was but that didn't mean he wasn't going to drink it. He loved trying new things, experiencing new things, being around new things.

"Its good to meet you, I'm Memphis Gredel." He offered his hand over the table for her to shake and nodded when she said Sangye asked her to show him around. The elemental was glad that someone who seemed fluent in English was going to be helping him. Although he didn't mind learning new things it was difficult with a language barrier. Tibetan wasn't something he could just pick up in a day or two. And he was rubbish with wand magic so unfortunately translation charms were usually pretty much out of the question. He leaned in, closer to her, with his arms crossed on top of the worn table. Whispering in case this wasn't something he was supposed to ask and keeping eye contact with her while he did. "I'm looking to learn about blood runes." He admitted, not ashamed in anyway even though to some the art of blood magic was considered dark. Memphis was neither light nor dark. He teetered on both sides whenever it suited him, though admittedly he was not prone to violence. "But I would love a tour if that isn't too much to ask." Memphis picked up the cup of tea she had poured for him and took only a moment to inspect it. Although the piping hot black liquid with a yellowy grease floating around didn't look particularly appetizing he wasn't discouraged.

The liquid was hot going down but that didn't take away from the taste. It was unlike anything Memphis had tried before but it wasn't entirely a good thing. There were faint tastes of milk in it, buttery almost but the chunks at the bottom of the glass were not melted. He could taste the salt on his tongue after he swallowed and decided not to ask for more. Setting his glass down on the table he awaited her response and hoped that she could help him with what he was searching for. The taste of the yak milk tea didn't go away but he didn't frown in case anyone was watching him. Memphis had been to enough remote places to know that a lot of cultures thought it was rude to not accept gifts, even if they were something as simple as tea. "What is this?" He asked her, still in a hushed tone and hoped not to offend.

Hilde delicately shook Memphis’ hand, leaning back in her seat and trying, and failing to covertly watch him sip the tea. She always liked the way some of her fellow travelers experienced the tea, and a smile danced along the corners of her mouth. “Sangye told me.” Her fingers tapped on the finely sanded wood, and she sighed softly. “Blood runes are…varied.” She began, watching him curiously. “While I could easily begin you in the basic, it’d be helpful if you could tell me what you were interested in learning. Blood tied wards, blood binding objects, …the more obscure things.” By obscure she meant dark, but she was pretty sure that he could understand that.

“I can give you a tour. …Did they procure you accommodations?” Hilde’s own living space was a small one room shack that was held up by magic. It was a far cry from her usual accommodations, but she couldn’t find it in her to complain. It was peaceful, quite. Different. Exactly what she needed. “I can take you there, and show you how to secure them. They don’t focus as much on practical spells in the way we think them. The buildings are built by hand, and the roofs supported by magic, but there is a gap of stability between the walls and the roof. One big storm will blow the place away.” The spells used for construction were delicate, a lot more technique than power. Who would have thought that Hilde Meer would have had use for spells of that ilk.

Ah! Blue-grey eyes danced eagerly, and she watched him drink. She kept her silence, and pressed her lips together in order to hide her eager smile. Only to be disappointed when he didn’t give her an obvious response. Sighing softly, she rested her chin in her palm. “Yak milk tea. It has an interesting flavour.” She let her finger trail along the rim of her own tea cup, watching him with obvious curiousness. “A rite of passage, you could say.” Turning her head back towards the waitress, she sent her an amused smile and watched when the girl brought a tray of Hilde’s preferred turkish coffee, and whisked away any remains of the yak milk tea.

“Your response was interesting. I wanted you to have an obvious one, but one searching for blood magic would have to be subtle.” She pointed at his cup, smiling. “I hope you don’t mind, but I hate tea…this will cleanse your palate.” Taking a sip of her own coffee, she watched him through the steam of her cup. “…We’ll have to do a vow, of course. Not of secrecy, because I don’t care what you do with your teaching. However, I’ll have to make sure my name is out of any of your teachings…for my own sake.” Erika Meer would kill her if she got into any scandal.

Blood runes were varied, Memphis knew that wasn't an understatement. He had been trying to learn about them for over a year and he got the feeling be was barely scratching at the surface. He had found references to them in plenty of books but none of the text actually explained anything about them. After months of searching he began to realize that the art of blood runes was something that had to be taught, not read about. He knew he wasn't going to find the answers he was looking for in the dusty old books at the shop, he knew he didn't to go out in the world and find someone willing to teach him. A small smile crossed his features as he began to think he might of just found that person. And it didn't hurt that she was also bloody gorgeous. Memphis was a good study, but having something nice to look at while he did never hurt. "To be honest with you I wouldn't even know where to start." He wanted to learn about blood rites because of the initialization ritual that all Elementals had to go through but he couldn't come right out and say that to her, not yet anyway, he barely knew her. He also would like to learn about how normal runes and blood runes were connected. Did writing in blood make them more potent? Could anyone do it or would someone have to have special blood in order for it to work?

For now he decided to just go the safe route and tip toe around what he wanted to learn. "I'd like to get a basic knowledge of the lore. Books can only take you so far. If you could teach me the basics then I would be able to make a better decision about what I'm really interested in." Memphis knew it wasn't really an answer but he hoped she would be satisfied with it for now. Honestly, he wanted to learn it all, but he wasn't sure if she was in this for the long run. At the very least he would like to get an introduction to the world of Blood runes so when she was done teaching him he could hit the ground running. "That would be very helpful, and no I don't have a place to stay yet." Part of Memphis wanted her to ask him to stay with her, but he wasn't going to keep his hopes up about that one. This was a learning trip, he reminded himself, and the little flare in his gray eyes dissipated. Sure he could just whisk himself back home for the night but he felt like that would deprive him of the full experience. Listening to her Memphis was a little amazed by what she was telling him. Built by hands, but bound by magic, it was all very interesting.


After drinking the tea Memphis had to force himself to a take slow, deep breaths, before the taste lingering in his mouth could overwhelm him. It seemed like she might of been disappointed with his reaction but Memphis was too preoccupied trying not to vomit to really notice. When the waitress replaced the tea with coffee he silently thanked her and took a fast sip, not caring if it was still too hot to drink. "Interesting?" He said with a smile before taking another drink and swishing the Turkish coffee around in his mouth. Listening to her words about being subtle Memphis couldn't help but feel like he had just passed some sort of test. Discretion was obviously important to her, and he wanted to prove himself worthy of her time. "Thank you." He said, holding his small cup of coffee toward her before finishing it off, knowing to stop before he reached the thick sludge of coffee grounds at the bottom of the tiny cup. Placing the small cup back on its delicate colorful saucer Memphis returned his gaze to her. "I understand, and agree." Memphis agreed with the idea of doing a vow but silently he wondered how that would work, him not being magical and all. He wondered if she would figure it out. He wondered if he could trust her with that.

Leaning in closer he spoke quietly once more, the importance of what he was about to say was showing across his serious looking face. "I understand how much I am already asking of you but for the safety of my kind I have to ask you for one more vow. If you are going to teach me, I believe you will also learn things about me that you can not repeat to anyone. I will need to know you can keep my secrets." Memphis wasn't about to just take a strangers word for it. She had her wand magic and her vows of secrecy, and Memphis had his own special protection runes. "If you agree, I'm ready to start as soon as you are." Memphis clapped his hands together softly and leaned back away from her, his eyes shifting toward the door, he was anxious to get started.