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| - "Well, Finger-writing is a lot more difficult than Quill-writing, but we can have a go" said Lynnis brightly, closing her Magic Encyclopedia, earning a warm smile from Eldin as he put down his quill and held out his finger as if to poke the air. Impressed by the speed with which Lynnis wrote with her wand, Eldin had requested to learn how to write on the air. After magically charging his quill in an attempt to write, he was about to try and directly write onto the air. Frowning hard as he tried to clear his mind of all the minor thoughts rolling about, his finger began to fidget in the air, making small gesture at first but building up until each line was the length of his arm, waving about but leaving no imprint. Glancing at Lynnis encouraging smile, he automatically smiled back, and frowned even harder, an odd sight. Inside, as he oh-so desperately attempted to master this method of communication, his mana broiled about in a flurry, trying to meet his demands. But yet this was no normal magick - Eldin was not demanding of an arcane charge in his arrow, for a powerful stop-thrust of the sword, nor even for a healing of his pet. He was demanding something new. So, as the Mana frothed and spun into a flurry inside him, it did what it always did in these situations - it went to his Primal. Inside every person, every sapient being, is a Primal. It is the voice of the Non-sapient, of the Beasts. It is the Serpent, the Feral, the Ursine, the Feline and Canine, the animal that wants to bite and fight, scratch and snarl, even after the point of fighting has past. It is that which gives the Hordish Primals their respect for their war-time strength and ferocity, and that which makes the Alliance Primals outcasts and outlaws. Yet, inside Eldin, his Primal had been frequently used. Not allowed to control, allowed to fight and bite and pleasure in the kill, but instead merely to allow some empathy with animals. Instead of being allowed to control his blows and turn him into a needless killer, it had simply been used to strengthen him. He had managed to chain the Primal, but never, never to Tame it. And as the Mana whirled inside him, desperate for a way to help him speak, the Primal uncoiled, smiling ferally, and helped in the way it chose. Eldin blinked, as he felt his Primal join his efforts, and his eyes closed as his fingers immediately began to sketch faint green lines into the air. Lynnis cheered, as Eldin's gestures began to contract, until finally each faint character was around the size of a finger. Pausing, taking in Lynnis' encouragement and advise ("Keep your eyes closed, thats it"), he began to trace the lines again, this time much more strong, a bright green with fainter brown shadows in the air behind them. The letters were so clear, so solid. Eldin grinned at this, and wrote "Hello Lynnis" in the air. Still grinning triumphantly, he turned to Lynnis, who smiled and replied "Very good, now try and write something". Frowning in confusion, he wrote again "Hello Lynnis". Looking worriedly at Lynnis, he waited. She sat there, looking at him quizzically, and remarked "Yes, those are the same shapes as last time. But try and write a message." Now slightly panicked, he wrote "Can't you read this?" Lynnis frowned, and said "Try writing something, come on". Now loosing all nerve, he began to gesture wildly, at the script, then himself, then Lynnis. She frowned, and said "Wait... can't you write normally?" As Eldin nodded, she grimaced, and said "Sometimes happens with these magics... Maybe your quill still has some of your Mana in it, and that's upsetting this?" Eldin picked up the quill, and focused, willing all the Mana back. Feeling relieved, he now wrote on the paper using ink "This better?" Lynnis frowned, but quickly went wide-eyed "Uh-oh...." she murmured. Eldin's face went white as he realised that she still couldn't read what he was writing. This was the only way he had left! Lynnis bit her lip, saying only "I'd better fix this before Soulshiner comes back..." Eldin was in a silent fury as he realised just what his smug Primal had acchieved, scaring Lynnis as she battled with her guilt. Eldin saw her frightened face, and his self-pitying rage immediately vanished, to be replaced with pity and shame at what he'd done. Offering Lynnis a hug, he thought hard about how to explain what had happened to Lynnis. Lynnis' thoughts were seemingly on the same line, as, breaking off the hug, she opened up her Magic encyclopedia again and began to murmur quietly, her eyes flicking about the pages. Eldin waited in silence as only a Mute man could, waiting for an answer. An idea struck Lynnis as she flicked through the pages, and, after a moments pause to consider it, she closed the Magic encyclopedia and pulled out a small book - Also an encyclopedia, it proclaimed, but without any magical overtones. "Do you know what is wrong with you, Eldin?" She asked. Eldin shrugged. "Well, point at words in this" - She tapped the Encyclopedia "And show me what it is." Grinning at the ingenious idea Lynnis had produced, he began to flick through the pages, folding some corners as he went. Eventually, he held the book up in front of Lynnis, and began to point at words. "Nether - Magic - Beast - Language - no - Magic" Lynnis frowned at this, and ventured a guess "You can't use magic?" Shaken head. "You can only use... nether magicks?" Shaken head. "You can only speak - Write - beast language?" She was rewarded by a frantically nodded head, and a grin. Grinning back, she said "Well.... I know!" "We'll get a druid in, they can changed into an animal, hear wha- see what you write, then turn back to an elf and tell us!". Eldin frowned, and fussed over the encyclopedia, ending with "Elf - no". Lynnis' face fell, and Eldin relented, pointing out "Elf - ok". Lynnis grinned, commanded "Stay right here!" And rushed out, grinning happily, thinking 'This'll all be sorted before Soulshiner hears!' Eldin, watching the door Lynnis had just ran out, sighed silently and sat down on a seat, reflecting on his latest loss.
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