Working as a scribe, Kiur and Archil’s mother would have to do a lot of odd jobs ranging from documentation, to record-keeping and administration. 

She was one of the highly literate people in their country, Idaris, so she would even travel around a lot to keep up with the demand for information. Kiur witnessed her work first-hand but now as a scribe apprentice himself, he only ever worked at the temple which tended to be just as busy. 

On a good day at least. 

“The channel seems awfully busy as of late,” Archil pointed out as they stood in the middle of a stone arch bridge connecting two separate mountain layers. Just below them was an artificial channel constructed by the dwarves for travel between the city-states and their sister nation in the south. 

Near the port areas were ships the size of entire buildings docked with people buzzing around.

“They don’t look like merchant ships.” 

“Because they aren’t. Those are transport vessels for the north,” Archil explained with a hint of worry. “What an unusual sight, especially for this time of year. I presume they are support units to scout out the tunnels.” 

“Do you think you will be called to duty?” Archil was no exception to those who had to constantly leave home to perform rescue and reconnaissance missions and also help out in the desert when someone got lost or went missing. 

Or when he had to track someone dangerous.

It wasn’t unusual for him and their mother to be gone for several months on end. 

“Hm,” Archil had trouble hiding his emotions. Looking at his younger brother, Archil knew he couldn’t tell the truth, “probably not, otherwise we would have gotten notice by now. Let’s get going before the bread gets cold.” 

Their home was one of the few bigger houses built with refined claystone. Two stories tall, a small garden, several cellars and a clear view of the other cities that were located further down to the south. 

Entering through the curtain of the doorless entrance they were greeted by the cool air generated by the mana stones. A bright juniper green carpet brushed softly on their bare feet with each step they took. 

Stone tablets and cumbersome clay vases littered the floor of her workroom. Shelves burst from the seams with more tablets, scrolls and parchment. 

Esha was hard at work, cataloguing each new tablet into their respective vase and carving new stone tablets. Each one contained information either about agriculture, merchandise, stories, history, minor complaints, or just listing up what needs to be done till the next Summer Solstice. 

What Kiur felt overwhelmed about was Esha’s regular routine in the morning before switching to the next. 

It was no surprise that she would sometimes forget to sleep and eat, so it was up to her sons to remember it for her. 

“Leave everything in one of the empty corners, I’ll take care of it when I come to it,” the middle-aged dwarven woman dismissed her sons, mistaking them for somebody who was bringing in even more work. 

Exchanging looks with one another, the brothers decided to play along and clear up the room a bit. One of them hauled the full vases and the other sorted the tablets by their topics. 

“Do you want some coffee from Kaffa?” Kneeling before his mother, Kiur offered her a freshly brewed and hot cup of her favourite beverage. 

“Hm?” She blinked awake from her work, faced with a hot cup of aromatic brew. “This work piled up so much that I didn’t notice either of you coming in.” Esha’s amber eyes lit up as she sipped from her cup. “I remember this place being messier. I’ll finish the clean-up for you.” 

With a cup close to her lips and a twirl of her finger orange and yellow light emitted from her arm. They formed globes of magic spreading out like waves, letting the tablets and vases fly. 

It reminded Kiur of the first spectacular sight of magic his mother had shown him as a child. 

He was barely the age of four, terrified of Archil who had looked more like a beast fresh from a hunt. Their mother had work to do and all of a sudden, a little child to watch out for. 

Placing Kiur on her lap, she made her work fly like birds who returned for spring.

Never having experienced magic before, Kiur mimicked the movements of his mother’s finger as he did now. When he finally discovered his own magic he tried to let everything fly on his own. Instead, he accidentally broke an entire shelf of work which Esha had to repair. 

It was a joyous day when Kiur first received it. So, it was all the worse when he lost it. 

Character Profiles

Name: Kiur Artor

Age: 19 ; Gender: Male ; Race: Human

Magic: ?

Kiur works as a scribe apprentice in the Ekur Ziggurat from the Nippur Citystate. Under unknown circumstances, he lost his apprenticeship to become a priest. With the help of his family, he tries to recuperate back to a normal life. 

In the past, he got into trouble as a child for stealing grapes with his friends. 

Likes: Grapes, languages, a warm bath, listening to classes during his break, Cereals with Fruit