[16] Tale of Neshka: The Raven's Lessons

This is the backstory of my tabletop RPG character. In it, Neshka recounts her tragic past in the world of Pathfinder. Part 16: The Raven's Lessons [Intro – spoken, intimate, conspiratorial] By then, Merisiel had fallen in love. Properly. Completely. And apparently, she had decided that I needed to hear about it. Often. [Small pause] Very often. Well... I suppose I really screwed that one up. But Merisiel was in love, and nothing could change her mind. Not me. Not common sense. [Dryly amused] Not even a sobbing hag witch. Though I doubt the hag cared about Merisiel's love life. [Small laugh] After a few months, I was more or less back to my old self. And Kyra... Well, Kyra is just ridiculously adorable. [Conspiratorial] But between you and me, she's human. Time is on my side. [Pause] No, I'm kidding! [She laughs] Gods, I can make my own jokes! [Music begins – warm medieval folk] [Verse 1 – sung, warm and curious] We'd known each other for a few months when Kyra asked me one evening if she'd help me understand the magic I'd been hiding. She'd seen the little lights I'd conjured, felt the magic in ancient things. Perhaps, she said, with what she knew, she could help me spread my wings. [Spoken, amused] I hadn't advertised the whole witch thing. But Kyra had a way of asking questions that made saying no rather difficult. Besides, I was curious. So, naturally, I agreed. [Verse 2 – sung] We met in rooms by candlelight. I showed her what I knew: a little spark, a hidden light, and strange things magic could do. She asked me where I'd learned it. [Spoken] I pointed at the raven. He looked rather pleased with himself. [Small laugh] Kyra explained that a witch's magic wasn't quite like other arts. Bahl was the link through which my magic found its way to me. He learned the spells, and through our bond, I could put them to use. [Chorus – sung, hopeful] There's more to magic than the spark inside my hand, more than shadows, more than secrets I could never understand. Bahl was more than just a raven, more than feathers, eyes, and wings. And with Kyra there beside me, I began to learn these things. [Verse 3 – spoken, reflective] Then we spoke about the voice. The whisper in my dreams. The thing I'd feared since childhood. Kyra listened. She didn't laugh. She didn't tell me I'd imagined it. She explained my Vettel heritage, the strange inheritance I bore, and the Call that urged me onward, always whispering for more. It wanted me to leave my home, to seek the mother I'd never known, to follow where the whisper led and become something of its own. [Pause – gentle cello] The voice was real. But it wasn't my master. I didn't have to obey it. I didn't have to surrender. For the first time, I could think about it without that old terror. It was still there. But perhaps I had more choice than I'd believed. [Chorus II – sung, building] I am not the voice that calls me. I am not the fate it drew. I can hear the things inside me without letting them come true. There are paths I can refuse now. There are choices still my own. The girl who feared her own reflection doesn't have to walk alone. [Verse 4 – sung, warm] I looked forward to our lessons, to the questions and the talks. She never treated me as broken, never feared what I might be. She simply thought that I could learn, and somehow, so did I. [Spoken, dry] Bahl attended every lesson. He rarely contributed. But he had opinions. Strong ones. Kyra learned to ignore his disapproval. Mostly. [Small laugh] [Verse 5 – sung, gradually building] Bahl learned spells I'd never known, and through our bond, I made them mine. I learned to sense the magic near me, to feel its currents, read its signs. Sometimes I failed. Sometimes I surprised us both. The old fear slowly loosened, and I found another road. I'd spent so long avoiding what I feared that I might be. Now I wondered what our magic could become if I were free. [Chorus III – sung, expansive] Let the old voice whisper. Let the old blood run. I can choose the path I'm walking. I can choose what I become. I am more than what I carry, more than what I cannot change. I can claim the magic offered without being bound by fate. [Verse 6 – spoken, warm and honest] I still loved Merisiel. That didn't vanish. And sometimes it hurt to watch her with Kyra. But Kyra was kind. Patient. Braver than I'd expected. And when she smiled at Merisiel, I finally understood what my friend saw in her. I was glad she'd found her. Even when part of me wished I'd been the one. [Small pause] Well... Nobody said I had to stop being a little foolish overnight. [Final Chorus] There's still so much left to discover, so many spells we haven't tried. With Bahl beside me, Kyra teaching, I'll see what's waiting on the other side. I may not know where this road leads, or what the future has in store. But I won't close that door again. I'm ready now to learn some more. [Outro – spoken, intimate] Kyra taught me magic. But she taught me something else, too. I could be afraid and still take a step forward.