[Alys] The Maester

[skyman]

The last few weeks had been stranger than any of Alysneri's short life. She had drifted in and out of fever dreams, but she could barely tell the difference between waking life and dreaming. When she was asleep, people spoke Valyrian, and she knew their faces, but their words were always interrupted by fire and death. When she was awake, the world was calmer and more sane, but they spoke strange and garbled words and had odd dark features. The only person she knew was Septa Elia, a kind woman who gave her warm milk and stroked her hair, and kept her from being too frightened.

Today, though, she awoke to an entirely new individual bending over her bed. He had a thin brown-gray beard down to his sternum, and darting gray eyes under a thick brow.

"I am Maester Kalland," he said in accented but clear Valyrian. "I will make you well. And in exchange you shall tell me who you are and how you came here." His voice reminded her of her father.

"Your name is Alysneri. I shall call you Alys. What happened to you?"

[sapphire]

Alysneri was clearly surprised to hear her own languages spoken from this man in this side of the world. “Maester Kalland...” She tasted unfamiliar names on her tongue for a moment before continuing,

“I will tell you everything I remember. Then maybe you will understand. My name is Alysneri Naerya Rhaelleragun. I do not recall how we came on the ship. Just that there were four of us and the crew. Me, Sister, Uncle and Aunt. That is the first thing I can remember now. Uncle said there were others of our family on the other ships but I never saw them or these ships. During the voyage, Uncle and Aunt would tell us stories or sing to us. There was a day. I remember that day was very hot. I heard a loud sound and the sky became pale yellow which then darkened to pitch black later on. The ashes then begun to rain on us. Uncle explained to me that the Fourteen Fires have all exploded simultaneously with terrible cataclysm and thank the Fourteen Ones that we got away from the City in time. Still, we managed to get away from ash fall in few days although many sailors has died, choking to death.

Much later on, our ship encountered the terrible storm and the ship begun sinking. I managed to get onto the raft with Sister.”

She became distressful as she asked, "Did anyone find Sister?”

[skyman]

"I do not know, Alys." The maester's voice maintained the same calmness as he spoke; neither malice nor particular compassion was evident. "We shall do our best to find your sister."

He paused, reached into a bag beside him, and held up her knife. "This was found with you, Alys. Tell me, were there any other valuable or important items on board? This is important. Less friendly people might search for such things, and I can only protect you if I know the truth."

[sapphire]

Alys was relieved to find her dagger once more, but the answer she received clearly did not make her any more calm. The fact her sister was not found made her sad and that sadness was expressed in her violet eyes. She was about to answer his question when Alys settled back, "How do I know I can trust you?" Alys asked softly as she stared at Maester Kalland.

[skyman]

Maester Kalland leaned back, placing the knife aside and steepling his fingers. "Young lady, I do not envy your situation. I imagine it is quite horrible. But I am one of the few in this land, perhaps one of the few left in the world, who knows the glory of Valyria, who has walked beneath the Arch of Balerion, who has heard the rumble of the Fourteen Fires and drank from dragonglass cups. To put it plainly, my dear, there is no one else you can trust. No one else would understand what has happened to you, not truly, not even if they spoke your language." He leaned forward again. "So, Alys, will you please be truthful with me? I promise that I will do my best to keep harm from coming to you."

[sapphire]

She only shook her head in sadness, He cannot expect me to remember everything! Alys replied, "I am sorry, Maester Kalland. I cannot remember anything else concerning that ship or most of my memories, only what happened to me. Maybe in time, I can remember other details or more of my memories. But I can recall the sight of these names you mentioned and that knife is my right as First Daughter."

She looked down, disappointed at her shattered memories.

[skyman]

"Of course, my dear," said the Maester calmly. "I am sure it will come back to you with rest. Just do let me know if you recall anything." He stood up for a moment and fetched a cup of steaming tea from a tray behind him. "Drink this. It will help your body recuperate."

Maester Kalland put the knife into his pocket. "I'm sorry, but I will have to hang on to this for now. It is not considered proper here for a young girl to carry a knife. I will see you tomorrow, Alys. The septa will be along soon if you need anything." He turned to leave.

[sapphire]

Looking at the Maester's back with silent resentment, she muttered few words beneath her breath. Alys reminded herself with resolve, I will get my knife back! It is only family item I got left

She did however start drinking her tea given to her, while taking proper looks at her surrounding and her new strange garments in her break of drinking her tea.