Kiira Delving

Below is a small bit of writing based on our previous Dungeons and Dragons game. My wizard received a kiira, a gem used to store spells, enchance with magical properties and be used for other good tasks! It is an awesome find and I wanted to write about it, so I finally accomplished that task. I am sorry for any grammatical errors, I rushed when reading it over so I could publish it before leaving work. Enjoy!



The ocean waves crashed angrily against the hull, only thick planks of wood separated Talindra's small compartment from the frigid depths. She looked around the room, filled with stores and crates of goods. The ship was very swift, a modest vessel built for carrying cargo, not passengers. The crew bunked entirely together in overlapping hammocks, while an officer or two might have a room to his or herself. The captain might have offered his quarters to her or the other women of the company, but Talindra did not give him the chance. There were five extra souls aboard, who had seen far worse in the last few days than she and her friends. They deserved what comfort that could be spared, Talindra simply needed a place where she could manage to avoid interruptions. Come to think of it, she might need to reiterate to Borgoth the need to be undisturbed while resting. It was a tedious and often grueling process to commit spells to memory, leaving only a fraction of the spell left upon the time of casting. It was difficult to concentrate without proper rest, in a few minutes she would try to trance, but right now, the small clear gem in her hand intrigued her.

Around the ship outside the gold elf could hear sailors recounting the scenes from the battle that took place earlier. They were less hurried now, the repairs they toiled tirelessly on would hopefully last until the ship could reach port. Some spoke in high, swift voice in awe of the fireball that struck the Zhent ship and wounded her sails, others shouted a saying "wizard see, wizard do" in reference to the return fireball that struck their own ship and set fire to its sails. It took Talindra by surprise the immediate return volley, but it was what she probably would have done. She cursed herself for not anticipating that move before launching her own spell, maybe she could have prevented the damage. It was said once if the sun elves felt something was worth doing, they'd take fifty years to decide how to do it.

It was true that her gold elven kin were the most slow to act, or methodical in their thought process. With hundreds of years to live, why rush head first into disaster, when there is plenty of time to think the problem through. Some of the other elven races were more quick to act, but more of the rest of the elven race occupied Faerun and lived among human realms. Evermeet was where almost the entirety of gold elves abide. There they would stay stationary while the world rushed past them. Perhaps in Retreating is where the elven race had failed, the rest that stayed on Faerun were too small in number to fend entirely against very real and terrible threats. Talindra found herself wondering if her exposure to the human lands had affected her, making her judgement hasty. Then again, when you were running and time was a luxury you did not have, haste meant the difference between life and death. She did consider there was a difference in a hasty act, and a rash one.

Again she found herself lost in thought, staring off the short distance to the wall of the small compartment. Shrugging closer under the winter blanket she was wrapped in, she looked again at the faceless gem. A warm bronze elven reflection stared back, the images hair was tousled and dirty from exposure to battle and the elements. The face was dirtier than it usually was allowed, but the golden eyes retained all the shine and fire that drove Talindra. She could simply tidy up her cloths and image with a quick use of prestidigitation, if she had noticed she was dirty. Right now her mind was a mass of questions, concerns, and intrigue. The gem in front of her was special, when she inspected it she almost immediately knew it was a kiira, and would increase the mental powers of those who used it. She could store spells inside it as if she had placed them in a spellbook, and study them from it just as readily. This precious little piece would be the item she needed to test her newly completed studies. A smile couldn't help but cross her weary face, it was almost the mirror image of a child experimenting with a new toy.

Gently cupping the prize in both hands she eagerly clasped the gem and touched it to her forehead. The gem willingly began fusing with her mind and appeared as only a slight pyramid like point from above the center of Talindra's brow. Once the binding was complete she closed her eyes, again a smile crossing her small lips, and pressed her mind towards the gem. Suddenly the world around her blurred, and she found herself in an empty space void of everything, no ship, no sound, no cold. The expanse could go on forever, or appear to end just in front of her nose. She wondered if she was standing or floating, but preferred to be on firm ground and then a realization later, she felt like she was standing on firm ground. She glanced downward and saw her smooth slender legs, caressed by flowing fabric of a red dress. Her boots had been traded for soft supple sandals. They were very elegant she appraised and noticed there was no ground visible beneath her, but she felt like she was standing. She gazed in awe at the area around her, knowing she was helpless back in the reality she knew, and could not spend much time here while she was vulnerable. Setting her mind to the task she spoke an incantation to reach out to the magical properties of the gem.

Several filaments of translucent white material as thick as a finger appeared from an area of white representing the ground and reached upward. The fibrous threads sprung together once forming a central node of sorts level with Talindra's shoulders. There was a single string among the twist that was colored, it was a soft blue and she felt it humming with constant energy. Reaching towards the center ravel of cords she touched the blue one and instantly the fibers untwisted and appeared vertical, side by side, spaced evenly apart. Her soft bronze fingers caressed the blue strand that was centered before her, she instantly felt the spells woven into it, giving life to the magical property of the kiira that increased her mental prowess. The care that went into the creation of this spell was exquisite, a perfect blending of the spell and its host, giving the first life to the creation of this wondrous item.

Next she touched a translucent piece of the kiira's nexus, beside the blue. It was empty as she imagined the rest were, just waiting to be worked with magic and flowing with the power of Mystra and the weave. She brought the final words of a spell to memory and saw the piece extend like parchment. Immediately the recalled phrases and words of power glowed with a golden hue and were written upon the strand like it would appear in her spellbook. It would take some time to detail the entirety of the rest of the spells and she would come back for those as soon as possible. For now she would make the first of her changes to the kiira, a simple cosmetic gesture.

She let the strand with the spell go with a simple thought, it quickly twirled back to a smaller piece, exactly like the rest of the filaments aside from a symbol that appeared wrapped around it. Talindra knew it immediately to be her arcane mark, a heart inside a small tiara with a single gem in the middle, and the initials M and D etched in elven upon either side of the heart. She reached for another filament, one that would hold future enchantments for the gem. There were only so many to hold spells and realized the power of the kiira was limited to the amount of cords appearing in front of her. A few days study would tell her the extent of what she could empower the gem with. The spell she intended to use would hardly summon a fraction of the kiira's ability.

With a careful phrase and gesture Talindra cast her spell of prestidigitation. She was most interested in the spells ability to change colors. Reaching out she touched one of the empty white lines and with a quiet word the small cord spread into even thinner pieces. Taking one gently between her fingers she began working the words to a spell of preparation. The spell would use the power of the weave to allow her access to the small thread before her. She finished the final words and felt the thin line open, she spoke softly and gestured with her free hand. Mystical colors swirled and the line began to become an icy, sky blue color. As the thread changed the white world around her began to spring to life with the same color. When finally the white was gone and the blue remained she spoke the words needed to seal the spell within the kiira's thread. It accepted the spell and with a thought of release the line swirled together into its original filament and the rest of the strands whirled together into the hourglass shaped node before her.

Talindra smiled at the small achievement, this color now be the color of the gem itself back in reality. She was just about to separate from the gem when she felt a small tug from the tangled node behind her. Her head turned to the right and she saw as clear as day a memory of her childhood. The world around changed and she felt herself standing in sand and watching waves crash on a lonely shore. The sand was pristine and the water clear as a diamond. A small sun elven child with blond hair played happily on the dunes. She knew it was her, and this was Evermeet. The kiira was showing her that she could store memories, almost like a journal. If she could do that she might also be able to create an image of herself to recount important events she would not want to forget, or even to protect the contents of the kiira.

As Talindra thought the world changed around her and she looked up, suddenly she was in a very real room that she knew was one from the gambling hall back in Hillsfar. There she was walking through the door, being led by Myla. Talindra not only felt her heart racing faster, she heard it pounding inside her head. Both the sun elves entered the room and Talindra swore under her breath. How could she be so stupid. Talindra winced as she watched Myla pin the image of herself against the wall and force open her shirt. Talindra recalled the strength of Myla and cursed silently to herself, though she was sure the kiira heard her. Talindra's heard was racing and she turned away as Myla kissed her image, the memory vanished as the kiira somehow knew she did not want to recall what came next.

The elven wizard was angry, frustrated and scared all at once. She felt her arm trembling and wondered if she was trembling outside the kiira as well. The gem emitted a reassuring ebb, almost what felt like an apology. A soft smile appeared and Talindra shook her head, "No, no I know you did not mean to upset me. I am not angry with you, but myself. You showed me what I needed to see, how I missed signs and become careless. Thank you. I do need to go now, but I will return." She felt warm and touched her hand to her chest, lips and then forehead and let herself fade from the kiira.

The ship came back almost at once, as if she never left. The cold touch of winter and the rush of the sea crowded her senses. There was a knock at the door and she stepped over a crate to answer it, wondering if it was Castion wanting to learn more about "fireballs" or Borgoth who was very interested in a new book he acquired, maybe one of the others...