Chapter 12
The Butterfly Effect
Raistlin followed Argyria back inside. The cat followed them both, still watching the unexpected intruder-turned-guest warily. Argyria refreshed both cups of coffee and they went into her sitting room to attempt a joint effort at rationalizing out the situation at hand in a more comfortable fashion than the straight backed and wooden chairs the kitchen provided. They sat on opposites sides of the day bed, facing each other to speak. The softer and cushioned furniture, Argyria politely informed Raistlin, was called a couch in this world and considered different than a day bed.
The two sat in silence for a few minutes, sipping their coffee and trying to organize their thoughts to a semblance of rationality, trying to figure out where to start the discussions.
Argyria was the one to break the silence first. Being from her world and having a pretty extensive amount of knowledge of Raistlin's, and having had many years of harboring wistful thoughts of wishing the latter's was real, gave her the benefit of not being so overwhelmed by the evening's revelation of their two worlds colliding as they had.
"Raistlin, I think I know how to try to explain the answers to at least some of your questions that I haven't yet answered…" Argyria ventured, breaking Raistlin out of his own thoughts and drawing his attention to her. "Especially before we get into big subjects like the differences in magic between our worlds, or all the ways my world is different than yours, I think I need to explain other things first so you'll understand the bigger things properly. That is, if you're willing to bear with me for a lengthy explanation and be willing to be patient about anything that might be confusing."
Raistlin nodded once and said bluntly, though not exactly ungraciously, "Given the circumstances, Miss Ria, I'm not expecting any miracle answers tonight. Nor to even fully understand everything you might have to explain as I don't have knowledge of this world. Whatever information you provide would be appreciated at this point and if you feel there needs to be a certain order to that explanation, I will attempt to be patient in my questioning."
"Fair enough," Argyria said. She added in slightly better humor, "Would you mind just calling me 'Ria'? Being called 'Miss Ria' is making me feel like I'm back in high school and being asked by a teacher to give an impromptu presentation before the class."
"If that is what you would prefer, I will do so," Raistlin agreed. "If you don't mind my asking, how old are you? You mentioned 'high school', and one would assume that means it comes after other schooling, and referenced that as past tense, so it is not your current level of schooling."
Argyria looked at the student mage in surprise. "Wow, you really do analyze things quickly, don't you?"
"Pardon?" Raistlin raised an eyebrow, not sure if he should be flattered or offended as her tone had been amused and almost pleased by the assessment, rather than mocking and contrary to her actual words.
Argyria blushed and her expression became embarrassed. "I didn't mean that as it sounded! I just meant that you heard 'high school' in that and, with previous mentions of my schooling, came to all that line of conclusions in practically two seconds. Given everything else you must have going on in your head right now, that was kind of impressive."
The young woman stopped talking as she realized she was in danger of babbling like an empty headed fan girl to her favorite character in Dragonlance. Blush growing all the more fiercely, she looked down at her coffee. The idea of having the power to shrink herself to the size of a fairy and go diving into the murky depths to hide was suddenly a very appealing one to pursue obtaining.
Raistlin couldn't help but chuckle as he saw the flustered look on Ria's face and the sudden interest she had taken in her coffee. He found it both vastly amusing and somewhat baffling. Amusing because he was usually someone to sometimes say things in a manner he didn't quite mean for it to come out as, especially when speaking with someone of the opposite gender. It was entertaining to watch happen when he wasn't the one stumbling over his own words. Baffling, however, because she was doing so in front of himself. He came to the conclusion that it was more due to stress in the situation and having a stranger in her home, and trying to compensate for such, than himself personally.
"Thank you for the compliment, Ria, such as it was meant to be," Raistlin said, quiet laughter tapering off and taking pity on the young woman as he had seen her cheeks grow a brighter pink when he had started to laugh. That, and it wouldn't help gaining information on this world if his only source of information was too discomforted to try speaking again. "As to my most recent question?"
Argyria cleared her throat, trying to shake off her embarrassment. Raistlin's laughter was almost always described as being scornful and harsh, but it had actually sounded genuinely amused and it was rather pleasant to listen to. It had only furthered her embarrassment. "As it happens," the young woman said, looking up from her coffee, "that is one of those multilayered answers that ties into other questions and explanations and yet more questions."
Raistlin raised an eyebrow in question again, not sure how such a simple question could be construed as complex.
"As of what is technically now today, even if it's still night time, I am eighteen," Argyria explained. "Except the date here is not the same date as when you left your world, among other things."
Raistlin contemplated that answer with a great deal of serious thought. "What is the date here?"
"The 20th day of May, which, if I remember correctly, is called Bran in your world. The fifth month of the year."
"You remember correctly," Raistlin said. He spoke aloud his musings as he contemplated that information so they wouldn't need repeating and perhaps could be expounded upon from the other person present. "So there is approximately a month difference in our two worlds' years, for the moment assuming that I ended up directly here to your world with no time traveling added onto the world traveling…"
Argyria nodded in agreement.
"… And this event happened as my Day of Life Gift had just come to a conclusion and yours was beginning."
Argyria nodded again.
"Well that seems a bit too specific to be entirely coincidental," Raistlin concluded dryly.
Argyria nodded yet again, having had the same thought as she was trying to puzzle this predicament out. "Now you're starting to see why I am having such a hard time trying to figure out exactly what is going on. That's just the proverbial tip of the iceberg of thoughts that I've had running through my head since you showed up and indicated you were from Krynn, and then more information being said. It just gets more complicated from there."
"I think it would be wise for you to attempt to explain what you have concluded or theorized thus far," Raistlin suggested. "You've had more time of realizing the implications of my presence and it would save the both of us time for you to tell me them, instead of me taking time to try rationalizing them out as well, and we can move on to those aspects you have yet to make theories of."
"Sort of what I had in mind as well," Argyria agreed. "But to do so, I think I should explain first a philosophical concept that was debated at lengths in one of my classes last semester, if you are unfamiliar with it, so that you understand how some of my logic is working in my thoughts and another part of why I was having trouble knowing how to answer some of your earlier questions."
Raistlin nodded once, "Very well. And that is?"
"The philosophical theory is termed 'The Butterfly Effect'."
Raistlin gave the young woman a distinctly confused look.
Argyria added quickly, "It's not, technically speaking, about butterflies."
"Alright…" Raistlin said, still confused.
"The theory is that even the smallest of actions or events can set off a chain of events that ripple out, expand, and end in some massive event that was entirely unexpected, unless one can trace all those many links in the chain of events back to their original source," Argyria explained informatively. "It's called 'The Butterfly Effect' because it is theorized that something as massive as a hurricane hitting one part of the world can be traced back to a butterfly flapping its wings in another part of the world. Whereas if the butterfly had flapped its wings in a spot an inch away, such would have never happened. That extreme of an example has never been proven, but smaller examples of various sorts have verified the basis of the theory when the same thing is done repeatedly, but some tiny variation beyond the test's control caused a chain reaction of events that ended with the result being very different each time the test was performed.
"One very simple demonstration used to explain and prove the theory was setting a ball on a slope in the same exact position every single time, and allowing it to roll down the hill by its own force of momentum when released. The ball never follows the same exact course and never stops in the exact same spot. Sometimes it rolls in a similar path and comes close to a previous spot, and sometimes it veers off and ends in very different directions and distances. Sometimes the ball might run over an ant hill and destroy it, other times it never comes near it. And it's because of tiny factors like rocks and grass and flowers and anthills, a wind possibly arising or shifting, or any number of other things that are uncontrollable and incidental as natural processes. Factors that on their own seem extremely insignificant, and perhaps singularly are, but as a whole greatly changed the outcome from the same exact starting point."
Raistlin nodded slowly when Ria finished the explanation, having been paying attention quite intently to the explanation. "So far, I believe I understood all of that theory with that brief but clear explanation." He added curiously, "They teach philosophy and physical reactions to people attending a school for writing or art here?"
"Not as in depth as if someone was going to school for such things," Argyria replied with a smile. "But, as it happens, they teach a range of subjects at my school. Students are allowed to select which subjects they wish to pick to be given their accreditations for the field of employment they wish to later work in. Some of my classes are fairly heavy on philosophy as I am taking a number of courses in regards to creative writing. That is, writing my own stories. The professors try to teach students a wide range of information, different ways of viewing situations, so that the students then write their stories with realism and attention to details, rather than writing a very boring story that is predictable or unbelievable. If a writer doesn't understand things like human behavior, politics, natural sciences, philosophy and such, they're not going to write a very entertaining or realistic story."
"A valid reasoning to such lessons," Raistlin conceded. "And, while I have a few guesses as to why you felt the need to explain this particular theory to me, would you care to tell me yourself so I do understand your reasoning without making an incorrect assumption?"
Argyria blushed again, feeling more than a little pleased with the fact that she had taught the mage something new and he was apparently actually listening to her thoughts with seriousness, rather than sarcastically dismissing them as he often did with many people. Of course, with every new thing she taught the mage that he wouldn't have possibly known otherwise, or wouldn't have learned until much later in life, she was only proving said explained theory and potentially compounding matters further.
Argyria reigned in her cheer and tried to remain serious as she thought on how to answer his question properly.
Raistlin saw the blush creep up onto Ria's cheeks again. 'She really is an easily flustered young woman,' he thought, once again bemused by her behavior. After his previous erroneous assumptions and conclusions he had made after she had told him he was in a different world, and then proved such, Raistlin was willing to listen to her other theories on this matter as she appeared to be reasonably intelligent, more so than most her age. Which, as it turned out, was not as far younger than himself as he thought. Where she was likewise attending a school that appeared to be teaching her a great deal of useful information, and she was familiar with this world he now found himself in, he was attempting to treat her as he would a peer he could actually intelligently converse with.
That is, if he currently had any peers attending his master's school that were worth attempting to converse with. Which, unfortunately, there weren't. The only student Raistlin's age was Jon Farnish. A peer Raistlin disliked as a person who had bullied him in their youth, and felt vindicated disdain for as his rival continued to fall further behind his own studies and accomplishments, limited as they may currently be. Otherwise, Master Theobald's students were all much younger than himself, annoyingly obtuse as potential mages, even given their ages, and therefore not suitable peers to attempt to converse with on academic matters.
But as to why Ria was so flustered by such treatment from him absolutely baffled Raistlin. It made him wonder what sort of interactions she had with her own peers at her school, as they must not be all that pleasant for her to react in such a fashion when being given a chance to speak her thoughts.
Raistlin didn't have time to consider the matter further, however, as Argyria had decided on how to continue explaining her thoughts and conflicted reactions and was now doing so.
"Well, I suppose the best way to try to start unraveling that ball of multi-ended and knotted yarn would be to start with the obvious statement of the fact your world is very different than mine," Argyria said candidly.
Raistlin nodded in agreement, once more glancing around the lodgings he found himself in.
Argyria saw his gaze go to various things she knew his world didn't have. "As you have already noticed, and asked about in some cases. There are things here that your world does not have, in opposition to things your world has that mine doesn't. The reason 'The Butterfly Effect' theory came up as a subject for extensive debate, and we were assigned a small thesis to write to show we understood it, is that it is often applied to fantasy stories as a plot point in some fashion. Specifically, one of our longest debates was on a particular version of 'The Butterfly Effect' that shows up quite frequently in literature. Which is time or world traveling."
Raistlin had been about to raise his mostly-full cup of coffee to take a sip, but that statement stopped the action and his sharp gaze darted to her from over the edge of the cup.
Argyria nodded with a wry smile. "Like I said, we didn't actually take the subject of world traveling as a serious debate for real life, even magic users in this world mostly don't consider it possible, but it is a subject for theoretical debate, especially for fictional stories."
"I see… Another coincidence, though this one is rather convenient to aiding the situation that has now taken place."
"Isn't it just?" Argyria asked cheekily, trying to cover for the fact that she was still confused on a lot (most) of the other aspects to this situation.
Raistlin's expression was less than amused.
Argyria continued explaining with more seriousness. "But, the thing is, that's a standard course offered at my college, and that debate is part of the course, so dozens of students every semester have to take part in it. Then multiply that across any other field of study that includes "The Butterfly Effect" as a part of its lessons because of its relevance to so many situations, then multiplied again against not only my school, but all the schools in my country, and then again across the world who have similar structured courses. That's tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people learning at least the basics of the 'Butterfly Effect' every year. It doesn't help to explain why you showed up in my apartment specifically for why ever you have ended up in my world, but it does help cope and deal with the fact that you have."
"That is a great number of people learning about the theory every year," Raistlin conceded. "But how many of them actually absorbed the concept properly to apply it once the lessons were done, and have a true interest in magic?"
"That, I couldn't answer with any semblance of a real guess," Argyria admitted. "But most people in this world with an interest in magic know about 'The Butterfly Effect' to some extent or other as it is applicable in a number of fashions."
Raistlin considered that information, along with the rest, then finally gave a simple nod. "So either in and of themselves, or the two combined, wouldn't explain why I am in your home, if this location was not incidental in being my arrival location for whatever reason I ended up in this world."
"Nope, though they could be factors," Argyria replied. She had a pretty good feeling it was intentional, even if she didn't know why. She didn't want to overwhelm the already overloaded young and future archmage. She was still debating with herself if she should actually mention the Fizban-like character as, in Raistlin's timeline, he hadn't met Fizban aka Paladine yet, and she still couldn't be sure the crazy old man was the same character. Though it would be an extreme stretch of coincidence to be unrelated. And if she did, there was the question of how, without causing possible bad things to result.
"So how do those discussions on 'The Butterfly Effect' theory and time or world traveling correlate to your original statement to pointing out that we come from very different worlds?" Raistlin asked. "I think it is safe to assume that similar situations were brought up in your discussions, and you're taking the results of those discussions into mind now when trying to consider the cause and ramifications of my being here?"
"Smart mage should get a cookie for a job well done in following my ramblings without getting lost," Argyria said cheerfully, trying to keep the tone of the conversation from getting too stressful.
Raistlin gave her a baffled look at the glib jest.
Argyria continued speaking in good humor, "That is precisely where I was going with trying to tie the two points together. Part of our assignment in those debates was to consider the ramifications of such an event taking place- how it would effect the specific people involved immediately, both themselves and the situation; and how it could effect each of their timelines or worlds during the situation, or after the situation. As far as the different worlds debate went, one of the scenarios we were given to consider was when the worlds were very different from each other. Like your world and my world are.
"When two very different worlds come into contact, whether it was because they were from different planes of existence, or because they were in the same plane of existence but in different parts of the universe, it can have negative or positive effects on both the people involved and their respective worlds. Or, more likely, a mix of negative and positive results to varying degrees of each, dependent on how different they are, how much contact is had, and how those involved react to that contact. Which, in our situation, correlates to the most immediate questions of…"
Argyria ticked off the five points she could think of on her fingers:
"How and why you came to be in this world. How your presence here could effect this world. How this world could effect you in ways that you'd have never been effected in if you had never come here. How anything from this world that you learn and bring back with you to your world if we find a way to get you home could effect your world. And how your world could be changed from how it otherwise would have been if we can't find a way to get you home."
Raistlin couldn't help but grimace slightly as that last part was said, as the prospect of not finding a way to return to his own world was the most disturbing to him.
"So that is part of why you were having a difficult time trying to explain something like the coffee maker, besides what it was meant for, but were willing to say the function of it and the other devices," Raistlin surmised, now understanding the distraught reaction that had confused him to such a seemingly simple question. "Because our two worlds are different, that all the details of how such devices work are foreign to my world, that other things that allow them to work and would need explaining would likewise be foreign, and that myself knowing such could effect my world when I return home."
"Correct," Argyria replied, feeling more pensive again as she contemplated that. "I was telling the truth that some of those things that make it work are things I don't have much knowledge of, and honestly trying to know where to start explaining was a bit overwhelming at the moment when you asked. The rest of it was those concerns as I can't even begin to fathom what sort of consequences it could have. The same is true for everything here that isn't in your world. Our world at least has knowledge of yours, even if it was supposed to be all stories, and our technology is a bit more advanced. I think that the effects of your being here and having confirmation of your world's existence will be less dramatic and worrisome to the larger scale aspects of my world. At least in comparison to what could result from contact with my world to your world which doesn't know about us at all.
"Questions of why and how you're here aside, if you're here for any length of time, it's inevitable that you're going to learn things about this world so you can adjust to being here. But then what happens when you return home with that knowledge? If you're here for a specific reason, then how are we supposed to know what it is, how to fulfill it, and how to do so while minimizing any possible bad stuff happening as a result?"
Raistlin began to contemplate how to find answers to those questions raised. The prospect of successfully trying to unravel all those answers with so little information was daunting. He was definitely beginning to understand just why Ria had appeared so conflicted when trying to decide what might or might not be in some way ultimately catastrophic to tell him, either for himself or his world; and how best to try telling him the things she had told him, for the sake of himself and both of their worlds. That was not an easy burden that had been dropped in her lap- waking up to the realization that she had an unexpected guest from another world on her hands. Especially as she was someone who had an actual concept of how such a situation could have far-reaching ramifications.
That understanding of Ria's perspective in how she had been behaving, that had been frustrating to him at the time, made Raistlin once again feel guilty for how he had snapped at her. Granted, the position he was in in this situation, of being removed from his home and not knowing where he was, was likewise confusing and liable to make anyone upset; and he felt his responses were, in that aspect, justified; but she had come to a better awareness of the situation before him and had been trying to handle it as best as she could while contemplating how to make him aware as she was now.
Raistlin sighed in irritation and took a sip of the coffee, already going lukewarm again. He made himself drink the brew, however, because he wanted to keep his wits about him as best as he could and he was in fact tired from having what felt like so little sleep after having been awake so late from his Day of Life Gift party.
Perhaps some of his weariness showed, or perhaps it was meant in the larger sense because he had not yet responded to her last comments, but Ria's next question directed at him was, "How are you holding up over there, Raistlin?"
Raistlin looked up from his coffee and gave a sardonic smirk. "Well, Ria, I think I can accept that I have not gone insane and imagined this whole situation in an incredibly vivid bad dream that I will wake from at any moment to find my brother still snoring away in his bed, or awake and grumbling about a hangover." His sarcastic assessment received giggles from Ria; hearing which actually eased his tension a fraction. "I can accept that I am in fact in another world and I have no idea why or what the repercussions could be. Beyond that, I am not certain."
"Sounds like, so far, you're handling things pretty well, all things considered," Ria said with an encouraging smile.
Raistlin gave a laugh that was lacking any actual amusement. "That might still be the shock of all this," the young mage said truthfully. "You haven't said, yet, in all of this explanation of your thoughts, why you're handling this as you are. Not that I am ungrateful, but why didn't you turn me over to the guards when you thought I was an intruder in your home? Was it because I mentioned Solace and Haven and you recognized those towns' names? Or because you recognized I was a mage from Krynn by my robes and those mentions? You could have decided, as you said your mentor and friends may, that I was someone who enjoyed the books that speak of my world far too much and had convinced myself I was from them."
Argyria hesitated to answer that. Again, she was faced with that quandary of not knowing what to say on some question Raistlin asked her, understandable as it was to be asked. With the other explanations she had been trying to figure out how to make, she had almost forgotten he had asked that particular question of her and hadn't thought out how to answer it with the least possible negative side effects.
Raistlin saw Ria's expression become one that she had worn when trying to decide how to tell him about the coffee maker or being in a different world. He asked warily, but with a touch of humor to try to be kinder in his questioning and not again upset her further than she clearly was, "Is this another 'Butterfly Effect' and 'coffee maker' answer?"
Argyria met his gaze in surprise, and then burst into a giggle fit. She managed to say between giggles, "Yes… actually… it is…"
Raistlin hadn't expected her to find it quite that amusing, but, given the high tension they were both feeling, he wasn't going to fault her for a giggle fit if it helped release some of that tension. It was definitely easier to hear giggling or laughs than yelling or screams.
Argyria managed to compose herself fairly quickly. Hearing someone like Raistlin- who her mind still correlated as being a book character, and also related him to his later, more sardonic and colder, evolution of being- using phrases she had just taught him almost as easily as any others he might had caught her off guard. It had struck her as highly amusing how fast his brilliant analytical mind adapted to situations, which would someday, in the not too distant future of his own timeline and world, lead to him becoming the greatest archmage Krynn had ever seen.
One of the questions Argyria had been contemplating was just how Dragonlance had come to be, how the authors had known about those residing in Krynn. It was supposed to be the result of a long-term Dungeons and Dragons game that had been played among friends, some of whom worked for the company, TSR, that had owned D&D at the time. She had been questioning if something had influenced them to unknowingly play that game with those new characters thought up, or if there had ever been a game and instead one of the authors had some knowledge of Krynn by some fashion. Or it could be any number of other possibilities she couldn't fathom at this particular moment. Argyria was also wondering just how accurate the stories were, though thus far they seemed pretty on par with things Raistlin had confirmed.
Argyria gave an apologetic smile to the young man sitting across from her, who was clearly baffled to her reaction and was wearing a confused half-smile.
"I'm sorry," Argyria said, managing to refrain from laughing all over again in regards to his expression. "I just didn't expect to hear you using words from this world and in jest so soon after learning them. It was a bit surreal."
Raistlin nodded in understanding. "I suppose it would be." He added wryly, "And I suppose that only goes to prove your 'Butterfly Effect' theory all the more. It's a shame we don't know the consequences of reporting your findings. You could find acclaim in the field of philosophy as well as someday literature."
Argyria couldn't help it, she started giggling again. "Now you're reading my mind, Sir Mage! I really must insist you cease and desist at once!"
Raistlin laughed at that, shaking his head. Usually when someone made comments or jests in regards to himself being an aspiring mage, it was not said in good humor. He was surprised to find that such a jest made in good humor, from someone he knew had an interest of their own in magic, wasn't hard for him to laugh at as well. "You are a very strange young woman, Ria."
"Oh, that's an ironic sentiment coming from the out of world guest," Ria countered with a grin.
Raistlin gave a short burst of laughter as she pointed that out. "You make a fair point. You have still yet to answer my question, however."
"You're really a rather persistent guy, aren't you?" Argyria said with a shake of her head, giggles abating again, though the smile remained.
"If I wasn't, I'd likely never learn a thing under my school master," Raistlin said with a distinctly mischievous smirk. "Thankfully, his chest where he keeps his spell books is far easier to pry useful information from than he is."
Argyria had to wrestle with another giggle fit, but managed to overcome it before it could take hold.
"Oh gods above. You and 'Geny would get along swimmingly."
"Geny?" Raistlin asked. "That was the brother you mentioned earlier who traveled?"
Argyria nodded. "Yes. Well, kind of. Yevgeny, 'Geny to friends, is one of my mentors and closest friends who is like a big brother, but we're not actually related. 'Geny's twin brother, Ivan, is also one of my mentors and closest friends, and he's taken a paternal role in my life. Ivan owns an antiques business that specializes in a wide range valuables. 'Geny travels, as I said, to record and report news for others to hear, but he also has a less official job of picking up items that Ivan tracks down and wants to buy, usually ones to do with magic, that Ivan can't officially get permission to bring to this country."
Raistlin raised an eyebrow to that. "Oh really?"
"Indeed," Argyria said, still smiling. "'Geny has a bit of a rule bending habit too and he and Ivan make a really good team in the career of antiquities. Usually it's something like a difficult to find book that is classified as a historical antiquity, but sometimes its other things. Or sometimes 'Geny just happens to stumble upon random items in his travels that are valuable but being sold dirt cheap, simply pretty, or can be made useful for magic." She pulled her pendant out from beneath where it had fallen in her shirt. "He found this in a little jewelry cart and it was my birthday present from him last night. Like you, from the sounds of it, I had only just gotten to bed from my early party when this whole mess happened."
Raistlin saw that the pendant of the silver necklace he had noticed earlier was comprised of a singular, round black opal, as large as one of the steel coins Kit has used to pay the bill at the inn last night, surrounded by smaller white opals. "That's a lovely gift."
Argyria nodded, pleased with it herself. "Being my 18th birthday, my friends kind of went all out for celebrations and gifts." At the reminder of the celebrations, though, Argyria felt her mood shift to a little more sober.
"Is turning eighteen years old particularly significant in this world?" Raistlin asked.
"Legally, especially in this country. You're not considered an adult until your 18th birthday, so there's a lot of things you're not allowed to do until you turn eighteen. Now, with the exception of a few things like renting a car or drinking, I'm allowed to make my own choices without needing a parent's permission." The teenager added with a shake of her head, "Which, in my case, was kind of annoying to wait for, as I've been doing all the adult stuff for quite a while now."
"How so?"
Argyria frowned and shrugged. "I haven't been living in my father's house since I was fifteen. Some parts of the country, and in some other countries, a teenager can gain legal status as an adult earlier than eighteen, but not in this part of the country. Even though I take care of myself, Ivan or Maggie have had to sign their names to things when I need something legal done as I'm not allowed to do it on my own. They don't mind, but I hate having to ask them for the help and it's been a bit of trouble at times because they're not my legal guardians."
"That's an understandable frustration," Raistlin said neutrally. He had almost wondered if the young woman turning a significant age might have been some factor that had played a part in why he had ended up in her home, but it wasn't a universal significance to this world or country, nor apparently even a local significance besides the legalities. Nor was it mentioned to be any religious significance. Even personally, it didn't sound to be terribly significant to her except as another Day of Life Gift to celebrate and not having to inconvenience her mentors any longer with legal help. Nor was himself turning 20 years of age considered particularly significant in his world. The only major difference between this day of Life Gift and the last few in the past was that Kit had been home for it and had thrown a party for himself and Caramon with some of her newly gained wealth.
Days of Life Gift aside, Ria's answer did, however, indicate that she was living in this lodging on her own, and was not simply by herself for this particular evening. Given her tone of voice in regards to her previous family situation, and that she had adopted others as surrogate family, it was clear that hadn't been pleasant. Raistlin decided not to inquire further on the matter, as he himself wasn't keen on people inquiring on certain details of his family life and parents.
Argyria gave the mage an inquiring look as a thought struck her. "I have a question for you, Raistlin."
"And what would that would be, Ria?" Raistlin asked warily. This young woman's moods seemed to shift more quickly than a spring breeze and it wasn't easy to keep up with them.
"You're an older student mage who is assisting his master with training younger students, so you might know what something as relatively commonly known as opals are used for in Krynn for magic purposes, yes?"
"Yes…" Raistlin said, eyeing the necklace around the young woman's neck again. "Why do you ask?"
"Can you please tell me what they're used for in Krynn?"
Raistlin didn't answer at first, finding her propensity for answering questions with questions of her own to be a bit exasperating. Ria waited patiently for an answer, curiously inquiring silvery-grey eyes not leaving him. Raistlin let out a sigh and decided to humor the young woman as it wasn't some terribly secret bit of information he couldn't share with an untrained mage.
"Enhancing and stabilizing magical power. Depending on the variety of opal, that purpose may shift to a specific aspect."
"And amber?"
"Spells dealing with fire and sometimes healing."
"Lapis Lazuli?"
"Ice magic and mental powers. How many more stones do you plan to question me on in one evening?"
"You have an attentive audience. You should be pleased rather than grumpy, Sir Mage," Ria said in good humor, causing Raistlin to raise an eyebrow at her cheeky remark. "What about an herb like rosemary?"
"Memory and mind alteration or control," Raistlin said with resignation.
"Basil?"
"Fire, again. As much as I can appreciate you're curious about magic from my world, I am really not wishing to be interrogated on it at length this evening."
"One more, please."
"This had better be the last then, unlike the last time you said only one further question."
"Rue."
"Protection magic, specifically magical shields."
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AN: This gets cut short, however, it ended up being a bit long, and I thought saving Argyria's reasoning would be better for the beginning of the next chapter. I hope you lurkers enjoyed the updates, and have a safe weekend!
