Professor Terry

University Document – Headmaster Taliesin's approval in effect

Administered by: Professor/Doctor Terrance Terryal

Research and Identification of Abstract Beings

Properties of a Nuviera – Notes 1.1 – 9/01/05

Unit: Identification of Nuviera

Vocabulary:

Nuviera: A mix of naga and Vampire, they are a half-breed, usually called a "snake-man" or "snake-woman" because of their naga ancestors. Their -

I stopped typing, hearing a crashing noise. Glancing over the top of my computer, I glared pointedly at the nuviera woman who had knocked over the globe on the edge of my desk. Her slitted lime green eyes widened apologetically and she bent smoothly, returning the globe to its place beside a plaque Kaethe had gifted me with. It read 'Those who bask in knowledge contain wisdom in their blood and soul: an old faerie proverb.'

The nuviera woman started clicking and hissing.

Slowly I decoded the odd noises until her message was plain. "I know you didn't mean to, but you keep misperceiving distance. Let me fix your eyes."

A flurry of hissing assaulted my ears. I winced and hurriedly said I wouldn't touch her. "Let me get this done!" I snapped after she persisted. Glowering to kill, she slithered over to my leather couch and hoisted herself on to it, which was a funny sight, considering her lower body was a tail.

Nuviera are snake people, formed by an inbreeding of vampires and naga over several centuries. They had strong muscles and slightly green tinged skin that had a wet film on it, and shimmered like scales but felt like flesh; this was quite easy to see because they detested clothes and went as naked as they could – which was only their torso. Starting at their navel they had large snake tails, resembling a mermaid in a way, and their spine thickened gradually into solid spikes with skin and scales stretched taunt over them, lancing down the tail. Translucent, veined flaps of flesh were pulled between the spikes, and at the base of each spike were ducts that secreted a moist liquid that was a green color to keep their tail wet. Like vampires, they had sharp teeth of all canines, meant for ripping and tearing, but unlike the vampires, they had two fangs that curved down over their lower lips. The nuvieras are the most unique Abstracts because they do not have an actual excretory system. Yes, they do have to excrete wastes, but they do it in a most unusual way. They absorb the nutrients and waste into their system, where the wastes are used to balance out the pH of there blood if they haven't fed enough. Otherwise, they were included in their sweat ducts and excreted through their skin. That is one of the reasons why other Abstracts shy away from eating nagas: the film on their skin is likely to be poisonous.

But enough about them, I have to finish these notes so I don't have to finish them over the weekend. I started again, typing quickly from memory. These notes were for my four classes that would be starting next week, in three days. I worked at a University for Abstract Research, the professor of Research and Identification of Abstract beings. The class I taught was a mandatory freshman course, but there was a continuation which included field work and internships open to those who were in the top five percent.

Before I became a professor, I worked in the field with Taliesin, who was – and still is, oddly enough – my boss. We were in the business of hunting and capturing Abstracts who were beginning to be a problem to the government. If extermination was necessary, we would handle it – Taliesin, a team of trackers (myself included), and a government agent to identify the Abstract – and they were killed, body to be returned to their clan as a warning. I found myself in that job because Taliesin was the oldest of my foster father's five brothers. He was the oldest, father the third oldest. Their youngest brother, Hakan, was also in the trade, but he was strictly research. Being a foster son had some advantages in getting Hakan to loosen up and share some of his knowledge with me, but it was still a task in itself.

There was a knock on my study door. My eyes snapped up as my maid opened the door hesitantly, peering inside with wide violet eyes. "What is it, Kaethe?" I asked, reminding myself she was a timid creature and scared easily.

"U-uh, um, there's someone here to see you," she shifted nervously from foot to foot, looking at the ground. Faeries were naturally nervous creatures, but Kaethe was the jumpiest I had met yet, even around me, though I saved her and offered her a haven at my home. (I didn't even make her my maid, she adopted that responsibility because faeries are naturally clean and I'm a slob.)

"Who is it?"

"A-Aaron," she muttered, "I mean Doctor Aaron!"

"Kaethe," I said soothingly, pushing back my rolling chair from my desk and going to her, "calm down, it's okay. You don't have to come and tell me Aaron's here, just let him in, child. Alright?"

She nodded timidly, biting her lip.

"Hey," I tilted her chin up, "look at the sky today, it is quite lovely. You should take someone with you for a walk in the garden: it would do you good. Now go and think on that, I'll go meet Aaron." She bobbed her head and ran off, clear dragonfly wings on her back flickering nervously through holes in her white satin dress.

I glanced at the nuviera woman, still situated on my couch. "Are you coming out?"

She clicked once, sounding moody.

"I'm locking the door," I warned. Hissing, she slid off the couch very eel-like and slithered out the door. Nuviera have a very high aversion to locks, I noticed grimly, locking my gloomy study door. I made my way down the hallway, passing numerous rooms that were locked for the day, and into the foyer.

Aaron was standing there, admiring a new glass blown vase that was sitting on a table by a coat rack and key bowl. His wicked slate eyes surveyed the glass curiously, shaggy blonde hair falling forward into his face. He was dressed plainly, in jeans, a white shirt and red jacket emblazoned with an opening blue lotus sprouting fire from the inside. It was a gift from one of his patients, and the sign of her clan.

"Do you like it?" I asked, smiling at his admiring expression. Aaron turned toward me and smiled.

"Yes, it's very beautiful," he said reverently. "I love the waves and flower decorations. Was it Jocelyn?"

"Jorah," I corrected, "Jocelyn's hands are too old, she says, so she has been teaching Jorah now. That's her fifth piece that Jocelyn has let her present to me. She has one for you, too, if you want it."

"I'd love it. They're all so beautiful. Jorah is turning out just like her mother." Aaron's slate blue eyes sparkled. "I'll get it when I leave, but I have something for you now."

"Something for me?" I asked, confused. "Did I order something?"

"No, but they were given to me, and I thought you might be interested."

"Them? What are they?" I queried, getting interested. Aaron's smile grew and he shook his head, blonde hair tumbling slightly. "Oh. Shall we go to the sitting room?"

"I'd love to, thank you."

"Not a problem." We walked down the second hallway to the right, ignoring the stairs in the center of the foyer that led up stairs to the second, then third floor of my mansion. The fourth floor was off limits to everyone in the lower floors except me, as that was where I kept all my weapons and Deidre slept in a trance. The key to the door was enchanted and housed under a flap of skin on my thigh, created by Aaron himself when I had threatened to swallow the damn thing. To prevent further investigation without a key, the lock was coded with god-tongue wards.

The room we entered was off to the side, closed off by sliding glass doors that automatically locked and warded themselves when closed, and needed a password to get out or in. I closed them now and turned to see Aaron already seated in a seat by the screen.

This was my favorite room in the house. One side of the wall – the one facing the door across the room – was what appeared to be glass. It was really a screen that was enchanted to appear solid and transparent, but it let a breeze in and the smell of flowers from the garden. The room was filled with plush whicker furniture, of Kaethe's choosing, white cushions and pillows a delicate cream color and patterned in a light, red flower print. It was quite darling. The floor was covered in a soft carpet that matched the cream pillows, and the walls had been redone with wood paneling and finished with a shiny gloss. No pictures adorned the wood, but a small, round table near the sliding glass doors was a place for Jocelyn's and Jorah's fine glass work or pottery.

I strode to the couch facing the window (as all the sitting furniture was) and turned to Aaron, "so what do you have for me?"

Aaron had rearranged his chair so he could look me in the eyes and sat with his legs leisurely crossed, right ankle resting on his left knee, looking quite at home. "I found some glasses that might be of interest to you."

"Glasses?" I absently touched the sunglasses that rested on top of my head in my black halo of hair. "What for?"

"For the same thing you use those sunglasses for, Terry," Aaron said delightfully.

"But how? I thought they had to be dark lenses."

"Well, so did I," Aaron admitted, "but I was taking care of a patient the other day, and he couldn't pay me with money, so he gave me these and a promise to supply me with anything I need in the future."

"A patient? Did he leave a name?" I was very used to Aaron having strange patients by now: somehow they just always find their way to him. Aaron was strange himself, fixing them carefully, befriending them and accepting services instead of money. Although, sometimes it wasn't a half bad idea.

"Yes, he did, as well as a phone number. His name was Flynn LyVar."

"LyVar? Is that his clan name, or was he not an Abstract?"

"Oh, he was an Abstract, but LyVar wasn't a clan name, it is a race. A race of manipulators."

"Really? LyVar? I'll have to do some research." I rubbed my jaw, unsurprised a new race had surfaced. It happened almost yearly that a new one became public. Most races began secret so that they could breed enough to have protection and security in themselves, and then they leaked out into the world.

"You're a good professor," Aaron said, seeing the way I was trying to think of a way to fit this into my lesson plans. "But back to the glasses, they are very useful. Flynn told me you'd like them. He saw the picture of the team of exterminators – when you were still with them – and saw the sunglasses. For some reason, he asked who you were and asked me to give them to you." Aaron dropped one shoulder in a shrug. "So here I am. And here they are."

I reached over to take them from him and looked at them critically.

They looked like regular glasses on a first glance, but upon closer examination, the lenses were covered in god-tongue. The white, engraved runes were packed so close together it was a wonder someone could see blurry forms, let alone sharp images. "How do these work?"

"Put them on," Aaron encouraged happily.

Cautiously, I slid them on, blinking at the sudden severity of the light. The world was being filtered through bands of old god-tongue runes, all moving and shifting eerily. They slowly faded into the lenses, leaving only crystalline images, better than twenty-twenty vision.

Aaron was surrounded by a pale blue aura, the aura of healers. He was smiling triumphantly at the stunned look on my face. "Like them?"

"How did he get these to work?" I tumbled slightly over the words, taking the glasses off and fingering them in my hands. The world took a sharp dive backwards into imperfect twenty-twenty vision.

Aaron hesitated for a split second, "Well, I find it hard to believe, but Flynn said it's god-tongue and spirit-tongue together." Aaron shrugged, "I wouldn't know enough to tell you if he was lying."

"Amazing," I whistled, turning them over in my hands. As my fingers touched the lenses, the runes flashed and soaked up the fingerprints. I noticed a few engraved letters in the silver rims. Squinting, I made out FLYNN in wavy text. "Flynn…Well, excellent craftsmanship, I have to say." I opened my mouth to say more, but a soft, hesitant rapping cut me off.

I glanced over my shoulder at the doors and smiled, whispering, "octopus lamp."

The doors slid open, revealing Kaethe, holding a trembling tray of tea.

"Kaethe, is that for us?" I asked gently, standing to come and take the tray.

"Sit, please," she cried desperately, eyes wide. "I can do it myself!" I stared at her for a moment, but sat again as she tottered over, tray shaking so bad the china clattered with clear rings.

"Kaethe," I started, but again I was silenced.

"I can do this," she clenched her jaw, violet eyes huge and dilated. "I can do this."

"Of course you can, Kaethe," Aaron said relaxingly, smiling at her. "You're doing wonderful."

Kaethe, hands shaking madly, handed out the cups and saucers. She almost spilled tea – hot tea – on my lap when she handed it to me: I took it quickly and stilled the vibrating china. Aaron wasn't as fortunate: some got on his jeans. He winced at the hot liquid, but managed to hide the fact he was spilled on because Kaethe was nearly in hysterics. She was wringing her hands and staring at the tray and gnawing on her lower lip and whimpering.

"Kaethe, thank you very much for the tea. Jocelyn wanted to know if you could clean her room for her. She's been neglecting it to train Jorah, so would it be a problem?" I asked softly, trying to distract her.

"N-no," Kaethe mumbled, "no problem. I can c-clean." With a curtsey, Kaethe darted from the room, doors closing on her heels.

I cautiously sipped the tea. "Coriander. Or Charmaine."

"The tea?" Aaron dapped at the spill on his knee with the edge of his jacket, holding the hot tea over the arm of the chair.

"No, the one who made it. Didn't I tell you? I hired two cooks. Coriander and Charmaine, they're twin sisters. Wonderful girls." I took another long sip of the bitterly hot and spicy tea. It was laced with cream and honey for gentle undertones.

"Shifters?"

"Yes, they both turn into rabbits."

"Rabbits?"

"Yes, at night they prefer to live in the garden they tend to that is roped off to everyone else in this house."

"But you," Aaron finished, trying the tea.

"Of course." I propped up my feet on the whicker table in front of me and finished the hot tea, setting aside the china. "So…will I get to meet Flynn and thank him in person?"

"No. Flynn wishes to remain just a name for now, but he'll come to our aid if we call him." Aaron laughed. "He's a shy person."

I smiled back and our conversation turned from business to friendly chatter, floating from topic to topic to try and catch up on the time we had missed together. Aaron told me of his interesting patients and showed a few new scars from a trashing tiger-shifter; I talked of my new classes and my high hopes for one of my students named Sauda and Headmaster Taliesin. Soon we ran out of topics and sat in companionable silence until the sun faded from the sky and I took him to my room for the night.