Lyra Mapmaker

393 AC - I work hard because I don't want Zahira to tell me to start over. Out of the corner of my eye, I watch what she's doing, looking over my sketches before turning her attention back to the large vellum unrolled in front of her. She'd been asked to draw a map of the Thessalian Quadrant, with its colorful rice fields, terraced slopes and humid climate. Zahira is more comfortable in her workshop, so the only exploration she does is through her maps. And that suits me just fine, because I much prefer exploring outdoors over being stuck inside. So I'm the one who takes all my surveying gear — tripod, poles, sighting station and reflector prisms — and joins the explorers to take readings and add to my travel journal while I'm at it.

She smiles as she grips her quill with her ink-stained hands. She's probably just read one of my annotations. They often make her laugh, because I put everything I see into my notes at the bottom of the page: strange birds, weird sightings, suspicious phenomena, and any jokes Alisca tells me that are worth remembering. In a caravan, it's usually the Little Shepherd who gets the Inkwell duties, but not on the Wayfarer. Zahira is in charge of those tasks here, probably because Sadeli isn't very good with her hands. Then again, I'm not exactly one to talk – I still have a ways to go before I can paint like Zaza. And I don't even know if that day will ever come, considering how much I like skipping school. Especially when it means I can watch the Exalts in action!

NADIR