Awakening, Quickening

New Mage in Grebefal pt 2

But the report from Neil Jaksson the next day was sadly underwhelming; All he could tell Harlan was that he had heard the woman's name was Harmony, her child's name was Kyir, and the elf–which Harlan did not correct him on–was "named Muse". They were exhausted and were staying at the Inn, which Jaksson said the woman had paid handsomely for. She had used magic to fix a window-strap for Granny, in return for the supplies and Granny's help; and her "elf" had purchased several items in the marketplace with strange, hefty gold coins, spending them as if she had no care for their value. That was all the news he had gathered.
Harlan was more curious than ever.
That afternoon again, he went to the tower; reached out to the town, and sought her out. He sensed her violet aura inside the Inn, along with the child's bright spark. They were close–she was holding the child, possibly feeding him. But at the Inn, Harlan had no eyes; not unless Granny went there. This was all he could know; the location of the bright auras, so close and yet so far. For the first time in many years, Harlan felt a frustration and restlessness rise in him, impatience at the tower and his situation, his inability to see or walk or associate with others as they did. For the first time, he felt trapped; he knew leaving the tower was a death-sentence. But how he wished he could go there, just walk into the room and look at the woman, and talk to her, as others might do!
Talk to her? What would I even say? Harlan wondered. He had so many questions, and he wasn't even sure he wanted them answered; he didn't know what this woman thought of people like himself. Was she as lovely as she appeared? Was she secretly a schemer? Was she cruel, but good at hiding it? Still, he couldn't resist his curiosity, which grew stronger as the days passed, became weeks.

He heard the woman had decided to stay in Grebefal, and that she was a healer; that she had quickly adapted to using Grebefal's currency; that she had a sweet temperament and was polite, and that she wanted to stay. Mistress Fyn must be thrilled, he thought; I'm coming to the tower to 'get sun' every day. The warmth did feel nice, although the whipping wind still set his teeth on edge every time; he could never get used to the way it shoved him and pressed him, blowing around and around, spinning and whirling against the tower walls. But his curiosity about Harmony kept him coming back. He pushed himself harder than he'd ever done before, just to find out what little he could about her; and slowly he began to feel stronger, and to reach out easier, to steady himself in the wind without as much of Fyn's help. But still there were few answers. How was she able to maintain this other-self, this 'elf' image? How was it able to function apart from her? How and where did she come from?