Isuma purred under the young man's touch, wriggling in delight before she eeled her way into his lap and curled up to receive her dues, paid in attention and pets. "If you mean that we are trapped on this world, then yes," Jigano confirmed with a nod, admiring Seiji's clever eyebrows. "Though the barrier has fallen, and so we are not trapped here, within it anymore." He tilted his head wryly, granting the facts a nod. "Trapped in different ways, though, yes. Great storms rage to the south and west, constraining where we may go."
The question asked then was not an easy one, and Jigano paused to think it over, choosing his words with care. "The Voice... I do not trust her," he said at last, meeting Seiji's eyes solemnly. "I do not know the original Old Gods beyond Amalia's stories of them and what I have read in Safrin's books, and of their heralds I will admit that both Ludo and Frey have reputations for caprice. But... my experience with the Voice is that she does not trust or... necessarily like those she cannot turn into one of her children. Abandoned and Attuned, and those who were never human to begin with. With her power weakened and her children few she has not made any hostile moves against anyone that I have seen, but if she were smart - and I believe she is - she will instead hoard her resources and grow her people before she attempts another coup."
Respect and caution are exactly the traits Jigano would urge in approaching the gods, if only he knew what Seiji was thinking. The gods of Caido differed greatly from those of his own world, and he still wasn't entirely used to having his prayers answered quite so... promptly.
The bard's smile flashed, bright as sunrise at hearing that Seiji and Ronin had gotten along. He wasn't terribly surprised, given what he knew of the Guildmaster, but it still pleased him to know that his young friend had been helped by the kindly (if brash) monster hunter. His smile remained, softening as he bowed his head in acknowledgment of his guest's well wishes for Rory, the hunter who had tamed a fox's fractured heart.
"The Forest..." Jigano mused, taking a larger drink of his tea as it cooled to a more tolerable temperature. "The Greatwood, it's called. And the Wildwood. Wild, for it has a will of its own, and a vegetative sort of sentience. It's a place of great magic, with trees that move and shift about. For outsiders, like us humans, it will turn us around and spit us back out after a few hundred feet of walking, unless you find the trick of it," he amended with a chuckle. "It is a vast place, filled with wonders and dangers, some similar to the ones here, and others new. Perhaps most dangerous of all are the Fae, a race of small, winged folk who wield powerful magic and are mighty warriors..." he paused, grimacing slightly. "And who, unfortunately, have little use for humans who intrude on their domain." He shrugged lightly, smile wry. "Not all of them, thankfully! But their warchief, Delah, is... hmm. Wisely paranoid, I think. She doesn't like humans, and many of her people take their cue from her. We are not welcome in their Village, and if she had her way, we wouldn't be welcome in the Woods at all." Again he paused, giving Seiji time to think about all that he had said and begin to form his own ideas and questions.
The question asked then was not an easy one, and Jigano paused to think it over, choosing his words with care. "The Voice... I do not trust her," he said at last, meeting Seiji's eyes solemnly. "I do not know the original Old Gods beyond Amalia's stories of them and what I have read in Safrin's books, and of their heralds I will admit that both Ludo and Frey have reputations for caprice. But... my experience with the Voice is that she does not trust or... necessarily like those she cannot turn into one of her children. Abandoned and Attuned, and those who were never human to begin with. With her power weakened and her children few she has not made any hostile moves against anyone that I have seen, but if she were smart - and I believe she is - she will instead hoard her resources and grow her people before she attempts another coup."
Respect and caution are exactly the traits Jigano would urge in approaching the gods, if only he knew what Seiji was thinking. The gods of Caido differed greatly from those of his own world, and he still wasn't entirely used to having his prayers answered quite so... promptly.
The bard's smile flashed, bright as sunrise at hearing that Seiji and Ronin had gotten along. He wasn't terribly surprised, given what he knew of the Guildmaster, but it still pleased him to know that his young friend had been helped by the kindly (if brash) monster hunter. His smile remained, softening as he bowed his head in acknowledgment of his guest's well wishes for Rory, the hunter who had tamed a fox's fractured heart.
"The Forest..." Jigano mused, taking a larger drink of his tea as it cooled to a more tolerable temperature. "The Greatwood, it's called. And the Wildwood. Wild, for it has a will of its own, and a vegetative sort of sentience. It's a place of great magic, with trees that move and shift about. For outsiders, like us humans, it will turn us around and spit us back out after a few hundred feet of walking, unless you find the trick of it," he amended with a chuckle. "It is a vast place, filled with wonders and dangers, some similar to the ones here, and others new. Perhaps most dangerous of all are the Fae, a race of small, winged folk who wield powerful magic and are mighty warriors..." he paused, grimacing slightly. "And who, unfortunately, have little use for humans who intrude on their domain." He shrugged lightly, smile wry. "Not all of them, thankfully! But their warchief, Delah, is... hmm. Wisely paranoid, I think. She doesn't like humans, and many of her people take their cue from her. We are not welcome in their Village, and if she had her way, we wouldn't be welcome in the Woods at all." Again he paused, giving Seiji time to think about all that he had said and begin to form his own ideas and questions.
