Tempestuous is a good word for them, the raven agreed with dry humor. But what does it matter how others perceive you? he asked curiously. Your soul is your own, and none of theirs. The shape of it - or shapes, plural - is yours, and yours alone. Others may see pieces of you, even know you well and know many pieces, but you are the only one who can know yourself in your entirety, your complexity, and all of your past. Jigano had arrived on Caido having been born a shapeshifter on his own world, and so he had slipped into the form granted him here without even realizing he might have lost it. Not until much later, at least.
The raven's progress was slow, both so that Cera could keep up and also that they could prolong their conversation as they walked through the pleasant woods. The morning chill was warming nicely towards a beautiful Leafchange day, and Jigano was glad that the weather was holding for Cera's arrival so that he didn't end up in the middle of a thunderstorm as Melinoe had. He sent a pulse of whole-hearted agreement through the link that the gods weren't to be taken lightly, but Cera's next question had him chuckling again.
Much of it is in ruins, he warned. The damage dates back three hundred years or so, to the war and the raising of the barrier from the Spire. But there is that which survived, and has been rebuilt or reclaimed over generations and by outlander arrivals like ourselves. There is no currency, but barter and trade suffice to get what you need, mostly in hard goods, but sometimes in services or favors to be called in later. There is a market, yes, and an Infirmary, where a medic's skills are welcome indeed. Smiths are always in demand. I have some skill with metalwork, and my friend will be opening his new forge soon. Soldiering... Here he paused, his welcoming attitude shifting along with his body language as feathered hackles rose and he grew tense and brooding.
Guards are needed, yes, for there are bandits and thieves, he said, more slowly than the words warranted. But recently... recently someone has taken power and attempted to impose her own laws upon this place. She is an outlander, and not well-liked. She calls herself a 'Tyrant' and styles herself 'the Merciless' and unsurprisingly that hasn't gone down well. Hence why he couldn't go into town so easily at the moment, when once he would have gladly escorted Cera to the Rathskeller for a drink and a meal to help him get started with his new life.
The raven's progress was slow, both so that Cera could keep up and also that they could prolong their conversation as they walked through the pleasant woods. The morning chill was warming nicely towards a beautiful Leafchange day, and Jigano was glad that the weather was holding for Cera's arrival so that he didn't end up in the middle of a thunderstorm as Melinoe had. He sent a pulse of whole-hearted agreement through the link that the gods weren't to be taken lightly, but Cera's next question had him chuckling again.
Much of it is in ruins, he warned. The damage dates back three hundred years or so, to the war and the raising of the barrier from the Spire. But there is that which survived, and has been rebuilt or reclaimed over generations and by outlander arrivals like ourselves. There is no currency, but barter and trade suffice to get what you need, mostly in hard goods, but sometimes in services or favors to be called in later. There is a market, yes, and an Infirmary, where a medic's skills are welcome indeed. Smiths are always in demand. I have some skill with metalwork, and my friend will be opening his new forge soon. Soldiering... Here he paused, his welcoming attitude shifting along with his body language as feathered hackles rose and he grew tense and brooding.
Guards are needed, yes, for there are bandits and thieves, he said, more slowly than the words warranted. But recently... recently someone has taken power and attempted to impose her own laws upon this place. She is an outlander, and not well-liked. She calls herself a 'Tyrant' and styles herself 'the Merciless' and unsurprisingly that hasn't gone down well. Hence why he couldn't go into town so easily at the moment, when once he would have gladly escorted Cera to the Rathskeller for a drink and a meal to help him get started with his new life.
