He tilted his head at Oliver's question, a brow rising in curiosity. "Do you know how to make such a thing?" he asked his fellow delver. "On my world I'd heard of such things in the southern civilized lands, but I've never seen one. They were gnomish contraptions, I believe... but books made without being written by hand were vanishingly rare in Numeria." His was a land of contradictions, traditional magic and the futuristic technology of the Rain of Stars interacting in strange and often deadly ways. He had trained to preserve a largely oral tradition, though he loved books when he could get his hands on them, but they were not as common in his northern land as they were to the south, and the means of producing them tended towards the simple given the literacy rate.
Oliver's questions were genuinely anxious, and Jigano paused in his perusal of the crates to look over at his young friend soberly. "I don't know," he admitted gently. "Though I don't think so. She wanted us to break her out of the Barrier and the Spire.. something we did admirably, I'm afraid. Some Naturals, too, but mostly Outlanders who weren't familiar with the world or its history - or who didn't care - rushed to open the Spire and free those trapped within the old Barrier. They did it for the best of intentions in most cases, but the result was still the same. The Voice was freed along with everyone else. And the old gods aren't pleased. The Fae have already banned the Ascended from the Greatwood - a ban the Ascended continue to break, I might add - and she has encouraged her Ascended to expand their power and reach through killing others before. I think it's wise to be afraid. But..." He sighed and shook his head as he began to free the box from the others around it. "I don't think she had further plans for most outlanders, no. If she could control who came through the portals from other worlds, I think we'd all have arrived as Ascended to swell her forces. She might continue bringing people through in the hopes of increasing her own side's numbers, though, even if she has to gamble on hoping that some percentage of new arrivals are Ascended rather than Attuned." Something that hadn't been working out in her favor, based on those Outlanders he'd met. Most seemed to be Abandoned, in fact, though at least they might be neutral towards her, having no reason to love or help the Old Gods who treated them with such disdain.
Oliver's questions were genuinely anxious, and Jigano paused in his perusal of the crates to look over at his young friend soberly. "I don't know," he admitted gently. "Though I don't think so. She wanted us to break her out of the Barrier and the Spire.. something we did admirably, I'm afraid. Some Naturals, too, but mostly Outlanders who weren't familiar with the world or its history - or who didn't care - rushed to open the Spire and free those trapped within the old Barrier. They did it for the best of intentions in most cases, but the result was still the same. The Voice was freed along with everyone else. And the old gods aren't pleased. The Fae have already banned the Ascended from the Greatwood - a ban the Ascended continue to break, I might add - and she has encouraged her Ascended to expand their power and reach through killing others before. I think it's wise to be afraid. But..." He sighed and shook his head as he began to free the box from the others around it. "I don't think she had further plans for most outlanders, no. If she could control who came through the portals from other worlds, I think we'd all have arrived as Ascended to swell her forces. She might continue bringing people through in the hopes of increasing her own side's numbers, though, even if she has to gamble on hoping that some percentage of new arrivals are Ascended rather than Attuned." Something that hadn't been working out in her favor, based on those Outlanders he'd met. Most seemed to be Abandoned, in fact, though at least they might be neutral towards her, having no reason to love or help the Old Gods who treated them with such disdain.
