Remi's question was a good one, and Jigano tilted his chin thoughtfully as he considered it. "This is only a guess," he said slowly. "But... the histories we've found record times throughout the centuries of the barrier when Ascended were hunted down. The Voice may have wanted freedom and followers, but she seemed patient and smart enough to lay her plans well in advance. No one really knew what the portals were or why they were happening until the barrier fell, so no one knew that She was behind the Outlanders appearing... but if the only ones to come through had been Ascended, it would have been a much easier connection to make, and could have led to Outlanders being killed as soon as they arrived, which wouldn't have served her purpose." He paused then offered a ghost of a grin. "Then, too, the Ascended have strengths, but they also share weaknesses like sunlight and fire. Bringing down the barrier may not have been possible by Ascended hands alone; magic from Abandoned may also have been needed, and those who could work in the day and pass among non-Ascended." He started to shrug, then stopped the motion before it could rock the mirror. "Whether that's true or not, I can't say, nor can I explain how some Outlanders arrive as Attuned... unless there is something in our souls that the process of transfer, and of molding us to fit this world, can only act on with our permission, even if it's only subconscious. Perhaps the mysterious Caido - the god, rather than the world, or perhaps both - touches the souls of those passing into its power and bestows the blessing of being Attuned on those who share a spiritual resonance with it." His smile quirked wryly once more. "The Voice is undoubtedly strong, if the Old Gods could not destroy her, but neither could she overcome them, so my guess is that her power is, at best, equal to theirs - and she can't tear portals in space and time without their noticing it and perhaps... mitigating things, a bit." It was a question they had been too busy with other things to spend much time on before, but Remi was right to bring it up now. New Outlanders were still appearing, after all, and Jigano doubted they had seen the last of the Voice or her plans.
Remi's diffidence would have been endearing if they hadn't already been through so much together that had put them at odds with each other early on. Now it was... well. The bard sternly told himself that the pu-- the young man was at least trying, and that he deserved the benefit of the doubt. Were they not working together well today? "I think... I might," he said cautiously, instead of closing up as he once might have, misinterpreting Remi's retiring courtesy as insincerity. "I am... I have difficulty speaking to others telepathically. It was something... something that I spent a lifetime building defenses against, on my world, where thoughts were not so much shared as taken, by force and spell. And since many of the secrets that I held were not mine to share, it was too great a risk to allow. It has taken a great deal of time here to begin unlearning those instincts." Perhaps the alchemist couldn't understand that, from what Jigano could remember of their first conversation and how easily Remi had seemed to slide from his world into this one. Northhaven had its wars and Walls, its bloodfiends and shifters, but both worlds were very different from the one he had called home for twenty-seven years.
"Ah, Devrum. I've only heard of him from Vai," Jigano admitted cheerfully. "I thought he was a bear! I didn't realize he had two shifts as well. Or that Kiada was Attuned..." A tidbit of knowledge he tucked away for later consideration, a plan already bubbling in the back of his mind for a way to explore the new woods that had opened up to the north.
He had heard the name Ianto before, he was certain, and from Remi himself. It was sobering to realize that Ludo had taken those memories as well, and Jigano bowed his head in acknowledgment of the young man's loss - and his resilience at reforging those bonds. Would he do the same with Sam? The bard could only hope that the two could yet find happiness together. Surely Sam would never abandon the man he seemed so in love with? "Three for you and I... so far that's the most I am aware of," he agreed. "But given how we've, ah, 'collected' them so far when we've not even been here a full year I suppose it's not impossible to think we might have more eventually. Or that we might meet someone outside the barrier with more, however they're gained." A sign of the gods' approval? A slow blossoming of power as they became more in touch with the world around them? Or some other mechanism entirely? "Do you think the mixture has absorbed enough reflected light to test it yet?"
Remi's diffidence would have been endearing if they hadn't already been through so much together that had put them at odds with each other early on. Now it was... well. The bard sternly told himself that the pu-- the young man was at least trying, and that he deserved the benefit of the doubt. Were they not working together well today? "I think... I might," he said cautiously, instead of closing up as he once might have, misinterpreting Remi's retiring courtesy as insincerity. "I am... I have difficulty speaking to others telepathically. It was something... something that I spent a lifetime building defenses against, on my world, where thoughts were not so much shared as taken, by force and spell. And since many of the secrets that I held were not mine to share, it was too great a risk to allow. It has taken a great deal of time here to begin unlearning those instincts." Perhaps the alchemist couldn't understand that, from what Jigano could remember of their first conversation and how easily Remi had seemed to slide from his world into this one. Northhaven had its wars and Walls, its bloodfiends and shifters, but both worlds were very different from the one he had called home for twenty-seven years.
"Ah, Devrum. I've only heard of him from Vai," Jigano admitted cheerfully. "I thought he was a bear! I didn't realize he had two shifts as well. Or that Kiada was Attuned..." A tidbit of knowledge he tucked away for later consideration, a plan already bubbling in the back of his mind for a way to explore the new woods that had opened up to the north.
He had heard the name Ianto before, he was certain, and from Remi himself. It was sobering to realize that Ludo had taken those memories as well, and Jigano bowed his head in acknowledgment of the young man's loss - and his resilience at reforging those bonds. Would he do the same with Sam? The bard could only hope that the two could yet find happiness together. Surely Sam would never abandon the man he seemed so in love with? "Three for you and I... so far that's the most I am aware of," he agreed. "But given how we've, ah, 'collected' them so far when we've not even been here a full year I suppose it's not impossible to think we might have more eventually. Or that we might meet someone outside the barrier with more, however they're gained." A sign of the gods' approval? A slow blossoming of power as they became more in touch with the world around them? Or some other mechanism entirely? "Do you think the mixture has absorbed enough reflected light to test it yet?"
