[SE] Catch the Sun Before It Sparks Afire
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Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
Played by: Cirago Offline
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Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#15
Always the question, that which ones, and one he answered with a lopsided smile. "Safrin, once, and only then because I was with my friend Amalia. Amalia loves the gods, fiercely and deeply, and they love her... or at least, seem to be more gentle with her. Ludo... Ludo I have seen more of. Our first meeting was in shadow and smoke, sparks and darkness. They used my memories against me. I traded my dreams to spare a friend their tricks. It has gone better since then," he admitted wryly. "But then, I was born an Oracle on my world. Dealing with the divine and the dead are both something of an inheritance of mine." He was his mother's son in more than just looks, after all.

With the vampire gourd safely fed, they could move on to other matters. There were stories to tell, questions to ask to pass the time, and sweet apples to eat, even if they were a little young and hard. Melita painted a tapestry of images with her words, the yearning for those places a poignant undertone to her tale. Jigano looked studiously skyward as she paused to regather herself, having heard similar tones of stoic perserverence from Caiside and other Outlanders who fought their homesickness with stubborn pride. "It must have been magnificent," he murmured, that and nothing more, lest pressing for further details bring down the mood of the afternoon.

Games, he hoped would be a lighter topic, and he was right as she recounted wonders. "The ocean," he repeated wistfully, trying to imagine what he had only read about in books. A lake so large you couldn't see the far shore, even if you sailed out into it for a day and more. And salty! Undrinkable, or so the books had said, but still fish lived in it somehow. Melita's description of the glass chasm was even more amazing, a miracle within a marvel. He was barely given time to even try to visualize it before she had moved on, and he chuckled at the childhood game of lake-monster. Before he could comment, though, her question caught him by surprise and a laugh escaped before he could stop it. He shook his head and grinned at the girl, sipping his water more slowly now that shade and damp hair were helping to cool him off.

"Not at all! I arrived in Leafchange, less than a year ago. Though in many ways it feels as though my life has begun anew since I was brought here." He shook his head ruefully, but not without a smile. "Has it been very difficult, adjusting to here? The winter must have been terrible for you," he added belatedly, thinking of difficult the snow and cold must have been for someone used to desert warmth.
Melita Najya
the Honeybee


Age: 26 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 57 - Dext: 58 - Endr: 58 - Luck: 57 - Int: 1
FANGORN - Mythical - Vampire Gourd SILA - Mythical - Dragon (Fire Breath)
Played by: Heather Offline
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Posts: 2,913 | Total: 10,652
MP: 9824
#16

I am my mother's child, I'll love you till my breathing stops
I'll love you till you call the cops on me

The information about the deities was always intriguing; mostly because her inexperience was obvious, known, a perplexing mix of seeing things from afar – even the beloved Sun God, had never really glanced upon her small, tiny form. Perhaps she didn’t call or claim even attention, wasn’t seen beyond a speck of dust, ash, or embers in their horizon. She tucked the names away for future reference: Safrin, but not much else was signified (and apparently she could simply ask Amalia about that one – the stars, the horizons, the galaxies; wondered if she was much like their old Moon Goddess, though maybe with less wicked nuances and conniving, murdering intentions). Jigano had more experiences with Ludo, so she turned her attention significantly to him, watching the ivory-haired bard as he explained shadow and smoke, scintillating sparks, darkness threading; an image of damnation instead of light-bringers and halcyon days. “Are they cruel?” She asked, furrowing her brow as they mentioned memories, against, and she’d had that before (her mother’s hands around her throat; ghosts and catacombs reaching for their mortal, living brethren, the opposite of what her beloved parent would’ve ever done). “An oracle,” the girl tasted the word on her tongue, nodding at the understanding, the title, the way they embodied messages. “We had those in Helovia too. One for each god to communicate and correspond with.” None of these things had ever been associated with her, of course, too young, too new, too tantalized and exposed to a thousand other myriad segments and notions. “What was it like?” She sipped her water, hummed beneath her breath.

Jigano commented about her own land and world, those precious, scattered remnants gone under the wake and weight of fallacy and speciousness now, corrupted despite all its ambience, beauty, and wonder. “It was,” came across on a sigh, on a whisper, a little more downtrodden than she’d intended. “There was an…incident with a roaming God. He tricked a large part of our communities and kingdoms, including our own deities, into destroying our homes. We all ran.” She paused, narrowing her eyes, struggling not to clench her fists together, the roars, the howls, resounding in her head, as clear as the day they’d resounded, the throngs of panic and sorrow, sacrifice after sacrifice.

“Have you ever been to the ocean?” She commented, pondering over his background. She would likely compare it to deities: endless and constant, powerful and all-consuming, gentle, tranquil in areas, and some tempestuous, an eternal raging storm (she related, in one frame or another, to its sanctions, born in dust, sand, fire, and flames, but paying her reverence to whatever mighty beacon cascaded before her gaze).

It turned out, however, that they’d arrived at the nearly the same time – but he must’ve been far more capable of adjusting than she, already worldly and wise; her sagacity was in survival, the tenuous branches and boughs of endurance and fortitude. “No – the land we all escaped to had different lands and seasons; though it was always somewhat cold.” As if it’d been frozen, detached, forlorn, abandoned, without warmth or hope, without guidance or reason; menacing and minatory, the heat of their evasions and strife keeping them warm.
M e l i t a
But in our darkest hours, I stumbled on a secret power
I'll find a way to be without you, babe

Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
Played by: Cirago Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#17
"They can be," Jigano answered honestly. "Easy to anger, and with moods that can be... unpredictable. A bit like a cat," he added with a chuckle. "But they are the guide of the souls of those who have died, shepherding them safely to Mort and the afterlife of this world. And that job they take very seriously." He tilted his head up to the cloudless blue sky ruefully, considering how neither Ludo nor Safrin were easy to picture in the middle of the afternoon sunshine. He'd had no dealings with Frey, nor wanted any, but it was easier to think of a god of nature and... fecundity... enjoying the day moreso than gods of night and stars.

Melita's mention of the oracles of her world initially brought Jigano's head up, but he relaxed back, shaking it slightly as a wry smile curved his lips. "It's a little different on my world," he tried to explain. "Each deity has their clerics, their priests, who choose to dedicate themselves to their god. Oracles... are a stranger breed. I was born an Oracle, like my mother before me, and her mother before her. We were born with a connection to the divine... but not to a specific deity. And not without price," he added, a touch more grimly. "The blessings of the gods who held aspects of an Ideal guided us, but lacking the protection of a specific god we also bore curses. Still... I would not have thrown either away, if I had been given the choice," he said, more softly. "Feeling the connection to something greater, the serenity of my Mystery and the Ideals to which I strove... the price I paid was small enough for the purpose I found in life. I am a Lorekeeper, still, only now I must work much harder to mediate between the mortal and divine, the living and the dead," he added with a touch of wry self-deprecation.

He listened to Melita's tale as well, his lips thinning in understanding and he bowed his head in acknowledgment of what she and her people had lost. A god who tricked mortals into ruin? Oh yes, he was intimately familiar with that! Only it sounded like Helovia had no ghosts of the past to guide a band of ragtag adventurers into bottling that particular genie back up before it could unleash destruction upon the world. "I am sorry," he said, voice low with the whispers of what-might-have-been on his own world.

Talk of the ocean was a calmer, brighter subject, but he could only shake his head at her question. "My land was a northern one, surrounded by other countries, and those surrounded by still more. The oceans were far away, though the Lake of Mists and Veils to the northeast of Numeria was said to be vast. My parents crossed an ocean, though, from their distant homeland," he explained.

He nodded with a bit of relief to hear that she had made it through the winter without too much difficulty. Or at least, that the temperature alone had not been paralyzing. The heat was difficult for him to bear, but he was adapting well enough - in no small part thanks to his smooth, golden human skin and pale pelage in his animal forms. The key, he'd discovered, was to never stop drinking water, and he took the opportunity to swallow another mouthful from his mug.
Melita Najya
the Honeybee


Age: 26 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 57 - Dext: 58 - Endr: 58 - Luck: 57 - Int: 1
FANGORN - Mythical - Vampire Gourd SILA - Mythical - Dragon (Fire Breath)
Played by: Heather Offline
Change author:
Posts: 2,913 | Total: 10,652
MP: 9824
#18

I am my mother's child, I'll love you till my breathing stops
I'll love you till you call the cops on me

Ludo didn’t seem much different from the stories and legends of Helovia’s deities, spiraled and woven from her mother’s lips, myths transcribed as bedtime novelties; between the Moon Goddess and her manipulative schemes, using mortals as tool and instruments of horror, murder, the Sun God’s capricious efforts, and the Time God’s messy handlings of procuring offspring, with the Earth God being the gentlest of them all – she’d have to listen to each and every nuance, to understand, to even wonder how far she’d long to delve into piety. Reverence had been entangled within her once, but after Kaos’ menacing, minatory reign, she’d cast them all aside, journeying to shrines to see, to know, to understand, and even then, there’d been naught. She did note, however, that Jigano had left one out – perhaps he hadn’t experienced anything with this being either. “What about Frey? I haven’t heard much about them.” She absorbed the information, noting within her fiery little mind, humming briefly again, grabbing hold of her apple and snapping a piece off between her teeth.

She wasn’t sure if she could’ve been an oracle in Jigano’s world either. It sounded as though there was choice, but not, bred and determined in their bloodline. Melita lived for determining her own destiny and fortune, ascribing to her own strengths, flaws, and frailties, constantly working to better herself. But she’d also yet to find an occupation, naught completely tempting her except imminent, impulsive, impetuous danger, baptized the moment she set foot into the Rift, struggling to protect her sister, mourning her mother. But the youth didn’t have much to say to Jigano’s description, hadn’t lived in the serenity of mysteries, had only longed and yearned for safety, for sanctuary, as they ran and hid, as they ducked and divided, as they cut and slashed and sought survival for another day. She simply hung her head and stared at the ground, eyeing small crickets leaping by, listening to the crows’ munch, taking small bites of her apple, hoping to savor it. “Thank you,” she proffered in response his acknowledgments; then he didn’t ask anything more. Perhaps the bard sensed continuing on would be bestial and damning, extending her twin’s death sentence back out in the open; no more songs, no more flowers, no more halcyon days.

“Maybe we’ll see one here!” She laughed wistfully, a whimsical air restored at the thought of the ocean: childhood enchantments never quite wearing away.
M e l i t a
But in our darkest hours, I stumbled on a secret power
I'll find a way to be without you, babe

Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
Played by: Cirago Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#19
"Mmm. I haven't met them yet," Jigano admitted. "I've heard about them from others but... in truth, I've tried not to attract their attention. From what I have heard they are a capricious god of sensuality and sex, and consent is... secondary, with them. I think there are many who would find their blessings welcome, but I am, ah... less adventurous, in that sense." Which was to say, he had all he needed and wanted in his mortal lover, and did not seek divine intervention in his bedroom!

What could be said of worlds torn apart and lives upended? Gods run mad and families, cities, civilizations destroyed? Much, perhaps... but not anything that a stranger had a right to say. As comfortable as talking to Melita was, Jigano was wary of overstepping the bounds of courtesy. Some things he might pry at, curiosity getting the better of him and overriding tact, but when it came to death and loss discretion was the better part of valor, and he left his companion to speak up or not, as she saw fit. Whether she chose not to out of desire for privacy or simply not knowing what to say, he did not know, but if they ran into each other again - and there was no reason they would not - perhaps they would build the bridges that would lead to those discussions then.

"We will!" he promised, smiling as their talk of oceans lightened the mood back to something bright and cheerful in the summer sun. "Amalia and I, we found a map in an old book. It's a bit out of date, but it showed ocean to the east of us. We may have been barred from the south and west, and the Woods to the north may not be as welcoming of our presence as we would like, but I don't think anyone has explored to the east yet, to see if that map is right. Maybe we will be the first!" he teased lightly, though not without a hint of wistful eagerness in his adventurer's soul.
Melita Najya
the Honeybee


Age: 26 | Height: 5'6" | Race: Accepted | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 10 - Strg: 57 - Dext: 58 - Endr: 58 - Luck: 57 - Int: 1
FANGORN - Mythical - Vampire Gourd SILA - Mythical - Dragon (Fire Breath)
Played by: Heather Offline
Change author:
Posts: 2,913 | Total: 10,652
MP: 9824
#20

I am my mother's child, I'll love you till my breathing stops
I'll love you till you call the cops on me

Melita’s inexperience with anything sensual, lusting, carnal, or sultry became crystal clear as she flushed at Jigano’s descriptions of Frey’s preference and power. The girl had spent far too much time wondering how she and her family, friends, were going to survive than about beating, quickening hearts and the melding of bodies; her mother had sacrificed herself for their safety long before the discussion would’ve ever rampaged through her ears. Besides, the Rift had not been a place of love, ardor, or any sort of passion other than imminent endurance and persistence. When would anyone have had time was a sudden inquiry in her mind, sparking and rooting itself in there, until she shook her head, allowed the cobwebs to release and vanquish it elsewhere; be free. “Oh,” was all she managed to say from the avid description, letting the notions and thoughts drift away, eyes glancing down, mouth shifting into the most subtle of frowns.

He didn’t press, he didn’t pry, he didn’t needle or nettle when the topic fell off, when disaster touched along the fringes of her soul. She was grateful – uncertain how ready she was of falling apart in front of someone if she continued her damned, ridiculous tale; loss, loss, loss, when she’d tried so hard at keeping everything together, whole, when the world wanted to split it into pieces, slivers, fractures.

Instead, it was the ocean that heralded her back – fire and water, her spirit restless to be back within the opposing, contradicting lines, pulled and tossed one way, then to the other, happiest when she was in fluid elements. “Yes, one day we should go explore!” She yearned to press, to unfold, to discover; and if there was map, then surely, at some point, they might be able to sojourn to its whereabouts, to its confines, so she could entangle herself in the sea-salt air, scream and cry with the gulls, dive into its sanction and remember the contortions, the coils, of sanctuary across her bones. “I’ll go with you!” The honeybee youth promised and heralded, a wild grin on her face as she turned back to glance at him, then snap another bite of her apple, mouth full and boldness apparent.
M e l i t a
But in our darkest hours, I stumbled on a secret power
I'll find a way to be without you, babe

Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
Played by: Cirago Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#21
He knew how Melita felt, though perhaps not quite as unsettled now as he had been before Fiat Lux. All the gods were dangerous and could be unpredictable but... Frey seemed more that way than the others, to Jigano. Admittedly, he was biased in having met the others while all he had were rumors of the god of fertility but... still. Better safe than sorry.

"Exploring is something I usually encourage my guildmates to do," he agreed wryly, though there was a touch of pain in his expression before he swiftly hid it again. "It can be dangerous but that is sometimes the price of learning new things. Especially when it involves seeing new places..." He had been burned once already in that, but partially because it had ended well and partially because he was who he was there was no doubt in his mind that it would happen again. "Keep an eye on the Notice Board when you can. I'll try to post it there, when I'm ready to head out, if I can't find you on my own," he added with a smile. She was energetic and enthusiastic, mercurial and fierce, but he couldn't deny the strength of her spirit and, besides, it sounded like she had already lived through her share of hardship. She knew the danger, and seemed to embrace it gleefully. He might not entirely approve of that approach... but he could appreciate it in an adventuring companion nonetheless.

They chatted quietly until the shadows lengthened and their conversation fell to companionable silence. Well before Rory returned, Melita and Fangorn flitted away as unexpectedly as they had arrived, vanishing into the long grass like spirits of summer gone back to the fields from which they'd sprouted. Jigano took himself to the horse trough to clean himself up and then start a simple meal for his host and friend, humming contentedly at a good day's work, and a new friend found!


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