Isuma's face might have been more owl-like than cat-like, but she happily pushed her cheek into the stroking fingers, purring approval until he pulled away again. She followed him to his new perch, hopping up on the arm of the chair to continue her importuning for attention as he asked his questions and Jigano made himself comfortable as well, grinning briefly at the gryphlet's antics. "Well... hmm. I suppose you know that a group of Outlanders decided to attack the Spire Demon?" he asked cautiously. "Something that had been talked about before, to be sure, but when the time came down to it, it was an Outlander who spearheaded the attack, and he brought only other Outlanders with him. This caused some anger from the Naturals..." The bard paused and sighed, glancing down at his hands. "Not without reason, I think. They spent generations losing friends and family to it, and then were denied the chance to be part of the attack. Many among them didn't even want the attack to happen at all, and risk losing more friends. In the end the Demon destroyed itself - exploded itself, somehow - and killed Ronin in the bargain." He looked up again, smiling wryly.
"That would have been bad enough, if we had been given time to mourn and think about what we wanted to do next as a group. The Outlander-only attack had opened rifts between Naturals and Outlanders and much needed to be done to rebuilt the trust and working relationships between the two people. But one of Ronin's people, a woman named Roana, was impatient and greedy for glory. She gathered another group of Outlanders and announced that she would be breaking open the Spire and destroying the barrier from within." He sighed and shook his head, pausing to pull the whistling kettle off the hearth and pour the water into the pot with its apple-flavored tea leaves to steep.
"Where was I? Ah yes, Roana. The gods had dropped enough hints that the barrier existed for a reason - that reason being, to keep the Ascended and their gods inside and away from the rest of Caido, after what Safrin said was a failed war against the old gods three hundred years ago. Many Naturals were upset by this announcement. They had lived here all their lives, but weren't being allowed a voice in their own destiny or what happened to their world, and their gods. Some wanted the barrier to remain, to respect the gods. Others didn't know what to do about the barrier, but wanted everyone to slow down and think things through before any rash actions were taken. Others maybe didn't care about the barrier at all, but were sick of Outlanders insulting their intelligence and trying to dictate their lives to them, and protested that aspect of Roana's attempt to impose her will on us all." The bard shrugged, face caught in somber lines as he remembered those days.
"The Naturals gathered, a hundred or more, and formed a living barrier around the Spire so Roana couldn't access it. She and her cronies blustered and threatened - threatened violence and death against someone... someone very dear to me, who had been forced into leading the defenders, because no one else could. In the end they realized it was futile, that they would be overwhelmed by sheer numbers if they tried to attack the defenders, and one by one they slipped away, even Roana in the end. But... in the end it mattered not at all." Now the bard sighed, and his smile tilted wryly, though without humor. "The Voice, goddess of the Ascended, caused the defenders to fall into an enchanted slumber that night, and her children were able to open the Spire and gain access within. Some died. Some were badly hurt. Sacrifices were made... but in the end they succeeded in freeing the Voice or... something else like her, and bringing down the Barrier at the same time. But I think it's safe to say that the gods weren't thrilled with what happened that night," he finished softly, pouring the mugs and offering one to Seiji, waiting to see if he had any questions before continuing further.
"That would have been bad enough, if we had been given time to mourn and think about what we wanted to do next as a group. The Outlander-only attack had opened rifts between Naturals and Outlanders and much needed to be done to rebuilt the trust and working relationships between the two people. But one of Ronin's people, a woman named Roana, was impatient and greedy for glory. She gathered another group of Outlanders and announced that she would be breaking open the Spire and destroying the barrier from within." He sighed and shook his head, pausing to pull the whistling kettle off the hearth and pour the water into the pot with its apple-flavored tea leaves to steep.
"Where was I? Ah yes, Roana. The gods had dropped enough hints that the barrier existed for a reason - that reason being, to keep the Ascended and their gods inside and away from the rest of Caido, after what Safrin said was a failed war against the old gods three hundred years ago. Many Naturals were upset by this announcement. They had lived here all their lives, but weren't being allowed a voice in their own destiny or what happened to their world, and their gods. Some wanted the barrier to remain, to respect the gods. Others didn't know what to do about the barrier, but wanted everyone to slow down and think things through before any rash actions were taken. Others maybe didn't care about the barrier at all, but were sick of Outlanders insulting their intelligence and trying to dictate their lives to them, and protested that aspect of Roana's attempt to impose her will on us all." The bard shrugged, face caught in somber lines as he remembered those days.
"The Naturals gathered, a hundred or more, and formed a living barrier around the Spire so Roana couldn't access it. She and her cronies blustered and threatened - threatened violence and death against someone... someone very dear to me, who had been forced into leading the defenders, because no one else could. In the end they realized it was futile, that they would be overwhelmed by sheer numbers if they tried to attack the defenders, and one by one they slipped away, even Roana in the end. But... in the end it mattered not at all." Now the bard sighed, and his smile tilted wryly, though without humor. "The Voice, goddess of the Ascended, caused the defenders to fall into an enchanted slumber that night, and her children were able to open the Spire and gain access within. Some died. Some were badly hurt. Sacrifices were made... but in the end they succeeded in freeing the Voice or... something else like her, and bringing down the Barrier at the same time. But I think it's safe to say that the gods weren't thrilled with what happened that night," he finished softly, pouring the mugs and offering one to Seiji, waiting to see if he had any questions before continuing further.
