"Vai, yes," Jigano amended with a flicker of a warm smile for his formidable friend. "She was the mistress of the Rathskeller when I arrived last Leafchange, and when Isla died... well, Vai took over the running of the Infirmary for a time, before Felix was born." Her family took most of her time now, he thought, for he hadn't seen her in far too long.
It was reassuring to hear that Loren could confirm at least some of what Jigano had read and seen himself, and he nodded gratefully. At least it wasn't a note of something else strange, something that didn't fit, that would send all the notes and hypotheses out the window again so that they'd be starting from scratch.
A pale brow arched with a little more energy thanks to the invigorating direction their conversation had taken, not even the blight able to dull Jigano's interest in conversing with a fellow scholar. Loren's hurry to move past Ronin's name was curious, but given the King's blighted state not unexpected. "It's not an illusion," Jigano murmured with a slight shake of his head. "But the 'cloud-riding' is new to me." And fascinating. He really needed to speak with his dragon-bonded friend again sometime soon... if they could ever find the time. "And if we want an expert on gods, that would be Amalia." Her name was spoken with obvious fondness and pride, a faint smile flickering at the bard's lips. "She knows them better than anyone, I think." Her piety was legendary, after all. "But Ronin is, as far as all research I've gleaned from the Atheneum, the only person blessed by the gods in such a way, and even then only because of a unique confluence of events and people."
Jigano knew that Loren and Remi had once been lovers; he had learned that the first time he had met Remi all those seasons ago in the Atheneum when they had been researching their first Long Night... and had their first disagreement that ended with frayed tempers. That had been before Sam and Ronin though, before Aoife and stolen memories and wedding rings. He listened intently to Loren's words, but it did not occur to him that he and the alchemist were anything other than friends now, or that anything more than conversation had passed between them since Loren's return. "Mmm. It's possible," Jigano said cautiously. "But he had the powers of mage and Attuned both for a long time before he became a manticore. And Ashetta... as far as I'm aware she has no such power or rare animal shift." Not that he knew the assassin well, in truth. Something he had learned the hard way recently, and was still trying to swallow. "I didn't know he could animate plants, though. That's... incredible. Could you describe what he did? What happened?"
It was reassuring to hear that Loren could confirm at least some of what Jigano had read and seen himself, and he nodded gratefully. At least it wasn't a note of something else strange, something that didn't fit, that would send all the notes and hypotheses out the window again so that they'd be starting from scratch.
A pale brow arched with a little more energy thanks to the invigorating direction their conversation had taken, not even the blight able to dull Jigano's interest in conversing with a fellow scholar. Loren's hurry to move past Ronin's name was curious, but given the King's blighted state not unexpected. "It's not an illusion," Jigano murmured with a slight shake of his head. "But the 'cloud-riding' is new to me." And fascinating. He really needed to speak with his dragon-bonded friend again sometime soon... if they could ever find the time. "And if we want an expert on gods, that would be Amalia." Her name was spoken with obvious fondness and pride, a faint smile flickering at the bard's lips. "She knows them better than anyone, I think." Her piety was legendary, after all. "But Ronin is, as far as all research I've gleaned from the Atheneum, the only person blessed by the gods in such a way, and even then only because of a unique confluence of events and people."
Jigano knew that Loren and Remi had once been lovers; he had learned that the first time he had met Remi all those seasons ago in the Atheneum when they had been researching their first Long Night... and had their first disagreement that ended with frayed tempers. That had been before Sam and Ronin though, before Aoife and stolen memories and wedding rings. He listened intently to Loren's words, but it did not occur to him that he and the alchemist were anything other than friends now, or that anything more than conversation had passed between them since Loren's return. "Mmm. It's possible," Jigano said cautiously. "But he had the powers of mage and Attuned both for a long time before he became a manticore. And Ashetta... as far as I'm aware she has no such power or rare animal shift." Not that he knew the assassin well, in truth. Something he had learned the hard way recently, and was still trying to swallow. "I didn't know he could animate plants, though. That's... incredible. Could you describe what he did? What happened?"
