"After being told that your conversation partner isn't in the mood for games you continue to push boundaries where you've been told it isn't wanted?" He asked of Amun with a raised brow, disappointed but not surprised at this point. "Staying silent and staying inside are good ways to stay alive. But if you don't believe me, you're free to step outside again, and see if it goes better for you this time." He thought he vaguely recalled an injured Ascended man being let in at one point. Since Amun certainly hadn't begun the week at the Guild it seemed reasonable that it had been him, though what he'd been doing out in the dark Jigano still didn't know.
Fiat Lux should have been a lighter turn of conversational topic, but Amun managed to turn even that into a conflict, and Jigano felt annoyance rising even through his grief. "I hadn't been worried before you felt the need to put emphasis on it," he pointed out dryly.
He was regretting offering to tell them about the Greatwood. Well, one of them, at least. Aonghas seemed a courteous enough fellow, though Amun came across as more of a hormonal teenager, complete with adolescent sass and an overactive libido. At least the blond had been doing more listening than flirting, and Jigano nodded firmly at his guesses. "Yes to both, actually," he agreed with approval. "They are protective of their home, and no one who isn't Fae is allowed in Sidhe Village. The Greatwood has been closed to the barrierfolk before as well, though at the moment I believe only Ascended are forbidden to cross the border. They don't take to trespassers well, to say the least." He tilted his head at Aonghas's question thoughtfully. "Initially they kidnapped some of the first to explore into the Greatwood when the barrier that once isolated this area first fell, but they were eventually released unharmed. As long as you don't cross the line, they leave you alone. Once you're in their woods, though, they have little patience for unnecessary killing or destruction in their home."
He grimaced faintly, putting the suturing book away. "Almost all of the hostilities so far have been towards them, not from them. The first expedition was an innocent mistake. But then the Voice used the Ascended to spread her blight into the Greatwood, a sickness that infected all living things and which would have killed the woods within a year if left unchecked." It had also affected many in the Hollowed Grounds, as well. "The old gods and a Wild Fae named Arduinna worked together to create a solution for it... one which Arduinna sacrificed herself to accomplish, saving the woods and those of us who had also been afflicted." He paused to swallow back the lump in his throat that still rose when he thought about that dark time. "That is why the Ascended aren't welcome there anymore. For betraying the hospitality of the wood and bringing death and sickness to the homes and families of the Fae." He turned a cool gaze on Amun, though he still spoke to Aonghas. "Then, recently, a second trespass occurred. A group of Ascended violated the peace, went into the Greatwood, and proceeded to attack and kill one of the Fae's most sacred landmarks... and murdered those Fae who guarded it and tried to stop them. After LongNight I suppose we'll learn what the consequences of that action will be," he said, shaking his head wearily. "Though the Fae are understandably angry at the moment, and likely to remain so for some time, given how much longer they live than humans do."
Fiat Lux should have been a lighter turn of conversational topic, but Amun managed to turn even that into a conflict, and Jigano felt annoyance rising even through his grief. "I hadn't been worried before you felt the need to put emphasis on it," he pointed out dryly.
He was regretting offering to tell them about the Greatwood. Well, one of them, at least. Aonghas seemed a courteous enough fellow, though Amun came across as more of a hormonal teenager, complete with adolescent sass and an overactive libido. At least the blond had been doing more listening than flirting, and Jigano nodded firmly at his guesses. "Yes to both, actually," he agreed with approval. "They are protective of their home, and no one who isn't Fae is allowed in Sidhe Village. The Greatwood has been closed to the barrierfolk before as well, though at the moment I believe only Ascended are forbidden to cross the border. They don't take to trespassers well, to say the least." He tilted his head at Aonghas's question thoughtfully. "Initially they kidnapped some of the first to explore into the Greatwood when the barrier that once isolated this area first fell, but they were eventually released unharmed. As long as you don't cross the line, they leave you alone. Once you're in their woods, though, they have little patience for unnecessary killing or destruction in their home."
He grimaced faintly, putting the suturing book away. "Almost all of the hostilities so far have been towards them, not from them. The first expedition was an innocent mistake. But then the Voice used the Ascended to spread her blight into the Greatwood, a sickness that infected all living things and which would have killed the woods within a year if left unchecked." It had also affected many in the Hollowed Grounds, as well. "The old gods and a Wild Fae named Arduinna worked together to create a solution for it... one which Arduinna sacrificed herself to accomplish, saving the woods and those of us who had also been afflicted." He paused to swallow back the lump in his throat that still rose when he thought about that dark time. "That is why the Ascended aren't welcome there anymore. For betraying the hospitality of the wood and bringing death and sickness to the homes and families of the Fae." He turned a cool gaze on Amun, though he still spoke to Aonghas. "Then, recently, a second trespass occurred. A group of Ascended violated the peace, went into the Greatwood, and proceeded to attack and kill one of the Fae's most sacred landmarks... and murdered those Fae who guarded it and tried to stop them. After LongNight I suppose we'll learn what the consequences of that action will be," he said, shaking his head wearily. "Though the Fae are understandably angry at the moment, and likely to remain so for some time, given how much longer they live than humans do."
