Woodstains [Open]
Bastien De Rosieres
the Dionysian
Ambassador for the Hollowed Grounds / Artist

Age: 41 | Height: 6' 2" | Race: Ascended | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 5 - Strg: 20 - Dext: 22 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 10 - Int:
PITTORE - Mythical - Gremlin (Disappearance)
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#1
Bastien

Bastien was finally finding his feet in this strange new world. He'd found clothes, a job (of sorts - they didn't pay him, but it was something to do) and a house no one else seemed to want. Looking inside, it wasn't hard to see why -- half of the ceiling had fallen in, a heavy wooden beam now diagonally laying across the dusty floor. Still, Bastien looked at the fireplace, with its careful brick laying and the relatively untouched second room and decided he liked the challenge.

On the first day he simply cleaned, working around the collapse. There was a story in this house, he felt - notches on the stone that looked like a child's height chart and the remnants of an animals footprints in crude cement outside. He found himself growing more fond of it as time went on and his cleaning improved the house immeasurably.

Still, there was a hole in the ceiling. With some effort he had strung up a oiled cloth to protect him from the worst of the weather, but the beam still remained. He tried his best to cut, shove and break it, but the damn thing was solid. For now, he had given up.

Instead he put his hand to something much more suited to his talents. He had found a stick and some grass, crafted a crude paintbrush - mixing some mud and flowers had given him something he hoped might stain the wood of his door. Gently, thinking of patterns he remembered from his mother's dresses as a boy, he began to paint the doorframe, humming to himself as he swirled the brush over the grain of the wood. He was determined that he would have the most beautiful house on this street before any of them even knew what had happened.

Remi Taliesin
the Bastion


Age: 31 | Height: 5'11 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 15 - Strg: 68 - Dext: 60 - Endr: 100 - Luck: 93 - Int: 3
ORIA - Mythical - Spriggan (Ghost)
Played by: Odd Offline
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MP: 3059
#2

Back in Northaven where the alchemist was from, the section of town he lived in was specifically cordoned off for commoners. In fact, his own street was for the lowest of the low: shape changers. In this new world however where being a shape changer was called being an attuned (why, he didn't quite know), and there was no stigma to it, Remi found himself understandably a bit uncertain about his new place in the world. To this effect he'd chosen for himself one of the smaller and more ramshackle homes. He'd never really needed anything more than that anyways, but even so it felt strange to be in a position to not only be allowed to want more, but to take it if he saw fit.

But of course Remi didn't.

Meandering along, Remi spied someone he didn't recognize (hardly a surprise these days). What was surprising was that the man appeared to be working on the aesthetics of his home. Everyone had been so focused on mere survival that to see someone putting aside their fear and anxiety to create something beautiful was a welcome change.

"I have created some proper paints, if you would like." The alchemist said, hands in his charcoal-stained pockets, kind facing flashing a boyish smile, and melodically accented voice ringing easily off of his lips.

remi
Trying to teach my common sense to not waver with my confidence
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Bastien De Rosieres
the Dionysian
Ambassador for the Hollowed Grounds / Artist

Age: 41 | Height: 6' 2" | Race: Ascended | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 5 - Strg: 20 - Dext: 22 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 10 - Int:
PITTORE - Mythical - Gremlin (Disappearance)
Played by: lancydulac Offline
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Posts: 1,399 | Total: 8,707
MP: 0
#3
Bastien

Bastien had hoped to earn a little attention, so he was happy to see a man notice him and approach. He focused close to the wood to finish one more swirl (the grass was a difficult brush but could provide some pleasing fine points if he took his time) then turned to face his visitor.

"Oh, actual paint would be heavenly! This concoction smells like shit and will fade." He pointed at his pot of mud; before the prospect of actual paint had arrived he had been pleased with it but now he hated the mixture. The doorframe didn't look too bad, but it was mostly his skill making up for the shoddy tools.

"If you have any proper brushes I would pay--or..hm." He put his fingers to his chin, tapping lightly as he remembered the lack of money here. "I would find a way to show my gratitude. I am pleased to meet a fellow artist...?" He raised an eyebrow, waiting for Remi to tell him just what his craft was.

Remi Taliesin
the Bastion


Age: 31 | Height: 5'11 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 15 - Strg: 68 - Dext: 60 - Endr: 100 - Luck: 93 - Int: 3
ORIA - Mythical - Spriggan (Ghost)
Played by: Odd Offline
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Posts: 10,723 | Total: 16,193
MP: 3059
#4

The man spoke with an accent not terribly unlike his own, and as he did a warm and beatific smile etched its way onto Remi's features. With raised eyebrows, Remi's sea-glass green eyes appraised the door and he nodded in agreement. "On good rain shower and I am afraid your hard work will be gone." The alchemist said thoughtfully, running a hand distractedly through his curls as he considered.

"And I do have brushes. Made from horsehair." Remi continued, stepping a bit closer to better appraise the man he was now apparently bartering with. And the mention of money, the alchemist merely shrugged. Back in Northaven they'd been on a bartering system, so the idea of actual coin was a bit foreign after having gone so long without. "I am sure we could work something out." Remi said dismissively with a light laugh and shake of his head.

Was Remi an artist? Well. Certainly some had called him such but he didn't really think so, no. He was skilled with charcoal, but he only drew insofar as it assisted him with his experiments and note taking. Artistry required a creativity and imagination that the simply alchemist didn't think he had. Remi drew what he saw; if it ended up beautiful that had far more to do with nature than any skills on his part. "Oh no." He said shaking his head, despite the charcoal on his hands and the bit of blue paint still on his shirt. "I am an alchemist."

Stepping forward, he extended a hand. If Bastien took it he'd find it calloused and well-muscled from all the writing and work Remi did with his hands. "Remi Abruzzo. Pleased to meet you."

remi
Trying to teach my common sense to not waver with my confidence
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Bastien De Rosieres
the Dionysian
Ambassador for the Hollowed Grounds / Artist

Age: 41 | Height: 6' 2" | Race: Ascended | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 5 - Strg: 20 - Dext: 22 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 10 - Int:
PITTORE - Mythical - Gremlin (Disappearance)
Played by: lancydulac Offline
Change author:
Posts: 1,399 | Total: 8,707
MP: 0
#5
Bastien

Bastien touched the wood where he had made his marks and knew Remi was right - it wouldn't last long. He supposed there was a kind of beauty in that, something he could write about as being fleeting yet beautiful...but in the moment he just felt disappointed. Still, the promise of brushes perked him up immediately.

Fantasies of studios and artistic societies began to arise in his mind, hints of his past life coming to tease him. Perhaps he could have it again here, at this place so different to Venice.

"An alchemist..? Oh, how wonderful. A kind of art in itself, I believe." He smiled warmly and shook the hand offered to him. His own hands had once been soft and perfumed, treated with special oils and creams each night, but the last few weeks and the work on the house had made them much more like Remi's. "Bastien. This may be a fool's question, but...do I hear an Italian accent?"

Remi Taliesin
the Bastion


Age: 31 | Height: 5'11 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 15 - Strg: 68 - Dext: 60 - Endr: 100 - Luck: 93 - Int: 3
ORIA - Mythical - Spriggan (Ghost)
Played by: Odd Offline
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Posts: 10,723 | Total: 16,193
MP: 3059
#6

Remi smiled boyishly and shrugged. "Some say that arts and science do not mix. I am not so sure." Perhaps that was merely Remi's naivety and ignorance talking, but he didn't think so. Despite his utter lack of formal training in anything (he'd been born a commoner, and the lowest of the low to boot), but the alchemist had a clever mind and thus far he could not easily see the contradiction between the two fields that others seemed too.

"A pleasure to meet you Bastien." Remi said, bowing his head slightly as his hand slipped back to his side. At the question of accent, the alchemist tilted his head slightly. The word was not one that he recognized, though again, that might simply be an artifact of his humble upbringings. "If you say it is. I travelled around as a boy as my father was a merchant." He offered by way of explanation. Certainly the manner in which he spoke had a great deal to do with his time spent traversing oceans and his formative years on the coast.

remi
Trying to teach my common sense to not waver with my confidence
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Bastien De Rosieres
the Dionysian
Ambassador for the Hollowed Grounds / Artist

Age: 41 | Height: 6' 2" | Race: Ascended | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 5 - Strg: 20 - Dext: 22 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 10 - Int:
PITTORE - Mythical - Gremlin (Disappearance)
Played by: lancydulac Offline
Change author:
Posts: 1,399 | Total: 8,707
MP: 0
#7
Bastien

"Science is art, art is science." Bastien replied in a way that sounded like he'd said it before. (He had, a few times, in debates with the council about funding. True, then he had been against the sciences, trying to steal money from them for his newest endeavour, but the sentiment stood.) He had never been gifted in more practical, harder thinking that was required in science and mathematics and held anyone who was in respect; he regarded Remi with an approving look.

The answer to his question was a strange one. He could not discern from it if this man was like himself, thrust into the world anew. He decided to try and work it out one more time.

"Travelled...around Europe? Or around here? I would love to hear either way. I miss home and I yearn to know more about this place."

Remi Taliesin
the Bastion


Age: 31 | Height: 5'11 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 15 - Strg: 68 - Dext: 60 - Endr: 100 - Luck: 93 - Int: 3
ORIA - Mythical - Spriggan (Ghost)
Played by: Odd Offline
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Posts: 10,723 | Total: 16,193
MP: 3059
#8

The alchemist merely smiled and shrugged. Such philosophical notions were above his scientific mind, and while he liked the sound of the two disciplines coming together, if they did not, it wouldn't worry him much.

"Europe?" Remi repeated, a thoughtfully confused smile on his lips and creasing his brows. It wasn't anywhere that he'd heard of, but considering this land was entirely new perhaps that was not so surprising. "Ahh, well I am from a place called Northaven, and then Northwind before that. It is..." With a sheepish smile, Remi shrugged awkwardly. "Well, I do not think it is part of this place, actually." Looking around and twitching his lips, Remi momentarily wondered if there would ever be a way to determine that for sure. "A group of my people were simply brought here. We are not sure how or why. I am afraid I cannot tell you more about this place as I do not really know.

It is called the Hollowed Grounds and is surrounded by a sort of ... magnetic field. No one can go in or out, and staying too long near the barrier means death. The dark spire you see in the centre appeared when the field did, some 300 years ago. The locals do not even know why."

remi
Trying to teach my common sense to not waver with my confidence
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Bastien De Rosieres
the Dionysian
Ambassador for the Hollowed Grounds / Artist

Age: 41 | Height: 6' 2" | Race: Ascended | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 5 - Strg: 20 - Dext: 22 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 10 - Int:
PITTORE - Mythical - Gremlin (Disappearance)
Played by: lancydulac Offline
Change author:
Posts: 1,399 | Total: 8,707
MP: 0
#9
Bastien

Remi seemed lost once again at his mention of Europe, so Bastien dropped it. It appeared he was destined to be truly alone without a single fellow countryman here. Every time the man spoke though, with the accent so similar to his own, he was taken back home if just for a second; it was just as comforting as it was disconcerting.

At least they seemed to share the experience of being from somewhere else, but Remi knew far more about the place they were in now than Bastien did - truthfully at least in part because Bastien had not bothered to ask. Still, it sounded...interesting. Confusing.

"A...field...? I see." He brought a hand to his chin and considered this. It didn't sound good, but he didn't know how to deal with any of it, so Bastien tried to put it away from his mind. "Such dark things! I miss the arts and bright skies of home! Tell me...as a man of science. Do you have an explanation for our predicament? Are you a believer? I never was but now I wonder if God has decided to strike me down for hedonism."

Remi Taliesin
the Bastion


Age: 31 | Height: 5'11 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 15 - Strg: 68 - Dext: 60 - Endr: 100 - Luck: 93 - Int: 3
ORIA - Mythical - Spriggan (Ghost)
Played by: Odd Offline
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Posts: 10,723 | Total: 16,193
MP: 3059
#10

The alchemist watched thoughtfully as this artist and thinker pondered the information he'd just been given. Certainly it was no small pill to swallow and Remi wouldn't be surprised at all if Bastien simply laughed in his face or demanded proof.

"I do not." Remi answered honestly, as he was want to do. "Nor do the locals. It all simply appeared a few decades ago and has been unchanged ever since. Though I was told that things have been worse lately. There have been more instances of magical malfeasance among the animals and stranger weather."

The question of whether or not he was a believer momentarily caught the alchemist off-guard, and as Bastien mentioned that perhaps a deity was punishing him, Remi couldn't help but flinch. Running a hand through his curls, Remi took a steadying breath and nodded without much conviction. 'I suppose I am. I have met two gods on three different occasions since being here." Running one of his hands along the length of his arm, Remi shivered slightly and tried to block the memories from his mind. Each interaction had been worse than the last, with the final meeting culminating in the utter removal of his love and passions for the only man he'd ever loved.

A believer? Sure. Because there had been undeniable proof.

Pious? Certainly not.

"Though a good friend of mine met an entirely different god and had a completely different experience." Shrugging almost nervously, the alchemist sighed. "Are the gods like that where you come from?"

remi
Trying to teach my common sense to not waver with my confidence
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Bastien De Rosieres
the Dionysian
Ambassador for the Hollowed Grounds / Artist

Age: 41 | Height: 6' 2" | Race: Ascended | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 5 - Strg: 20 - Dext: 22 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 10 - Int:
PITTORE - Mythical - Gremlin (Disappearance)
Played by: lancydulac Offline
Change author:
Posts: 1,399 | Total: 8,707
MP: 0
#11
Bastien

Bastien said nothing after Remi's first explanation, still dealing with the idea of magic existing along with the word 'malfeasance' all at once. He idly wondered what magic could be used for, if he could transform his house into a castle or if it was something more tame.

He noted the flinch and frowned, hoping he had not caused offence. He had said much worse things about religion in Venice and had gotten away with it, but it struck him that was likely due to the leanings of his circles. He was relived when Remi began to speak again although he struggled to keep the new shocked expression away.

"No, no. Where I am from there is one God and...no one has met Him. Well. Some say they have but I doubt it." He snorted derisively, thinking back to preachers in the square. "I must know more about meeting Gods. Where do I go? I want to see one. Draw them. Talk to them." It was a fascinating idea and massively attractive. Bastien was so interested he didn't realise how many questions had fallen from his lips at once. "Are they truly Gods if they walk among men? Will they answer my questions?"

Remi Taliesin
the Bastion


Age: 31 | Height: 5'11 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 15 - Strg: 68 - Dext: 60 - Endr: 100 - Luck: 93 - Int: 3
ORIA - Mythical - Spriggan (Ghost)
Played by: Odd Offline
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Posts: 10,723 | Total: 16,193
MP: 3059
#12

Given how frequently the gods seemed to pop up here (or at least in Remi's short experience), statistically he thought it quite probable that if someone said they'd met a god they probably had. The rules were quite different in the world Bastien haled from, but of course Remi didn't know that. Still, the alchemist shrugged mildly not voicing his bubbling skepticism.

"Ahh...well..." Remi began almost hesitantly, wondering if offering up this information might somehow make him responsible for whatever might befall the artist before him if he suffered a fate similar to Remi. However withholding information was not in his wheel-house so to speak, and so the alchemist decided merely to be as informative as possible. "There is a temple, in which there is a shrine. There is also a shrine in the Glade ... I believe that there are others, but I do not know. I have only encountered one at these specific places, but a good friend of mine said one of the gods appeared to him somewhere else entirely, so it is possible they are not tied to these locations at all. Indeed, one appeared to me in the Woodlands..." Pausing, Remi stifled a shutter at the imagery of the god Frey appearing naked before he and Rexanna in the Glade, or of Ludo using his dead mother to try and lure him to his death. "But I must warn you - my meetings with these two gods have not been pleasant." Fidgeting with his hands, Remi ran his fingers along his eyes and then up through his hair as he took a steadying breath. "I would be careful were I you. I am not sure that being drawn would appeal to them ... or to the two that I have met."

The question of whether or not the divine retained their divinity if they associated with mortals was far too philosophical for the alchemist's mind to interpret, and so he merely offered a boyishly charming shrug. "I do not know. I was cursed for asking one of them what I thought was a fairly simple question. Perhaps they will answer, or perhaps they will not."

remi
Trying to teach my common sense to not waver with my confidence
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.
Bastien De Rosieres
the Dionysian
Ambassador for the Hollowed Grounds / Artist

Age: 41 | Height: 6' 2" | Race: Ascended | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 5 - Strg: 20 - Dext: 22 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 10 - Int:
PITTORE - Mythical - Gremlin (Disappearance)
Played by: lancydulac Offline
Change author:
Posts: 1,399 | Total: 8,707
MP: 0
#13
Bastien

Remi told him where he could go to meet a God, something so bizarre and wonderful Bastien could hardly believe what he was hearing. The warnings were all but ignored for fantasies of being friends with the Divine, of lounging in regal cloud-based cities with all knowing beings. He put down his mudpot and brush, too enraptured to paint.

The other man was clearly nervous talking about this, but Bastien was too interested to care much. He didn't stop talking and so Bastien let him keep going. When Remi got to the end of his tale there was a word that piqued Bastien's interest yet again.

"Cursed? How are you cursed? You look like a perfectly handsome and healthy man to me." Bastien smiled, hoping the compliment might soften the intrusiveness of the question a little.

Remi Taliesin
the Bastion


Age: 31 | Height: 5'11 | Race: Demi-god | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 15 - Strg: 68 - Dext: 60 - Endr: 100 - Luck: 93 - Int: 3
ORIA - Mythical - Spriggan (Ghost)
Played by: Odd Offline
Change author:
Posts: 10,723 | Total: 16,193
MP: 3059
#14

Once upon a time to hear such a compliment from another man's lips would have sent Remi spiralling into a world of self-doubt and self-hatred. Northaven had been a inhospitable place to those with inclinations such as the alchemist had, and Remi had spent all of his life hiding who he truly was. Until very recently in fact, the mere scent of any potential infractions which would lead to having his true nature revealed would have sent him scurrying away. But this world was different. Case in point, one of the gods themselves had outed him in front of two women, leading Remi to believe that perhaps homosexuality was not the carnal sin and vulgar thing he'd always been led to believe it was.

Even so, the smile on Remi's lips was slow to form and his boyish eyes were downcast for a moment as a bit of coral coloured his cheeks. "Ahh, well kind of you to say. If only my curse was physical..." Running a hand distractedly through his curls, he glanced up at Bastien. "In the Woodlands one of the gods tried to trick me into committing suicide ..." Though Remi was normally honest to a fault, including the details about having also killing his mother (or the image of her) that evening did not seem entirely necessarily and were far too personal to share in the light of day like this.   "Another of the gods...well...I must have offended it somehow and it took from me the only thing one might truly be said to care about." Levelling his stare, Remi's pale eyes wavered slightly as he sighed. "My love. That is, all of the feelings I had for the one I love. I can ... remember that I love him. But ... I feel nothing. Absolutely nothing."

remi
Trying to teach my common sense to not waver with my confidence
Speaks with a thick Italian accent.
Force and magic can be used against Remi without permission.


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