Put a quarter in the bard, and you had to listen to the whole song. Maea might have been joking, but Jigano took his role as historian seriously and enjoyed being able to practice it in place of fighting rogue demigods or burying the dead. The subject matter was personally difficult to relive in his memories as he relayed it to his friend, but it was also worth knowing, and a key to understanding how the public opinion of Ascended had shifted since Maea had been spirited away.
He realized too late that he had overwhelmed her. She was but newly returned, and he had overdone his attempt to help. He winced contritely at the weakness in her voice, but it seemed it was a momentary thing as she girded her mental loins and dove back in with more questions. The first he could only shrug at, a thoughtful frown marring his features. "I haven't spoken to all of them about it. Those I have... seem to be defensive of her. Playing up the 'it was an accident' part and glossing over that she did nothing to stop its spread, or that the old gods had to clean up her mess. I was told that it wasn't that important because no one had died from it..." His frown became a grimace and he shook his head. "Again, ignoring Arduinna's sacrifice and handwaving the damage to minds and souls it caused even in those that survived. Even in those I consider mostly kindly among the Ascended there was a... a callousness to it all." It was clear that it troubled him, and he drew a calming breath before looking at her again, finding a crooked smile for her next question.
"The Fae are not happy to have neighbors again," he said dryly, using tone and an arched brow to indicate it was an understatement. "The first expedition into their Woods was largely kidnapped and tossed into a Pit they have in their Village. Amalia bonded to a starwhale calf, saving its life, and earning the... well. The tolerance of the Fae, I suppose I'd call it. They agreed to give us free range of the Wildwood so long as humans stayed out of their Village, but then the Ascended and the blight happened and we were banned from their territory for a while." Understandably so, his brief pause seemed to say. "In Leafchange, though, there was a... a call that went out, from a rare and special being that lives in a place called the Crimson Cataract. She had been struck with the blight and was dying of it. A number of us went to try and help her, in spite of the ban, and against all odds we succeeded. Because of that the Fae returned the freedom of the Wood to all non-Ascended. Their leader, Delah, is a woman of little patience and a great deal of mistrust, so this was a great concession from them." He tilted his head, thinking back on all that had happened, and sighed as he considered what came next.
"Within the Greatwood there is a tree known as the 'Mathair.' It is massive, ancient, and it housed a spirit... a lesser goddess, or something like one, if I understand it correctly. It is a sacred place to the Fae. A place of power." He frowned again, a brooding expression overcoming his features as he remembered what the Fae guards had told him of that night. "The Ascended, some group of them including Wessex and Sam, at least, snuck into Greatwood one night in Deepfrost and attacked the Mathair. When Fae came to defend it, they attacked the tree's guardians as well. Between them and the Voice the guards were all slain, as was the spirit of the tree... and one of the Voice's portals was opened in its place." Jigano sighed as he looked down at the lantern, as if trying to see the souls that might bob within it. "Given that Wessex was Queen of the Hollowed Grounds at the time this was basically seen as an act of war. Delah once again closed the borders to all Grounders for as long as Wessex remained Queen. Wessex retaliated by forbidding any from the Greatwood from coming here. LongNight came soon after so travel wasn't high on anyone's list, but a little while ago Wessex agreed to hold a vote for whether or not we wanted her to remain Queen." He snorted softly at the memory, tilting a glance to Maea with a ghost of a wry smile. "It was a circus, just like Zariah's town meetings, and to be honest the total tally was too close for my comfort, but in the end Wessex was voted out. And so, for the moment, the borders are once again open - for non-Ascended. Some of the younger Fae are curious and eager to see new sights beyond their Woods, and one of them even joined the Guild... right before... all of this," he finished softly, gaze sweeping the fields where so many had recently fallen.
He realized too late that he had overwhelmed her. She was but newly returned, and he had overdone his attempt to help. He winced contritely at the weakness in her voice, but it seemed it was a momentary thing as she girded her mental loins and dove back in with more questions. The first he could only shrug at, a thoughtful frown marring his features. "I haven't spoken to all of them about it. Those I have... seem to be defensive of her. Playing up the 'it was an accident' part and glossing over that she did nothing to stop its spread, or that the old gods had to clean up her mess. I was told that it wasn't that important because no one had died from it..." His frown became a grimace and he shook his head. "Again, ignoring Arduinna's sacrifice and handwaving the damage to minds and souls it caused even in those that survived. Even in those I consider mostly kindly among the Ascended there was a... a callousness to it all." It was clear that it troubled him, and he drew a calming breath before looking at her again, finding a crooked smile for her next question.
"The Fae are not happy to have neighbors again," he said dryly, using tone and an arched brow to indicate it was an understatement. "The first expedition into their Woods was largely kidnapped and tossed into a Pit they have in their Village. Amalia bonded to a starwhale calf, saving its life, and earning the... well. The tolerance of the Fae, I suppose I'd call it. They agreed to give us free range of the Wildwood so long as humans stayed out of their Village, but then the Ascended and the blight happened and we were banned from their territory for a while." Understandably so, his brief pause seemed to say. "In Leafchange, though, there was a... a call that went out, from a rare and special being that lives in a place called the Crimson Cataract. She had been struck with the blight and was dying of it. A number of us went to try and help her, in spite of the ban, and against all odds we succeeded. Because of that the Fae returned the freedom of the Wood to all non-Ascended. Their leader, Delah, is a woman of little patience and a great deal of mistrust, so this was a great concession from them." He tilted his head, thinking back on all that had happened, and sighed as he considered what came next.
"Within the Greatwood there is a tree known as the 'Mathair.' It is massive, ancient, and it housed a spirit... a lesser goddess, or something like one, if I understand it correctly. It is a sacred place to the Fae. A place of power." He frowned again, a brooding expression overcoming his features as he remembered what the Fae guards had told him of that night. "The Ascended, some group of them including Wessex and Sam, at least, snuck into Greatwood one night in Deepfrost and attacked the Mathair. When Fae came to defend it, they attacked the tree's guardians as well. Between them and the Voice the guards were all slain, as was the spirit of the tree... and one of the Voice's portals was opened in its place." Jigano sighed as he looked down at the lantern, as if trying to see the souls that might bob within it. "Given that Wessex was Queen of the Hollowed Grounds at the time this was basically seen as an act of war. Delah once again closed the borders to all Grounders for as long as Wessex remained Queen. Wessex retaliated by forbidding any from the Greatwood from coming here. LongNight came soon after so travel wasn't high on anyone's list, but a little while ago Wessex agreed to hold a vote for whether or not we wanted her to remain Queen." He snorted softly at the memory, tilting a glance to Maea with a ghost of a wry smile. "It was a circus, just like Zariah's town meetings, and to be honest the total tally was too close for my comfort, but in the end Wessex was voted out. And so, for the moment, the borders are once again open - for non-Ascended. Some of the younger Fae are curious and eager to see new sights beyond their Woods, and one of them even joined the Guild... right before... all of this," he finished softly, gaze sweeping the fields where so many had recently fallen.
