I was going, Mother, to pick roses, to find death

”There’s no proof of such a thing yet,” he admitted with a sigh. ”But it’s something to be wary of with her. With any of the Launceleyns who crave power and want to recreate their old world here,” he added with a thoughtful frown. From all he’d heard, he would do much to make sure that no part of Caido was turned into a mirror of Northhaven or Northwind.

Including the sword-point marriages. It sounded as though Rex hadn’t ‘agreed’ to marry Peter either – but then, she hadn’t been asked. She had been told, and only escaped the precautionary imprisonment due to her own resourcefulness and cleverness. That Maea didn’t seem to take the threat seriously, though, with the flippant ‘don’t worry’ troubled him greatly, even as he tilted his head at Sunjata with an arched brow. Maea deserved better to be talked over, or behind her back like this. ”What’s better?” he echoed the Flood. ”That she accidentally hurt a friend who will forgive her and help her learn from it, or that she accidentally hurt someone who is a threat, when they may punish her harshly for it?” He shook his head at them both, a frown marring the neutral expression at last.

”And make no mistake – Zariah set herself up as the enemy of the Loreseekers when she sought to close us down, trying to punish the Guild as a whole for her personal problems with me. She made herself my enemy when she then tried to use Amalia as a hostage to my capitulation. I see no reason to think she wouldn’t do the same again.” His gaze roved from Sunjata to Maea, cold as adamantine and bluer than the glaciers on the Sea of Glass. ”As for training, we can provide that here – perhaps better than she can. Loren constructed a school for just such a thing, or else there is always the Militia Barracks and training yard, where I’ve been training on learning and controlling my own magic with Deimos.”

He considered the pair of them, attempting to outnumber him with a proposal they had known he wouldn’t like. He knew he was being more stubborn than he would have been had Maea come alone, for he did not appreciate the attempt to gang up on him, but Sunjata’s desire to use one of his guildmates as a spy rankled most of all. ”We have written materials here detailing the different types of magic on Caido, the capabilities of the different schools, and their levels. Something I found last Longheat, researching what to expect from Zariah,” he added dryly. ”I’ve shared them with Ronin and Loren, but as far as I know Zariah doesn’t have access to them, so she actually has less to work with than we do. As for magical research and comparing magic from different worlds, Loren is currently engaged in it, so you may wish to talk to him.”

He exhaled slowly, expression lightening and softening both as he looked to Maea with a sober expression. ”I think we have everything you need here – perhaps with more information and better teachers than Zariah can provide. But you are right in calling us out for not having done so sooner. That said… if this is something you truly wish to do, I won’t seek to stop you.” His gaze moved to Sunjata next, frown returning faintly. ”And while I personally might like to hire your guild to place some eyes and ears in Zariah’s midst… I will not condone a Loreseeker being used as such.” He shook his head sitting back so he could see them both more easily. ”By its very nature this Guild is built around the pursuit of truth and knowledge – not lies and deception. As necessary as those things are in this world, if the Loreseekers become associated with them we’ll lose the trust of our clients and become little more than hypocrites.” Could Maea see that? Would Sunjata understand it? He didn’t know, but he suspected the conversation was far from over.

MaeA She had been prepared for counter arguments, but it seemed Jigano had far more of them than she'd anticipated. Frowning as he added point to point that spoke against this request of hers, she almost missed the permission he gave in the midst of it all. It was made perfectly clear that he did not approve of it, that he did not like it one bit... but Maea could have hugged him right there for that small admission that it was her choice to go forth with the plan or not. The wide smile she flashed at him expressed it instead, and for the first time she reached for the treats on her plate, finally able to stomach it as she set out to respond to his concerns. And to defend Sunjata, because it seemed to her that most of the Provost's issues lay with the Advocate's presence. Which rankled a bit, as she'd brought him along to be a support against Jigano. "As you said, none of this is openly available. Loren has gone to Halo, and has made no such public offers of tutoring. Nor has Deimos. If one did not know to come seeking those things, why should they not go to Zariah instead? Gathering up this knowledge seems of little use to me if it sits here, known only to the ones who already are aware of it." It was a gentle rebuke, but one none the less. Why were the other Loreseekers not made aware of these things? Were they not supposed to share information with each other? If it was every person for themselves, then what was the point of maintaining a Guild at all? "I should also like to make it clear that I have no intention of becoming an ally of Zariah. I want to learn what she has to teach and keep an eye on what she does, not become her friend and braid her hair. Do you trust me on that, Jigano?" She leaned in, eyes seeking his cold blue gaze with something akin to steel in her own. Unusual, but also went to show just how serious she was. Had she not made her loyalty to the Guild plain already, she was perfectly willing to prove it to him here, now, however he chose to test it. "Don't blame Sunjata for this. It was my idea, I was the one who offered to help him. I asked him to come today because thought you wouldn't agree if I did not have more than my own reasons for going." Perhaps she had underestimated Jigano's willingness to listen, respect her wishes... and for that she would apologize later, when they were alone. But she did not like his implication that Sunjata was using her, when it was rather the other way around. "We are all loreseekers in a way, are we not? Does the manner in which we obtain information truly matter? What would you use any of the knowledge hoarded here for, really? What truth are you seeking to impart on the word? Yours? Someone elses? What is even truth, Jigano?" Her smile was gentle even though the questions were not - knowing that she was poking at the very center of the purpose to this organization, searching his intentions, quesitoning the reasoning to see if he was letting his vendetta against Zariah was conflicting with it - but it was not at all done with bad intentions. As always, Maea just wanted to know what he was thinking. you're so cold, but you feel alive.

SuNJATA

the flood

Jigano tilts his head toward Sunjata with the hidden conversation, an added boon Sunjata had hoped to use. But it seems almost as if Jigano’s growing frustrated with it, the way he echoes the statement out loud and all Sunjata can do is offer a light smile. “They’re openly inviting people that don’t know how to control their magic to get better at it, why would they punish an accidental outburst?” Sunjata counters with his own tilt of a head, stormy gaze lingering on Jugano before Maea’s voice hits and Sunjata quells the words at the tip of his tongue.

The comment of creating a space for training here doesn’t go unnoticed, and he settles while Maea brings up her points, each one a good one he thinks, before his gaze lingers on Jigano once more. He sits a bit forward in his seat. “Loren is not in a good place right now. And Deimos could definitely use that time to stay with Amalia.” He recalls helping Deimos set up ramps around his home for Safrin’s Shield. “We should be embracing those that are trained differently, to be more well rounded, should we not?” He has nothing against either of the men, but when it came to learning the benefits and destruction of Magic, perhaps both of them could use some time off.

His gaze flickers to Maea briefly when she speaks, nothing within them aside from business and perhaps a hint of being impressed by the points she brings up, and when his gaze meets Jigano’s again he finds the faint frown. He only offers a hint of a smile on his own. “I already have my ins with the Launceleyns and Halo.” He explains. “I have people there right now, that might even be in the classes she takes. We can keep her safe.” As for the other part?

“She also tried to recruit me, you know, when she came back from Halo. If she has a bone to pick with the Advocates, she’d come to the source of it.” He doesn’t doubt it — especially with the ex-Queen unaware of the fingers he could have in her own organization, the information he could leech from it. Regardless, Sunjata leans back in his seat, resting an arm along the back of the empty chair beside him. “It’s something we both could use, and in the meantime maybe get something like it running down here. But I think it’s foolish to keep her from learning it with others in a similar state when she could benefit from it, rather than be coddled out of the name of protection and love. Caido is brutal, it’s rough. She may not get a chance like this again.” Perhaps there’s a hint of honesty beneath the tones he uses, the rashness of them. The fact that Sunjata had never done well when it came to coddling and protecting when he learned best on his feet, in the thick of it. And the fact that some of it had happened so briefly he’d barely had a change to taste it on his tongue.

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BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

”Loren has gone… to Halo?” Jigano repeated, surprised at the news though… given what had happened to Abasi, perhaps it was understandable. He sighed softly in regret for his friend’s grief, nodding at Maea’s point, but he arched a brow at the rebuke. ”The Loreseekers are here precisely for people to come ask questions of, in a central location easy to find,” he pointed out mildly. ”And one of our members had been in the process of setting up a school. That the world has given him other concerns that have changed those plans puts him in a far worse place right now than it puts many others.” Other than those who had also lost loved ones at Fiat Lux, perhaps. Maea’s lack of patience or empathy with that – indeed, that she would return after a year’s absence to immediately begin casting judgment on a Guild she hadn’t been around to support – prickled beneath Jigano’s skin, reminding him again of the last time they had spoken in the Guildhall before her illness and subsequent disappearance.

”To be honest, Maea? I don’t know,” he said frankly, meeting her pale gaze with his blue one, steady and worried for her. ”You weren’t here for what she did. That’s not your fault, but there is a great deal of nuance that you missed… and a great many things and people that have changed in your absence. I am not the man you knew… and given that you don’t know what happened to you for that year of your disappearance, and how swiftly you wish to join the forces of someone who tried to tear this guild down, I’m not sure I know you anymore, either.” Was he begin stubborn? Absolutely. Zariah and Wessex always brought out the worst in him, but he had earned that anger in ways that Maea had not taken time to try and understand, and he felt confident that the senior members of the guild felt similarly. Sam had gone into hiding and Amalia had been threatened directly, after all, during the Tyrant's reign.

In the time of the Guild’s greatest challenge the only other Loreseeker had been Caiside, and he was now dead.

That, as much as anything, struck a wound in a heart that was growing tired of hurting. He had learned his lesson, though; he would not run away a mere year after learning it the hard way. He arched a brow at her defensive tone, flicking his gaze to Sunjata and finally raising a hand to rub his brow. ”So you thought that ambushing me with reinforcements to outnumber me would make me more receptive to an idea you already knew wouldn’t stand on its own?” he pointed out to Maea dryly before turning to her companion. ”And no, I didn’t know she tried to recruit you, though I’m not surprised. As you might recall from the town meeting, Zariah doesn’t always respond to logic. Remember her saying that anyone should feel free to speak up and then promptly silencing all dissent? It wouldn’t be the first time she issues an invitation and then reneges on it.” He arched a brow as the Flood then went the same route Zariah had, albeit with far less malice. ”Did you ask Deimos this, or are you assuming? He has his own plans in motion… and with a little luck, Amalia will be back on her feet sooner rather than later.” A dirty trick, trying to manipulate him with Amalia’s name and he flashed his tall friend a sharp-toothed grin that held little humor.

”But since you are concerned, I will add a magic class to my schedule. The Voice will be delighted, I’m sure,” he added under his breath, feeling the heavy weight of the sphere in his pocket, dragging his heart down with a burden he’d never asked for. One more thing he didn’t have time for… but Caido had never been kind enough to wait for anyone to heal or even catch their breaths, so he didn’t expect it to start now.

He just hadn’t expected his friends to be the catalysts behind this most recent push. Ah well. Sleep was for the dead.

He turned to look at Maea and his gaze was glacial as she threw away the Guild’s honor and purpose, seeing the teeth she tried to hide behind a façade of sweetness, and remembering… remembering that grab for power, that unwillingness to even consider backing down from ambition that had so reminded him of the Voice that day last Flowerbirth, before she had gone away where none could follow. Exactly as Zariah had, at the Voice's behest, he realized belatedly. ”Not everyone is, no,” he corrected her, just as gently. ”And the morality of what we do and how we use the knowledge we hold matters a great deal – no less than the way it is gained. This is what sets us apart from rumormongers and those who would simply sell information to the highest bidder. This was a conversation I had to have with Sam during the Blight… I had not expected to need to have it with you.” He shook his head slightly, rising to collect his tea cup. ”What I would use this knowledge for…” he glanced to Sunjata, who had been there when Maea had not, at least for some of it. ”The Loreseekers used it to repair the Atheneum and other buildings with blueprints and manuals when we lacked the experience ourselves. To explore beyond the barrier, into the Greatwood and to the edges of the godstorms. To gather Efas Herb to give to the Infirmary for aid with fevers and other ailments. It’s been used to heal wounds and build defenses against the likes of Zariah when the rebellion was coming together, and it was used to help trace the Blight’s source to the Voice. It was used to better understand the monsters of LongNight, and to speak with one and live, and to earn allies among the Fae when their warchief sought to keep our people apart. This ‘hoard’ has helped many, as it was meant to, thanks to the work of Loreseekers who have found it, studied it, and shared it back into the world. The world has moved on in your absence, Maea… and despite the losses we have suffered, this Guild has done much as well, even if you have not had time to read our Archives and learn of it.” It felt as though none of their accomplishments mattered to her, since she had not been there to witness them, and he watched her with weary eyes, ice melting to sadness that she would be so dismissive of those who had fought and struggled, disappeared and died, been captured or hunted in this Guild she so belittled for its holding to the ideals it had been founded on.

”The truth, Maea? Is that you came here today knowing at least something of the past Zariah has with the Loreseekers. Knowing I wouldn’t approve, so you brought someone else to try and pressure me into agreeing because you knew your own points were not enough.” Later he would be hurt that she trusted him so little, and he would wonder how differently the conversation would have gone without Sunjata there; a friendly presence but an outsider to the Guild, in a conversation that centered around what it meant to be a Loreseeker. Later… perhaps with Sunjata himself at the bar. But not now. ”The truth is that you have shown a lack of understanding of what this guild is based around by intending to gain knowledge from Zariah through deception. Unnecessary deception, it sounds like, given Sunjata’s agents already in place,” he added with a respectful nod to his fellow guildmaster. ”If you will give neither Deimos nor myself a chance to help you control your magic, nor learn from Sunjata’s spies, then I will not stop you from going to her yourself – as an Advocate, if that is the road you wish to walk. It is your choice, and though I will disagree with it, I will respect your decision, and I will remain your friend. But if you do this you will no longer be a Loreseeker. Not just because of my personal bias against Zariah, but because of the arguments you’ve given in favor of being a spy rather than a scholar, and a willingness to ignore those in this Guild who rebelled against her to see it survive so you would have something to return to.” He spoke firmly, though there was a sense of loss already in his eyes as he watched Maea across the table, wondering if the name so recently reinstated in the Guild Chronicle would need to be struck again so soon.

MaeA Maea sat stunned. Blanching at the depth of the ultimatum Jigano was forcing on her, reeling under the weight of his words. The implication that she had not worked hard enough to try and catch up to what she had missed in her year of absence. That she was impatient, and greedy. All the things she resented being accused of, hated because of what it meant for her as Abandoned. Why was it that when she stood up to try and do something, all everyone ever saw was the things that went wrong? All Maea wanted to do was help, in the end. With her old governing attempt, with this... she'd seen something she thought of as a problem, and tried to act to fixing it. And now, it landed her in a position where she would have to choose? Between a guild that meant everything to her, and the possiblitiy of becoming... what? There was no answer for her. She didn't know what to say. Something very painful was going on inside her, and with utter disregard for secrets that perhaps ought to be kept, her hand searched for Sunjata's, cold fingers pleading to know he was still there, still hadn't left. She didn't even care if Jigano saw, and interpreted it in his own ways. She needed time, to think. To understand what was happening here. Was she... really so sure about this that she would leave her guild? Leave behind everything she had worked for, all she'd sacrificed for? Maea had no answer. you're so cold, but you feel alive.

SuNJATA

the flood

He should know better than to not expect what’s coming. But what he doesn’t expect is the barrage of everything, every rock and shadow checked, every room moved of its furniture for every piece of a way things could go wrong. And when it came to it? There wasn’t a way that they could prevent or prepare for all of them… But that, to Sunjata, didn’t mean to avoid it all together. Coddling and swaddling only got so far.

Regardless, despite his easy shift in tempers, he finds it easy to remain calm with the conversation as it’s laid out. Much of which were things he hadn’t known – the fact Maea had been missing for a year, that might prompt some of this discomfort – among other things. He’d been here when the notice had been put up that Zariah was looking for Amalia in place of Jigano. He’d been here when Zariah had hosted that meeting – though he hadn’t gone to it.

“Zariah only has the ability to try and get what she wants because people let her bully them into it.” He responds. “I didn’t have to ask Deimos. I don’t know Amalia, but I do know that she can’t walk, and if he loves her half as much as I think he does, wouldn’t he want to spend every moment he can with her until she’s better?” There isn’t much to be said about the Shield and how quickly she’s to get better – Caido was… A difficult place compared to what he’s from. One moment things were fine, the next a flame has been snuffed out. But the trick doesn’t work, because he also works for the General as a member of his Militia – and despite how many people have told him to meet the Shield, he still hasn’t. But in the end?

Did any of them know how much time they had?

He remains silent, however, as Jigano continues on with his corrections over Maea’s words, still leaning back in his seat, attention drawn toward Maea briefly as she reaches for his hand – one he offers to her back for the support she needs as she remains speechless, though his gaze flits impassively back toward Jigano where his stormy gaze meets his ice. “So you will have her choose between something she’s been dedicated to, and the option of having my hand in it as well… For what? Because Zariah’s the enemy?” He asks, a tilt of his head that’s rather avian in nature. “The only reason you’ve made this choice for her is because you know it’s not worth it for her to leave this to go and learn with others in Halo. If Loren is there, who’s to say he won’t help either? Who’s to say that she won’t have friends there? New experiences? But all of this you’d let her throw away because you’re manipulating her to stay?” He doesn’t know if the laugh that leaves his lips is a scoff of disbelief or in part frustration.

“No, you already knew the answer to that before you asked, Provost.”

rely a bit too heavily on alcohol & irony

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3

Maea looked stunned that he had taken the time to respond to her questions and challenges, her needling taunts and sly insinuations that he didn't know his own guild. He watched her reach out to Sunjata and for once restrained the urge to arch a brow. He and Maea had certainly grown very close, very fast... and it explained why she hadn't wanted to stay in the Guildhall. "Zariah also has a lifetime of experience using combat magics and finding those who will do her bidding," the bard pointed out dryly. "Bully she might be... but she's a bully in a position of power once more, with the ear of Halo's Warden and likely some command over the Citadel's guards. I underestimated her once... I don't intend to repeat that mistake." He met Sunjata's eyes squarely, wondering if the Flood would be learning the same lesson the hard way.

"Amalia gets some say in things," he countered tiredly. "I've visited her, too. Deimos may or may not want to spend every moment at her side... but she may wish time to herself, as well. She did before, at least." And that had been a heart-shaking and soul-searching conversation that had torn him down to his core, though not in the way that this one had. There had been healthy grieving and shared honesty on that day, two angry and lost people who had tried to find a middle ground to build a bridge to the future from...

Not... whatever this was. This two-pronged attack as they worked in tandem to have their way, regardless of what he said.

He bit back a sigh as he watched Maea while Sunjata spoke, letting the Flood's words wash over him and wondering at how quickly the last Valair had wrapped him around her little finger. "I told her a portion of the history between Zariah and the Guild when she first came back," he said wearily. "She sought out the Merciless and then made the decision to force this issue on her own, it sounds like." He tilted his head back at the other man, copying the avian gesture with dark humor when he realized what they were both doing. "You wouldn't be here if she hadn't known this choice was coming."

And back to Loren, which drew a thin smile to the Provost's face. "Zariah has threatened him with death and tried to disown him. He hates her more than I ever could, for what she did to him back in their old worlds. He might lend a hand to keep her from doing the same to her students, and she might blackmail him into it by threatening just that, but he knows the danger of working with her. You make a good point, though. I need to talk to him, as soon as I can get away to Halo again for a day." Hopefully not to have a conversation like this again. Loren had an ever-changing heart, but Jigano wanted to trust his friend after all they had been through since the summoner's return.

"She can go to Halo without joining Zariah's ranks," the bard said mildly. "She can go to the Greatwood or anywhere else she chooses. She can start her own Guild, or her own school here in the Hollowed Grounds... make friends wherever she pleases, experience whatever she wishes. But some of that will include consequences, for herself and others, no less than the rest of us." he turned back to Maea, blue eyes seeking out the young woman who had gone silent while Sunjata had gone on the attack. "But whatever you choose, Maea, you don't need to make that decision now." Some of the steel faded from his voice, replaced by an odd note of loss as he stood up and turned to pull his office door closed, locking it for the day. "Take as much time as you need. We're all wound up from this, and that's no state of mind or heart to make choices in." He looked to Sunjata, giving a slight shake of his head. "Flood, not going to lie... your presence here today probably did more harm than good, but if you two are a package deal now, a switch to the Advocates might not be a bad choice for her, if she'll have you. And if you think you'll give her more freedom and support in her purpose than the Loreseekers can, I will regret her leaving us, but be glad she's going to work for a friend." Something cold and wounded twisted in his gut, but he kept his expression calm as he bowed to them both and left the hall. Sam would be by soon, if their recent schedules held true, and he would come back later to see how that book on Flora was finishing up, after a brisk walk and a hot meal to settle his stomach.

{Fin Jigano}

MaeA This... could not have gone any worse. The reaction Jigano just gave was the very one Maea had been afraid of, what she had sought to avoid by bringing Sunjata along. It seemed the Provost was right; she did not know him as well as she thought. And after this tirade? She started to question if she even knew herself. If what Jigano saw when he looked at her was the true version, and the girl she saw in the mirror was just... some mirage. An illusion conjured by her own mind to protect her from reality. In the end, she could not bring herself to speak up at all. Not even as they began to talk over her head, Sunjata as protective as Jigano felt dismissive. She felt like a piece on a checker board, about to be moved without a chance to speak, a moment to think... But at least Jigano offered her that. Time. And to that she managed a mute nod, a wordless promise to think on this, to consider all the implications of everything that had gone wrong here. Then the silver-haired man left, and Maea slumped down deep into her chair, bringing the arms up over her head. "I'm so sorry," she said hoarsely to Sunjata, closing her eyes tight. "This... did not go as I had hoped." Way to state the obvious, girl. ---- - Maea fin! you're so cold, but you feel alive.

SuNJATA

the flood

It does little to keep going in a circle when the majority were too stubborn to change in their ways and their thoughts. So when Sunjata listens to the rest of what Jigano has to say, the commentary that him being there had likely made things worse in the end, he’s not entirely surprised. It had been something, at least, but it still frustrated him immensely that Jigano couldn’t see the way that he was.

It doesn’t matter in the end, however, because Jigano stands and bows to them before leaving. And Maea leans forward with her head in her arms, and he lets his gaze wash over her in his own quiet consideration. “Nothing to be sorry for.” He offers Maea easily, fingers tapping idly against the wood of the table as he thinks on it.

- FIN

rely a bit too heavily on alcohol & irony

BASE INSPIRED BY ODD <3