From being an Abandoned who had rarely left the Hollowed Grounds, to embracing the call of adventure, to dying and being reborn first as an Ascended and then as an Ancient, Maea has gone through quite the amount of changes in her life. One thing remains common, though, in her attempts to find out just where she belongs; she’s always had a craving for knowledge which has brought her to so many places and to meet so many people here in Caido. We can’t wait to see what else is in store for her!
Congratulations, Maea!
Credits
Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
Skinning and hosting by the epically talented Kaons, and functionality fanciness by the coding magic of Neowulf. If you ever see either of them around, make sure to show them some love!
Her tears had dried and the rain had stopped falling by the time she made it out of the infirmary. Driven away by the arrival of nurses and people with questions, as much as by the need to get some kind of foothold in this insane dream of a new reality. She was still very much in shock. Probably she should have stayed in that clean, dry room, found a cot to sleep on and taken the day to get her bearings straight. Calm down properly, let Loren's explanations sink in... But she couldn't stand the idea of being treated with that careful sympathy, like she was about to break - especially since it was close to the truth.
Clutching the note she had been given, full of names and directions, she staggered about and tried not to stare too wildly at the buildings, the people, the glaring lack of anything that looked familiar. The first name of her list had been Jigano Silversmith, at the Atheneum.... which, thsnkfully, was quite easy to find.
It took her a full quarter of an hour before she mustered the courage to step in through the imposing looking gate. And once inside, she found herself staring up into the vast expanse of the domed ceiling, enveloped by silence, a dusty smell of books and the solemn stillness that always seemed to hover over libraries.
She almost started crying again, out of sheer relief. At least some things appeared to be the same as home.
Okay, so the text on ancient irrigation techniques was done, and that just left the astronomical treatise to be copied, which Quanil had been saving for last because it sounded the most interesting. Now, however, it was time to nip out of the guild hall for a quick bite to eat, perhaps see what Freina was up to and...
...and as they left, they nearly walked right into someone. "Oh, sorry, hello!" They smiled as they backed up, ink-smudged hands held out to make sure everyone (including themselves) were steady and not falling down. This time of year, even in the guild hall, they were wearing their sweater over their red shirt, but the Loreseeker pin always had pride of place, perfectly shined, just over their heart. "Can I help you?"
She had heard the approaching steps but been too busy staring at the far away ceiling to pay much attention. Figuring that whoever it was would be more attentive. A dangerous presumption as it turned out; she jumped back just as quickly as the other person.
"So sorry, are you..?" Okay, yes. The person did seem okay. She looked at the other, then had to look again. Mind rudely raking over silhouette and features in some attempt to classify them, sort them into some recognizeable category - bad habit, it didn't even matter as they were clearly too young anyway - until she caught herself and looked away. Awkward. Self conscious, in the patched, ill-fitting mishmash of hand me down garments Loren had found for her just recently.
Help? Oh gods yes, did she need help.
"Uhm, possibly... I'm looking for the Loreseekers guild? And a person named Jigano. I was told that I might... that is, I'm looking for a job. Are... do you know where I might find it? Them..."
Realizing she was blabbering, with an uncomfortable prickly heat rising from shoulderblades to the cheeks, she clamped her mouth shut with an audible click of the teeth. Sweating profusely despite the cool, dry air... the paper rustled faintly as she shifted it nervously between uneasy fingers.
They brightened when she mentioned both their guild and guild master. "Provost Jigano Silversmith isn't here at the moment, but you have come to the right place!" They turned and indicated the door to the guild hall, with its emblem of a book radiating rays of knowledge, then turned back and, puffing their chest out proudly, pointed at the pin on their sweater. "I'm a junior member of the Loreseekers' Guild. My name is Quanil. Pleased to meet you, um...?" They trailed off, hoping for a name.
Relief mingled with disappointment at the response. Finding the right place without the right person present was only half a success. Rubbing one arm with fingers that felt stiff and cold, she followed the gesture with her eyes, to the door. Right. Obvious enough.
"Petra," she replied, flashing Quanil a quick smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "You wouldn't happen to know when he will return?" It was a setback, to stumble right from the start. She didn't think it would be a good idea to move on to the next point on the list until she'd gotten a reply here, which meant... that she'd have to keep imposing on the infirmary for food and shelter. Not a great situation. Not that anything about this was good at all.
Uncertainly, she shifted the weight between her feet. Longed for something to tie the blonde hair back with so it wouldn't tumble in an unruly mane around the face and shoulders. Not that it would help appearances any, with the awful clothes and her hopeless body being what they were, but... oh well.
"No, sorry," they replied. Then they brightened. "Hey, maybe we can track him down! We can seek out the Loreseeker!" They giggled, pleased with themselves and the idea. "And maybe get some food." That was why they'd left the guild hall in the first place, after all. Helping someone would always take precedence, but maybe she wanted to eat, too?
"Are you new here, Miss Petra? Like... Outlander new or just not from the Hollowed Ground?"
The suggestion was met with a very unenthusiastic half shrug, more an uncomfortable squirm really. "No, thats... It's fine, I can just come back later," she said, waving a hand in placating dismissal. Like you might try to shoo off a dog, make it sit or at least ease off a bit.
"I... yes," she replied lamely, to the second question. There was something haunted over her expression, a little wild. Like she had seen too much she didn't like and had no way to make it stop. "Outlander..? I suppose that's a good word for it. It happened.. earlier today. This morning."
Only half a day ago. Already too long, and definitely not long enough to be comfortable with anything.
"OH. You're very new. Wow, um." This was the newest new arrival they'd ever met, and they weren't really sure how to deal with that. Then... "Wait, how do you know the provost? Are you from his world? Has his fame extended beyond Caido to other worlds and realms?! I mean, it's about time, if so!"
They remembered that Miss Melita was Mr. Sunjata's niece and followed that up with, "Are you related to the provost somehow? Are you his niece? Or some other family member?" She didn't look much like the guild master but sometimes that happened, especially if she were something like his third cousin twice removed on his father's side.
It was a whole barrage of questions, and frankly she was not equipped to handle this kind of thing even at the best of times. Right now? Overwhelmed and shellshocked, barely keeping the panic at bay? The enthusiastic curiosity felt more like blows to the mind. She actually took a few steps back with shoulders pulled up, an involuntary scowl darkening the expression, something pained flashing in dark green eyes.
"Don't jump to conclusions," she snapped, a little harsher than intended as the pressure turned to frustration. The tangents Quanil went out on were insane, and completely unfounded. And she didn't want to have to explain anything to this kid. "I told you, someone suggested this place to me. I have no idea who Jigano is, just that he might give me a job so I can eat and find a place to live!"
Gods, this really wasn't going well. Agitated heartbeats roared like thunder in her ears, and her hands were shaking again. With poorly controlled breaths she tucked icy fingers into the armpits, not sure what her face looked like... blanched and stiff or blotchy red and panicked? Didn't matter, results were the same.
She really wanted to leave. Find some hole to crawl into and hide away... at least until the urge to cry or scream had passed.
Quanil blinked at the new arrival's sudden lashing out, and actually took a step backwards. It was almost as if she'd put up a wall, though they were mostly sure there wasn't actually one. But in her annoyance, she'd provided them with all the answer they needed. She didn't specifically need the provost, she needed food, shelter, and employment! They knew exactly where to suggest to her for that!
"Oh! In that case, you should check out the VlamVloed! I can take you! I used to work and live there. I don't know if Mr. Sunjata's around, but he's very, very nice. He's the owner," they added, since she likely wouldn't know that.
She felt bad as soon as the words left her mouth. For snapping, for losing control over herself, for making the kid recoil. Usually she was better at putting on the nice pleasant 'nothing is wrong' mask, but it was so difficult in this place. In this circumstance, where nothing made sense and she had no idea what was expected of her.
And Quanil didn't exactly help. Again they veered off in a completely unexpected direction, and her nerves were not made for this shit. The steadying breath she took was shuddering, again teetering on the brink of a complete meltdown. Like that time she had walked home in the pouring rain, footsore and so wrung out she'd bawled the whole way, for no good reason. Wondering, hoping, wishing a car would come speeding by, that there might be some unfortunate accident... so it would all just stop.
There hadn't been a single vehicle on the road that day.
"Does that mean I can not work here?" she tried, with immense effort managing to keep herself from snapping again. Probably this was not the right person to talk to, but if her basic needs could not be met in this place... then there was no point in waiting for this Jigano person.
The place Quanil suggested... was not on her list. A quick glance confirmed it. "What is the Vlam... whatever you said?" She didn't sound very enthusiastic. But then, that was pretty much her default state of mind, so. Nothing new there.
"Oh, well, I wouldn't say being a Loreseeker is a profession. It's...," and their voice verged on reverence, "a calling." After that it returned to normal. "And it's not my place to say who can and can't join the guild. It really is up to the provost, so I'm afraid I can't help you there."
They were, honestly, a little confused at the idea of being a Loreseeker as a profession. They supposed it could be considered such. Maybe. If you squinted. Hoping it would help Miss Petra, they added, "Being a Loreseeker doesn't really get you much in the way of material goods anyway."
They did grin a little at her stumbling over 'VlamVloed'. At least, they assumed she'd stumbled over it. "VlamVloed," they said again, just a tad slower. "It's Korofian - from the world Mr. Sunjata's from. Apparently it means 'Fire and Flood'; it has personal meaning to him." It wasn't all that personal, but it also wasn't really their story to share. "Anyway, it's a public house, bar, tavern, inn... whichever word you prefer for it. It's a meeting place. With alcohol." They smiled. "Mr. Sunjata rents rooms there, and I worked for him to cover my stay. Just basic stuff: sweeping and mopping, cleaning tables, that sort of thing. It's easy, but sometimes it gets really busy in there, and then it gets hard to keep up!"
What she gathered from all of that was that Loren had been mistaken, the Loreseekers were not a good place to start out. A pity, really... she had always wanted to be a librarian. But apparently it wasn't meant to be in this world either.
As for the other place... It sounded much like the kind of things she had always tried to avoid. Alcohol, people, being busy... The idea of working in a place where she would be thrust into the company of others on a daily basis was uncomfortable. But as she looked over her list, all of these places were the same. Artisans guild... whatever an artisan was, she doubted it was anything for her. Bakery... well that was a double no, she'd never made a decent loafof bread in her life and couldn't haggle to save her life. Not like the was picky on purpose, or had that kind of luxury, but she would have to at least be decent at what she tried to be hired as, right?
And any idiot could clean. Seemed bottom row enough. "Alright," she said slowly. "Where can I find the bar, then? And its owner. Preferably at the same time."
Supposedly it was no rush to be out of the infirmary and to her own place, but she really hated being a burden. The sooner she could be even marginally independent, the better.
04-15-2020, 08:34 PM (This post was last modified: 04-26-2020, 11:09 PM by Quanil.)
They beamed. "C'mon, I'll take you there!" They resumed heading out, waving to her to come along. "Hopefully Mr. Sunjata will be there; he also has a boxing ring called the Slagveld over in Torchline, and I think he prefers it out there, but maybe he'll be at the VlamVloed. If not, we can portal over to Torchline and try to find him.
"But we should check the nearest place first and see if maybe we can get some food while we're there. I'm hungry. Are you hungry at all, Miss Petra?"
As usual, Quanil would continue to chatter away at Miss Petra, whether she liked it or not. But they'd make sure she get fed, and that was some help at least.
