Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
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04-25-2020, 06:05 PM (This post was last modified: 04-26-2020, 02:24 PM by Aisha.)
A replacement sword? Nothing could really replace her weapon, it'd been a family heirloom, and for that reason she wasn't too upset about it being left behind. It would be given to someone else back home, someone to fill her spot, and it felt good thinking that a part of her could still be there. It hurt too, knowing that all that remained for her was photos and memories, and a golden fuller that branched into well honed silver.
"That would be great," she said, finding herself thanking the man quite often. He'd been very helpful thus far, and so when he'd asked for more about her home she'd felt obligated to return the favor. He seemed disappointed to hear that they had no partial forms back home, "Are you from somewhere with half shifts?"
He asked for clarification on what she'd said, and she nodded "Mhm." To his second part she replied, "Well it usually turns out that way, depending on how deep the lineage goes. Usually you inherit it unless your parents are of two different shifts, then it's a bit of a wildcard. Sometimes you can be born different though, there are always those cases." Aisha herself was no such case, The Khai leadership was long and proud, and the leopardkin almost always gave way to leopardkin.
He nodded thoughtfully as she accepted his tentative offer, and he slanted a wry glance at her from the corner of his eyes. "You'll have to describe to me what you want, in detail. I might be able to forge one... but I can craft one with magic that should last you for a season while you find a longer-lived replacement." If she preferred a sword now rather than later, at least.
Her return question quirked a smile and he gave a slight shake of his head. "My world was far more... ah, diverse than this one. There were many races, some humanoid, or related to humans, but many not. My own, though, was race of fox people called kitsune... humanoid foxes. We walk upright and have fingers and thumbs, but otherwise, well. Furred, tailed, clawed, and with heads far more foxlike than human. We're all born that way." He paused, then shrugged. "But we're also all born with the magical talent to shift to a fully human disguise. Only some are born with the additional ability to shift fully into a fox form, though it ran in my own family." A trait he had spent most of his life hiding from all others, at his parents' request.
He listened to the description of Aisha's own people, nodding thoughtfully. "I haven't heard of such thing. On my world kitsune always bred kitsune. Tengu bred tengu. Catfolk bred catfolk." He hesitated, then gave a light shrug to indicate that it was neither here nor there. "May I ask what shift you held? Or... hold?" he asked tentatively.
"I can wait for one, I'll go to those military barracks and pick up a temp," she said with a soft smile, excited for those plans to come to fruition.
Jigano went on to answer her question, describing the races of his own world. He threw out a name, Kitsune and described them as fox people. Their counterpart in her world were foxkin, Aisha had met only a couple before. Unlike Jigano's world however, the default for foxkin was not a hybrid vulpine headed man, but a human. It was an interesting concept, made even more so curious when he said that only some could fully become their animal.
"So on your world you had a fox's head?" she asked, trying to imagine what he might've looked like.
A few more terms unheard of, tengu, catfolk (though she could guess what that meant), Aisha shrugged, "We're technically all the same race, just born with different forms based on the path's we're meant to take. I guess. It's so weird describing this. It's like when you try to describe something that is common knowledge but nobody really knows how it happens."
"I'm a leopard," she answered a hint of pride in her hazel gaze when she turned to look at him. This was an answer she was sure of, and happy to tell. A leopard she'd been and a leopard she'd always be.
Her answer earned a slight smile and a nod of both acceptance and approval for her decision to seek out a weapon herself, rather than having one handed to her. Not one to just take the easy path, this Aisha, or so it seemed so far. A trait that would stand her in good stead on Caido.
It was a little strange to be reminiscing about his world after so long away from it, but her question brought a chuckle out as the earlier tension eased between them. "No, I had a kitsune's head... but I was almost never in that form. My parents had moved to an area where kitsune were uncommon. Not for any bad reason, but they were cautious all the same. In order to fit in and not make waves in the town they joined they kept their human disguises up all the time, and raised me to do the same." He shrugged lightly, unbothered by it when it was all he'd ever known until he came to Caido. "After I was about... oh, five or six, I think? I don't really remember taking my birth-form hardly ever after that. We took our full foxshapes much more often and easily to hunt and play." Not that he'd had any siblings to play with. It had mostly been just his mother and him, his father too busy at the forge for much frivolity.
The bard tilted his head in acknowledgment of the strangeness of trying to describe something that just was, but he was getting a better idea of Aisha's world from her descriptions. "A leopard? A powerful shift," he praised, meeting her hazel eyes and liking the confidence he saw there. "And you're more prepared than most for what it means to be Attuned here, with it. I wonder what other shapes you might find the longer you're here?" It was mostly rhetorical, a question without an answer until it happened, but it could be fun to speculate about.
The further he explained his world the more she understood where she had misinterpreted. She'd assumed his was a world of shifters like her own, but the way he spoke of hiding among humans made her realize that maybe the humans he spoke of were more akin to the accepted here, rather than those on her world. "Gotcha," she agreed, nodding in understanding as he spoke.
When he spoke of ages another question came to mind, "How long ago did you get brought here?" she asked, wondering just how far back this whole portal thing went.
The leopardess grinned at his praise, certainly agreeing with it. On her world shifts had been limited to no animal, she'd known many different species, predator and prey, reptile to mammal. To be born leopardkin, it had it's benefits, and she was like her family in that she was proud of her heritage. Jigano said she'd be more prepared for this world than some others, being a shifter before coming. "I'd hope so, I have a lot on my hands without it," she replied with a cynical giggle.
As for other shifts? This was something she'd thought about since Oliver had mentioned it was possible. On her world, those who could claim more than one animal were nearly unheard of, and those few who existed were beyond powerful and highly revered. It was strange to now be able to expect it, that it might be a natural progression, but incredibly exciting all the same. "Something with wings, or horns. Something way different," she decided.
"Two years, now." It was answer he didn't have to think about, for the anniversary of it had been near the surface of his thoughts in recent weeks. "Shortly after the Northhaven contingent arrived. Before that there had been Outlanders being brought through the portals rarely, perhaps one every few decades, but two years ago was when the portals became highly active." And the flood hadn't ceased since, even with the barrier's fall.
He could see how she preened and practically purred at his words and he hid a smile at her pride and confidence. "If things get overwhelming of if you have questions you can always seek me out," he offered, his position as Outlander Advisor one he took seriously. "In fact - there, do you see the large building with the domed roof? That's the Atheneum. My Guild is in a basement beneath, but the door is clearly marked. If I'm in the Grounds I can usually be found there. pulling together the reports from my colleagues." Seekers of lore and adventure both, though some people tended to lean towards one side or the other of the spectrum.
Her mention of wings had him nodding with a chuckle. "Wings are convenient. My second shift was a raven. If we go hunting together sometime I'll show it to you." He nodded to the other large buildings nearby now that they'd reached the Sanctuary. "The Temple is there. That's usually where we gather for town meetings, and there's an Infirmary towards the back, as well as a Shrine for prayers. There used to be a bar in the basement, but it was burned out last year."
Two years ago, and there were more before. Aisha felt somewhat happy knowing that she'd only been brought now and not back then. She would've been younger, more inexperienced, but more than that it would've been years less of memories to cherish and love. Memories that she tried to push away but never wanted to forget.
Jigano was once again offering his good will, pointing out the Atheneum and letting her know that he'd be there should she need him. He mentioned his guild, and Aisha's brows raised in a laxly impressed look, "You're the outlander advisor and a guild runner? I feel like outlanders are enough work on their own," she acknowledged with a hint of humor in her cadence.
"I'd like that," she replied, concerning his mention of hunting. It wasn't something she'd done frequently back home, but she was no princess anymore, and catching her own food would have to be done. The help of another more experience huntsman would be appreciated. He addressed a few more buildings, the temple and it's usages and the infirmary inside, all of which Aisha committed to memory and gave mental stars next to the things she planned on exploring.
He chuckled at her quip, proud feathers soothed by the impressed look she gave him. "There's a lot of overlap, thankfully. The Guild came first. I didn't have a lot of help when I first arrived, so I made The Loreseekers' Guild for the curious and adventurous, to gather information about the world and collect it all in one easy place for people to find. A place where Outlanders like myself could have their questions answered, and find a place to help others from. In a way, I was already doing the Outlander Advisor job long before it existed officially. When we formed our Council earlier this year I threw my hat in the ring for it and enough people agreed that I was a good fit for it that they confirmed me into the position. It's what I was doing for the Guild anyways, just now with the occasional Council meeting thrown in," he explained cheerfully.
He nodded, looking forward to hunting with Aisha and seeing what she was made of when it came down to tooth and claw. "We'll need plenty of meat for Deepfrost and LongNight, so I'm sure there will be several opportunities," he assured her. "Have you had a chance to travel much outside the Settlement yet?"
Aisha listened raptly, giving the occasional nod and smile as he explained. Jigano mentioned the council, which brought up something she'd thought about but hadn't learned much of since coming. She'd heard plenty of gods and monsters, but what of the government? "What exactly is the council's role, like the government for the Hollowed Grounds?" she asked.
Her expression was a tinge rosy of embarrassed at his next question, "Not exactly, this is the farthest I've been yet to be honest. I've been here for such a short amount of time but I've spent most of it hiding from everything." Which was entirely unlike her, the brazen warrior spirit that she was. It felt good to be back and out, learning, and adapting, and she made a note to remember that next time she felt trapped. Hiding hadn't done a thing to help.
"Ah, forgive me, I should have explained that earlier," he apologized, realizing belatedly that he'd let his familiarity with his position blind him to one of the most important things for a new arrival to know. "Yes, the Council is made up of a mix of Naturals and Outlanders as a loose government for the Grounds. Until Outlanders started arriving in numbers there wasn't really much organized government in place here... the population was small enough and the needs of survival hard enough that no one really had the time or energy to devote to one." He shrugged as he pointed out more landmarks for Aisha to explore later. "We've had a swift succession of kings and queens for... various reasons," he added delicately. "Not least of which is that people here are proud and independent - Outlanders and Naturals alike - and don't particularly like being governed. So our Council has a light touch, mostly to organize for community needs, or to punish the occasional thief or brigand." Not so many of those around these days, it seemed like, for which Jigano was grateful.
Her admission was met with a wry smile as he led her towards the Atheneum so she could relinquish his groceries. "There may have been wisdom in that, until you get the chance to learn about the dangers of this world. Wandering through the Oasis and plucking a Gilded Lily or hiking in the Woodlands and right into a Wicker Woman's embrace because you didn't know what to look for would have ended your explorations rather abruptly. Here - I'll take these downstairs and get you a copy of that Flora and Fauna booklet I mentioned," he offered gallantly.
Aisha waved off Jigano's apology, listening intently as he explained. A council, though with a monarch figurehead. Her world had been a pretty rigid monarchy, though each individual town and city under their rule had their own governing heads, so as to keep things in check. It made sense for the Hollowed Grounds to have a council and a ruler, they had no need for lords and lady's since it was such a small area.
Jigano validated her choice to take her time, and while she still wasn't proud of it, bravery being a feat well ingrained into her by her family and advisors, she did feel as though she might've dodged a bullet. Blindly exploring and taking risks wasn't something she needed right away, bravery shouldn't be mistaken for recklessness. "Oh," she remarked, almost having forgotten that the load she carried was his. She carefully transferred it to him, then smiled, "That's amazing, thank you."
He smiled warmly at her - an expression he hadn't expected to share with the woman who had started out by kicking his companion, but stranger things had happened on Caido - and disappeared into the domed building full of books. A short time later he emerged again, a small handwritten booklet in his grip that he offered to Aisha with a rueful smile. "Someone said there needed to be more books, so I've been making more of these to hand out to newcomers. Nothing is better than seeing things for yourself, but hopefully this will help guide you to avoid the more lethal of our animals - and plants," he added, no few of the entries within detailing particularly nasty flora.
He turned, looking towards the Spire thoughtfully before glancing back to Aisha with a raised brow. "That might not be a bad place to start exploring," he suggested. "There's an Oasis near the base of it, and a Glade in its shadow. Don't get too close to particularly beautiful flowers - hopefully not a problem this time of year - and you should be mostly alright. I can walk you back to where you've been staying, if you like? Or help you find a place to spend the night? There's usually rooms at the VlamVloed, or I can loan you one of the Guild's empty dorm rooms for a few nights?"
Aisha has received access to the Hollowed Grounds Flora and Fauna page in the guidebook!
Aisha took the booklet from him, giving him her attention but also brushing over the pages, glancing down to see the words, the soft handwriting along a tanning parchment. It was a decent sized booklet, her eyes widened as she realized just how many entries were fleshed out, "You wrote all this yourself?" Once again, this man impressed her.
Her gaze was brought up and in the direction he suggested, towards the spire. She agreed, it was definitely where she'd start. At the beginning. Jigano offered to walk her back to where she was staying, letting her know of other options. It was a gracious offer but he'd done plenty for her, she'd required really nothing more than his forgiveness to make her day, and here he was offering her far more.
"No no no, you stay here and rest! I'll be fine, and you've done enough," she said with a teasing warmth about her. "Thank you, really! For everything. I hope Isuma is alright," she said, preparing for a goodbye.
04-28-2020, 09:17 PM (This post was last modified: 04-28-2020, 09:18 PM by Jigano.)
"Transcribed," he admitted with a rueful smile at how impressed she was. "Safrin..." he hesitated over the goddess's name, a flicker of caution underlying his voice for a breath. "Led my friend Amalia to a trove of books hidden in the Underground. One of those books contained this information in it, and my Loreseekers and I have been updating it every season. With Deepfrost coming you'll want to look at the sections on Snow Moss, Luxere, and Spark Birds," he suggested. There was a great deal to worry about in the coming season, and the more prepared newcomers could be, the better.
He laughed at her assertion, holding up his hands in mock surrender. "Alright, I'll rest my old bones. Most days you can find me here, when you're ready with more questions," he added, gesturing fondly towards the Atheneum's open door. "And I'll let Isuma know you asked about her. She'll take a little time to come around after that, but she's the type to forgive and forget." The opposite of her human companion, some might say. And they wouldn't be wrong. Though at least today no grudges had been created, and perhaps new friends had been found.
