[Seasonal Event] Winterlight
Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
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#1
Another promise to get together the next day, another emergency in the infirmary getting in their way. He really was going to have to take that offered training with her soon, Jigano thought ruefully, if only so they could spend more time together. Any plans they made outside the infirmary seemed to take a hit from everything else in their lives. For him, it was research and seeing to the few friends he'd made. For her, of course, it was saving lives, and he could never begrudge that.

It just made their time together all the sweeter when she could break free for a few hours. And it had given the bard time to hunt down a supply of sweet hay from the recent harvests, and barter a few songs and stories for a handful of apples and carrots - just in case.

Those had been Remi's suggestion, and though Jigano had sighed when he realized it, he'd decided to follow through on it anyways. The pup meant well. Too well, which was part of the problem. The lorekeeper itched to know what had wounded the boy so deeply even before the gods got to him but-- no. His meddling, as already proven once, could only make things worse.

Isla was made of stronger stuff, though, with a smile like spring sunshine and a laugh that belied her singing voice. The bard smiled as he waited for her on his favorite rock, the pack of hay slung beside him and his voice floating softly throughout the clearing in a quiet song. The weather had been worse earlier in the day, but the storm had broken just before sunset and the wind dropped to stillness. The moon would be full tonight, bright on the snow, and the stars were already starting to shyly emerge in the east. Dusk and dawn for deer, he recalled from one of his many stores of knowledge. And, on the whole, he preferred dusk!
Isla Lockwood
the Remedy
Medic

Age: 32 | Height: 5'7 | Race: Ancient | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
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#2
It was more than an emergency that had gotten in the way of their meeting. After the meeting in the Temple where she'd learned of the shrine in the Underground; after her run in with Archebold that had played on her mind in the dead of night ever since, a mix of horror and fascination she couldn't shake; after meeting Samuel, sweet and unassuming and Ascended... Isla had been able to resist the unknown no longer.

Her footsteps were soft on the snow as she made her way into the Glade to meet Jigano as they had planned, moonlight spilling over her fair hair and casting it in a glowing halo about her head. She drank in the darkness like it was a form of sustenance on its own - during the daytime she had been so feeble it was difficult even to leave bed and try to do what little she could for her patients. At night, though, she came alive again.

And she was very much alive as she stepped into the clearing, a delighted smile on her face at the song that drifted about from her friend. "Beautiful, as always," she complimented, giving him a curtsey and straightening up once more. She also carried a bag with her, filled with more of the sweet hay and a few oats, too. "Sorry we missed each other again - I do hope you haven't been waiting long."
Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
Played by: Cirago Offline
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#3
Isla was... radiant. Lovelier than he'd ever seen her, like the full moon early-risen to grace the Glade with her smile. Jigano rose impulsively, sweeping a deep and elegant bow to match her curtsey and rising with a warm and welcoming smile. "Not long, though every minute was as an hour without you, fair healer!" He winked roguishly and bent to open his own pack, showing the hay within.

"But we're both here and now, and both prepared to give our glowing friends some tasty treats! Hopefully they'll arrive soon. I'm looking forward to seeing them at night, to be honest. We should be able to watch them approaching through the trees like a procession of will-o-wisps through the branches. Shall we spread out their feast while we catch up?" He scooped an armful of hay out, wrinkling his nose a little at how it clung to his cloak and tunic. He was as much amused as annoyed though, in far too good a mood at seeing his friend again to remain perturbed over the minor disarray of his clothing as he began to scatter generous handfuls over the snow.

"But please, tell me, how have things gone with you and the infirmary since last we met?"
Isla Lockwood
the Remedy
Medic

Age: 32 | Height: 5'7 | Race: Ancient | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 4 - Strg: 26 - Dext: 26 - Endr: 28 - Luck: 26 - Int:
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#4
Thoroughly charmed, Isla let out a tinkling laugh at his exaggerated bow and his honeyed words, the healer stepping forward to shrug off her pack and set it down beside his own. She opened it to show the hay and oats inside. "Like will-o-wisps, you say? I have never seen them, but I've read stories about them before. Hopefully our reindeer friends won't be so mischievous."

There was already a warm glow suffusing the Glade along with the moonlight - glowstones, Isla had learned, were another quirky addition to this new world. She'd tried to grab one the moment she'd noticed they were there, but the glow had subsided within moments of removing it from the area. Knowing better now, she ignored the softly pulsating pebbles to grab up some hay as well, spreading it around the clearing.

"The infirmary has been busy with the blizzards and the ice," she explained, sounding just as tired as she felt. She'd had to work the day shift today feeling weak as a kitten, so she could comfortably leave the infirmary in someone else's hands to come here. "But we're coping. You'll have to come along some day soon and help us out," she said with a grin, referring to her offer to help show him some rudimentary training.

"Other than that, it's been... She paused, troubled, as if wondering if and how to approach the subject. "I made a decision, and I'm learning to live with it."
Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
Played by: Cirago Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#5
"Beautiful, but dangerous," the bard elucidated wryly. "At least, if you're naive enough to follow them. If you're content to simply watch, though... they are a harmless and lovely bunch." He'd once been able to create them and call them to his hand, but not since arriving on Caido-- something he was growing used to, though he didn't like to dwell much on.

The nudge about their original meeting and the offer she had made - and he had tentatively accepted - widened his grin again and he winked as he returned to his pack for another armful. "I've been nose-deep in the Atheneum," he admitted, "researching the spire, the demon, the Long Night... well. Mostly the latter. I've had damnably little luck with the first two. But I've been getting out and trying to meet people, too. Oh, and I work at the Rathskeller now - two evenings a week, providing entertainment for the gathered masses." His sarcasm was light, teasing even, given the low population inside the barrier. The winter brought some people to the tavern, desperately seeking warmth and company, while others disliked braving the cold and the early fall of night and stayed away. "But I agree. As busy as you've been, it sounds like you need the extra hands. I'll come by in a few days to see what you can teach me, and what I can learn."

He straightened  from the well-trodden snow, looking around at their handiwork to see what more was needed, but the tone of her voice caught his attention completely and he turned to face his friend, expression sober. "That does not make it sound like an easy thing," he said softly, walking slowly back to the rock and taking a seat - but leaving room for her to join him, if she didn't mind sitting close. "Do you... would you care to talk about it?" The question was delicate, his voice as quiet as if he were talking to an animal in need of soothing, as much as to a friend. "I would be honored to listen, if you would share the tale with me."
Isla Lockwood
the Remedy
Medic

Age: 32 | Height: 5'7 | Race: Ancient | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 4 - Strg: 26 - Dext: 26 - Endr: 28 - Luck: 26 - Int:
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#6
"Of course they exist in your realm," Isla murmured good-naturedly, smiling to Jigano and scattering more hay and oats around them in a rough semi circle. It sounded as though her friend had been just as busy as herself, and she arched an eyebrow at the news that he was working in the Rathskeller too. "And did you find anything worth knowing, about LongNight?" she asked curiously, eager to know as much as she could before it was upon them.

"I ought to make some time to come and listen one evening, after I'm done at the infirmary. Or more likely during a five minute break when I can catch a second to myself." Isla wasn't one for all work and no play, but her change in circumstances coupled with how busy the infirmary was didn't make for much downtime.

A bright smile flashed across her face and she nodded in agreement at his intention to come and help her at the infirmary, though it faded somewhat when the conversation rolled back to her 'decision'. "It isn't an easy thing," she agreed wholeheartedly, stepping over the hay and moving to join him upon the rock, their shoulders pressed together so neither of them toppled off.

"...Perhaps you know of the shrine that was found in the Underground. Of the Voice - the deity that was discovered there." Her voice was soft, her head tilted back to enjoy the moonlight that pooled through the branches around them. "If you do, what you may not know is that the very same deity offered to make someone into an Ascended." Isla closed her eyes.

"After some consideration I thought I would petition for the same. And the Voice accepted."
Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
Played by: Cirago Offline
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Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#7
"Many things," he winked, but his smile faded a bit as he gave a little shake of his head. "And some I had not expected... but the luxere are a deterrent to dark magic - however that is defined - as well as the monsters that roam the Long Night, so it pays to coax them to your door. Or perhaps... to the infirmary's door?" he suggested slyly, a brow arching as talk of the information he'd learned overcame his reticence over his conversation with Remi. "Raw meat will scare them away though, and draw the monsters. Apparently it isn't unheard of for grudges to be settled in such a way... for someone to leave raw meat outside a rival's door on the Long Night as bait to bring the monsters to their home." The grin fell at that, a grim tightening at the corners of lips and eyes showing his distaste of such a thing. "There's also a creature... the 'Sparkbird,' some sort of magical beast who sometimes alights in the Glade during Long Night, if the locals build a perch and leave it offerings. Its light can chase back the darkness for awhile as well."

He gave his friend a lopsided smile at her 'joke' about how busy she was, knowing it was only the truth. "I'd be happy if you did. Perhaps while you're there you can take some of that moonshine back to the infirmary to use as antiseptic!" It certainly was potent stuff, and given how it numbed his tongue he supposed it would work just as well cleaning wounds.

He smiled as she joined him, no longer quite so sensitive to her nearness as their friendship had settled into place. The shared warmth was welcome-- or, it should have been. Jigano cocked a brow in concern as he realized her body was cool against his. Her cloak looked so warm, and he was loathe to give his up, but perhaps she wouldn't take amiss an offer to share for a bit until she warmed up...?

Her words were nearly as chill as her body, though her voice was still familiar. Jigano nodded cautiously at the tale of the Underground - it had been mentioned at the big meeting - and how it seemed linked the New Gods. A little prickle of icewater trailed down his spine as she continued and he listened in silence, knowing, somehow, where the tale would end but not wanting to accept it. "May I ask... what drove you to such a decision?" he asked quietly, thinking of gentle Samuel in his house without sunlight, and a family who had sought to change their son into something... better.
Isla Lockwood
the Remedy
Medic

Age: 32 | Height: 5'7 | Race: Ancient | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 4 - Strg: 26 - Dext: 26 - Endr: 28 - Luck: 26 - Int:
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#8
Isla listened intently to Jigano's description of what he had learned about LongNight from the Atheneum, staring thoughtfully down at the scatter of hay and other treats they had brought for the luxere. Mostly she'd read as much from the Notice Board, but the remark about using raw meat as a punishment was... horrifying to say the least. Isla wrinkled her nose, shaking her head, though she glanced back up at Jigano at the suggestion they coax the luxere to the infirmary door.

"That was going to be my plan," she admitted with a soft smile. "I plan to spend the LongNight at the infirmary with the patients who are too unwell to go home. If we can coax some luxere there, anyone in need of help will be able to find the place in the dark, and hopefully it will ward away anything unsavoury. You are welcome to join me, by the way. If you haven't plans already."

Regrettably they couldn't keep talking about the comparatively easy subject of LongNight forever. Isla folded her hands in her lap, holding onto them like they were a lifeline. "I needed to know," she said simply. "What it was like, what they were made of... what they could do, for myself." A humourless smile flickered across her face. "You must think me foolish."
Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
Played by: Cirago Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#9
Isla's offer of sanctuary was met with a grateful smile and a tilt of Jigano's white head in acknowledgment. "Thank you, Isla. I'm not yet sure what I'll do when the Long Night comes... part of me wants to find a way to study these 'monsters' that are said to walk the darkness, but I'm also not eager to put myself at such risk just for curiosity's sake. I'm no cat, after all!" He grinned, tilting his head with a wink. "I'll keep the infirmary in mind, though. If nothing else, you'll finally have a captive trainee for a week if I do!"

He wished, a little wistfully, that their lighthearted banter could have continued longer, but Isla's hesitance at her decision was a sobering reaction and the lorekeeper was always willing to listen. He glanced down at her folded hands, a tightening at the corners of his eyes showing his own worry at her tension as she spoke. He hesitated for a moment, then turned his hand palm-up between them, if she chose to take it - or simply letting it rest on his thigh if she chose not to.

"I don't think I would have made the same decision," he temporized, but his own smile flickered in return, even if there wasn't much humor on it. "And... yes. Perhaps it was foolish. That sort of change is permanent, it sounds like. I asked my friend Samuel about it, but... his status as an Ascended, the requirement to feed from blood or ichor... distressed him, so I didn't push. So while I am still curious I'm also worried about the drawbacks. Losing the sun... among other things." He took a slow breath, exhaling as he looked east to the patchwork of silver starting to rise behind the bare branches of the trees.

"Do you think it's worth it?" he asked quietly. "The price of this knowledge? Would you make the same choice again, knowing what you do now?"
Isla Lockwood
the Remedy
Medic

Age: 32 | Height: 5'7 | Race: Ancient | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 4 - Strg: 26 - Dext: 26 - Endr: 28 - Luck: 26 - Int:
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#10
Isla smiled back at Jigano and nodded to him in return. Whatever happened, she wouldn't be spending LongNight alone - if anything, she was the one keeping those stuck at the infirmary company. And if there were any emergencies - gods forbid - at least there would be surgeon on hand with some experience. "If it comes to that you'll be a fully fledged doctor by the time the sun returns," she remarked quietly, her amusement dampened by the subject of her ascension.

As he turned his hand Isla considered his offer of comfort, hesitantly reaching out to take it and forcing the tension in her shoulders to relax. Her hand was still warm, if not quite as warm as a non-Ascended; she was hardly corpselike, something that was still surprising to her.

"I met Samuel on the Bone Bridge," she murmured softly. "He was in my thoughts before I made the decision... but I don't blame you for considering my decision an altogether... abrupt one."

Lifting her gaze to meet Jigano's, she offered him a wry smile and gave his hand a squeeze. "That is hard to say right now... it's been only a few days. But when I... when it happened, the Voice led me to believe that this aversion to the sun may not be insurmountable. I think I would make the same choice. There have been some advantages..."
Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
Played by: Cirago Offline
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Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#11
He folded his fingers around hers gently, not possessive or even protective but simply... comforting. A simple human contact that spoke silently of his support for his friend as they talked about things that might be unpleasant. He, too, was surprised that her skin, though cooler than his own, was hardly lifeless, but found reassurance in it as he smiled at Samuel's name falling from her lips.

"A gentleman," he murmured fondly. "And a gentle man. He swore he'd never, ah, fed from another person before, only the gods at the shrine. It's good to know that you have that option, when the need arises."

Isla was a healer. She might be kind... but she was not so gentle as the bookmaker. The profession did not allow for timidity or fragile hearts, and Jigano didn't doubt that she would do what she needed to, in order to survive... but neither would she endanger someone unnecessarily. He returned her smile, flexing his fingers around hers as she squeezed, finding it a little strange to be sitting so near to a vampire - a thought he kept in the back of his mind, but after discovering Sam's... status it was hard to be as afraid of the Ascended as he had been of the bloodsuckers of his world.

"Then I shall hope it continues to be a choice you don't regret," he smiled, sincere in spite of his own reservations over it. She knew well enough that time might change her current feelings on things, and it sounded like there was still much to learn, but: "What advantages, may I ask? Aside from an aversion to sunlight and a need for replenishment, Sam wasn't as forthcoming as my curiosity would have liked." His admission was rueful, but not entirely regretful. He had learned a bit from his debacle of a conversation with Remi, after all. "From one researcher to another, I'd be interested to hear your observations on the transformation, what you've gained... and what you've lost, if it's not too painful to talk about it."
Isla Lockwood
the Remedy
Medic

Age: 32 | Height: 5'7 | Race: Ancient | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 4 - Strg: 26 - Dext: 26 - Endr: 28 - Luck: 26 - Int:
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#12
"Yes, that is good to know... Perhaps I will have to ask him which shrine he frequents, now that we, ah, share the same needs." Isla smirked, seeming to relax now that the initial hurdle had been crossed - telling people became easier and easier the more she did it, but that didn't mean it didn't matter to her, what her friends thought of her decision.

She teased her bottom lip between her teeth as he asked about the nature of her new condition, happy to leave her hand captive in his own as they spoke and enjoyed each other's company in the glow of snowlight. The luxere, she was sure, would be along eventually, and until then Isla would happily converse with Jigano.

"As well as the aversion to sunlight and the need to feed, I no longer... feel things as I once did." She wrinkled her nose. "I do not feel any pain, but... pleasurable sensations evade me also. Physical ones, anyway - my emotions are untouched, it seems." At least there was that. "I am lighter on my feet, though I have yet to test how fast. And I..." Frowning, she chose her next words carefully. "I don't know if all Ascended have this gift, but when I was transformed, the Voice mentioned my eyes, and she... well. If I look just so, I can see the bones within a person, see what is broken or fractured. I can see heat signals, too, like people and objects are alight from within."
Jigano Silversmith
the Sage
Provost of the Loreseekers Soul Shepherd
Portal Guardian
Age: 36 | Height: 6'2" | Race: Attuned x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 12 - Strg: 30 - Dext: 45 - Endr: 38 - Luck: 42 - Int:
ISUMA - Mythical - Griffin (Venomous)
Played by: Cirago Offline
Change author:
Posts: 3,914 | Total: 7,219
MP: 10170
#13
Jigano tilted his head curiously as she spoke, intently filing the information away with what other bits and pieces he had gathered from Sam. He frowned a little in concern at her numbness, glancing down at their clasped hands, then up again to watch her expressions as she continued. One brow arched in a mixture of curiosity and concern as she mentioned her eyes, the other swiftly following as she explained her new abilities.

"That is... incredible," he breathed, tilting his chin a little as he examined her eyes to see if he could find any obvious physical difference. "I can only imagine how helpful that will be with your patients. And to be able to see heat..." He shook his head in wonderment at such an ability, usable without the aid of magic or technology but simply a part of her now. "But to lose the pleasure of a friend's touch, or the warning signs of pain to let you know when you're injured..." There was sadness in his voice as the enormity of that sacrifice began to sink in.

He looked up at her, drawing in a breath to ask another question, but a glow behind her shoulder caught his eye and he ended up holding it instead, distracted. He squeezed her hand, then nodded his chin every so slightly to direct her attention to the other side.

Fireflies flickered in the distance, bright and dancing through the branches of the trees surrounding the quiet glade. No normal insect should have been able to survive the killing cold, of course, but as they came closer the golden glow resolved itself into antlers that appeared to float through the darkness, the deer beneath more spirit than mortal creatures in the silvery moonlight. Not one but three luxere, one larger and two smaller, were making their way towards the hallowed clearing in a procession of light and beauty, drawn to the smell of fresh hay and, perhaps, the friendship of the two who waited there to greet them.
Isla Lockwood
the Remedy
Medic

Age: 32 | Height: 5'7 | Race: Ancient | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Torchline
Level: 4 - Strg: 26 - Dext: 26 - Endr: 28 - Luck: 26 - Int:
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#14
"Mm..." Isla smiled softly and nodded in agreement at his assessment of the more positive side to her new condition, and she turned to regard Jigano properly so he could inspect her eyes if he pleased. She had tried, too, to see the differences the Voice had made, but unless she actually engaged the second sight she'd been given, she was unable to tell on a surface level.

Isla also glanced to their clasped hands, smiling and shrugging. "I still have a vague sense of hot and cold, but it's just... muted. And I will always enjoy the pleasure of a friend's touch, even if it isn't as physical as it once was." She had found comfort in taking his hand, after all, and continued to do so.

The glow over her shoulder had her glancing around, lips parting in a soft 'oh' of wonder at the sight of the approaching luxere. She smiled brilliantly at Jigano, revealing a pearly flash of elongated canines for just a second, before her attention was completely stolen by silvery pelts and golden antlers. "They're beautiful," she murmured, shifting to lean against him ever so slightly to enjoy the scene unfolding before them. "Where do you think they go after the winter months?"


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