"Maybe," the bard mused thoughtfully, though he wasn't sure what the stunted, mutated limbs could support. Samuel seemed to feel bad for the creature though, and Jigano didn't blame him. Not as gentle as the Ascended was, nor as much as the loreseeker treasured that gentleness.
"The old gods won't talk to Ascended?" Jigano asked curiously. That was news to him! But then, the only god he'd personally spoken with had been Ludo. He had witnessed the Voice who had... tolerated his presence - or, rather, ignored him - when dealing with others, but that wasn't the same as welcoming him. But: "You're braver than you think," he said gently, smiling at his nervous friend. "Being afraid of the unknown is... well, normal, I think. But I've seen you act in spite of being afraid, and that is nothing less than courage. Still, I don't think you'd have to leave, if you didn't want to. Removing the barrier would mean that people could travel if they wanted to... not that they would have to, if they didn't."
"What you said before that, though. 'Something that can contain the gods'," he repeated quietly, thoughtfully. His feet continued to move over and through the snow, but his brow furrowed hard as he turned the phrasing over in his head. "Yes... something about that feels right. If they had put it up with a good reason, wouldn't they have told their worshipers why? And the oldest gods, the ones named in the books in the Atheneum, the ones that Amalia prays to... they're not here, are they? Not in any wakeful state, at least. Though perhaps, like the Voice was, they are trapped or sleeping?" The questions were mostly rhetorical, but he looked to his friend with a lopsided smile to hear what the bookmaker had to say.
It was at that moment that he realized Samuel was... leaking. And holding his hand as though it... hurt? "Samuel are you... alright?" he asked tentatively, a dawning fear in his eyes as some of his friend's earlier comments took on an unsettling significance.
"The old gods won't talk to Ascended?" Jigano asked curiously. That was news to him! But then, the only god he'd personally spoken with had been Ludo. He had witnessed the Voice who had... tolerated his presence - or, rather, ignored him - when dealing with others, but that wasn't the same as welcoming him. But: "You're braver than you think," he said gently, smiling at his nervous friend. "Being afraid of the unknown is... well, normal, I think. But I've seen you act in spite of being afraid, and that is nothing less than courage. Still, I don't think you'd have to leave, if you didn't want to. Removing the barrier would mean that people could travel if they wanted to... not that they would have to, if they didn't."
"What you said before that, though. 'Something that can contain the gods'," he repeated quietly, thoughtfully. His feet continued to move over and through the snow, but his brow furrowed hard as he turned the phrasing over in his head. "Yes... something about that feels right. If they had put it up with a good reason, wouldn't they have told their worshipers why? And the oldest gods, the ones named in the books in the Atheneum, the ones that Amalia prays to... they're not here, are they? Not in any wakeful state, at least. Though perhaps, like the Voice was, they are trapped or sleeping?" The questions were mostly rhetorical, but he looked to his friend with a lopsided smile to hear what the bookmaker had to say.
It was at that moment that he realized Samuel was... leaking. And holding his hand as though it... hurt? "Samuel are you... alright?" he asked tentatively, a dawning fear in his eyes as some of his friend's earlier comments took on an unsettling significance.
