Sense and Sensibility
for Rexanna
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
#15
"I would be grateful for the hospitality," Jigano said, bemused at the purring innuendo in her voice, though at least he managed to stop himself from raising a brow this time. It wasn't the sort of thing one got used to all at once, but now that he knew the cause of it he could almost ignore it to hear her words how she might have said them before the curse. Wine and drinks were indeed easy to procure, given that he worked at the tavern and had an in with most of the barkeepers. It was nice to stand in front of the fire for a few minutes as well, capturing as much heat as he could in his new clothes and cloak before they headed out once more under the darkly cloudy sky. A few flakes of snow began to drift down as they walked, and he was careful to watch his steps as well as listen to Rexanna's story.

"Asciend," Jigano repeated softly, letting the word roll from his tongue with an exotic lilt. His lips quirked at the mention of winged people, considering the Tengu his parents had spoken of back in their homeland, but Rexanna's winged people were more human - or rather, angelic, at least outwardly. He tilted his head, raising a brow in silent question, and she quickly explained. Ruthless? Ahhh... not extraplanar at all, then. Winged humans, of some variety then? He continued to split his attention between their walk and the storyteller, quirking a wry smile at her shrug for why the war started. "Territory, of course," he murmured his understanding. It did seem to be the most common reason for a war between countries no matter the world.

But then the twist deepened, growing darker, as Jigano had already suspected when Rexanna had revealed that she'd been sold into a forced marriage. Such stories didn't usually end in "and we fell in love and lived happily ever after" for a reason. "A year too long, it sounds like," he said softly. "But I suspect there's worse to come... isn't there? "
Rexanna De Rosieres
the Penumbra
Queen of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 34 | Height: 5'4" | Race: Ascended x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 4 Abandoned (Level 3 Ascended) - Strg: 19 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 9 - Int:
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#16
She nodded to him when he mentioned that he would be grateful for the hospitality. That was just who Rexanna was – a generous soul, having lived through some dark times in life and trying to be a better person because of it. She appreciated that Jigano was a thankful person for it. Long before finding Caido she had become used to being used in that regard. While she didn’t mind and didn’t say much during that time as she was more focused on saving her own life, things here had been a fresh start. For the most part, everyone tended to look after one another.

As she spoke of her story, and Jigano repeated Asciend’s name on his lips she realized she hadn’t said what her own homeland was. But that would come later, during the explanations of more about the war over territory, as Jigano had put it, and her life after being married to the Prince of Asciend. They continued their walk while she spoke, nodding to him with a quiet awkward chuckle as he commented to her. “There certainly is.” She hummed to him, glancing to him briefly before they had made the short walk back to her home.

She opened the door and allowed Jigano in once again – discarding the bulk of furs she wore as she moved to her fireplace and swiftly began a fire with a piece of flint and a stone she had kept nearby. Once the fire in the fireplace began to spark and she tended to it, she stood up to keep an eye on it and to poke at it to get it going further. She looked back to Jigano with a small almost sad smile. “I did what any wife could do, tried to give him a child for a time hoping that perhaps it would make the questioning stop.” She began, shifting as she thought of how to put it.

I never knew my true history, but on the day I realized I had gotten pregnant is the day the truth came out. A spy from my home in Halyven had been keeping an eye on me and had been captured. Unfortunately for me, it was one of the few that had been around since before I was born.” There was a quiet laugh, adding to the sultry tones of her voice. “As it turns out, the Queen of Halyven had an affair with her top general and I was the result.” She said, looking back to the fire and poking at it. “So only half royal.” She teased in an almost sad way.
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
#17
He bowed his head in sympathy as she warned him there was worse to come, and didn't press her for more as the walked, waiting until she was ready to continue at her own pace. Getting in out of the cold again was certainly welcome, even if he was much drier now, and for a moment they bustled in companionable silence. Rexanna dealt with the fire while Jigano set out the bottles and deposited his bundles and cloak in a neat pile to the side, where they would stay clean and hopefully soak up some warmth. When Rexanna spoke he turned his attention to her, listening with curiosity and concern.

Her sad smile struck a chord, and he picked up the bottle of apple juice he had brought to lighten the harder liquor. Offering it to her, he gave her space, not wanting to crowd the woman as she dipped into memories that were, if not outright painful, at least full of shadows.

A brow rose at the mention of 'the truth,' a twist she had danced around as deftly as any trained bard so far. It was joined by the other at the revelation of the queen's infidelity, and Rexanna's status as accepted to neither parent, but hidden away among the servants. "Did you... do you have any siblings?" he asked cautiously, meaning those fathered by the king. "But even a half-royal is still royalty... or did your husband not consider it that way?" he finished with a wince and an unpleasantly queasy feeling in his stomach.
Rexanna De Rosieres
the Penumbra
Queen of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 34 | Height: 5'4" | Race: Ascended x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 4 Abandoned (Level 3 Ascended) - Strg: 19 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 9 - Int:
Played by: Skylark Offline
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#18
She took the drink thankfully, offering him a kind smile. “Thank you!” She chimed to him, the voice not quite matching the tone of the story, but the curse had remained in effect. She took a sip, setting it on the table beside the fireplace as she continued her story and listened intently as Jigano added his own questions in. “No siblings. I was the only one. When the Queen gave birth and the affair was known, the Queen was immediately beheaded and I was given to a midwife.” She mentioned, her eyes lingering on Jigano for a brief moment.

And while his words made sense – that she was indeed still royalty, and her husband should’ve taken it for what it was. The King had already named her his successor even if she didn’t have his blood – shouldn’t have made a difference. So she shook her head a bit sadly, poking at the fire once more before it had been able to be left alone. She moved then, taking a seat next to the table with her drink and realizing she hadn’t offered a seat for Jigano. There was a chair across from her as well as the couch she was already sitting on. She gestured with her hand to either seats with another smile. “Oh! Sit wherever you’d like.” She said to him before figuring out how best to continue the story.

As it turns out, it makes you an enemy of the crown? Evidently I lied to him, and with me in their country they could imprison me. Which they did.” She laughed harshly at the idea, but continued regardless. “So I was in this terribly dark and draft dungeon, chained up until they knew what to do with me. My husband had a brilliant idea of taking me back to Halyven while he sacked the city to have me watch it all unfold.” She hummed, almost thoughtfully. “But he branded me with this terrible “C” shape. Stood for a great many things, his name because I was his property, C for crown, C for captive, you get the idea. He thought it’d be easy to capture me if I were to escape.” She paused once again, her eyes glancing to Jigano to see what he thought of the story so far.

And then, we went to Halyven. My city was on fire and crumbling, and the King simply laughed to my face and took back everything he said about me being his successor. But I managed to escape in the chaos.
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
#19
Jigano winced in sympathy at the queen's demise, though he'd been half-expecting something like that, given the king's apparent indifference to Rexanna until he'd needed to use her as a bargaining chip. But then, the princess had never known her mother, could only mourn might-have-beens, not a person, and so the bard swallowed his useless condolences and simply bowed his head in respect for the woman's passing - whatever her crimes might have been.

"Thank you," he murmured at the offer of a seat, taking the chair and a small jug of water flavored with cucumber for himself. Until he could find someone to make wine, at least, the options seemed to be boiled water or juice - or hard alcohol, of course, but he was wise enough to indulge that in moderation.

Rexanna's sad tale continued, going from merely unfortunate to terrible nightmarish in a few harsh sentences. Jigano sucked in a sharp breath to protest the unfairly cruel treatment, but held it without interrupting as events managed to turn even worse. Blue eyes were first wide with surprise, and then narrowed in anger at the tyrant's wicked treatment of a woman who had only been caught up in events beyond her control. Of course, she could be lying to gain sympathy - he never discounted that possibility when hearing the story of someone he'd just met - but nor was it worth showing his wariness openly. There was no harm to treating her story as true, especially when no one here could really prove or disprove it.

He finally released the breath he'd been holding, slow and controlled, as the king's fulll betrayal became apparent. "Well," he said, giving a shake of his head as he sat back. "You certainly owed him - any of them - nothing more. It was after that, then, that you fled and found the bounty hunters on your trail? How long did you evade them before you were, ah, rescued by the portal?"
Rexanna De Rosieres
the Penumbra
Queen of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 34 | Height: 5'4" | Race: Ascended x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 4 Abandoned (Level 3 Ascended) - Strg: 19 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 9 - Int:
Played by: Skylark Offline
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Posts: 1,453 | Total: 13,495
MP: 0
#20
She nodded in response to him at his “thank you” and watched as he took a seat and a sip from the drink he’d chosen for himself. Luckily, the fire had taken off and it was finally warming the room to a comfortable degree. She situated herself on the couch, grabbing the drink again and sipping gently before tucking her feet under her comfortably. Her sapphire eyes flicking back to him as he spoke. She nodded yet again with a quiet grin of determination.

I evaded them for about two years before I came here. Turns out that the Asciend bounty hunters are… Easily swayed.” She hummed in response to him, her eyes almost shuttering slightly as she thought about it – all the men she’d slept with to keep them from fully trapping her. “But, it’s mostly hard to prove that all that happened. Upon arriving here and meeting Frey things changed a bit.” She offered with a quiet laugh. “I have a few scars on my side left, but the second time I met Frey, they removed my brand to help me… Relax? Be more myself?” She tilted her head as she eyed Jigano curiously.

They basically told me not to keep sacrificing myself because I couldn’t save my people. It was a new world with new adventures and to take advantage of that if nothing else. They changed my voice, however, in a small punishment regardless.” Another laugh purred through her lips, but she was smiling again. “And now I’m here!
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
#21
Two years was frankly longer than he had expected, and he gave his hostess a nod of respect for her tenacity and ingenuity. Her implication of how she'd managed to do so was a little harder to decipher, the curse affecting her voice making it difficult to tell when she intended innuendo versus when her words were merely twisted by the forced inflection. His expression turned to solemn empathy when he decided that she did, indeed, mean what it had sounded like. By then, though, she was already moving on to talk about Frey, and he tilted his head in curiosity. Curiosity that she returned as her explanation continued, and he quirked his lips in a wry smile at her questioning tone.

"Who can say for certain what the motives of a deity may be," he murmured, having no better answer for her. "I've not met Frey myself, and from the rumors I've heard I count that lucky." He was not a particularly sexual being, and would hardly appreciate being forced into it by anyone, god or otherwise. "But I'm glad they gave you the gift of freedom from that mark. Carrying it with you all this time could not have been easy." Not in hiding, nor in the constant memories it would have elicited every time she saw or felt it against her skin.

"Well," the bard murmured, lips quirking into a smile. "I can't argue with them about that! A little selfishness is only healthy. How can you take care of others if you haven't taken care of yourself first?" He sipped his drink, contemplating all that she had said for a moment, and then turned his blue eyes on her with a curious brow arched in question. "Is the punishment meant to be a permanent one, then? Is there no way to lift it?"
Rexanna De Rosieres
the Penumbra
Queen of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 34 | Height: 5'4" | Race: Ascended x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 4 Abandoned (Level 3 Ascended) - Strg: 19 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 9 - Int:
Played by: Skylark Offline
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Posts: 1,453 | Total: 13,495
MP: 0
#22
She nodded her head in a quiet bob to Jigano as he mentioned the intentions of deities. “Back home they were only stories. It was quite the surprise for me to see how tangible they were here.” She added quietly with a small laugh. But as Jigano continued, she nodded again. She had heard of Safrin and Ludo, but not met them. And she wondered if she was simply lucky or if Frey somehow had their hands intertwined in her life enough that the others didn’t show.

I’m glad too. I wore a lot of scarves.” She replied with a grin and a quiet laugh. What good did it do to dwell on it, especially when it wasn’t even there anymore? She chose to laugh about it, to enjoy the memory of what it had caused and the surprise within at what the gods here could do. But Jigano was speaking again, and she quietly sipped from her drink some more while she listened. “Exactly.” She added, with a raised glass as if to clink it to his in a kind of toast.

But as Jigano asked if it was permanent, she shook her head. “It’s not…” She began, wondering how best to frame it when she decided that it would be easier to just tell him. “They suggested a threesome could fix it. It’s why I’ve spent some time at Bastien’s church – hoping that maybe I can find a couple of people willing to help me fix me.” She laughed at the idea, but she had been like this for almost a whole season now. It was tiresome and still it hadn’t gone yet.
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
#23
”I keep hearing that from outlanders,” he admitted with a wry smile. ”Gods were very real on my world, but… not so, ah, likely to personally manifest as the ones here. Even the smaller gods are more aloof, though it has more to do with maintaining the balance between the dark and the light gods.” He gave a rueful little shrug, considering that there were pros and cons to both ways. Having a prayer answered in person – or, not even a prayer, just a song – had been terrifying, unsettling, humbling… but reassuring, too, in a way. Ludo had struck the deal that no lesser intermediary could have, after all.

He raised his glass back in silent toast, grinning in return. The answer to his question, though, had the grin freezing for a moment and then fading as a brow rose. ”That seems, ah, rather specific,” he murmured to buy himself some time. ”And rather… invasive, to insist on.” He hesitated, looking towards the ceiling for inspiration in wording what he wanted to say. ”Ahhhh, feel free to tell me to mind my own business, of course, but I thought, from the sounds coming from the back room that I had to try and play music over that… well. That you had already met that requirement?”
Rexanna De Rosieres
the Penumbra
Queen of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 34 | Height: 5'4" | Race: Ascended x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 4 Abandoned (Level 3 Ascended) - Strg: 19 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 9 - Int:
Played by: Skylark Offline
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Posts: 1,453 | Total: 13,495
MP: 0
#24
Her eyes danced to him as he spoke of the gods where he came from. Her head tilted as she listened, interested in those stories as well, but wondering what life was like if you were around gods – aloof or not – that would still answer your prayers. The gods from her home, she wasn’t certain were real or just stories used to make the people feel better about disasters in the world. All the praying everyone did for Halyven hadn’t worked, anyway. The city had burned, and her people too.

But then he began to speak of her curse, and how it was a specific request to which she sipped and nodded as well. “Something about enjoying myself I guess.” She offered with a small shrug. However, Jigano then began to mention the Masquerade and a blush crept along her cheekbones as she laughed perhaps a bit too awkwardly. “Ah well… Apparently not.” She paused in thought, uncertain why it hadn’t worked but that she just knew it didn’t. “Maybe there were too many people.” She pondered with another chime of a laugh.

Sorry you had to hear that though.” She added with an embarrassed smile along her lips, the blush growing perhaps a bit darker. “It was only a suggestion from them anyway, I think they just want me to go out there and see what Caido has to offer. Perhaps that would be enough, or perhaps not. I’m just happy that I can speak.” She added with a roll of her shoulders in a shrug.
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
#25
The bard cleared his throat, not quite meeting her eyes. "Ah, well then, my condolences," he murmured, trying to be as tactful as possible now that things had gotten a tad awkward. A quick glance at his hostess showed that she was blushing, and he felt even worse for bringing the subject up and embarrassing such a fine lady in her own home, even if she took it far more gracefully than he deserved.

"It's fine, really. The only one who should apologize for any, ah, discomfort anyone might have been caused that night is Bastien. And he... doesn't seem like the apologizing type," the bard noted, lips quirking back into his usual wry smile. "I'm just sorry that it didn't help with your curse. It doesn't seem quite fair that it's so specific."

He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, smiling at his new friend with more warmth. "But there is beauty to be found here, at least. Have you seen any luxere yet? Singing in the Glade at night to call them, with the glowstones all around and the moon high overhead... it's a breathtaking sight that's unique to this world, even if it gets a bit chilly in this weather!" he finished with a wink.
Rexanna De Rosieres
the Penumbra
Queen of the Hollowed Grounds

Age: 34 | Height: 5'4" | Race: Ascended x Abandoned | Nationality: Outlander | Citizenship: Hollowed Grounds
Level: 4 Abandoned (Level 3 Ascended) - Strg: 19 - Dext: 14 - Endr: 20 - Luck: 9 - Int:
Played by: Skylark Offline
Change author:
Posts: 1,453 | Total: 13,495
MP: 0
#26
She huffed a quiet laugh to him, tilting her head and nodding as Jigano spoke of Bastien. Her shoulders rolled slightly in a shrug as a half grin crossed her face – pushing the sadness of her past aside for the subject of Bastien and more interesting aspects. “Ironically, I think Bastien’s my best shot at it.” She added with another quietly hummed chuckle. “It’ll happen eventually, I imagine. It’s been entertaining so far, until I need to have a truly serious conversation.” She paused, glancing back to the fire before returning her sapphire gaze to Jigano. “Remi’s pad of parchment and quill has helped with that.” She offered.

But Jigano continued to speak, of beauty being able to be found here. He spoke of the Luxere and the glowstones, the moon, and how chilly it was. She nodded to him with another small laugh. “I have seen the Luxere, yes. They don’t particularly care for me much, however.” She said with a grin still along her face. But she had to agree – the moon high overhead, friends around, no longer having to run for her life she could spend the time actually enjoying the smaller things in life like art and the way the sun shone on the dew on leaves.

It is a beautiful place, if a bit rugged. But we’re part of the story, I suppose. Onto new adventures.” She said, raising her glass in a quiet toast to Jigano before she glanced back outside to realize how late it had gotten, but at least she had good company. “Ah, it’s gotten quite late. You’re welcome to stay here in a spare room if you’d like, but if not I understand.” She glanced back to Jigano with a quiet smile before she finished her drink and stood to add more wood to the fire to last throughout the rest of the night.

Whether he chose to remain or leave, Rexanna would poke at the fire for a bit longer before closing the chest of furs and head to bed.


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