you're missing what im tryna say, there's nothing getting in my way

It'd been a few days since Kiki had arrived in Caido. Phoebe was letting him stay in the clinic for now, which he was very grateful for. And that first day, after he'd fallen into this world, he'd stayed inside pretty much the whole day, sulking over the fact that he hadn't awoken to find that this was all a dream. Coming to terms with the reality of this all was very difficult, there were many things he missed. His mother above all, but also the heat that used to radiate inside him - his bond with the goddess.

Yeah, that first day had been a bit of a downer, but Killian was notoriously optimistic. He'd taken the time he needed to accept this new fate, and now he was gonna make it his own. And that all started with getting to know the world, so off he went. At sunrise he set out from the clinic to explore the settlement, particularly interested in a great domed building, of which the side looked as if giant had taken a bite out of. It looked interesting enough, and Phoebe had called it the Atheneum. He had not a clue what that word meant, but he was gonna find out now.

He made his way into the dome, and found himself surrounded by some of his leastfavorite things. Books. Ugh, did Atheneum mean library or something? Whatever, he was already here so he might as well look around. The domed stretched up for a while, furnished with what was likely once very intricate and beautiful designs, but that had been dulled over the years. Arched doorways and iron gates, everything made of stone. Despite the books, this place was enticing, something bout the circular and spiraling shape alone was just interesting.

Killian started on the first floor, browsing the shelves for anything that might catch his eye. He was a capable reader, it'd been required he learn by his mentors back home. Something something about the heir's responsibilities. To be honest, it was likely that his reluctance to read came from being forced to learn, and his absolute stubbornness to do what he was told. Whatever the reason, he'd never been one to read for fun, and frankly he didn't associate the two words.

And so there he was, a book hater in the midst of a library, browsing but not really reading, strolling around aimlessly.

Jigano

If there was anywhere on Caido that felt like home...

Well. The Atheneum - and the Guildhall beneath it - weren't it, but they were the next best thing. Though much of his time now was spent trying to pierce the mysteries of the Wildwood, he still tried to keep somewhat regular hours as Guildmaster of the Loreseekers, and so it was that, around midmorning, the white-haired man with the honey-gold skin and blue eyes made his way into the grand, ruined building with the ease of familiarity. Clad in a pale gray, sleeveless overtunic and pale green undertunic with wide sleeves hiding many pockets, and brown close-fit trousers tucked into calf-high soft-soled boots, he was an overall pale ghost of a man who drifted through the shelves, reaching out on occasion to touch a spine or brush fingers across a shelf in front of friends he had come to know in the half-year since his arrival on Caido.

He was humming softly to himself, nodding congenial greetings to those of the regulars who had arrived earlier in the day. They were few and far between compared to the quieter months of Deepfrost; spring planting and mending and work had claimed most of the local bookworms, and only a few of the youngest and oldest remained.

Them, and a face unfamiliar to the bard, unusually tall in this place of stunted animals and plants and people, and young and tousled in a way that spoke more clearly of 'Outlander' than even the clothes he wore. Jigano thought he knew most of the Outlander population on Caido by now - or at least, knew of many of them. This boy, however, didn't seem to ring any bells as he paused to examine him from behind a shelf before moving around to greet him properly.

"Hello," he said quietly, so as not to disturb the peace of the grand old library. "Can I help you find anything in particular?"

Kiki was tracing his fingers along the spines of the books as he wandered, only really taking in about half of the titles that his honey brown eyes flitted over. He paused when at last one stuck out, solely because it had a very unique golden trim that made it look a little more special than the others. He was starting to pull it from its cozy nook when he heard a voice from behind him, a hushed tone that as quiet as it was cut through the unearthly library silence like a butter knife. Killian turned his head over his shoulder, holding the book tipped at an angle and still on the shelf.

The man he saw tall and sharp, with long silky hair of moonlit steel. He wasn’t old, which went against every schema for book keeper that Killian had in his brain, but he wasn’t as young as the golden boy either. Killian offered the guy a closed mouth smile, and pushed the book back into place so he could turn to face the man. ”Nah, I’m just browsing. Not really much of a reader actually...” he said, trailing off as he realized that that was a dumb thing to say to a librarian, in their library.

”I’m Killian, or Kiki, up to you,” he introduced himself instead, scratching the back of his head in light of the awkward moment.

Jigano's lips curved towards a smile at the book the boy had chosen, recognizing it as one that Samuel had once recommended to him. It was almost a disappointment when he put the book back without so much as opening it up, though his casual statement a moment later had one pale brow arching in surprise, and perhaps a little disbelief. Who came to a library to look at books if they didn't enjoy reading? Someone perhaps looking for answers, or a solution to a problem they couldn't solve elsewhere? Or just someone who had lost their way and needed a helping hand to find it again?

"Hello, Killian," he greeted, offering a shallow bow of greeting. "My name is Jigano, Provost of the Loreseekers. Hunter of questions and their answers," he added with a small smile. "And Outlander from Numeria." He looked Killian over again, this time with a more curious gaze as he took in the other man's manner of dress as well as his relative youthfulness - and how fit he was, considering he wasn't out working in the fields or at a trade. "Where, may I ask, are you from?"

The silver haired man offered a polite introduction and a bow, to which Killian smiled. Good, it looked like he hadn't been written off as an illiterate trouble maker just yet, or else Jigano was just very good at hiding his judgments. "Nice to meet you Jigano," he replied in a friendly manner, lowering his arm back to his side. The lore keeper paused to look him over, something that most people here tended to do upon meeting him. And they all could tell that he was new, it was as if he were wearing a lanyard and nametag reading, fresh out the portal.

Killian didn't really want to talk about his home, thinking about it made him miss it. For a second Killian's face formed a bitter expression, as his mind deviated back to the fact that he'd never see his mom again. He brushed it off quickly though, replacing the look with a slightly forced smile. "I'm an outlander too, a nation called Regne du Jour. I just showed up here a couple days ago, so I've been exploring," he replied to Jigano's question, hoping that might also clear up what he had been doing earlier.

Courtesy was always appreciated, and a friendly demeanor just as much. Jigano's smile relaxed a touch as Killian remained relatively at ease and alert. He wasn't damaging the books, or being disruptive, and if he wasn't a fan of reading, well, no one was perfect. "The pleasure is mine," he assured the stranger, but was surprised when his question - not an uncommon one - earned a brief flash of bitterness. Not so different from Caiside, really, the bard mused to himself as the young man wrangled his expression back under control, confirming Jigano's guess that he was a newly arrived outlander.

"Regne du Jour?" he repeated, tasting the name of the place like a fine wine. His curiosity prickled at him with its usual eagerness to more of this oddly named country and the world Killian came from. It was not his own, but he found it fascinating to pursue the similarities and differences in the worlds they had been plucked from, seeking some pattern in the Voice's program that continued to elude him. But that expression on his face... perhaps it was too soon, as yet, to go down that road. "You're the first I've heard of from that place," he said instead. "But I will add it to the list of worlds we know of. In case another from that place arrives." He tilted his head to the side smiling wryly at the newcomer and the faint feeling of summer sunshine he seemed to carry with him. "I can get you a copy of a map of the Hollowed Grounds, at least, to help guide you here. We're still learning about the woods to the north... you arrived at an exciting time." He chuckled ruefully as he turned and began to walk away, searching the shelves for one of the history books with a decent map. "I don't suppose anyone else has had a chance to catch you up on recent events in this world?"

”Well, Regne du Jour is just where I’m from - in my world. The planet itself is Étoile de la Terre, I forgot that this technically isn’t... the same world,” he said, eyebrows furrowed amid all the confusion. This was still a lot to take in, surely Jigano understood.

In case another from that place arrives, it seemed simple and possible enough, but it hadn’t occurred to Killian before that this could happen. Phoebe had talked about many of her people coming to this world with her, could others of his arrive too? Was it selfish to hope they would? These thoughts distracted him from Jigano’s words for a moment, his eyes had drifted from the other man to a place slight left of. He only vaguely comprehended something about getting a map, and so when he returned to the moment he just nodded and said, ”Thank you.”

He started after the lore keeper when he began to move away, ”Phoebe actually, she was the one who found me when I first showed up, and she’s been helping me out since then. She told me a few things,” he said, remembering what she’d told him about the new gods and the old, and the barrier that had kept the voice in until very recently. Now the voice was free, as well as the settlers of the Hollowed Grounds. Killian had yet to leave the grounds, but he definitely planned on doing so eventually, after he’d seen everything there was to see here.

"Ah, of course! Nation versus world. Forgive my slip," he apologized with a charming smile for the young man. "I'll add both to the records, just to be on the safe side." Arriving in a new land could be incredibly difficult, the bard knew. Some, like himself and the ex-demigod Caiside, came from magic-rich worlds where portals were not unheard of, at least, and they regained their feet fairly swiftly. Others, like Seiji and Are, didn't seem to have anything to compare their transit to Caido to, and it took them longer to come to terms with what had happened to them.

He nodded acknowledgment of Killian's thanks, not minding in the least. It was part of being a lorekeeper, and a Loreseeker, to answer questions, after all. He smiled over his shoulder as he led the newcomer towards shelves which might prove more fruitful for what he wanted to find.

The name of Phoebe earned an arch of a single pale eyebrow, and he stifled a sigh at the thought of the tempestuous young woman. "She has a good heart," he agreed, adding a silent when she isn't lashing out with cruel insults... to himself, remembering their last meeting - and unfortunate parting. "Now that you've been here for a few days, do you have any questions about Caido, or the Hollowed Grounds, that I might be able to answer?" he asked, pausing suddenly to pluck a slim volume from the shelf he was passing before heading for a nearby table. He grinned at his companion, tapping a round piece of metal pinned to his tunic - an open book in silver with thin rays of gold extending from the book's open pages against a round copper background - "If you see someone wearing one of these pins, they will generally be glad to help you with answers," he explained with a smile. "We're a guild of scholars - and adventurers - who seek knowledge for the sake of helping others. The Atheneum makes for an excellent headquarters, with all the books stored here, written by naturals and outlanders alike on countless topics - if you can decipher the outlander languages," he qualified with a wry quirk of his lips. "But we seek answers in other ways too. Recording oral histories, songs, legends... and exploring new places, or very old ones."

He set the book gently down and began to carefully flip through the pages in search of the map he recalled in it, listening for whatever Killian might say in the meantime.

Killian noted the slight look of disfavor on the sylvan man’s face at the mention of Phoebe, and it wasn’t a reaction he had expected. Killian had much to thank the midwife for, she had been nothing but kind to him since his arrival. So had everyone here, but Phoebe had quite literally invited him into her home. As far as he knew, she was all that she seemed. It wasn’t as though Jigano had directly expressed any distaste towards her, but there was a bit of tension, and Killian planned on inquiring about it later.

The lore seeker extended an offer of knowledge, Killian nodded along and began to gather all his questions together. Before he began to ask, he was told about the guild that took up home here in the Atheneum, and how they would indulge his curiosity. The lore seeker paused to thumb through pages, and Killian took the opportunity to begin asking.

His hands gesturing as he spoke, the golden boy asked, ”So, I’ve been wondering about the whole government thing. Are there leaders here, or like rules?” Certainly not because he wanted there to be any, more power to a community that governed itself individually. But if there was someone setting rules and laws, it would be nice to know, so he could decide which ones to follow and which to break.

The innocent question earned a wry chuckle, and a glance from bright blue eyes that held a mix of amusement and pain. "I see you go straight to the heart of an issue," he said, not without approval. "And the short answer is... it's complicated." He grinned, a little on the sharp side, as he found the page he was seeking and left the book open to a map of the Hollowed Grounds within the barrier - the one that no longer existed. "Traditionally, no. The Naturals here might significantly outnumber us outworlders, but there aren't many more than two thousand or so of them, and many live in the Outskirts, tending fields to feed themselves and the rest. For those that live here in the settlement, well, they might not know everyone, but chances are good that if they don't know someone, they know someone who does. Oh, the occasional thief or group of bandits crops up now and again, deciding they'd rather take what others have made without fair trade, but for the most part people are too busy surviving or fighting off the dangers of the land to get into too much trouble..." he trailed off, winking at Killian.

"Traditionally, that is. Recently things have changed. A lot more Outlanders have arrived in an unprecedentedly short period of time, with knowledge and weapons and military training. It's tipped balances that held for hundreds of years, and created some tensions between the two groups." Jigano's smile went a little crooked at that. "A council has recently been created, with a handful of locals and a couple of Northhaven Outlanders on it. It's led by a young woman named Maea, who was once my student. They haven't done much yet... but yes, technically, they are the leaders of the Hollowed Grounds now." The bard very carefully did not say that they were his leaders. He had turned down a nomination to the council and still was not entirely happy with how it had come about, but he had promised not to stand in Maea's way, at least.

"Outside the Hollowed Grounds is a completely different matter, of course," he warned, gesturing to the map, and the blank area to the north and west of the delineated areas on it. "We're still learning about the people and powers that be out there."

Killian could tell from the chuckle his question had caused alone, that he was in for a lecture now. He crossed his arms, settling in and leaning slightly back against a shelf, his full attention given to Jigano. Once again he was faced with the two different titles, Natural and Outlander, except he hadn’t heard nearly as much about the natural way of life before now. They seemed to have a pretty decent system, trusting and knowing each other, occasionally dealing with the trouble makers among them, but mainly focusing on survival. Jigano’s wink was met with a light smirk, Kiki’s lips pulling up on one side.

Every story had a but, and the but of this one was the tipping of scales. Well trained military type outlanders arriving had apparently caused tension, and when there is an internal affair there must always be a mediator. A council, with a mixture of the two nationalities on it, that technically lead the Hollowed Grounds. When told that ‘they haven’t done much yet’, Killian smile a little. Hell yeah, less things he had to worry about messing up then. ”The council is kind of like a middle ground then, and less of a government?” he asked, just to clarify his suspicions.

When the map was pulled from the book, the young man moved to Jigano’s side, following the lore seekers gesture at the blank portions. He was thoroughly surprised at how much space was left on the map, compared to how much of it was colored with the known. It was almost exciting, to see how much there was to explore, but for now he had to focus one what he could learn now instead of what he might in the future. He reached down and traced his finger around the barrier, then pointed to the forested space beyond. ”So this is the barrier, and this is the new place? Do you know anything about this part?” he asked.

Killian's alert attention was noted, and Jigano's impression of the sun-touched young man improved a notch. At the astute question he nodded. "I think Maea recognizes that if she tries to apply too much force, too fast, that both naturals and outlanders alike would rise up against it," he pointed out, a the wry amusement still coloring his voice and making his smile a little crooked. "The naturals aren't used to being ruled or led by anyone, and the outlanders... well, a large number came through from Northhaven early on, but since then we've all come from different places. Some people were leaders in their own rights on their worlds, others rogues, or outcasts... or just used to different systems of control." He shrugged lightly. "And while some are perfectly willing to fall back in with something familiar, some of us are... not."

He stood back a bit to let Killian examine the map, and chuckled again at the eager question. "It's a magical place," he began. "Literally. If you don't know the hidden paths - or if you can't find someone who can show you - the woods will spit you back out where you started after you go a couple hundred feet into them. I'm not sure if it's a trick of teleportation or displacement or just a wrinkle in reality, but actually getting into the woods themselves without wings is an exercise in frustration." Even with wings space seemed to fold differently around the flier, playing tricks with distance and perception when heading for a visible landmark.

Killian nodded to Jigano’s response to his first question. He understood the dealings between a people and their leaders pretty well, and he also knew how the introduction of something new and unknown was often like a bag of kernels. Just a little heat is all it took to make it pop, as was the way with most conflict. It seemed that was true of all worlds, humans were pretty much the same wherever they went. So they government here was meant to keep the tensions down, and satiate the very human hunger for disagreement.

Jigano explained the map, and the magical place beyond where the border had been. The way it was described, the woods themselves seemed to be alive, deciding who to let past and who to spit back out. This sounded like a challenge more than an obstacle, and Kiki decided that after he’d explored more of the Hollowed Grounds he would try his luck with the mystical thicket. ”Have you been?” he asked, seeing as Jigano seemed to be speaking from experience.

"I have," Jigano confirmed, blue eyes sparkling in a beam of reflected sunlight before he ducked his head, tapping the map again - this time in the area that was more clearly marked. "And everywhere within where the barrier once stood. From the woods and fields of the Outskirts to the tranquility of the Glade and its shrine to the old gods - and the Old Gods, now." He carefully lilted a little extra emphasis on the second iteration, implying a definite difference between the two groups. "In the Settlement proper you have Temple, not far from here, holding the Infirmary and the bar as well as another shrine. And beyond this, the Ruins..." His finger traced along the map as he spoke, pointing out the landmarks as he mentioned them. "Careful in there. Relics of the past, both treasure and terror, still lie hidden, both aboveground and in the Underground passages beneath."

He frowned thoughtfully, then pointed to another point on the map. "Careful of the Labyrinth here, too. The speaking squirrels are bait to lure you in, but the living hedgewalls move on their own to keep you trapped once you get inside. And there are some truly nasty monsters in there that will take the shape of your greatest fears," he added darkly.