Before
Posted: Fri May 08, 2020 7:42 am
46th of Glade, Year 120
"Buenas, amigo. Dónde está la Universidad de..." he paused. "En...valise? Perdón, yo no..."
"Elio!" his sister interjected. "Ya no estas en Railón, sabes? Además, no es una universidad. Te lo dije."
"Then what is it, Reina?" asked the Kalen. The woman rolled her eyes.
"It's an academy. If you had read the books Lady Garcez had left us -- or if you were at least functionally literate, or even intelligent -- you would understand the difference." The woman turned to the man Areas had approached, bowing her head slightly in apology. "Je suis désolé, monsieur." Then, taking her brother's hand, she skittered off.
"Dónde está Gian?" the Courvagne brother asked, as the two jogged across the cobbled stones of Amoren's city square. They stopped before long, the central fountain still in view, his sister offering one of the Veir nearby a curious glance. The woman then turned to Areas, before lightly - playfully - slapping him on the cheek. The Raillen man cocked a wide grin. "Coño."
"Practice. You understand Common well enough, so you may as well use it here. It's considered uncouth in Gentevarese courts to be swinging your Raillen around all day; it makes others wonder if you sympathize with Elias' insular views. You and I are from Railon, especially; the scrutiny upon us is increased." She paused, looking around. "Anyhow, no idea where Gian is. Probably half-way into some maid. Or valet. You and I both know why he comes with us to Amoren, and it's not for the Candor."
His grin not subsiding, the Raillen man nodded to his sister before glancing towards the man who had previously caught her eye. "Ah, that's Lord-Veir Giovanni Sclare. A suitor for you, isn't he?"
"Yes. If you had attended the Wintry Accord, however, you would have heard that his mother recently fell into an exceptional scandal. She is mentally unwell, it seems; paranoid of vast conspiracies against her, implicating even her children in such assertive claims. Their family has fractured in two, and so his future is fairly uncertain. I don't know if I..."
"Want to marry someone from a similar family as ours?" Elio interjected. "Fragmented; weakened. Reina, it's a perfect match. You may be beautiful -- but half of that is from Necromantic surgery. You always try to match above your station. Giovanni Sclare is likely much more willing to marry you now than he was at the last Blooming Glen. I think you should consider it."
"Perhaps," she replied. "For now," the woman continued, "I will leave you to your own devices. Avoid the Raillen, oui? Perhaps you should start learning Gentevarese. It's a good time to do it -- the linguists are a farthing an hour in the slums, I heard. They're cheaper than the whores."
The Veir laughed. "Not Gian's whores."
- - -
Absent one academy, Elio had wandered toward the common hall, where some members of the Entente got into small gatherings in anticipation of upcoming soirees and other such events. Last time he'd come to the hall, he himself had been offered the intrigue of a suitor's details. In general, it was a vain meet-and-greet filled with useless courtiers, the less experienced wishing to practice their Candor among other people with little to lose, threaten or gain. Elio, however, felt far from enticed by these games even once he'd arrived at his destination. The sun had begun to set; he missed home. As beautiful as Amoren could be, there was nothing like eastern Couronne, along the coastline. He missed his people.
In Levarin, modesty laws were still viable, but with so many culturally allowable exceptions. Here, he was wearing a tight suit with an overcoat, his hair trapped within the confines of a beret. It was fairly cool, so he did not mind the extra layers. But he wanted to swim, to feel the sun's glow upon his skin by the hills. These galas were not vacations; they were work, and a sort that was brutal and dangerous, capable of causing long-lasting damage and implications upon one's self. He was, always while in this city, somewhat afraid.
Leaned against the stone column at the entrance to the common area, Elio began to pray to Ulen, closing his eyes in order to do so. He hoped for strength. For the thing he had never really had.