I Wonder as I Wander [Taelian]

[Oliver]

The amusement was mutual between them both as they appeared to be in synchrony with each other's humour, perhaps it was his mannerisms that helped give light to the situation; the man appeared to loom over him, circling around him as he felt two fingers press against his hair, as if it was being lifted up to reveal the mark; when Taelian whispered in an awestruck fashion before he held his fist out, placing it against his chest in a salute. He recognised it, the same salute that was given when other Ebon Knights greet each other "Oh? You mean there are more across the continent?" He asked looking at the other male "That seems like an unhealthy problem, Dranoch numbers will continue to grow, incubate and infect other people within the area.

Oliver was wondering why Taelian was flabbergasted by the man's approval into the order, so he had to explain. Why would Malek endure him with such a complex gift? Did he have future plans? Oliver sighed as he spoke out "It is unconventional I know, imagine a Griscian becoming something that we apparently vouch against, a mage, a scourge of corruption that feeds upon us from the inside, inviting social decay and ruin. I don't think there's enough answers out there to prove their cause; they are hiding the truth, omitting certain details of what really happened. At least, that's what I believe... I think it's more to do with control of history, to radicalise people into a certain mindset designed to control them as mere puppets. Do you think I would've lived if I returned? Of course, not..." He said with a sigh "Sometimes as families we were forced to watch mages burn for being given magic, a sense that the gods had corrupted us... Where's the proof? Perhaps we'll never know." He uttered to Taelian, probably rambling on further as he should've.

He was taken back by the man's generosity, for owning a mark of control, similar to what his people had endured, perhaps he was a trustworthy ally that Oliver needed to keep close; he chuckled showing off his humility on the subject "You honestly don't have to do anything, If I need to camp out in the woods again for a while, then so be it." He smiled, wondering if he should actually ask for what he needed. He didn't want to burden other people with his problems, even though he may have served alongside him "But if you keep on insisting, perhaps a place to stay would be grand, whilst I can get off my feet and decide what plans lie ahead for me... At the moment, I have no current agenda on my mind, except possibly returning to a local chapter for work" He said with a deep sigh, as he began to think about the role of an Ebon Knight. It was hard, especially when it was his choice to fight out of blind sympathy; he had taken lives, knowing that he was fighting for a cause, but those lives that are taken were also once good people, mangled by an affliction.

He remained in thought for a moment as he took a deep breath "Although, I've began to think along the moral lines, it's not easy having to take a life but if you look at it the way I do, Dranoch once had a sense of humanity, but they are controlled by a rapacious hunger that can never be satiated. It almost seems like a life of eternal suffering, living as one of those beings" He frowned for a moment, thinking back on the Ebon Knight he was forced to kill due to becoming infected by the blight "Following such an oath of an Ebon Knight isn't easy, it's challenging and the more I think about the possibility that anyone could get infected, mangled or destroyed by these creatures is... Unbearable to think about." Oliver's gaze turns to Taelian's as he took a deep breath.

"Anyway, I'm probably boring you with my ramblings..." He chuckled.

[Taelian Edevane]

Taelian shrugged his shoulders as the other questioned whether he might have survived if he returned to Grisic. He didn't know -- the only thing he really knew about Grisic was that it was staunchly anti-magic, and that it was an industrialized society. He knew a fair amount about the Divine Abolition, but he wasn't certain their exact process for determining whether someone should be executed. In most cases, though, he did know that they did not show mercy. "You probably would have died," he answered plainly. "I don't think they offer any particular solace to Griscian citizens above anyone else -- in fact, I'm fairly certain I've read that you are treated with more scrutiny than others, because you have already been 'exposed to the lies of the Path.' Given that, I can't imagine you'd be spared."

It was tragic, not being able or allowed to return home, though that was also a feeling he had his own intimate familiarity with. Taelian had no parents to return to, but if he did, he would never be able to return to them anyway. It wasn't like a sword of the Ebon Knighthood could just stroll into the Pyred Bedlam -- they'd be quite literally eaten alive by Dranoch. His extended family would never know what happened to him; hell, even many of his comrades wouldn't.

That was life as a mage, as an outsider, as a rebel of some kind. It was simply how it was.

"I don't mind helping," he muttered. "Six farthings a day... well, I can't sustain that forever, but I can sustain it for a few weeks while you get some footing. I could always move you to the smaller rooms, anyhow -- that's only three farthings a day. I'd be happy to pay for you for... let's say a month," Taelian said with a nod. "As for the chapter, well... good luck. They're hard to find if you're not already in contact with them. I could try to help you locate them, but I'm not exactly in their good graces. To be honest... they think I'm still dead."

Still was the key word there, but he didn't emphasize it any further; it was a slip, anyway, a lapse.

"Anyway, Dranoch... well, yes. It's more grey and nuanced than Aldrin gives it credit for, though at the end of the day they do still devour innocents. If we look at it numerically, pragmatically, they are better off dead -- it's better we remove this curse from circulation than let it spread. It becomes a plague. I wouldn't worry about the morality of it all too much; you could debate it for years, but moralism also needs to follow utility. It makes no sense to let a Dranoch live. If you find them, you must kill them."

He spoke as someone who had allowed Arkash to live, but that was because he cared about him, dearly, in a way that would make any man compromise their morals. He didn't want to know what Arkash did -- he just knew that he wouldn't ever harm him.

The man sighed.

"You're not boring me, but I avoid... thinking about all of that, to be honest. I try to avoid Sil-Elaine, and my past, and that curse. It took too much from me already -- I don't want it to take more," he said, curling his lips. "So -- tell me about this lad of yours," he changed the subject. "Were you dating? Was he also Griscian? I was curious."

[Oliver]

Oliver nodded in response to the threat of death from the Grisic Empire. It was almost heartbreaking that he couldn't return to his homeland, wondering what had become of his own house, his sister Cecilia and a few friends from university. Oliver sighed, wondering if he had made a mistake, deciding to leave Grisic so abruptly. Perhaps there was nothing there any longer, except for what he knew the most. Oliver's face lit up at the offer that Taelian had given him, six farthings a day for an entire month appeared to be what he needed "Why, you're a kind man, Taelian and as for the locating the chapter, if you've got some quarrels with the Remedy, I won't mention your name and I am loyal to my word as any man would say" He spoke out with sincere gratitude to his voice, as if he had been lucky the second time "I don't know what to say really, other than thank you..." He sighed once again, knowing that such a prospect of skill was heavily scarce, perhaps he did need to find the chapter to secure a decent living wage or something.

Oliver remained quiet for the rest of the conversation, nodding in agreement that every Dranoch should be dead; the festering plague continued to ravage most of Sil'Elaine and even spreading towards the world. There was no doubt that Taelian was right in his motives, despite having moral qualms against them. It was almost identical to the anti-magic hysteria in Grisic. He knew very well that there was no arguing with that point of view, but the tragedy of the past had proven to be a breaking point for Taelian.

"I met the man in Daravin, Eric was his name although he was originally born in Natanis, his family are all Lustrians. It was somewhat strange and intriguing as that was the place I was on an expedition with twelve years ago..." He stared at Taelian face-to-face, before looking downwards at the table in deep thought, this time barely having eye contact "He needed a bodyguard, there was no surprise there as he was known for pissing off the local badlanders... Pompous arsehole." He exhaled through his nose, rolling his eyes "Anyway, I was in the area, locating a Dranoch cell that had just been found, turned out one thing lead to another. I eradicated the cell, he got his knowledge." He chuckled as he shook his head "Seemed like a fair trade, although I would've been dead if it wasn't for him saving me with that vile magic from the continent... What do they call it? Grave?" He asked as he was unfamiliar with other magics, other than Pyromancy "Anyway, he was pleasant for year or two, seemingly charming, helpful. I fell hard and ended up marrying him." Oliver frowned as he reflected on that mistake "I was too naive to think he would've been the one..." He shrugged.

"Hopefully, I learn not to be so trusting this time..." He uttered, resuming eye contact with the fellow mage "They say the wise learn from other people's mistakes, whilst the fool learns from their own, hard to believe that I've been the fool about fifty times in my life." He moved his elbow onto the table, leaning back and crossing his leg, as if he felt more relaxed about the man, compared to before; it took a little time for Oliver to get to know someone and this time it was heading towards another place "What about you? Are you a strapping bachelor or do you have someone special in your life?" He asked curiously.

[Taelian Edevane]

He listened intently as Oliver spoke about Eric. The story amused him, in truth, because it sounded similar to his experiences with a particular someone -- Renfier, the strapping Valran who had rescued him in the Badlands and asked him to marry. He fortunately did not marry him, or he imagined he might be telling the same sort of tale Oliver was telling right now. Taelian adored the bloke, but he knew that he also changed like the seasons. Many did. That was why it was important to search for stability, after all, and not just a spark or passion. He nodded along as Oliver told him the rest, offering him a quiet smile of condolences at the end.

Taelian seated himself, staring across from the other. He pressed his elbows against the edges of the wood, bringing his hands up to his chin, which laid on them. The Knight let out a firm hmm as he was asked a question himself.

"I am married to two men," he answered. "One of them for political reasons, another for pleasure. We're open, though, and that's how I need it to be, I think. Wendell's the first one; tall, handsome man, incredibly intelligent. He's a Loric nobleman, and that's how I got my own title. Wendell is one of the brightest men I've ever met -- I can't emphasize that enough. He's also got a good heart. He's just, ah... a bit too cold for me. I need a lot of warmth and peach fuzz, but when I go to him to cheer about my accomplishments or laugh about something, I tend to get a lot of... 'okay?' and 'your point?'," he sighed. "It ruins the whole thing, unfortunately. Thomas is good; sweet, handsome, great at, ah... receiving me. Funny, strange. I like how much of an oddball he is. He's like a book character, only in real life. He's also very, very well spoken, and has a knack for picking up any talent with a few tries. He's also incredibly good at getting into or out of any situation."

The man grinned, lowering his eyes to the table.

"And yet, I am not with them right now. Why? I don't know. I chose to come to Radenor for this job. I think I just... needed to get away from that life -- that life as a Lord, always so... crippling. Wendell doesn't really understand, because he was a born a Lord, and it's all he knows. Thomas does; he runs away more often than I do."

Taelian's lips smoothed, and he laughed beneath his breath.

"I'm not completely happy. It's not that I'm not happy with them, it's just... sort of everything. So that's why I'm here, speaking to a stranger in an inn room I explicitly purchased with the expectation that I'd be using it to open my marriage just a bit wider. I guess I'm sort of, ah... forging a new life here, one bloke in my bed at a time. I never used to live like that, but this is sort of who I am now. At least until I find the right thing for me, the right cure to this malady of uncertainty. I hope I will find it soon."

[Oliver]

Oliver smirked at Taelian as he listened to his story on marriage, trying to paint a picture of Taelian's marital and social character "My my... You're full of surprises, I can imagine how exhausting it is to be married to two men, especially for political reasons, but it doesn't hurt to try certain prospects like that, even if you do feel like some cultural taboo is tapping your conscience. The best way of handling that situation is if you tell it to fuck off, get gone and stop living in the recesses of my brain. Easy said than done however..." Oliver laughed under his breath.

He seemed to becoming more intrigued by the man's demeanour, his sense of character and his openness to him. It seemed the man did have honourable qualities to him as his experiences had shaped into a paragon of honesty, resilience and humility. He listened intensively to the larger male who sat opposite him, seemingly humble about his journey on marriage, why he came to Radenor and what he prefered out of life. The man appeared to have a hint of uncharged wisdom to him, but it appeared that this man wasn't completely happy with his life. Was he aswell? Oliver felt an almost empathetic connection "That does sound like a dog's life, I'm not going to lie, I mean if your second husband runs away more often, isn't he giving you some sort of sign? Runaway now? I suppose you don't understand until you lose it all, it almost reminds me how lucky I was to have three square meals a day, a decent education, clothing and luxuries in Grisic. Many people take prospects like that for granted, it's worst if they are born into such savage families" He uttered.

Oliver's impression of Taelian had grew on him, perhaps the conversation in the room was so much better "I understand it can be painful searching for the thing that makes you the happiest, but you musn't give up even if you feel like the world is fostering false hope, the best way to counter that is to keep going." He grinned. Moments ago, he was taken back by the sheer intimidating mass of Taelian's figure, but now he seems him with some degree of respect, even if he was married to two men, "I think your company has actually been the most pleasant, although I havent experienced much of Radenor's culture, perhaps we should arrange something... After all, I do need some form of... Company, particularly one who knows the land better." He asked, staring at Taelian sheepishly.

"What are your recommendations?"