Good Luck [Taelian]

[Lux]

"That's fascianting. I cannot imagine such a desire for death." If he were going to exist in this world, it seemed war was a concept he would have to become familiar with. "Do you believe in war? Has it ever...fixed anything? For you or your people?" He could guess the answer to this question, but he was curious as to how a life lived in a world that fought would affect someone's perspective of it.

Lux took the box and held it in front of his face, as if the act would be enough to determine how it worked. He knew some about Resonance; it was how they had escaped from Krish to this world in the first place. But he had no practical or personal experience with it or any magic.

"They had something like this on Kornos. One could speak to any other from any corner of Byzantium — that was the name of the city, though I suppose it could just be called Kornos, considering..." His train of thought shifted back towards the box. "There was no lack of communication, apparently. No distance was too far to speak to someone, no distance was too far to travel. I have heard there is nothing in this world that touches upon the technology we had."

"My mother is—was an astronmer. There was a massive telescope, the Keminalis, capable of seeing through the vast reaches of space. Stars. Planets. The sky here doesn't compare to what she had seen and studied." He slipped the box into the same pouch that held his journal. "What I mean is that I will keep it safe, thank you! It was Resonance that brought us here, from Tarkus. That is the extent of my knowledge of the magic."

Where Taelian faintly smiled, Lux frowned. "I wish I could've seen it, too. There's something disconnecting about being in a world I know so little about, and knowing about a world I can never be in." It was a passing expression. "But that will change soon enough. I have already learned so much about the brutality! I hope I can learn about the good things."

[Taelian Edevane]

"Fixed anything," he repeated, the man chuckling lightly as he did. It was an odd question. The sort of question a man without exposure to the sorts of things he had been witness to would ask; someone who lived in peace, someone who hadn't been victim to war. "It is needed sometimes," Taelian began. "I'm from Sil-Elaine. Place has been ruled by a monolithic cabal of... monsters for over six hundred years now. They will not surrender power willingly, so what other option is there? The only way to stop their war on our minds, their war on our bodies, and even our souls... is to war on their control; their reign."

The man lowered himself onto his knees, moving to seat himself on the grass, crossing one leg vaguely around the other before interlacing his fingers before them, laying them within his lap and twiddling his thumbs. "Sometimes that's the only choice. Evil isn't always accountable to words, customs, or the right thing. Sometimes, evil can only be held to account by one thing -- a blade to the throat. A pyred corpse on a stake. That's the other truth of this world, Lux."

Idling for a moment, he sat quietly as he listened to the other explain the technology that his... 'Byzantium' held on offer. Technology to travel and communicate from anywhere. Like Resonance, but better. And... technology. Not magic. That was odd to him; technology in their world was so limited. Magic was seen as the way to surpass technology's boundaries; so, if the technology on Kornos surpassed the magic on Atharen, did that not mean that perception was a lie? Perhaps technology would one day surpass magic's boundaries. Perhaps that would be better.

"There are some good things," he finally said, before being interrupted by a long yawn. The sun was bright, ahead of them. Glints of the light caught in his eyes, making the man squince. "Sorry. Tired... and wrong timing to be tired, I guess. But, ah... yes. There are things of great beauty. Maybe a world that was also a city couldn't have so many of the things like we have. All of the nature, so vast. There are also great ruins all over this land -- all over Daravin. From Silor, from the Unbroken Empire... even from the older days of Daravin itself. Cynical as I can be, I... think there's a lot that this world has to offer. Maybe I can show you some of those things." He flashed another smile. Warm, and genuine. At times, there surfaced those... small glimmers in him. Memories of times more optimistic.

He could easily relate to the boyish curiosity of the other. It wasn't that far away from his own heart.

[Lux]

"I see. I would love to see these ruins! Like the skeletons of civilization." Lux sat on the ground as well, with a rather unceremonious thump that caused Stix to fly off of his shoulder and hop a few steps away. He idly pulled at the grass in front of him, and the sun caught on the gold bands of his arms and horns, though not reflective as much as glowing. An ant crawled onto the end of his tail lying in the grass, and he brought his tail before him to watch it crawl.

"So Sil-Elaine is controlled by monsters, Daravin is controlled by the...you said Entente? Are they also monsters?" He allowed the ant to crawl from his tail to his finger, and moved his hand as the insect explored it. He realized his relative uniqueness would inspire curiosity, and he would not get to decide or determine in whom it was inspired. If the wrong person with the right resources sought to find where he had come from, he would not be able to stop them. It was one thing if it were only him to be caught or captured or subjugated, but he doubted that the same people to enslave were the same people that cared about cultural preservation or history. Who would protect them then?

"What gives you hope?" He looked up to Taelian with the question, though it was hard to tell where exactly his attention lay with such featureless eyes. "Do you ever feel hopeless?" He placed his hand down and allowed the ant to return to the dirt. "I'm thinking of my family. We have survived too much to continue to be culled. I will have to learn how to protect them." He sighed.

"You're very kind. I hope, at least, that it's out of kindness, as I believe my life is in your hands now. I can offer that trust, but I'm curious. Do you act out of generosity? Curiosity? Loneliness? Regret?"

[Taelian Edevane]

Seated in the grass, he nodded, a brief tip of his head as the other latched on to the idea of exploring ruins together. The skeletons of civilization. They were that, indeed. Taelian began to ponder. What ruins -- what skeletons? The city of Nilfandel was nearby. Perhaps... eighty miles east? It wasn't worth that much of a detour, considering it was infested with Corruption, but the idea got his head turning. Suddenly, his expression softened as he landed on one particular idea. He wouldn't say it out loud, but maybe he could steer them very slightly more westward so that their trajectory aligned with it. The only ruin he really cared to see, out in the Southern Marches. He'd already seen Nilfandel's wreck from afar. The place it crashed into the ground.

"The Entente?" he laughed. "Monsters in a way. They are suspended always in a game of life and death. Deception and danger. Only the most callous win. I was taught within my own 'group' to learn how to participate in the Candor, but I'm not sure that I want to. It's... brutal. And the winners -- like I said, callous. Once they get what they want, they don't stop stepping on others. There's a reason most of the people in this nation are so... emaciated."

So the answer? By his perspective, most of them were monsters. Perhaps not all. Brilan Ald had something unique to her -- a sort of independence, this predilection to break through the barriers set by their society. To wield the Omen's beliefs as a weapon, some would say to topple that very institution. She was a strong leader, and according to Eloise, the most powerful mage alive. He admired her. But that did not mean she was not a monster.

"I think my own actions give me hope," he whispered, plucking some strands of grass from the soil. Leaning over, his eyes locked on the green pool of colors, as his mind wandered. "That I can make a difference. I've done a lot already. Died for the cause. Left my beloved behind in Tyrclaid to mourn what would have been our marriage. Maybe I was wrong to do all of that... to give up so much. But doing that, knowing what I myself have done, I know that others can do the same. That someone out there is willing to put this world first. I dunno--maybe I sound conceited, like I'm... aggrandizing myself. But I..."

The Knight shook his head. "I don't feel hopeless anymore. So maybe it's worth it. Maybe that's what I act out of -- nothing more than a need to sate my own hopelessness, my cynicism in the mortal spirit. My expectation that everyone just looks out for themselves; I've looked for a way to untangle that for so long. I've tried by being the better man myself."

A sigh. "I'm still lonely. Maybe lonelier now than I ever was. And I have a lot to regret. Still -- gotta keep going. Lorien needs me. So does Sil-Elaine."

[Lux]

"Hmm." Lux mused for a moment. "You're not alone in seeking to put others first. But it isn't always selfish to be selfish. To put the world first, you have to consider what you want and what you need as well. You are still, after all, a part of the world. Making a difference is not all about suffering for your cause."

Lux did not speak from a place of ignorance on the matter. "My people focus on community. There are so few of us, and there are still disagreements, but we have been forced to understand that the matter of who is correct is far less important than ensuring that we are safe and alive." He felt strongly about the matter, and even learning about the inhabitants of Atharen, he was hard-pressed to imagine a scenario where a life was better ended. Perhaps that would change when he began to experience it, but the thought was uncomfortable.

To know that the world at large did not operate on such thinking was disheartening, but to learn Taelian was capable of empathy was a small salve. Lux felt rather lucky to have crossed paths with him at such a crucial moment, though he faulted himself for being so unprepared. The situation with the Halamire could have turned out badly much easier than it could have turned out well, and with far more terrible conclusions than good ones.

"Why did you leave your partner?" He paused for a moment, but not long enough for Taelian to reply before he continued his thought. "And I suppose you're in luck, as it seems if I stray from your side for the time being, I am doomed to kidnapping, slavery, death, or worse. So even if you're lonely, you will not be alone. To that end, even my family finds my incessant questions annoying. Take that as a warning."

[Taelian Edevane]

"I appreciate your words, but... I know. And what I want in this world is to leave an imprint upon it."

Maybe, though, he was wrong. He had more than the slightest suspicion that he was. He had been raised as an alleged 'Famished' in Sil-Elaine, taken in by the Black Remedy at the age of seven. Conditioned towards war for all his life, and with the belief that Sil-Elaine was above all. Its liberation; the emancipation of its people from the claws wrested around them. He knew that many of his desires had been implanted within him not of his own will. Even now, Aldrin's talons gripped his mind. Yet he could not silence those whispers; could not allay them. His voice echoed in every moment.

He imagined the Moroi must have held his own experiences in some level of familiarity. He could tell Lux had not undergone much of the pain of his kind, but he knew what it was like to feel as if his people were in a state of decay, teetering between their continuation and extinction. He seemed committed to helping them in vague ways the Sil'norai could not understand, but all the same, their commitments were parallel to one another's. Both of them had some sense of duty to their kind. That seemed clear.

"My people focus on community too," he merely added with a whisper, recalling his days in the Pyred Bedlam; Veranor's Undercity. No one ever thought they would get out of there. And yet... so many did. So many became soldiers. They really cared about their people -- even the bastards who would mug them; the many delinquents expending the energy of the last mutated rat they had to garble for sustenance, all for the sake of causing trouble. Even those guys rarely took a life. The life of another Elainian was sacred. Not to the Dranoch, perhaps, but... to everyone else.

The man leaned back, laying on the grass. He didn't care about appearances. Taelian was fatigued, and with a tent over his head wouldn't be so bothered by the glaring sun. This patch of grass was as good a place as any. "My partner..." he trailed off, feeling... tension stir in his throat. Something like sorrow, what little he knew of it. It wandered back each time he tried to recall that man. Riven. "He didn't want to come to Lorien," he said, pausing. "He didn't want to leave Tyrclaid. That was his home. But there was nothing for me there."

Shaking his head, he leaned back up slightly so that he could rummage through his belongings, setting his large pack on the grass to extract the compressed form of his tent from it. He wasn't so good at pitching one of those things, but he'd learned it well enough as an Ebon Knight, and better the last time he was in Daravin. Sometimes you just couldn't find an abandoned home.

Not be alone. He smiled faintly as he began to place the legs of the tent, sitting upright and turning to his side. Glancing toward Lux in his peripheral, he nodded. "I appreciate that," he whispered. "I don't find your questions annoying. I... enjoy the conversation. It seems we are both lucky."

[Lux]

"You sacrificed love for purpose. I wouldn't know anything about such a decision, but hopefully I will never have to make that choice." He watched as Taelian put up his tent for a few minutes as he collected his thoughts and started to dig out his own, awarding the other man with his first few moments of silence since meeting the Moroi. Lux began to set up his own, and the silence he had held didn't last long.

"How long do you plan on sleeping? A full rest? A nap?" Lux was tired himself, and he did not mind resting at the time he normally rested, anyway. But he still had so many things he wanted to ask about. He supposed there was plenty of time for this, with Amoren being hundreds of miles away, but he would have to pace himself. He had opted out of writing down every piece of information that Taelian had offered, but he would need to write things down while they were still fresh in his memory, and if he kept asking questions he would end up forgetting things.

Lux's attention turned to Stix. He retrieved a tiny pouch, full of mostly-broken crackers, and held a few pieces in his hand. "Come here, pretty baby," he cooed to the crow in Kornaan. The bird hopped towards him and then briefly took wing to land on his arm, plucking the pieces of cracker directly out of his hand. Lux scritched him behind his head. "Don't stray too far while we rest." He continued, still speaking the alien language. He looked back at Taelian.

"I used to feed the crows that lived near my home," Lux said, speaking Common again. "They all had names. Stix followed me more than most. He is free to go where he pleases, but he always seems to come back to me. I haven't been traveling alone because of him, but it's nice to be able to speak to someone who can speak back." He smiled. "If he starts speaking, perhaps I have other things to worry about."

[Taelian Edevane]

He had never thought himself capable of experiencing love. Being labeled a 'Famished' since long before adolescence, love and its many whimsical realities seemed unfathomable to him; imperceptible. Those things were beyond the framework of a man who could barely feel. Perhaps that belief that he could never achieve it at all, no matter what he did or how far he came, was why it was so willing to discard it when it arrived. Rather than latching onto it, unwilling to let it loose from his grasp, his self-doubt loosened his grip more than anything else.

It was easy to say goodbye to Riven. To the man he felt he did not even deserve. He felt, somewhere within him, like that man falling into his lap was a cosmic sort of anomaly--one reality would surely correct before long. And by his own complacency, it did.

The tent was finally pitched, and mostly ready to go. It wasn't set in the most durable sort of way, but it would do, barring any immensely strong winds. The hide was even thick enough to make it mostly dark within, despite the risen sun. A brief, faint smile graced his lips, before the man settled onto his palms and turned to eye Lux as he inquired as to how long he would lay.

"A full rest," he answered briefly, looking upward as if to ponder. Glancing back down, he averted his stare towards Stix, listening quietly to the few words the other spoke in Kornaan. It was incomprehensible, strange. Unfamiliar. Not even distantly related to any tongue on Atharen, a fact that was overt upon hearing it. Though he imagined it was a fascinating tongue for that reason alone. It did not use the common script, as most languages did. So, he wondered, what did its words look like, and how did the Moroi who had come learn Common? It must have been a difficult task.

"Crows are smart," he replied, tipping his head. "One of the smartest species of animal, I think. For that reason... I have a difficult time trusting them. Men are smart, too, but with motivations that are easy to understand. Crows... you never know. In the north, many of them serve the Kindred." He had heard that the Kindred and Wohlricht had the ability to command, communicate with and delegate tasks to crows and ravens. Given his experience in dealing with them in the past, he imagined those allegations to be true. They were conniving bastards.

All of that to say he felt mildly wary around Stix... though he didn't imagine a Kindred would swoop in from so far at his behest. Crawling into his tent, he settled beneath the center-stick, before realizing one of the corners needed to be nailed down and tied with rope. Stepping out, he bent down and did so, standing upright afterwards and stretching into a yawn. Exhaustion finally, fully hit him.

"...I only sleep about five to six hours," he said, emerging into the steadier tent and pulling in his bag, beginning to lay out his blanket, faintly humming an old Elven tune as he did. Once it was done, the man finally settled in, pulling the blanket over his legs as he kept his back upright. "Alright. Goodnight, Lux. If you need me, feel free to wake me up. I'm, ah... used to being awoken on short notice. I won't be upset," the man said, offering a faint smile. "Sleep well."

And with that, he leaned in, closing the open flaps of his tent and disappearing behind them.

[Nyx]

Thread Review

Taelian

Regular Experience: 8 EXP

Magical Experience: N/A

Injury/Ailments: N/A

Awarded Lore: N/A

Loot: N/A

Lux

Regular Experience: 8 EXP

Magical Experience: N/A

Injury/Ailments: N/A

Awarded Lore: N/A

Loot: N/A

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