Prepare for the #LodanRespawn2024 Existing characters may choose to be displace from/have memories of different timelines, thereby allowing returning members the option to retcon their whole character. These changes are the result of the "Unnatural Fog" plot device that is running between now and the Respawn. The plot is simple: no matter where your character is, that place is shrouded in a thick fog that suspends time, but not thoughts or memories, so even if they're repeating the same day over and over again, they continue to remember, so each time feels like a new day. For those retconning OCs; this is where new versions of themselves have the opportunity to replace the old versions. Official lore and tree updates will be announced asap
Post by Elaine Anncroft on Aug 17, 2019 1:12:32 GMT
Elaine watched him consider some inner thoughts with an idle gaze at first that focused as he leaned forward into the space in front of him. How interested was she? That was a good question. As much as she loved and respected Edelweiss and how endlessly grateful she was for her leaders wisdom and patience she still felt that little voice in her mind pestering her to go do more with herself. To find something that she could be far more honest in, with others and with herself. She could feel herself breathe out and then pause, holding the moment stillness without meaning to. How hard was it to just take that little step into the uncertainty that surrounded Lasair's little world? The first step was always the hardest though wasn't it?
She considered her position in CAEsAL and it's importance. Edel was a strong character and she surely could find someone to replace Elaine who perhaps would be better at the job. Edel would also, always, be her friend...
The freedom was right there at the end of her sofa. Elaine set the pillow aside as she shifted and slid down the sofa. Settling at the end closest to him to put her elbows on her knees and lean forward to meet his gaze with her own, and into their little space she replied, "Very."
Post by Lasair Landevier Lupen on Aug 17, 2019 20:04:58 GMT
It seemed he had her undivided attention for the time being. Odd, he never felt like she didn't pay attention to him but now, suddenly, it felt like she was focusing on him more than usual. He could get the sense that she was calculating behind her eyes, choosing her words and her posture very carefully. Those were good skills and he wondered faintly if she knew he did the same amount of self policing, even when he wasn’t expected to.
Lasair took a measured moment to relax his shoulders, hoping the gesture would help keep the conversation from being too serious. "I'm afraid you'll have to restate your question. Are we talking about my books or my occupation? I suppose that yes, they are very much interconnected, but which of your curiosities do you want answered first?" Did she want to hear about his growing library more, or about why he was trying to fill it? He had a hunch of which she would pick, but he left it up to her for now.
Post by Elaine Anncroft on Aug 18, 2019 4:45:29 GMT
Elaine stayed in place though she did tilt her head slightly to appear more loosely intrigued. Lasair had given off signals that this wasn't a dire conversation, much to her comfort. They were in the confines of her home after all. There weren't any prying ears here save for perhaps Cas, who could care less about their chatter.
Her brow twitched subtly when he asked her to rephrase and she briefly doubted that perhaps he was dodging the question or being coy, but his gaze remained steady and prying. She turned her head to the side a bit to watch him from a more sideways gaze as she weighed out what she wanted to say. Her focus turning back as her eyes narrowed lightly, "I want to know about your occupation. More than the vagueness you've been giving me." Elaine had enough common sense to make a guess that his passion for magic was a big part of what he did at his little cryptic place. "Your extensive knowledge of the arcane arts and shadow beasts, despite the front you usually hold about them, leaves me confident enough to say that it is a focal point of what you do."
Elaine sat up some to cross her arms loosely over her chest as she held his gaze evenly, and still quite warm and friendly though her words were pointed. She didn't expect any unneeded secrecy from him. He would protect private guild information as needed of course, as he should, but she was and open book for him. "I want to know what you know. Something that commands your attention so much that you've all but ghosted the city is something that has my attention." She paused and closed her mouth to run her tongue along the back of her teeth. "I want that freedom."
Post by Lasair Landevier Lupen on Aug 18, 2019 5:59:51 GMT
Lasair was genuinely impressed that she had been picking up on all the little clues he had left her. The quirks in his personality that he never bothered to hide, but rather advertise as some sort of lure to catch her attention. In truth, he had always hoped she would take more of an interest in her ander heritage, at least enough of one to bring her questions to him. And even if that weren't the case now, it was at least a step in the right direction. And while she failed to ever actually directly ask a question, the indirect ones were there. She wanted to know. She wanted to know as much as he was willing to give. And while he certainly could tip the bucket over and douse her in the data, it wasn't his style. No, it would be more befitting to him to start with a few drops.
"There's a library," he spoke clearly, although his voice was a degree quieter than before. "It's filled with texts that the queen and her people would rather have destroyed. Books on magic, on the beasts that dwell in the shadows, on anderswelter history and tradition." Books that had helped uncover lost magical arts, and books that spoke of a world where magic flowed so freely that there were no such things as limits in your casting energy—only in your ability to create the spell. He waited a measured moment to let her process the existence of this place before going on. "But some of the books are dated, some have gaps in information, and some topics simply haven't been written about. At least not yet." This was when he gestured in the rough direction of his blank books, wherever they might relative to him right now. Without revealing all the inner workings of his guild, perhaps this would be enough to intrigue the young scholar.
Post by Elaine Anncroft on Aug 18, 2019 7:33:19 GMT
Elaine's brows shot up at the mention of a library, perhaps even before he got to mention what was in it. She wasn't necessarily shocked in all honesty. That response to things had dulled down quite a bit over the last few years. Magic, beasts, and Anders? Oh my! Elaine had always had the desire to help her people through all the trouble they faced regardless of the times. The war hadn't even changed the circumstances they lived under, it actually made them worse. All that knowledge was at his fingertips? Elaine felt a pang of jealousy at the thought, not directed at Lasair, but more so at the ability to just peruse it at leisure.
She worried her bottom lip between her teeth as she flicked her gaze over the idle objects in the general direction he'd gestured to. Raising her hand to push her curly hair behind her ear as she perked up, "There's an entire library out there that has all this... original text?" She made a very urgent gesture with her hands into the air in front of her. "And you're filling in the blanks?" The gesture turned into a point at him as she shook her head in a bit of disbelief. That was a little more than a piece of a ship, that was an entire ship in itself. She smiled brightly as she leaned forward earnestly, "That's incredible! No wonder you know so much."
Post by Lasair Landevier Lupen on Aug 18, 2019 20:44:10 GMT
It was honestly very wholesome seeing the way Elaine reacted to hearing the information. Lasair knew her to be a book lover, and yet the fire that he saw ignite in her eyes was something new entirely. He doubted that he could say anything else that would impress hear this much. But there was still information to share, more pieces she had yet to uncover.
"I've spent a great deal of time among its shelves, and yet I still feel like I know so little. Whenever I make a breakthrough I seek to document it in so that when the next seeker of knowledge roams in, they can pick up where I've left off. I reference my own texts sometimes too, ever trying to build them up and continue them. It's a mantel I somewhat adopted from a senior member; they would go out and gather data on the shadow beasts and copy it down, amassing it into a volume. I've done the same from time to time, but not with as much determination as they." He was careful not to reveal too much on the inner workings of the guild, but mentioning the existence of another member wouldn't reveal much, he was sure of that. He also wondered what kind of questions she would spring up with next, and how much of it he would be able to answer.
Post by Elaine Anncroft on Aug 18, 2019 23:05:01 GMT
Elaine listened with rapt attention. So much to discover right there just beyond the door Lasair was only cracking open. Whatever she had intended to rave about first dying in her throat as something came to her attention. "Former member? You're the only one left there, aren't you? You mentioned it before to me in the meadow." Her hand hovering in the air as if seeking a way to comfort him from something she wasn't quite sure of yet. "Have you managed to do all of this so far alone?" Their last evening together had been them lingering on a roller coaster of emotions. Delight in one another's company and the empty loneliness that affected each differently. He was trying to fill in the gaps of an entire library just by himself, his lack of presence in the city now made far more sense to her than it ever had before. It explained much and also tipped the already overflowing pot of intrigue. Her eyes flickered with many thoughts all attempting to be heard at once.
Post by Lasair Landevier Lupen on Aug 19, 2019 16:23:49 GMT
He frowned at her first question, taking a moment to finish listening to her before he jumped in to reply. Her memory was sharp and she continued to draw one connection after another. "I am not the only member of the guild no," he was careful to keep from calling it 'my guild' as he often did. "But our numbers have dropped as of the recent history, and I've been going out of my way to try and change that." He wanted to explain more, to defend the deserters and argue that they were anything but that. But now was not the time, and truth be told, he wasn't sure if they merited defending anymore. "However I have been the only one to take such a, well, dedication towards the literature. Most people come to read, gather data, take some notes, and then move on. But I've taken it past that. And I got tired of simply binding my journals and trying to put them on the shelves, so I decided to get real books for the cause. I buy empty tomes every now and again and then I slowly fill them up." He wasn't going to tell her how many he had already wrote, mostly because he didn't have an exact number figured out. But it was his endeavor and it was one he took pride in.
It was nice to have somebody recognize that again. It had been so long since he truly shared the passion with someone.
Post by Elaine Anncroft on Aug 20, 2019 1:09:11 GMT
Elaine watched him quizzically as he solved the issue of lack of people. He was building it back up and that's why he had been dropping crumbs for her. He thought she was a good fit? That surprised her though as she sat back to think on it, rolling the possibilities around in her mind. "You always have been a very determined man." In her experience at least. "It doesn't surprise me that you've decided to fill a library even if you have to do it alone." She smiled brightly at the though and reached up to rub the back of her neck like it ached as her gaze drifted off to the vague corners of the room then back to him. "I'd love to join."
She really would, it sounded like heaven. "But I get the feeling that there's a lot more to this guild than what you're actually telling me. Because I doubt chasing shadow beasts and writing books is all the detail it requires. What, though..." Her brows went up pointedly, "Is your purpose? What do you stand for?" Elaine stood for her people and their ease of life, eventual as it would be. Doing what could be done to make the city a little safer for everyone. Did Lasair share that?
Post by Lasair Landevier Lupen on Aug 20, 2019 2:16:48 GMT
While he had been sowing seeds in hopes of her to join, he never actually though the endeavor would bear fruit. It must have been a stroke of luck, he assumed, that let him get this far. But he couldn't just give her a step by step guide on what they did and what the goals were. He had to retain some amount of mystery after all. Lasair continued to think for a moment before finally choosing how to answer her. Perhaps he didn't need to reveal any other tidbits. Perhaps the commonplace knowledge he had spread would be enough.
"I'll ask you the same things I ask strangers I meet in a bar or on the street. Do you want to do something about the oppression that our kind faces? Do you want to have a part in bringing about the change? Do you want to do something besides wait for an unloving world to change? Because I know of a place that acts as both a refuge and rendezvous for people like us. However, only the daring and the determined have a chance at finding it." He knew the words would sound a little rehearsed, but that was alright. Elaine already knew he was seeking out people. Perhaps she would appreciate being given the same introduction as the others. Or perhaps it would only cause her to come with more questions. That was the fun in this conversation after all. Lasair only hoped that she would ask about how to join next, rather than the details and the inner workings. But if she did, well, he had an answer ready for those kinds of questions.
Post by Elaine Anncroft on Aug 20, 2019 2:40:41 GMT
Her brows twitched upwards as she listened, her expression surprisingly unreadable for a moment before she smiled. That was enough and all she needed to know. She clasped her hands and rubbed them together like she was warming them up. Pursing her lips shortly and sighing through her nose before she chose to reply. It seemed much lighter than CAEsAL work, though still just as mysterious and secretive. Well, she had said before that "Secrets are the cornerstones of the city" and in complete confidence. He had wanted her to join then, to ask questions. At least now she gave him what he wanted though perhaps a little more questions than he had asked for. She chuckled to herself at that.
Her hands twisted so that one was tucked in the other and her thumb kneaded on the back of the one enclosed. The feline tallying up some loose ends that would need to be tied if she did go through with what Lasair had been asking her for. She'd speak with Edelweiss quickly on the matter...
Her green eyes met his with the brightest of conviction as she finally caved, "How do I join?"