[Flashback] A Different Kind of Vacation (Coren)

[Eridanus]

Day 88, Fall of 507 AV 25 Chimes after the 21th Bell The Red Diamond Tavern The doors of the pub opened, and the hustle and bustle in the pub dropped a little as some of the more curious one turned to look at the new arrival, and others began to look, and keep looking. In the day, there would be no further glance for this person would look like every other local there, except maybe his mixed accent that arose as a result of constant travelling and experiencing of other cultures. However, at this time of the day Leth graced the sky, and thus the foreigner transformed accordingly, his colourful hair changing into a snowy white not unlike the snowflakes gently falling outside, and a pair of obsidian black horns that protruded out of his head. The most striking thing was not these features, for it was that of his the celestial 'glamour' his form exuded, one that caused him to have a beauty so surreal that it was both addictive yet somewhat disturbing to look at. Despite that, the people in the pub, especially the single ladies, drank in his appearance and he continued forward to the counter unperturbed, for after decades of existing on this mortal coil he was already accustomed to such attention. The foreigner was Eridanus, a tourist of sorts who was visiting his past life's birth city partly to pay tribute to Morwen for who he felt some sort of lingering affection, possibly due to his previous incarnation's worship of the Ice Goddess. He was in his last or second last year in Zeltiva University, of which he had not decided yet, but he took this study break to explore the world again. When considering where he should go, the snow that gently fell outside gave him the needed inspiration. If he stayed in Zeltiva and experience snow, why not go to the place of eternal winter and look-see? He had arrived a day earlier, but spent that night and the bulk of today sleeping off the exhaustion that he always got when he travelled, for he was the kind that did not pay much attention to his body's needs due to his excitement at reaching the city as soon as he could. The fact that his mortal shell changed every time half a day passed messed up his general grasp of his body's physiology for a mortal's basic needs disappeared when he was in his celestial form, but reappeared - and sometimes with interest - when Syna spreads her warmth again. He had woken up, did his personal stretching routine that he liked to augment with Flux to warm his body up, and immediately set off for the only logical place that would have people gathered at night. Placing an order for hot chocolate, he glanced around for people to interact with for he was interested in immersing in Vani culture, the culture that his previous incarnation was a part of, and maybe this would help him remember more about his past life and find out how and why he earned Leth's favor to result in his current state.

[Coren]

Coren looked up from his plate of food, not because of the sudden influx of murmurs and the sound of a door opening, he didn't really care for that. But when he got a strange crawling feeling beneath his skin he cautiously looked through the tavern, from his spot in the corner of the tavern. Almost Immediately spotting the new arrival that stuck out like a sore thumb, he could have been the one that had been using magic only a short while ago. Especially since he had felt it almost exactly as the... coren paused for a few moments as he tried to put a species name to the disgustingly beautiful person standing right in front of the bar, and coming up with a blank. Was the person from a rare species or was he just vainly using some kind of magic to transform himself into that shape. He snorted as he reached for his glass of water, dearly hoping that nobody who knew how to use magic would be brainless enough to think that was a good idea. Still he couldn't be completely sure about the fact that the newcomer was the mage, maybe one of the other customers covertly had just used magic right as the newcomer entered the tavern. His eyes narrowed as that idea came into his mind mind, was somebody looking at him right now with auristics, or preparing a res fireball to burn him to ashes? Coren quickly shook his head to get rid of those ideas, that was completely illogical and stupid, why would somebody want to keep an eye on him or kill him? As far as most of the people knew he just was the black sheep of the skyglow hold, nobody you would want to kill for any reason. Coren took a deep breath to calm himself down and put his right hand into his pocket, trying to make it look as if he was rummaging around in it for something. Trying to keep his eye on the newcomer he was suspecting of being the mage as he slowly began pulling on his djed, sending it towards his right hand. And slowly began pushing the djed outside, trying to force it as good and bad as he could to wrap around his hand. He didn't bother to task the shield this time, just keeping his eyes open to see if anybody had any reaction his magic use, especially keeping an eye on the strange being still standing at the bar.

[Eridanus]

The person at the counter slipped a steaming mug of hot chocolate that was guaranteed to warm the depths of one's soul - especially effective in the chilling winter that foreigners who do not carry Morwen's mark were not conditioned to. "5 copper, but you look starved good sir. If you wish to try out our local specialty - the night's special - I'll throw in this drink for free for a total of 5 gold", the enterprising bartender began his pitch. "You're right, I'm ravenous. I'll take it", the Ethaefal replied, despite him not feeling the need for sustenance while in his celestial form, his mortal Vantha personality protested on the unfairness of not being able to eat, and how can one leave Avanthal without trying their local cuisine? He reached over the counter and tapped the bartender, "I'll be sitting in one of the tables at the side. Do let me know when it's ready." "No worries sir, I'll send someone to find you. Kinda hard to miss you, if you get what I mean." Giving him a thumbs up, Eri looked at the cluster of tables and people, some deep in discussion with each other with either amused or serious expressions, some openly staring at him, and an even lesser few by themselves seemingly deep in introspection or wallowing in despair. He decided that he did not really want company until at least he finished eating, he walked towards the cluster of tables, eyes searching rapidly for an empty spot for him to sit and observe the mannerisms of the local. During the day even though he looked like every other Vantha in Morwen's City, his mannerisms and style of speech easily marked him as a foreigner and it would be great to familiarize himself with the city his mortal form would clearly identify with. As he approached the cluster, he felt a slight tingling and his instinct somehow made his eyes stop roaming and center on a man. He caught the eyes of the man who had a plate of food in front of him but were staring at him somehow, and he shrugged it off as just another awe-struck individual. Yet, as he decreased his proximity to the local as he neared the dining area, something did not feel right as the general area just felt strange. It could be the new environment or his body adapting to the unfamiliar surroundings, and he ignored the man, looking back at the bartender and walking towards his initial position, as if he forgot to order something. As soon as he left the man's immediate area, the air instantly felt normal, less suffocating in a sense. It was not exactly suffocating, but it felt like there was a minor restricting feeling that he couldn't quite place his hands on. It could be anything, but somehow his body unconsciously positioned himself towards the man and though there was no evidence, his instincts whispered that this man might be the source. Or at least the source may be an item in his possession. He was not sure, but he could find out anyway. Now this is interesting. He calmly spun around again to face the direction of the dining area, and walked towards the man, returning the man's stare confidently as he approached the Vantha, feeling that same feeling again as the air progressively but subtly tasted stale, and he stopped in front of the man, a half grin on his face as if to say 'Game's up, buddy. Spill it.' If his instincts were wrong the Vantha would probably dismiss him as a friendly foreigner and Eri could still talk to him and learn more about the local customs and traditions. If not, well, he might possibly discover something interesting from this subtle investigation.

[Coren]

Coren felt a bit of disappointment as the strange newcomer didn't react in any way he could detect from the distance he was sitting away from him. He was about to dismiss his shoddy shield and try to lay low, trying to come up with another plan to find out who the other mage was, or at least get enough insurance that he wasn't the target of some other mage for whatever reason he could have, the stranger suddenly calmly turned back towards him and approached his table, a smirk crossing his masked face, it seemed that his educated guess that the stranger was the mage was completely correct. When the stranger was close enough so that he could see the selfsure smirk on his face, coren couldn't help but to grin a bit wider. It seemed the little stranger didn't know he just had taken his bait. Well the better for him, it was always easier to get to know stuff from people if they thought they had the advantage. “Well, hello sir.” Coren said in vani with a cheerful voice. Dismissing the half baked shield that had formed around his hand and taking it back out of his pocket, holding it out for a handshake. “My names coren, from the skyglow hold.” he continued, “Who are you? And if you don't mind me asking, what are you? Never saw something like you before.”

[Eridanus]

As the Vantha replied, he held his hand out for the universally recognized greeting - a handshake - and Eri felt the air around him lighten almost immediately. If he wasn't paying attention he would not have noticed the difference at all, but since just now he had been focusing quite deeply on that issue, and thus he could be assured that it was not his imagination. He was not completely fluent in Vani, for he only retained certain memories and fractured portions of knowledge from his previous incarnation, but at least he could be somewhat conversant in the language, and he replied the local in a Vani that was heavily accented by a mix of accents from various cities, races, people and languages. It was like Common, which was the ultimate pot-pourri of mixed cultures, which each language adding it's own flair into the language to make it well, common. He was clearly speaking Vani, but it was obvious that he was not local or brought up in Avanthal. "You can call me Eri, from nowhere in particular", he wanted to say the Celestial Realm for that was where he truly belonged, but it might be dismissed as presumptuous by mortals who would not understand the real meaning of what he would have said, and thus stuck to a simpler story that was also true, for he was a wanderer and belonged to wherever his whims were at the present. "The people of Mizahar call my kind the Ethaefal. We are souls who were chosen by Leth in our previous life to reside with Him, but we were torn by the Valterrian and now we are stranded here." He did not really like talking more about the subject, for really every Ethaefal would be somewhat sore about the topic, not being sure if Leth have forsaken them or if He intended them to serve a certain purpose on the mortal plane. Thus, he changed the topic instead to prevent further prying. "What is this skyglow hold? Is it a family? A guild? A company?"

[Coren]

Coren shuffled away a sting of suspicion as the man before him did not tell his true name, only quite obviously giving him either a nickname or one he had made up completely. Well at least he wasn't trying to hide the fact he wasn't willing to give up his name, or he sucked at lying more then a toddler. He really hoped it was the last one, would make this a lot easier to pull out information out of the person right in front of him. The same was with his explanation what the heck he was let him raise an eyebrow and he nearly called the man's story pure bullshit, he never heard or read of anything like that happening and he came from the culture who loved spinning a story to make it seem more impressive that it really was. He still thought it was a lot more likely that the man just had used some kind of magic to reshape him into his current form or let him look like what he was right now, since that story just was completely out of there. A god loosing the people he chose to join him in his realm. He doubted a god would let his chosen walk around on mizahar for more then five whole centuries. “Intresting story,” Coren said a tinge of amusement audible in his voice “If you fell from the realm's of the gods you probably have been walking around on mizahar for a pretty long time.” He took another drink from his mug of water in front of him. “Anyway, a hold is more or less a group of families together and most of them have the same trade.. For example, the skyglows are mostly painters, carvers and other types of artists.” He grinned beneath his mask. “Anyway, what brought you to avanthal? Most non-vantha keep themselves far away from our icy city. They aren't blessed with morwens gift that makes it possible to resist the biting colds up in the north.” He leaned back in his chair. His eyes trained on the man in front of him. Waiting for an answer.

[Eridanus]

“Interesting story, if you fell from the realm's of the gods you probably have been walking around on Mizahar for a pretty long time", the Vantha from Skyglass Hold replied, with amusement clearly present in his voice. Eridanus raised a brow, it seemed that this local did not believe him, and probably thought that he was telling a story. Honestly speaking, if Eri had not been an Ethaefal and met one who told him the same story, he would be hard pressed to believe as well for what god would let their chosen be stranded on the mortal plane? He had wondered plenty of times, staring morosely at the moon and silently cried for Leth's attention, but not receiving any, leaving him to wonder if Leth really did not care or was He pre-occupied with something else more important than His children. Regardless, it did not really matter to him for he was not trying to prove anything to the local. "I'm here to visit Morwen's city, maybe gain an understanding in your culture and enrich my experience. I am on a study break from my course in Zeltiva, and thought that it would be great to experience the real winter here in the Her Realm than back there in the University", he replied easily, a subtle tinge of adoration for the Ice Goddess whenever he mentioned her name in his voice. Perhaps it was due to his previous incarnation's love for Morwen that bled over past lives into the current one that caused him to feel so. "Which one are you then, Coren of Skyglow Hold? Painter, carver, or one of the other types of artists?"

[Coren]

Coren chuckled as Eri voiced his reason for staying here, shaking his head at the same time at the foolishness the frail looking thing person in front of him displayed. Wanting to live through one of avanthal's harsh winters without having morwen's blessing to keep yourself more or less in the clear was either insane, idiotic of a blend of the two. “Well, keep a count of your toes and stay inside. Most vantha find the winters here on the harsh side, and we got morwen's blessing to keep us mostly safe. Most non marked visitors just stay inside as close to the fireplace they can, or leave before winter falls. The smart ones always leave before winter falls.” He said in a pleasant tone, though he was wondering what kind of magic the man in front of him had abused to become insane enough to want to go through avantal's winters. Or if the person in front of him was just a fool. When the man in front of him asked what kind of artists he was he just grimaced underneath his mask before shrugging. “I'm not an artist at all, I'm not very good at it and I don't even like art to be completely honest.” He said in an apathetic tone before quickly shifting the subject. “Anyway Eri, why did you come and sit at my table? I don't doubt a lot of the single women would have minded .” He grinned, his face mask hiding the expression. “But especially since you already had moved past my table and suddenly turned around. What caught your intrest?” Oh he knew what caught his intrest, but it was always the better idea to look as if you didn't know what the petch was going on in these situations.

[Eridanus]

Eridanus nodded, for what the Vantha said made sense. However, he felt some sort of lingering connection to Morwen through his past life and maybe She would somehow help him see through this. He did not fully rely on spiritual belief though, and was fully prepared when he arrived, taking care to pack thick woolly clothing and several layers of apparel to protect himself from the cold. As Coren finished his question, Eri's interest was pricked internally, but he kept it well suppressed and looked at the Vantha with an expression of innocence. The celestial glamour that accompanied his being helped to accentuate the halo effect that made him all the more hard to suspect unless the observer had a single minded focus that would help to ignore the charms that the Leth-born have been blessed (or cursed) with. "Oh no reason in particular. I was just looking around and I think that you would be an interesting person to know. What with your mask and all", Eridanus replied easily, not revealing his true intent and gesturing towards the man's mask. Inside, he was burning with curiosity and wondered if his intuition was correct or if the local was just asking an innocent question.

[Coren]

Coren just nodded, seemingly accepting the man's answer as true, though he couldn't help but grin underneath his mask, it was quite fun to know exactly when the person who was talking was lying out of his arse. “Well I can believe that, you don't see a lot of people walking around in avanthal with a leather face mask on, at least not inside buildings.” He shrugged, “but then again, everybody got his little weird quirks don't they?” Coren said in a chipper voice. “Though I guess you already know about the fact everybody got his little weird quirks.” He said as he pointed towards the horns on Eri's head. “Anyway, you said that you also came to Avanthal to get a grasp on our culture and enrich your experience, did you visit the sculpture yard yet? Its mostly art and stuff like that, but there is one statue made by the founder of the skyglow hold there depicting morwen. So I show it to you if you wanted.” He offered, once again changing the subject to something else. The man seemed just as dead set against willingly admitting he was a mage as him, so he probably should make the first move, but he wasn't going to do that anywhere with a lot of people around, especially not in a busy tavern with half the patrons having eyes on them.