Closed [The Moon Festival] A Time of Revelry [Jenni, later Samsara]

[Ignisa Winterflame]

22nd Day of Fall, 513 AV Early Evening, 18th Bell Outside Ignisa's House, The Tenten Peak The Moon Festival, a time of joy and barely controlled chaos, to celebrate the coming of the harvest full-moon, celebrated by all Lhavitians in the forms of stories and songs when they gathered together to view the roundness and closeness of Leth to the denizens of Mizahar as it peeked over the horizon. Even now, the moon was ever bigger than usual, seemingly radiating out joy and plenty as Leth blessed the citizens with the comfort of his rays. Even as Syna faded from the sky, the Skyglass domes and rooftops shimmered the last of their vibrant yellows, blinding whites and sky-blues, and turned from blazing glory to a subtle beauty. Now, crimsons the colour of burning coals, blues as dark as the deepest night and greens as florescent as those found in Semele's caves littered the sky, interspersed with vibrant lights of silver as the stars popped out one by one, no longer masked by Syna's radiance. Lanterns dotted the pavements, lit by candles within and covered by thin, translucent paper depicting the stories of Syna and Leth, the wilderness of the Moon God and his eternal search and quest for redemption. All over Lhavit, denizens gather on the streets, families bonding and compiling the greatest of their treats and sweets, including the one that is partial to the Lhavitians themselves, found only during the Moon Festivities themselves, and no other day. The Mooncakes, of lotus seed and sweet bean pastes, stuffed with salted egg, take up the center of every table even as the members of the family cook dinner for the festivities. They bring out the wine for consumption later in delicate bottles, and the scenes are filled with song and dance, along with idle chatter. But this festival, there is ever the undertone of worry present at the beginning, for the past two weeks have not gone unnoticed. The tremors that have rippled through the city unfounded, shaking loose a few tiles and breaking a few glass wares, shattering windows and toppling furniture, are the subject of much worried conversation during the festivities, and many still prayed to Semele, hoping that the earth will be still in time to come. However, such matters were far from Ignisa's mind as she strode around, making the last few supervisions as the Moon God strode into view over the horizon. Far more important right now was settling the argument that had raged between her daughter Aquisea and her cousin Prolio over the best way to arrange the mooncakes that Aquisea had baked. Striding about in her finest silk dress that shimmered vibrant hues of red and orange in the light of the lanterns, her face was stern as she broke up the argument between her wayward charges, Elisanira being far more occupied with organizing the controlled chaos of the extended family that had born down upon the streets outside Ignisa's house. Grandmother Lanna was there, old and unshakeable as ever, surveying the scenes with amusement on her weathered face, her white hair shimmering with an opalescent radiance like an Lethaefal's. Ignisa's mother, Loesia, busy trying to come to terms with her growing up grandchildren, hugging her great-grandchildren and kissing their foreheads. To cap it all, Ignisa's cousin, Arkon, was making full usage of his storytelling abilities to capture the attention of a growing crowd of Lhavitians, regaling them with a tale of Leth and his quest for redemption. Terron and Sana had already been pressed into service as devices of crowd control. Ignisa thanked Zintila, Syna, Leth, Morwen and Tanroa and to whoever else was listening that the entire Winterflame Hold in exile in Lhavit - approximately two dozen or so - did not gather at her place every year, instead choosing to shift around the various homes scattered around Lhavit itself that Ignisa's generation had bought and built. Certainly the Shinya were keeping a watchful eye on everything with the sudden influx of people into the area, but since the area was boisterous, but generally appreciative of the mood, there was nothing to worry about at the moment. "Enjoying yourself, Ignisa?" a voice murmured in her ear, and Ignisa jumped slightly, nearly dropping one of the last plate of mooncakes to be set on the table. Putting it down hurriedly, she embraced one of her friends, Lheili of the Dawn House. They were, after all, nearly similar in age, and had trained together for a time in Ignisa's youth before she had decided to get married instead of continuing her studies. "You are looking good today." A slim hand travelled down the fabric and rubbed it briefly, gauging and assessing the fine material with a delicate touch. "Silk. And I thought you had sold everything after the events of the summer. But I suppose that you still retain some of your tastes for the finer things in life." "Lheili! It is indeed a pleasure to see you after all this time. Might I assume that you have come to impose some order on this chaotic scene?" Ignisa pleaded, her eyes twinkling mischievously in the starlight from above, though her normally brown eyes were highlighted with yellow in this moment of stress. Sweeping back her long shimmering hair, she winked at her friend, though indeed a shade of blue traversed across her eyes in recognition of the slightly somber events of the past season. The death of her husband had placed the burden of supporting her entire family on Ignisa's shoulders, and though she had sold almost everything and moved to a smaller, less comfortable house, the money could only have lasted for so long. Ignisa had been seen working on the streets of Lhavit, putting her talents of Reimancy to use in practical manners, traveling about as a firefighting brigade with her talents of Fire and Water, or occasionally seen helping out at the Sharai Peak at the hothouses, where water was required. Smoothing her dress, Ignisa smiled crookedly at Lheili, her brown eyes temporary swirling with the dark blue of the skies above, full of sorrow and pain, quickly hidden. "I selfishly kept one set for myself, for festivities." Lheili put her hand on Ignisa's shoulder, and Ignisa held it briefly before disengaging and smiling, this time with surprising warmth after the somber topic not a few seconds before. "I'll pop by from time to time, Ignisa, and so will others from our family. Time to rejoin them for a moment, and I know that they'll want to listen to your cousin and his stories." Ignisa mock-rolled her eyes with a long-suffering sigh. "Please feel free to impose yourself and your family on my hospitality." She said, her voice weary, and then she giggled, youth lighting up her face as though the two of them were teenagers not more than fifteen years of age. "No, seriously, come down and have some fun. It'll be good to have some familiar faces around later. Especially when this lot starts to get drunk." She chuckled again with Lheili, patting her friend on the shoulder. "Maybe we'll see Aysel come by and indulge himself until he gets intoxicated, again." Laughing outright with mirth at the thought, she set candles beneath the raised plates of food, contributed by her family for the occasion, and with an expert motion honed through years of practice, let small darts of Res shoot from her hands and envelop the wicks, before turning the Res to fire. The lighted candles beneath would now keep the food warm until it was finished. Fried rice, green vegetables, spiced chicken ... enough to feed the entire family and more, if need be. Children often came to steal food from the servings provided, and the Winterflame Hold-in-exile, noted for its cooking abilities, let the matter lie as long as they did not deprive others of the chance for the food.

[Jenni Twilight]

x

Though later in the day was the moon festival, Jenni was still holed up in the Twilight Tower’s library with a goal in mind. The tremors on the eleventh had concerned her, since they were something she’d never experienced before. She knew some people said they were preliminary, the beginning of… something. More tremors, probably. Maybe even an earthquake… but hopefully not the latter. Being set up on mountains, Lhavit probably would not fare well when the earth itself became unsettled. Still, if something natural happened once… it would probably have happened before, and there would be records of it… right? At least, that was what she hoped. That meant she could actually find information on what might happen next… and then she’d feel useful, rather than… lazy. Letting all the other people do the normal work. She had certain skills, and she was determined to use them.

That’s why she had her hands on an odd set of records she’d found buried at the end of one of the shelves. It was an old volume, with a stiff leather cover that was a plain, light, brown color. It was also a few inches thick, and remarkably… heavy. She probably could have looked through the Lhavitan record books that were common enough, and spanned almost all of Lhavit’s existence, but that might have taken years. Maybe she’d read her way through those another day, maybe when she finished these… it would have been a massive project to do on her own, though very tempting, especially since it contained much more historical information than this one. This book was simple ‘Natural Disasters of Lhavit’. Of course, records only seemed to start in 100 AV, which was pretty annoying… considering she was missing a little under a fifth of Lhavit’s history.

Storms… Storms… more storms… Large waves… a minor tremor one year, but nothing seemed to happen after it. However, it was much weaker than the one they’d just had… maybe theirs would end like that anyways, but somehow… she didn’t feel like that was going to happen. Since that one had apparently become a joke, and this one had set the city into high tensions… she wasn’t so sure about what would happen. This wasn’t getting her anywhere at all… and she’d only reached 200 AV so far. Maybe she’d have more success later on, but right now… her eyelids were trying to close. She’d completely missed the last rest when she’d found this book, instead staying up all through that time reading… and reading… and reading… this thing was dense. Also a little dry, but that wasn’t a problem for her… as long as the information was good, she was happy.

She glanced up at the massive Grandfather clock before her, just in time to hear it chime quietly- someone had been sensible enough to put a quiet clock in here, rather than a loud one. It was time for the dusk rest… and then the moon festival. She’d have to be well rested for that, if it was anything like she remembered. Honestly, she loved Lhavit’s festivals and holidays, each one more creative than the next, but sometimes the citizens got a little out of hand. Those were the parts she didn’t enjoy. A small drink here, a bit of food there, but she always kept an eye out for getting too intoxicated. She didn’t hold much alcohol, so even a little too much would leave her with a hangover the next morning. And she didn’t enjoy those… not in the least. She pushed herself up and away from the desk, leaving the book closed (with a mark) on the desk she’d been reading at. She’d work on it later… maybe tomorrow. For now, she stumbled into bed and fell easily into a deep sleep.

-----------------------------------

Soon enough, she awoke to see the world around her dark, except for the stars in the sky and lanterns in the streets. She shuffled out of bed, feeling well rested, and prepared herself for the festival. She made her way down and out of the Twilight tower, and into the magnificent streets of Lhavit. As she wandered, taking in the smells of delicious food, her stomach grumbled, causing her to grin. She’d find herself a meal somewhere, sometime… but maybe later. For now, she just wanted to enjoy the sights. She found herself on Tenten peak, the one closest to her own home. There, a small home with a massive banquet set up outside caught her eye. It was probably just a family gathering, but she spotted… was that a member of the Dawn family? A small crowd of people milled around, children here and there, and people arguing amiably. It looked like quite a happy family gathering, making her remember her own at home… she’d head back to the Twilight Tower later, and fuss about with all that at a later date.

However, what she wanted to focus more on was why a member of the prestigious Dawn family was here, of all places. She didn’t remember the woman by name, as she wasn’t exactly a social bird, but she knew the family. Of course, she also knew them from those years back, before the Day of Discord, where all of the three big families were massive rivals, creating alliances and fighting against each other in subtle ways. But those days were over –thank Zintila. They hadn’t been her favorite, as she didn’t enjoy all the political conundrums, and Weisur… well, he hadn’t exactly appreciated her parentage. The Twilights weren’t the most accepting of things like illegitimate children, so she hadn’t been exactly… respected. Still, with Altelo in power, she was in much better standing, as Nosumo and his brother got on quite well.

She approached the pair, planning on asking what a Dawn woman was doing here. It was quite possible she’d married into the family, and this was her own group, since the Dawns and Dusks were much more… open… to those kinds of things. “Good evening” she greeted the pair with a nod of her head. The smell from the table was… enticing, to say the least. It was probably one of the best set up meals she’d seen… this family was certainly one with good cooks. Of course, the Twilights would easily be able to set one of equal or greater grandeur, but… that was the Twilights. They could easily afford magnificent parties and dinners, even after the Day of Discord. Their morphing and charitable actions made them very popular around Lhavit.

“I just wanted to say… this looks like a magnificent banquet. Your family must be very good cooks.” She nodded to the other woman in question, who looked related to all of the people around. She wanted to ask about the Dawn woman here, but... she didn’t know how to word it. It would have been hypocritical anyways, considering she was even further from her own tower than this woman was. Instead, she tried to focus on this secondary thought. Of course, at the back of her mind, she wondered what it would take to try some of the food that was laid over the massive table… the fried rice looked especially good. It must have been some kind family recipe, as she’d never seen something cooked in that way at her own home. Even if it was just a plain dish, it looked absolutely delicious.

Common - Nari/Crook - NPC - Writing - Reading

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[Ignisa Winterflame]

"Jenni Twilight." Lheili's voice was no longer warm as it had been when she had spoken to Ignisa, but her eyes held no dislike either for the member of the Twilight family. Ignisa knew that once, such would have not been the case, for the Three Great Houses had waged political war in secret with each other, especially between the Dawn and Twilight Houses due to the irreconcilable differences between Sousa Dawn and Weisur Twilight. Now that the coldly arrogant Weisur had been replaced by his younger but wiser brother, Altelo Twilight, relations between the Houses had improved remarkably and the differences smoothed over. Indeed though, Ignisa could tell that her friend still harbored some measure of dislike towards the Twilight Family - grievances built up over a decade could not be smoothed over in a few seasons. She laid an arm on Ignisa's shoulder, and smiled down at the girl, her voice smooth and carrying many layers of meaning, communicating subtly to Ignisa in ways that only friends over the years could have. "The daughter of Nosumo Twilight, the youngest brother of Altelo. Gifted with numbers, and from what I've heard from her uncle, studious in all ways, though certainly her gifts seem to lie in areas other than the family specialty." "Nosumo had a daughter?" Ignisa replied, laying a delicate arm on Jenni's arm, her eyes gazing down at the younger girl's face. "Yes, I see some of the characteristics of the Twilight House in her. But obviously Weisur didn't care to acknowledge her existence." She smiled down slightly sadly at the girl, remembering the Day of Discord, the memories flashing through her mind, of Aysel, his face hard and merciless, the sword in his hand swinging down in an arc of glittering light under the stars in front of the city of Lhavitians. A reminder of the duties that the Houses had to the city, the duties that they had forgotten without the divine guidance of the Ethaefal who had led the people of the city to sanctuary up on the hills. Memories of a Day where the effects were still felt, seasons and even years after the return of the Moon Lord and Sun Lady, leading up to the execution of the Anchorite and her Kelvic bondmate for the murder of the divine Ethaefal after her descent into (albeit well-concealed) madness and despair. It was a day none had forgotten, least of all the members of the Houses themselves. Ignisa's brown eyes swirled with a mixture of colors in a few short seconds. Blue for sorrow, green for peace, red for anger and grey for resignation, followed once more by the natural brown shade of her eyes. Such were the thoughts that flashed through Ignisa's mind in a few short seconds, but even then it was probably that Lheili knew what had been running through Ignisa's mind, for once more her friend laid an arm on Ignisa's shoulders. "That was in the past now, Ignisa. We must now look to the future together to rebuild from the ashes of our past, and in that, we place our trust in the new generation. Do we not, my friend?" "Indeed, Lheili." Ignisa said, gently removing her friend's hand from her shoulders. Leading Jenni by the arm, she brought over the younger girl to the assortment of dishes prepared by the Winterflames-in-exile for the occasion. In truth, the Dawn House could have provided a banquet exceeding all proportions that Ignisa and her family could devise, but this year they had chosen to step aside and let Ignisa's family do the work, funding them with the extra money and costs involved of course. However, the occasion, though humbler and without the grandeur usually displayed on the Tenten Peak, was far more in tune with the streets than it would otherwise have been. There was a kind of bond forged between people in gentle simplicity, rather than extravagance. "You're a flatterer, Jenni, I certainly wouldn't call this a banquet, not when its for the large number of family members that always gather together from the various peaks of Lhavit for such humble occasions. Do help yourself to the food though. You look as though you could use the nourishment. We always prepare some extra for the children that run to our cooking during the festivities … you know what they sometimes can be like, ravenous as wild animals that they are for our cooking. I'm still not entirely sure why they always flock to our food though. There's barely enough to keep them and everyone else who passes by full … until the next day, at least." She assumed an expression of mock tragedy for Jenni's benefit, her voice taking on (obviously put-upon) undertones of sorrow. "And no matter how much more we seem to prepare every passing year, it's never really enough." "Enough of that, Ignisa." Lheili said, poking her friend gently in the side with good-natured humor. "Especially when we financed you for the surplus you asked for to feed the inevitable pack of ravenous children that always turn up for such festivities. Besides, you are from the Winterflame Hold afterall, even if your family no longer resides in Avanthal." "As you say." Ignisa replied in feigned timidity, causing Lheili to shake her head in resignation. Chuckling at the expression on her friends face, she started to heap Jenni's plate full of not just fried rice, but seasoned vegetables and spiced meat. Handing it over to Jenni with an amused expression on the girl's face at the sight of the food, she said gently. "Do eat up, child. The food will grow cold if you stare at it for too long. But in the meantime, Lheili hinted to me that you are an aspiring scholar? What exactly was your subject of interest today?"

[Jenni Twilight]

x

It was a little disconcerting to listen to the two women talk about her, practically knowing everything about her, especially when she only knew the last name of one of them. She blushed a little, but managed to hide her expression. Despite their calming speech, with the Dawn present, it felt oddly like a political confrontation… one of those official dances between enemies where everyone pretended to be friendly while plotting to kill another. She’d seen one or two of those, and she’d hated them. This felt like one but… subdued. Mentally, she sighed, trying to remind herself that those days were over, the Day of Discord had come and passed. She should at least try and be as friendly with this Dawn as she was with any other person.

At the explanation of food, she grinned at the offer. Though her family was able to create something so lavish, they didn’t bother… rather spending their money on more important things, like, say, charity. The Twilights were creating a name for themselves in that way, trying to push back the horrible days when Aysel and Talora had been away. “I’d love to try a little, but I won’t take your food away from you- not when I have some of my own at home.” She grinned ruefully, relaxing a little at the woman –as she now realized was called Ignisia Winterflame- talked practically like a mother to her… like she knew what a mother was like. But that was another topic for another day.

She wandered over to the delicious smelling table, marvelling at the sights, when Ignisia spoke again. From her last name Jenni had been able to deduce that the older woman was a Vantha; she knew a few things about the northern culture, including their ‘hold’ system… where those who lived in each hold took the last name. Each had a specialty, but she didn’t know what Winterflame’s specialty was… but from the conversation, it might have been cooking. The question made her even more comfortable, and instantly hit a soft spot.

“Well… You remember those tremors, right? Well… I wanted to know if anything similar had happened before, and predict what would happen now. You know how some people have mentioned they’re only the beginning…” She sighed, remembering how little success she’d had earlier. “But… I didn’t find anything. I’ve only read from 100 AV to 200 AV… and there was only one tremor I saw.” She paused, marvelling on the amount of information she was telling this woman. The Winterflame was really quite calming and encouraging, and few people asked about her studies. Sometimes her father, but most people liked focusing on more… physical… things. It was why she loved the Seekers, since basically everyone there was part of her own little ‘group’. “That tremor was smaller than this one, but nothing came after it. Even people’s reactions were different: it was a long-standing joke.” She chuckled, as if laughing at the ancient joke herself. However, the book hadn’t mentioned what the joke was, and she was actually quite curious about that. What would people joke about with a tremor?

Common - Nari/Crook - NPC - Writing - Reading

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[Ignisa Winterflame]

Ignisa waved a careless hand, brushing away the hidden complement in the girl's words about the food prepared, and delicately placed the plate of food into Jenni's hands. "Nonsense dear, we'd like to cater to all who appreciate what we display and cook for the masses. After all, it is the festival representing the bounty of Lhavit." Her brown eyes smiled down, twinkling with a slight green of merriment and joy at the festivities, the shades of jade and emerald swirling in her brown eyes for a moment before disappearing. Patting the other girl on the shoulder, she smiled at Lheili, who smiled back cheerfully, obviously reveling in the atmosphere. Then, her friend laid an arm on Ignisa's shoulder. "I must be off, my friend. I need to return to my family for a while, though I'm sure you'll see me later with a full entourage of the family. I'm sure Sousa would be delighted to greet you in person, and I could get in a recommendation or two if you wished to work for us as a tutor." Ignisa grinned at her friend fondly. "I'll be sure to note that down for future reference, though right now I am indeed content with my position as a Reimancer. Besides, if I wish to tutor students, I will need to hone my skills - besides the small stuff, I am indeed a bit rusty at Reimancy. So I'll see you around later, no worries, though my young charge here may indeed sidetrack me for a moment or more." She waved, and Lheili was off in the crowd, her dark brown hair soon lost from sight as she made her way back to the Dawn House. A cheer from the side caused Ignisa to look at the crowd gathered around Arkon, and she saw to her satisfaction that the people were clapping and cheering to the stories that her cousin had been telling, his voice rising triumphantly and falling to secretive whispers. She even glimpsed tears on some of the faces of the children gathered there - Lhavitians were indeed an emotional lot sometimes, Ignisa had noticed over the years. Indeed, she had observed that much of their time was spent listening to folklore and myths surrounding the beginnings of the world and of the Gods and Goddesses that walked Mizahar. Taking a fried prawn nugget from one of the plates set on the table, Ignisa bit into the crisp surface, savouring the spiced taste and the tender prawn, dipped in wasabi sauce. Turning to the girl beside her, she listened with an attentive ear to the studies of her temporary charge, her face grave as the girl recounted her research into the records of the literal earth-shaking events in the area over the last five centuries since the Valterrian. However, Ignisa did recall something that was once mentioned by her aged Grandmother, sitting not a hundred feet from her, surveying the entranced crowd before her grandson with fond eyes and amusement. It was a comment in passing, but for some reason now, it did seem to be apt. Stroking her chin, she frowned thoughtfully at the girl beside her, for girl she was, barely into her adolescent years. Perhaps it would be wise to be her frank thoughts to one such as her, though indeed such territory might be relatively dangerous. "Indeed, but that is considered to be rather unusual, for Kalea was the product of (admittedly forced) geological changes during the Valterrian. Indeed, our mountains were the product of volcanic upheaval and turmoil, and ever since, these faultlines created should have been more active over that time period. Perhaps without the influence of Ivak the tectonic changes that shape the world came to a slow halt." She paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts before continuing on, her voice low so that it would not carry to disturb the happy mood of the patrons around Arkon. "And with his release last year ... perhaps our home is not as safe as we thought it might have been from the tectonic changes. Ivak have mercy, perhaps a few tremors a decade are enough, and that we do not need major earthquakes to shape the world." Ignisa sighed, her voice still low, then shrugged. Grandmother Lanna had been pretty much religious and philosophical back in Avanthal, that much Ignisa remembered. Her eyes lost a bit of their colour as she considered the words that she had just spoken. Indeed, Ignisa had known that her Grandmother had been studious in matters, myth and legends concerning the Gods - it certainly explained much about how much she knew about the Gods and Goddesses. But about Ivak? One of the most notorious Gods in the world, and perhaps one of the most shrouded in mystery due to his imprisoning? That, it appeared, would be a question for another time, for now Ignisa did not wish to concern herself with such philosophical matters. Arkon had now moved onto a different story, and some of the children, bored, had run up to the food borne by groaning tables and dishes laden with all sorts of delicacies. Ignisa, Elisanira and Aquisea moved as one, the three of them gently guiding the children to prevent a stampede, herding them with gentle pushes and nudges, encouraging them to give way to the rest of the children now crowding around the dishes. Giving Jenni a wry smile, she moved back towards the young girl, careful not to trip over any of the children. Patting the other woman on the shoulder, she smiled fondly at the other children carrying their artfully designed lanterns. "Cheerful aren't they, Jenni? Don't you sometimes wish that you were young and carefree again like them..."

[Jenni Twilight]

x

Whilst the other two women had talked, Jenni had found herself a small plate and added a dollop of the fried rice to it. Thinking on the second to eat up, she decided to grab a bit of greens as well, if only to add color to her meal… or snack… or something. She found a fork and had started eating slowly when Ignisia replied to her original explanation. She hadn’t considered Ivak’s awakening to be part of the reason, but it was true… the Djed storm over a year ago had changed quite a number of things… It was also interesting when the Winterflame began talking about tectonic plates. She wasn’t a scientist, but had heard various rumors about those. She also hadn’t realized that the woman was so knowledgeable in the subject… though she was a reimancer, as she’d heard from the discussion, she also seemed to be quite the scholar… it was actually relatively pleasing.

She was about to reply on the subject, when Ignisia began speaking about children, the idea obviously brought up by the sheer number of them running around. It hit a soft spot, and she sighed, watching them play and run around. Her childhood hadn’t been a… normal… childhood. She’d only been… what, four (?) when Aysel and Talora left on their journeys, and everything… changed. Things hadn’t been fun, or childish, and being an illegitimate child… most of the Twilights had looked down on her, especially Weisur. It was kind of depressing, really. She hadn’t run around playing with others her age like these children- she didn’t have anybody her age who would play with a Twilight, anyways. Maybe a child of the Dawn or Dusk families, but with all the tension… they were off limits. She hadn’t been a cheerful child, but instead stuck her head in books constantly as soon as she could read.

Thinking on this, she shrugged sadly. “I wouldn’t say ‘again’. I didn’t have much of a childhood… but I think it would have been nice to have had one like that… but it’s too late now, we’re all grown up…” She passed back into thought, before grinning. “Sorry, I’m moping.” She apologised, before taking another bite of the rice- it was delicious! The Winterflames really knew their stuff… it was the perfect texture and thickness, and had just the right amount of flavoring… though she wasn’t a foodie, she couldn’t find anything wrong with it at all! “This is really good” she muttered through a mouthful of rice, before blushing. She finished what she was chewing before speaking again. “Sorry… but that is really good!” She couldn’t find any other compliments to give, so left it at that instead.

“There do seem to be earthquakes around here after massive Djed storms… think the Valterrian. Did you know, before that, this whole area was mostly flat?” She snorted at the outrageous thought, but from what she’d read by pre-Valterrian scholars… it was true. “All the commotion caused the land itself to move, and that created the mountain ranges of Kalea… funny, isn’t it. However… I hope nothing as major happens with this tremor…” She smiled at Ignisia, but her eyes held worry. She didn’t want to know what would happen in a city like Lhavit after a full-blown earthquake…. It would be pretty frightening, considering.

Common - Nari/Crook - NPC - Writing - Reading

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[Ignisa Winterflame]

Ignisa put her hands around Jenni, squeezing her shoulder sympathetically as the girl lamented her lack of a joyful childhood. If she were to judge, Jenni would have been about five or so when Aysel and Talora left the Star City, leaving behind a void in their wake, allowing corruption to fester strongly, especially in the Twilight Tower. Perhaps then, it would have been no surprise that Jenni had been isolated in her own family, and that because of her family, she could not have mingled with children from the commons, or as time progressed and the Three Houses started to wage war upon each other, from the children of the other Houses either. But who was she to judge now? The days of Discord were over, the dual Ethaefal had returned and balance had been restored to the city. There was no place left for discord or chaos. "You might be all grown up now, but that doesn't mean you can't still take simple pleasures from the smallest of things, or that you've completely lost your innocence. After all, innocence is the basis of all childhood, is it not?" Ignisa asked, a hint of laughter in her voice at her words. Humming to herself, she watched as Leth climbed ever higher into the sky, his light shining benevolently down upon them, giving rise to the luminescence of the plants around them, glowing with a soft light reflected and refracted from the Skyglass. Her house, stood somewhere in the middle of the circles, often shrouded in mist in the morning from below as the sun came up. And at night, when clouds often came to dance amongst the peaks, a thick fog often enveloped the area. However, tonight the skies were clear, the peaks devoid of the mist that so oft surrounded the city of Lhavit, allowing one to gaze far beyond the city. Around the peaks were built the houses and the buildings of the city, in layers or circles upon circles, and the higher one was, the more luxurious their surroundings and the fewer the buildings were. And now, she could see the wide expanse of the sea to the west of Mizahar, the clear waters twinkling as the light of the moon and stars danced above. Turning as Jenni complimented Ignisa with regards to the cooking, she waved away the compliment with a dismissive shake of her hand. "My cooking skills are barely adequate as most of my family is concerned. Most of this food was prepared by my daughter, and my relatives. I am simply the host for this year's events, supported of course, by the Dawn Tower." Gliding over towards the table, she reached over the heads of some of the children and took a Mooncake, biting into the edge and savoring the sweetness of the paste, while smiling slightly at the girl's awkward attempts to further compliment the food. "Lost for words, are you?" She teased, her voice full of a hidden laughter. "I could ask my family to teach you how to cook, if you wish it. Of course, that's a matter for another day, and it doesn't have to be an immediate decision. But the door is always open. I've never bothered to learn - taking care of my children takes up most of my time, and raising four of them at the same time does tend to strain my resources just a bit." She concluded, putting an obviously put-upon expression of mock resignation for the girl's amusement. "I don't think our mountains were formed precisely from Djed Storms." Ignisa replied as the conversation turned once more to more serious topics. "According to the most fantastical legends told time and time again in Lhavit, the Djed Storms were caused by the release of energies from the Divine Djed wars between Ivak and his enemies, and perhaps it was due to the fact that there was an intentional release of Djed here when the war brushed over our landscape that caused the mountains to form. Djed Storms such as the one we experience last year …" Her voice grew dark as she remembered that incredible surge of power that had filled her entire family, that she had to fight to keep under control. Her emotions, stuck in that same calm and focused mood of meditation she had engaged in, had allowed her to keep her sanity during that time when her children and husband had lost control, and she had put them to sleep as soon as she could so that they could ride out the storm without being driven permanently mad. "Djed Storms such as those are collections of unfocused and undirected energies, without any pure intent, and we could easily have drowned instead of being brought up so high by the mountains." "But then again," Ignisa sighed, "I'm no scholar, what I know about the Valterrian is passed down through oration from my family and from the tales that have heard from the city of Lhavit. Much of what I say could probably be wrong. After all," and here she flashed Jenni a smile, "we Vantha are prone to exaggeration."

[Jenni Twilight]

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Jenni tried to ignore Ignisia’s consollations, feeling incredibly awkward. She’d rather not talk about such things… the past was the past, and though she loved history- she generally didn’t go deep into things she already knew. It was partially hypocritical, but… it was her childhood, her choice. Instead, she simple smiled sadly and listened patiently to the rest of the woman’s comments.

The Vantha’s conversational explanation about the food made the Twilight grin; she couldn’t help it. Ignisia was incredibly friendly and welcoming. Once again, she thought of the woman as a mother: she was one, from her mention of the cook, but also in her attitude to… herself. She was being motherly to Jenni, despite there being no relation in the slightest. Thinking on it, the Winterflame had been friendly even before the ‘childhood’ sob story came out… which made the morpher feel a little guilty, but it was still… odd…And comforting. Certainly comforting.

Shaking the strange feeling off, she listened to the answer to the more… scholarly question. Ignisia was surprisingly knowledgeable on the subject, and quite intelligent as well. That was another comforting fact about the woman. She mentioned a barrage of things the Twilight hadn’t really thought on, including all about how the Valterrian was created. It surpised the scholar, and… irritated her a little. Wasn’t she supposed to be the historian, the one who knew about all this? Sure, she knew most of it- she just hadn’t gone into much detail. It also slightly annoyed her that Ignisia kept correcting her… though that was an obvious factor in ‘intelligent’ conversation as she liked to call it, it was still a little… downgrading. Still, she should take the criticism and expand her knowledge, right? That was all that mattered. It was the Winterflame’s explanation of her source that caused a raised eyebrow.

”You learned all that from… stories?” she knew that the Vantha were great storytellers, but hadn’t realised they told incredibly detailed, factual tales. It was a little disconcerting, to be honest. ”That’s… surprising. I’m not sure how much of that could have been exaggerated though… most of your statements seemed like cold, hard, facts. Still, from what I know… it sounds relatively true… though I didn’t get some parts…” she shrugged, and returned her attention to their original topic of conversation: the current quake.

”Well… the recent Djed storm was certainly something big, and nothing like that –excepting the Valterrian of course- has ever happened before… from our knowledge. Maybe something happened pre-Valterrian, but we’ll probably never know…” She sighed quietly, thinking about all the history and knowledge that had been lost during the massive event. Suvan and Alahea had apparently been two massive, incredibly knowledgeable countries, with thousands of years knowledge at their backs. Almost all that was lost during the great storms, as there were nearly no artefacts left. All that remained was a few books and items, stories, and… those of the long-lived races that existed before the Valterrian. Though she hadn’t met any of such great an age, apparently some ghosts and… Nuits (which she didn’t really understand) existed before the disaster, and managed to survive through it.

”I wish less knowledge and books had survived the Valterrian, but at least there was some. Without any information, we might know nothing about our ancestors… and that would be sad.” She shrugged, thinking wistfully of all the books stored in the great Bharani library. [b]”Maybe something like this happened before then. Well, if we’re thinking on that, there might have been something like the Valterrian before ours, for all we know! How many ages do you think there’s been?”[/color] She gave Ignisia a critical eye, before chuckling quietly. ”Well, that’s all theory. Right now, I guess… I we can do is wait and see what happens next. I hope nothing too disastrous happens though…”

Common - Nari/Crook - NPC - Writing - Reading

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[Ignisa Winterflame]

"That, child, is a prayer that I make daily." Ignisa replied, her voice soft as she watched the mists and clouds rise up from around the peaks, occasionally drifting into homes and drowning out the festivities with fog. Even now, a cloud gently rose up around the Tenten Peak, bathing them all in a white fog. Still, the clouds were not so thick or dense that Ignisa could not see through them, though it was as if a white translucent screen had been dropped in front of her, blurring out some of the details. Whoops of glee and joy filled the air as the children gathered at the edges of the peaks, looking down at the glory of the clouds and the sky. Smiling slightly, Ignisa stretched out her hand, and a globe of Res formed around her palm, leaking from her fingers and arms like gas. Concentrating on it and focusing her will over the Res, she made it spin like a ball over her finger and willed Water towards it, attracting the moisture in the cloud gradually. The mist surrounding the two of them stirred at the attraction of its very substances, and water started to collect around the globe of spinning Res. Then with a quick and deft movement, she sent the water streaming into the teapots that were nearly emptied of water, refilling them before taking out the Res and enveloping both teapots with them and setting them alight. Fire burst forth from the Res as she converted them to the fiercest of elements, but the porcelain that surrounded the teapots couldn't catch fire, and before long the fire had exhausted its fuel, leaving behind teapots with hot water. Dusting her hands by her side, she turned back to smile at Jenni, eyes sparkling slightly with the exultation of using Reimancy, even in such minor and small ways. Humming to herself, she snatched a few slices of cucumbers from the nearby plate and treated herself for a moment, savoring the cooling taste as she considered her next few words. "Stories are oft-times the only way to pass down information." Ignisa finally said, her words slow as she tried to express the natural inborn tendency of the Vantha. "They were our first ways of communicating with each other before we learned to write. You notice that we always learned to talk before we learned to read and write, and so it was before. The oldest legends are probably still taught through the form of stories. It's why we have Temples and Churches, Priests and Priestesses who pass down their wisdom by the mouth and not the word. To us, the Vantha, there's a beauty in speech, in talking, that would transcend all other modes of communication, and it's so much easier to put emotion into our words when we're talking than when we are writing." She shrugged, giving Jenni a wry little smile. "You see, now I've gone and made a speech. Come now, let us put aside all such somber and sorrowful matters for the day and have a little walk, shall we? Perhaps we could go and visit the Temple of the Moon? I'd like to pay homage to Leth on this night." As if by tribute to his name, the fog around the Tenten Peak's broke away as a high wind wound its way through the peak, rattling the tables and plates, sweeping away all the white fog and leaving the skies around them clear once more. Leth's full glory shone down once more, and the scenes were once again illuminated with blue and green hues tinged with crimson as the light from the Skyglass structures reflected against the surroundings once more, throwing them into a gentle radiance. In the distance, a hymn could be heard as voices sung to the tribute of Leth in the Zintia Peak.

[Jenni Twilight]

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The explanation of Vantha stories was enthralling, and Jenni listened with open ears. The scents drifting from all the plates were a little distracting, but she ignored them by thrusting a little fried rice into her mouth at every temptation. Offhand, she wondered if she would be able to pick out every ingredient if she used a dog nose, but doubted it. That would require figuring out how each and everything worked, and that was well out of her skill range. At the moment, she simply stuck with appearances.

Ignisia had a valid point about learning to speak first, and one the Twilight found quite surprising. She’d never thought about it that way, but it was true. However, you’d have to memorize all those stories… with books, you could simply keep the book and come back for the information when you needed it. It wasn’t the fastest process, but it worked. You could reason that if the books were burnt, you’d lose all the knowledge, but then what if you died? Same thing. They both had pros and cons… so maybe it was better to have both? A back up plan, if needed. She smirked at the decision, finding such a mental debate slightly… amusing.

”A walk? That sounds like an excellent idea” Jenni replied to the proposition, snagging a small cake from the table and taking a bite out of it. She’d found the reimancy display quite intriguing, but didn’t comment…Dawns were into their reimancy, the way Twilights specialized in morphing. Though Ignisia wasn’t a Dawn, she certainly had connections, from explanations she’d heard. The fog from around the peak conveniently drifted away, creating a spectacular sight coupled with Leth’s light. Lhavit could be beautiful if it wanted to, and most of the time… the city wanted to. She wasn’t quite sure what she meant by ‘city’, exactly, so left that definition out of her thought… it would just complicate things. Statements didn’t need to have exact meanings, no matter how tempting it was.

As they walked, the Twilight decided to poke into something that wasn’t exactly her business. ”Ignisia, if you don’t mind me asking, why is your family in Lhavit? If you are Vantha, and from Avanthal… why come here?” She knew Vantha were a common sight throughout the city, and couldn’t be considered ‘rare’. The winter city and Lhavit had close ties, similar to those of Lhavit and Wind Reach, so travellers between cities were not rare. However, she did know that the Vantha loved their city and their goddess, and so rarely left… so each individual who came always had a solid reason for leaving their home.

Common - Nari/Crook - NPC - Writing - Reading

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