Location The Administration Office

[Traverse]

The administration office is located just to one side of Dira's Spire (directly opposite of the Dormitories) down a set of stone steps carved into the side of the rocky peak of Black Rock. Upon walking in, the first thing one sees is Jaleryn, or Vesta, at the enormous front desk. Folders and books are lined along its edge, and a wall of what are presumably files lingers behind her. Ghosts linger, talking with each other and with Jaleryn or her assistants. The employees oversee the legal affairs of Black Rock, which is largely civil and deal with ensuring that wills are fulfilled, titles to land are as they're supposed to be, and so on. Black Rock does not collect tithe or taxes - the only certainty is death. Because the affairs of mortals on Black Rock are relatively few, the administration office also assists in the ghosts who are lost, uncertain, or in need of help or advice.

While the Omens consider the Spire to be their base, the administration office is largely held as the camp of the Cicerones. These cloaked figures, aside from guiding strangers along the rocky and oft times perilous crags and narrow paths of the island, are also responsible for helping to guide the departed on their journey. When a ghost or spirit is ready to move on, the Cicerones will escort them to wherever they need to go.

 

Vesta

Vesta
Race: Ghost (human)
Position: Jaleryn's Assistant
Skills: Organization 50, Materialization 65, Soulmist Projection 30, Possession 30
Gnosis: N/A
Other: Vesta is a ghost who is in charge of the administration office in Jaleryn's absence. Once a priestess of Dira in life, she now serves the Dead Queen by assisting in the running of the island. She often has to chase Jaleryn out of the office at the end of the day. She is fanatically loyal to Dira, and continues her work unimpeded by death.

 

Jaleryn

Jaleryn Westin
Race: Human
Position: Overseer of the Administration Office
Skills: Management 76, Organization 30, Rhetoric 30, Socialization 40
Gnosis: 2 Eiyon
Other:Unofficially "in charge" in Dira's absence, Jaleryn runs the administration office with the help of her ghostly assistants. She has a big job that often goes unappreciated as the woman behind the scenes, and she doesn't mind at all. Jaleryn knows as much about Black Rock as many of the historians, and has lived on the island all of her life. She is fiercely devoted to Dira, and this tends to carry over to her job. Vesta usually has to force her out of the office to go home to her husband. With milky skin and burgundy-red hair, she lacks the fiery temperament of a 'true' redhead. She can be slightly acerbic, but usually only with people she knows well.

Location Credit: Cayennec

[Amrita]

Continued from here.

Rita used the iron knocker on the large-standing wooden door. She knocked it lightly at first, and then waited for a chime before knocking it harder.

No one answered.

She clicked her tongue, pacing by the door, growing more and more anxious by the tick. It’d been hard enough to avoid coming in contact with the flickers of ethereal movement on her way down here; she didn’t want to be stuck outside with very little means of survival. When she figured five chimes of silence had passed, Rita reached for the knob.

The door let out a high-pitched, endless creak as she struggled to pull it open. If the sound of the door hadn’t been enough to signal her entrance, her jingling anklets would’ve certainly helped. The Benshira slowly walked towards the enormous front desk, hearing the chime of her steps echo across the stoned walls. A red-haired woman sat behind the desk, talking to a translucent figure standing beside her. Her face looked serious and displeased as she pointed to the pages she held in her hand. The blurred figure of a young man simply shook his head in what seemed like guilt. Rita came close enough to hear his gruff voice,

"I know, but Jale, she deserved it. Just send me the bill." Without another word, the figure floated past the desk and towards the door with increasing speed, nearly brushing past Rita as he whooshed out.

The woman sighed, stuffing the pages in a file. “My apologies, hun.” She turned to place the file on the wall behind her. “If the door is unlocked, feel free to come in without knocking. There often isn’t anyone available to open it, as we’re usually dealing with matters of the demanding dead.” She smiled, “Is there something I can help you with?”

Rita gulped. “Um,” her voice wavered. She took a step forward and cleared her throat, mustering a semblance of confidence.

“Hi. My name is Amrita, and I travelled here from Yahebah on a trading vessel. My friend Abu told me that I could come here to find a place to stay. Um… to live, actually. He also told me that I should ask about finding a job. I’ll do whatever is needed most, but I was hoping I might be able to start a dance class.”

She realized she hadn’t said anything about why she came to Black Rock, of all places. Rita figured the woman would ask, if she really needed to know.

"My words. My words in Shiber."
"Their words."
My thoughts.

[Traverse]

Jaleryn glanced at the Benshiran woman with a practiced eye, one who had glimpsed a lot of Ghosts of a lot of races, and wasn't easily surprised. However, the request to find a job as a dancer did make a singular eyebrow on the woman's face rise slightly. "A place to live is easy. The Dormitories, one door over from Dira's Spire is where you will find easy and affordable housing. If you can, ask for Yamin, he is much kinder than Kullin when it comes to prices adn I'm sure he'll give a deal to a fellow wandering Benshira." She paused, tapping her finger on a desk. A woman, finely dressed and mostly clear though her form was opaque hovered over to Jaleryn with a smile. "If she wants to be a Dancer, send her to Illistrid." Jaleryn's brows furrowed, but after a tick her face relaxed, shooing Vesta away. "This is my guest, Vesta, go on and mind your own business." After the Ghost rolled her eyes and shifted through a nearby wal, Jaleryn chuckled good naturedly, flipping a lock of dark hair from her face. "She may be nosy, but she's right. We have an almost abandoned dance studio called One Foot in the Grave. The...well I suppose she could be called the proprietor is a Ghost by the name of Illistrid, she is...very temperamental, but she could very much use the help, I could set you up with a Dancer's wages there, perhaps you could draw some much needed light into the place. And if you wish to become a teacher eventually you could always come back and we can discuss it. The studio is across the way as if you were about to come back down the way you came up here, almost the first door on that main path, does that sound alright?"

[Amrita]

“Yes, that sounds lovely.”

She wondered whether there was anything she forgot to ask. The woman was pretty thorough. As she talked about the Dormitories, Rita took a small step to the right.

Talk to Yamin about prices.

Then she took a tiny step back.

Avoid Kullin.

When the well-dressed woman spoke a name, Rita retained it with a minute flourish of a hand. Illistrid. A beautiful name with a curious depiction; ‘temperamental’ did she say? Rita pursed her lips and refrained from asking her what she meant. It’d probably be easier to just find out in person.

“I’ll head over to the Dormitories right away. Ma’am, thank you so much,” she smiled, knowing the honorific was enough to politely signal the fact that she didn’t know her name. “And please send my thanks to Vesta as well.” The woman had been the key to finding the door closest to home. Dancing was the one true way for Amrita to recapture the memories of her life back in Yahebah. Without a place for her to recuperate, she was sure her state of mind would’ve fallen to pieces.

“Do I need to sign any forms, or…?” If there were no more administrative duties to take care of, Rita would be well on her way.

"My words. My words in Shiber."
"Their words."
My thoughts.

[Traverse]

Jalyern nodded, Amrita could sense a presence behind her, and Jaleryn held up a finger for the Ghost, a teenage girl, to wait patiently until she was finished. "No paper work needed on your end, and not much on mine either. I hope you find what you are seeking on this island, Amrita, I have found that sometimes you do not find precisely what you are searching for here, but something you need nevertheless, and come to see Vesta or I anytime, my name is Jaleryn." She gave a cryptic smile then beckoned the girl forward, leaving the Benshira to her own devices and quite a lot of newly learned knowledge of the Isle: Amrita Experience: Investigation 1 Observation 2 Rhetoric 1 Socialization 2 Lores: Jaleryn and Vesta: Run the Administration Office The Dormitories: An Affordable Place to Stay Yamin: Kind Owner of the Dormitories Kullin: To Be Avoided Becoming Employed as a Dancer at One Foot in the Grave Illistrid: A Ghost at One Foot in the Grave, and its Proprietor This is the link to your SS thread detailing your new job as a Dancer, just pop that link into your profile and you'll be good to go! Have fun

[Alzaren]

.

Fall 3, 514 AV

It had been two years since the Akalak had arrived on Black Rock for the first time. After his venture up onto the peak of Black Rock, he had been fortunate enough to acquire a home at the base of the peak due south of the Northern Docks. To attain the petite house, it had been necessary for him to visit the Administration Office. Now, with that appointment long in the past, Alzaren climbed the steps of Dira’s Peak toward the office once more with hopes that he might be bestowed with some form of employment on the Island of the Dead.

Living had been rough with so few mizas, which meant even fewer ashls. With nothing more than his faith in Ivak, his new-found prayers to Audius, and his treasured lute, Alzaren finally reached the entrance to the Administration Office. As he was about to use the door’s iron ring-pulls to knock, a familiar voice whispered into his mind. “Remember our first visit, brother. No one answered then, no one will answer now. Just enter the petching place. The ghosts cannot stop you,” Zainkrin, Alzaren’s dark brother, said.

Alzaren’s gold-amber eyes glared at the door, hating the interference of his darker soul sibling. While he loathed Zainkrin’s presence, the Akalak knew his other half was correct, and so he entered without another word. The solid wooden door was heavy, but with the natural tenacity of his Akalak heritage, Alzaren opened the barrier without much struggle. As the door crept ajar, a boisterous creaking melody echoed through Alzaren’s elongated ears.

The Akalak remembered the corridor that revealed itself once Alzaren entered; it was wide and long, leading up to a massive front desk that housed a red-haired, human woman. The bard approached the woman quietly, his boots only making nearly inaudible squeaks against the floor. The woman’s eyes were fixed onto the desk below her, her hands sorting through dozens of papers that Alzaren took no effort to examine.

Before speaking, the bard’s eyes scanned the room. A few ghosts chatted idly with some of the assistants of the red-headed woman, and the voices drifted through the office as easily as would the air. “Hello,” Alzaren finally murmured, his confidence never having much standing in such a setting.

The woman’s eyes, curious from the voice not akin to the vocal chords of her assistants or the ghosts that frequently attended the office, lifted to meet the golden orbs of Alzaren. Her lips, slowly but surely, grew into a small smile at the sight of the musician. “Why hello there. If it isn’t the handsome Akalak bard… What can I do for you, darling?” Jaleryn asked, the smile remaining upon her fair countenance.

If Alzaren could blush through his red skin, he would have, but alas, he could not. Alzaren simply grinned and nodded awkwardly before answering the woman’s question. “Uh, I was wondering if any musical jobs would be available in the city at this point in time? I’m in need of some coin, and an employment offer based around my talents with my lute would be preferable,” Alzaren explained, his smile fading into closed lips and an expression of unknowing. “And if you need some time to look, that’ll be fine. I can always come back another day.” The bard tried his best attempt at a sort of chuckle, but it only died away into his blank expression once more.

Oh, how he hated encounters with people.

.

[Traverse]

Jaleryn placed a couple fingers on her temple, leaning on an elbow placed precariously amidst her paperwork as she sized the crimson Akalak up and down, seeming to internalize and roll around his question for a long moment before replying. "I don't mean any offense, but...don't bards generally find their own work, all that singing and playing on the go and whatnot?" She waited a moment, watching Alzaren's expression transform into something, then smiled. "I'm simply joking, Ghosts don't always have the sense of humor I'd like them to." "Don't you even start!" Came a distant voice from around a corner. Jaleryn waved her hand dismissively at the noise. "I know Illistrid is...sometimes looking for more noise and showy things to attract folks into 'One Foot in the Grave.' If you're looking for a specific venue we can certainly pay you to play in and around the studio if that sounds to your liking." She began fluttering around in her paperwork a bit. "I could have sworn I just set up a gorgeous Benshiran gal in there too as a dancer...." She glanced around and after a few moments shrugged, glancing back up to see what he thought of the idea.

[Alzaren]

.

Alzaren did his best to force a chuckle, trying not to make it sound too faked. "You'd think we would, but the undead don't really think too much of music to be honest," the red-skinned Akalak retorted, smiling when the voice echoed about the corner.

The bard listened intently as Jaleryn explained a potential location for employment. Alzaren had heard of 'One Foot in the Grave' and while he thought it to be mostly abandoned, he wouldn't mind singing and playing his lute for the dance studio. "That sounds wonderful actually. If you could make that happen that would be great," the bard replied hastily, grinning widely and genuinely, revealing his whitened teeth.

As Jaleryn went through her paperwork a bit, her second comment caught Alzaren's attention, making him perk an eyebrow at her. A gorgeous Benshiran woman was being employed at the dance studio as well? Even though the bard wasn't too keen in making first impressions or interaction altogether, it wouldn't be too bad to have a bit of eye candy while he was performing most days.

Resting his hands near the edge of Jaleryn's desk, Alzaren clasped them together out of habit. He waited patiently, honestly hoping that the secretary could work something out for him. For once, Alzaren's future on Black Rock didn't seem so bleak.

.

[Traverse]

The woman gave a sage nod and a smile, and began sifting through the various stacks of paperwork. "Glad you said yes, its an easy thing to copy her form and change the name and job title." She twirled a quill around her finger and then glanced up, a thought occurring to her. "Illistrid is the Ghost proprietor...if you could call her by such a title, at the studio, she is a very gifted individual, but...rather emotional at times, just so you are forewarned. Hopefully having two new entities bringing life to the studio will center her a bit." Jaleryn's lips twitched and then she gave a jocular flick of her wrist. "Now away with you, dashing bard, I have paperwork to attend to." And then Jaleryn returned with the focus her position demanded to the piles of notes, titles, deeds, and wills around her. Experience: Observation 1 Socialization 2 Lores: Jaleryn and Vesta: Run the Administration Office Becoming Employed as a Bard at One Foot in the Grave Illistrid: A Ghost at One Foot in the Grave, and its Proprietor Your job as a bard has been added to your SS thread, have fun in the studio!

[Phyolea]

1 Winter 514AV
Continued from here

Phyolea was surprised at how many living hu-man people were at the docks. She soon realized she need not have been worried about the dark, as the sky now showed signs of a sunrise to come. She was also surprised how early these hu-man people were awake. Many of the students in Zeltiva waited until the sun was quite high in the sky before making their rounds. She had not long to stare as Porter briskly walked on up the path toward The Peak. Phyolea broke into a quick walk, as she did not trust her ability to run quite yet.

The trip to The Peak was shorter than Phyolea anticipated. She was relieved to find that this Administration Office was not as high up as she supposed. She was not fond of high altitudes. "Ok, lass. Don't get skittish when you see Vesta. She ain't gonna hurt you. Jaleryn might be helpin' some whiny ghost or other. If that be the case, don't run off. Just wait 'til she's done and she'll help you next." Porter opened the door and beckoned inside. "Just head in and look for the main office." With that Porter stepped aside.

"Thank you," Phyolea said as she stepped inside. She didn't know what to expect. "Hello?" Phyolea called from the corridor. It was then she spotted the hu-man seated at the desk. "Um, I'm new here," Phyolea fidgeted. She hoped that the wo-man would be friendly and not slaughter her. Reservations about being on this death island finally began to surface.