The Midnight Gem communication thread where lores are exchanged.
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A lawless town of anarchists, built on the ruins of an ancient mining city. [Lore]
It had been a long night. And luckily since there were buffet leftovers, there were all kinds of pastries and meats for breakfast the next morning. Kelski had been maintaining a reimancy ice box in the kitchen that kept things cool and safe to keep more than a few bells after it was consumed. The giant block of ice she made melted off slowly, providing cold fresh water to drink and chilled the metal box she'd purchased nicely so that things kept overnight and even longer if she refreshed the ice daily.
Everyone had their common place at the table, and Anja's place had a big bucket placed on his usual plate location with a burlap bag covering the contents. There was a note resting over the bucket written in Kelski's hand.
Anja's Note :
"I keep my promises. I just wanted you to see physical proof. The ichor spilled into the earth, wasted away, and I waited long enough to make sure she could not rise again."
(Contents of the bucket... one Nuit's head raked with talon marks and sawed off at the atlas/axis vertebrae obviously dead.)
Kelski was eating with a real appetite. So many things about the party last night disturbed her. And she'd made a big decision. When everyone had gathered to eat that was coming, she'd make the announcement. Ember, Ebon, Mosa and Gilthas had all managed to make it awake for food - the latter having stayed the night due to the lateness of the party wrapping up.
"I want to leave Sunberth. I want to halt our projects here and move them to someplace safer, better, more... wholesome. I want to move to Zeltiva at the end of Spring around the 74th. It will take me that long to sell the business, get The Gem prepared to move, and for Gilthas to pack up his workshop. He's coming with us. As soon as he learned they have a University, he was eager to go. I want to open a shop there, and eventually start a second business in the form of a mage guild. We are going to take Mosa with us. Zeltiva has a large Denval Quarter and she wants to reconnect with a few of her friends before it gets too late in her life." Kelski said softly, glancing at all of them.
She had no idea who would want to go with her. She hoped everyone would. But it was something she needed to tell them sooner or later and make sure they understood it wasn't them that she was leaving... but it was the city.
"This city is poison. I'd like all of you to come with me if you want too. It would be nice to move to someplace new with people I already care about and know." She said gently, then sat back, an apple in her hand, still munching on the fruit.
Then she waited, to see what they were going to say. There was a lot more than she wanted to add, but the threats to The Midnight Gem weren't the main reason she was leaving. There had been threats before. They were just nice fluffy icing on the cake.
Lores: Kelski is moving to Zeltiva at the end of Spring. Kelski killed Morsare for Anya.
They laugh at me because I am different. I laugh at them because they are all the same.
Anja somehow managed to rise at his usual time, and participate in his morning rituals, chores, and prayers in a timely fashion. The soft pounding at the back of the man's head was a polite reminder that he wasn't as young as he used to be, but it seemed a small price to pay for the fun of the night before.
Today, however, Anja approached the table carrying three extra vials of soulmist than what he usual produced. Delicately, he set them down on the center of the table.
“I've been considering the attack during the Night of Masks,” Anja told the residents of the Gem. “I don't like the idea of any of you being in danger from ghosts. Therefore, should any of you wish for it I will be happy to make you soulmist for protection, in addition to what I make for myself. You need only ask the day before, and I will see it done.”
Lore: Anja Will Make Soulmist For Any Gem Resident Who Requests It
Anja was already in the process of helping himself to breakfast of meats as he still found pastries and baking to be a bit odd, when the bucket in his usual place caught his eye. Anja first read the note, his eyebrows knitting together the further he got in the letter, until finally resting on a wide-eyed expression. Cautiously, the man checked the bucket and a soft sigh parted his lips. Kelvics. The Eiyon set his meal aside and politely excused himself outside, bucket in tow, grabbing a shovel just outside the door.
The Drykas did not typically bury their dead, but this was extraordinary circumstances. Anja found some soil near the sea that was soft enough to easily dig, but not so soft that the head would find itself resurfacing as the tides pushed and pulled at the loam. Burying a head was not so difficult as burying a body, and it did not take Anja long to dig a proper hole. He lifted the rotting head out of the bucket and stared into it's dead, lifeless eyes. “Ashes to ashes,” Anja said. “Dust to dust. As it should be.” This head was no longer a monster; just a dead and rotten corpse, the same fate that all met eventually one day. Anja buried the head, thoroughly cleaned the bucket, and gave himself a bath and change of clothes before returning to the table to finish breakfast. In addition, he lit a spring of incense in the main room to clear up any lingering odors. The look of gratitude the man cast Kelski defied the need for words.
As Anja settled down to eat and listened to Kelski's announcement, he was unable to keep a look of dismay from his face. Kelski was leaving Sunberth?
Anja chewed his thoughts but did not speak them. It was true that the invitation extended to him, but… had Dira not called him here? To this land teaming with a thousand restless spirits aching for release? Anja had not known so great a need in the brief time that he had spent in Zeltiva before coming to Sunberth. Could he truly leave this place, even with his family? How could he choose? Anja did not speak his thoughts, but silently he stewed in anxiety.
Spring 26th, 519 Breakfast
When Anja approached the table for breakfast that morning, it was clear that he was not well. Dark circles lingered under his eyes, and the man's movements were sluggish and uncoordinated, as though he was moving through molasses. He had no appetite, and his normally finely groomed beard was looking rough around the edges.
Anja made no attempt to hide the reason behind his appearance when questioned. “Last night, I encountered a woman who I now know to be the sister of my deceased wife. Her name is Lorra, and she belongs to the Sverfra pod that my wife was born into. She hadn't known that Syla had died, and she blames me for her death.”
Anja stared down at his bowl of untouched food, and carefully pushed it away. “I believe it may be unsafe for me to be near the docks, at least until the Wavewind pod has left port. I have no idea what she told her pod...they may not care if Syla died, or they may care very much. I know that Lorra cares, at least.” After that, Anja stared blankly into the distance, expression weary, and was silent beyond those words.
Lore: Anja is hated by his wife's sister and she may seek revenge
Kelski looked thoughtfully at Anja. Her eyes were full of compassion and anger. "She wasn't there. She didn't know what happened. You can't be home and watchful all the time. The Drykas move. They have to hunt and gather. None of that can be accomplished from the safety of their pavilions. The Sea of Grass is said to be one of the most dangerous places on Mizahar. It wasn't your fault." Kelski said, though she thought it was somewhat pointless to say so. Anja would of course blame himself. Anyone would.
"You can't hide in here though. You must go about your work. I..." She looked thoughtful. "I'm teaching Vasin Morphing, Anja, because he wants to fly with me as a bird and it will help him exploring. You could alter your features with Morphing... enough to get you through the Pods visit. I'll teach you as well if you'd like to learn. If you have an aptitude for it, you could run with your strider as a horse on the beach. It would be a great joy, I suspect." She said thoughtfully... knowing it wasn't much. But it was help she could offer.
"We could also go to the market, find some things to disguise you with if you need to get through the day without conflict. I know you don't want to hurt your sister's people, no matter how irrational they are." She added, knowing that wasn't much help either.
Kelski didn't think Svefra were reasonable so reasoning with them wouldn't help either.
"And if you have to go to the docks, just go. But take some of us with you." She added, knowing they'd all be on the lookout for strange svefra now. It wasn't a race she particularly liked... and for good reason. This was just another reason to help.
Lore: Kelski will teach Morphing.
They laugh at me because I am different. I laugh at them because they are all the same.
Anja felt a swell of affection rise in his chest, Kelski's gentle words soothing his afflicted anxieties. Having Kelski to sympathize with h.and remind him all was well helped to soothe his anxious and troubled mind.
Although his eyes widened curiously at Kelski's mention of morphing, after a moment of thought the man gently shook his head. "I think it will be fine if I simply avoid the area for a while. I think it unlikely they will stick around for overly long. That magic, I...I would love to run with Maisa. But I think it should be saved for another time. I will take your words to heart though." He rested his hand on Kelski's, gently squeezed, then headed off to bed, food mostly untouched.
Spring 69, Dinner Time
"It's been a rather eventful day," Anja said. "I have decided I will be joining all of you in Zeltiva."
There were several things different about Anja. The most notable of these were the fact that Anja's eyes were wrapped in a blindfold, and there was a skull crow sitting on his shoulde, it's skull mask covered in strange glowing symbols. The Drykas had gone poking about for the day, and had covered his eyes in a spare sheet of cloth. The cloth made seeing difficult but not impossible. It was better than the alternative. Carefully, Anja undid the cloth from around his eyes and looked at the residents of the Gem. His usual dark blue eyes now had an orange sunburst radiating out from his pupil.
"I have been inducted into a magic called Pathfinding," Anja said. "It allows me to see the trails that people leave as they walk from place to place. This crow taught it to me. His name is Morte." Morte looked around at the table and clicked his beak several times. "I was gifted a set of magical items by a ghost, a mage from Zeltiva. One of them was able to give Morte sentience and the ability to speak before it crumbled away and vanished. Say hello Morte."
Morte clicked his beak together several times. "Hi!" he said cheerfully.
"I think it seems understandable under these circumstances," Anja said wrly. "That I cannot stay here. Not with magical colored eyes. Not with a talking crow with runes on his skull. I will be laying low until we leave. Then I will be joining you on your trip."
Lore: Anja has learned Pathfinding Lore: Anja has befriended a talking skull crow who taught him Pathfinding Lore: Anja's eyes have an orange sunburst pattern Lore: Anja cannot stay in Sunberth
