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[Florian]

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Florian shrugged. ”I’m not sure. I just know what I know.” He, too, feared for the Imperial citizens, but from what he knew of Talon, they were not the ones who incurred wrath. Many lived just as much under the thumb of the Emperor as he. This demigod had felt it as loud as anything when he had visited, and only so briefly.

Florian’s eyebrows raised a bit when he was questioned. He was neither adept at lying, nor too adept at noticing, but he was being questioned and his ability for both was being tested. He turned to face straight ahead, where a small copse of trees was split by the path and a bench was nestled between the trunks.

”A gut feeling. A guess, from what you said. Your work as a mercenary, you hold concern for family despite trying to distance from them...” Florian kept his eyes ahead, so they did not wander to the visually hallucinated manifestations of control and connection that wove around Jae-Seong when Florian looked. And Florian had found himself a voyeur onto the messy chains of others, and sometimes ignored his own.

His mother would have been disappointed. She had always wanted him to think about his problems, to dissect them, to fix them. And he simply bottled things up until he released them, in some way, be it fighting or recklessness.

The troubles that bind him can’t decide if they are wanted or not; distancing himself from family that loves him and returning when they are needed...

He loved his mother, too, and he hoped she knew that he loved her. With as much as he loved her, he found her secrets frustrating. Endless hints pointed to a past that was more, but she deigned to hide every piece of evidence. Florian had oft grown cold to her for periods of months or seasons at a time. It was born in frustration, the pain of knowing she refused a better life.

He knew she had moved to Zaichaer before he was born, but knowing he was coming, so why had she chosen to stay? In a place that would only hurt him? When he could have grown up in Kalzasi, or a free city that would have kept them safe?

Florian blinked as he realized his train of thought had trailed while he was mid explanation.

”A bit of intuition. I have always hated being leashed, but for some they take comfort in it. It’s good to have family, and to see them. You never know when you may no longer be able to.”

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'Thoughts'
"Common Tongue/Speech"

[Moon Jae-Seong]

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Moon Jae-Seong was used to being a silent observer, quietly gleaning what information he could before making any decision, careful and calculating as he was. Each detail ought to be considered and then weighed before one comes to a conclusion. So upon asking his question, he waited, considering every aspect of the Lysanrin before him, far beyond whatever words he may say.

Florian’s answer was…vague. One could see how he might have come to that conclusion, perhaps, but it was not the words that were suspicious. Rather, it was the fact that the other made no attempt to even look in his direction, which contradicted how he'd behaved before. It was the fact that he'd cut off mid sentence, as if losing himself in a thought for some few moments, and then when he came back? The rest of his explanation felt…hurried.

However, Florian was, as yet, a stranger. Even if a person's vagaries and odd behaviors belied their attempts to shroud the truth, it is not always wise to press right away. Sometimes, that results in the other becoming defensive, closed off further, even hostile. So while the swordsman found this answer to be suspect, he would not press directly– at least, not yet.

"Hmm." He sighed, a subtle smile drawn upon his lips. "Perceptive, aren't you?" Though his voice was soft and tone amiable, the word was still pointed, a gentle yet deliberate indicator that he wasn't that easy to deceive.

"Such intuition is a valuable skill, no? Perhaps, then, we could help one another. I, for one, wish to untangle what webs currently bind our fair city's elite. This standstill in succession…doesn't bode well, does it? And maybe, along the way, we'll discover a thread that might connect back to the missing prince. In return, I offer whatever skills of mine you'd find of use." He spoke this offer slowly, a degree of calm in his voice one might not expect given the dire circumstances he mentioned.

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'Thoughts'

"SynskritTongue/Speech"

"Common Tongue/Speech"

"Inandoth Tongue/Speech"

[Florian]

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Moon Jae-Seong was a soft speaker who managed to command attention regardless of his gentle tone. Many did not think that a quiet, calm demeanor was powerful, and sought to make their point known through fear. Florian was the same - he had poor emotional control, and what he felt leaked through any defenses he attempted to put up. He wore his heart on his sleeve.

He couldn’t really tell what this man was feeling beyond what he had let him know, though that made him feel the concern he showed for Talon was genuine. Work as a mercenary, raised nobility, and supposedly traveled around the Kalzasern lands - this was useful to Florian. He was a stranger, and while Aoren was helping, it was good to get a second eye for local’s sake. And maybe he could share how he maintained his calm.

Florian nodded, his smile returned. ”I try.” His thought arrived as he sat on the bench he had been aiming for, one leg crossed over the other. Though the copse still provided shade, the sun still peaked through the spots where leaves had been shed, a few weeks before Zaichaer would begin changing color. He left room for Jae-Seong to sit beside him.

”It’s convenient you’re a Novalys, Jae-Seong, because I’ve been staying in the Palace of the First Wind. I’m no noble, so I can’t participate in the elections, but I have a bit of an eye for when someone’s acting in a way they wish they weren’t.” That was what made Talon’s entrapment so...strange. He wasn’t acting in a way that he didn’t want, and no overt control was being exerted over him that he could see. His vision, in that regard, was simply not clear enough yet. It still wasn’t, and he knew. Subtle effects were still beyond his sight. It was something he would have to learn, explore.

”I hope we can find some way back to the prince.” He did not mention that he had promised him that he would be freed, but considering he had just shared he was staying at the Palace of the First Wind - that Jae-Seong would surely see him at regardless - connections would be made that he was no ordinary guest. But it felt odd to share that he had helped return Aoren, but not Talon, to Kalzasi. There was too much context and complications, and too much that required sharing things he was not ready to acknowledge.

He always had trouble keeping his mouth shut, though. It was part of why he had always gotten into fights. He couldn’t shrug things off. Insults and jabs festered into infections so quickly, and he was fragile. His temper involved him in so much that he could have avoided. But he refused to allow others to walk over him. He always refused to roll over, and it was trouble getting along with others while being so stubborn and uncooperative. A part of him hoped this random encounter would lead to friendship.

It was so difficult making friends. Everyone that stuck with him seemed to do so by necessity or forces beyond their control. A wrinkle of concern troubled his brow for a moment, and it smoothed as he considered the words of Jae-Seong’s offer again.

”And I hope I can prove myself as useful as you think I may be.”

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'Thoughts'
"Common Tongue/Speech"

[Moon Jae-Seong]

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The swordsman let a soft, lopsided smile curl one side of his lips as the other voiced his response and sat down. He joined his fellow Lysanrin, and though he was listening to each word spoken, Jae-Seong gazed up into the leaves– his eyes were on the horizon as the early evening sun dipped lower in the sky. The tree offered protection from so bright a light, allowing the man to appreciate the beauty of a sunset without discomfort. After a beat, he returned his gaze, cool as crystal, back to Florian, making note of the single expression of worry that crossed the other's features.

The fisherman maintained his silence until his new companion had put his final thought into words and then another moment more. "You have lodging in the palace? How funny. Perhaps the threads of our serendipitous meeting were woven together by fate," he mused.

"Mind telling me by whose imprimatur you've gained such…extended access?" He floated the question with a calm voice that bore undercurrents of curiosity and amity.

The man, at this point, had little reason to regard Florian with suspicion should what he had said prove true, a fact that he'd inevitably find out by nightfall.

"It pains me that my presence was missing during all of this…turmoil, in truth. I am…unsure if whatever help I may provide will ever atone for my absence, but I must try, and since our goals align, why not help one another? 'Usefulness' is a variable concept– you will be useful even if all you do is act as a sounding board." Ripples of shame rode through the otherwise still waters of his voice at the admittance of his failure, but with the latter sentiment, such an emotion had drained away to be replaced by a tone more reassuring.

"How will you be spending your time at the palace?"

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'Thoughts'

"SynskritTongue/Speech"

"Common Tongue/Speech"

"Inandoth Tongue/Speech"

[Florian]

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Florian knew he had said much, but it wasn't secret, per se. This was just a stranger he didn't know — not that seemed to stop him, the Gods knew he had difficulty setting and understanding boundaries. Everything was here and now and consequences irrelevant until they suddenly were. A light breeze rustled the leaves. Slowly the pieces would fall into place for Moon Jae-Seong, especially if he were to return to the palace. Surely there was no harm in sharing.

"Kon-Daizoku Aoren. I returned with him from Gel'Grandal — and lucky for that, truly, because I had a bounty I did not deserve...but I'm not sure how to elaborate on that. Maybe some other time." He replied. "I may find my own place, eventually. If necessary. But I think that my presence in the palace is more useful for what I have to do." From living in tiny apartments to large manor after manor, it was interesting how his life had been more... peaceful, somehow, when he was poor and unknown. Now he was housed in guest suite or manor-room wherever he went, for often devastating reasons.

Moon Jae-Seong pried further into what he said, but he couldn't blame him for seeking clarity. "Aoren is training me. In some way, I think I am training him, too. Do you like to read?"He asked Jae-Seong a much less prying question. "I used to read constantly as a child, but I've picked it back up again. History, religion, novels, science. The libraries of Kalzasi are so expansive, and I finally have time to read again. The palace libraries are not immune to my perusal, either."

There had been a section in a larger library that was dedicated to history. Some shelves had been marked for Lysanrin, but he had yet to look through them.The Lysanrin section seemed smaller than most, though it was next to the even smaller section on the Clockwork Empire. Florian had yet to settle on a theory of whether it was fear or a simple lack of preserved information. Lysanrin had so little identity after the Sundering, and what identity they had before was what had caused it. From what his mother had told him, it was not the only history that was lost with the Sundering.

"Are you religious?"Talon as Arcas had the Dawnmartyrs as believers, he had learned. But there were many gods that Florian did not know the name of, did not know what they did or how they were worshipped. There were supposedly many, and many more were worshipped regionally still. Especially when they were less powerful, such as himself. "In Zaichaer, I did not learn of the gods. Until recently, I only knew of Arcas. And I'm curious about the experiences of others, what they have known and what they believe... I grew up to know only that I needed to believe in myself."

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'Thoughts'
"Common Tongue/Speech"

[Moon Jae-Seong]

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To the first question that the swordsman had posed, his curious companion replied with an ever more curious answer: Kon-Daizoku Aoren. How very fascinating that the young man had ties to the royal family so very close to its head.

“...is that so? Fascinating.” Jae-Seong said little more and opted not to elaborate upon his thoughts. His features were still, unreadable, though not cold. He did not mind an ambiguous appearance, but he would prefer to still come across as at least somewhat friendly.

There was one thing that the other had said to that question that had piqued the mixed-blood man’s interest– whatever it was that his newfound friend ‘had to do.’ “...and what, pray tell, is it that you feel yourself obligated to accomplish?” A pointed question, but given that this figure would be one to linger ‘round his own blood, he felt more or less entitled to the answer.

And to the wanderer’s next question, the other mentioned that he and Aoren were training one another. In what, he did not specify. Following that, Florian inquired about how the swordsman felt about literature.

“What’ve you need of training in, and what does Aoren?” This time, his words were rounded and curious in contrast to his previous question. “I do like to read, aye. Passes the time…but mostly, I enjoy collecting knowledge about a great many things. Even just stories. I do prefer creative works or the sciences, personally, though things grounded in history can be fascinating just as well.”

The question about religion was a bit of an odd one, though only in that it felt abrupt. “I don’t consider myself to be, no. I hold no ill will towards any diety, but I suppose I just haven’t, ah…found the benefit offering my devotion to any particular one or subsection thereof. Perhaps as I continue to wander, I’ll find a reason– but for now, there is nothing to drive my worship.”

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'Thoughts'

"Synskrit Tongue/Speech"

"Common Tongue/Speech"

"Inandoth Tongue/Speech"

[Florian]

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The way he danced around replying to Jae-Seong with a real answer only brought more questions to the man's lips. What was he obligated to accomplish? Control over himself served to benefit him, and Kalzasi as a whole. But the man was Novalys, and if he was suspicious of Florian's intentions, it was his right. He would be skeptical if Jae-Seong was not suspicious of him, given his vague, rounded answers.

"I've recently come into a knowledge that needs... extended guidance. I've not been able to understand it well on my own, and Aoren has some of those missing pieces. I have no intentions beyond my own growth, though I feel obligated to accomplish this mastery. Books don't explain as much as I'd like." He sighed and closed his eyes, leaning back against the bench. "I can only fill in the gaps of godhood so much." The words escaped his lips before his mind realized he had been trying not to reveal such a fact about himself. His eyes opened slowly.

"Aoren and Talon are bonded, as you know. Aoren knows a great deal about the trials of a newborn god, and has offered me guidance because of my liberation of him." Florian held a finger to his lip. "And two other Kathar knights were stolen away from the Imperium as well. If you see them in the palace, know that they are with me. They hold little Imperial allegience any longer, if any. It is my responsibility to guide them, and I'm doing a poor job of it." Florian inhaled through his nose. The early autumn smell of Kalzasi was nothing like that of Zaichaer. The factories of the Grungeworks spewed stinking smoke into the sky at all seasons of the year. Here, the sky was clear, and blue, and bright, with fluffy clouds and light filtering through the turning trees.

"I've never felt drawn to any gods either. Some have found me, regardless of my knowledge of them." He held his natural hand in that of his prosthetic, circling the black circle on his palm with his porcelain white thumb. "And yet, it does not matter if you believe, if you know. I found that out the hard way." It had been almost a season since he had ascended, and he had done what? Other than kill hundreds of thousands of people with the act, and freeing Aoren, and Adrian and Marcel, he had little grasp on his newfound power. He was a fledgling, kicked out of the nest too soon. He was too immature to understand the gravity of it all, and so he whiled away his time, reading books.

"I can believe in myself after all. My mother did tell me I was always Destined for great things. I didn't understand her, and I still don't. It is difficult to believe all that has transpired," He had gone from cagey to oversharing in the flip of a switch. "O wanderer, we will be useful to each other. But I do not judge my relationships in terms of use. I like your curiosity. You know, I love children's adventure novels, but I've studied history, and science to some degree, too. We have some in common. I hope we can be friends for the sake of it."

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'Thoughts'
"Common Tongue/Speech"

[Moon Jae-Seong]

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Moon Jae-Seong knew not of the nature of what his questions actually poked at. He knew not that the boy beside him was anything out of the ordinary, any less mortal than he was. For why would he expect that? One could imagine that, aside from Talon, pretty much every other individual he had encountered in his travels only held glimmers of a god’s power. It was, of course, not a common thing to meet one. And usually, when one did, it was when they willed such a meeting to occur– not by chance.

Yet as Florian spoke, the pieces started falling into place and the humble swordsman, however noble, came to the realization that such a thing had just occurred to him. He had, in fact, run across a god by chance. A demi-god, a fledgling deity, but a creature of divine blood nonetheless. His brow rose and his eyes widened in surprise, the slightest part of his lips rounding off the expression. It was subtle, but any display of emotion on the stoic mercenary meant far more than one might think naturally.

He stared intently as the other continued to speak, more or less rambling at this point– he’d segued into an explanation of Kathar he’d come into contact with, though they were not exactly relevant to the subject at hand, he thought. Nonetheless, Jae-Seong stayed silent, opting not to interrupt his companion at all until his words slowed on their own.

When they did, “...I am to believe that you are divine in nature, then, hm?” A half smile drew itself on the man’s lips, his eyes creasing with the expression, a sort of taunt in his voice. “Normally, I’m more of a skeptic…but if nothing else, I do know people, and those like you? Who just…talk so freely? You’re not even giving yourself the time to think of dishonesty,” he chuckled a bit. “So…I do believe you, all things considered. I must ask, then…god of what?” The bit of playfulness in the man’s voice would stand out as perhaps a bit odd, though not entirely out of character, muted as it was.

The man had come across several people like this in the course of his life and they always struggled with the ability to be dishonest at all. Sharing things about themselves was damn near compulsive, too. He was comfortable believing what he was told, especially when one considers how easy the other was to read in the first place.

As their conversation progressed more into the religious, what the other said made sense. Gods did exist, certainly, it was hard to deny that especially when Jae-Seong knew one– Talon, and here he, presumably, sat before another. Swearing fealty to them, however, was an entirely different matter.

“Parents are like that to us all, huh? Altogether eldritch in the portents behind their words, and whether such words contain any wisdom at all is so hard to tell…but yours? It would appear she was right.” His own had said their fair share of oddities, but he doubted his fate held anything so fantastical. One could never be sure, however.

To the boy’s final sentiment, the mercenary smiled more fully, soft as it was, closing his eyes for a moment. Reopening them in tandem with a cool breeze, he responded. “I also admire curiosity. Curiosity is always in the heart of any wanderer, regardless of our nature. I, for one, prefer a controlled and calculating approach. I don’t really get that from you, but that doesn’t mean our natures are incompatible. You have caught my interest, if nothing else.” Of that, he willfully does not elaborate, voice somber and controlled the whole of his speech.

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'Thoughts'

"SynskritTongue/Speech"

"Common Tongue/Speech"

"Inandoth Tongue/Speech"

[Hector]

Review

Florian

Lore: 14 Lores that smell faintly of tea leaves
Points: 10
Injuries/Ailments: no
Loot: None

Moon Jae-Seong

Lore: 14 Lores remiscient of old books
Points: 10
Injuries/Ailments: no
Loot: None

Notes: after your hiatus, I think it would be best to start a new thread between these two