Nothing Like A Bit of Violence Between Friends

[Aeros]

TIMESTAMP: 68 Frost 122
NOTES: -

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House Saelyan was, one could certainly say, a lineage composed of aesthetes. Like their manse above, the demesne below mirrored its majesty, but with stylings that reflected more of the Midnight Mother’s influence; composed of dark stone and inlaid with intricate designs of silver throughout. Because while several among their kin strayed from the path of the artist, they all shared similarly exquisite tastes. Furthermore, it was a spacious property, one which included a courtyard, well kept, and under normal circumstances, minimally decorated. This was because the courtyard’s use varied so much– it was regularly decorated and stripped according to events being held, meetings, and so forth. The courtyard itself was a large swathe of smooth volcanic stone, patterns carved into the floor, with a single pavilion centered vertically but set towards the front, leaving a large amount of open space. There was no roof to it aside from the looming cave walls of the Umbrium above, though large walls ‘round the perimeter did create an air of privacy, preventing passersby from being able to easily see or hear what went on within.

Today, Æros had reserved the right to use the space for the purpose of sparring with a friend of his. Having very recently recovered from his threshold sickness, he was excited to be able to wield his new rune, Reaving. Hilana herself had expressed interest in honing her own skills in combat, and thus did their goals align. The half-elf himself was already awaiting her in the courtyard, seated within the pavilion towards the front of the space.

Æros was uncertain if Hilana was going to bring much in terms of refreshment, as she was often wont to do, and did feel like it would make him somewhat of a bad host to provide absolutely nothing, so a servus had brought a selection of a few fine spirits for the two of them to choose from. There were also options that weren’t alcoholic, should Hilana not want to inebriate herself given what they were doing. For the horned hybrid, he actually believed his focus and ability to fight improved when he drank. This would be ridiculous for most people, but unbeknownst to him, he was actually correct; his Mesmer combined with his vices had warped his body to adapt to the state, and as such, he did think clearer.

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'Thoughts'

"Vallenor Tongue/Speech"

"Vastien Tongue/Speech"

"Valasren Tongue/Speech"

"Common Tongue/Speech"

[Hilana Chenzira]

Hilana made her way through the Umbrium to the Saelyan family estate. She had some borrowed weapons in her pack that she had gotten from the Commander, who was frankly pleased that the young healer who oversaw his initiations was finally getting around to working on her own martial skills. She knew that she was desperately rusty. Vorenus and Asher would have been appalled by the fact that that had slid as it had; but in Tertium, she has been watched like a hawk, and she had enough lessons of many kinds that had occupied most of her time. Being able to slip away and take up a blunted training sword, or swing the maces that she had always enjoyed was not happening. Even though one of her old head wolves ran the stables on the family estate where she now resided and would have practiced with her. When she had gotten to Solunarium Proper, she had a lot more freedom, but she was taking up other lessons that required a great deal of time and practice. Not to mention her jobs and hobbies…

Such as cooking and baking, the benefits of which her friends reaped when Hilana got into it. With neither of her snakes accompanying her today - Fiya had eaten that morning and Tiaz was working on a shed, which meant he was in the moist, humid hide full of moss to make it easier for that skin to come off - Hilana had a decorated reed box full of mixed berry tartlets. She was trying different crusts, from traditional pastry to a more cookie-like shortbread shell, and she would see which one struck Æros’ preference once they were done.

The servii were a bit familiar with her by now, considering the regularity with which Hilana popped by, and she was shown in to the courtyard. “Good afternoon, Dominus, how are you?” She greeted him, offering her usual bow of her head and shoulders as she bounced up to him. While she was still in her colourful skirts, she had at least the sense to choose a different style than her usual long tiered skirts with hems that nearly brushed the sands. It wasn’t one of the tiny tiered skirts that she had worn when she had taken him out into the sands in Ash to keep the crocodiles off of her while she went swimming for plants for work, either. This one was more of a wrap skirt from the angle and cut of the cotton fabric, dyed shades of purple and cut with blue and silver. There were still ruffles around the edges, but her movement wasn’t going to be impeded and there was less risk of one of them stepping on those impossible hems of hers. The asymmetrical hem was longest at the back, where it ended at her calves, and at the front, it went up almost to her knees. Her top was customary, hanging off of one shoulder and cut to expose her midriff, laced up behind her. “How are you doing?” She placed the reed box of tartlets on the table and reached to slip her backpack off. Since Æros’ pact weapon was with the khopesh, she brought the blunted training sword that she had picked from the racks of the Guard. It was more of a falcata than a khopesh, but it was more like what Hilana had used when the older boys had taught her and the other younglings in their care about weapons.

[Aeros]

TIMESTAMP: -
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Due to the fact that Æros did, indeed, wish to use his Pact weapon to spar, he’d had a guard made to blunt the blade. It was something that one could attach to it similarly to a sheath, yet less bulky; the weight and feel of the weapon was still affected, but this was an important safety measure, especially since he was no master swordsman. Progression with Reaving would negate the necessity of using something like this, eventually— the skill required, Morphosis, was not something he had enough of a grasp on as of yet. He did try to apply it, ever fond of pushing his limits as he was, but he couldn’t get the blade dull enough such that he thought it’d be safe for Hilana to be subjected to. Given that the guard was not something that was innately part of the blade, he’d already Materialized the weapon and attached it prior to his friend’s arrival.

As anyone who knew her would expect, Hilana was perfectly punctual and the servus who’d escorted her to the courtyard did not linger for long, busy as he was. Raising a hand to return her greeting, Æros smiled at her.

“Good afternoon; I’ve been well enough. It's a bit of a pain to balance work with threshold sickness, but such are the consequences of my choices.” The starry senator spoke with a bit of a shrug. For as annoying as such a thing was, he’d really no other option than just powering through the condition. “...and you? I trust you’ve been well?”

Things had been a bit…odd for her ever since she’d returned from the excursion to Ecith wherein Finn had endured a particularly grievous injury. The prince was none too happy at the state of his lover and Æros himself wasn’t exactly pleased with how Khyan had been returned to him. However, the half-Fæ was able to see past his emotions, and despite the strength of his momentary rage, he’d opted to stray from a path of anger or vindication; Arvælyn’s reaction was enough, vexed as they both were.

Dark eyes shifted from his friend to the reed box she’d arrived with, intrigued regarding its contents, clawed fingertips tapping curiously against the blade of his khopesh; he’d left it resting atop the table, but never moved his hand away. “What’ve you brought today?” He could hazard a guess, or look with Semblance, but he preferred she describe what she’d made herself.

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'Thoughts'

"Vallenor Tongue/Speech"

"Vastien Tongue/Speech"

"Valasren Tongue/Speech"

"Common Tongue/Speech"

[Hilana Chenzira]

“It’s always a challenge finding time, isn’t it?” Hilana was cheerful. “But my grandmother always told me, ‘If it is important, you will make time.’,” she smiled at him. Despite everything, the Vastiana had done the best she could against enemies that she had no way to counter at that time. When Finn had indulged Khyan with his Emblem, what had been careful concealment had been blown apart. The girl was still kicking herself for getting her friends hurt. She couldn’t waste time on it, because she knew full well that it was possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That wasn’t folly... it was just life.

“That being said, how have you been feeling? I’ve got more of that tea for you that others have said was helpful with regards to lingering threshold sickness for Reaving.” From the backpack came a couple more paper packets of tea, each of them labeled for him. Four of them held the threshold sickness tea, and two more still held one of his favourite blends for creamy tea with the different warming spices and herbs. It was, after all, the very least Hilana could do for him. “How is Khyan?” When the Fae remained sitting, Hilana would sit as well if she was invited to do so.

“I’m...fine,” she offered. She was okay, all things considered. She was hesitant to take anyone with her again when she resumed her search for Israxa. Finn didn’t hold it against her. Khyan had been treated but all the same... her friends had gotten hurt because of her, on her quest, on her watch... And she had certainly earned the wrath of the heir of the Umbrian Crown. And that was certainly nothing to be proud of. But she had to remind herself that failure was never permanent and success was never final.

She opened the box to reveal its contents, offering them to him. As soon as the lid was lifted, he could smell the jammy sweetness of northern berries and pastry. “I’ve got mixed berry tartlets, Dominus. I’ve got three different crusts for you to try, so I thought I’d go with a filling you’ve liked before,” Hilana explained. “There’s a traditional pie pastry shell, a sweetened version of the traditional pastry, and one that is more of a cookie shell. It’s a little more delicate and kind of melts on the tongue, but I’ll let you judge and see which one you prefer,” she sat back. The box had little paper dividers between the three, and the cookie crust one looked different than the traditional pastry, too. “These ones are traditional pastry, the middle batch are the sweetened pastry, and this batch are the cookie shells.” She knew which was which when she had opened the box, but she would see what he thought of it.

[Aeros]

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“It is, and if I want magical acclaim in a society so steeped in magic, I’ve no choice but to push myself, have I?” Æros really did want recognition for his arcane prowess, but such a thing would be a struggle to do until he amassed more than four runes, and even still, some might withhold accolades until he chose a Craft to raise into grandmastery. It was just that he was so very indecisive about that latter bit…so for now, all he could do was collect more Crafts and hone them to mastery. Four or five mastered had to be worth something, no?

“I’ve been feeling fine enough; æther moves easily as ever, though one can never outrun the strain that comes with unraveling the techniques of a Craft anew. Maybe a bit impatient?” He mused in response to her query.

“As for Khyan…? Physically, he’s fine, but after I dragged him out into the desert in early Frost and then Ecith…? I doubt the boy’ll want to leave the city for a while.” Which was a bit of a shame, and Æros’ own disappointment in that could be heard in his voice. While this was in part due to selfish reasons, what with his own desire to flex his magic outside of the city’s walls, a lot of his negative emotions on the subject were because he both felt empathy for his lover and guilt that he hadn’t made time in his schedule to have gone to Ecith himself.

“If you do need more help…I’ll make time rather than him. I’m quite a bit more resilient.” He was completely serious. On top of that, too, Æros had more magic than Khyan, and would, presumably, have more progress with Reaving by whatever time it would be that Hilana would ask for his help. There was also a not insignificant chance he’d have bit the bullet and weathered Elementalism’s initiation, too.

Her answer of ‘fine’ wasn’t a very strong one, and instead of asking, he read her Symphony for the answers. Doing this not only sated his own curiosity, but it helped him maintain empathy– she really was wracked with quite a bit more guilt than she was due, and from the memories he’d read, little of what happened was her fault. The other two had been a bit reckless in their choices given the circumstances. In truth, all that additional context did was cement to him that Khyan should not have been the one to go, or, at the very least, it shouldn’t have been just him who went.

“I don’t think continuing this journey alone is a good idea; guilt aside, that isn’t safe for you nor is it necessarily that conducive towards success. Which…for the Founders, success ought to be the primary goal, and with aid, that chance rises.” The one caveat being if any particular goal on her journey required a level of subterfuge that would be hindered with more bodies; though that could be mitigated by her mask, provided nobody destroys its blanket of solace.

Having said that, Æros listened intently as she described the lovely looking baked goods housed within the reed box she’d brought. He tilted his head in consideration at the description, and languidly moved to try a piece of each type. “I think I prefer this one,” gesturing towards the cookie crust as he spoke. After voicing his preference, he would move to finish all three of the ones he tried at the will of his natural sweet tooth.

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'Thoughts'

"Vallenor Tongue/Speech"

"Vastien Tongue/Speech"

"Valasren Tongue/Speech"

"Common Tongue/Speech"

[Hilana Chenzira]

That was very much true. If he wanted acclaim in a Kingdom full of mages, then he had to work at it, and then some. He had a great deal of competition with regards to being considered amongst the upper echelons of their society; but Hilana had faith in him. If there was someone that could do it, then with his intelligence, talent, and birthright, it was surely Æros. She nodded when he commented that aether flowed, but learning a new discipline was still hard on a mage, no matter how many other Cardinal Runes they had. Hilana could only imagine - Elementalism took a lot out of her, even with all of her Wildness, and she was still constantly working to refine her aetheric capacity and finesse. Some things never ended, but taking on more was the challenge.

She listened grimly as he spoke of Khyan, nodding along. Hopefully the mead would keep him from having too sour an attitude towards her. She could hear his disappointment at the fact that Khyan likely may not want to leave the city for a while, and she looked down at her skirts. She had hoped her friend had some Wildness to him, too, but all in all... Khyan’s adventures thus far that she knew of had been eventful and not necessarily in the best of ways. If he hadn’t gotten injured, those he was with had, and that saddened her. She knew that what was true to her may not necessarily have been true to one like Khyan, but she’d heard it said often enough: adventure may hurt you, but monotony would kill you.

When he offered to come with her next time, the girl just nodded, looking grim. Another friend to get hurt, especially if the next leg took them beyond the kingdom’s borders and into the great darkness caused by the Eclipse. “I have a direction, at least, to continue the search,” Hilana said. “Now it becomes searching for the needle in the proverbial haystack.” The girl wasn’t deterred by that, at least. It just meant that she was going to have to do an awful lot of traveling. Not that that ever bothered her. That was what she was born to do. That was her birthright. Be it on a camel or on a wyvern or however else... “None of our Runes matter if it takes me beyond the border again. And it likely will. In the great darkness, our Runes do not work,” the girl looked down at the table again.

He was likely right in that more people with other skills would likely increase her chances of success, depending on what she was facing. She was less concerned about her own safety than she perhaps should have been. She had her Elementalism, sure, but a warrior she was not. Provisioner, navigator, guide, yes. Healer and doctor and something of a surgeon, yes. But a fighter? Not much of one.

Not yet, the little voice in the back of her head reminded her. Not yet.

She watched Æros’ expression as he tried the different tartlets. Her head was tilted to the side, her eyes on him as her hands folded together in front of her. Hilana just looked inquisitive, though there was a definite intensity in her expression as she studied him while he sampled the goods. She was curious to see which way he picked, and it seemed that her newer attempt, the cookie crust style, was a definite success. “The cookie one?” She nodded. “I’m glad you liked it. Trying to make sure it holds the filling while not falling apart is the tricky bit,” she was thoughtful. “But it’s holding now, so it’s just making sure that the filling is set, I think.” She doubted Khyan would bother with them, since he tended to lean more towards savoury than sweet, especially if no cheese was involved, but who knew. He might have liked a taste of the more exotic fruits that would have come with his old station.

[Aeros]

TIMESTAMP: -
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When Hilana mentioned the fact that venturing beyond the vicinity of the false sun would render their magic inert, Æros tilted his head in consideration. He did not exactly have firsthand experience with the Eclipse that had been plaguing the world, but he wasn’t daft, and he’d made a point to ask around enough to get a general gist of what it was like in that preternatural darkness. He knew that it dampened magic, but he had also been informed that there were ways around it.

“Not necessarily,” he countered the notion that their runes would be entirely disabled. “There’s ways to mitigate magical dampening effects.” As he said this, he lifted his left arm, drawing attention to a rather ornate looking bracelet, more of an armguard, than anything, because the dragonshard imbedded in the magically reinforced white-gold was quite large.

“This was actually a gift from my sister on my last birthday; the dragonshard within it is Lunicite; she got it for me as a magical amplifier,” he began.

“However, it also has an aura that mitigates dampening effects, and given what I knew about the Eclipse, I decided to ask around. Apparently, both Illumite and Lunicite of a reasonable size will allow the wielder to cast in that cursed darkness, and this one is greater– I believe that I, at least, would be able to cast.” Æros had heard this from a family member of his, one who’d actually traveled beyond the Scepter’s veil of safety, and had taken Illumite with them for protection– he had said it worked, and had also added that apparently Lunicite had a similar effect.

“Further…even without magic, I’ve grown competent with a sword and I’m fairly hardy. I’d just prefer to help you directly than send Khyan out alone again; I did look through your mind’s eye; only one strike and he faltered. I can’t, in good conscience, let him do that alone again, but I can go myself.” And to that, the horned hybrid fully intended to continue his martial training, hence why Hilana was here today.

And regarding her baked confections, “...well, they’re all lovely, but I do prefer the texture of the cookie one, yes.” He’d happily consume any of these if given more, however.

“Do you want anything to drink first, or shall we begin? Not everything laid out here is alcoholic, mind.” He figured he ought to offer, but while he did so, he poured a fine looking red wine into a chalice and started to drink it; he genuinely found that he fought better under the influence– and he did; he just didn’t know precisely why that was.

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'Thoughts'

"Vallenor Tongue/Speech"

"Vastien Tongue/Speech"

"Valasren Tongue/Speech"

"Common Tongue/Speech"

[Hilana Chenzira]

Hilana was not about to argue with him - he surely understood more than she did about magical theory. She knew what she did from listening to Daemon and Aoren, or to Palaemon and Ævril, and even Æros himself. Domina Clelia was also a wellspring of information, and her alchemical lessons hadn’t quite gotten into the more advanced dragonshards. She was still an apprentice, and for now, she was only doing smaller experiments and building on them and on the lessons she received from the Moonborn noble. “I’m sure it is as you say, Dominus. You know more than I do,” the Vastiana nodded. “Your bracelet is lovely. Your sister has good taste,” she smiled at it and him.

He did have a point. But in the future, if she went out again, then she knew to stock up on it. But it would doubtless be a while before she went back out after her last disaster. For now, she was better of staying close to the city and working on her lessons and honing her skills. Further attempts abroad were going to be pointless otherwise, and it raised questions about what to do about the Eclipse in general, and what would be done about it. Hilana, for the time being, was just going to have to focus on doing more and doing better. But she didn’t have to like it. Still, this was part and parcel of responsibility.

“You needn’t worry,” Hilana was quiet. “I don’t intend to take him out again, not after what happened.” For that matter, she also doubted that Khyan would trust her enough to go out with her somewhere again, especially when he had gotten wounded on her behalf. But that was a moot point. All that really counted was that he was feeling better and he recovered from his ordeal. She’d just have to bribe him and keep bribing him. “Does he need any ointment for his skin for where the wound was?” She had seen it healed and closed nicely, but at the same time... if there was something she could provide, then why not?

She was happy that he liked the cookie one as it was - she had had some concerns that it wouldn’t hold up, but they had held up on the way from the Luxium to the Umbrium, and the jammy filling had not gone through the cookie cup of caused it to fall apart. The rest of the tarts were all for him to enjoy and share with his family as he saw fit. He had enough activity and his metabolism worked well enough that he likely could eat them all and not gain an ounce or look anything less than as perfect as he was.

While he did better under the influence, Hilana wasn’t about to even attempt it. She already knew that weapons and tequila didn’t mix, though that was less from personal experience and more from patching up others. And while her tolerance was considerable, it had been quite a while since she’d done much more than swing a beautiful pair of enchanted maces down on Orcani skulls when she had traveled up the Mount. And yet, swords took more finesse than maces - she wasn’t of the size where she could swing something that was going to hack and slash regardless of armour, and with lighter blades, one had to have an aim and a purpose to pinpoint just the right spots. Today was going to be more about form than much else, going through the motions and connecting and training her instincts and reflexes in hopes that the muscle memory was still there. “Just some juice for me, please, Dominus,” she inclined her head to him. Only now that drinks were offered did she sit in one of the chairs, and would accept it when she had it to enjoy it. “Gratias.”

[Aeros]

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Regarding the dragonshards, Æros lifted his arm, gazing at the Lunicite in his possession as it glinted in the Umbrium’s dim light. “It is lovely, isn’t it? She’s more of a visual artist than I– her passion is building sets for theatre and the like with her Masquerade; really a lot more convenient than physical props; easy to modify and everything she makes is so very convincing.” He spoke musingly, words woven with admiration. His sister didn’t do this for any reason other than personal pleasure, given her wealth; her art brought her immense fulfillment.

“I’ve not actually used the dragonshard much, but supposedly, it can either amplify my spells or reduce the æther cost. Isn’t that neat?” He did intend to use it to some degree today, if only to lessen the strain of using a newly minted rune.

And then when the subject shifted to Khyan, he thought for a moment. “I believe he has all he needs, given the consummate skill of the chirurgeons in charge of his care. The thought is kind, though…but I won’t outright say it’s not necessary. I’ll ask him if he’d like anything.” Æros spoke thoughtfully, though he did genuinely appreciate how much she wanted to help, to atone.

“...but really. My own nature is curious, perhaps a bit avaricious, even. These far off places you go…do keep me in the loop.” Fully aware of the danger involved, Æros was a person driven by desire, and these excursions at the behest of both the Vigilia and Founders themselves came across, to him, as a great way to achieve personal gain.

It was simply that it did not serve him to have Khyan go, to have his lover put at risk…but himself? That was different.

Æros nodded when she declined the alcohol, pretty much expecting that answer, knowing that most did not share his particular quirks. He gestured to a few of the bottles grouped apart from the rest. “Help yourself– there’s peach, blackberry, and cherry.”

Though the glass was tinted somewhat, one could easily tell which was which by color. For himself, he decided ouzo over ice. After he finished his glass, he stood, collecting his weapon in the same motion, walking towards the center of the courtyard. As he moved, “...join me when you’re ready; first strike is yours– you are my guest, after all.”

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'Thoughts'

"Vallenor Tongue/Speech"

"Vastien Tongue/Speech"

"Valasren Tongue/Speech"

"Common Tongue/Speech"

[Hilana Chenzira]

"That is very neat," Hilana agreed. "I think that that would work well, and we probably should have taken some... but I've beaten that horse to death by now." There was nothing she could do to change what had happened... but she could at least learn from it. She nodded when he said that Khyan had the best care possible where he was, and he likely wanted for nothing anyway. She half-wondered if he was rather pleased about the fact that he was in the Palatium Umbrium as a result. More than likely.

At his request to be kept in the loop, Hilana nodded. She did need to keep things quiet, and she was trying to do her best not to tell someone anything they didn't need to know, but Æros could read her like a book. She needed to be careful, and the Vastiana intended to be. Discretion was the name of the game now, and she needed to keep her big mouth shut. No exceptions. No guts, no glory.

She went with the cherry juice, pouring her glass full and sipping it. That was quite nice on the tongue indeed, and Hilana enjoyed the taste. There was a sweetness and a tartness, that pleased her greatly, and the way it froze to the ice made that further enjoyable. She really needed to make some more shaved ice one day with the prickly pear syrup... but that was going to be another day. She watched him with his ouzo, and had it been any other time, she might have had the same. But as it was, she wasn't inclined to play around with the aniseed liquor right now, but there would be other times. Besides, she didn't know just how strong it was, and while she could handle her drink, she also knew the stuff that the Fae liked was...well, strong indeed.

When the glasses were emptied, Hilana retrieved the falcata from her rucksack and unstrapped the sheath. Blunted though the blade was, it was still better to be carried in the sheath than not, lest someone think she was out to cause problems. The protective leather was returned to the bag, and she followed Æros out into the more open space of the courtyard. The soldiers had been amused to watch their healer swinging weapons off of the rack to test them for her own comfort in terms of weight and style, but the blade she had picked was quite sturdy. Had it been sharp, what with the multiple edges, it would have made for a rather deadly weapon with someone that was able to use it properly.

Which, admittedly until she got back into it, was not Hilana.

She stepped up to him, measuring the distance of their blades and considering the size of his own. The fae was bigger and heavier than she was, and a dancer to boot. Hilana might have some raw strength compared to him, but she doubted it. She would just have to utilize all of the speed she had. But speed was useless with her current level and how out of practice she was. No guts, no glory. Her falcata was almost the same length as the khopesh, and the girl lined the blade up, concentration in her eyes and face, before lunging along the side of the weapon. Her goal was to test his reflexes, and see if she could get past the wicked belly of the blade and move past to get to his guard.