An Innocuous Conversation [Lykos]

[Talisman]

20 Searing, Year 123

[Closed - Lykos]

With Hilana at work, he at least had Lia and the Sentinels around to fill his time. Some of the hooded, veiled figures were more talkative than others, but by and large he was treated well and quite politely. Some of the stranger behaviours and rituals could be explained by the pair of Vastii, and some just made sense considering the circumstances. There wasn't much for it, but it was a slow, steady introduction into this very strange world that was opposite of what they speculated his previous one to be.

All the same, he was able to do some work on the cold room. Lia liked to look it over and assist, surveying their handiwork with scrutinizing eyes, both mundane and arcane, and they usually had a Sentinel or two along to assist. Checking over the wards, reinforcing them, investigating the pictographs. There was much to do in the creation of the frostrylyth dragonshards that he was working on, but the way it was being done was fascinating, and they were all looking forward to fine-tuning the process and enhancing the quality of their efforts.

There was usually a Sentinel or two observing while they worked in there, and they largely stayed out of the way until or unless assistance was asked for. If there was an issue that went too long unnoticed, one might say something, but this was Lykos' brainchild and project. It wasn't until he was had finished with his work for the day that the Sentinel standing out of the way by the wall spoke up. Their black equipment made it difficult to tell much about their race - they might be human, they might be elf, they might be a mix, or they might be neither. They were tall and of average build. But one thing was for sure, all Sentinels assigned out here to the Citadel were highly trained and extremely competent.

"This is going well," the voice sounded masculine, at least. "It is interesting to watch you work," their Common was accented, far more than the Vastian sisters that made up his constant companions. "There is a ward in the western corner that is close to overloading." A gloved hand indicated the ward and its anchor in question. It might hold for a few more days, but perhaps adjusting it now was wise since the Sentinel had seen fit to bring it to the demigod's attention.

!	Message from: Talisman
	This thread involves Lykos' visit with a Mysterious Stranger as per the Ransera 2023 Birthday award.

[Rickter]

An Innocuous Conversation
Searing 20th, 123rd Year, A.o.S.

Time spent working on this project had only consumed more and more of Lykos' mind, the perpetual project that had become a daily part of his routine since he'd first arranged it. Though things had been a bit rocky at the start of it, he hadn't allowed that to slow him down in the slightest, not when the lupine demigod believed he could potentially achieve something valuable here. The citadel would have it's own cold room where Frostlyth dragonshards would grow naturally, he merely needed to refine the processes involved as the schema of all the pictography grew elaborate over time.

It wasn't that he had to make changes to the initial design, just that the more time that was spent fixing the ward enchantments involved, the greater the detail went into incorporating more into the layouts themselves. Much of it was merely Lykos fussing over the minor possibilities that he wanted to minimize, if not avoid completely, while he tackled the work and improved aspects of it as he went along. Truth be told, his Scrivening work was improving a lot more over the past week, if only because the original schemas weren't fully designed to account for the newer technical errors that stemmed.

But progress. That's all this had been was a process in which progress remained measured, insofar, Lykos had found that the wards he finally instilled were resolute and ingrained with the foundation. A stellar achievement on his part since he could've likely done that from the start, if only due to the fact he had yet to complete a physical recovery from whatever happened beneath the crystal tree. As time progressed though greater and even more complicated wards were easier to work out, though, the wolf didn't have need of such things given the room was only intended to serve one sole purpose.

In that time though even while Lana was caught up in work and other things, Lia had been just as accompanying during the cycles in which he spent adding to the pictographs etched on the floor. Much of the paintwork with the ink had been done almost from the get-go, whereas the stoneworks themselves were what needed to bear the brunt of the work. And while Lykos did practice diligence to always make sure they were in tip-top shape, there was also the share of Sentinels that gradually became more involved with the project as well.

The demigod would've never pondered the significance of it before, but noticing the rise in trend, he'd realized just how much of a presence he'd started to maintain here. In a way, it felt nice to start befriending even some of the sentinels here, as it made him feel more cozy to the idea of this place being his temporary home in the long run. Not that there existed doubt prior, he just hadn't forgotten the fact that one day, he would likely return to Kalzasi where he should've remained. Having stayed here for as long as he did, however, Lykos felt as much part of this place as he did the North.

"Ha, well thanks." He quipped with a humored chuckle as he looked up from his current task, eyeing the sentinel currently accompanying him before his gaze returned to the floor. Currently, the wolf had been scoring a few more designs into the original layout, incorporating carefully etched markings that resembled branches of a snowflake at each corner of the pictograph. "To be honest, half the time I'm not sure about what I'm doing entirely. Most of it has just been trial and error, but when I look at something and feel that it's off or wrong... Well, I just nitpick at what it needs until I finally figure it out." He gently ruminated after having felt amused by the observation, curious as to what parts of the project had been interesting to observe.

Though, at the gesture of an anchor possibly overloading, he quickly looked up from his focus in the direction indicated. A look of annoyance stemmed within the concerned gaze he briefly held, as this had been the second time he'd had to correct such an issue. "Ah, shit. I appreciate you pointing that out, sir." He remarked with a friendly grin before lowering his scoring tool on the ground, a soft groan made as he pushed off his knees to stand firmly on his feet. Since the first set of wards had been charged with the aetherite dragonshards, it had been another series of tests to find limitations within the groundwork, which in turn helped locate any flaws found in the original design of the schema.

Just the other day he'd found such a flaw where the aether drawn in by the anchor was already too much, so much in fact that he needed to create a secondary font to draw in the excess amount. When he moved over to inspect this one, he could see a similar theme with the issue, but it got him thinking about the rest of the wards that had been set in place. There were only so many focal points he could redirect the excess energy to, and from the look of this anchor, it seemed a better idea to reincorporate a different design; rather than add onto the original that had been drawn. "Looks like there are too many passages connecting to this one, which would justify why the anchor is overloading with aether before it can channel it all properly."

His reasoning stemmed from careful scrutiny over the design, but with a blink of his eyes he focused his aether into his vision, and gazed upon the painted ink that served as the passages for the aether to travel. "Just as I thought." He practically murmured to himself at this rate, clearly used to consoling himself when it came to approaching these obstacles. From what he could see though, there were only four separate links that channeled aether. Which would've been fine before, or so he thought, but seeing now how much aether the anchor stored; that clearly led him to realize simplicity would only go so far here.

"So to lessen the stress here, there'll have to be double the amount of passages. That way a couple of simpler anchors can be instilled to lighten the load, and the flow won't be so congested by the first design." He blinked and the golden hues in his eyes faded away, their gentle blues drifting back to the sentinel before he gently grinned. From the assortment of tools and materials stacked around the crates, the scrivening tools along with a vial of Spellwright's ink lifted into the air. Gently they lulled their way to the wolf as he got back down on his knees, and held his hands open for the materials to drift into their grasp.

"Sorry, I tend to get caught up in this mess. Everyone's worked so hard to see it pay off, that I wanna make sure it lives up to their effort." He admitted calmly with a warm smile shot to the sentinel, his gaze back down on the pictography while he organized his tools.

[Talisman]

The Sentinel had been able to tell at a glance where the bottleneck was and how best to fix it, but that was why Sentinel Phocion had assigned him to what had been called freezer duty. Scrivening, Negation, and Semblance were his specialties. But this was not about him and what he could do, it was about the abilities of the Kalzasern demigod who had made this room his own project. They wanted to see what he was capable of; this whole room was a constant, on-going test in and of itself.

Decius studied Lykos as he analyzed the problem with the ward and the pictographs, a faint smile under his veil. There was no outwards movement to indicate any change in his expression. But he was satisfied that Lykos was able to diagnose and repair it. With the nature of the problem, it was better to do so now than to allow it to get out of hand. Considering the nature of the issue, it was better that the Rathari had heeded his advice rather than needing to go back and have to do damage control as well later on.

"Much better. You need not apologize, Lykos. That is why I brought it to your attention," the Vigil was mild. "There is much at work here; and I am sure that if the Spider had not taken your memories from you, you would have already have caught it by now." He seemed fairly at ease, and his body language said the same. He may have been on duty, but he was relaxed enough that when Lykos had turned back to the work he had been adjusting and reinforcing, Decius reached up and undid his veil, moving it to the side.

His features did seem to be Vastian, like Lia and Lana, but his skin was much lighter than theirs, and his eyes were a pale grey with flecks of blue in them. He seemed to be middle-gaed, though lean and sturdy. He did offer him a smile, though. "I am Sentinel Decius," he offered. "Have your Vastiana companions set about to finding a way to return what was lost to you yet?"

[Rickter]

The lupine demigod wasted no time in getting to the root of the problem, and took the scoring tool first to etch another set of branches outward from the overloading anchor. He drew about six of them, three on each side, before he created new nodes for the next set of anchor points to be made. Admittedly he was intrigued with the remark the Vigil made upon the Spider, if only because the mention of Her sparked an eerie sensation down his neck. The ghost of chitters looped through his mind at that moment, and when he seemed distracted he quickly shook it off as an afterthought.

"Seems like she took more than whatever I Bargained for sometimes." He murmured faintly before he glanced over, seeing the relaxed sentinel remove his veil from where he sat. It felt strange to the wolf to see someone drop their visage, let alone their guard, around him so casually in comparison to the others who were always on duty. Not that the other sentinels hadn't done similar things, dropping some leverage of formality with their post when they would interact with the lupine demigod.

Truthfully, Lykos felt he was better for it due to the company, all the same, it intrigued him to see the ones who dropped their guards as much as Decius had. "Pleasure to meet you, Sentinel Decius." He greeted heartedly before he set aside the scoring tool, having etched the final circle that made the sixth node. Lykos realized he would likely have to incorporate this same design with the other anchor points in the room, just to make up for the amount of passages that would have to channel the aether flowing throughout the chamber walls. When he grabbed the Spellwright's Ink and paintbrush, however, he began to stroke it with patterns that associated his domain overall.

Frost was a hard concept to imagine contained, especially when he had heard about it lingering beyond Solunarium's borders. As much as he wanted to do something about the long night, in his current state, there was little to nothing that Lykos could currently do. But soon, hopefully, he would see that changed. In the meantime... "They're looking into it, aye." He answered plainly still with a gentle grin on his face, his blue eyes only wandering from the pictography when he finally finished another branch of what he painted as a snowflake.

"They're looking into every avenue they can think of, and eventually, they'll even accompany me to Kalzasi when the time is right." That much he looked forward to but with mixed conjecture, as he wasn't entirely sure how he felt about returning to what should've been his former home. The Lord of Frost undoubtedly belonged in the North where the cold always called out to him, but Lykos couldn't deny that he felt more at home here thanks to the effort of those two sisters.

"Until then," he added with a simple gesture of setting his materials aside, "its only continuing the work here until something comes along." When he lifted his hands over the pictograph schema, the rune on his left shoulder started shimmering with a deep and focused breath. Lykos had been gradually recuperating over the past few weeks, particularly after what had happened with the Voidsent that came after Lia shortly after starting this project.

While the usual light show that came with the use of his Negation rune did not manifest, there still came fluorescent waves of that same light throughout his skin. Aether threads laced their way out from his hands and into the new markings on the floor, and filled them with the same neon green and blue lights before the nodes lit up one by one. Instilling the new perimeters into the extra set of anchors, he finally relaxed his hands and took a moment to assess the effort made. "That should do it. Now to do the same for the other focal points." He remarked with a glance around the room, taking count of them all once more, before looking to Sentinel Decius with a friendlier grin.

[Talisman]

"The Lord of Flesh will take a mile if you give her an inch, so I've heard," Decius agreed with him when he said that it felt like she had taken more than he had bargained for. But such was true of many power players, divine or not. If one was not careful, perhaps to a point of excess... "Many can get caught in a spider's web... even things one might not expect to. The spiders prepare with patience and persistence and wait for their prey to come to them." He studied Lykos' work from his post, nodding along - whether it was to his words or his pictographs or both was up in the air; Sentinels were always a challenge to understand. And with the wards woven into their uniforms, not to mention whatever they personally employed, understanding these strange guardians could be a challenge, even if you were born to the culture. For a Peregrinus, it was much harder.

"That will be a trip for them. Going abroad is much different than the Sands that the nomads are used to, especially now. But they are both skilled Elementalists, so in theory, they should be fine. The Eclipse beyond the borders of Solunarium disrupted magic, but I understand that when there is a divine presence, the ability to use one's Runes is no longer impinged," his Common was only the faintest bit thicker than Hilana's, but he knew he had an easier time talking to him in the shared tongue than in Vastian, though Lykos' understanding of the tongue was getting better the more he listened to it. Athalia and Hilana were patient teachers, and it clearly wasn't Hilana's first rodeo when it came to teaching Vastian to newcomers.

"That does look a lot better," he agreed, activating his Semblance to study Lykos' work. After some moments of silence while he worked it through in his head, Decius nodded again. "That is a good solution. It will do what you need it to do." He watched as the northerner started on enhancing the next glyph on the wall. "Before the Custodes Deorum was formed, one of my previous postings was abroad," the Sentinel told him. "I learned about other members of the divine pantheon outside of His Divine Radiance and Her Argent Luminescence. The stores of Myshala were rather interesting ones... and she is rather popular around most of the world."

[Rickter]

Admittedly the mere mention of the Lord of Flesh created tension in his shoulders, as the thought of the creature it belonged to still unsettled his nerves. Though Lykos had yet to see the Mistlord in all Her glory, the faintest memory of her impressions wasn't lost on him entirely. The interest that Decius had with the subject intrigued the lupine demigod, though, Lykos wasn't demonstrating any real joy in discussing the matter. "She certainly left an impression on me. It's not one you can easily forget, I'll admit that right now." He murmured as he adjusted his gaze briefly, if only to scoop up the materials and head for the next sigil he needed to expand upon.

"If what you say is true," he regarded after the mentioning of the Eclipse, "then the sisters ought to be fine within my presence." If Divinity had any sort of influence in that regard, then he certainly didn't mind being a battery to charge their magic. There was also the fact he himself wasn't going to let them remain unguarded either, given they were his packmates and nothing in this world would easily change that unchallenged. While he was familiar enough with Varvaerynism to understand their place in Solunarium, that didn't stop the wolf from personally seeing to their well-being on his own.

The sisters had become immeasurably important to Lykos, therefore he saw fit to consider their safety even beyond the Sands of Solunarium. At the commendation of his work on the previous pictograph sigil, Lykos looked back over his shoulder, glancing back at Decius with a nod as he knelt down to rest the materials on the floor once more. "Bit of a patchwork really, but it gets the job done where it needs to." Honestly after all this, Lykos pondered the longevity of making a career out of this. Not that it had been fun in the beginning to be sure, but the lupine demigod doubted he'd ever have the same source of materials to work with ever again.

Even as a being of his stature, he certainly felt no entitlement to whatever best resources were offered available. Though Lyko supposed there was a thrill yet in gathering such materials as well, leading him into a briefly introverted debate over the matter. Listening to the sentinel once more as his scoring tool was the first to levitate from the floor, Lykos gave him a mildly intrigued grin as he could only ponder the topics in store. Myshala, while certainly his least favorite, would seemingly be a more prominent figure he'd have to reacquaint himself with. Much to his bitter regret. Whatever the wolf had Bargained for, the idea of it already made him yearn to take it back. What was done was done, however, and he could stand to learn something more from it if he didn't cower with his tail between his legs at Her name alone.

"For whatever reason that doesn't surprise me." He admitted firstly with a blank stare to the floor, before he took the floating tool and started the scoring procedure once again. "I only know what the ladies have shared, even if it were only so little as a moment of interaction between them. I can attest though..." He paused and slightly craned his head away from the pictograph before him. Part of him wanted to shudder as he recollected the chittering at the edges of his hearing, the memory of those sounds still haunting like a foreboding melody. "She's certainly more than what She personifies to be."

Wishmaker. Such a moniker was one that might've normally given Lykos hope, at least, he felt it might've once before he had awoken. Now, it just resembled something he dreaded. "What all have you heard?" He inquired respectively though the lack of curiosity wasn't completely lost in his tone, though, his focus had also re-engaged with the pictograph whilst he proceeded to ask the inquiry.

[Talisman]

"Myshala is a Mistlord that is one of the most active divine entities in the history of the world. Others might pay attention here or there, some may even get involved, but Myshala has the consistency that many do not. Further, due to Her age... She's certainly one of the strongest and most capable. She governs the divine spheres of Bargains, Wishes, and Lust." Decius scrutinized Lykos' work, his eyes enhanced through Semblance in order to study every mark, every stroke, every carving. It was satisfying to watch his efforts here; the Rathari Demigod, for all that he had forgotten, was doing quite well with Negation. Granted, books and tools had been provided, and the elder of the sisters, the strange one from the Void, was far more into Negation than the younger Vastiana, but books from their father's notes had also been procured for Lykos to work with. There was no shortage of arcane assistance here. Sentinel Phocion wanted to see what all Lykos could do, and it gave the Sentinels assigned to the Custodes Deorum a valuable opportunity to study him, too.

That being said, Frostrylyth shards were decidedly rare at this end of the world, so having them made like this? Could only be beneficial to the realm... assuming it was pulled off. But this room was warded so well, including by Decius' own handiwork, that even if the room imploded from something going wrong, the remainder of the Citadel would not only not be harmed, but likely wouldn't know until the door was opened and others entered it. That being said, if they were watching from Sentinel Phocion's office, that would be something else, but otherwise...

"The Spider Most Elegant lives in Her Palace of Plenty. That is Her own Realm, somewhere between the Land of Nod and the Aethereal Sea. As the name suggests, it is composed of endless rooms that stretch on, and on, and on. It's possible to travel there, but those that do are highly recommended to bring a gift. If She likes it, She will reward the giver with a key, and that will open two doors within her Palace. Within those rooms are what you desire the most... and what you fear the most. Which one you find first, that will be the question..." Decius continued. What sort of gift would please the Mistlord of Flesh? Something to think about. Varvaerynism meant that everything was solely dedicated to Varvara and Avaerys here, even books on Emblems of other divine figures were closely guarded and tantamount to heresy and treason amongst the masses. Sentinel Finn had had to bring the book, and subsequently take it with him. They were not allowed to keep it. Even here at the Citadel.

"There are Shrines dedicated to Her throughout the world, and She has a cult named the Orbocant that is devoted to Her and Her alone." The Sentinel leaned back against the wall, quirking one eyebrow at the work, though not commenting in either approval or otherwise. "You won't find any of them here... those that tried to were caught and sent back to where they came from... but since the three of you are going to visit Kalzasi, you might be able to find something there. And they, in turn, might be able to give you some guidance on how to get back to Myshala when you have a suitable offering. Something she most favours... in turn for what you most desire."

[Rickter]

As Decius continued to elaborate on Myshala there was meaningful contemplation on Lykos' behalf. A deity that dabbled in the affairs of mortals more than most other deific powers out there, now that sounded like something one should be wary of whether they were a draegir or not. Despite his current disposition already he understood there had to be a reason, in regards to the fact he instinctively felt a sense of dread at the mere mention of Her name. Whatever it was he did that brought up the Bargain between him and the Wishmaker, clearly, Lykos hadn't yet grasped the severity of his actions up to that point.

It was questionable if he would even ever come to that point, but, the lupine draegir hadn't spent as much time caught up in it as he used to. "The Palace of Plenty, huh?" He ruminated on the name for a minute after listening to Decius talk of it, intrigued by what possible riches the Wishmaker kept hidden away there. Myshala was certainly one with curious taste to be sure, finding value in the oddest of things within mortals. And Draegir. Evidently, there had to be a connection with her Lykos had not picked up yet.

"Sounds like a mythical Fae's tale honestly." He admitted to keep from having his interest piqued too much. As unnerved as he might've felt at the prospect of encountering Her again, the idea of seeing this palace in question did provoke a sense of innate curiosity. Was it because there was possibly that part of him he wanted to connect with? If everything Her subjects Bargained away did end up there, then it was only fair to assume his memories and identity were locked away somewhere within. And that required bringing a gift?

While he finished checking over the final additions to the glyphs, Lykos looked from his work back over to Decius, intrigued with the talk of Shrines and this cult that worshipped Her. "That's rather interesting, Sentinel Decius." He admitted with a soft grin even if the subject still might've unsettled him a bit, if only because the prospect of meeting Myshala again hadn't quite sunk in yet. Still, if he were going back to the North within the next few months, then it didn't hurt to consider this another route of approach either.

There were options on working toward reclaiming his lost life, that much he ascertained, so really it all boiled down to whatever they might discover after going to this Kalzasi in the north. "Thank you. Will you be accompanying us for such a journey?" He genuinely inquired out of curiosity, as he didn't doubt the resourcefulness of the Vastiana sisters, but another mind well versed in this matter could've only aided the journey further.

[Talisman]

"It does sound like one, doesn't it?" Decius agreed. "But such is the way of things. Gods can be strange creatures. Some are straightforward. Some aren't. Which one you are, well, that remains to be seen, doesn't it?" the Sentinel had a small smile on his face. Lykos, as it was, was quite straightforward. There was no guile or trickery with him: what one saw was what one got. "But when you've been around as long as Myshala has, perhaps it is another way to pass the time. There's enough records of such encounters that one can surmise that it is no idle Fae story. And you've already had a run-in with Her."

For one with a seemingly infinite lifespan, being able to draw on such myths and legends and build them or break them was something else to do. Myshala's motivations were impossible to guess at, and Decius knew better than to even attempt to go down that rabbit hole. Not when they had enough going on here. When he had spent those years in Kalzasi, he had learned plenty about Gods beyond His Divine Radiance and Her Argent Luminescence. But it was to Them that his loyaties remained, and always would.

"I likely will, yes. I have made the suggestion to Sentinel Phocion." The Moonborn would have the final say, after all, but considering the women had no experience with Kalzasi... They'd need some to come along in order to help out with this, and while once Lykos was beyond their borders, he may no longer be a guest of the Custodes Deorum... he was still an asset, and just cutting him loose seemed like a waste. That and the sisters Chenzira were not about to just abandon him, and he would be likely travelling back and forth. Having a Sentinel on hand to cover things would go that much further in smoothing the process along. "It is ultimately his decision."

Well-satisfied with Lykos' efforts in the freezer, the Sentinel had little more to add now that the Pictograph had been amended and amplified. It would more than do the job, and he, like the others, was certainly curious to see just what could be done with them and the Lord of the Frost.

[Rickter]

The Lupine Draegir nodded along to everything he had heard. Indeed he had encountered the Stitchmother 'in the flesh' as it were, and for all he knew, it probably wasn't the first time Lykos had crossed paths with Her. Having understood this though, and hearing that Decius would likely be accompanying them to the North; brought a sense of comfort to any underlying uncertainty the Lupine felt before.

He appreciated Decius after all, and among the other sentinels, he had grown to be a favorite when engaging in conversation. "I'm hopeful he grants permission," he regarded with his expression softly warm, "granted he's already been so accommodating for me." A fact that would never remain lost on Lykos for as long as he drew breath, which could go on for a very long time for a deity such as him.

Still, with his eyes back to the glyphs and the anchor nodes, he elected to give the aether network between them one final appraisal. After all, one such as him could never be too prudent with the extra contingencies he needed to install to make the whole array work. Once that last bit of review had come to pass, he would deem it time for dinner since he and Decius had been shut away in here for several hours.