Canticum Canticorum [Læbirius]

[Finn]

"Ah, but 'twas mild criticism of Zaichaer in Kalzasi. I suppose if we had the Silver Sentinels there, the crime would have been solved. But I could not prove the aggressors..." He shrugged it off. "It took a fair amount of time and effort to recover. Thankfully, I knew a skilled necromancer."

As for Zalkyriax's mind, "The dragons live long and they take the long view. His Exalted Majesty treats with the Divine Twins. Taking a more active role in the governance of Solunarium is likely a means to steer it back toward what the Founders intended, or the future they require." To his mind, it had taken generations of elves to change Solunarium from what it had been to what it was now; of course, there were plenty of things he didn't like about it, balanced by the things he did.

His head canted to the side as she shared privileged opinions, but then he smiled.

"I would brook such criticisms to foster more connection and cooperation between them," he said with a smile. "If you promise not to go easy on me."

Goodwill could be encouraged, as well as more connections in the Luxium, high and low, and there was also the knowledge that he could learn how the Golden Guard trained, the better to defend Arvaelyn against them should Thalya or Arkaenyn attempt a coup - one just never knew with Solunarium. The breaking of his lute and his hand had only been one of several incidents of violence against him, whether physical or financial. Even with the power afforded him by his sometime uniform, his proximity to the Umbraran crown, and all, he had spent too much of his life powerless in the face of nobler people, and he knew that no matter how high he might fly, there was always gravity.

But if he was friends with the Pontifex and this Princeps, that was two Luxian houses who might be less inclined to clip his wings.

[Talisman]

"Fortunate, indeed. We would be lessened without your talents here. Kalzasi, at least, has their Circle of Spells and a number of mages." Vespera had had to learn about such things, though she was certainly no Sentinel or diplomat; but she was a Princess, and her education was thorough indeed. While she was still learning much, she might well be able to benefit from someone like Finn when it came to learning more about the world outside her homeland. Being caught flat-footed had happened once. It could not be allowed to happen again.

But she absorbed what he said about the dragons, nodding slowly. Solunarium as a whole revered them, and Vespera was a perfectly capable wyvern rider... but dragons were something else entirely. These ancient beings commanded fear and respect, and she had, like nearly everyone else that day last season, sank down to the Crownwyrm when his ferocious gaze had been turned on them. Insights were certainly welcome. One needed to tread very carefully around the Dynasty, especially since they were going to make themselves known once again; and dragons were something one would be wise to never get comfortable with. That His Exalted Majesty communed with the long-silent Founders offered some comfort, and it would be something for the Moonborn to meditate on. Whether it was true or not, it was what the Mesminstrel offered, and she could accept it at face value.

When he sought to reassure her, her lips quirked, and the Princess did laugh. "Rest assured, Finn, that I will not take it easy on you. It would be damning to both of our reputations, and what respect you would hope to earn would be lost. You know what they say about reputations. Lifetimes to build, seconds to destroy. In private, that might be something else, but around others..." she clicked her tongue. A servus brought a platter of food over to the booth, the first time anyone had so much as dared approach, but this servus wasn't the property of the cabaret that they were in; the trappings of the slave were that of Astraeon. "Gratias," she nodded in acknowledgement and acceptance of the Hytori-seeming servus, who set the tray between the two ensconced within the booth before disappearing again.

"Out of curiosity, aside from Mesmer, what Runes do you possess? I don't suppose that Reaving is one of them?" she would select a date and take a careful, delicate bite out of the sweet fruit. One might have thought she would have already probed his aura for such things, or perhaps she was just being polite and asking.

[Finn]

The Circle of Spells had seemed like a thing to avoid when he was young. His mentor had taught him privately, breaking its code in order to keep his word to Finn's deceased grandmother. Perhaps that was why he had started out so secretively and maintained that habit. Then, he hadn't wanted people to be moved by magic if they weren't moved by his music. In Solunarium, they didn't bat an eyelash at pairing music and magic at every turn. He still was of two minds about that.

"I shall thank you now even if I begrudge you my bruises in the future," he promised with a smile. When her servus brought food, he murmured an echo of her thanks. That a princess thanked her slaves was a telling point for a common born man such as him. He knew it wasn't everything, but it was something.

Even though everything in Solunarium seemed calculated, he hoped that there were some indicators of people's goodness.

"I have also mastered Traversion," he admitted, waiting for her to take the first morsel before taking a date for himself. "No Reaving, though I believe once I am made a full Vigil, I might be encouraged to learn more. I had thought to learn scrivening at some point; I am told between that and my Mesmer, I could enforce contractual agreements between the two. I don't suppose that will be helpful as a Sentinel unless I am used for diplomatic purposes."

Considering for a moment, he wondered how Reaving was viewed here. In Kalzasi, it was oft considered the bailiwick of the Dawnmartyrs, but he assumed the Solunarian reavers wouldn't kowtow to the memory of Arcas, let alone the prince of Kalzasi.

[Talisman]

"If you do not begrudge me the bruises, then I am not working you hard enough," Vespera said pleasantly, swirling her wine in her goblet before she took a sip of it. As elegant as she seemed, there was a mischief to her tone when it came to the talk of training. She was quite serious about it, and if he was serious about joining the Guard for training, then she would put him through the ringer. "If I do my job right, you will be cursing me for a day or three after... but I do hope that you'll make sure your Amatus does not come for my head as a result of giving you what you seek," her lips quirked. That was commentary enough on the Dragon-blooded Prince, and the Moonborn Princess was not about to denigrate him. There was little point. If there was to be some hope that the realm could work together, it would be when cooler heads prevailed and those who saw the benefit of partnership were determined enough to push for it.

The servus was warded, as one might have expected, though he did raise his eyes briefly to look at Finn when he thanked him. He did not react otherwise, nor respond; it would have been inappropriate. And further, once he was beyond the wards of the booth, he seemed to vanish in the distance from the young Kalzasern Mesminstrel's perceptions. All the same, the drinks would be taken care of so that the pair of them engaged in their conversation would not need feel any lack of refreshment.

"Traversion can be a powerful tool in the right hands when it comes to a fight," she nodded. "Beneficial, especially for your spatial awareness. Nothing better, aside from perhaps Semblance for such a trait." Every sort of magic was useful in a fight, if you were resourceful and creative enough. "I would expect that you would be encouraged to take it up. There are a number of Sentinels that would be able to initiate you into that craft." Kinetics was another that was complementary. To hear of his plans of combining Scrivening and Mesmer, Vespera arched an eyebrow, her fingertip tapping the half of the date still in her fingers. She considered that from what she knew. "Theoretically? That should be possible. Interesting, but possible. Scrivening, as you doubtless already know, is an ancient tool that forms the foundation of many arcane arts. It can enhance, detract, supplement, and create... as you will it. And with Mesmer's ability to control a target... By using Scrivening to reinforce it, you've created your fully-binding contract. But for diplomatic purposes?" She finished her date and selected a peeled slice of orange.

"I was gifted Reaving by my mother," Vespera admitted. "Both of my elder brothers possess it as well. But my favourite is Negation." It wasn't smart to give away her secrets, but Finn was telling her his, after all, and truthfully, she imagined that if he went to his Mother-in-Law to be after this encounter, the Sentinels likely had a very considerable dossier on her. And all of which he could read up on, so she may as well be forthcoming about it. "Done properly... it can shut down everything and everyone else. And you may have already noticed how many rely on magic to gain advantages over others here."

[Finn]

"I would not dream of cursing the blessed name of a Princess of the Blood," he protested with a gentle lilt of humor. While he daren't use Mesmer upon her either, he thought it safe to assume that they were dancing the courtly dance. While the Re'hyæn elves might stress the differences from their Hytori roots, politics was not so different here from what he had read of the Game of Houses in ancient Sol'Valen.

Finn couldn't in good conscience omit this meeting from reports to the Vigilia and his fiancé, nor would any intelligence she garnered from the evening be kept from the powers that be within her gens. Plots within plots... He was going to have to take up chess, the better to learn foresight, to see where he ought to be ten steps from the present rather than merely reacting.

The bard nodded thoughtfully and her response, as well as to what she shared of her own powers. An eyebrow raised slightly; this was all quite egalitarian of her.

"I have mostly utilized Traversion in combat training," he admitted, "although I believe that once the Eclipse has passed, reaching my homeland in one leap ought not lay beyond my abilities. Some have sneered and called it the magic of a slave; certainly, I would use it to pull His Exalted Highness out of danger if our combined powers were insufficient to overcome that danger." He shrugged eloquently. "And whatever magic is to come will be put into service of my amatus and my God."

He did wonder whether he ought to work more toward goals within the Vigilia, as the future leader of the Leh'anafel, or ornament of a prince. Time would tell.

For such a large man, he was not overindulgent with the food, nor with the wine. If his manners still hinted at foreignness, he did an admirable job of conforming with local custom. Perhaps that was another reason he had been accepted into the Vigilia when it had no longer been required as a cover.

[Talisman]

Vespera, if someone had asked her later, would admit that Finn intrigued her. There was something about his music, his behaviour, and his devotion that spoke to her about him. Initially, it had been his music that had drawn her in - and the desire to have him perform at an event of her own - but that he seemed interested in building rather than destroying was something that she liked. Of course, perhaps she was wrong: she had not sought his Symphony or his Aura, nor would she. Even if she certainly had the rank to do it, he was still a member of the Vigilia Argenti, and even if he wasn't, he was protected by the rank of his Amatus and his family. That left her with observing him, listening to what he had to say, and how he said it. She understood the doublespeak, the reading between the lines, and understanding what went unsaid as much as what was actually spoken.

For someone who had grown up knowing that politics and the presented image and reputation were everything, Finn was oddly very real. And that was a refreshing breath of air.

"Utility is what we make of it. The beauty of the Arcane Crafts is that they can be mixed, used, and transformed so well that you are limited to your creativity and your own ability to manifest your desires. Traversion may have some connotations, and some may feel a sort of way about it, but Her Serene Highness, Princess Valaera has Traversion and she made the journey to Auris to lead in the creation of the portal to the Temple of the Radiant Rending, no?" Vespera smiled at that. "You could use it to protect your Amatus, or go on a vacation somewhere private where you can enjoy yourselves at times of leisure. It is a decidedly useful tool for diplomats and warriors, not just the traders and those who are predisposed to a different class of work. Utility is everything. Magic is a divine gift, and it is available for all here, not restricted like it is some of those ignorant backwaters abroad."

While the young Princess of Gens Astraeon was left to wonder about his motivations, she was patient enough and interested enough to take the time to explore and find out more. Relationships took time, and while he had been pleasantly open to her now, perhaps because she had the element of surprise by admitting who she was to him and that might have slightly set him off-kilter to be approached in such a place and such a manner, she knew she wouldn't get that again. But she liked him thus far. "I imagine that you must be missing your homeland... But you are well-placed to get word from it, at least. Surely your mapping of Slipspace is well-formed to make that jump, but even if it wasn't, there are others close to you that could show you their own paths, no? Omiros," she held her hand out, and the collared servus appeared again to their view. He carefully placed a small brocade pouch within her upturned palm with a murmured "Domina" and a bowing of his head.

"Gratias," she nodded, and he stepped back and away again to his post, such as it was. The pouch was not particularly large, but it was woven with her House's colours and its sigil was embroidered on the front and back, and she offered it to Finn. Contained within was a round, smoothly polished blue crystal, slightly larger than a cherry. "For you. You may recognize it as Mnemonosyte, the lorestone," the Princess explained. "I've had my information with regards to my event placed within it, and while I will of course leave word with others, this will certainly grant you access. If you would like to bring your Amatus, he is welcome." Vespera doubted that Arvaelyn would wish to come, all things considered, but one never knew.

If Finn chose to activate the lorestone with a touch of his aether, he would see a small projection of the Princess sitting across from him. "I, Fosca Astraeon-Sol'Avaerys Vespera Princeps, extend an invitation to Finn Farstrider, to perform at my party on the 29th of Rime." The time and address followed, along with the details for communication, and the projection would fade to the dulcet sounds of a harp being played.

[Finn]

The bard nodded from time to time, acknowledging a salient point, and by the end of her perspective, he was smiling. When first he had come to Solunarium, its people had seemed like a fearsome bloc of belief. Even before he wore Sentinel blacks, he had shielded his symphony from the direction of the government mesmers, but he was still aware of which melodies they were pushing. Now he understood the music better.

"Once the Eclipse is solved beyond our Atraxian borders, perhaps," he admitted. "Until then, I would rather not chance such a far-flung journey unless absolutely necessary."

Omiros, he said to himself, committing the servus' name to memory. They all seemed docile enough due to social engineering and magic, but he still saw people as people and knew the best way to get what he wanted was often just to treat them that way. Of course, the servi in the palace were more frustrated than anything when he tried to do things for himself, or uncomfortable if he showed undue gratitude.

Finn accepted the pouch carefully with both hands, showing its value. After looking and listening, he smiled once more, softly.

Earnestly, "Your name is like music, Domina. I cannot speak for Arvælyn's social calendar, but I will surely be there."

fin.

[Talisman]

Review

Name: Finn

XP: 15 Points, can be used for Mesmer
Injuries/Ailments: None
Loot: 1 x Mnemonosyte Crystal, Common quality. Enchanted with an invitation from Vespera. Can be reused or overwritten if desired.

Notes: This could be the start of a very interesting friendship. Finn held himself well here, and made a good impression with a Sanguinist Princess. Miracles never cease!

Thank you for indulging me with this thread, I greatly enjoyed it.