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Re: by wing and claw
Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2023 4:33 pm
by Mirza
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Wholly unsatisfied by the sentinel's lack of reaction, Mirza sat quietly for the time she was forced to wait, cooing to her bird in Ecitharese nonsense and baby-talk, her angry fit of earlier seemingly forgotten. She snacked from her back, little more than dried food and a flatbread, and at one point she even fell asleep, leaning over the table from her chair.
She awoke and stood up in much the same motion when the door clanged open, revealing two sentinels now, but this one showed his face. Custodes Deorum was an unfamiliar phrase to her, but she knew it to be Vastian. Her expression didn't change at his muttering, and her face and gaze followed him as he seated himself across from her. She sat back in her chair, finding it comfortable for what it was and for her height and possession of a tail.
She had slept on the ground the night before this; she could sit or sleep most anywhere. Mirza kept quiet for a moment, an attempt to collect her thoughts as the new Sentinel Phocion questioned her. About her and her family... she questioned that herself, some. Why her mother and siblings were so convinced of coming to Solunarium was something only her mother knew, perhaps a feeling of lost love since her father had died, or a desire for change, to bury herself in the sand, to flee from conflicts that Mirza herself was too young to know about.
She blinked a few times and returned her gaze to the moonborn's. "I am a hunter. My family is my two brothers and my sister, of ages between thirteen and two hundred. My eldest brother should have long left the clutch, but we have stayed together. I am the only half-ling. My mother is five hundred years old, and she has had children before us, but we are the ones whom she clings to. I am twenty-five.
My father was a deserter of the military here, the Golden Guard. He fled into the Commonwealth, a failson of a family who could still claim Re'hyaen blood. He wove long tales of Solunarium and Lisymidris would listen, enraptured. She is old, but she is not wise. She thrives on instinct. But she is clever."
Mirza tapped a claw nervously on the table, afraid she may have misspoken. "She knows the wildlands of the Commonwealth in great depth, especially near the border, near Sentrium. She lives only six day's walk away. I do not think my father was a noble man in intentions or spirit, but he captured her greatest attention. I do not know, personally, the details of your Zalkyrian dynasty. I was sent to find out if it was even possible. I am the least threatening, and the wild clings to them far deeper than it does to me." She tilted her head to the side with as-yet unbroken eye contact to Phocion. "Does your lord dislike green dragons?"
Re: by wing and claw
Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2023 4:54 pm
by Pharaoh
At the mention of the deserted father, Phocion nodded once.
"Len'Florævir, was it?" The question was obviously rhetorical. He had been briefed by his predecessor, that much was clear. "We have confirmed a record of his dishonour. His family bore the weight of his misdeed and thus you shall find no elven kin in the sands of Atraxia." No particular sign of empathy revealed itself upon his cool, stoic countenance.
He chuckled a bit at her characterisation of her mother, nodding as she concluded her explanation.
"So you are. Your mother was not unwise to tread lightly in sending you." Even if she had been dubbed unwise by her emissary daughter moments earlier. At the question about the Crownwyrm's predilections, he wrinkled his nose and shook his head.
"There is a fundamental disagreement between the Flights... a definitional argument, and those among the most difficult to resolve. When draconic temperament is thrown into the mix, well... Things can wax bombastic." He chuckled, recognising that for the understatement it was. He thought to elaborate, but it didn't seem terribly important in the here and now, so he declined to.
"Well, what I and my Assessors have gleaned from you..." Two more Sentinels would fade into view at his side, revealing themselves much as Vrydion had at the border earlier. "...is that you are a capable mage and you have been candid with us about your background and your intentions. You will be permitted to pass into the Umbrium, under the guise you wore when you arrived. Your Aura will be marked, so that Sentinels do not trouble you without cause. Have you come with any coin? Any resources with which to lodge and feed yourself during your time in the Sacred City?"
Re: by wing and claw
Posted: Thu Oct 12, 2023 5:40 pm
by Mirza
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Her expression bore no change at the mention of her father's family's destruction. She was the only Florævir left in the world. She did notice his choice of words in his remark, and Mirza felt she had spoken to harshly in her description of her mother. The dragon was wiser than most mortals, but less than many dragons her age — and it was a difficult difference to remember. She knew what she was doing, far moreso than Mirza did.
"Draconic temperament," she agreed. She had inherited it. She blinked in surprise when two more Sentinels revealed themselves. She held an appreciation for their stealth, and an annoyance with herself that she had not realized they were there. Such an act would be useful in ambush hunting, if she could not acquire a mount by which to chase things down. "If Solunarium houses a branch of the Guild of Coins, then I will have enough." She nodded affirmatively. She didn't know the markets of Solunarium or the Umbrium, or what she could afford herself now that she was here, but certainly the portion of the wealth amassed by her mother and gifted to her would suffice for years.
"I do not know your customs so much to answer this myself — Where do I stand here?" She knew of their castes, and her Re'hyaen blood, but her father was a traitor and her mother a dragon. She did not know what rights she was afforded under their law, and barely knew their law.
"If... I could borrow assistance for finding lodging, I would appreciate it." Mirza did not want to admit that she had never had to find housing for herself, having lived with her mother, who handled such things. She had not even thought of it when she had left. On her hunting trips, she simply slept outside, and when she was home, she slept at home. She realized she had assumed she would simply live in the wilderness, but now it felt like an awkward, unseemly assumption.
Re: by wing and claw
Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2023 1:12 pm
by Pharaoh
"If that is your sole source of coin, then you will not have enough." Phocion replied sharply, "The Crown does not suffer foreign influence on our economy, nor temples to unsanctioned gods as all such branches are." At that, he would produce a gold piece and slide it across the table for inspection. It was an Aværyan Aven, bearing the image of the golden god on one side and the silver goddess was wrought incongruously in gold on the other.
"However, I will accord you certain courtesies, in consideration of your role as an emissary. I believe I can utilise discretionary funds to lodge you for a week or so while we explore your... diplomatic potential." He said, with a gesture of one gloved hand.
"But know you this: My allowances will extend no further than the jurisdiction of the Umbrium. If you should travel to the Luxium, you will be regarded legally as no more than a peregrina- a foreigner with no recognised rights. You may try to deceive, but you will not pass for a local- Not even under a guise, with your accent such as it is. Those who are familiar with it are like to judge you poorly. The Orkhan who rule in Ecith are not much loved here.
"Should you run afoul of the Golden Guard, or even should they discover your true nature, you may find yourself in dire straits indeed. I will not bar you from treading Luxian ground, but I will strongly discourage it. There is a great deal of magic in Solunarium. The tactics you exploit hunting animals in the jungle will not work against classically trained mages bred from ancient, magic-wielding bloodlines, some of them divine. For all its many wonders this is a deadly place and your ignorance of our ways makes it all the deadlier for you. Understood?"
Re: by wing and claw
Posted: Fri Oct 13, 2023 1:46 pm
by Mirza
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Mirza nodded. It was a frustrating, unexpected annoyance that she would now have to physically retrieve her funds from a Guild of Coins — likely Drathera — just to use them in this desert kingdom. It had not occurred to her that so isolated had they been for so long, and so zealous in their beliefs that they would not even allow an otherwise international bank into their vicinity. Did they not trade?
"Thank you." She replied, though she did not quite appreciate the way he paused before saying 'diplomatic potential', and her lip twitched. Did she willingly come to a place that did not want, like, or wholly appreciate her? Perhaps she should have stayed in Ecith...
"I will practice my accent." She deferred, though she bristled at the idea of having to change anything to live here. Perhaps after securing her family's place, she could reside elsewhere. The desert wilderness, once she learned its ways, did not seem bad. Difficult, but not bad. She called aether from herself and felt it spiderweb across her skin, and morphed in her chair back into the form of a moonborn elf, shrinking herself in every way. Horns, claws, and tails receded, leaving her barefoot and wild-looking, but otherwise normal.
"As long as I can go out and into the desert outside of the city, I will stay in the Umbrium otherwise." Even as Mirza said as much, she knew it was likely that she would be spending a great deal of time outside. She did not want to be confined to a stone ceiling, no matter how high it reached. "I mean that as — I will try not to cause trouble, but I will feel claustrophobic if I must stay within the entire time. But I won't travel the Luxium without exceptional cause."
Re: by wing and claw
Posted: Sat Oct 14, 2023 11:12 am
by Pharaoh
"There are points of exit from the Umbrium to the outskirts of Luxium's borders. You can wholly bypass the Upper City to reach the neutral sands of Atraxia." Phocion explained and, at the mention of claustrophobia added:
"If it is any consolation: The Umbrium is by no means a confined space. Dragons larger than you are like to have seen have mounted its skies." He waved his gloved hand dismissively,
"But no matter. I will have a pamphlet drawn up explaining the major cultural points of import so you do not break any cardinal laws and find yourself in trouble. Can you read Vastian, or shall I have it written up in another tongue?" He paused for her answer, then continued.
"Once I've set up lodging for you in the Umbrium, someone will be by to portal you to your provisional quarters. I will make a Sentinel available to answer your initial questions and give you a lay of the land. Beyond that..." He said, rising to his booted feet.
"Welcome to the Sacred Solunarian Empire and may the Founders stand between you and harm in all the empty places you may walk." He offered the shadow of a smile, turned on his heel and stepped toward door which opened for him instantly. Flanked by his shadow sentinels he departed. When he was gone, the door was left open and servi entered to offer refreshment to their guest and to see whether she would be in need of a wardrobe for the city, whilst preparations were being made in the Umbrium. It would be longer than an hour but shorter than two, before a Traverser stepped into the room to create a gateway to the Umbrium, where the disguised dragonborn would find a stately suite at a posh inn to serve as her temporary home base.
Re: by wing and claw
Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2023 3:05 pm
by Mirza
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Mirza nodded in affirmation of the exits, and at the mention that the Umbrium was, in fact, much larger than she had anticipated. That was a welcome surprise; she had always associated the underground with dark, cramped places, and had no frame of reference for the location itself. She realized she had been nearly holding her breath, her entire body tense, and some of that tension was relaxed once she came to terms with the fact she successfully "passed" the interrogation, in some way.
"I can read Vastian, Common, Ecitharese. Perhaps Vastian would be best." She had a mind made up towards being more familiar with Vastian as a whole, and then perhaps the other languages spoken in the city — but she also did not want to be seen with written Ecitharese, given the poor relations between the two countries. She nodded her thanks as Phocion left, and then as the servii came in and offered her refreshments, she drank her fill of water.
As for a wardrobe... Mirza protested at first, but as she realized even the servants of Solunarium, at least in this very room, had clothing better befitting their environs, (and shoes), she agreed to clothing. If the goal was to fit in visually while she was in the city, and she could be in the city for a long time, especially if her mother and siblings came to join — she needed to look the part. Safety first.
It was upon being transported to the suite at the inn that Mirza realized she had not had a room to herself in her entire life. Space was shared with her siblings, and she was usually glued to them unless she was hunting alone. Bird perched near a window that looked into the Umbrian street and watched for rats. When they stayed in Drathera, it was a remarkably clean city, and the Umbrium was the same, but one could not rid themselves entirely of rats that scurried in such dark alleyways. Mirza stood by the window and stroked Bird's head and neck feathers, watching the people instead of the rats.
Re: by wing and claw
Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2023 4:15 pm
by Pharaoh
The Sentinel who awaited her at the other side of the portal wore no helm or veil. The flaxen hair of the sunborn framed his fair face and fell at his shoulders.
“I am Sentinel Sandyr. I will be available if you have any questions or should like to travel the streets of the Umbrium. Sentinel Phocion has instructed me to serve as your escort for the first leg of your visit with us. Your Craft is not sufficient to disguise you from the more potent mages of the realm and your presence here is politically sensitive, so I will augment your camouflage.
“Your presence has been broached with His Exalted Highness the Princeps Draconum and we await further instruction from the Draconic Council. Until then, your days are your own.” He would incline his head and leave Mirza and her bird to scan the streets for creatures, whether humanoid, draconid or rodent. The latter of the three designations were exceedingly rare in this portion of the city, but the keen senses of a raptor would know that they weren’t so terribly far off in areas that appeared more densely populated farther off.
The massive Palatium Umbrarum was visible if she stuck her head out the window and, at one point, in the distance she might think she saw a small figure rising up from that area, winged like a bat but with the rough shape of a human or an elf. It continued upward and seemed to quit the Umbrium in favour of the upper city.
Beyond that, this seemed to be an uneventful day in the Undercity and no one came with further news from sentinel nor Draconic sources.