Getting Acquainted in Rune
It's Gilday, Eatonis 08 10:12:45 1019. The full moon is up. The tide is high and ebbing. The sky is blue and cloudless, the sunlight is bright, and a cool wind blows from the northwest.
Roleplay Nexus: Rune
The sky is blue, the birds are chirping, here in the floating city of Rune, a group of about 6 preteen boys are running up a nearby alley kicking a ball, and the shops are doing a bustling trade. In this particular part of the city, there is an animated fountain in the midst of a park, spraying a foggy mist at passers-by who wander too close. Off in the grassy area, near where an old wizard is playing a sort of frisbee game with his familiar, is a wild elf playing some sort of catch-me-if-you-can game with a magnificent griffon.
Well, let's remember that Rune is actually in the Desolation right now, across the glorious peaks of the Red Ridge Mountains.
The sky is dotted with flares of energy as Rune collects it, drawing the mana into itself to feed the voracious appetite that only a floating city could actually have.
Garrin Goodmountain is perusing the markets that are set up, searching for something in particular, "No, no," he says, "Faiza wouldn't want this."
A gentle thrum can occasionally be heard, alongside a notable rumble, as mana surges through the drained, wizardly city. It's still recovering from the war, after all.
A figure that doesn't seem wholly out of sorts in the backdrop of the city of Rune treads its paths. Landau seems to be in no hurry this day, his travelling staff making soft, rythmic wood-upon-earth sounds as he moves from the park onto the merchanting concourse in due time. He is a slender magic user (if his robe-styled coat is anything to go by) with the dark skin of a Cerenzan Vershanti and the glint of armor 'neath his accoutrements.
In the midst of his frolic, Ga'Elian seemingly vanishes as the griffon chases him through the park, only to re-emerge in the beast's saddle, wrapping his arms around its feathery neck. He can be heard to say, "Got'cha!" in Sildanyari.
Coming to an easy stop, he spurs the creature skyward, getting a closer look at a trio of Alexandrian Skyguards approaching on griffon-back themselves from the summit of the nearby mountains.
Apparently satisfied, he turns back and dismounts his steed in mid-air. While his companion flies off, the elf falls rather more slowly than is natural to a hard, but manageable landing, right there next to the park, by a merchant's stall--in fact, very near to Garrin. He says, "Excuse me." and bows a half-apology/half-greeting.
For reasons known to himself Landau has his eyes upon the skyline of the Runic buildings, brown eyes noting the damage done to the city he played a part in defending. The fact that he was preserving an idea that he believed in, was something not along upon the mage as he catches sight of Ga'Elian's noteworthy arrival, stepping aside and awaiting the brief hitch in foot traffic to work itself out.
His shopping interrupted, Garrin turns towards Ga'Elian and his griffon and blinks his eyes.
"Oh! Howdy," he tells him, taking his outrageously plumed hat off his head.
"There something I can help you with, griffon riding elf?"
Landau is noted but he lacks the immediacy of the GRIFFON RIDING ELF.
Ga'Elian looks at Garrin with a friendly smile and says, "No, no. I am quite well, I assure you. I do, however need to visit a particular merchant nearby to inquire if my purchase is ready for pick-up. (beat) It's quite amazing to me, I must say, that the leadership here is spending so much energy on moving the City through the air. Not that the Icewall is a particularly inviting land, but it strikes me as remarkable, anyway. They seem to have repaired a fair bit of the war damage so far, but there was a lot to be done." He visually scans the skyline.
"...uh, okay!" Garrin says with a laugh. "Well, that's good. I'm just trying to find something for my dear Faiza." He pauses, then puts his hat back on his head. "What, do you need directions or something? ALso, that was quite an entrance!"
Ga'Elian grins coyly and rubs his ring finger, "Well, in a city of wizards, I figured a ring-assisted drop wouldn't be too uncommon. Besides, Erithamiel wanted to hunt. So is Faiza your wife? I'm afraid I don't know her. And for that matter, I'm not sure we've properly met either. I'm Ga'Elian." He bows again, but with less than the formality of Llyranesi introductions.
"Oh, no. We're not married. Though I do make the good old try at courting her. OF course, courting a Mul'niessan paladin of Eluna is easier said than done, eh? Eh?" He elbows Ga'elian in the midsection before adding, "Welp! I must be going."
Waiting patiently by the wayside, Landau takes the opportunity to listen in, the magic user giving Ga'Elian an upnod of greeting as the Sildanyar descendee engages in brief converse, having had some afilliation with the ranger in other outings beforehand.
As Garrin departs, going about his business, Elian doesn't fail to perceive Landau and his salutation. He therefore strides directly over with a big smile and extends his right hand in the form of greeting he often sees humans exchange, if perhaps executed with more than the typical reserve for mere acquaintances. Still, his friendly intent cannot be mistaken, even if the nuances of civilized behavior are still foreign to the wild elf. He enthusiastically says, "I've seen you before, though, friend. How are you?"
A deep chuckle rumbles up from Landau's decidedly non-deep chest as he passes his staff to his off hand to take up your handy offering. "I am well indeed, Ga'Elian; I have seen much worse days, truly told." The magic user inclines his head in deference to your inquiry, his demeanor warm yet restrained, "I go by the name of Landau in these lands, and that nomme de guerre shall serve admirably. How fares yourself, and shall we walk whilst you tend to your errands?"
Ga'Elian smiles. He replies, "Well, that wouldn't be much of a walk, I'm afraid. The only real business I have is to check in here," he points to a lavish condominium right at this street corner. "I have commissioned the wizard to enchant for me a book that will help me to become even more dextrous yet, without the assistance of an object like my belt, here. It was really quite expensive, but hopefully worth it."
"Then lets be on our way." The magic user replies nonchalantly, gesturing with the top of his staff as if the distance were no matter at all, "I am aware of such manuals, albeit I have no wont to bind dweomercræft to objects." White teeth are shown as the caster slowly smiles, "My interest lies in determining how magic interacts with the material world. So, a more passive stance but one that works better for the purpose of understanding magical theory, if not quite as practical."
Landau pauses a moment before he speaks again, unhurriedly, "I daresay it will serve you well, and an admirable choice. My latest purchases have been armor and this headband." The top of the staff lifts again to indicate a plain cloth band with a simple setting at the fore, "To focus my concentration somewhat in both of my traditions."
Ga'Elian walks along and raises an eyebrow in curiosity, "Both? You are a wizard, I gather, but what else, then?"
Landau's mouth quirks somewhat, though his face remains pointed forward as they navigate the sparse crowd, "Cleric of Eluna of course, not so far removed really. A petitioner of the Godess of magic upon the divine side as well as approaching it from an arcane direction. Just a change in mindset really." The magic user indicates the skyline with his free hand, "Whereas my Cerenzan background goes some way into explaining how the lines of these buildings talk to the background mana flows and influence them. Rune is quite intriguing."
Ga'Elian chuckles mirthfully. "You sound like another friend of mine. Do you know Astaren? I first met him in the woods fleeing from a band of worg-riding gobbers. Little did they know they were chasing him right into the waiting hands of a hidden ranger and an archdruidess. Anyway, he follows both of the same paths, as you say, and has even learned to merge them in quite a similar manner as the Lady Verna, who follows Vardama, has done." The pair now reach the entrance to the condominium building. It has a revolving door through which a grand foyer is visible.
"I'm afraid I don't have the pleasure." Landau demurs, gesturing you to take the revolving door before him, "But I laud their conclusions. I'm in the process of merging the two myself." Taking his turn in due time, the pair dips into the shade and the foyer of the large building, and the window inside to what presumably is another world of sartorial and æsthetic experience that is quintessencially Rune. "I find the whole experience intellectually stimulating, truth be told."
Ga'Elian says, "I could introduce you sometime, if you like. Astaren is, like yourself, a seer of Eluna, and I often encounter him about doing experiments with mana and spellcræft, sometimes with explosive results." He grins, the looks over the room. An orb of prismatic radiance floats toward the pair, stopping two feet in front of Elian's nose. As a voice from it asks, "Whom are you here to visit?" its colors shift correspondingly to the sounds issuing from it. Cocking his head to the side, he says a name in a tentative tone. The ball then says, "Thank you," and fades into nothingness.
"My status in Alexandria... and Rune to be honest, is of a relative newcomer." Landau says conversationally, studying the magical construct distractedly as they stride onto the plush carpeting. Apparently the magical infusion process pays well, "Magical experimentation can be a touch... fickle until you understand the underlying concepts, I have to admit. But in any case, I can see your enthusiasm for receiving this magical artifice." Those white teeth are shown again in one of his habitually slow smiles, "A significant investment for a commensurate reward, no?"
Ga'Elian nods. "Oh, I have every confidence that it will. The boost to my agility affects so very many aspects of my... path. It makes me a better shot with my bow, better in fact with all the weapons I've chosen to wield." He gestures to the rapier and whip hanging on opposite sides of his belt, the dagger strapped to his thigh, and the leather sling tucked into the front center of his belt. It helps me evade attacks of many kinds, helps with staying in the saddle while Erithamiel executes aerial maneuvers, helps me with disarming traps, escaping bonds, doing my own acrobatics, and staying hidden when I want to. So all in all, yes, I'd have to say it should be well worth the expense,"
Nodding understandingly, Landau waits patiently, or rather one might say accepts the current circumstances with equanimity. "That it should. I have a passing familliarity with weaponry but I have to admit even that is somewhat of a magical extension, throwing weapons and having them return to be repeated should my personal magics run low." Turning his seeing eyes from you he studies the foyer with directed interest. "Erithamiel is the mount I saw you aloft upon earlier?"
Ga'Elian smiles enthusiastically. "He is. The name is Sildanyari for Silverbeak, owing to the bonding of mithral essence with his beak. He has also had the essence of cold-forged iron bonded to the claws of his front, er, talons. While he has merely the mind of an animal, unlike griffons generally, he is a far more powerful physical specimen than typical creatures of his kind, and as close a friend as I shall ever have."
Thick black eyebrows rise at the mention of your mount's qualities, and Landau turns back to you, breaking his observations upon the nature of your surrounds, listening with interest. "Thankfully intelligence is never an indication of good nature, or so I've found." The magic user admits and taps his forearm with his lucht staff, which made a faintly ringing sound. "Mithral is not easy to acquire, 'tis true."
Ga'Elian smiles. "Anyway, enough about me. So did you grow up here in Rune?"
Shaking his head slightly, Landau indicates to the negatory, "I was born and studied at university in the largest city in the world, Tashraan. The University was run largely by Elunite clergy." The magic user explains, making a so-so gesture with his free hand, "The lifestyle agreed with me, and the allure of a mercantile career palled."
Just as Elian opens his mouth to reply, another ball of shimmering light fades gradually into existence and approaches the pair, stopping, as before, precisely two feet in front of Ga'Elian's nose. In the same voice as before, it informs that the wizard has fallen behind schedule but expects, with apologies, to have the ranger's book ready by the same time tomorrow. It then fades out again. At this, Ga'Elian shrugs, and says, "Well, that's that, I suppose." Turning towards the door again, he says, "I've never been to Tashraan. It sounds... intimidating. I've gotten somewhat accustomed to Alexandria... and Rune, too, but I really am more at home in the wilderness. Eluna, or Niessa as we call her, is the patron deity of my tribe, and it is from her that I get what magic I wield, but of universities, I know practically nought."
"The city as a whole is rather... busy." Landau admits, having held his peace whilst the magical construct conveys the mildly unwelcome news. "My family sent me to the university to learn accounts and the intricacies of trading, but we parted ways once this was no longer a meeting of minds." The caster turns with a modicum of fluidity and begins to make his way outside once more. "I have spent much time in ruins and archeological digs far from modern civilisation, and have been known to have been well traveled, but I must admit I am more comfortable in a place of learning." The magic user clucks his tongue as he waits for a window to enter the revolving door, chooses his time, and make his way out into the open air. "And of course, there are aspects of Eluna's portfolio that interest me more than others."
Ga'Elian steps out into the cool air outside and winces as a thrum of surging mana reverberates from the ground under his feet. "Once it passes, he says, "I revere Her as the patroness of the Sildanyar, and as the Silver Huntress, but yes, I can see that She exercises influence over a broad spectrum. So, I'm hungry. How about you?" He looks across the street at some food stands.
Foodstuffs of varying palatability and nutritional value may be plentiful. One of the more polarized establishments on these scales, Butterscotch and Creme's, serves as the point of egress for one cloaked and hooded Mourner. Relocated or not, Rune remains accessible via magical means far more than most other locations.
"Working on learning the nuances of Mysandraal." Landau chuckles, brushing some fingers across his brow as the fresh air meets it and the mana flows, "But food would not go awry." The Cerenzan reaches up and takes his hat off, revealing a bald head as he eyes the mercantile concourse. "Lead the way, I'm rather cosmopolitan in my tastes, personally."
Ga'Elian adds after a moment in thought, "I suppose I also appreciate her spheres of dominion over dreams and prophecy, and youth, maidenhood, and the fae." Then in response he says, "Mynsandraal? I've been trying to learn that lately, too. Some of the oldest lore of my folk is known only through ballads in that ancient tongue." As they near the foodstands, Ga'Elian notices Verna emerging from the confectioner's shop. He smiles and grabs Landau by the shoulder, pointing with his other hand, "Why look, there's Lady Verna now. What a coincidence." He releases the human and waves enthusiastically to the Lady with the orb floating at her shoulder.
"Whereas I," Landau says, clearly enjoying the theological discussion on its own merits and possibly providing Ga'Elian the most animated display of the magic user complete with gesticulations, "like to think of Eluna's striving against Taara for mastery of magic itself, and to prevent the unethical usages of such." Brown eyes follow Ga'Elian's directions and the personage he was speaking of earlier. "I have to admit to a particular like of Astrology however, as the movement of the heavens is as graceful a display as one is likely to witness in one's span here."
Verna's hood turns towards the wave, whilst the hovering spheroid remains rotated, its attention lingering upon the confectionary for unknown reasons. The response to the gesticulations of either is the simple lifting of arm enough for a gloved palm to be displayed in return. Her path of travel continues in the general direction of the gesticulatees.
As he comes to one of the foodstands, Ga'Elian stares in a moment of seeming confusion at the wares offered for sale. He stammers out, "This is... food?" he asks Landau in a hushed tone? "I'm not accustomed to consuming such... animated things. Usually my food is dead, and just lays there until I move it myself." As Verna approaches, he says, "Good day. Lady Verna, this is Landau, a seer of Eluna and a wizard. Landau, this is Lady Verna, a mourner of Vardama and also a wizard."
Touching the centre of his forehead and drawing it down his centreline Landau greets the Mourner, "I like to think of it as part of the same thing," the dark-skinned man admits easily, assuming a more placid mien. He wears a robe-styled coat, with the glint of armor beneath his accoutrements.
"Good day," Verna responds to Ga'Elian, "and a reminder that the correct honorific would be Mourner or Sage Mourner. My lineage is of no noble house here and I hold no royal titles." The hood pans to Landau and bobs in a nod. "The separation is semantic, and only established for political, intellectual, and educational reasons. The ebb and flow of magic, itself, is not bound by such classifications... though most assume otherwise. Those with the insight to understand and the voice to comment are rare, albeit more common among Seers, it appears."
Ga'Elian nods, "As you wish. I had heard you called Lady when we were in Myrddion, but I readily confess to ignorance where titles and other social customs of city-folk are concerned."
Conveniently with hat in hand when meeting the named if not professed Lady, Landau nods in agreement with Mourner Verna, taking a moment to answer the Sildanyari as an aside, "And yes it is food, not nearly so... novel as some culinary offerings I've come across, I have to admit." The Cerenzan chuckles, obviously amused at the aghast Ga'Elian. "I am a magical theory advocate myself, at least that is what my Thesis is upon anyway, Mourner Verna."
"Interesting. I may study your thesis once completed and published. At the very least, my apprentice could gain from its review," Verna states before adding, for Ga'Elian's benefit,"I would not fret overmuch over the meals; it is doubtful that anyone would offer anything inedible."
Ga'Elian hands a coin to the merchant and selects a fried... something. He sniffs it, then before biting off the end of it asks, "Now your apprentice, would that happen to be Astaren?" Apparently convinced, he finishes his... whatever it is and returns the plate to a pile.
"T'would be my pleasure." Despite having a Veyshanti accent, Landau's voice is deep and mellow as he answers Verna in due course, and cultured for all of that. Brown eyes flicker to crispy crittur on a stick, and soon thereafter the magic user excuses himself with a raised palm before procuring his own victuals.
From far overhead, a sky-rending SKREEE! heralds the return of Ga'Elian's griffon, cutting through the din of the bustling marketplace. At this, the ranger looks up and says, "Well, that's my call to head out. Thanks for the company, and if you're ever of a mind to visit my neck of the woods, please consider me at your service." He bows to both, and turns to head off toward the park where the griffon is spiraling in for a landing.
"Mmmmm?" Landau looks upward when the predatory beast call out, the magic user partway through devouring whatever meat is apon the stick, "I shall be here for the next week or two, but must find my way back to Alexandria eventually. I have responsibilities there I must tend to!" the darkskinned man offers by way of parting.