felldenlogs | Kyst: The Clandest-Inn (Closed)

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Kyst: The Clandest-Inn (Closed)

WHO: ~~The Vestige and The Warden~~ Varen and Mythal
WHAT: post-audience meet up
WHERE: The Clandest-Inn, Kyst b/c I'm a sucker for puns
WHEN: During the week following the 1st audence
WARNINGS: Nothing comes to mind

[It seemed that the Vestige - now called Ferox - and under the name Varen - was the first to arrive as there was no one named Mytal who had left a key for her. She spent the silver to rent a room with a private bath for the week and asked that meals be delivered to the door once during the morning and the evening. And that a key be left for her 'dear Mythal'. A clear implication in how she presented it being that the two were lovers who could not meet publicly for whatever reason. Just enough to make it interesting, but not so interesting that people would pay attention to the coming and going of the two beyond that. The Clandest-Inn loved their cliches and the price was high enough she felt confident that between the two, discretion would be kept.

She did not know when Neria would arrive, so Ferox made herself comfortable. Removed her armor, donned her daily finery, and made to make the room her home for the next week. Master Clack settled into a corner and told not to move unless she put her armor on once more. She would not need likely need it's assistance while she 'relaxed'.

Depending on when Neria arrived, she would either find Ferox sitting at the barely opened window, peeking out at the world below, lounging on the small couch the suite had while eating, or buried in blankets on the bed, fast asleep with, perhaps, a single (very much covered in fur) arm hanging out with knuckles brushing the floorboard.]

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[ So much weighed upon her thoughts.

The audience brought more questions than answers, her concern for the fate of the worlds growing to a steady pitch. The Emperor had treated them with kindness, had made it seem as if the Priestess was ready to damn all of the worlds in her hope to take magic from them to aid in the war. But there was nothing about why this was all happening, why it had started, what each and every one of them could do to abate the bloodshed. She supposed that would come, eventually.

For now, she took the mirrors to Kyst and saw herself to the inn, finding that 'Varen' had already arrived ahead of her. The owner gave her a lurid smile and she shuffled off in embarrassment that was mostly not feigned, ascending the stairs to find the door. She knocked twice before unlocking it quickly and quietly, dipping inside. It was early in the evening yet, dark enough that she could slip in without being bothered, but not so late that the stars and moons had come out, and while she did not know what to expect--

Well. A dark cat in finery was not what she anticipated seeing. She knew 'Khajiit' had a tail, had even seen it, but... Hm.

She offered a smile, pushing aside her hood. ]

Ah, and so I look upon the face of 'Khajiit' at last. Or, 'Varen' for the moment. Hello.

[She stood in a fluid, graceful motion as Neria entered and held herself with all the poise of a noblewoman. Her hands, decked in rings, remained tucked just under her breasts to keep them out of the way without being held too low toward her stomach. Claws carefully curled inward to prevent unwanted snagging on the silk.

She nodded her head in greeting, a smile curving the end of her lips as she replied.]

We are alone. Khajiit is fine. Or Ferox, as she had been newly titled by The Priestess. Something for this world to call her that has meaning within it. Varen is... was... the name of someone important in my world. A man who, for all intents and purposes, does not exist any longer. He would not mind his name being invoked, Ferox believes. But she would prefer not to be called his name in private. It is... distracting, yes?

Edited 2019-09-03 00:40 (UTC)

Oh! I'm sorry, I hadn't realized...

[ She wouldn't have wanted to speak lightly of a man now gone. What a terrible fate. With a dip of her head, she removed her cloak and her gloves, and came further into the room. Her eyes raked over the other, finally seeing her for the first time. A cat. How strange. It was not so much stranger than horned giants, and so it troubled her little, though Neria had the grace to look fascinated for a moment. ]

Right. I apologize, again. Which would you prefer? Is... If 'Ferox' is a title, is Khajiit your real name, then?

[ Oh, and there was wine. No food just yet, though that was probably coming shortly. Neria plucked up the bottle and found the glasses, bringing them to the small table for the both of them to share. ]

No need to apologize. This one did not make it clear before now.

[Ferox stepped toward the table to take one of the seats. Neria seemed to be taking her appearance well, but she was still a bit on edge. She had experienced more than a few awkward responses to it from the populace as well as the others who had arrived from other worlds. Never before had she felt so self-conscious about her looks.]

Ferox is Khajiit as Neria is elf. Khajiit has no name. She lost it.

All this time and I've been calling you by your race? That's horrible! You should have told me to stop!

[ So much for making a good impression on a potential future friend. How embarrassing. Neria came to sit in the other chair, offering her one of the glasses. She did not have much she carried with her, but her sword was deposited against the wall, and she pulled her small side-pack over to place at her feet. ]

How did you lose your name?

[She looked genuinely confused by that reaction, reaching out hesitantly to take the offered glass before shaking her head, brows furrowed.]

But this one calls herself Khajiit. And Khajiit are not horrible. Most of us. She is certain there may be a few who are, but every race has the bad in them, yes? She does not call Neria 'the elf' as an insult. Has Neria thought it was an insult?

[The story about her name could wait. It was more concerning that Neria may have thought she was intentionally continuing to insult her when she'd only ever meant for 'knife-ear' to be insulting... and then not. More endearing for the second meet up. But if she thought Ferox was just being rude the whole time...]

She did not mean to insult Neria with those words.

No, I... I don't think Khajiit are horrible. Every race has plenty of bad. I know that well enough. But it almost sounds the equivalent of me shouting 'dwarf' or 'shemlen'. But I didn't take offense to you calling me 'the elf'. Really, I didn't.

[ She thought it had been more like ribbing, really, after the initial knife-ear comment. But her simply saying 'Khajiit' so often... Well, she had hoped it hadn't come across as offensive. It didn't seem so, at least. ]

I just didn't mean to hurt you. I'm glad it didn't.

What is wrong with dwarf if one is a dwarf? And a shemlen if one is a shelmen?

[It is asked in a way it is clear she has no idea what a shemlen is.]

Khajiit is Khajiit. There is nothing wrong with calling her what she is.

[A pause and then:]

...you have dwemer in your world?

Other races often use the moniker of race to treat one poorly. Rather than learn someone's name, or to say 'sir' or 'miss' or 'madam', they might instead resort to calling them what they are. A human might say, "You there, elf," rather than address me with respect.

It's not the worst name that can be thrown around, I know.

[ 'Knife-ear' was worse. But Neria had corrected that quickly enough.

She reached for the glass and was about to take a sip when her companion asked about 'dwemer', and that name made her pause, uncertain. ]

If you mean dwarves... Yes, we do. If you're asking about humans, yes, we also have them.

[ She should probably clarify that 'shemlen' is derogatory for humans but, eh. ]

No no, not humans. Dwemer. Dwarves. The race of elves that preferred to live under mountains and build strange contraptions of metal powered by steam and magic.

[She took a drink of her own and settled a bit in the chair, relaxing a fraction.]

They no longer exist in this one's world. They all disappeared in the first era. Over a thousand years ago. Very close to two thousand. This one has not done the math, but very close. Perhaps it is your world they disappeared to?

[ What. ]

Dwarves are...elves? Elves that live under--

[ That seemed a novel concept. No 'true' elf would ever wish to live under the mountains and away from the wood, trapped in a place where they would most certainly be cornered in, a place they could die. ]

Dwarves in my world look like short and stocky humans. They do not have the curved ears that elves do, nor do they have inherent magic. But machinery? They are known for their great inventions. They can also use things mages cannot, certain ores like lyrium.

Lyrium? This one has not heard of such an ore. And the dwarves are only called dwarves in the common tongue. They are the dwemer the race of mer that 'dwell in the deep'. 'Deep-folk- or -people of the deep- is the best translation of dwemer, yes? They were very tall, this one assumes, based on what she has seen of their homes. The doors are all very, very high and the slabs likely used as beds as long as those of the altmer. The high elves. Certainly they are not as short as the bosmer. The wood elves.

[There's a lot of races of elves, Neria. A whole lot.]

And all elves are very good with magic.

People of the deep...

[ It sounded a great deal like 'Deep Roads' to her, and that would make sense if one was speaking of the short race that dwell there. But...the dwemer being very tall coaxed a bit of confusion to knit at her brow, and she took a sip from her glass as she considered it. ]

True elves, Dalish, are those who are potentially predisposed to magic in my world. Potentially. One would say they lost all of that so very long ago. But there are only Dalish and city elves.

So...differences and similarities and parallels. Is magic common in your world? Is it hated?

True elves? Your world has false elves? How odd. Do they put fake ears on their head and walk around with stick up their asses?

[She chuckled at her own joke. While not all elves were terribly pompous, a great majority of them were. She'd heard stories that bosmer tended to be more down-to-earth, but hadn't been around enough to know for sure. Mostly just dunmer and almer as the Pact was full of the former and the Mages Guild the latter.]

Mmm... magic is very common, yes. The nords have a disliking for it, but even they will use it when needed. Otherwise, no. It is not hated. Everyone in this one's world can do some magic if they wish to learn. Some are more predisposed to it. The elves of all sorts tend to be, as do the Breton humans. Argonians and Khajiit it is more a person to person thing.

This one is very well versed in it. Though she is sad to say, she has been having difficulty with her casting since her arrival. It is like trying to pull a very tiny string through a very thick mudslick. Her fingers can feel it, but cannot grip it for long. When she loses it, she must search blindly for a time before she manages to catch it with her nails. The more she tries, the more often she finds it, but it is much more work than she has ever had to do.

[ She snorts at the comparison. ]

Dalish are simply considered 'real' elves. They ascribe to the old ways, have married within their numbers, and their bloodlines likely are more connected to the old magic they once had...though I don't think that's very true. False elves are like me: we were born in a city and do not keep to those old ways, and so we are seen as more human. And we are frowned upon because of it.

[ She does not know why some worlds have magic that is common and some where it is not, nor why it is hated in some world and not in others, but at least Ferox has a great understanding of it. It helps Neria feel comfortable, honestly. ]

I'm having the same difficulty. When I reach out... I can feel my mana there, deep within, like a well I cannot get to. Something might have happened when we were pulled over. And while I can fight without my magic, it would behoove this...war effort if I had it back. Same as you.

This one will continue to try and grasp her power until it returns to her then.

[She said it firmly, path decided. Then finished her current glass and set it down.]

Neria was whisked away by the Stars, yes? Has she been told anything of the war she is expected to fight in?

I will do the same. No matter what we decide to do, we'll need as much access to our magic as possible. War is war, regardless of where our loyalties fall.

[ And she had not yet decided if the Court was where she wished to throw her power behind. There was time to consider but not much time. She'd need to make her decision soon enough.

She frowned, briefly nodding. ]

Not entirely much. The Court of Stars has been fighting against the Moon Temple for many years now. The Emperor claims that the Priestess within the Moon Temple is going to drain all of our worlds in a quest for power. This world is dying; the Emperor seeks to take their people from this world and to another that will be safer for their people.

The cause of the war, the reasons for it, why both sides are fighting... Why the Priestess will not let the Emperor and their people leave... I don't have answers for those questions.

The Priestess said she does indeed wish to take the magic from the other worlds.

[She tapped at her chin in thought, lounging a little more comfortably and inclining her body just a tad more toward Neria.]

Though she claims it is merely to borrow and then return it. Like the filtering of water through a fountain. She wishes to bring back a little from every world so no single one is drained too much to renew this one since it is this one from which all the other worlds draw their power. The fountainhead of the stream and it is running dry.

She says the Emperor wishes to let this world die and with it, all the other worlds. They would drain it of power or let it die and there would be no more magic for the other worlds to draw on and they, in turn, would wither and die. That the Emperor would conquer and use the other worlds up to save their own and no others until nothing remains.

The Emperor prevents the Priestess from drawing the magic back here and the Priestess prevents the Emperor from leaving to take over another world or worlds. They are at an impasse.

It certainly wasn't phrased as going from world to world, or draining these worlds.

[ But now she was curious as to how that would even possible. On initially hearing the statement, she thought for certain that it meant the Emperor would find another world to settle within. This made it sound as if their battle would continue, that they would continue to drain worlds.

Why? ]

Perhaps this is what I do not understand: if the Priestess and the Emperor were to no longer be waging war upon each other, why would either of them have need to drain worlds for their power? The Priestess, as you say, wishes to use power from other worlds to bring back life to this one...but then, why would the Emperor need to draw upon anything from the worlds they go to? What need do they have to do so?

[ It wasn't that Neria did not believe the Emperor would do it. It was only that she did not understand the reasoning. ]

Do you think either of them might be trying to take power from us, ourselves? Are we conduits back to our own worlds?

From what we were told, this world itself is being drained of magic by the other worlds we come from and it has spawned too many to sustain. Like a mother with too many kits having her milk run dry. Not enough to go around. The runts will likely die from starvation. In this case, it is the mother dying to feed even the runts.

They both have a solution they think will work, but cannot agree on which to use, so they fight each other.

[As new as they were, this was mostly supposition. But given they had only so much information to go on...]

This one does not think the Priestess is. Or if she is, not directly. She was too drained of power. Had she been using those brought here as conduits, this one expects she would have been more lively.

I don't know what the resolution would be. For worlds to be cut off temporarily, so this one might better restore its energy and magic? But then someone of them would still die--

[ And if not die, perhaps dooming them to a fate far worse. A slow death, or even simply stagnation, and the loss of magic entirely. Neria threaded fingers through her hair, uncertain. ]

The Emperor seemed the same. Bringing us here cause them a great deal of power. The world holds its breath and awaits what we shall do.

Does friend Neria remember the conversation we had in the dreaming world? About the shine of the pearl?

[She paused a moment to give Neria time to remember before going on.]

This one thinks this world is a pearl without shine. They have lost it somehow. Their stalemate grants only a slow death to a world that is already dying. They are desperate for a change. For upheaval. She supposes asking the gods of other worlds to choose who to send is better than bringing over the four corners of the house of troubles, but... perhaps Skooma Cat would have been a better choice for unpredictability.

Skooma Cat...?

[ She lifted both brows. But she also smiled, and moved to refill their tankards. ]

Then we find out why the world has lost its shine. And we determine if the shine can be returned, one way or another, or if we have to make something new. We have to save these people and this world...and all of our worlds. There is no other option.

Yes. Skooma Cat. "Nothing is crazier than a cat on skooma."

[She chuckled at herself. Having actually met the Daedric Prince who was supposed to be the embodiment of Skooma Cat, she really, truly, couldn't think of someone who was less predicable. Even when Sheogorath took a liking to someone, he could and would be needlessly cruel for the sake of his mercurial nature. Oddly kind as well. In his own way.]

Yes. This one agrees. We have this room for the week. It is already paid. Perhaps asking around while conducting our business would be the best, yes? And confer her again, later. We can make use of the lodging for ourselves as is needed.

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Kyst: The Clandest-Inn (Closed)

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cool, lemme just completely change tenses for a single tag

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