The Twofold Houses 5: Rebuilding

[Shadowcaller]

[Visiting Alchemist]

"I've helped her with a number of little projects. I know many things that your aunt like to discuss with me you see. Like spirits and fey. Things like that." Ambrosia explains with a nod to Cern and then gestures to Lucy. "I think your sister might be friends with them in fact."

Meanwhile, Cessie seems curious about this new subject Dorota have brought up and doesn't appear to overhear what the kids and the scholar are talking about. "Gods and divinity? Quite lofty goals. What have made you so interested in that in particular consider you call it a 'personal project'?"

[Morty]

[Visiting Alchemist]

Dorota straightens her glasses on her nose, as she tends to do when she's not quite sure of what to say.

"They are lofty, but I've always had a way of aiming high. It started with trying to determine if the gods I was raised to worship are real. I still don't know that and I might never find out, but the topic has proven interesting in its own right."

[Gullara]

[Visiting Alchemist]

"Yeah I am!" Lucy pauses. "What's a fey?"

Cern, for his part, just shifts top crossing his arms and listens.

[Shadowcaller]

[Visiting Alchemist]

"So it's more of a philosophical pursuit or actual research? Since I imagine, as you said, that it would be difficult to objectively prove the exact nature of such entities." She gestures at Ambrosia behind her.
"Ambrosia happen to be a researcher into the nature of such things but I don't even think she'd be able to give you a definite answer. While I could stand here and tell you everything I know about the subject it wouldn't match what people actually believe. Therefore, I think it ultimately comes down to what you yourself believe, Dorota." Cessie gestures towards Dorota. "So perhaps you should start with telling me that?" The sorceress glances behind her. "Or tell Ambrosia once she's done with the children."

---

Glancing at Cern to see if the boy would object again, Ambrosia eventually turns to face Lucy. "Fey are like spirits but they usually appear like a mix of an animal and a person. Though they can also mix with plants." She gestures at the girls hair. "Like with your hair for instance. You've seen that your hair is just like the flowers growing around us, haven't you? Have you ever thought about why that might be? Since it might actually mean that you're related to a fey, Lucy."

[Morty]

[Visiting Alchemist]

"It is rather philosophical, but there are also actual deities I could speak to on the subject. Or half-deity, in one case. That would be Felandria, the leader of HALO. Her father is Zeus. A notorious god, from what I understand. There's also Civiron and Message, two local deities." She glances over to Ambrosia. "If Ambrosia also researches the same subject, that's quite the coincidence. As for what I believe... I'm not sure. Believing was never my strong suit. It appears as though my people's gods might well never have existed and if they have, they're not deserving of worship. So I turned to trying to determine if other deities are different and if there's any pattern to it all."

[Shadowcaller]

[Visiting Alchemist]

Cessie glance at where Dorota is gesturing. "I'm not sure I can say exactly that's what she's researching. Her expertise is mainly in dragons, which could be seen as divinity to some. But speaking of which, no offense to your leader but by my own definitions, Felandria have never seen particularly, ah, divine to me. Which I would say is a good thing as divinity isn't really supposed to act and Felandria is very good at doing just that. I don't know much about the local HALO deities though but perhaps the real question is what your definition of divinity is. Since there are many entities that would lay claim to such a title and very few that would deserve it.

[Morty]

[Visiting Alchemist]

"The definition of divinity seems to be a sticking point. In that I don't have one," Dorota admits. "Felanria is only half-divine, but she's also determined to use her power to help people, regardless of who they are. This is a lot more than I can say about our pantheon, if they ever did exist. One commonality I see is that gods tend to be gods of something. Zeus a god of thunder, Civiron a goddess of hope. Ozwiena, my family's supposed patron, was a goddess of commerce and industry. What do you think a divinity should act like, though?"

[Gullara]

[Visiting Alchemist]

Lucy listens very curiously, but her brow scrunches up at that last comment. "Nuh uh, I got my flowers from my moment. Hers are just like mine." She explains.

[Shadowcaller]

[Visiting Alchemist]

"Well, gods shouldn't rule anything for one. In fact, gods shouldn't act at all. To me divinity is a symbol, a paragon, above all else. So wherever the actually exist or not isn't that important. See, gods in a way represent perfection and in a imperfect world no perfect actions exist and thus as soon as an entity starts to act within the world it by definition is no longer divine. That makes them different from other aetherial entities. Restrain." Cessie explains, sounding like she had a rather firm opinion in this matter.

---

Ambrosia nods to this conclusion. "That's very true. I've talked to your mom and she has beautiful flowers like you. But what if your mother is related to fey? You should ask your grandfather about how he got her if you haven't already." The scholar smiles. "It's a very cute story."

[Gullara]

[Visiting Alchemist]

Lucy pauses and thinks about that. She knows where babies come from, of course. Well, mostly. Mommy's belly. But She has no grandma on her mom's side, and grandpa Sarget doesn't have a belly anyway. "But what's that gotta do with my free friends?" She notes to ask mommy some questions later.

Meanwhile Cora tiptoes up to Cern and snatches the ball from him. "Hey!"

"We wanna play some more." Cora rebukes and gives the ball a solid boot back toward the portal.

[Shadowcaller]

[Visiting Alchemist]

Ambrosia glances at Cora. Looks like she didn't have much time. Better make this quick. "Since fey, and those related to fey, are the only ones that can see spirits." A simplification but it was generally true. "And I think you have a strong connection to them, which is why you can see so many spirit-friends that others can't. Since do you want to know a secret?" Ambrosia leans in a bit closer and whispers. "I can see your tree-friends too." She nods in the direction of where she knew the spirits were located.

[Morty]

[Visiting Alchemist]

Dorota drums her fingers on her forearm with her arms crossed. She can see the point here, she thinks.

"I think I see what you mean. If gods act, they become little more than any other ruler, tyrant, administrator or hero, only scaled up in power a great deal. That's what my gods seem to have been, if they existed. And their decrees bind our society to this day. It wasn't... proper of me to become an alchemist instead of working in my parents' business."

[Gullara]

[Visiting Alchemist]

Lucy's mouth drops open. "You can?! No one else gets it!" She looks at Cern and sticks out her tongue at him. The boy glowers. "They're super nice! They let me visit my friend and auntie Cessie."

[Shadowcaller]

[Visiting Alchemist]

Ambrosia laughs. "It's not much of a secret if you immidiately tell your brother." Then she nods. "But yes, those must be some pretty nice friends to have. Have they mentioned your mom by any chance? Since I heard she made the portal so I imagine they're friends with her as well."

---

"So your gods are a kind of enforcers of a, ah, social structure? I suppose that isn't too different from the gods I know of. Artaris, the god of my home city, give more general moral advice however. Nothing so direct as binding you to a specific proffesion. But that isn't stopping such structures to still exist though. I was to be a priestess of Artaris simply because I was the ninth child. Any children beyond the eight first is usually given to his service as if you have that many children you must truly be blessed." Cessie smiles. "But it looks like neither of us ended up where we were supposed to be, did we?"

[Morty]

[Visiting Alchemist]

Dorota nods.

"Oh, yes. They allegedly ordained said structure to start with. Each god chose his people and told them what their place in society was. An their progeny was to follow that divine plan henceforth. Of course, that's what people in power tend to claim to justify their position, isn't it?" She looks at Cessie above her glasses. "So why didn't you become a priestess?"

[Gullara]

[Visiting Alchemist]

Lucy shakes her head. "They're not very talkative, but mommy can't see them either. It's just me."

[Shadowcaller]

[Visiting Alchemist]

"That's too bad considering they're helping everyone out so much. I think the occasional 'thank you' when they transport you would help a lot." This time Ambrosia is glancing at the other kids to see if they get the hint. "But I have a friend too, say hi to Jihye-I, Lucy." She gestures at the floating tome and turns to look expectingly at it.

The feather pen which has been scribbling all this time suddenly comes to an halt and it floats down along with the book and opens its pages before her. Despite all the writing it was doing they seem empty except for a single phrase which is written in by then pen as they speak.

Wisdom to you, child

---

Cessie's eyebrows raise in surprise. "Ah, well, since I have the eldritch gift of course. I just found it out unusually late in life. Mages are a special case of course, in fact that's why my parents had so many children in the first place. Before me they had only had one mage child, my brother Arik." She gestures away from herself. "So under rather different circumstances than you in that I wasn't exactly try to oppose the system. I find it curious that you had more than one god though. Seems divisive if you ask me, but perhaps that was the point?"

[Morty]

[Visiting Alchemist]

Dorota looks visibly surprised by Cessie's last statement.

"Really? Many cultures have a variety of gods. Our gods were said to cover different aspects of life; our people pray to them for different purposes. It seems to be the case elsewhere as well. People venerate entire pantheons or favor one god out of many. But yes, it seems our paths were different. I wasn't... trying to oppose the system, as such. I just wanted something different than my prescribed role. And the head of the alchemists' guild saw my potential. There were some formal obstructions, but he secured my parents' consent with a fair sum of money, so they were overcome." A note of resentment creeps into her voice; she has no affection left for her family. "I would rather not gossip, but your co-commander... well, he comes from the same culture as I do. And I believe he had to fight tooth and nail to become a warrior."

[Gullara]

[Visiting Alchemist]

Ambrosia will find that most of the other kids aren't paying her much mind anymore. The novelty has worn off without attention on them, and they've migrated a short ways away to kick the ball around. Only Cern lingers out of pure stubbornness at this point.

"Woooow, a magic book?" Lucy looks curiously. She might live in a magical world, but any new little curiosity is fascinating to the young girl. "Ooh!" It takes her a second after reading the words to put it together. "Hi Jihye-I! You're not just a book, right?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Visiting Alchemist]

I am very much not. I am the book of books. That which other books strive to be.

Ambrosia glances at the tome. "And that's not all, isn't it?"
This sounds like a prompt as the pen pause mid-air instead of continuing writing. Like Jihye-I was considering something. It will give Lucy time to read the text if nothing else.

I suppose I can also do this.

And so, after a few moment as if allowing Lucy to read what it has written first, the book (and the quill pen) have been replaced by a large sword which is still floating in the same location.

---

"Oh, I'm aware of that. I mean, the definition of gods can be very different from culture to culture. Some might consider my city to celebrate a pantheon as we acknowledge other gods even if we don't directly worship them. Sort of a... rivalry between gods is what you could call it." Cessie then pauses as Dorota mentions Wenomir, her eyebrows once more raised. "Really? Usually the military is pretty..." But then she suddenly seem to reconsider. "Ah, don't want to put weapons in the hands of the peasantry do they? Somethings never seem to change no matter what the world you're in."

[Morty]

[Visiting Alchemist]

Dorota smiles slightly.

"They use many words to explain and justify, but that is more or less it. There's a separate warrior caste, supposedly chosen long ago by the war-god Jarowit. Charged with defending us and so on. Of course they can't handle all martial duties on their own, so members of other castes are still allowed in the... less glamorous roles. We're each expected to venerate- wait, did that... book turn into a sword?" Dorota looks directly at Ambrosia.

[Murkus]

[The Interview]

Adir's truck pulls up to the Frescot house on a return trip. He sits at ease behind the wheel, the heel of one hand on top, and brings it in for a rolling stop. The stag knocks it into 'park' and looks at his passenger. "Well, here we are."

He flips a hand and gestures at the house with his palm. A lavish garden assails the walls of the house, old ivy growths in tight formation like a scaly suit of armor. There's almost certainly a child or two in sight, either running amongst the plants or filling one of the yard's open spaces with a mess of colorful plastic toys.

[Arkhosia]

The Interview

Adir's passenger, a woman of Asian descent in a dull green apron dress and hiking boots, raises her eyebrows. "We are indeed," she remarks, looking rather impressed as she takes in the estate. Her full lips form into a smile. "I imagine there's never a dull moment around here."

[Murkus]

[The Interview]

"That's what you're here for, I hope," Adir grins. It's easy to sense that he does that a lot. The seeming naiveté in the expression seems to belie an open and honest heart. "To help us have a dull moment or two. You ready to meet the crowd?" He forks a thumb at the kids in the yard.

The stag slides out of his truck and will start across the yard when his guest joins him.

[Arkhosia]

The Interview

That trademark goofy grin of his goes unnoticed as Calanthe's eyes linger on the lush greenery about the house - but she turns her head in time to catch the rest of what Adir has to say with a nod. "I hope I can meet their expectations," she jokes.

Stepping out of the car to follow, anyone outside will have plenty of time to get a good look at Calanthe, the newest arrival to the Frescot abode. She's rather petite in contrast to Adir with an hourglass frame and monolidded hazel eyes, and a pair of snow-white bunny ears peek out from a mane of voluminous brown hair that cascades around her shoulders. The corset of her dress hugs her waist and layers over a well-worn blouse with its sleeves rolled to just below the elbows and matches well with a pair of stylish black gloves.

The bunnygirl adjusts a wide-brimmed hat as she follows her host, looking about with curious eyes. "Not many other families out here, I take it?"

[Murkus]

[The Interview]

"Nope! Though, uh, a friend of ours lives just on the other side of that gate there," Adir pulls a hand from one of his pockets to point at the arch of woven wood that leads to the Keep.

"I made that!" squeaks a voice from Calanthe's right. There's a girl emerging from the garden with a colorful ball in her hands. She's got dark skin and a voluminous mess of pink flowers for hair. "It's my gate. Who are you?"

"Lucy, baby," Adir looks at his daughter and sighs, at once delighted and exasperated. "Remember to introduce yourself. And try asking for somebody's name, huh?"

"Oh, uh huh," the little girl agrees. "I'm Lucy." She seems to have already moved on from who Calanthe is though, because instead of asking her name, she says, "I like your hat."

[Gullara]

[Visiting Alchemist]

I am very much not. I am the book of books. That which other books strive to be.

Ambrosia glances at the tome. "And that's not all, isn't it?"
This sounds like a prompt as the pen pause mid-air instead of continuing writing. Like Jihye-I was considering something. It will give Lucy time to read the text if nothing else.

I suppose I can also do this.

And so, after a few moment as if allowing Lucy to read what it has written first, the book (and the quill pen) have been replaced by a large sword which is still floating in the same location.

---

"Oh, I'm aware of that. I mean, the definition of gods can be very different from culture to culture. Some might consider my city to celebrate a pantheon as we acknowledge other gods even if we don't directly worship them. Sort of a... rivalry between gods is what you could call it." Cessie then pauses as Dorota mentions Wenomir, her eyebrows once more raised. "Really? Usually the military is pretty..." But then she suddenly seem to reconsider. "Ah, don't want to put weapons in the hands of the peasantry do they? Somethings never seem to change no matter what the world you're in."

[Visiting Alchemist]

Dorota smiles slightly.

"They use many words to explain and justify, but that is more or less it. There's a separate warrior caste, supposedly chosen long ago by the war-god Jarowit. Charged with defending us and so on. Of course they can't handle all martial duties on their own, so members of other castes are still allowed in the... less glamorous roles. We're each expected to venerate- wait, did that... book turn into a sword?" Dorota looks directly at Ambrosia.

[Visiting Alchemist]

Lucy starts, and her jaw drops. "Ooh, that's neat!"

Meanwhile, Cora stops in place when she catches the transformation out of the corner of her eyes. The soccer ball flies past her and bounces off, but she turns and runs over to the group again! "Wow is that your sword? What's so cool, what kinda sword is it?" The words spill out of her mouth, barely time for a breath.

[Arkhosia]

The Interview

"Oh dear, you made that yourself?" Calanthe gasps in surprise, looking between the Frescot and the gate. She giggles as Lucy barrels onward. "Well, it's very nice to meet you, Lucy. It's not often you get to make acquaintance with such a skilled craftswoman. My name is Calanthe." The rabbit-girl tops it off by kneeling down and offering a hand to shake.

[Shadowcaller]

[Visiting Alchemist]

Ambrosia stands up and takes the sword in her armored hands, grabbing the hilt and the mid-section of the blade as she seems to study it for a moment.
Then Cora suddenly runs up to them and she looks up, smiling at the two girls. "Jihye-I is a ssangsudo." She explains, while she spoke the word fluently she repeated it again slowly so the two could really hear it. "It's a sword that requires a great deal of training to master." She runs her hand along the gentle curve of the blade. "See how big it is? It's size makes it unwieldy unless you know exactly how to handle it."

At this point she has gained the attention of Cessie too who doesn't seem to have seen the sword before either. She raises an eyebrow as Ambrosia takes the hilt with one hand and grabs the lower part of the blade with the other.

"Did it? That's the first time I've seen it." She sounds a tad skeptical now knowing that the book the scholar had brought along so many times in fact was a weapon in a magical disguise. Shouldn't that be something you point out?

Ambrosia focus is ahead of her however and she takes a step to the side so she stands in profile to the girls while going into a stance. "Now look at how I hold the blade. I need my second hand to direct it as I swing or it will create too much momentum. The sheer power it can produce requires me to put a lot of restrain in my movements." She will display this by holding up the sword, letting her hand move up a bit further along its blade before she swings it down into a short slash. Her second hand stopping the move before she swing goes too far. "If I allow the blade to move too much, it controls me instead of the other way around and I would spend all my energy swinging at the air or the ground rather than fight." She turns to look at Cora. "Cora, you have been taught by Wenomir haven't you? Why don't you tell Lucy why it's a good idea to conserve your energy in a sword-fight like I'm doing now?"

[Morty]

[Visiting Alchemist]

"It appears so. For something to change shape that much... neither of them are its real shape, I'd say. This is unlikely to be a physical transformation." Dorota is speaking with the confidence of an expert on the topic. "Cora seems very impressed, at least." It's easy to see the girl's overpowering enthusiasm even form here.