eswareinmal | [Orb]/[Action] - 20th of Rebirth's Decline

Entry tags:

[Orb]/[Action] - 20th of Rebirth's Decline

[It's on the home from the market that it happens.

Giles is not unfamiliar with prophecy. Memorizing and interpreting them had been one of his most important tasks as a Watcher more or less right up until the moments surrounding his death.

For all his latent and untrained magic power, it's not a gift he's ever been "blessed" with.

Until Schwanheim, that is.

And so now Giles can safely say that visions are, quite simply, awful. It's like being a radio when someone suddenly switches the dial to a station that's not in range, so that everything is static and nothing makes sense and he, Giles, is blind and deaf and helpless, surrounded by a swirl of colors and impressions and sounds he can't quite recognize, until it passes and he can push himself up off the ground.

The Sage stares blankly up at the orb, wondering what he'd even been intending to say before all of that had seized him. Details of the vision are still floating hazily through his head, like a particularly persistent, yet nonscensical dream. It takes him several seconds to realize that anyone might even be looking back at him but, when it does, he visibly tries to regain his composure, struggling back to his feet and pick himself up from the street.]

Well, then. That was, um...a bit alarming.

[Still obviously a bit dizzied, Giles realizes that his glasses are askew, and takes a few seconds to fuss with them and gather his thoughts about him.

What had he even been planning to say, before that happened?

Oh. Yes.]

About the, um...the recent rash of thefts...I, I just wanted to say that, um, that that should be over with. If you've lost anything of particular value, um, it should be returned to you in a day or so. But if you'd like to tell us, what you lost, we'll...well, um, we'll get it back to you, as soon as w can.

Th-Thank you.

And, um, on that note...I, I'm going to be at the library, today. [Anxiously, Giles glances up towards the castle.] Most of today. It seems I suddenly find myself in need of a map...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

What do you need the map for?

[[He's also very curious and a touch concerned what that spell was but he's not sure if he should ask]]

It's...rather odd, actually, but...

[No, the more the seconds go by, the more Giles is sure of this one thing.]

I...I need to know about any towers, that might be nearby. Beyond, um, whatever's on the castle that might qualify.

I don't know how well the map in the library would help for something like that... it's really pretty simplistic...

[[he really does need to figure out how to get back up to the Giants and make that map properly...]]

Might be better to ask around?

Ask around? Ask these people? [Giles gestures irritably at Schwanheim in general.] The ones who thought a forged signature constituted a, a binding marriage contract?

...needless to say, um, I'm less than hopeful.

... at least they should know where things are? If you're asking after rumors sometimes they're helpful....

I'm not sure I am asking after rumors. Then again, um, that might be precisely what I'm after.

[...helpless shrug.]

Mostly, um, I'd prefer to avoid speaking with any of them, for now. I'll, um, I'll keep that in mind, though.

I could ask for you, maybe? So you don't have to.

[[Since he's pretty sure he's manged to find the safe sources of information. Trading favors for healing was the best idea he'd ever had, seriously.]]

...could you?

[Giles tries not to look too hopeful. Really, the chance to get some potentially useful information and stay out of the public eye for a bit almost seems like too much to hope for.]

That, um...that would be wonderful, Bakura. Thank you.

[After a beat:] I could, um, compensate you for your time, of course.

[Not much, but he could.]

Don't worry about something like that! Friends help each other out, right?

...yes. Um, yes, I suppose they do.

[It's a lesson he knew, once, but that was a world away. All the same, Giles looks just a bit touched.]

Well, um, in that vein, I would be happy if you'd let us pass along some cake, at least.

[[That, he will accept as a bribe. He's still working on getting his cooking up to speed with the medieval supplies he has on hand, after all]]

If it wouldn't be a bother, I wouldn't mind that at all.

[[Still ultra polite about the whole thing, of course.]]

Mister Giles, are you quite alright?

I think so. Um, bit of a headache, but that's, that's probably only to be expected. Considering that I think I've actually just had a vision.

It must have been quite a strain. [ Magic isn't supposed to hurt you, Giles. ]

May I ask what you need a map for?

[You're obviously not doing it right, then, Tatra.]

S-Something about a tower. Um...there's, um, there's s-something that's going to happen, near a tower, sometime soon. I, um, I don't think it's the castle, though.

So...well, um, I-I just thought it might be enough of a landmark to wind up on a map.

I can certainly look through the castle library. Was there anything about the tower that was especially defining?

It's...[Giles closes his eyes, fidgeting idly with the mirror around his neck as equal parts nervous habit and attempt to refocus.]

...near a forest. Not, um, not sure if it's the Two Faced Forest, however. It...does feel rather familiar, at least in concept. So, um, we must have heard about it recently.

I'll help you, then. I can at least look through a few old maps.

That would be, um, greatly appreciated, Tatra. I only have the vaguest idea of where to start, as it is.

But, um, at least it's better than nothing. Or so I'm hoping, I admit.

Between the two of us I have no doubt we'll find something.

Four eyes are better than two, as they say.

Um, was there somewhere you wanted to meet? To, to compare notes, as it were.

If it isn't too inconvenient, the library might be a nice place to compare notes.

[ Oh gods. Helios almost audibly gasps at that. But it comes out more as a hitched breath. ] Giles. A-Are you...what happened?

Sorry. Um, s-sorry, I suppose that must have been...a bit alarming. It, it wasn't my intention, I assure you.

[...]

I think I've just had a vision. A, a prophecy. However you call it.

...it's decidedly unpleasant.

I-I know. [ A small sigh as he shakes his head. ]

D-Do you, um, want to t-talk about it? It must have been quite alarming if it made you lose your balance.

[ Not much can really do that to the other man, and Helios knows that all too well. ]

[Alarming is putting it mildly. But Giles doesn't say this out loud, because...well, he doesn't know quite why it was. Or, well, he does. It's just for a reason entirely disparate from the vision itself.

But he doesn't want to say as much over the orb. He is a sage, after all - a useful enough sort of role, for this place. What sort of a sage would he be if he admitted that even the thought of getting another vision like that makes something wrench in his chest?]

Well, um...there's, there's probably going to be another fight, coming up soon. I-I'm not sure if it's with something like the Hero, or anything else, but...there's going to be fighting.

O-Oh...another fight. [ Oh dear. Helios looks down at the desk he's sitting at, biting his lip as he's silent for a few moments. ] I sh-should probably get to w-work on more of these healing potions then.

[ They can use all the help they can get, then. ] What sort of maps do you need? I-I've been trying to make one of-of the forest...

[ It hasn't been going too terribly well. ]

...another fight, yes. [And so soon after the last one. And it feels like it's going to be so much worse - maybe not quite as emotional. But, in its own way, so much harder.] S-So, um. Yes. Probably going to be called for.

S-Sorry. [After all this time, Giles thinks he should be used to being the bearer of bad news. And, in a lot of ways, he is. But it's never come in this particular form, and that's thrown him off balance.]

...do, um, do you know if the Two Faced Forest is, is the only forest nearby? [Because that seems like the place to start.

It's nothing to be s-sorry for, Giles. It's actually helpful, g-given the fact that we can prepare for it now. [ But at the expensive of the other. ] I'm just s-sorry it affected you as it has. It's...not easy being a s-seer, from the ones I knew back home at least.

[ He can only imagine what Giles saw, and none of it was very pretty or happy. ] I believe it is, as far as I know. I'm not sure if there was a forest in the other city we visited. [ He was a bit preoccupied to take in their surroundings. ]

[And Giles, of course, still doesn't remember a blessed thing about the Old Capital. It's been a while since he's been quite so aware of this particular gap in his memory.]

Wonderful. So it, it might possibly be a metaphorical forest. [And he can't even pick up a reasonably informative prophecy. That just brings his battered spirits even lower.]

...it has been, um, rather dry lately, hasn't it? Weather wise, I mean. I'd been noticing, since getting back from the coast.

Perhaps a fire, um, really is in our futures.

[ It was strange and Helios had almost forgotten about it, but talking about it now does make him remember the other man's disappearance. ] Perhaps. There's a lot of land that we haven't covered here after all. It-it even be somewhere a bit remote to be fair.

[ Helios nods and lets out a thoughtful hum. He'll be moving about on his end, looking through pieces of parchment and the like. ] It has been rather dry, recently, very warm too. Maybe informing the locals about the conditions might help prevent it...

[ or not. He's really not sure if any local would really...listen. And then said almost as an after thought. ] Maybe it has something to do with the dragons. Or some other mythological creature that can breathe fire. [ Because let's not forget about the Dragon Sisters. ]

[Probably not. The locals have so far proven...well, remarkably useless. Giles is, of course, about as cynical as they come with regards to the capabilities of the average layperson in any world, but here, at least, he's not so sure it's just his cynicism.]

Dragons...

[Hm...after a moment's thought, Giles nods.]

I, um, I think it might be them, yes. Dragons...a red dragon...that, um, that sounds right.

[With a visible effort, Giles shakes himself out of his gaze and blinks back at Helios.]

W-What do we know about dragons?

Really? Y-You think it is dragons? [ There's a touch of worry in his tone of voice. Dragons are a very powerful and wise creature. ]

Th-they're...powerful. Exceptionally wise a-and have stores of magic beyond most magicians. But that's, um, in my own world. If we go through fairytales and...written works of them. Dragons are quite vicious, and dangerous. [ He doesn't really like saying it, but it is the truth, as far as written word goes. ]

They like gold and riches and princesses...

[Even if the sight of Giles falling makes her want to run to him and help, she knows he's a durable man and whatever happened has already passed. It won't stop Ginia from fussing over him, but aside from a look that says she expects answers at some point, she'll focus on business.]

Want company in the library? Second set of eyes? [After she finishes processing the return of stolen items. Some she remembers clearly enough where they came from, others will require their owner to speak up and provide a detailed description.]

That would be, um...v-very helpful, actually. Thank you, Ginia.

[If this headache keeps up, Giles isn't sure how much help he's going to be in a library.]

Maps. Maps are, um, probably our priority, today. Possibly, um, any historical texts that might be on hand, as well, although if Schwanheim is any indication of, of how things are normally done in regards to history, I'm not hopeful.

[He's also babbling, just a bit, but only because that entire vision was more than a little freaky.]

[Historical texts. There might be some in her books nabbed from the monastery, but she's only glanced briefly over the spines and skimmed pages.]

That I think we can do. I might have something that'll help, I'll bring it along.

[Worry wins out because Giles is not generally a babbler unless something happened, and even then it has to be something big.]

What happened, Rupert? Are you okay?

[Two of which are currently nestled safely in Giles' bag. Cross referencing - it's a hard addiction to break, and not all of his librarian habits died with Sunnydale.

Ginia's question is...well, quite simply, a hard one to answer. Giles knows, basically, what happened. What he doesn't know is what it means.

And that scares him.]

I, um...I think I, I had a vision. [He holds up the mirror.] Turns out, um, I really am a..."s-sage".

It's never been like that before, has it? What did you see?

No, not like this. I mean, um...the occasional flicker, or flash, but nothing I could identify. Really, um, nothing that I would have called a vision at all.

[...Giles takes a deep breath, and closes his eyes. In one hand, he holds the mirror tightly, but he doesn't even notice the points of it digging into his palm.

When he speaks, he sounds very far away.]

Fire. Ice. A tower. A river. A forest. A fight.

[Ginia taps her fingers together as she thinks on his vision. He has much more experience interpreting such things, but it seems easy enough, doesn't it? Find a forest near a river and a tower somewhere that, be prepared. Fire and ice could be literal or metaphorical.

She stands and begins to move about the room, packing up a few more books and some paper for notes, voice trailing after her.]

I'll meet you at the library. Or maybe a point in between? It won't take me very long to find you.

[Fire and ice could be literal or metaphorical...but, Giles is finding himself with the nagging, impossible-to-dispel sense that the fire, at least, is quite literal.]

By the bulletin board?

[Bakura had mentioned asking around, and the central hive of the town rumormill seemed like a reasonably painless place to start with that.]

By the bulletin board. [Her voice sounds muffled as she changes her clothes out of view of the orb. After one wardrobe malfunction across the journals in Luceti, she's not eager to repeat it in Schwanheim. Ginia returns in view wearing a simple linen dress in blue, necklace standing out on her neck.]

I'll see you shortly. I love you.

...see you there shortly.

And, um...I love you.

[It's not that he's not used to hearing her say those three small words. It's that it was a long, rough, bloody road even to get back to this point, and so hearing them now is just...something special.

And, after he shuts off the orb, Giles will head straight to the bulletin board. Despite himself, he indulges in a use of the invisibility clasp while he waits. After all...there's only one person that he wants to let see him today, and it's none of the people milling about.

But he'll bring himself back into visibility when he notices Ginia drawing near.]

[Ginia smiles before she returns the orb to its pendant-form. It's been a long difficult road to where they are now, so the words mean quite a lot. Why he still loves her after all this time is a bit of a mystery to her, but they love each other and she won't press more. She packs everything into a satchel, slips it over her shoulder, and leaves the house.

The bag and dress make it a little difficult to stealth around and she's not so inclined to shadow jump after her little adventure, so Ginia walks and endures the whispering as people see her on the street. At the very least, she'll look much more presentable in Giles' company even if everyone knows she's a rogue.

When Giles appears, she laughs and steps to his side.]

Getting good use out of the cloak, I see.

[Lavinia worries, she really does. And when he falls, there is a second where she forgets how to breath. But Rupert gets up easily enough and perhaps showing affection wasn't the easiest thing in the family. So she focuses on the part that's easier for her, hoping her grand-nephew will understand.]

If you happen to find a gold necklace with a ruby pendant, do be a dear and bring it back.

[...Giles purses his lips, at the question, showing all the usual outward signs of frustration and disapproval. But, really, the thought that Lavinia might outwardly show signs of concern hadn't really crossed his mind to start with. She just wasn't that sort of woman, and he'd worry more if she did.]

It, um, it certainly sounds familiar. What shape of ruby? I, I think there might have been a couple of them, in the pile. At least of what I found.

Teadrop shaped, quite lovely, very elegant piece, and believe me, it's so difficult finding pieces that aren't gaudy around here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Orb]/[Action] - 20th of Rebirth's Decline

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject