RP:How Have We Not Talked To Each Other Yet?

Part of the Dissonance Theory Arc

Part of the Lies Within Us Arc

Part of the The God of Undeath Arc

Part of the On Stranger Tides Arc

This is a Devout's Guild RP.

This is a Mage's Guild RP.

This is a Warrior's Guild RP.

Summary: Khitti goes to speak to Kasyr about a book Queen Hildegarde is seeking. The two talk of others things, mainly of what should be done with Quintessa and her path to redemption.

Frosted Parlor Room, Frostmaw

Khitti || A letter had been left in a convenient place that Kasyr might find it, finally acknowledging what he’d said at the Mage’s Guild meeting. ‘Can we meet in Frostmaw? It would just make this easier.’ Once Khitti had the time to pull herself away from literally far too many things, she’d head to Frostmaw, and Kasyr’s house within the city. “Sorry… about the meeting. There was a lot going on and I honestly don’t trust a lot of people with this information, even if I trust most of the people that’d been there at the bakery,” she said, settling into a chair at the meeting table. “If people like Quintessa found out what Hildegarde is looking for… I don’t know what she’d do with that info. I love her and I acknowledge her as my own daughter now, but…” Khitti hadn’t exactly forgotten what had happened with the druid and Xalious trees. “Or Karasu with her affliction. Or that Enelys girl who had her head entirely too far up her own arse.” Khitti sighed. “Basically, Hildegarde said that Satoshi had been in possession of a book that spoke of a prophecy. I guess the two of them had gone over it in the past. The prophecy was about something called the ‘God Ether’. Hildegarde and the high priestess, Leone, did a ritual a few years back that I was present at, in order to ask Aramoth for assistance. She has supposedly gotten help since then from him, and was told about something she thought was called ‘God Eater’, but she was wrong, and has since come to me to help her find this ether instead. I thought it best to ask you first before I went looking for the book. Perhaps if you and I actually knew each other better or if I’d even known Satoshi at all, then maybe I would’ve just waltzed in to look for it, but…” She just gestured vaguely at the lack of a relationship with the former queen and the lack of friendship with Kasyr. “I’m not even sure why I’m most comfortable with telling you this,” she said with a smirk. “I don’t think I’d even trust Rorin with the knowledge of it. Too many extremes on both sides of the good and evil spectrum, I guess. Whereas you and I are in the middle of it.”

Kasyr , on his own, is generally not what one would consider an ideal host. Thankfully, he's not exactly alone when it comes to the frozen Manse. After all, whilst they'd stayed clear during the larger gathering- there was was a serving staff, in the diminuitive forms of the foxlings and red Pandettes. Really, they do the crux of the legwork when it comes to cleaning up the estate- though today, they'd been given the additional request of cooking up some grub. In this case, it turned out to be another bear, albeit with a whole lot less disorder left in their wake. Just ignore the weird crimson splotches being mopped up near the front door. The -Important- thing, is that they're providing a tasty looking beer stew for both the Kensai and his guest, which has the additional benefit of the meat having been braised in a combination of port . . . and a bit of heating potion so they don't freeze to death while they chat. Speaking of which, "...I'm familiar with her ambitiousness." It was a bit too close to what his had been like. "Not so much with Karasu's thing other than 'curse'. Though- that seemed a bit like possession- which almost never ends well." The mention of Enelys, however, just has the Kensai rolling his eyes, sticking a spoonful of soup in his mouth, and focusing on the wall. "Mm." At the very least, the rest of the exposition's fairly to the point- "Honetement, I really do appreciate you asking, before barging in. This place -was- meant as a sanctuary et not a... drop in center." The expression he has is rueful as anything, " I feel we're in the middle of far too much. But, as to your request - can give some more context about the book? A title, peut-etre or?"

Khitti tried really hard not to straight up ‘awwwww’ at Kasyr’s housestaff. She’d been long acquainted with sentient beasts of the sort, as Lanara had passed on her polar bear cub, Aspen, when she was forced into an insane asylum in another land. The bear had been an integral part to Dominic’s childhood so far, serving as a friend to him, along with the chickens her kid had adopted. Really, she should find him some kids his own age, besides his cousin Fleur, but… the few she knew about were werewolves and they grow much more quickly than a human does. #FirstWorldParentProblems. She couldn’t help but laugh at Kas’ eyeroll in regards to Enelys, the action quickly covered up as she dove into her own bowl of stew. “That’s the problem, unfortunately. Hildegarde told me she thinks it’s in a tome Satoshi didn’t even realize she had.” She thought it over, trying to remember what the Silver Queen had said. “Oh, duh…” A hand reached into her dress pocket, pulling out some notes. “Right, yes. She said she’d talked to Odhranos some time ago and discussed the passing of a comet. The comet fell and broke into pieces somewhere and they were trying to find out what sort of riches it might hold but that apparently it tied in with the prophecy. Are there books on the astral bodies? It may be something that’d just been mentioned in passing. I told her regardless of whether or not I found it here, that I’d head to the Shadow Plane. There’s a tribe of seers there that are keepers of prophecies--and not just for their own plane of existence. There were things about me in there… so it’s safe to say that the one Hildegarde is looking for is there as well.” Khitti shoved another couple of spoonfuls into her mouth, chewing each one thoughtfully, “All that aside, this is frakking delicious. I swear stuff like this tastes so much better in Frostmaw…”

Kasyr is glad he has the food, because it means he doesn't need to add some sort of sage sounding interjection when the story progresses. It's only when she reaches the point about the type of book that the Kensai finally relaxes- if only because he gets a sort of epiphany. "Shouldn't the library have some sort of Index? I mean, it should be fairly well curated, especially given just how diligent . . ." There's a proud gesture made towards the hallway, where a shadow scurries by carrying a blood filled bucket and a hatchet. "...Mm- They are definitely handling leftovers." Scratching at his neck, he very carefully calls over, "Uh- when one of tu get the chance, Es there a list of acquired books, ou an index that you can bring here.?" The silence that lingers after is a bit awkward, and the Kensai briefly entertains the thought of having to expressly track one day to make the inquiry. ..Maybe they heard. "Oh? OH. Yes, they're quite good. They wer- are devoted to the Frost Maiden- and given they've always been here to my knowledge, i think that puts it as just countless generations growing up et teaching each other their craft. As far as staff goes, they're able to rival even the ones I had attending to moi in Vailkrin. It makes bearing with the cold tolerable."

Khitti || The blood splotches that had been on the floor and now the bucket and hatchet had not gone unnoticed of course, leading Khitti to smirk again, “You’re not the only one that used to be a vampire, Kasyr. The world of death in all forms is no secret to me. There’s a reason why I work with Delisha and Vakmatharas now, in addition to Cyris. As for the library, it should have an index, yes. I don’t know much about Satoshi, but I expect that most that have their own personal library take great care of it.” She watched the interaction between the former king and his assistants, stifling another grin. Khitti did not think this discussion was going to come with an entertainment portion and yet, here it was. “If the book is in fact here, do you mind if I borrow it briefly? I just want to take it to Hildegarde. I need to keep her mind solely on this task. She’s been told about Odhranos’ disappearance and we do not need the City of War getting involved in Mage’s Guild things. Though she’s a different sort of monarch than Macon and Josleen, it could be every bit as bad as Larket getting involved. She’s even been informed of Larket’s involvement as well. It’s a wonder a new war hasn’t broken out yet, but I can assure you… She was not pleased.” Khitti frowned somewhat, then shrugged and shook her head. “I promise no harm will come to the book, however. At the very least, I want to copy down everything that it might have on the subject into a separate notebook and add it with anything I might find in the Shadow Plane. And if I do not return it directly here, I’ll leave it in a safe place for you to find it--like either the Warrior’s or Devout’s Guild headquarters."

Kasyr is considering trying to explain that this is probably just the side effect of the staff dealing with the remnants of their meal- but honestly, just about any way he cuts it, it sounds like an excuse. "...Yeah. Er, anyways- I imagine it shouldn't be too difficult to navigate, enfin." He says that with so much confidence, too. "Anyways, Hildegarde es a generally reputable sort, et as for you-" During the course of their meal, she hadn't given off any sort of sign that things were amiss, leading the Kensai to simply shrugging, "I mean- just don't herald another apocalyptic event, et I'll call it a win." The mention of Frostmaw backing the mages effort is a -considerable- relief, and one that helps to paint a more easygoing expression on his face, "Well- I appreciate your willingness to caretake the book et ensure it remains intact when we do find it. Finding replacements es an unenviable task at the best of times." There's a pause for a moment when she mentions where she might leave it, prompting the Kensai to add, "The devout's guild might be preferable- given we've done an admirable job of painting a target on the warrior guild, asofar." It's at this point that a foxling scurries into the room- if only to pass a sheet of papers towards the Kensai. "Wait a second." ...Paw prints. It's just all paw prints and scrawling. It means something, undoubtedly, but. Could Satoshi read this? Was this a prank, or? "Uh- Do you have another of these? For our guest, of course." Yeah, that's why he needs it. With a deep bow, both the foxling and pages bustle out of the room- the sound of pattering feet indicating that they're ..probably bringing a replacement?

Khitti || “Trust me… I don’t -want- these apocalyptic things happening. It just… kind of follows my family around, even if it’s not directly related to us. Lionel attracts this as much as I do, so… I’m sorry for your involvement in it all,” Khitti said, sighing as the foxling heads off to get a legible copy of the index. “Sometimes it makes me wonder if my homeland had the right idea about banning magic. Things like this didn’t happen there and when it did, it was all underground--literally and figuratively. Then again… if it had not happened, I guess I would not be here in Lithrydel right now.” Khitti would not have met Brand (though she had no memory of him right now) or Lionel or Meri. She wouldn’t have met Quintessa nor would she have had Dominic. A lot of positive things would not have happened to her if the necromancers had not attacked her village or if the council that ruled over Dhavislaav had decided to burn her at the stake instead. “I don’t agree with the methods they used to ban it, however.” It’s rather obvious they weren’t good methods. She doesn’t need to explain it. “It’s just… a very difficult situation and I’m grateful for some of the things that had happened on the archipelago. But this is not the first problem we’ve dealt with and I’m certain we’ll get rid of Xicotl soon,” she said, trying to sound positive. She was still uncertain whether or not her magic was going to be of any help at all though. “At the very least, we have Lionel back and he’s basically the guild’s mascot. If there’s anyone that can raise the guild’s spirits, it’s him. It’s sure as hell not me.” Khitti gave an innocent cough at the end.

Kasyr lips purse slightly at what Lithrydel would have looked like were magic managed in a stricter manner. "I'm not sure. The gods would have still existed. The Prekleks still would have come. There's so many aberrations out there that simply existed or found their way here- et the idea of them coming across a country without the means of being able to fend them off es just as bleak." A world where Vuryal could have been one of the sole magical super powers as the avatar of a god was. Ugh. "I agree that it es something that constantly asks we be more mindful of what we teach the students, so that going forward they cease making the same mistakes." The mention of the guild, and Lionel has the Kensai scratching a bit at his chin, and trying to figure out the best words to sum it up, "Given the way trouble follows -all- of us, I simply hope he can see it in his heart to raise up some imbibable spirits for us, c'est tout." ...It's a pleasent thought, but for the life of him, he could swear he heard a plaintive bird cry in the background. "Calice." Anyways, oh look- there's the foxling again, now with- well, it looks to be an actually well written ledger for the books. Kasyr gives it a brief gander, nods, and then slides it across to the table towards Khitti, mindful of her bowl. "I -think- that'll have what you're looking for in it. To find it in the library, I mean. Es there-?" When he turns to address the foxling for any other adjoining documents, he comes to the realisation it's already quietly pattered out of the room to resume it's duties. "Right."

Khitti nodded in agreement, “Yeah that’s definitely true.” She sighed. The topic of moralities was certainly a difficult one. If magic was banned, then anyone that used it might as well have been dead or in shackles. Even putting restrictions on them was tricky and it was something both the Necromancer’s and Mage’s guild had to do regardless, so that the dark side of magic didn’t fall into inexperienced hands. “Unfortunately for me, I’m mindful about the magic and not other things I say.” Quintessa came to mind again, as well as the regret Khitti had for telling the changeling to use her anger to fuel her magic and fighting. She was not the best role model when the two met and it’s obvious that Quintessa can be rather impressionable. “I need to tell you something and I need it to be between us for now…” But Khitti was cut off by the appearance of the foxling, with a book that was definitely not written in paw prints. She took up the ledger, letting the suspense hang as she looked it over. For the most part, none of them really seemed like it’d have the prophecy in it, until she found one about divination by way of the stars. “This one might be it,” Khitti said, pushing the open ledger back to Kasyr. “Astromancy. The book is called ‘The Only Astromancy Book You’ll Ever Need’. That -has- to be it.”

Kasyr finds himself snickering, if only because of a certain bit of synchronicity, "Apparently that's something all of us share- if Enelys speech was anything to go by." There's a shrug that follows, before he begins to casually poke at the dredges of the soup, and the bits of meat that had sunk to the bottom. "Hrm? I mean, Je vous promets- I'm good at keeping secrets. Et, uh- I don't think the household es the most chatty, enfin." Or present. Little Ninja's or something. Anyways, Khitti's getting him back on task with work that needs doing, and as far as things pertinent to her search- this seemed about it. Better yet, the book didn't seem to have any notes marking it as lent out- though that didn't belie the possibility of a note being wedged between the books. The fact that the Pandettes had left a few notes sticking out from the book case after the guilds last visit led to the serious suspicion he was going to have to hunt around after his guildies for either some missing or mis placed books. ...Unless they were books he misplaced again. Maybe he should doublecheck the office. "Uh. But, yes- this should address it, J'pense? "

Khitti || “Quintessa was behind the attacks on the Druid and Xalious trees,” Khitti said after a lengthy bout of silence. She stared at the table now, crimson brows furrowed, a frown lining her pale lips. “I was at the Xalious attack… I fought against her and her help, whoever they are. Gevurah was there too, along with a small regiment of her people. The only way I could stop her was to use my light magic on her, but even then it still didn’t help. It ended up cutting off her connection with dark magic for a short while, until I helped to heal the burn I’d made. There won’t be another attack; the third vial meant for the tree in the Enchantment was used on Krice instead. Have you heard of this Caluss? Some great insectoid? Gevurah knows of him too. I intend to speak with her soon. And I’ve already made Quintessa aware of my intentions. She might not like it, but I’ve worked with Gevurah in the past and it’s necessary once more, in this case. I don’t know what to do for Quintessa. At the meeting she seemed so… drained. Without hope. I’ve not seen her like this… She does feel remorse for her actions and I cannot help but relate to her. I did a lot of bad things like this, even when I knew I was getting help, when I was searching for my vampirism cure. I don’t know what to do for her, because I never figured out what to do for myself. One of the first things I told her when we met was for her to use her anger as fuel. For her fighting. To get through life in general. She wants to make things better, and I intend to help, but… now she’s hearing voices and my magic, when I tried to heal her, made it worse.” Khitti eyed Kasyr for a long while. She could not recall if Quintessa had ever told her if Kasyr knew about her whole vampire act and therefore chose to not make mention that some of the voices she heard was her birth mother’s. “Some of the voices are from Caluss himself.”

Kasyr was -trying- to eat soup, but the fact of the matter is the remnants of it end up coughed up to the side in a noisy spit take. "Merde." He's doing his best to take it in impassively, but he can't help the way the frown on his face deepens- not only as Khitti continues delving into the conflict- but also at the Kensai's own recollections. Had it been tied to an ambitious power grab? A Gamble- or something akin to the changelings dealings with Gospel? A colder voice inside of himself reminded him of something else. Hadn't he said he'd move to put down the changeling if she'd proven herself to be a threat to Vailkrin or the continent? "Uuugh." That she was crushed by the weight of her actions was a mixed blessing- one that the Kensai had sympathy for, and even a weird sort of reassurance since it meant she wasn't doing something currently. But wasn't that normally when the worst decisions were made? When plagued by despair. "Voices- like madness, or snake things, o-" ..Or caluss. Well. "I'm familiar with that Deity, though only through his works. The one thing I do know es his reputation to be more unkillable then most." Running his hands through his hair, the swordsman finds himself unsure what to say, and so he simply sticks to what's easiest, "Figuring out what her goals are now- what she wants to achieve, et what she feels she did wrong along the way will likely provide -somewhere- that a plan of action can start. But at the same time, as much as having a project to throw yourself into es certainly a way to -distract- et possibily provide a focus to try et gather herself. It's, not exactement the best solution- but the endless pile of work I chase es more or less how I've stayed afloat." And alcoholism. And you don't have that now, do you Kasyr?

Khitti || “Sorry,” Khitti muttered as Kasyr tried to take it all in and was doing a bad job of it. “You can see why I didn’t want to tell anyone else. I had always told her that if she turned into someone like Larewen that I would put her down immediately but… I knew before she did this that she’d planned to from the start. She’d been found out by Krice over a month ago when she tried to kill the Druid tree back then, and Krice reported it to Lionel, and Lionel actually -had- meant to kill her until he sent her to me. We had all talked about it and promised her help but… something else gave her the push to do it while I was distracted with Lionel’s disappearance.” She sighed and pushed her bowl away finally, a hand coming up to her face to rub at her eyes. “This whole thing with the Mage’s Guild isn’t helping. I think she needs to go back to Vailkrin after this is all over with the Order and with Caluss. She needs to focus on House Dragana and her studies in the Necromancer’s Guild. She still needs to finish her book on toxins too, I think. But there’s a problem with that too.” The redhead was clearly hesitant but decided to say it anyway, “The other voices are from her mother. Her -real- mother. And I’m worried if she goes back there that Quintessa’s mother will get her claws into her too. Moreso than what she already has. Quintessa is so very much like me and that makes me all the more worried about her.” Another sigh was given. “I just need you to help me, as her other teacher, keep her on track as best as we can with things and keep an eye on her. But don’t tell her I told you any of this. -I- haven’t told anyone else. They’ll kill her if we do and… I’m not sure what I’ll do if she dies.” This was very much a warning of ‘I will probably kill these people if they kill Quintessa’ and everything will absolutely end badly. “The Order cannot find out either.”

Kasyr begins to massage at his temples as the crux of what he'd somehow missed begins to pile up. A disasterous open secret, and he'd been busy working while it accumulated into yet another problem that now threatened the continental balance, "There were a few times I could have left her for dead, et didn't- despite being aware of her inclinations, so I can't say I don't know the feeling." Though, in that case, he hadn't been explicitly trying to kill her. "I agree, however. There's -too- much pressing down on her, et I think it's only going to compound this sense of hopelessness et desperation. I'll try et keep a better eye on her- though, I can't imagine I'm still her favourite person." At least, if the scathing words Karasu had to say were any indication of how her opinions- given Quintessa had likely been the source. "I'll also try et make sure Vailkrin doesn't eat her alive while she's like this. if she es to go back et tend to her housing- it's not a good time to be displaying any sort of weakness. Slipping up, or the like." With a sigh, the Kensai begins to fiddle around in his Jacket for smoke- though he does pause after he retrieves it to ask, "Want one?" He's really not sure what else to say here, and he's not even bothering to keep up any facades to display otherwise.

Khitti shook her head at the offer of a cigarette, “Somehow, I never got into the habit, despite having an affinity for fire.” She smirked and shrugged. “Things are slowly, hopefully, working in our favor, I think… at least. I’ll have her work with me to speak to Brenwyn. She can go with me to try to rid Karasu of her curse. I’ll try to keep her as close as possible. She even said she’d willingly work with Gevurah, so…” There’s another shrug. “Bradyn has dipped back into the shadows again for now, so I’ve heard, so she’ll have one less ally there. But, she can add me back into House Dragana as a vassal, like I had been before, and that should help. You can guide her with the politics and I’ll deal with the… teenager... issues.” All of a sudden Khitti realized that Kasyr got the better end out of this agreement. Khitti was going to hope that maybe some sort of feel-good story can come out of this, where Khitti and Quintessa both learned to understand their emotions better. “Even if you can’t exactly get close to Quintessa anymore, just keeping an eye on her from afar works for me.” The former templar seemed to feel a little better about things, and it started to show, “Teenagers aren’t the end of the world, unlike other things. We just need to get them onto another path. Even if the path is the lesser of two evils.” Yeah, Khitti hated politics. “I should… probably take my leave. I need to start making arrangements to go to the Shadow Plane.”

Kasyr is already in the process of rising to his feet, though it's more due to a distaste for tracking ashes through the house. Sure, the staff's diligent- but frankly, trying their patience seems less than ideal. "Yeah- That seems like a solid plan of action. I'd be mindful of Gevurah, however. Not for the immediate point of time- but because there's always the possibility that once Quintessa's usefulness reaches an end, she might decide that moment is as good as any to act on spite." With an exasperated sigh, the Kensai is reminded of politics, "And yes- I'll do my best to just...pray that things in Vailkrin don't somehow implode." Fingers crossed. "It was good to talk to you for a moment when it wasn't all pomp, ceremony, or panic." That said, the Kensai moves to leave the room- albeit with the additional comment of, "And do grab the book on the way out."