RP:Of Gods and Giants
Part of the Hour of Wolves Arc
Summary: Hildegarde received a scroll about Aramoth from Gualon, and Rorin arrives while she's reading it. They talk about gods, giants, and the issues facing Frostmaw.
Royal Academy of Aramoth
Hildegarde speaks to a muscular orc and sets her hand upon his leather and fur pauldron. “Send the Governor my regards,” she bids him with a friendly smile. It is evident that these two somehow know each other, but how exactly is unclear. “I hope we see you again, my friend,” she says in farewell, removing her hand as the orc turns to leave; meeting his band of merry orc friends at the door and trudging out of the academy and presumably back to Gualon. The Silver moves towards one of the long dining tables and sets down the document that the orc had given her, stretching out the scroll in order to better look at its contents. The scroll is ancient by the looks of it. To those who are so inclined, it gives off a sort of divine aura.
Rorin walked into the dining hall with a tone in hand. It was one of few, equestrianist, ancient temples, local legends, some smattered with frost giant language though rare, others with flowing elven script. He was walking towards the tables of food when he sensed something that made his half-elven wars twitch. It was that ever familiar sense of divinity that flowed through him and into this world. Rorin turned towards the emitting item and his left eye attempted to look it over before he spoke to it's owner. "Excuse me, what-" Rorin trailed off as he looked up, "miss Hildegarde!" He paused for a moment as he was a tad lost for words, "er, it's good to see you." Rorin cleared his voice and attempted to straighten his posture as an automatic response in his subconscious to his highers, "might I ask what you're reading? I sense something special from it." It appears Rorin wouldn't sit unless asked out of manners.
Hildegarde lifted her head when Rorin said ‘Miss Hildegarde’. It was a long time since she had been called ‘Miss’ and it was rather refreshing! “Rorin,” she greeted with a little smile, “It’s good to see you, too. Please, sit, enjoy some of the food,” she bids him, gesturing to the bench she sat upon and inviting him to sit by her. As he asks about her scroll, the Silver offers a gentle ‘ahh’ as she smooths the parchment out. It’s clearly ancient. “It is a scroll regarding an artefact of Aramoth’s. I know not what it is, but… well, I am a devout follower and given that I am now royalty, I have the power to seek these things out when I find the time. The Governor of Gualon is a, well, a good friend and ally of mine and I had asked him for any Aramoth related documents for me to read. He is not the faithful type,” she said with a wry little smile.
Rorin found that saying 'my queen' bothered his paladin side in a way. 'My lady' sounded much better but here he'd been flustered. "Of course," he smiled a bit pleasantly and thought of sitting across from her before she gestured next to her. It sounded awkward as he barely knew the queen in reality though it would be rude to do otherwise. Rorin laid out his books as he did and continued to look over the smoothed out parchment. "Interesting. I wasn't aware of how religious you were or your particular inclinations," he rubbed his chin in thought, "in my experience totals usually send some out to look for artifacts. As a warlord I imagine that would get boring for your though," he chuckled as the thought of queens raiding tombs sounded improper to him. Clearly Hildegarde was the personal type of queen though who preferred to act. Soldier-Queen he thought. "I would think there are plenty of artifacts of Aramoth especially around the battle torn ways of Gualon. I can't read Orcish though I can read elf and dwarf if that helps, even a bit of the ancient tongues. Otherwise I could attempt to scry some divine insight, if you'd like help," he smiled generously and would offer such simple charity to any who asked. He always liked to help.
Hildegarde smiled as Rorin chatted away, leaning back to listen to him. She did not bother to hide the scroll or the text it contained, she had faith that he wouldn’t be so rude as to snatch it away or to try and read it entirely without permission. When he says he was unaware of her religious beliefs, the Silver dipped her head briefly and gave a gentle chuckle. “Ah, I was not always religious,” she tells him, “I was once a woman who had very little faith. I wished to depend solely on my own strength, not the strength of the gods. But… when I needed strength the most, I found myself praying to them. Aramoth is the one I felt answer me,” she explained, hoping he would understand. Religion and the gods were a strange topic. As he offers to try and translate what he can, the Silver offers him a kind smile. He was a sweet boy. “It is ancient text from when the giants were the Jotun and the Traends, before they both parted their ways and moved to Gualon and Frostmaw respectively. The Jotun are the ancestors of the Frost Giants. The Traends of the giants who reside in Gualon, though it is largely populated by orcs these days,” and ruled over by Tristram. “It’s a whole lot of scroll for such little text,” she gestures, meaning that the giants had large handwriting and the scroll contained less information than what this actually looked like! “Balgruuf lost an artefact of Aramoth. They called it Aramoth’s Toothpick,” it was more like a club with a pointed base, “and it was lost during the civil war.” Her fingertips tap the scroll, “But this is a little more interesting. Not that I have time to search for it, unfortunately. I must focus on the issues at hand, my friend.”
Rorin only skimmed the scroll before he left it to her devices so as to gain an idea of it's origin or meaning perhaps. "I know that much of frostmaw follows the war god. I can see why, battle and strength is a valued part of the frost giant culture. There is only so much we individuals can do. Truly, when we have fallen, only the Gods can pick us back up. All fall upon the Gods when times are hardest," he understood that the will of Aramoth found her. "Each of the divine impose their will up on us in different ways. Only when we wish to listen can we hear them answer our calls. Aramoth must have found you as a great vesel for his strength. Truly as queen of frostmaw one could not doubt your potential to display it!" Rorin chuckled in complete surety of his words on the topic. Many of this academy truly were embodiments of strength. It was a unique experience for a paladin of Arkhen to be exposed to and he was just glad there was a place of worship for all down stairs. "I surely do not know much of the frost giant written word. And I would not know any differences between the current and ancient languages of it. Thank you for telling me, otherwise I'd be missing out on some history! Aramoth toothpick eh?" He rubbed his chin and thought it a somewhat funny thing to search for. "About those issues at hand. There must be someway I can help? Track down criminals or something? So far I've been able to cure a few of the addicted and purge the effects of the drugs, at least the red dust, but is there anything else I could do my lady?" He was in fact genuinely concerned. Rorin believed he should be exhausting all the energy he had to help Frostmaw. He just needed someone to say when and where.
Hildegarde nodded along with his wisdom regarding the gods. They were truly mysterious and mortal man relied on them much, whether or not they knew it. When Rorin mentions the written word of the giants, Hildegarde smiles, “It is very rare. The giants do not write much. We tell our stories via song or word of mouth, but we seldom write,” she speaks as if she too is a giant, though it is plain to see she is not. It is simply the words of a Queen who loves her people. “Ah… Well. I cannot be everywhere at once. I cannot hire sellswords all the time, the treasury would not survive. But I cannot allow it to remain disorganised. I need someone to assist Lionel… but I don’t know where he is as of late. He’s a busy man after all,” she says in an understanding voice. “But my people cannot suffer much longer.”
Rorin had quite a time trying to learn the written word of giants. "I have needed much council and education on that part. Though I do enjoy the sounds of some of the frost giants tales, they are still difficult for me to both understand and repeat. Reading it is twice as difficult." Rorin thought about Lionel and all the man was undertaking, "Khitti has become his aide-de-camp in lieu of Briar, may she rest in peace. He is indeed quite busy and Frostmaw is sorely missing his free time. Kitty is gone to Chartsend however with Brand, so I believe there will soon be some changes within the guild." He sighed and felt over his books. He certainly wouldn't be getting training from Lionel any time soon but he rarely did regardless. "I am ready to give Frostmaw whatever aide I can whenever it has need of me my lady. You need merely point the way," his fingers automatically went to the silvery knights badge Lionel had nearly forced him to take. Rorin still wasn't sure how he felt about it.
Hildegarde listened to Rorin voice his anxiety, particularly regarding Lionel and his absence. “Well, I need someone to assist with maintaining law and order on the streets. Help out with patrols, keep people safe,” the Silver said. “As for training… I can provide some of that,” she tells him, “I am a knight, you know,” she told him with a playful nudge to his arm. And she was a damn good one. A good enough fighter in order to rule the City of War.
Rorin recovered a small smile and would be more than happy to help. "That I can do my lady. I'll go to a guard house and volunteer my work. Do you know of any in need of help?" Unless she had some more precise idea for his service. He didn't mind working amongst the guards and foot soldier's or watch men of the city. Truly Rorin would donate his shield wherever it was needed. Training from Hildegarde... That seemed like a real noon!
Hildegarde shook her head in regards to specifics, “For now, I would say we need more people on the streets and protecting the people,” she told him. “We can organise some training down the line, but for now, I must go to a meeting.”