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 Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 8:42 pm
Naida was not the only one wandering the beach. Lancaeriel, taking a break from trying to meet everyone in the city, was walking along the edge of the surf so that as the waves rolled in, her feet were immersed and her tracks erased. Her hands were clasped behind her back as she strolled, her pale lavender eyes unfocused as she gazed at the sand in front of her. She was lost in thought, and even the sea breeze blowing her pale hair in her face was no distraction to her.
"Now, you've explained the origins of the races here," Earendil commented, "but of all of the Valar, you left one out ... Nienna. Did she guide anyone?"
Amanya smiled broadly. "The giver of wisdom," she murmured. "Yes, indeed. But no one in our land. No, she was the only one who returned to your land, and she taught a small group of people. They did not become a race of their own, for the races in your land were already distinct. Those she taught were united around a common goal instead. The peace of the land. These people became known as Druids."
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Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 9:12 pm
Naida had found one particularly pink scallop shell and was holding it up to the sunlight to watch the light bounce off of it. It would make a nice decoration she decided when she spotted Lancaeriel.
In all honesty, Naida didn't know Lancaeriel all that well, even though she had seen her a few times on the ship. Not that it mattered to her as she skittered (or skipped) over to the older woman.
"Oh!" Lin recognized of course the name.
They should since they were traveling with a reincarnated Druid. It made her wonder if Lancaeriel had been a druid when they were being guided by Nienna.
"I remember them... though only from what I heard from history."
She never asked Lancaeriel about it personally.
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Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 5:57 am
There was no question of Lancaeriel not hearing Naida's footsteps as she approached - of course she did, she was an elf after all - but she was not paying attention, and had long since tuned out the noise around her, and it was not until Naida was almost upon her that she realized that the girl was even there. She blinked, rousing herself from her stupor as if waking from a dream, and then she smiled at the white-haired mermaid.
"Good morning, Naida," she greeted the girl warmly. "A beautiful day, is it not?"
Now she was aware of the way the breeze was playing with her hair, and she brushed it behind her shoulders. It was a futile effort to control it, since the moment she lowered her hand her hair was once more in her face.
"Well, that would be the only way to know about them," Amanya smiled at Lin. "They have all long since disappeared, and no one knows if they died or simply gave up their studies. Of course, there is little that we can do from here in pursuit of such knowledge, though admittedly there are few who are even interested."
Earendil glanced at Lin. Should they tell the scholar about Lancaeriel? Lancaeriel, to his knowledge, had never tried to keep her former occupation a secret. He wasn't sure if she would mind or not. He knew that Amanya would be one of the interested people she had mentioned.
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Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 5:39 pm
Even though Naida was holding the seashell she found, her fingers twitched upon seeing Lancaeriel's long hair. She nodded though eagerly.
"It's a very beautiful day..." she trailed off and then not able to resist, "Can I braid your hair?"
She really tried, really she did, but it was just there and in the wind.
Lin looked thoughtful, as far as passed druids her understanding was that most of them had died... quite horribly at that. That had been one view of the past she had no liked watching, the only one worse was when the demons came to the lands.
"There is one person among us that would know, Lancaeriel," Lin murmured.
She didn't have to mention she was a reincarnated high druid, and really she knew Lancaeriel didn't really keep her past a secret, but if not one asked specifics. Lin wasn't going to offer it up.
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Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 6:10 pm
Lancaeriel pushed her hair back behind her shoulders again and laughed. "Would you? I have to admit, that's something I've never really been able to master."
She gave up trying to push it back and instead just held it in one hand to keep it out of her face, then smiled ruefully. "Perhaps we should find somewhere a little less windy to do this. Do you know of anywhere?"
She herself had a room at the inn, but the inn was a bit of a trek from the beach.
Amanya's curiosity piqued at Lin's enigmatic comment. "Oh?" she repeated. "How so?"
Earendil pursed his lips thoughtfully. "She ... has very deep knowledge of the druids," he explained tactfully. "She's studied quite a bit on the subject."
Quite literally.
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Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 6:20 pm
"We can see if one of the boathouses are empty, that's where I've been staying with Mom and Uncle Ryu," Naida replied.
It was closer than the inn at least, there was enough room provided no one was using it to sit and do a quick braiding.
Lin nodded at this, that was one way of putting it.
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Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 6:54 pm
Lancaeriel nodded. "That would work," she agreed. "Lead the way."
She could see the boathouses from where they were, but of course she didn't know which one the mers were staying in.
"But anyways, the elves became different, I'm assuming, as time went on and they remained separate from the other races," Earendil added, shifting slightly. "Did each ... um ..."
"Race," Amanya supplied for him.
"Did each race end up creating their own country?" he finished, nodding his thanks for the help.
"For a while, yes," the scholar affirmed. "After a time, land became an issue, and fighting broke out. It has been going on since, though there are breaks, of course, and it is not everywhere at once. So now, though there are six races of elves, plus the humans, there are many countries for each race."
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Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 7:42 pm
"This way!" Naida motioned for Lancaeriel to follow.
She walked with a bounce in her step towards one of the boathouses that was empty, of even a boat.
"More than one country?" Lin questioned.
She couldn't imagine what that must be like. Sure, humans (especially in Gaia) had more than one country, but they tended to look a bit different and had different cultures, even when borrowing from others. Humans were also mortal which allowed for that change in culture, as immortal, Lin could only imagine several countries that were quite similar to each other except in environment.
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Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 8:02 pm
Lancaeriel followed Naida, keeping up with her easily, and once they entered the boathouse and its protection from the wind, she released her hair gratefully.
"It's definitely warmer than the Four Lands here," she murmured, pulling her fingers through her hair in an attempt to tame it, "but you can still tell that Spring is weeks away."
Amanya smiled at Lin. "There are seven races ... but at last count, over twenty countries," she said quietly. "Though it must be said, people of a certain race are always welcome in other countries of their same race. Unfortunately, Caras Galadhon is the only place where people who are different are welcomed in safety."
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Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 8:21 pm
"The water is very cold, or at least that's what I'm told," Naida smiled wryly at that.
She went over to a corner, there wasn't a lot of room, but Naida's family had asked if they could keep their things here. It meant that the mers would have to live out of their bags but it was worth it just to sleep in water again. She had a comb (which was more water resistant than a brush as it was made out of shell). Once she found it, she made her way back over to Lancaeriel to help with the knots.
"Not a lot of people swimming...."
Lin scratched her nose thoughtfully, it wasn't the first time someone had mentioned that.
"How..." she tried to find the right word, "Bad is it for people of a different race to enter a country?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 8:29 pm
Lancaeriel smiled ruefully and sat on her knees so that Naida could reach all of her hair easily.
"It is," she agreed, "but even so ... it is pleasant to walk through it, at least. I can't remember the last time I went swimming. When I was a child ... each time I was a child, I loved to swim. I have learned how to keep myself warm in the water, though I only do so when I must."
She laughed softly. "For all of the magic I have learned, I must admit, I do not use an awful lot of it."
Amanya had to think carefully about the reply to that particular question before she could give it. After all, she had only stories to go by, no personal experiences of her own.
"I would say," she mused, "that it depends on the country, the race of the country, and your race. For example, many of the elven countries will allow you to be there, even treat you well ... but have no tolerance for marriages between those of different races. Some of the countries are not so safe. Some are just plain dangerous. But you would have to speak with someone from the country, or someone who had been there before, to know for certain which country has which standard of safety."
"In other words, we really do need a guide." Earendil sighed softly and looked at Lin.
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Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 9:13 pm
Naida shrugged, "If you can get around well enough on your own, then it doesn't matter. Most people in my family know a magic trick or two... or three.... but most of the time we don't use it. Except the walking on land thing for Mom, Uncle Ryu and me, but we need that one."
She grinned from ear to ear as she carefully went through the tangles.
"But Auntie Lin can teleport and I think she forgets she can most of the time. Mom can turn into a phoenix and Uncle Ryu can turn into a dragon, but most people don't know that."
"Even with a guide, I'm a bit worried about the idea of going through some areas depending on how bad it really is," Lin admitted, "We've been a bit spoiled over the years. Most places we've been to, haven't been that bad, or we've had a lot of help."
They didn't train as much as they use to and with the children that made Lin even a bit more nervous. Really she was thinking about the children.
"And Wren is coming with us too...." she added suddenly.
Her father let her go because they had assumed (wrongly) that it would be perfectly safe. It made Lin want to put her head in her hands and groan because she knew a stubborn ox when she saw one.
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Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 5:53 am
"And Miyuki can turn into a fox, and Andarien can see magic ... though I suppose that's different for him, since it's completely passive," Lancaeriel mused. "Do you know what Earendil's magic is? I don't believe I've ever seen him use any."
She was curious - but then, magic was her area of study and expertise. How could she not be?
Amanya tilted her head curiously. "Wren?"
"Our cousin, Princess Wren Elessedil, the last of the Elessedil line," Earendil explained. "There are a lot of Aldriches, so we're perhaps not as important as she is in the grand scheme of things ... but the Elessedil line is very small. Aside from the king and queen, there is only Wren and her father."
He looked down at Lin, and there was a slightly amused look in his eye. "You do realize there is no way you're going to convince her not to come with us," he pointed out.
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Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 7:38 am
Naida thought about it before shaking her head, and then realizing that Lancaeriel couldn't see that, "Not a clue, it might be making certain things out of thin air. Auntie Lin owns these metal like flowers that Uncle Earendil made for her. They use to glow, but they stopped. Probably because the earliest ones was from when she was a kid and so she lived apart from him."
She remembered seeing them on the window sill the few time she peeked into Lin's room, but that was a long time ago.
It was then Lin did exactly what she wanted to do, and that was place her face in her hands and groan.
"Yes.... I'm fully aware of that, but the responsible part of me wants to at least give it a go, even though it's pretty futile."
Especially since they were taking their children with them, and their children weren't shining examples of people you wanted to take along with you on a potentially dangerous trip.
"Especially," Lin pulled her hands away from her face, "Because I know she'll just point to the fact her father gave her permission even though we know full well he did so thinking it would be perfectly safe."
A small side of Lin (one that suspiciously sounded like her father's snarky voice) muttered in the back of her head that Wren better have found someone by the time they were done considering how much trouble this was going to be.
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Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2013 7:39 pm
"Interesting," Lancaeriel remarked. "Perhaps I shall ask him about it sometime. I can't imagine what it might ... unless ..."
She trailed off, thinking about what she knew about magic, and wondering if she might know what it was, after all.
"Tell me," she murmured, "do you know if these items start out feeling like their equivalent in reality? Before they stop glowing?"
Earendil sighed softly. "You're right, she will," he murmured. "But she will probably also tell us - and rightly so - that it is not our place to say anything. Lin, she's a grown woman, older than I am, and just because she's not settled down like some others have, it doesn't mean that she can't make her own decisions."
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