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 Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2024 7:21 am
Quote: The Crystal Garden (2): The Crystal Garden takes up the majority of the Event Hall and is an expansive collection of hand crafted crystal flowers created specifically for this event. The garden is impressive and magical; while there is little effort to make identical replicas of the flowers used for inspiration, each cut of crystal seems to capture the light and make the flowers glow. Many of the flowers are easy to recognize and are true to life in size and shape, but there are sections of the garden with flowers that come in fantastical sizes and shapes. It feels like stepping into another world. During the daytime, the natural light from the glass windows and sunroof makes it easy to see fine details, and when the sun goes down, the artificial lighting spreads beautiful rainbow prisms across the ground and walls. No matter what time of day you visit the garden, you’re guaranteed a beautiful sight. There are several locations specifically designed for photographs you can take on your own, but the venue has also hired professional photographers to help you capture yourself in the moment. Contributing artists are credited along the back wall, and if players have characters with glass or crystal skills they are permitted to have donated to the display. If your character is a professional photographer, you can also play them as employed at the venue.
They were alike enough to his own people that he could blend in with ease, but life on Earth was… different. Everything was faster, and louder, and more. He preferred the quiet found within the Gallo’s carriage house, where the only people to disrupt the silence were children coming to teach him the finer points of the language, and Eld, who knew him well enough by now to understand when Tyr felt more reserved, and when he could be coaxed out.
The cooler weather of an Earth winter prompted Tyr to relent more often. He already dreaded the coming warmth, knew summer would arrive before its official start date, that there were many long months of heat and humidity ahead. So when he was invited to this event, Tyr took advantage of the time of year to put a temporary halt to his favored pastime of being a hermit.
“I see why you wanted to come here,” he said—flat, not unimpressed, but amused yet unable to show it. Tyr wandered through the garden at Eld’s side, watching the sunlight sparkle off the crystal flowers. “If you’re thinking of adding some of these to your collection, you’re out of luck. I don’t think these are for sale.”
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Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2024 10:11 am
Eld chuckled quietly in amusement at Tyr’s comment.
“Is it that obvious?” he wondered, a smile on his lips, although it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I think they’re charming. Not quite unlike the crystals back home.”
They weren’t crystal flowers, but the light shining off of them was the same. Glistening and peaceful.
“It was no secret that I enjoyed sparkly gems. I thought they were pleasant to look at and fun to collect. I enjoyed flowers as well.”
He was quiet again, clearly sinking into deep thought as they walked. He kept his hands loosely behind his back. It wasn’t entirely clear if he was looking at the crystal flowers, or if he was merely staring into a distant memory.
Eld knew that Tyr hadn’t had a life like him. He didn’t have the freedom to do as he wished, bound instead to what others told him to do. Eld felt guilty for not knowing back then, even now. He didn’t want to burden Tyr with stories of his past, knowing Tyr had been forced into stasis for all that time in between.
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Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2024 10:16 am
“You enjoyed a great many things,” Tyr said.
He didn’t sound resentful or chastening. The anger he once carried for Eld had long since dissipated. By the time the Council had begun discussing his fate, oscillating between stasis and execution, Tyr had known that Eld likely hadn’t deserved his anger to begin with.
The past was not something Tyr necessarily enjoyed discussing, but ignoring it was impossible. Even a thousand years later, parts of it still followed them. For Tyr, there hadn’t been much of a difference between days and centuries in stasis. For Eld, the long years of decline carried far more hardship and turmoil. Tyr often wondered how Eld could still remain cheerful.
“We can talk about it,” Tyr offered. “If you want.”
He hadn’t asked much after reuniting. Eld hadn’t offered much either. They’d found one another, sought comfort and relief from each other, and shared just enough about the fate of both of their worlds to come to an understanding, but they kept many of the details close to the chest. On Alastor, fighting back against the Chaos that threatened to consume it, Tyr had seen pieces of Eld’s despair. Afterwards, Eld had seemed hopeful. Practical, but optimistic, too.
Tyr knew that couldn’t be all of it, that Eld wasn’t entirely immune to heartache. Eld couldn’t be so cold-hearted that the losses he’d suffered weren’t agonizing.
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Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2024 10:22 am
Another quiet chuckle escaped as he shared a questioning glance in Tyr’s direction. There were plenty of things he wasn’t sure he should share. Things he thought he might want to. Things that were best left forgotten, or buried deep inside his memories. Things that kept him up at night -- things that didn’t matter any more. The loss. The heartache. The grief and sorrow. The reluctant resignation into acceptance.
“My kids and their kids used to collect things for me. I didn’t used to collect so many things. They would bring me gifts. I couldn’t imagine throwing those things away. And then there were so many things they needed. Clothes. Toys. Things for their houses as they grew up. I liked crystals. Liked the way they sparkled and could light up the darkness with a single light source to aid it.”
He paused and flashed Tyr a somewhat sheepish grin. “I lost count, you know. It’s not that I’m trying to brag. Well, no. I am trying to brag because they were wonderful kids -- good parents too, when it was their turn. It was just… a challenge to watch them get older while staying the same. Watching until I was the only one left.”
Another pause and this time Eld shrugged. “It was a long time ago. The world could no longer sustain anything living except plants. It was… well… let’s just say I prefer cheeseburgers over a salad.”
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Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2024 10:23 am
Tyr couldn’t imagine what it must have been like to linger for a millenia, frozen in time, watching loved ones perish one by one. Then again, he didn’t have many loved ones to mourn. His mother had died before he and Eld met. His older sister had been reborn and walked the Earth in a new life. His younger brother… Well, Tyr did his best not to think about him. Given the state of things, Tyr assumed he’d perished long ago. Perhaps he’d been reborn on Earth, too.
“Did you have children already when we met?” Tyr asked.
It was easier to let Eld talk, easier to imagine Eld’s life, even if pride and joy and family had almost become foreign concepts to Tyr. The more Eld shared of himself, the less opportunities Tyr had to lose himself and dwell in his own memories. He didn’t resent that Eld’s life may have been easier than his own in some respects. Tyr’s misery was hardly Eld’s fault.
But the more Eld spoke, the more Tyr came to realize how little he actually knew of Eld’s experiences—not just in Surtur’s decline, but in the life Eld had led through all of it, even prior to their first encounter. They were not strangers to one another, but there was so much left to share. On Earth, they seemed to have all the time in the world to do so.
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Posted: Sun Feb 11, 2024 10:35 am
“I did!” Eld laughed, with a little more enthusiasm this time, although his smile was still sympathetic as he glanced over at Tyr. “I can’t say I was a very good father at first. I was rather young and impulsive. Trying to accomplish something that was considered impossible. I regret not being there for those I considered my family back then. I like to think they were sincere when they said they understood why I continued with my work.”
Trying to unite worlds to build strength and share resources. It was a dream of an idealist, or maybe someone who was lost from reality. He’d made a name for himself in accomplishing a good deal of his goals, although being called the conqueror wasn’t exactly the epithet he would have picked for himself, but it worked.
“Once the Chaos started settling in, although we didn’t know that was what it was at the time, and when we were prevented from leaving home… ah, well… it was a little easier to start focusing on what was really important.”
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Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2024 4:23 pm
Tyr said nothing for a while, answering only with a simple “mmm” of acknowledgement as he gazed upon more of the crystal flowers. Being cut off from other worlds had almost been a blessing in disguise for him. The Council had less of a need for him when there was no one to negotiate with—except each other. His lot in life hadn’t improved drastically, but even those minor changes had offered some relief. Even the thought that he might be executed had brought him some comfort.
A shame the Council decided against it.
“I’m sorry you lost them,” Tyr said. Though he didn’t sound particularly sad, he was at least sincere. “But…”
Tyr hesitated, unsure what he meant to say, unsure what he wanted to say, whether he could trust himself to speak the truth or not. He wasn’t prone to lies but he certainly kept things close to the chest. Now that he had more control over his own life, he didn’t share much of himself.
Maybe it was that there wasn’t much worth sharing. Maybe it was that he’d rather move on. Maybe he was simply afraid to.
“I’m glad you survived,” he concluded, figuring there was no harm in that.
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Posted: Thu Apr 04, 2024 8:30 am
Eld was quiet while Tyr gathered his thoughts. He knew there were things he couldn’t understand that troubled Tyr then, and now. He knew how different their lives had been, without really knowing.
He wouldn’t force him to open up, for he felt as though that ran the risk of making Tyr struggle harder to keep things to himself, or perhaps Eld would push so hard that Tyr would break, never to be the same again. He didn’t want that. He wanted to gain his trust -- more than he already had.
Which was why when Tyr finally spoke, he smiled. He didn’t respond immediately, but he did pause so he could turn more fully towards Tyr. He lifted a hand to affectionately and lightly brush his knuckles across Tyr’s cheek as he tucked back some hair.
“I am glad you survived as well.”
They still had so much in life to look forward to now. They would have to take it one step at a time, but Eld was relieved that he would be able to navigate through everything with Tyr there to support him, as he would support Tyr in return.
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