sharlayan sundered

The pages were not long-folded - in fact it was almost as though the maps had come with him. Practiced fingers pressed out all of the indents as he murmured to himself, cloak shielding him from the autumnal winds, “As always has been, thine moon hast little bearing on thine pageantry of stars, Spirale Island.” It made for a complicated system of tracking which stars were visible when.

“A conundrum, indeed. Forsooth thou wouldst bringeth me in at a different season than thou hadst me leave.” While the thought trailed off, he became aware that it was not only the island he was speaking to, atop the cliff. Turning around, recognizing features that likely hailed from Eorzea, he bade the man a small wave.

“‘Fore thou think mine words are for some invisible entity, some spirits whilst liveth on this cliff of tribute - ‘twas a simple way to express mine frustrations with the machinations of this place.”

An oasis among a sea of stars. A twinkling universe at the edge of theirs. Not untouched, but in its beauty something to behold, and a place to simply be, for a time.

And of course, he would thank the stars that he were not here alone.

“Tis too long since mine eyes hath last beheld thee, even t’were it to only be a moon.” While they would not share in the art of scrying the night sky to avert fate, he was aware that M’Nhuji had been able to find a path suited to his own defiance. Even were it to worry the astrologian. A hand moves to Nhuji’s cheek, briefly, the ghost of a touch, as though it were to be an ephemeral illusion.

“T’would see that fate hath deigned to offereth respite to weary explorers.” Ever speaking of fate in the third person, as though it were one to be referenced, real, physical and there to offer its machinations. “Wouldst thou wish to see what marvels this port in the sea of stars hast to proffer since our departure?”

      → His rather… Archaic way of speaking aside, Fragile looks at the rather sizable pile of books beside the stranger. While she assumed he simply wanted to transport the one he was reading… It seems that the blonde is sorely mistaken in her assumption. Humming in thought for a moment, she begins to say:

      ❝ While it depends on where exactly your ‘abode’ is, ❞ she takes out the umbrella previously nestling atop of her bag, now opening it and twirling it briefly before continuing.

      ❝ I don’t currently have the means of transporting so much cargo in one trip. So, how about instead I help you carry them to your housing and when I am able to properly transport larger cargo with ease… I will do so for you, free of charge. How about it? ❞ if only she could carry them through her Beach; then that would make things very easy.

“Tis in the City of Glass.“ ...So a bit of a trip from here. But he would have to manage somehow. Likely with the use of public transportation, but the extra pair of hands would help an extreme amount. “Thus, if thou wouldst considereth the distance, then thou wouldst see why I must declineth thine offer of free services.”

Nodding to show his understanding, he stands up to hand the star back to the other. He didn’t like how it was leeching the warmth from his hand anyway.

“Urianger.” He tests out the name, repeating it with a perfect French accent. Thinking about how to introduce himself, he pauses for a moment. He knows better than to give out his real name to a stranger, that could be dangerous for Servants – and by extension, their Masters.

“Erice calls me – Pran.” That was the name he was more familiar with at the moment anyhow.

Strangely, although the other spoke in an uncommon way, he used concepts that Pran was familiar with to explain himself, which made him easy to understand. Although, there was one word he had used that Pran didn’t know, but he was somewhat familiar with the parts.

“…’Astrologian’…” He could figure it out himself, surely. “’Astro-’ – stars… space. ‘-logian’… Place?” Blue eyes light up as if he had just made the discovery of the century.

“You! Arrange… the stars?!”

“Thine pronunciation is quite something. Given elezen names, tis oft that one accepts whichever pronunciation is given.” He takes the star back in his hand, and looks down at the boy while he introduces himself. “Then I shall calleth thee Pran as well.” While he did not know who Erice was, surely they were someone important to young Pran, given that he was using a name that this person had bestowed upon him.

At Pran’s definition, he chuckles, pulling out a notebook full of notes and diagrams. One has a diagram of what looks like a constellation shaped like a spear. “Tis something of that kind, thou art on the correct path. Mine goal is not to arrangeth the stars, but to placeth the images bespoken into the stars, to placeth our view of the stars unto the great expanse of the sky.”

He points to the spear, gesturing to his notes on the topic. “The Spear of the Celestial Arcana. Wielded by the the Fury herself, the Spear which resteth itself in the domain that which Mephina createth for her.” Urianger smiles gently at Pran.

“ A game, huh… That makes things a little better, I suppose. ”  Because under any other circumstance, a door locking behind you would be much more foreboding. Ashton observes the timer on the wall; 30 minutes, in bright red numerals. That’s really not that long at all. They’ll have to work as a team, and an efficient one at that. Hopefully, Ashton thinks, he can do his part.

The offering of a name prompts the recollection of his own manners. “ Oh, it’s Ashton. Ashton Anchors. Good to meet you. ”  In unison, the dragons above his shoulders each bestow the stranger with a growl intended as a greeting.

“ So…”  A cursory glance about the room…  “ Wh- Where should we start? Maybe the books on that shelf might have a clue. ”

“At least, as far as mine knowledge canst taketh me, tis a game.” There was always the possibility they were trapped, but given the panic on the young man’s face, he would keep his calm. Ashton Anchors it was, then, to be his partner for this.

“Tis a fine hypothesis, Ashton.” He starts to pull at some of the books, looking at each of them. It would take too long, certainly, to go through each and every one, so perhaps a pattern...

“Twould first be good to not entangle them necessarily, and thus mayhap we couldst first check if there art some sort of mechanism with thine books? Whilst attempting to ascertain a pattern...”

Huh. This… isn’t where he’d intended to go. In a search for the exit of this establishment, Ashton has somehow found himself in what appears to be an ordinarily furnished room with a man standing inside it. Nothing unusual about that. Except, when he turns to leave because this isn’t the way out he’d sought, to his bewilderment the door locks behind him with a mildly dismaying and very firm click. “ Um… ” There’s a swivel on his heels in the seconds that come after. Now hold on…

“ Stuck? Wait, wait, wait… It wasn’t supposed to lock like that, was it? They told me the exit was on the right. ”

Urianger tilts his head, looking at the - well, what appear to be summon spirits of some variety - on the young man’s shoulders. The elezen taps his chin and walks up to the door, looking up to the timer.

“T’would appear to be...Well, one wouldst hope that thou hath steppeth into a game of sorts. Thine presence hath made mine a duo, and thus the game hath begun.” He walks back over to the bookshelf, making sure he himself had not tripped any sort of mechanism.

“I hath beheld an advertisement of such things - an escape room, t’would seem to be.” Looking over at the other, he does attempt to seem comforting.

Without, of course, realizing that the docked boat had set up a series of escape rooms after dark on Friday evenings.

The door clicked shut and a timer appeared on the wall. Cocking his head to the side, he turned to the other person who had walked into the room.

          SEEING THE STARLIGHT BRIM WITHIN urianger’s gaze was always a treat in itself. humorous as it was to see him near flattened against the glass, the fact it was due to his excitement is what causes the smile upon his face. rather than being cooped up, something he did often, it was nice to drag him out more than just passing errands or strolls. ❝ Thought ya might like it, yeah. Been around a few of the areas myself, but nothin’ extensive, ❞ he admits easily enough, having taken the time to at least prospect the area where their newer home now rests.

          eyes shift to glance out the window once more, noting their closing arrival to the destination. and before long the cart they’re in halts, sidling up to an area where they can get out. shifting forward, he’s careful to stand, offering to help urianger in turn with a cheeky reply.

          ❝ Our collection, eh? Thinkin’ you might mean your. Most of them books in that house of ours is belongin’ to you and what not. ❞ how many has his own contribution been toward the piles? somehow it feels like a mere drop in the ocean, a shake of his head.  ❝ This way toward the peak, Uri. We can go to others after, whatever or whenever you wanna. There’s a fair bit to do here… actually, we might need to come back another time if we wanna get through it all, thinkin’ on it. ❞

It wasn’t a surprise to him that Nhuji had done a bit more exploring. While Urianger was, still, content (if not more content than ever before) to sit in his home and read, Nhuji was not so much. While Nhuji was not taken by wanderlust or anything of the sort and was, also, more content in their new home than previously, there was certainly one of the pair that was more adventurous than the other.

That is not to say that Urianger had not gained some sort of appreciation for travel and adventure during their time in the first. “Tis in our home, tis not?” He offers a cheeky reply of his own as he gets up, leaving the cart and taking Nhuji’s hand. Less for need nor want or help and more for the novelty of it.

“Wouldst thou not consider them to be our property, then?” He laces his fingers with Nhuji’s as they walked toward the peak.

     “Well, that it surely is. You need not justify your usual dwellings.” It’s not as though the Waking Sands or the Rising Stones enjoy much more sunlight than your usual library either, so she would have to scold the other Scions all the same. ( Especially Tataru, who never seems to be able to leave the place. )

     Be that as it may, this nice day may yet turn into something slightly darker, starting with unfortunate news, as he calls them. Blue hues narrow at his words, but she takes a seat beside him without uttering another complaint, puzzled look remaining on her face all the same. It would be a lie to say she wasn’t prepared to find some unpleasant things, but so soon?

     Things are not as they seem after all, and he would have good reason to carry that notebook with him. Her prior smile has all but vanished by now, confusion since replaced with something serious. “What do you mean by that? Pray tell… everything you know, and leave nothing out.” ( Not again, the whole truth this time. )

He is pleased that her reaction seems to be to take a seat, which would be recommended for this kind of conversation. While her smile had vanished, he attempted to keep a calm smile on his own features, a hopeful reassurance that he had been through this before, and there was no need to panic.

“Whilst thou knoweth me, it wouldst be best to start with thine name, since I do not know it.” Opening up his notebook, there is a drawing of the eclipse, “But thou art on the island of Spirale. Thou were’ brought here by an eclipse that occureth approximately eight-one times per full rotation ‘round the star of this place. The eclipse is the harbinger of both arrival and departure. Myself, I am here with mine own Warrior of Light, M’nhuji Tia. There hath been many and more Warriors of Light that hath come and gone. Many of the other Scions as well.” A small sad smile graces his features at that.

“But, luckily for thee, I have remaineth. This place periodically undergoeth transformation. Twas quite recently that the landscape was covered in full by shimmering diamonds that couldst only be broken by the construction of crystalline weaponry that couldst only be obtained by an encounter with golems.” There is a list of descriptions of events, with dates next to them.

The tiny Servant took a lot of things in stride, accepting them without really thinking about them. After all, he’d been given his Golden Record in attempt to communicate with Extra Terrestrials, so he safely felt like he could assume the other was some type of alien lifeform. He was on a different planet after all. 

Things like the man’s height and appearance, his strange speech pattern, and the way he wasn’t human or servant could all be explained with this theory.

Pran mimicked the man and crouched down when the other did, thinking it was maybe some type of greeting he wasn’t familiar with.

He held out his hand and showed the man the star that was still attached to him.

“It’s… cold… It doesn’t glow…” he said with concern. “Is it… dead?”

Urianger tilts his head as the child crouches with him, although that would only continue their height difference. Perhaps it was some type of mimicry, as the fae could often do such things when they found themselves in a new social situation. He does not remark on it, instead looking to the decoration that the young boy had in his hands.

“Tis bit a decoration. A facsimile of the stars in the sky, to be replicated upon mine person.” He picks up another one of the decorations, showing it to the young boy.

“Twas a gift from friends of mine, who hath decreed that mine visage was far too plain for their liking. As mine specialization is that of an Astrologian, so did mine companions decideth that mine equipment shouldst reflecteth the stars in the sky.”

Were he not so attached to them, and were he not sure Tataru would have his head for the destruction of it, he would have given one of the decorations tot he child. He would have to keep an eye out for similar decorations, or perhaps something that glows with the warmth he was expecting.