Then he lives! You've met him! [Often. Is his world like this one? Was Sigurd snatched away from all their friends and his army? She had thought, when she saw a man who could only be Arvis' son astride the throne of Grannvale, that it meant her brother had failed in his quest to clear his name and return home--that he had died, just as she and Quan had.
But maybe he hadn't. Maybe he was taken away at a crucial moment, and that was how it happened. Maybe he's all right.] Please--tell me everything.
Attempt that again and I will ensure you lose your arm.
[ the look he gives her is profoundly irritated. ]
Your brother would be ashamed at your behavior. He has treated us with grace and helped us of his own will. I said he was summoned. Not captive or mistreated.
That makes no difference to me. Healing can be taught, it's not hereditary. Like your manners.
[ rafal crosses his arms. no wonder sigard had the patience of a saint, if this is what he grew up with. ]
If I wanted to lie, they would be far more believable.
It is not his soul. It is an amalgamation of him. A copy, so to speak. A guide, who allowed the summons to call him. He aided the Divine Dragon in saving the world.
[ his voice drops low. ]
Unless you think Sigurd would not do such a thing?
itt: "YOU KIDS THESE DAYS AND YOUR WACKY GAME MECHANICS"
Your words make less and less sense. First you say my brother was summoned to your world, and then you say it's not really him, but something made of some--some incomprehensible sorcery that somehow acts like him. Can you possibly explain if my brother is alive or dead and how he came to be in your--possession, or care, or whatever you deem fit to call it?
[The idea of Sigurd agreeing to help save another world is the most believable thing about this. He--or--whatever this Emblem version of him is--probably didn't even ask any questions before agreeing.]
As for healing and manners, I use both when needed. You should consider lessons. I offer them regularly at the clinic.
I think not. You have thoroughly squandered my good will. We are done here.
[ he is profoundly irritated, both at the attempt to grab him and the rudeness. and he usually pays that back in violence. he can see why sigurd spoke little of his siblings now. rafal turns on his heel to leave. ]
[Ethlyn covers her mouth with a hand. That isn't what she meant to happen.
She's twelve again. Twelve, and facing down an impossibly haughty lord who sees an upstart child trying to play the lady. That isn't true. She's a princess and a healer and the leader of the Arztenritter, and while he might come to learn that in time--probably next time a gigantic monster attacks the town and he nearly gets disemboweled attempting to fight it--but she's not willing to wait. Who knows how long he's going to be here?
She needs to swallow her pride. It's bitter, but medicine often is.]
Wait! Please, I--I apologize for my rudeness. This is the first news I've heard at all of my brother for over a year. I... believed him to be dead. Like myself.
[ her brother. that does give him pause even as rafal grinds his teeth irritably. he is still invested in that. nel would chastise him if he didn't help. and . . . he has to admit, he would have been far less charitable if their positions were reversed.
rafal sighs before turning around. ]
He is. The emblems summons heroes and heroes choose to answer the call. But it does not bring the hero alive and breathing. It brings . . . a version of them so to speak. Embodying the time when they were at their peak.
Sigurd spoke of his death and his son to us often. He chose to help us so we could avoid the same fate as his world.
[She shuts her eyes. She can't allow herself to cry here, not in front of this person of power and arrogance. She has to save it for later. There will be plenty of time when she's alone.
She knows, in an academic way, that she had to teach herself these lessons. But they were learned by a different her, not the one whose memories have been dumped into a laundry tub and pounded with a mangle until she doesn't know which are real and which aren't.]
Is Seliph... alive? [All she can do is cover her eyes with her hand, but she can't keep the shaking from her voice.] Did he even know?
[ rafal isn't one to soften. he's not a soft person. his past was far too brutal to give way to tenderness. still, he shows some decorum by not commenting on her sorrow. ]
He is alive. Sigurd mentioned it to me. His son is a credit to his father.
[Ethlyn knew that her children lived. Now she knows that her nephew lived, too. It's more than she ever hoped to know about how the world went on after she was torn from it.
A credit to his father. Not like Altena, then, raised by her nation's direst enemy. Happier than Leif appeared to be, she hopes.]
Thank you. [For the information, and for not mocking her for her unseemly display.] I have been terribly worried, all this time.
...I don't know. When it comes to knowing when to worry, Sigurd hasn't always been the best judge.
[Maybe teasing her brother for his recklessness is less funny now. She knows how it ended. But it ended that way for the both of them, and she can't help but be affectionately amused that even in death, he threw himself into an effort to help more people.
She takes another moment to try and regain her composure.]
Unfortunately, our stay here is less voluntary, and much more physical. So if you are determined to go out and fight monsters, I would recommend that you don't rush into it. We've had immensely powerful entities attack this town--well, city--before.
[She's so used to Aldrip being a small town, it's still hard for her to remember that she shouldn't be calling it one anymore, even when the evidence is towering above her head.]
Well... far be it from me to doubt the capabilities of a dragon, but an enormous sea monster that towers over the trees and corrupts the land itself with its dark powers could put you to some challenge.
[That was not on the list of reactions Ethlyn expected. It would, of course, be too much to hope that he would say something like "I see! I shall move through my new world with a due sense of caution and prudence!" but she had expected denial or scoffing or some hint of doubt.
Not... eagerness.]
It was not fun, believe me. It was terrifying and many people were seriously hurt trying to stop it before it could destroy all of Aldrip.
And yet your confidence frightens me. I'm sure I will think differently once I see you in action, but usually when I hear someone declare that they have nothing to fear, the next I see them is under my healing staff.
[SHE HAS TOO MUCH EXPERIENCE WITH HUBRIS.]
I am sure that you can legitimately claim the title of the most powerful being in your own world. But this is a different one, full of unfamiliar things... you may be taken by surprise.
[ it's not so much pride as a joy for battle. pitting his power against others, especially opponents who may be as strong as him. it's a rare opportunity in rafal's eyes. ]
[Control, Ethlyn. Self-control. Just like with Lady Friege and with Duke Dozel's older sons. At least Rafal isn't making cutting comments or making downright insults. It's easier to try and avoid offending someone when they aren't being... deliberately offensive.]
...As a dragon, are you able to be treated by human magics? For example if something did challenge you sufficiently to give you a serious wound. I want to be sure I have the ability to heal you with an ordinary staff.
[For that matter, how many spools of suture will she need to stitch up such a wound? He's nothing more than a man now, but surely his dragon form is... sizable.]
[ when he's a dragon, it's unlikely. possible, but unlikely. it's rarely been done. dragon magic doesn't go well with human magic. either way, he's not concerned. he's just excited to have a good fight. ]
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expiationlogs2024-04-14 10:44 pm
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I do. A man named Sigurd hailed from it. He spoke to us about it often.
[ now that he looks closer . . . she seems more familiar. ]
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Then he lives! You've met him! [Often. Is his world like this one? Was Sigurd snatched away from all their friends and his army? She had thought, when she saw a man who could only be Arvis' son astride the throne of Grannvale, that it meant her brother had failed in his quest to clear his name and return home--that he had died, just as she and Quan had.
But maybe he hadn't. Maybe he was taken away at a crucial moment, and that was how it happened. Maybe he's all right.] Please--tell me everything.
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I cannot tell you all there is. That is too great a discussion to have in one meeting.
I can say this. Sigurd was summoned to a world as an Emblem. He resides in a ring and we can call upon for aid and advice.
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Are you--are you saying that my brother is being held captive in a piece of jewelry? To be used as your pet soldier?!
[She immediately moves to grab his arm. If he's wearing that ring, it's coming off right now.]
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[ the look he gives her is profoundly irritated. ]
Your brother would be ashamed at your behavior. He has treated us with grace and helped us of his own will. I said he was summoned. Not captive or mistreated.
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That would be unwise. I'm one of the few genuine healers this town has.
And don't you dare tell me how Sigurd would feel. How am I supposed to trust you? How did you come to possess his soul?
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[ rafal crosses his arms. no wonder sigard had the patience of a saint, if this is what he grew up with. ]
If I wanted to lie, they would be far more believable.
It is not his soul. It is an amalgamation of him. A copy, so to speak. A guide, who allowed the summons to call him. He aided the Divine Dragon in saving the world.
[ his voice drops low. ]
Unless you think Sigurd would not do such a thing?
itt: "YOU KIDS THESE DAYS AND YOUR WACKY GAME MECHANICS"
[The idea of Sigurd agreeing to help save another world is the most believable thing about this. He--or--whatever this Emblem version of him is--probably didn't even ask any questions before agreeing.]
As for healing and manners, I use both when needed. You should consider lessons. I offer them regularly at the clinic.
at least we have less incest
[ he is profoundly irritated, both at the attempt to grab him and the rudeness. and he usually pays that back in violence. he can see why sigurd spoke little of his siblings now. rafal turns on his heel to leave. ]
TOUCHE
She's twelve again. Twelve, and facing down an impossibly haughty lord who sees an upstart child trying to play the lady. That isn't true. She's a princess and a healer and the leader of the Arztenritter, and while he might come to learn that in time--probably next time a gigantic monster attacks the town and he nearly gets disemboweled attempting to fight it--but she's not willing to wait. Who knows how long he's going to be here?
She needs to swallow her pride. It's bitter, but medicine often is.]
Wait! Please, I--I apologize for my rudeness. This is the first news I've heard at all of my brother for over a year. I... believed him to be dead. Like myself.
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rafal sighs before turning around. ]
He is. The emblems summons heroes and heroes choose to answer the call. But it does not bring the hero alive and breathing. It brings . . . a version of them so to speak. Embodying the time when they were at their peak.
Sigurd spoke of his death and his son to us often. He chose to help us so we could avoid the same fate as his world.
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[She shuts her eyes. She can't allow herself to cry here, not in front of this person of power and arrogance. She has to save it for later. There will be plenty of time when she's alone.
She knows, in an academic way, that she had to teach herself these lessons. But they were learned by a different her, not the one whose memories have been dumped into a laundry tub and pounded with a mangle until she doesn't know which are real and which aren't.]
Is Seliph... alive? [All she can do is cover her eyes with her hand, but she can't keep the shaking from her voice.] Did he even know?
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He is alive. Sigurd mentioned it to me. His son is a credit to his father.
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A credit to his father. Not like Altena, then, raised by her nation's direst enemy. Happier than Leif appeared to be, she hopes.]
Thank you. [For the information, and for not mocking her for her unseemly display.] I have been terribly worried, all this time.
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That is understandable.
I heard this directly from Sigurd. He did not seem worried.
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[Maybe teasing her brother for his recklessness is less funny now. She knows how it ended. But it ended that way for the both of them, and she can't help but be affectionately amused that even in death, he threw himself into an effort to help more people.
She takes another moment to try and regain her composure.]
Unfortunately, our stay here is less voluntary, and much more physical. So if you are determined to go out and fight monsters, I would recommend that you don't rush into it. We've had immensely powerful entities attack this town--well, city--before.
[She's so used to Aldrip being a small town, it's still hard for her to remember that she shouldn't be calling it one anymore, even when the evidence is towering above her head.]
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[ this is definitely largely pride. rafal knows he can be overwhelmed if need be. it has happened. but he still feels he has a right to ask. ]
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[This is definitely not a hypothetical.]
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That sounds like fun.
[ a challenge. a real one, from the sounds of things. corrupting the land, huh? still not on rafal's level but he's charmed by it. ]
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Not... eagerness.]
It was not fun, believe me. It was terrifying and many people were seriously hurt trying to stop it before it could destroy all of Aldrip.
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[ why would it? he is a fell dragon. he smashed the world. he's crumbled empires on his lonesome. ]
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[SHE HAS TOO MUCH EXPERIENCE WITH HUBRIS.]
I am sure that you can legitimately claim the title of the most powerful being in your own world. But this is a different one, full of unfamiliar things... you may be taken by surprise.
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[ it's not so much pride as a joy for battle. pitting his power against others, especially opponents who may be as strong as him. it's a rare opportunity in rafal's eyes. ]
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...As a dragon, are you able to be treated by human magics? For example if something did challenge you sufficiently to give you a serious wound. I want to be sure I have the ability to heal you with an ordinary staff.
[For that matter, how many spools of suture will she need to stitch up such a wound? He's nothing more than a man now, but surely his dragon form is... sizable.]
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[ when he's a dragon, it's unlikely. possible, but unlikely. it's rarely been done. dragon magic doesn't go well with human magic. either way, he's not concerned. he's just excited to have a good fight. ]
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