Difference between revisions of "4488/Autumn on the Lake"

Latest revision as of 16:23, 1 September 2016

Sarah (316) has posed:
  Autumn through the Toran Republic is sharp and swift, bringing an abrupt end to the long and warm summer. Days are still warm, but there is a bite to the night breeze that hadn't been there before. The nights are crisp and cold, and most mornings, a mist lies over the lake.

  The afternoons are nice, though, and it's late afternoon, the sun slanting long shadows over Toran Castle. A cold breeze whips over the surface of the lake, and the battlements that overlook the water are frigid. In fact, the warmest place in the castle right now is the kitchen. Generously sized and once upon a time at capacity to feed an army, they're well-equipped and well-stocked under the care of their water mage mistress.

  Sarah keeps a number of things on hand, in the event that it's needed. In fact, she keeps a point of stocking dry goods simply becuase she can, and because it pays to be prepared. One never knows when one is going to improvise in the kitchen, after all.

  If the wind mage goes looking for her, this evening, that's where he'll find her. Instead of her layered Harmonian dress, Sarah's wearing something a little more plain. Although she has an apron over the dress, a faded dark blue, that hasn't stopped smudges of flour from showing up here and there.

  Probably of most relevance to Luc, the kitchen has that distinct smell of the oven being run, which probably means he's going to get some kind of food out of it sooner or later. Right now, though, she only has a pile of dough on the counter.

  If he comes a little closer without making noise, he'll hear that the water mage is humming to herself, softly, as she kneads the dough. She's wearing her earrings, and they clink softly as she tilts her head to study the dough. There's something innocent about the way she's enjoying herself, an almost child-like pleasure in the thoughtless monotony that goes into kneading dough. Yet even the white of flour can't hide the mark of the True Water Rune, which shows faintly against the skin of her right hand.

  There's also a bowl of apples, cut into very many uniformly small pieces, which suggests her skill with a kitchen knife might be getting to be a little scary; waiting beside them are several jars of seasoning.

  It seems Sarah isn't paying attention to her surroundings at all. This is probably a great opportunity for Luc to sneak up on her if he wants to be a jerk.

Luc (237) has posed:
The Wind Mage has been acting like concurrently like a lazy doof and like a man obsessed in the recent weeks. Much of the time he's been found acting like a caterpillar in bed, relatively disinclined to do much of anything. At others however he's been poring over some old personal journals and tomes of an uncertain source. They weren't in their library, but exactly where he'd squirreled them away was less than evident.

Inspection of these books had yielded little enough. Some were transcriptions in his own handwriting, in a code that Sarah hasn't seen before. Symbols containing the swirl of the True Wind Rune suggested it was some sort of personal study, which is hardly unusual. The little journal was separated into two distinct sections.

The first concluded with the other Elemental Runes arrayed about the True Wind Rune. This section was finished some time ago. The more recent additions were a lot more esoteric and vague, featuring divisions of runic symbols that didn't make any kind of logical sense to anybody with a brain. Rather like rune fragments.

At present however, Luc is somewhere between being a cat and a caterpillar. He's been reading instead of working, meandering around the bedroom and occasionally emerging for something to eat or drink or stretch his legs a little. His last trip down had been for coffee.

"Not tea. I need a disgusting taste to wake me up." He had explained, and then gone.

Moments ago, Luc stirred from his reading to begin wandering in the direction of the distant smell of-- something. Food, he was certain, but what /kind/ he couldn't really tell just yet. The oven is operating, he recognizes long before he pads down into the vicinity of the kitchen.

There's Sarah. She's wearing normal clothes, so he supposes she expected to get dirty. What is that she's making?

Luc creeps in behind Sarah, not exactly deliberately sneaky but just sort of... drifting along to get a better look. And, ultimately, end up 'underfoot'. He comes to a halt behind Sarah, eases his arms around her waist, and leans forward to rest his chin on the back of her head and observe what she's doing.

"What's this?" Luc asks, plainly.

Sarah (316) has posed:
  As with anything else to do with the wind mage, Sarah has accepted his eccentricity with the same unquestioned patience as she had with every other quirk of his throughout the years. There are very few things he could do to break that steadfast loyalty and trust. So she has seen to him, ensured he's remembered to eat something during the day, and otherwise leave him to his studying.

  Something about it is involved with the True Runes, but what it is, she couldn't say. It's rare for her to not know some arcane or historic detail from their own world, but even the writing he uses is not a writing system she's recognised... and as far as that goes, she knows some fairly archaic and bizarre languages.

  When he'd come down earlier and gone straight for the coffee, she had stared at him a little flatly, as though caught processing why anyone would want to drink the stuff. Yet she's kept some on hand, because every so often Luc voluntarily subjects himself to it. Why, she's not sure, but she wouldn't deny him that.

  The water mage doesn't recognise her companion's approach at all, still kneading dough and humming softly to herself as she does. It's a pretty song, if subdued, and even in that her voice is pretty. That is, until it's not. When she feels arms settle around her waist, she does startle a little, with a sharp intake of breath.

  Logic dictates he's the only one who could be here, though, and she calms after a second or three of racing heartrate. Her hands slowly resume turning the dough and methodically kneading it into itself.

  "Pie," Sarah murumurs, still half-smiling, eyes hidden by pale lashes. "Apple pie. I hear that it's quite popular in America." Many worlds' Americas, probably. She reaches for another handful of flower, dusting it over the counter where the dough is and working the dough into it. "I thought it would be a suitably autumnal thing to make," she adds, with a chuckle. The apples smell good, anyway.

  "Also, because I thought you might appreciate something sweet like pie."

  Of course.

Luc (237) has posed:
"It's just me."

It wouldn't take very long for Sarah to recognize that, but Luc decides he may as well reassure her right away. He probably could've scared her by putting his hands over her eyes, but he wasn't really in the mood for that specific brand of mischief today. He adjusts his facing, resting his forehead against the back of her head instead of tilting it up to rest his chin against it. That was getting uncomfortable.

"Mm?" A vague questioning noise, followed by a moment's 'hmming' to himself. Then Luc asks, "Are you talking about the place with the cabs? I didn't think you would remember very much of it. You didn't like it very much. Do you remember anything they ate at LeBuque?" It wasn't much because they were gouging their rations. It tended to be Tavern Stew.

A little bit of everything tossed in a pot. Usually fairly good actually, if /extremely/ odd.

"I always appreciate sweet things," He adds, gazing contemplatively towards the pie-in-progress 'round the side of her head, "and pie is usually good no matter the kind. I like savoury as well. Incorporating bread into your dish without making it a side item is always good. Things soak into it very well."

Luc pokes lightly at Sarah's stomach. "I've been trying to figure out the specific means in which Lightfellow bound up his Rune without forsaking the totality of its benefits. But I'm getting very impatient about it. Do you suppose I ought to simply consult Lady Leknaat on the manner in which she achieved the same thing?"

"I know how to /unbind/ it from that state without a fuss, but I didn't know enough about the process itself at the time that it was done to me that I think I could reproduce it perfectly." He explains, plainly. "It wouldn't worry me if I were trying it on you, but since my Rune is more inextricably bound to my person than it is for an ordinary runebearer I think it unwise to settle for less than perfect."

Sarah (316) has posed:
  "I know." Sarah laughs, softly, but it sounds a little shaky. She's still getting her blood pressure back down to something approaching normal. She relaxes against him, hands coming to rest over the pie dough. "No, I am talking about the place Psyber's detective agency is in. I have been there, once or twice."

  Mostly to deliver holiday gifts personally, as she does for all her fellow survivors of Annu.

  "Indeed they do," she murmurs, kneading at the dough once more. Once she feels she's got it worked enough, she spreads it over the pie plate, tucking it into the recesses and rim. Wiping off her hands, she reaches for the jar of pulped fruit, pouring it in with care.

  Once that's seen to, she takes another lump of dough, working it out with long fingers, carefully moulding it into strips. These are laid crosshatch over the fruit, with great precision, and every so often she lifts one to resettle it at the proper distance.

  "Bread is good, yes. Any kind is excellent this time of year, fresh out of the oven." She turns her head, nudging at him with her chin at the same time he prods at her stomach. "Hm. I seem to recall it had something to do with the Alma Kinan, but I expect even if we visited there now, they would not be very welcoming of outsiders. Mistress Leknaat, however, would have your answer." And be a lot less likely to get grumpy about it.

  Probably.

  Maybe.

  She considers, laying the last of the strips down and wiping the flour and dough from her hands. The pie is taken in hand, and she leans around him to deposit it into the oven.

  She'll remember the timing on it, of course.

  "No, it would be dangerous to try anything less than that." Turning around, she leans on him, circling her arms around his waist and laying her head on his shoulder. "Perhaps Mistress Leknaat would know. In the meantime," she murmurs into his ear, "we should have a pie in forty minutes or so. Smells good, doesn't it? I'm looking forward to it." It's an experiment, but given Sarah is generally pretty handy with the culinary arts, it's most likely good quality, whatever she tries her hand at.

Luc (237) has posed:
"Being small and uneducated was an inconvenience. If I'd seen it done recently..." Luc complains into the air, withdrawing from Sarah so she can move around freely. He huffs a little in answer to mention of the Alma Kinan, waving a hand dismissively. "I've enough trouble from the superstitious without seeking the assistance of /that/ lot in /anything/. Reclusive little hedge magickers with their twopenny /rituals/."

"Sacrificing a star of destiny alone was enough to doom their cause. Allowing me earlier access to the True Water Rune would have been less catastrophic by far than that. That they didn't have us all to begin with should have made that clear enough by itself."

Evidently he thinks very little of human sacrifices, especially when those sacrifices are little more than buying time. It's a little hypocritical, but Luc doesn't care very much. He eyes the oven with a distant expression, pondering whether or not he could cook things by altering air temperature directly.

Probably not properly, he decides. It's more of a fire thing anyway.

The return to an embrace doesn't surprise him much, once Sarah has gotten things set aside. Luc wraps his arms around her again, swaying a little on the spot and closing his eyes. "She /does/ know. Whether or not she'll tell me I can't say, but it seems pertinent enough information that I can't imagine why she would decline. I could seek out Lightfellow himself, failing that, but he might just point me at the creepy shaman tribe you mentioned."

"I could ask /Crowley/, if I could find the old bastard, but it'd be like asking a rocket scientist to explain brain surgery to me." He adds, plainly. "And I already know more than my brother does on this subject. Maybe Mikain would know..."

Sarah (316) has posed:
  "I would not be so quick to dismiss the Alma Kinan. Archaic though their rituals and superstitions may be," she murmurs, eyeing the oven, "they know a few useful techniques. Much of their knowledge is almost as complex as Sindar methodology. How they got ahold of it, though, I haven't the faintest."

  She leans against him, swaying with him when he does, though she's careful not to let herself go too far. Sprawling on the flagstones would be both embarrassing and painful. It feels nice, though, and she burrows her face into his shoulder and the side of his neck.

  "Mmmm. Lightfellow would have no reason to help you. Mistress Leknaat would be the best option. It'll come down to whether she's feeling cryptic or not." She keeps half her attention on the oven, but that's partly to make sure the pie isn't burning. Being able to alter the water content in things is... pretty much cheating, yep.

  She contents herself with standing there, because while the kitchens aren't cold, he's still pleasantly warm. "Sasarai? I would not consider any of the Harmonian Bishops a reliable source. Most of them are actively antagonistic. Those that aren't are neutral, at best."

  "Mmmm." She gives a great big sigh, leaning on him with a smile. "I think this is my favourite time of year, before it gets to be too cold."

Luc (237) has posed:
"Knowledge is worthless if your application of that knowledge is as faulty as theirs is." Luc retorts sharply, gaining a little clarity and a little less bleary-eyed distance. "The reason that the last two great wars in this region were won as cleanly as they were is because the stars were right. That is how it is, that is how it goes. You assemble the Stars of Destiny with Lady Leknaat's assistance and things turn out better for you. I've overseen this process twice."

"The /first/ time, they brought a man eaten alive by flesh-eating spores back to life." He clicks his tongue lightly. "Sacrificing /any/ Star of Destiny as they did is a waste of something exponentially more vital than the single life it represented. It guarantees that fortune will not favor you fully, and it didn't. We obtained the rune regardless of their blood sacrifice."

The wind mage relaxes a little, contemplating Leknaat. He adds, "I think it likely that she will be straightofrward once we find her. It's the finding her part that is difficult. She has made a habit of relocation ever since Windy died, most likely because of the attempt on her life at the tower."

As regard Harmonian bishops, Luc tosses his head. "Sasarai is more important than a typical bishop. Both of us are, if we choose to act for Harmonia. He is a reliable source of information, the others are not. But of sealing the Runes, Harmonia knows much, even if they're not like to share. Stealing them on the fly less so, we monopolize that market at the moment."

"A true wonder if you ask me," He grouses, "but I suppose they've less Sindar-literate people willing to root about in dangerous ruins."

Luc tips his head down to look properly at Sarah. He considers for a moment and then says, "I prefer the rainy season, good excuse to stay indoors." This is a lie and she knows it. He likes summer because 'Why live in a castle on a lake if you can't take advantage of it'.

Sarah (316) has posed:
  "Faulty? I intended to take what I know of theirs and adapt it to more efficient use." Sarah sniffs, disdainfully. "Of course I'm not going to take their methods and use them untested. Some of their techniques may have merit, it's true, but there is nothing of theirs that can't be adapted to Sindar methods. That would be the most efficient way for me to expand on them."

  That, and Sindar methodology tends to be her first choice. It comes to her naturally in a way no other system of magic does; instinctive, as her grasp of the language seems to be, as well as her ability to find ruins with pinpoint precision.

  She relaxes against him, though her head tilts slightly to regard him. "I suppose that would be a convenient enough excuse to travel." Figure out where their erstwhile mentor and mother-figure's wandered off to. Leknaat can go where she wants, more or less, and the trick is keeping up with her. "It would be a good excuse to get away for the winter."

  "And less people knowledgeable enough to find those ruins." Sarah allows herself the satisfaction of a slightly smug tone. She /does/ have a talent for them, one that is not only potent, but unique. Guesswork is the best most Harmonian field agents can hope for. She sobers, though. "Oh? Is that so? You just like any excuse you can take to stay in bed late into the afternoon, and keep me there with you." Rearing bcak a little, she reaches up and taps his nose, with a smile. "Also, hot chocolate."

  Yes. Hot chocolate. Though she's not going to lie, she's taken a liking to things like that in cold weather, too.

Luc (237) has posed:
"If you insist." Luc seems to find the entire thing as distasteful as Sarah finds the massive bug-creatures in LeBuque. "It may be that they are simply adapting Sindar methods to begin with. Regardless I've no inclination to go and treat with them. Their entire way of living and thinking is profoundly revolting. And they've no reason at all to cooperate with me. Might be they'd entertain you, though."

He frowns a little at the notion of going on their usual trips to search for Leknaat. It isn't a bad idea exactly, but it's probably the most serious reason they've ever done this sort of thing. A quest, if you will. Shrugging he replies, "Perhaps but don't be disappointed if it doesn't last for very long. She comes and goes, it's true, but she usually establishes herself for some time before she moves on."

"I suspect that she peers into the future to determine when the best time to move on /is/, personally."

With regards to Harmonia's grasp of Sindar ruins he says, "It isn't that they have no one who would be able to suss those things out. It's that the people they have who would do that would rather stay home and conduct other projects. It was not Hikusaak alone who crafted Sasarai, or me. When you've a reason and a means to create people for rune containment, I cannot imagine you spare those capable of such delicate action for tomb robbing."

Nose-boop.

Luc smirks, because it's easier to do than smiling in a way that doesn't look murderous. "Yes, I suppose that /would/ be the motivating factor." He agrees.

Sarah (316) has posed:
  "Treat with them?" Sarah lifts a pale brow, eventually shaking her head. Jewelled earrings clink softly as she does. "Nonsense. I intended to spy on them. It's the least intrusive method, but more importantly, it's the most efficient method. I could learn a lot more by direct observation and illusions. I'm fairly confident no one in that tribe is capable of piercing illusory stimuli. It takes a keen eye to see through mine."

  It's her specialty, in a world that isn't prepared to counter it. Few if any other magicians can use illusions as extensively and convincingly as she can. It's what sparked war in the Grasslands, and kept it going, right past the point of no return.

  She shrugs, faintly, not much more than a twitch of one shoulder. "Maybe. I was thinking more of an idle secondary goal, really. How am I to know where Mistress Leknaat's gone? She's about as predictable as the storms on this lake. Sunny one day, and thunderstorms the next. If we find her, it would be a happy coincidence, but I suppose it's more accurate to say it's more of a secondary goal."

  "My first is to find new and interesting places to visit. I've got a few ideas in mind," Sarah offers, "though I haven't quite finished making preparations, just yet. Oh, the pie should be finished."

  Disentangling herself from Luc with obvious reluctance, she scoops up a pair of oven mitts and sidles over to the oven, opening the door and plucking the pie out. The tin is set on a trivet to cool, and she casts off her mitts, tossing them onto the counter.

  It smells great, and it makes the whole kitchen area smell great, too.

  "Fine, then. I'll let you in on a little secret," she offers over her shoulder, with a crooked smile. "I like hot chocolate, too, and I like the cold weather for that as much as you do. Although I'll hardly complain about the lazy mornings and the rainy days spent abed until noon. Once in a while, it isn't so bad." Slacker. Luc is a terrible influence on her. "And wine for those cold nights."

  Definitely a terrible influence. She retrieves a knife from the drawer, cutting the pie into slices, offloading one onto a plate and sliding it, along with a fork, to Luc. "Give it a try. Mind the insides, it's still hot."

  "On the other hand, Harmonia is desperate to find a weapon in the rubble. If they hadn't been so mistrusting of what I could do, I expect I'd still be looking out there for something for them to get hold of and reverse-engineer into a Harmonian weapon." Sarah sighs, shrugging as she cuts a slice for herself. "Just another reason to be thankful I'm not there any longer."


  

Luc (237) has posed:
"I see." Luc considers Sarah critically for a moment, eyebrows lifted. He pokes at her chest, "You spent too much time in Crystal Valley." So did he, really. Getting in the habit of wearing an uncomfortable mask had been... well, it had been unhealthy he supposes. Looking back on it if he'd simply been looking for long term power, Crystal Valley would've been the ideal place to obtain it. As it is he'd gathered enough to do his dirty work, and then wrap up with their own independently gathered forces.

Still. If he was of the mind to be an avatar of Hikusaak, it wouldn't be the worst place to be. Sasarai is treated well enough, although he is kept in ignorance of many things. But then, he supposes that in Crystal Valley, having both access to its might /and/ insulation from its ugliest side is a fairly fantastic deal.

Too bad he already knows the ugly side intimately.

He snorts to himself as he contemplates this, which doesn't correspond well to anything else going on.

Regarding Lady Leknaat, he scratches at his chin. "She'll be where she expects the next major disturbance to occur. Or knows of it. I'm not a betting man so I wouldn't gamble on it, but I'd say since we have no obvious sign of her that she is probably on another continent. If she had made an appearance up north somebody would have contacted us."

"Or a fuss would have been made." He adds. "We'll need to go south. The island nations first, and then..."

The wind mage doesn't bother filling in the remaining blank. The Queendom of Falena and its member states are the only things farther south, and much of the rest of the world is uncharted. If Leknaat were to be found in Falena of all places...

Luc smiles bitterly. Well, it would mean that nobody should want to be in that part of the world just then. She can probably intuit his meaning here, even as she's bustling about dealing with things in the kitchen.

"None of that," He remarks, crossing his arms over his chest, "is a secret, but I'll be sure not to tell anybody that you like lying around in bed sometimes like everybody else. And what's this of weapons? What did they even have you doing before I came across you? Locking you up in the libraries isn't exactly the best place to have you digging up anything like that, and I would've thought that the process that created Sasarai and I would be more than adequate a weapon."

"I suppose if they could dredge up a True Rune vacuum..." He mumbles, accepting the offered pie. Presently, he doesn't eat any of it yet, just holding it up high enough to blow on it lightly.

Sarah (316) has posed:
  "Mm? That has nothing to do with spending time in Crystal Valley," Sarah replies over her shoulder, tidying up as she waits for her slice of apple pie to cool. Flour is neatly swept up and deposited back into its crumpled paper bag, and leftover bits of dough disposed of.

  The water mage's flour-stained skirt swirls about her ankles as she tends to her kitchen tools, cleaning things and maybe, just maybe, cheating a bit with precise applications of water magic. Dampened flour is like concrete, you know.

  She glances over her shoulder. raising a brow. "I expect so. Depending on how things progress, I would expect her to be somewhere in the Grasslands. Or not, considering we have no intention of stirring up trouble in that part of the world. The Toran Republic has been too quiet to hold her interest, and I've heard of no disturbances in the island nations."

  "That leaves the Queendom of Falena," she says, finishing his trailed-off musing. As the realisation sets in that Leknaat might be nosing around there, Sarah blanches; it's an interesting expression, considering how pale she is even in the best of circumstances.

  Swallowing, she shakes her head, earrings clinking softly, and her moment of dread passes into a softer, more somber set. "Mm. I did not tell you, did I? The extent of it. They wanted weapons; that was why they were using my abilities. I was not locked in the One Temple's library complex, not at first. For a time I was used to search out ruins in the Grasslands; I expect it is the key reason why Harmonia has been so aggressive about expanding southward into those territories."

  "They wanted to use the power of the runes to create a weapon the likes of which no other nation could counter. In order to do that, they wanted to bind the power of the True Runes to something like that, too. While I'm not certain how much that may have had to do with the experiments that led to yours and Sasarai's creation, I know the work I was set to do was for the development of their weapons projects."

  Sarah pulls a towel from the rack, absently wiping her hands as she leans against the now-clean counter. "Most of what I found within the sites were not suitable, but I heard their discussion, at least. I suppose I was sufficiently quiet and tractable that they stopped noticing I was still there." Looking away, toward the window, she watches the changing light and shadows. "I heard what they said, even if they didn't think I did."

  "They never found whatever they were looking for, though, and I suppose they lost interest. After a year or two of searching. I was relegated to the library, where I was out of sight and out of mind, and no longer their problem." She shrugs, retrieving a fork and sampling a slice of her pie. Still hot, but there's a flicker of the True Water Rune at her right hand, and suddenly it isn't dangerously hot any more -- and neither is Luc's.

  He really is a bad influence, using phenomenal cosmic power to... cool off a slice of hot pie fresh out the oven.

  The pie is pretty delicious, though.

  "Vacuum? That's a little horrifying," Sarah comments, as though she were discussing something no more disturbing than the weather forecast.

Luc (237) has posed:
"The Toran Republic will be fine for a time yet, as will Dunan to the north. It takes time for tyranny and discontent to settle in, so these regions will be comfortable barring an environmental emergency." The Wind Mage nods towards the pie in front of him. "If things like this are available, there's no drought or food problems, so we can't expect /that/. Nobody is going to pick a fight with Crystal Valley unless they've no choice at all."

"If anything happens up there, it will come from within, not from without." He continues to blow on the pie, actually not abusing his magic to try to cool it off. Perhaps the laziness is just too set in at the moment, or he's getting used to not making so much use of the Wind Rune. Internally, he can't help but wonder /if/ using it so often is a trigger of sorts.

The others had bound their runes up and kept them that way whenever possible. Perhaps...

A vague noise of acknowledgement escapes Luc a moment later, but he modifies the expectation a bit: "Falena settled into a period of peace after a civil war broke out some decades ago now. While it's had time for old wounds to fester, the resolution of that conflict was... acceptable. That is to say, I think it less likely that Falena itself will be the site of the next great upheaval, and more likely that the nations to its south will."

"And the Sun Rune was in balance, last I heard."

Luc sighs heavily at the answer to what Harmonia was /doing/ with Sarah. He doesn't like the sound of that at all. When /he/ went digging into that area he discovered a weapon that could level the continent they were on, if it was used (in)correctly. He nibbles at the edge of the pie experimentally, then takes a proper bite.

"They talk around prisoners because the concept of prisoners escaping is foreign to them," He explains after swallowing, "it doesn't happen very often, and you're not exactly fit for flight. They were loose-lipped around me, too. My brother came across me in my cell when I was still very small, and his minders were not very subtle about their reproach."

"I considered having them all killed, but it seemed likely to attract unwanted attention."

Luc has decided the silverware is unnecessary. He sets his fork aside, holding his pie by the crust and gesturing with it a little haphazardly, "If they just /wanted/ to ruin the landscape -- or people -- they can do that easily enough even now. Sasarai alone is a walking natural disaster. They're looking for something bigger, but evidently not something that will blow them up too. If I had to guess, I'd say they went to look for more of the same elsewhere."

"Be awfully convenient for Harmonia if they could just blow the sun rune up on-site, wouldn't it?" He asks, smiling devilishly.

Sarah (316) has posed:
  "Even if someone challenged Crystal Valley, they would soon have the rest of the Harmonian reinforcements rushing in from all sides." Sarah's gaze flickers distant as she imagines the layout. Given she can recreate a scale model of the One Temple and its complex from memory in ice, her memory is very good, and her ability to map an area is superb down to the smallest details. "The way the colonial areas are positioned, there isn't a flank that wouldn't be uncovered on the passes that lead in to Crystal Valley."

  Daintily, she takes another piece of pie from her own plate, considering. "Siege would be no good, though. The capital has enough stored goods to outlast their besiegers, unless it comes to a matter of years. But even that likely wouldn't stop trade. There are just too many luxury goods the first-class citizens are accustomed to having on hand. Even if there would be no open trade through the lanes, there would be black markets."

  "Besides," she adds, nudging a few crumbs around on her plate with her fork, "the roads would be cleared soon enough. I expect anyone foolish enough to attack Crystal Valley without an absurd degree of preparation would be put down immediately. Not only would you need a nation's resources to capture the capital itself, you would need just as much more to keep your flank and rear guard protected."

  Sarah comes back to reality, blinking and shrugging slightly. "Absolutely. Harmonia as an entity is simply too large to be overcome from without. Not only would it require the banding together of all the major nations, it might require a little more than that besides, at least in terms of matching the military discipline of Harmonia's soldiers. Say what you will about the kingdom, but its armies are well-trained."

  "No, not if something has already happened there." That Falena is probably not the site of the next conflict is a relief. There are very few things Sarah is genuinely afraid of, but the Sun Rune is one of the headers on the list. The Rune of Punishment is also somewhere up there in screaming distance of first place on the list, but she remembers her history during her thirteen to fifteen years of reading in the One Temple. "If the Sun Rune is in balance, then I doubt something's going to happen there."

  "No," she says to Luc, raising her head and looking at him with those clear and pale, pale eyes. Despite her soft tone, there is a vehemence behind her words; a rare spark of fire in a personality otherwise flexible as the waves. "They talk around prisoners because they are subhuman to them; unworthy of the attention one would even give to a beast of burden. Because I was no more than a tool to them, a convenient tool with no comforts or discomforts of its own."

Sarah (316) has posed:
  That undertone of vehemence fades, like the sun coming back out from behind a cloud. Despite her outward calm, she's harboured a certain bitterness towards Harmonia, both for herself and for Luc's respective situations.

  She eyes the pie as Luc gestures with it, mindful that nothing happens to fall out of the crust. Things manage to hold, and she takes a bite of her own, considering for a moment with her fork still in her hand. "I don't know what they're looking for. If I knew, I might be a bit more tempted to indulge in a little sabotage." And she'd enjoy it, too. "I suppose so. I can't see them wasting time in a place that hasn't yielded up what they want."

  Another bite or two of pie in silence. She looks up like she's about to say something and then... freezes, eyeing him a moment for his comment on blowing up the Sun Rune.

  "I would frankly rather not be on the same continent as that thing, and if some fool is in the process of destroying it, I don't want to be anywhere in the same /hemisphere/," Sarah points out, jabbing her fork at him. "No matter who's doing /what/ to it. There's a certain benefit to being in a republic no one pays attention to any more. It's had its conflict, and now people can safely go back to ignoring its existence."

  Even with two True Runes, they've done pretty well for themselves managing to keep unwanted attention at bay.

Luc (237) has posed:
"Someone /did/ challenge Crystal Valley," Luc replies with a thin smile, "and his name was Hikusaak. No Empire stands forever, Sarah, though the Circle Rune doubtless tries to make it so. If a conflict was going to occur there it would emerge from within. It would not surprise me in the least if one day, within our lives, Sasarai and I find that we have a sibling who will rise up against our originator and throw him down."

"Probably some runt with the Rune of Change, if history or the future has taught me anything. And when it comes to these things, it has." He ponders this for a moment, before taking another messy bite of his pie. Swallowing, he continues, "It's /always/ some runt with a rune that hasn't been seen for eons, and really ought to have killed his stupid ass twenty seconds in."

"How many times do you suppose the Rune of Punishment vaporized its own bearer before somebody turned up that actually calmed the damn thing down?" He asks, gesturing imperiously and sending crumbs flying across the kitchen. "Meanwhile McDohl turns up and just happens to make friends with some boy who has /Soul Eater/ of all things. And succeeds a /Silverberg/ as leader."

Luc wonders at this internally. Perhaps finding Leknaat would be as simple as tracking down some conspiciously fortunate young man in another nation, with suspicious friends. They've all been the sons of leaders of some stripe or another, sometimes disgraced and other times not. His eyes flit back and forth towards nothing in particular as he considers this.

"Mm? Oh..."

He finishes his slice of pie, and dusts his hands off on his pants. "Frankly," Luc says, "they take better care of their actual tools than they ever did us. We were more like... I don't know, actually."

This is untrue. Luc does know. Third-class citizens, like the people of LeBuque.

As regards her trepidations, the Wind Mage offers a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "If we're going looking for Lady Leknaat at all, you'll have to be content with living in interesting times, because she follows those about like a moth drawn to flame. I wonder if she's secretly an adrenaline junky."

Sarah (316) has posed:
  "Indeed. That was over four thousand years ago, and I'm confident that Harmonia will fall again. I'm agreeing with you, actually." Sarah says, with a crooked smile. "They're too disciplined, too well-ordered, and too well-equipped on such a large scale for an outside force to conquer them, practically speaking. Even Le Buque, where morale is practically nonexistent, their soldiers will out-perform and overpower anything that is not as cohesive and as tactically sound as their units."

  It seems a little strange for a woman as fragile-looking as her to know anything about soldiers' tactics, but military history was one of the many topics she had read up on during her stay in the One Temple. She knows the /theories/ of commanding an army and arranging a fighting force; she just lacks the /ability/ to command.

  Just try to imagine her barking orders from the midst of soldiers taller and a hundred pounds heavier than her. Or people listening to her.

  Yeah. Nope.

  Still, she does know her military history, and she knows the relative strength of many fighting units from her world, including Harmonia's. There aren't many scenarios she can imagine short of some kind of catastrophe or apocalyptic event that would let the attacker win.

  "Anything that could bring about the end of Harmonia as we know it would have to come from within. It's the simplest solution," she concludes, shrugging faintly. "Though, I would be a bit concerned if you found you had a third sibling, and he were similarly equipped with a True Rune. That would mark one more in Harmonia's control, and frankly, I would be most comfortable if they didn't have /any/."

  Picking at the last of her pie, Sarah glances up, cocking an eye toward the kitchen as Luc gestures and scatters crumbs. Sigh. Supposing she's going to have to sweep that up, later. Her eye then raises to him.

  Something twitches across her face when he mentions living in interesting times. It almost resolves itself into a smile, but it's still too awkward to actually make light of it. "I might say 'I survived the Grasslands, didn't I?' But that would be cheating, and also lying, if I had to be technical. I suppose it's better to say, 'I've survived five years of the multiverse,' when it comes down to it." A smile flickers across her face nonetheless.

  "I do like to travel," she says, sidestepping toward the sink to clean her dishes. Once they're left in the drain she leans against the counter, folding her arms. "I hadn't thought about it that way, actually. Maybe. I'm not certain. Mistress Leknaat is hard even for me to read."

Luc (237) has posed:
"Control is a loose term for it. The True Runes bonded to us are compatible with us through trickery, but I do not think it a coincidence that they chose us all the same. Sasarai and I are not mere puppets-- if we were, then Harmonia would not have needed to dispose of me, or indoctrinate him." Luc moves over to an empty space of counter, hopping up on the edge of it and leaning back against the surrounding cabinets.

"They had the Beast Rune, too. But they didn't /really/ control it. The Runes will do as they like, and so will their bearers."

"I'd eat my ring," he mutters, "if the Rune of Change wasn't the key to Harmonia's eventual fall. Wouldn't wonder if the Howling Voice Guild had something to do with it either, since they're busily engaging the outside world so often."

Luc crosses his legs, heaving a great sigh. "If there are only two of us still, it is only because they haven't the Runes to bond to them to begin with. If they possessed the True Fire Rune they would doubtless create a new child to bear it. The same, I am sure, is true of the True Beast Rune. It was lost to begin with because it was merely sealed on the grounds of the temple."

"Mark my words, an extra rune will mean an extra sibling. I s'pose I should put a stop to that."

To the matter of Lady Leknaat, the Wind Mage's expression turns rather forlorn. He gazes towards the opposite wall, crossing his arms over his chest. "I do not think it a matter of reading or not reading her. She's lived through much more than we have-- I do not think it possible to become accustomed to isolation, but I think she has become accustomed to..."

"The movement of the stars. The comings and goings. The wars. The attempts to seize her own power." He drums his fingers against his own arm. "I can find no fault in her behavior, and see no real sorrow or impurity within it, although viewed from the outside I'm sure she just looks like a cold witch. In short--"

"There's nothing complicated about it at all." Luc shuts one eye, smirking over towards Sarah. "She just flows with the river of time and lets other people draw their own conclusions. The mystery that generates is stronger than the reality of her life. You read her just fine."

"'Course, she's got a hell of a poker face even without the stories exaggerating everything."

Sarah (316) has posed:
  "It wouldn't surprise me if the Rune of Change had something to do with it." Sarah folds her arms over her chest, drumming her fingers against the opposite forearm in evident contemplation, towel clutched in her free hand. "I expect those two are as much in their own kind of conflict as Bright Shield and Black Sword are. At the very least, they exist as polar opposites in concept."

  Glancing up, she watches as Luc crosses his legs, side-stepping a pace or two so she can stand beside him. She folds her arms again, fingers drumming restlessly as they had before. "Hm. I have not heard of any suggestion of rumour regarding the Five Elements, nor have I heard of the True Beast Rune in Harmonia's possession. And my sources are very, very good." She smiles, sweetly.

  Sarah is able to disguise herself as nearly anyone, so keeping a network of informants is child's play for her. If there are any stirrings of the True Runes within Harmonia's borders, she would've heard about it.

  "No, there's no malice in her behaviour. It's just her way to foster that aura of mystery. Their opinion doesn't matter to her; hasn't mattered for a long time, and likely never will." Hanging the towel back on its hook, she folds her arms and looks up, out to the long shadows outside. "I can't find any fault in that."

  Considering for a moment, she tilts her head, eyeing him with a fleeting half-smile. "Mmmhmm. You know, I accidentally damaged one of her books when I first arrived. Her expression never changed when I confessed what had happened. She didn't really mind, I found out later, but I was terrified at the time."

  "Oh. I won't argue with that. Hm. I would not mind seeing her again. It's been years." And, like Luc, she'll always have a soft spot for the woman. Leknaat is the closest thing to a mother either of them has known, albeit an extremely unorthodox sort of mother.

  Sarah pushes off from the counter, reaching up to touch Luc's face in passing; no more than a faint brush of fingertips against the line of his cheekbone. "Come on, then, if you're finished. I just remembered a bottle of wine I've been saving to try. I can tell you about one of the places I have in mind for us to travel to over that. I think it might be interesting even to you. A veritable marvel of engineering."

Luc (237) has posed:
"The Shield and the Sword are an oddity. Change and Circle are opposites, but they are inevitabilities rather than clashes, I think. This is of course speculation, but I think it likely that the Circle Rune must submit to the Rune of Change periodically. That is to say," Luc raises a finger to draw a glowing point in the air, "here is when the cycle begins, and here..."

A half-circle, "... Is where an exchange takes place. The Circle Rune is a thing of stasis, it's true, but cyclical change is a part of that. Events progress along a predictable pattern. I should think that they interact this way, and that the Rune of Change wishes to break the cycle entirely." He completes 3/4ths of a circle, and then draws a line extending off to the left.

"I do not think they could become One as the Shield and Sword do. But perhaps I am mistaken."

It's all speculation anyway. Nobody has seen Hikusaak in centuries, and as far as anybody knows the Rune of Change may have vanished into another world entirely. Certainly, Yuber had demonstrated that it was possible for a True Rune to be borne by somebody outside of the plane they all currently occupy.

"The Flame Champion's rune probably remains where he left it. They will not unseal it without need. The Beast Rune-- most likely run off to wherever Lady Leknaat is waiting for us." He grimaces. "It always flees to a place where bloodshed is inevitable, I should think. Supposedly it was in Harmonia before its founding, which speaks enough of /that/ conflict. It's no wonder at all that it moved to Highland."

A mad rune for a mad dog.

"The book? I remember that. She doesn't really get mad, exactly. Or at least, I've never seen it. Maybe when she was younger." He frowns a little here. "I've seen an awful lot of mysterious women with an excess involvement in history's great... Incidents. That rune scribe..."

Luc is drawn out of his contemplation of strange devil women by Sarah's touch. He snorts in amusement and nods his assent, hopping down off the camera to follow her out, and up the stairs.

Sarah (316) has posed:
  "They are related," Sarah muses, "and in a way, they're two sides of the same coin. It wouldn't surprise me if those two did have some kind of compatibility like Bright Shield and Black Sword. After all, they're just different aspects of chronology; two different approaches to the passage of time. One relies on familiarty and predictability, and the other relies on the opposite."

  Whatever their true nature is, it would be interesting to see if they did have some kind of compatibility. Would they balance one another out, like the way the Sun Rune is kept in balance by its brother-runes? Or would they simply cancel one another out, both of their influence waning? The debate is purely hypothetical. It's been time out of mind since those two runes were in the same company.

  She tilts her head in a gesture of acquiesce. "Most likely. I have remembered its location, and I have ensured, through contacts that can be trusted, that the site remains undisturbed. If Harmonia should make a move towards it, I have made it a point to know about their plans."

  Namely, so she can get there and jack it first, if it comes down to that. She'd be willing to temporarily store it somewhere if it meant not letting Harmonia get their hands on it.

  To the Beast Rune, though, she wrinkles her nose. "I really hope not. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if it did, but I really hope not." That would just be their luck, wouldn't it? The stupid thing would roam around and find a brand new Luca Blight to throw at them, because True Runes are incapable of making things easy.

  She's smiling at him when he's drawn out of his reverie, an expression that's almost playful. "Mmmhmm. Right now, I'm interested in what you think of /this/ mysterious woman, because she has a bottle of wine for you." That smile broadens just a little, pale eyes hooding. "Among other things that go most delightfully with the wine, that is. I have a sudden and unspeakably strong desire to stop thinking about complicated things and scholarly pursuits."

  Pausing, she reaches into one of the cabinets, withdrawing the bottle in question before starting up the stairs. She's been getting better about going up all those stairs; they are, if nothing else, wonderful exercise.

  It's with a silvery laugh from the water mage that the door at the top is kicked shut.