abraxaslogs | WELCOME TO SOLVUNN!

WELCOME TO SOLVUNN!

Welcome to Solvunn! Bright suns and merriest of welcomes to you! The portal opens in a vast field on the western side of town surrounded by cattle, with a distant view of the bustling marketplace. The first impression of the settlement is one of idylic, country charm. There are no looming structures or crowded streets. Instead, there are cozier houses on wide streets and community buildings made of stone and wood. A gentle breeze rolls across the field and the sun is high in the sky.

There's not as much magic here as in other locations, but it's there. No one will be stopped from entering Solvunn, though suspicion will be cast upon new arrivals. Citizens will be friendly and welcoming, but curious about their new visitors. It isn't often that they welcome new folks- especially not so many at once!

With tensions between the other communities, Solvunn will not be keen on ratting out those who fled Thorne, but with the knowledge that sanctuary will not be given for free. Everyone does their part, whatever that part may be.

Asking questions will result in being told to find Rowan March, one of the council members, somewhere in the marketplace.

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Hmm.

[He leans against the bookshelf. He did come here to look at books, but he's been thoroughly distracted at this point.]

I can only fathom what it might mean, to be 'liked' by a man like that. Truthfully, I've only seen him grow angry once - during a moment when he misunderstood my words, thinking I was judging 'humans' as innately lesser than our own race.

[And odd that had been, given that Estinien considers them to be mostly the same thing.]

Well he certainly doesn't think highly of his own race. Calls the lot of them pretentious, warmongering bastards. [Which, again, was a worrying statement as to Nero's character when he had gotten exiled from all that.

The sight of the other elf leaning on the shelves gets a slight frown.]

Do be careful there, the shelves aren't all that stable sometimes. They overbalance pretty easily if you're not careful.

[Estinien narrows his eyes, and then leans away from the bookshelf again, as if he is irritated to be told to do so. Anyway.]

Funny that he should have qualms with 'warmongering' if he's such a fan of violence himself. Fortunately, it sounds as if the people he's familiar with and mine have little in common.

[Look don't get petty at him about general library safety, he's been working at one since he was a teenager.]

I get the impression he rather likes the, uh. Personal touch he gets to put to it.

[He will make no comment as to imperialism, though, instead moving towards a desk he's ostensibly claimed as his own a short distance away.]

I can't imagine you came here just to interrogate about Nero, did you? [Please say you didn't, he doesn't want this to be his lasting reputation.] I-is there anything else I can help you with?

[It's very easy to get distracted by Nero, apparently, even when he isn't here. Estinien shrugs his shoulders, coming over to the desk instead.]

I came to look at books, theoretically.

[He sighs, looking up at the various shelves.]

Trying to learn about this place, as is to be expected. Usually, I have other people to do this part of the job.

If it helps, the books don't really do all that much.

[He puts his pile down, all tomes on the gods.]

Most of the information on the people and traditions, you're almost better off asking them yourself in person. The really important stuff doesn't get written down as often, since everyone just knows. Most of the more useful stuff I've been able to investigate is fiction, believe it or not.

[He certainly sounds a lot more confident talking about books than his murderous companion.]

I suppose it would be too much to ask to have all the pertinent details summarized within a single volume.

[In some ways just asking people is easier, but it's also something he is similarly unskilled with.]

Well, what would you recommend, then? [He pauses, and then eventually adds, in case it wasn't clear:] For fiction.

[That gets a quiet snigger out of Martin.]

I rather doubt any community as well established as this would appreciate being dumbed down to just one book. But, um. Let me think...

[He looks down at his small stack, muttering under his breath briefly, before he abruptly turns and trots back to the shelf he'd been tidying, full of thick, colourful books, and he pulls out one particularly thick one, flicking through the pages briefly, before he nods and claps it shut.]

Here. Anguire's Tales of Heroism and Folly. Don't let the name fool you, most of them are incredibly grim. The kids love the ones where everyone gets their righteous comeuppance.

[He's walking back as he talks, so he can offer it to the tall elf.]

[Estinien tilts his head as Martin does his work, genuinely not catching on that's a children's section until the result has arrived. He takes the thick volume in hand, looking at it in a way that suggests he does not often look at books, and even less frequently reads them.]

The 'folly' part suggested that.

[His homeland has its own grim tales of morality, though the religious focus did make them a bit one-note. He flips it open, and squints at a random page.]

You've read this then, I assume?

[The Pages he opens on has a full-page, detailed picture of a young man, barely if even an adult, walking away from the entrance to a village, whose residents have their backs to him, and the opposite page talks about his overconfidence in how he planned to find and capture a God.

Martin makes a short affirmative noise.]

Front to back. It's a popular one, the family I live with always wants me to read from it. It's not the only copy, mind you, so feel free to take your time with it. [His hands start to fidget idly over his stomach.] I think it's useful to see what people might be learning when they're kids, sort of. It helps makes sense of where the adults learned it, you know?

[Martin isn't wrong, so Estinien can't even reasonably disagree with him. A lot can be learned about place from their folklore and what they tell their children to scare them into good behavior. He flips through a few pages, noting the illustrations. He closes it.]

Fine. I'll take it, then.

[He wonders if he'll even get through the thing, but he may as well try.]

On the subject of cautionary tales... have you figured out if there's any true to rumors of wanderers being 'eaten by the gods'?

I mean... probably not? There's a few wild animals out there that'll probably take children as an easy target, b-but travelling between the villages doesn't actually seem to be any kind of trouble. [He gives an uncertain shrug.] I think it's just another bit of superstition, really. If the gods even are real.

[Estinien sighs and shrugs, tucking the book beneath his arm.]

They most likely are, even if not in the way the people here think. In my experience, superstition is mostly the mistelling of truth. There may be something to the tales, even if it's not what you expect.

Right. It's all about just... finding ways to make kids listen to your warnings, really. Before they hurt themselves.

[There's a worried grimace on his face for a moment, before he straightens a little like he's abruptly remembered something.]

Oh- um, I'll just need your name for that one, actually. The lot of us don't really have much, uh. Social credit here, I suppose, so I've been writing down when one of us borrows something.

[Estinien lifts his shoulders. He's actually not sure how libraries work. He's never really been to one like this before. Not really.]

Estinien Wyrmblood.

[Despite himself, he makes a very slight face.]

Right. Thanks, uh. When you come back just ask for Martin and they can direct you to me.

My thanks.

[And with that, he'll just wander off again, as mysteriously as he arrived. He might even remember Martin's name.]

WELCOME TO SOLVUNN!

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