WELCOME TO SOLVUNN!

[abraxasmods]

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.

Comments

[sanc]

[ And this is why she was in a tavern like this trying to get used to talking to others more personally here. She instinctively turns her head to follow the path of his hand with her gaze. ]

I see... thank you. I'll make sure that Himeka and Estinien are aware.

[ It's a plan to work on if he's telling the truth. He's sure they can look into it further later on. It wouldn't be easy, but it'd be worth the extra security.

She turns back to him quickly when his next words leave him, eyes a bit wide. She's not sure she understands why she'd even offer such a thing, but she doesn't want to be a reason he gets hurt, either. ]

You don't need to put yourself in harm's way for us, Nero, but the offer is appreciated.

[ Relena shakes her head, frowning again as she squeezes her hands together. ]

I don't really want to learn to fight. When it comes down to it, Estinien spoke about magic that I could use to protect and to heal others. I plan to focus on that more than anything else. I just...

[ Those conversations with Estinien are still hard to think about. It's a great conflict of morality for her, the idea of fighting, but she knows now that peace can't just be handed to you and it can't exist if you don't protect it. Peace is a self-contradictory precedence she'll spend a lifetime trying to fully understand, but it also means she'll never know where she should stand in moments like this where she doesn't want to let her friends die for her principles and weakness. ]

[extremethirst]

[ He drops his arm on the table; his hand shifts so that he can give her a proper thumbs up but he still has not gotten up. ]

You're welcome.

[ Nero ducks his head, rubbing his cheek against the surface of the table, as he chuckles to himself. He's sure that Estinien or Himeka or even Relena herself would have come up with the plan, eventually, but he decides to help her out.

It'd be a bit of an asshole move to tell her she needs to do something without offering a solution as to what that something should be. At least, in his opinion.

His eyes widen a little at her own surprise at his willingness to save her and the others. ]

So, you'd rather your companions be put in danger for you? Obviously not, honey. [ He can already hear her saying that isn't what she wants. ] Don't worry about it. It's my decision to do that, anyway.

[ As for the reason why? He thinks that she has the making of becoming something truly terrible, too. The elf doesn't even care if he sees what the world twists her into, but just wants her to survive so she can destroy as many lives as her peace demands. ]

There is only so much that can do, right?

[ Especially when using healing and shields; it can only do so much and the magic in this world is much stronger than even his own. He wonders if it could rival even the Gods'. Wouldn't that be funny? ]

You're also just starting to learn how to use it. A newly learned magic-wielder against a seasoned mage? [ His head cocks to the side. ] We can already assume what would happen, yeah?

[ Nero folds his arm under his head. ] I'm speaking, of course, about how much you could heal and how strong your shields would be against what they can pump out. [ He has yet get into the fighting aspect. ]

The best way to avoid injuries is making sure the threat is dealt with quickly first, unfortunately. [ Unfortunate for her, anyway. ] But I'm sure he already brought that point up to you, yeah?

[sanc]

[ Relena will take any potential help she can get. It'll be valuable at some point, she's sure. She doesn't want to think the kindness she's been shown here is a lie, but she knows better to blindly believe it's a truth, either.

At his question, she shakes her head. He is right. She wouldn't want them to. She'd rather it the other way around, though Estinien would scold her for that. ]

Hopefully, it won't come to that, anyway. I think if we play things smart and keep communication open with the people here, we might avoid what happened in Thorne. I'm going to hope, at least.

[ At the very least, the disadvantage they're at here is not as massive as it was in Thorne. They have something to work with here for now. Better to believe things can be approached diplomatically until it's very clear they can't be than the other way around.

She decides to listen to him, but it feels like she's being dragged back into the same conversation she'd had with Estinien, but from a different angle. She wants to hold onto who she is here. She doesn't want to kill just to earn their approval. Fighting is already something outside of what she feels she should do, even with her tossing aside her family name of Peacecraft. Killing... is just beyond her ability to accept. Not at this point. ]

I'm well aware, Nero. It is the efficient way, but that doesn't mean it's the only way or even always the best way. I don't want to kill, and if that leads to me being a burden in a dire situation, I expect to be left behind.... but, he did. He did bring it up... and I'm aware I need to put a lot of thought into what compromises I might need to make. Might have to make.

[extremethirst]

[ The expression that he gives her is an incredulous one. He turns slightly on his side to give her a thumbs up on her idea that if they all just talk more to the people, they surely won't betray them. It's obvious from both gesture and body language that he completely doubts that idea, so there's nothing more either one of them needs say on it.

She really is someone who has strong morals. And that continues to be something very funny to the elf.

His pointed ears wiggle slightly as she replies to his continued assertion that the only way for her to be safe and not a burden is kill the person before they have the chance to become a threat. What the fuck? ]

Hold on a second. [ He lifts his hand to hold his palm out to her, indicating he's putting a small break in their conversation. ] You do realize that what I'm telling you is messed up, right? I really do need you to be aware of this before we can continue.

[ Honestly, he was certain she would cite her age as reason enough for her not to have to think of having to murder someone. However, she takes in what he says as an almost reasonable statement and even talks about how her stance might make her a burden to others in "dire situations." ]

Why do you need to put any thought into the compromises that you have to make? Why do you have to make these decisions in the first place? [ Nero gives her a funny look; it's the same funny look that he gave Link. The teenagers have the right idea, but it is wrong that they are thinking like that at all. ]

Don't you think it's kind of messed up people are making you make these decisions in the first place?

[sanc]

[ Relena doesn't mind his quiet dismissal in the form of a halfhearted hand gesture. It's about what she expects from most people older than her. She's used to it.

She stops, though, when he tells her to stop for a moment. She looks puzzled with a small frown on her lips. She is... surprised at his response. It's not like she hadn't heard his words before. It's not like this kind of conversation hadn't crossed her ears before. It's not like these thoughts hadn't come into her head when she thought about her position and her internal struggle with some aspects of it that can and are frequently challenged.

A small sigh leaves her and she shakes her head. ]

Of course it is. Of course it's 'messed up' that things are this way, but they are. I've come to realize that. I can't run away from the reality of these things. There's no war here yet, but there's tension. The issue of the Singularity and the desperation its stoking aren't going away any time soon. Anything can break at any time...

[extremethirst]

Poetic!

[ Wow. Nero has to accept that the two kids are really fundamentally broken in a way that they don't even recognize. He supposes that he can keep bringing it up, and even if they say, "I have to accept the reality of my situation," that they start really seeing all the cracks and breaks that is their very existence.

He wonders if they'd start to blame someone for how they are, or do something entirely different. ]

But you're right... it can and it probably will break. [ He holds his arms up in the air. ] But that is way out of our hands.

[ His arms drop back down, hitting his chest with a soft sound. ] It's even more out of your hands than anyone else's, I'd imagine. [ Nero gives her a look that is supposed to say that he recognizes how old she really is. ] You're always gonna be reliant on others to be your power, sweetie.

[ But that is something that Relena has already said that she recognizes, and doesn't want to burden those whose power that she's relying upon. ] Still, they're relying upon you, too. The thing is... they shouldn't be... and they should be attempting to allow you to no longer worry about these things.

[ The elf chuckles. He thinks that One would probably try to take away all of her burdens and hold them onto himself. It's that will of his friend's that compels him to do something, because he thinks that the way One would handle things is detrimental in its own way. And Nero likes being detrimental in those ways; he likes showing that no matter how good or righteous a person is, certain actions will always cause pain and suffering.

That's why, he finally says: ]

... So, I'll do what I can to take those worries away from you. How's that?

[sanc]

[ Relena doesn't want to believe anything's truly beyond her grasp yet. She knows there's a lot, at the moment, that she can't do, but there's also things she might have the reach for with a little more time. It's reality that things might break under the weight of the tensions here. It doesn't mean she'll easily accept allowing it all to go tits up without trying to do something, anything at all.

She shakes her head, almost speaking back at him before he continues. She decides to stay quiet, watching him with curiosity and hesitance. Nero is nothing if not strange and a little eerie. She can't make head's nor tails of him. She doesn't trust him, but she also isn't sure if he should be completely distrusted yet, either. He's enigmatic and can just as easily slide from some fractured form of kindness to troubling, nihilistic banter. She's not sure where the real 'Nero' is or if it's all just him, contradictions and all.

She doesn't want to accept that she shouldn't be relied upon. In her mind, she's useless if she can't contribute. Can't pull her weight along and help in any situation. She can't be a hindrance.

Her brow creases as she speaks, looking him over as if trying to find his motive written on him. ]

What do you mean? What would you do?

[extremethirst]

To put simply, princess, kill people.

[ Nero turns his head to the side to let out a soft laugh. ]

Don't worry. It wouldn't be by your order that people die.

[ He's not so foolish as to say that he would take burdens away from her only to give her the greatest one that he can give someone. Sorry, but that honor has already been bestowed upon someone else. ]

You just worry yourself with learning how to heal and make your barriers. Don't concern yourself with fighting or killing. Leave that to an... outside force.

[ His arm shoots up into the air before he tilts his hand down and points to himself. He clicks his tongue loudly like he is nocking an arrow into his crossbow. ]

You're not relying upon me and you're not asking me to do anything. This is a worry that I'm taking from you. So, let yourself be concerned how to make nice with those that want to make nice. [ He smiles wide and friendly, finished with both his spiel and offer. ]