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

[hylife]

His mission.

[ Link repeats the words with no small degree of puzzlement in his voice, though his expression is grave. Even he, a so-called Honored Guest, didn't know many helpful details about Ambrose's intentions with the people he called to this land. What were they to do, how long would it take, what were they up against? All questions the mages couldn't or wouldn't answer.

It didn't make much sense to him, so summon so many accomplished people to his aid, only to throw half of them in jail and keep the other half in the dark.

Link may not be the most socially aware elf in the world, but even he can see that Estinien isn't just confused. He's simmering with resentment. ]

I believe you. [ After all, hadn't Link been nearly forced to witness proof of that very fact. ] I just don't understand why.

[coerthantorment]

Why he would do it this way?

[Estinien frowns at the fire, relaxing slightly, realizing that Link does not need to be convinced. Estinien thinks he understands why Ambrose is doing things like this, but truthfully, he is going more off his gut than any kind of evidence. That, and word of what Jon had discovered with his magic.]

Arrogance. Fear. A sense of self-importance. His sister seemed to believe he behaved so boldly due to confidence that he's only doing what needs to be done.

[hylife]

[ For better or for worse, Link tends to believe whatever he is told, until it becomes obvious that something is wrong. He had accepted Ambrose's claims at face value in the beginning, but that fateful moment of dissonance finally hit him when they were all marched out of doors to watch a man hang.

If that wasn't right, he'd though, then what else wasn't right?

He pushes the remainder of his soup around with the spoon, his eyes dropping down to his bowl while he considers Estinien's words in silence. Doing what needs to be done. Arrogance and pride aside, isn't that what they are all doing, in the end? ]

A terrible burden.

[ Link has spent too much time in extremely close quarters with the royal family of Hyrule to not instinctively feel some sympathy for the... enormity of such a responsibility. For your actions to decide the fate of a nation - how easily it can go wrong.

However, Thorne is not like Hyrule. He reminds himself of this. Hundreds of times, he's reminded himself of this. ]

His sister, is she against him?

[coerthantorment]

[Estinien narrows his eyes to himself, staring at the fire. A terrible burden... perhaps. But he cares little for Ambrose's excuses, given the unreasonably cruel way he acted at the start. He clearly saw people as commodities and little more.

He's certainly not going to focus on trying to understand the man if alternative options come about. Maybe Himeka or someone else better than him will, but it's not something he'll let go of easily.]

She was... or so it seemed. The two were disgusted by the need to interact with each other, and the Duchess herself was reluctant to turn us over to Thorne, though she had few other options. Ambrose himself was quite agitated by her involvement, once we were returned.

[hylife]

I see.

[ He doesn't see at all, and it shows on his face. These tangled alliances and hidden motivations are all deeply confusing to him. Wouldn't Ambrose have gotten his way with far less trouble if he had simply asked for their help with honesty?

Link would have gladly helped him, if the Singularity truly is as important to all of their existences as Ambrose had claimed. Now, however, he is seeing and learning of many different perspectives on that very matter. ]

The people here seem much more concerned with the Old Gods than they are with the Singularity.

[coerthantorment]

I'm not yet convinced those concepts are unrelated.

[If the Singularity is seen as the source of everything, presumably it must be the source of the gods as well. What he really wants to know is how inclined those gods are towards actual intervention. The knows the Twelve he's familiar with are particularly quiet, and wonders if it's different here.]

Have you seen the Horizon? The realm of the Singularity?

[He has no idea if that connection is innate.]

[hylife]

You think so?

[ Link asks it earnestly. Frankly, he hasn't put very much thought into the secrets of the Singularity - the details had seemed rather irrelevant to the duties expected of him by Castle Thorne.

For the first time, perhaps, he is aware that this place may be very different in that regard. No one here has told him what to do...

His curiosity is piqued. Gods are fickle and unpredictable, in his experience, but they have always been good to Link in particular. ]

I've heard of the Horizon. [ Is it a place? It sounds to him like a place. ] I've yet to see it.

[coerthantorment]

Aye.

[He doesn't have a ton to go off of - it's more just instinct.]

If the Singularity is truly the source of all magicks... it must be the source of the gods as well, by some means or another.

[He contemplates it for another moment and then glances back to Link.]

It was first brought about in the rest of us when we were exposed directly to its presence... can you feel its power here, when you think on it with a clear mind?

[hylife]

The source of the gods...

[ Link repeats those words in a hushed tone, a little dumbstruck. He'd known, instinctively, that there must be some link between the Goddess and this place. There was no other explanation for how or why he could have arrived here.

The notion is easy for him to accept. And when put that way, the notion that the Thorneans would want to control the Singularity suddenly feels patently wrong.

He frowns slightly. He has to admit, he hasn't spent much time thinking on the power of the Singularity with any sort of mind, clear or otherwise. ]

I searched for my Goddess in prayer, but she doesn't speak to me as she did before. I've been looking in the wrong place.

[coerthantorment]

[Estinien's impressions are far from fact in this case, but they are rooted in his own personal experiences with gods. The gods of his world seemingly came after the beginning of the world, if they were not created whole cloth from the will of their people. Naturally, he imagines it'll be the same here - gods created by the power of the Singularity, and not vice versa.

In that sense, he wonder if they were not simply created by beings that had managed to harness the thing to its full potential.]

Mayhap so. We are far from home, after all.

[He lets the bowl rest in his lap, already having finished most of what Link gave him. Definitely preferable to finding a local business.]

I feel as if... if we are to find a way back to whence we came, 'twill be through the Singularity's power. Mayhap, someday, she will once again hear your calls.

[He smiles slightly, shrugging a shoulder. It's brief, as his expression falls back to neutral only moment later.]

As it is, I would focus on quieting my mind, and turning my will towards the Singularity. 'Tis much like praying, now that you mention it.

[Except Estinien actually got a response with this one.]

[hylife]

[ For a brief moment, Link's eyes close while worry niggles at his thoughts. He does sincerely hopes he hears Hylia again. The longer Princess Zelda waits for him, the greater her suffering.

He'll grasp at any straw, at this point. ]

I think... this 'Horizon' will bring me closer than I have been.

[ He looks rather serious, now. He thinks he understands what Estinien is getting at. Places that one can only reach through meditation is not a foreign concept on his world. ]

And if I do that, I'll be able to go there?

[coerthantorment]

In theory, I would hope.

[It'll be difficult if the new arrivals struggle to get a hold of this valuable resource. He contemplates it for a moment.]

I would be willing to demonstrate, if I can remain nearby for the night. I'm only visiting, and would rather not spend the coin on a room.

[He really just needs a lawn to camp on.]