abraxaslogs | august catch-all; open

No, I understand. I assumed that such a thing was not likely to be written down or in circulation out this way. And the names Elizabeth and Oliver in conjunction with each other are absolutely unknown out here?

[There is a used bookseller stall beside the bone carver, and Alucard has been there for a good half hour going through the more expensive leather bound volumes. It is vampire owned, and the dhampir has zero compunction about flashing his fangs in the presence of the native vampire populace. Still, his line of questioning has hardly been subtle. Texts about past Summoned and about gods. The latter he at least has two calf skin volumes on now, even if they are thin. More treatises and pamphlets than proper books, but they're not things he's found in the libraries of the Free Cities.

He exchanges a few more words and offers coin, adding a few extra pieces in case you get anything in, I'd like to place a hold.]

[ If the questions about past Summoned and gods hadn't already caught Kahlil's attention, those two names certainly do. At a glance he would've assumed the stranger at the bookseller's stall was another vampire, but the questions make him lean toward Summoned.

Kahlil quickly pays for a little bone carving of a dog-like creature, thanking the artisan and excusing himself to follow after the strange man. He sidles up to him, stepping heavier than his usual cat-like silent walk. ]

Sorry, I couldn't help overhearing - you're looking for certain history books?

[ It's not his best opening, but it'll do. He knows for a fact that there's little to find in Oleuni Square on those particular topics - he's raided all the shops himself. ]

[One can always be a little of column a while absolutely being column b.

There's really only one errand that Alucard has left to run in Nocwich, at least for the day. He's out of bloodwine. As a dhampir, blood isn't a required nutrient, but he appreciates it as a tasting note and the wines are in fact excellent. He knows the path to his preferred shop and--

--and someone at least has the politeness to announce they're following him. Alucard slows, making a point to step off to the side to remain out of the way of foot traffic. It seems a politeness.]

I may very well be, yes. [It isn't a face he recognizes immediately. Or at all, which means that whoever this is, he's not from the Free Cities.]

[ He follows in step with him, nodding vaguely at the lines of stalls they pass. ]

You won't find much here. [ What he's looking for predates Nocwich's creation. Even if either the Lunae or vampires hold any books on the topic, they must not keep them here where anyone could purchase them. He tilts his head, giving the stranger a curious look. ]

You're from the Free Cities? [ If he's here for pre-civil war history and information about gods, it makes the most sense. ]

One cannot be faulted for hoping that something might slip through the cracks.

[Alucard suspects that if the Lunae have anything, it is more likely an oral tradition and very much closed to outsiders. That's fine. He doesn't want to bother Sten with something like this, at least not so early on in his own research.]

I am. Good guess. [Alucard will admit that the line of query isn't subtle. That's fine.]

Which of the other two for yourself?

[His tone is polite. Pleasant enough, the whole conversation nothing different than discussing the weather for now.]

Thorne. Their libraries are also missing some key parts of their history. I've heard some things, though.

[ He's going to get to the point - he doesn't actually enjoy this type of assessment conversation, just one more question: ]

Oliver and Elizabeth. I've heard those names before too. No one can tell me much about them.

[ Does this man have something more to tell? It seems almost too good to be true. ]

Well there's a surprise.

[Alucard has accepted that he's never going to not be petty about Thorne deciding to imprison half their Summoned at first flush. It is the kind of thing that deserves some lingering anger as far as he is concerned.]

The truth is that there's very little to tell. What do you make of people who show up in the middle of an execution, stop time for a full hour, open portals to the other main nations here, and then disappear entirely? It's been two years since that happened, and there has been no reappearances of them yet. The last part is what gives me pause these days.

It does seem strange. I wondered if maybe they might be people with a grudge against Thorne, but then I was told they didn't do any harm when they were there.

[ When it sounds as though it may have been in their power to do so. It'd come up because he had been wondering about an outside party interfering with the Nocwich parties last summer, and they were two names that no one had clear motivations or answers about. ]

If anything, I suspect they avoided some violence given the situation they walked into.

[Still. Alucard places his own grudge off to the side for the moment.]

I've wondered if they had connections or might be past Summoned, as not everyone might have a typical human lifespan. These aren't records the Free Cities have been interested in keeping.

This world has a long and violent history. It's not surprising that records would be lost over thousands of years.

[ Or buried. He thinks for a second, then: ]

There's a library in Horizon, in a tower. Have you been there?

[ He doesn't really want to speak more on this out here. And Istredd's domain may have some things that interest this man, if he hasn't already dug through it. ]

I try not to trespass.

[Alucard uses his own Horizon as an escape and a way of keeping the world out. He assumes this is true for most others, and has generally tried to keep to the spaces of those he knows - or else his own, which is little more than quiet wilderness.

But he also has given up hiding his interests or concerns at this point.]

[ He cants his head. Kahlil has always taken open doors as a welcome - he leaves the ones to his domain open for that reason. ]

Would you be willing to meet me there later? You might find some of the books there helpful.

[sometimes one is a dhampir with strong recluse tendencies]

As you like, if three hours seem an acceptable delay.

[ Another nod. That's more than enough time for him to finish up here and return to the castle. ]

I'm Kyle, by the way. [ He offers a faint smile. They haven't met in person or he would've recognized him, but it's possible this is someone he's spoken to through the mind before. He talks to a lot of people. ]

Alucard. Until then.

[He isn't one to hang around for long farewells, so Alucard very much sees himself off to his initial itinerary which is to get himself a bloodwine refill.

True enough to his word, some three hours on Alucard does find himself at the domain indicated. It was simple enough to find, towers being what they are. The dhampir can't say it is to his own taste, but his domain is a essentially a late autumn forest with a single sad shack in it.

He stands awkwardly at the entrance, dressed more of his own time and place in 1400s Wallachia than he ever does in Abraxas itself.

When he does see Kyle approach, he offers a polite nod of his head.]

I'm glad I selected the correct tower dominates domain.

[ Kahlil approaches wearing what he normally does in Horizon, the uniform of the ushiri: a black coat over a grey cassock, moons dotting the high collar. The sign of the Hanged Man is stamped on one shoulder.

He smiles and tips his head at Alucard. ]

I guess there are a few...

[ But now Alucard knows what it looks like. Kahlil steps forward, opening the doors for them. The entire inside of the tower is lined with books. He walks inside, clearly familiar with the place. At a table he lays out the complete list of gods given over by certain people in Solvunn. ]

[Alucard follows after, giving the library a critical glance. He grew up in an architecturally impossible castle that had well appointed, well lit libraries with gleaming oak shelves and brass scientific equipment. This...is not that, but it is clearly well kept and cared for. That counts for a lot.

He doesn't ask after organization or how things are found in such a space. It is the Horizon, what need is there for catalogs and shelf marks? The books you need are found exactly where they should be.

The Old Gods are a start, but that it does little to help with the question of Summoned past.]

Given Solvunn's oral history tradition, are these entirely publications already known, or do they also contain details that are usually only spoken?

Known, for reference. [ It's been a sticking point in Thorne that they aren't allowed any access to their books on High Magic or the gods. Thorne plays it off as believing the rituals antiquated, but Kahlil suspects there's underlying fear and superstition at play. ]

How much do you already know about Solvunn and the founding of the settlements?

[ He doesn't want to repeat whatever Alucard might already have found out. There is a link there in what he's seeking. ]

Understood. [The Free Cities see the gods as antiquities best left in the past. It isn't a line of thinking Alucard disagrees with exactly, but there's still a need or the knowledge. Especially given the nonsense of earlier in the year.]

Mostly what I learned from the Lunae when they were assisting us with those who went missing. They share a common point of origin with Solvunn, and the settlement was founded after the two groups split apart. It's why they were able to help with creating cures - some ritual components have remained the same.

[ He nods. That connection is something he learned too when he tried speaking to the Lunae about the gods and their origins. ]

Solvunn was founded by the Ninth High Mage of Thorne, after he was exiled for his attempt at the Summoning. The details are difficult to come by, but it's known that something about it went wrong. [ A beat, and he fixes his gaze on Alucard. He recognizes the name, now. He was the one who had asked on the network about the fey and a new day. Kahlil had hoped to find some replies even if he had nothing to offer himself, but if there were any then they weren't public. ]

I've tried asking questions in Thorne about this. I could tell you what little I know, but I need something in return.

--That part is new to me. [It isn't a surprise to Alucard that an attempt at summoning anything could go badly. Magic is difficult. It took his father a full year to summon demons from the pit for the terrible idea of warring against Wallachia itself.

He takes that particular revelation in stride for the time being. What he pointedly doesn't do is ask after sources. At least not for right now.]

Within reason, I can attempt to meet a request.

[Alucard dislikes deal making with strangers. Especially in a place that can change, although being in someone else's domain might enforce polite behavior for now.]

[ He doesn't like it either, but you have to work with what you're given. Kahlil's features are grim. ]

One, I want to know whatever you find on Oliver and Elizabeth. Who they are, why they came and went without returning. I think some of our theories may overlap.

[ About past Summoned. ]

Two, that you keep what I tell you to yourself. It's not official record, and it would be linked back to me if it got around.

[ As far as he knows, he's the only one with this particular small piece of information about that Summoning. He also can't promise it's 100% true, given who he got it from, but it's more than the nothing he had before.

He's watching Alucard as he waits for an answer. ]

[Alucard likes to lie to himself about things such as having a poker face. He really doesn't, subtle doesn't become him. He lifts an eyebrow at the inital request. It is reasonable, although when the other man finished speaking, he offers a single caveat to the first point.]

If there is anything that compromises their safety - if their being apart is a choice and does not seem to imply that there is a threat to the Summoned collectively - I reserve the right to exclude that information.

[As for the rest, he nods.]

Easily done. I like my privacy and assume others do as well. So far as I am concerned, we've only met once in passing in Nocwich, and I'm hearing not a single word in the next five minutes.

[ He considers the caveat for a moment, then nods. It's not ideal, but he can't say it's unreasonable. It makes it seem more likely that Alucard will keep his word for Kahlil's requirements as well.

Another pause before he continues. ]

What I have been told is that the Ninth Mage's Summoning was experimental in some way. The Summoned that arrived... something changed them. That they became unhinged and dangerous, beyond help. [ He grimaces. ] When I asked what became of them... the answer I received was that they were treated as a threat to the country.

[ The strong implication being that they were eliminated. But he doesn't have anything to confirm this, or whether it's possible any of them could have survived. ]

Well, that explains why Thorne imprisoned half of us immediately after pulling us out of our own spheres.

[The explanation is almost too neat, but sometimes an explanation is just that simple.]

Treated as a threat doesn't mean a successful elimination, especially if there are non-human lifespans involved.

august catch-all; open

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I think we can leave it here and focus on the event.