abraxaslogs | november catch-all

Kahlil had broached the topic of Nott with Kelson a couple of weeks earlier, a tense conversation about the Summoned's place and (often lack of) influence and power within Abraxas, specifically Thorne. He hasn't kept tabs on Kelson, though he's gotten the sense that the young man hasn't been leaving the castle or surrounding town maybe as often as he could.

The offer to show him around Nott is easy enough, he's done it for others. And he has an ulterior motive, if Kelson is willing.

"If you were to start taking on deliveries, it's a good excuse to leave the castle walls."

From the old and imposing government buildings in the north part of town where he dropped off his package, he's leading them down the side streets to the Hare and Harrow Tavern. Things are better than they were this time last year, in the wake of the fires and the strange afflictions. Still, Nott stands in contrast to the castle town, or even Borrel. There are beggars on the street during the day, both young and old. Every so often they get an odd look from a passerby, perhaps clocking the pair as being from the castle.

"It doesn't hurt to have coin of your own, either," he adds. Everything they get is provided by the crown, including whatever allowance they infrequently receive for special occasions.

Kahlil would be completely right in assuming that Kelson hadn't been leaving the castle very often. He'd been in Thorne for months now, and still had bad habits he'd picked up from home. Those included not leaving the castle. It was a hard habit to break, especially one that had been ingrained in him for years, so he appreciated the effort to drag him out of his comfort zone.

And the idea of taking on deliveries wasn't a foreign one. He'd done courier duties as a boy during his page and squire training, before his rank had prevented him from doing, oh so many things. He had quite liked it.

"I suppose so. Is it that obvious?" He hadn't exactly locked himself in his room or the libraries but....okay, yeah, he had. There were quite a lot of ideas he had to undo, like the idea of needing coin. That was a completely foreign concept that he usually had others take care of. Again, it was something he was just, used to. Being in Thorne was both comforting on some level, and a hindrance, preventing him from really going outside his comfort zone.

Kelson eyed the streets and the buildings, memorizing them and trying not to flinch at the beggars. The utter geek in Kelson was fascinated by the architecture of the government buildings.

"I think I'd like that." He was grateful for the excuse to leave the castle, needing some semblance of an excuse almost.

Kahlil smiles at him, giving a half nod.

"Good. You can start tomorrow, if you're feeling confident."

The jobs he'll be handing over to him aren't difficult in all truth, so long as he has a good attitude. There was something about Kelson's personality that made Kahlil wonder if he'd think such work beneath him - he's glad to be proven wrong.

It's still early for even the lunch crowd at the tavern, but they're not the only patrons when they arrive. He finds them a table in the back and asks for the plate of hearty bread, dried meats and cheese that's standard here, letting Kelson know he can ask for whatever he'd like to drink. It's too early for him, so Kahlil only asks for the black tea that they serve here.

"How does your world compare to this one?"

It's a question he asks most people. Kahlil is naturally curious about the many worlds out there.

"Won't be a problem. I'm happy to help and, thank you, for .....getting me out of the castle." Kelson orders a black tea as well, Kell only recently introducing him to some teas and he's not quite yet ready to stray from what he knows is good. Sitting down at the table opposite the other man, he considers the question.

"Very similar in a lot of ways. There are many different nations, most of the monarchies. Magic is much more accepted here than back home, but other kingdoms in my world are not as....superstitious as my own. It's something I am working on with my own kingdom. We've come a long way, and have a good deal of a way more to come still. But, I like to think I can learn something here that I can bring back. Because I will be going back."

There was no doubt in Kelson's mind that they would find a way back. Because they had too. "My kingdom has already mourned me for dead once already and they are quite not ready for a repeat performance." He tried to make it lighthearted but, there was definite trauma left behind in his voice. He had suffered, and so had those around him.

"I'm afraid I've picked up some rather poor habits back home that I can't quite get rid of." Like hiding in the castle. "What about your world? Is it anything like this one here?"

Kahlil gives a solemn nod at the explanation. Not so different from his own world, which had also been going through changes for the better in the past two decades. And while Kelson doesn't outright speak his title, it's clear enough that the young man is some kind of leader. Explains the stubborn confidence.

"Many people here believe that those who vanish return to the exact moment they disappeared from in their own world."

If that matters to him. Kahlil has no proof to offer, though. Only his own experiences, which he doesn't intend to speak on yet.

The serving woman is quick with the kettle, setting it down on the wood table with two mismatched mugs between them. Kahlil waits for it to steep a minute or two longer. He watches the steam curling from the spout.

"It's alright," he shrugs. "There's not much to say. My world is a single country on a continent. We had no magic like this world, and what we did have was mostly forbidden by the church."

A lot of the tension Kelson had been holding locked into his body and taught muscles relaxed as he heard the other man speak. He let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding and inhaled, positively slumping in the chair. He closed his eyes for a moment, in prayer, pure relief?

"That is good to hear. My uncle had only recently recovered from an attack and he most certainly does not want the crown. I don't think he would have survived the shock of losing me again." Nigel would be fine. Gwynedd would be fine. He would be fine. Kelson took a sip of his tea to taste it before removing the tea bag and taking another sip with Kahlil let his steep more.

"Your world sounds awfully similar to mine. We are not a single country on a single continent, however magic is outlawed and punishable by death by the church, at least in my kingdom." He sighed. "I'm working on it. Right before I was taken, the Church agreed to stop burning priests at the stake who dared be gifted with magic by an accident of their birth."

A young guansho'im, then. The noble families of Basawar, one of his few comparisons, are a bloodthirsty group. Familial ties matter little to those who seek to be at the head. He hopes it is not the same for Kelson. Though he is technically a man, he is awfully young to be at the seat.

He nods again, though he frowns at his mug before glancing up at Kelson again.

"Then I wish you luck, when you return. Things have begun to change in my world as well, they no longer burn witches and heretics on the Holy Road. But it took a long, bloody rebellion to achieve, and the destruction of the church itself."

By the same god they had sworn to serve.

If only the other man knew just how young he was when he became king. Thirteen was not a good age, much less to have the fate of an entire kingdom thrust upon you.

"Thank you. I'd love to hear more about what your world has achieved. They sound quite familiar. My church split and rebelled. It cost a lot of lives, but I am hoping that those lives that were sacrificed have brought us forward. It does sound like we have an awful lot in common." That was a terrible thing to have honestly. Of all the things to have in common with someone, death and rebellion were not ones he'd prefer, or wish on anyone.

He gives Kelson a rueful look.

"I can't say much else on its achievements. The church left a power vacuum, the rebel leaders and the noble families have been in a tense truce for years now."

But, it is still better than the way things had been during his earlier years.

There are also some gaps in his knowledge.

"Do you hold faith," he asks, genuinely curious.

That also sounded familiar. "I may have filled that hole with my own chosen. But yes, for a number of years there were a tense....I wouldn't call it a truce. More like waiting. Biding time. Neither one of us wanted to live with the other. I suppose they just made mistakes first?"

Did he hold faith. What a loaded question that was. "I guess the answer depends on what you mean by faith. Do I told faith with everything the Church has taught? With the people who control the Church? No. Do I hold faith in my own interpretation of deity and God? Yes. I can't say all my church leaders have always understood, but at least now, most of them at least respect it. Do you?"

At the answer, he smiles faintly.

"I have faith in my god, in all his forms."

Parfir. The Rifter. John.

"I was raised by men of the church, trained in their ideals. But all men are fallible. It took me many years to understand."

They make of faith what they wish. It is the same here. The King of Thorne speaks pretty words, and Kahlil believes he has the best interests of his nation at heart - but the power of the Singularity is not something to be controlled by men.

"You are wise enough to have figured it out yourself. I had to have the concept explained to me, when the luxury of learning it on my own could no longer be afforded."

He paused, thinking things through, before the question he wanted to pose was suitably formed. " And what of our situation here? Do you believe that is also up to god or have others interfered in what is best left alone?" Kelson didn't know what to think, although he was interested in knowledge, the idea of something like the Singularity seemed too powerful. At least with the current, rather poor, state of affairs.

He laughs with a harder edge this time.

"I wouldn't call myself wise." The learning nearly killed him. Kelson is still young and adaptable, which is in his favor. Kahlil doesn't begrudge him.

There's a pause while he sips his tea, the temperature no longer unbearable. When he answers the question, his brow furrows.

"I believe it's both, whether it's the side seeking its power - or the side seeking freedom from it. The potential for destruction is too great."

He doesn't want to see this world become like Basawar. Worse, he doesn't want to see what might happen to all the universes connected to the Singularity, should either side get what they desire.

"What would you call yourself then?" Wisdom comes from learning and adapting. It seemed to Kelson that Kyle had both learned, and not died doing it. He'd call that wisdom. At least he didn't have to be told and was able to figure it out himself.

Kelson likewise blew on his tea, taking a careful sip before setting it down again. "And so, we're stuck. Trying to mitigate already poor circumstances. But you seen to have navigated them well. You've developed a sort of....life here despite everything. "

To the question he only shrugs. Lucky, maybe - although most luck is just another thing he ascribes to Parfir's will.

"The people that seem to fit in best here are usually the ones who don't care so much about returning home," he says with a wry smile on his lips.

It's easier when your attention isn't divided. This land has become something like a home for him, that much is true. He has people here. He has his mission. It's as close to a life as he's ever gotten, except for that brief, dream-like year he spent sharing that house with John.

"You seem to have a lot waiting for you back in your world, though."

Kelson gave the man a weak smile. "I suppose I shouldn't be shocked that my unhappiness here is completely obvious." He hadn't exactly been hiding it after all. This wasn't after all where he wanted to be. Like Kyle had said, he had things he needed to do. Things that did not involve being here in Thorne.

He took a sip of his tea, finally deeming it cool enough. "I'm sure it's easier to adapt when you're not constantly looking backwards at what you once had, or what you need to do. I do have a lot I want to accomplish. And had started to accomplish, finally, before I was Summoned here. As," he paused, trying to find the right word, "Privileged as I'm sure I should feel, it doesn't mitigate the circumstances. Although I've met some who seem to take this as a lovely vacation or new home. I'm not entirely sure I can do the same."

It would be easier if he did, if he accepted what was and put his own plan on pause until circumstances deemed him able to go back. But, that wasn't in Kelson's nature.

He shakes his head with a scoff.

"This world may be beautiful, but a vacation? I'm not sure for who."

Not for the Summoned. For as long as the factions exist, they will remain pawns. He thinks of Inej, her plans to forge a new home for them. A neutral faction. When she'd contacted him about the idea, he'd given her a very long list of all the reasons that it would never work.

Even so, he hoped she might prove him wrong. There are many here who deserve their freedom.

Anyway, he should probably get back to the current topic...

"There's two others who are also taking on this work. Wilhelm and Dion. Wilhelm's around your age, he's been here even longer than me. Dion is new."

"For people whose lives are so full of hardship they'll take this over going back home, that small glimmer of hope that there might be a way out, for some. Who would rather be pawns. But it's no matter. They can choose whatever they want. I certainly don't feel that way."

Kelson listens, taking in the information that Kyle is sharing. "Wilhelm I know, Dion I don't, but I can keep a look out."

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