abraxaslogs | OPEN: We Vow To Keep Pressing Forward

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OPEN: We Vow To Keep Pressing Forward

WHO: Jayce Talis and you
WHAT: Jayce is new, come meet him!
WHERE: Cadens and the Horizon
WHEN: April, will add event stuff later

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Diana has yet to learn her own Arcana, but she does vaguely recognize the pin at his lapel as that of the Magician. She notes it, and then her brows raise slightly at his apology. If she had a free hand, she'd wave him off; she should have been more aware of her surroundings. But before she can say as much, he's offered his help--which turns out to be halting traffic so she may cross the street.

She's a little astounded--and can't help the slight pink that dusts across her cheekbones. Still, she offers a surprised, "Thank you," before continuing on. Diana hadn't expected such aid, but is grateful for it as she's able to make her way to the shop without fear of running into anyone else.

"Diana of Themyscira," she offers, shifting the rugs and furs in her arms. Her gaze falls on the shopkeeper just in the doorway before her attention turns back to the man before her. "Could you take the top few, just so I can see?" She bends her knees as she speaks, keeping everything perfectly balanced but putting some of the rugs in easier reach.

Jayce is glad she got the rest of the way with no trouble, it would've been a problem for everyone. Plus this is very impressive, he can't help but admire it. He is tall so he leans over and manages to slide the top ones off for her. This many are no struggle for him, but he is pretty sure he couldn't do all of them.

"You are extremely ambitious, Diana of Themyscira. I've never seen anyone carry that much and with such balance. It's amazing." Compliments come easily to him but there's a sincerity to them, that he's saying them off-the-cuff without any intention. "I'm Jayce Talis, of Piltover." Since that's how she introduced herself, he wants to mimic the style, it's polite.

"After you." He moves his head in the direction of the shopkeeper, despite now having a good number of them himself. Again, polite. "You probably saved them an hour of work." Going back and forth. They might have a cart, but putting them on and off the cart would take effort. An hour might not seem like much, but to someone with a lot of work, it adds up.

She feels much better once she's able to see clearly again, and breathes a little sigh of relief. "It's no trouble at all." She doesn't say it to boast, just as a matter of fact. The weight wasn't the problem, or even the balance--just the line of sight. "I'm just happy I was able to help." She's still trying to find her niche here in Cadens, and until she does, things like this are how she can contribute.

"I'm glad to meet you." In kind, her tone is sincere. She's met so many people over the past week or so, and really is grateful for each person who's taken the time to introduce themselves to her. She's used to knowing everyone by name. "Where is Piltover?" She's never heard of that city before, but that isn't surprising; the maps they had on Themyscira weren't exactly up-to-date, something she'd discovered only after leaving. And there hadn't been much opportunity to brush up on geography while on her way to the Front.

Jayce also got right to helping people fix carts and objects so he understands that drive. Some people just work that way. It's hard to start over somewhere and find your bearings, but he is lucky to have an easy set of skills for this city. Then again, carrying things is also something that will always be useful, especially with muscles like hers! Jayce lets the shopkeeper point out where to put the rugs and sets them down.

"It's not in this world, I'm a Summoned." He is getting fairly good at noticing people who also seem to be, but Jayce tries not to assume at the first time. "It's called the City of Progress, full of scientists, engineers, and inventors who try to come up with world-changing technology." Jayce loves his city with all of his heart, it is why at first he was honored to be put on the Council, before he realized what a bad idea it was long term. Not to mention Piltover is like that, but the Undercity, not so much.

"What's Themyscira like?"

Diana is still working on being able to pick out who might be a Summoned and who isn't; her knowledge of the world of men is, in a word, outdated. If she hadn't been disabused of the notion that this was the same world as her own upon arrival, she might have gone on considering it so.

She moves towards where the shopkeeper wants the rugs, and holds steady while his assistants begin to unload the burden. She listens to Jayce's description of Piltover, absolutely entranced. She envisions it like London, full of strange technology and people. It sounds like the sort of place she'd love to visit.

When he asks about Themyscira, she doesn't hesitate before answering. "Themyscira is an island, full of mountains and forests. Its beaches are the most beautiful in the world." Well, according to her. They're the only beaches she's ever seen. "It is the home of the Amazons, my people. We live and train there, preparing to be the bridge to a greater understanding between all mankind." The words she says are memorized, but the feeling in them isn't shallow; Diana believes what she says is true with her whole heart.

Jayce listens just as closely and entranced as she was as she describes her home. "That sounds beautiful. I've always wanted to visit more beaches, I thought I already had my fill of deserts during a research project." His tone is dry at that, considering he's back in the desert now. He did a dig in a desert back home to find arcane crystals, and he did end up finding some information, but he hated it. He always felt parched and isolated. At least Cadens is more lively.

After the rugs are down he can finally see the woman herself. She's beautiful, obviously, but there's a warmth to her that he feels a connection with. Her words ring with truth; her truth, maybe, but it still is. "How did you plan to be that bridge? Did you have a lot of libraries and knowledge there to share with the world?" He also wants to share knowledge with the world.

All mankind may be pushing it, he is only one person, but he wanted to at least help both sides of the city.

To be honest, the desert would not be Diana's first choice for a new place to explore. She misses the tall trees of Themyscira, the towering mountains, and most of all, the ocean. It had been humbling to live surrounded by such a vast unknown, one that also provided so much to the people of her island. The desert around Cadens is also full of unknowns, surely, but she's a little less enthusiastic to discover them. "I believe there is a beach in Aquila," she offers, gently swiping her palms together to dislodge any errant threads from the rugs. "It is supposed to be one of the most beautiful places in this world."

Diana smiles at him, warmth practically radiating from her, and steps aside so the shopkeeper can go about his inventory. "We do. But we also believe that love holds the greatest power in the world, and that will bring all men together to live in peace some day." She is entirely genuine in her belief of this, even after all the horrors she saw in the past few weeks before arriving in the Free Cities.

Edited 2022-05-10 00:41 (UTC)

Piltover is much simpler than what she's describing her home as, it doesn't have as varied of a scene or temperature, but it still is better than a desert. Jayce does wonder if he would have preferred Thorne or Solvunn's location, but it doesn't really matter. This is where he ended up. He looks genuinely surprised at that bit of knowledge. "Really? That's on me for not researching more about the area, I'll have to ask about it." He's had a lot on his mind, so focusing in on other cities hasn't been top of the list. Maybe it should have been. He wonders if he could persuade Viktor to run off to a beach, if it's easy to travel there, just for a few days.

He's caught up in the conviction of her words and the passion behind them, usually something Jayce gives to other people when he goes on about science, so he's impressed and touched by it. "That's a beautiful ideal to strive for." Maybe too idealistic or optimistic, some might say, and Jayce would too, but he's only recently become more pessimistic. There was a time he really thought peace and prosperity could be easy, if everyone just wanted it enough.

"Can I buy you a drink at Mag's Inn? It's the one most of the Summoned have been living in." In case she happens to be one of them. Jayce is nearby there with Viktor, although they plan on moving out soon for bigger space. He's currently living on the floor. Not the best long-term idea. "Do you really think world peace is achievable?"

She's a little surprised that he hasn't learned everything about the surrounding area, but then she realizes that perhaps that is just something she did because of her training. Antiope always stressed the importance of knowing as much about the lay of the land as possible, and luckily, Cadens' libraries were full of maps. Instead of letting her shock show, she smiles. "If you visit, I hope it lives up to what is said about it." She has no doubt it will.

To Diana, it isn't just an ideal: "It is my duty to see that it comes to pass." No matter how long it takes, she will work to see that it does. She knows now that it won't be easy, but it is a future worth fighting for.

Her eyes light up, and she nods. "Yes, I'd like that. I have been considering staying there myself." She's been living in the barracks, and while it is comforting in its own way, she would like a little more privacy now that she's settled. She makes her way out of the shop, leaving the owner to finish up his inventory. "I think it's more than achievable. Working as one, there is nothing mankind cannot do."

For Jayce, his frantic behavior the first few days since arriving was trying to get back, he argued and begged with the people in charge of the barracks, making a bit of a scene as he mentioned his best friend dying. Only to make his way here and immediately stumble into said friend, which calmed him down. So much of his time here has been one reaction after another, finding a job for them to get money, learning healing magic, etc. Jayce hasn't actually paused and looked up anything that didn't seem to fit his goal. Now he realizes how much it's made him miss, not taking a second to breathe and look around.

"I guess if you are going to have a duty to the world, you may as well reach as high as you can." Maybe too high, but Jayce is someone who has been told before that he thinks too big and ridiculous himself. That his dreams and goals were unachievable, and he's proven them wrong over and over, but it's still always been in the realm of the possible.

Jayce falls into step easily with her, heading in the direction of the inn. "It's a good place to be, she lets Summoned have rooms there in exchange for helping out around the place. I have no doubt that your strength would be appreciated." He has been on hand to carry a lot of very heavy things, but he has a feeling Diana can out carry him to an extreme. "It's a hot spot for our kind too, so it's easy to meet each other and become friends." Unsurprising that Jayce leans heavily into the communal aspect, he likes finding common ground with other Summoned, like with her.

"I agree with you, but I'm not sure how to get them to work as one. There's a civil war in my city and that's just one city, the rest of the world seems to constantly be in conflict." Jayce sighs. "I was hoping to finally get us peace, before I ended up here." In the worst possible case scenario, him doing something terrible that made their gang leader respect him enough to parlay. But Jayce has to look forward to something in the hell he left, and the possibility of Piltover and Zaun becoming allies is everything to him.

Diana hasn't been in such a big rush to return to her own world for reasons she considers selfish; Ares is dead, but so is Steve Trevor. So are so many other people, because of the War. This new adventure, removed from her own world, had seemed almost a boon, a means to step away from the horror and pain, even if only for a brief time. Ares was dead, so men could begin to heal; she has faith that they will do so. And that selfish part of her wants time to heal, too. Or at least forget for a little while.

She doesn't supply that her people were literally created for that purpose; she's comfortable enough to let the subject drop. For some reason, people don't seem to grasp the enormity of the charge laid upon the Amazons, and she's tried explaining it one too many times over the past weeks to want to try again right now. Instead, she smiles; "Then I think my consideration will have to become a reality." Meeting people sounds like exactly what she wants to do in this place, especially more Summoned. She's curious to know about their worlds, their lives. Hopefully, they'll be as kind as Jayce is right now.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Something in her soul shudders at his words, but she keeps her expression from showing it, only letting her sympathy show. His isn't the first such tale she's heard since coming here. More worlds than she could have imagined seem to have some kind of active war or conflict. It makes her wonder at the cause. "Communication, negotiation, and reciprocated shows of good faith." It's a rote repetition, some of the basics she'd learned of diplomacy while working with her childhood tutors. "But it is hard work. There is no one perfect solution to be found without cooperation. But I know in my heart that it is possible." Maybe she sounds naïve (even a little to her own ears), but it's still what she believes.

"Our situation is complicated." So very complicated. "The split is steeped in inequality. Piltover, where I'm from, is on the top level, it's called the City of Progress, technologically advanced and full of hope, beautiful." Jayce loves Piltover, he truly does. He has to, it is his home, and it's made him who he is. He saw it as a place of opportunity and brilliance, and that is what he strove for, he gripped onto. It's not as if Piltover is perfect for someone like him either, he was working class before everything happened. But it's not the same.

"The Undercity, the other part of the conflict, is literally beneath Piltover, poor and corrupted, treated as lesser or just ignored entirely. My Undercity partner was constantly brushed off or looked past as our work in Piltover became prominent. But still ... I didn't really get the depths of it." Jayce did try to make everyone see Viktor. He made certain to talk about him constantly, he always made certain both of their names were on everything, maybe that's when he started 'we' instead of 'I' instinctively in group conversations. So it never seemed like he was alone. But he still failed, despite being aware.

Jayce realizes he's talking too much but sometimes he really can't help it, he thinks and so he speaks. "I really do believe our city can be whole. I think that the majority of our people, if they understood how bad things were, they would want to fix it." Now that Jayce sees it, it's all he wants to do, and he's not as good as others. Especially not these days.

"I don't think there's a perfect solution. I thought maybe ... if I could help bring the Undercity equal to us in power, that might help, but now I'm not so sure." Jayce had the authority to at least try that, and he doesn't know if Silco would agree. He looks a little sheepish. "Sorry I'm talking so much, I never get to talk about it with someone outside of the situation. And you seem confident and wise."

Diana had hear similar stories of inequality among people, both in her own world and here in this one. She thinks of Sameer, who wanted to be an actor, but was "the wrong color," and instead became a soldier. Of Chief, whose people lost everything to Steve's, and went to war to make a profit. All of it was so wrong, but she doesn't yet know how to make it right. Her people's edict seems simple on the surface, but the longer she's spent among men, the more she's realized that it isn't so at all.

And Jayce, the way he talks about his Piltover and the Undercity, helps her believe that he's right; once people see the inequalities, truly see them, they will want to help fix it. How could they not? There is only so much those in power can benefit from keeping others below them before something in the system breaks. And Diana has studied politics enough to know that such a break would be catastrophic for all sides.

"You cannot simply give someone power and expect everything to right itself." Her voice is gentle, but there's true belief in her words. Not to immediately shoot his idea down, but it sounds like a way to just enflame the tension between the two cities. "Your heart is in the right place," she assures him. He clearly cares a great deal, and she admires that. She isn't trying to deter him from his cause. "But a solution must have some advantage to both sides, else discontent will fester."

Diana smiles, kindness and affection diffusing her expression despite only having known him a short time. "I am glad you chose to confide in me." The sentiment is genuine. This is what Amazons are for, after all. It's what Diana has prepared to do her entire life: help guide others towards finding solutions to their problems, and to becoming their best selves.

There were a lot of problems to solve and of course Jayce just threw himself into the situation as soon as he got the authority to. The Council gave him that job, which was genuinely a stupid idea for someone who had no experience at all, and they'd mostly been ignoring it until then. Maybe they thought he'd change nothing substantial, only catch the people in trouble and be the end of it. As time went and he grew in power, he still had his eye on changing things, rooting out corruption. But the fact is, Jayce thought he could fix everything, and he definitely can't. One person can't. It was always going to end badly.

"I knew it was a long shot, that Piltover would be okay with the drastic change, but I felt like something had to be done. Things had to change. Progress wasn't happening fast enough. They weren't going to let the Undercity have power naturally." Humans don't live for centuries, he told Heimerdinger, before they kicked him off the Council. Jayce is young and bold and arrogant in this way, he wanted to take aciton, push what he saw as right. Now he wonders if he will ever get it right.

He messed up. His intentions had been good but he didn't act correctly. Now they're going to struggle more because of it. Jayce feels a lot of responsibility and guilt for all of it. "I know we just met, I have a tendency to latch onto people quickly, I appreciate your kindness." He has remarkable self-awareness about his flaws!

He pulls open the door to Mag's Inn and gestures inside. It's a nice place that has essentially become Summoned central. "I think it's pretty much all Summoned who live here at this point, with a few exceptions. The owner is really kind."

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OPEN: We Vow To Keep Pressing Forward

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back from vacay!

welcome back!

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