(6:21:03 AM) ***Ivory is out and about, trying to get an understanding of this local place by walking the streets and getting to know it personally. The map has proven to be of very limited use. She is dressed in simple black slacks, a white button down shirt and has her parasol over her shoulder to keep the sun off her.
(6:22:48 AM) Earthflame: Not that the sun is a frequent problem, the roadways casting shadows, the only light from magical lanterns on walls and skyways, as well as lining the tunnels as they weave amidst the odd buildings. Particularly odd... Paying attention, she can see the redundant doors, artfully sculpted as if they were a real entryway, yet having flat stone faces with minute, intricate carvings in them. Deep
(6:22:48 AM) Earthflame: in the heart of the old town, they seem to be everywhere...
(6:23:26 AM) Earthflame: A fine looking building she comes upon is particularly noteworthy, with the front face of it grandly styled in old Belkan fashion, with three vast doorways... All of which are simple flat faces of stone, leading nowhere.
(6:23:35 AM) ***Ivory raises an eyebrow, heading over to examine it. This place is very odd, old and yet so very built up.
(6:24:33 AM) Earthflame: As fine as the facade is, the carving on the doors is impossibly fine, minute and intricate patterns almost more detailed than her unassisted eyes can make out... And then there's a cough from her right. "Ah... Were you looking for the entrance?"
(6:24:55 AM) ***Ivory turns. "Partially. I'm curious."
(6:27:38 AM) Earthflame: A young woman with ash blonde curls stands there, wearing a simple grey dress and leaning lightly on a cane, an eyepatch covering one of her pale eyes. She doesn't look much older than Ivory, but it's clear she needs the assistance to walk. "Then please, follow me. We don't get many people visiting the museum, these days."
(6:28:46 AM) Ivory: "Well, I am from off world." She nods, her parasol disolving into a bangle around her wrist. She nods to the woman. "I'm Ivory Maddalen."
(6:30:27 AM) Earthflame: "Devi Marc'Hadour." She pauses, leaning on her cane a little before turning to offer Ivory a hand.
(6:31:11 AM) ***Ivory takes her hand. "Thank you."
(6:31:45 AM) Earthflame: "Whatever for?" She smiles softly. "As I said, we don't get many guests these days."
(6:34:23 AM) Ivory: "Well, it never hurts to be polite. Especially when the TSAB has a less than steller reputation here at times. At least, if the First Arrow's greeting was indicative." She smiles in turn.
(6:36:36 AM) Earthflame: "Cousin Saezhi?" She sighs, shaking her head. "She's never been the same since... Well, never mind that." She leads on at her slower place, down a ramp and stairway that leads to a door. "The building can only be entered down here, for whatever reason... It's been a lot of things over the years, there's records of it being a courthouse, a counsel chamber and a ballroom, but these days it's a
(6:36:36 AM) Earthflame: museum, for the things they can't fit in the palace."
(6:38:35 AM) Ivory: "And most of the doors are just for show, instead?"
(6:40:27 AM) Earthflame: She smiles. "It's like that on all the worlds of the old Stermalev... Some odd cultural affectation, I suppose, or a way to trick demons into not finding your homes." Leading in to a fine if faded place, with once rich carpets and a great variety of things on tables or upon the walls, broken weapons and worn tapestries, suits of armour and bridles, and a selection of things from far off worlds,
(6:40:27 AM) Earthflame: remnants of their history as a great trading house.
(6:41:49 AM) ***Ivory whistles. "Very impressive."
(6:44:02 AM) Earthflame: She sighs a little. "It's barely a fragment of what we should have... The old inventories list vast numbers of artifacts and works of art and other such things, likely all lost with the fall of Belka." She shrugs a little, leading on, adjusting the eyepatch a bit. "How much do you know of our history?"
(6:45:24 AM) Ivory: "A little, though I imagine not much by most standards. I picked up a book on the history to read on the way here."
(6:46:28 AM) Earthflame: "...That alone is more than most do. Thank you." She gives Ivory a small bow of her head. "...We may be a house in decline, but I want to do my best to ensure that at least we aren't forgotten. We who once sailed the stars..."
(6:47:36 AM) Ivory: "History is important to many people." She nods. "A friend of mine would love this place. She loves Belkan history."
(6:49:49 AM) Earthflame: "That is lovely to hear..." She pauses, looking at a cabinet of plucked jewellery, fine frames without the gemstones that would have once adorned them. "...Far too often when Belkan is remembered, it's only the parts we all wish to forget."
(6:53:00 AM) Ivory: "What would you prefer peope remember?" She raises an eyebrow, looking at the jewellery and frowning.
(6:54:23 AM) Earthflame: "...The beauty, not the war. The things that were made, the stories of hope and heroism that were told, the great advances that were made." She pauses again, glancing at the jewels. "...But all of that is so long ego, before Old Belka was lost. The Belka most people remember is one defined by pointless, destructive war."
(6:56:02 AM) Ivory: "The end of a story does rather tend to be how it is remembered." She nods. "I wonder how history will look back on the TSAB when it passes on."
(6:57:42 AM) Earthflame: "As you say... It depends how it ends. With a bang, or a whimper?" She pauses. "...Sorry. I tend to be quite morbid. I spend too much time around our history..." She sighs, brushing fingers through her hair and looking a bit awkward.
(6:58:17 AM) ***Ivory chuckles. "This is not remotely the most morbid I've heard."
(6:58:50 AM) Earthflame: "...That isn't a particularly good thing." She pauses. "...Well, I've got no other visitors. Would you like some tea?"
(7:00:57 AM) Ivory: "If you like, you don't have to. I am enjoying examining this...you can tell a lot about people from thier culture."
(7:01:28 AM) Earthflame: "Ah, don't let me stop you." She smiles to herself. "And if you have any questions, well... Ask away."
(7:03:22 AM) Ivory: "What is your favorite thing here? What sums up your people the most."
(7:04:55 AM) Earthflame: "...Here." She gestures, leading Ivory over to a plaque on one wall, a number of beautiful disks of semiprecious stone in a variety of colours set into a plate of dark stone, with golden and silver traceries linking them all together. "...Each of these stones came from a different world, representing it as part of our house, and the connections between them were made with coins of those trades...
(7:04:55 AM) Earthflame: A jewelled depiction of what made us strong, the connections we had, even if we were so far apart."
(7:05:58 AM) Ivory: "Unity leading to strength and beauty, rather than disorder and chaos as we fight each other?"
(7:06:47 AM) Earthflame: "Exactly." she smiles warmly at Ivory. "It's... It's really nice to have someone who actually takes an interest. Most people just gawk, if they come here at all... But being a curator pays my expenses, so I can't really complain."
(7:10:36 AM) Ivory: "Well, understanding is important if I'm to do my job." She nods. "That and it's facinating. You can learn a lot about a people based on the stories they tell each other."
(7:11:46 AM) Earthflame: She laughs to herself. "True indeed. I wonder... Would you come with me? There's a few pieces I'd like you to see."
(7:12:15 AM) Ivory: "Sure." She smiles widely.
(7:14:36 AM) Earthflame: She leads through into a gallery full of portraits, lords and ladies sitting on thrones. "Although the largest and most important ones at the palace, there are a lot of these... Every petty ruler wanted one. Apparently it was a fashion of the day." She pauses, letting Ivory look around... Perhaps expecting her to notice something?
(7:20:23 AM) ***Ivory looks about, trying to piece things together...
(7:21:43 AM) Earthflame: It takes a little while, but then she starts to notice a common theme... Alone, it might just be a quirk of the lighting in one piece, but after she finds one she finds another in every single painting... A very subtle, only faintly visible pair of eyes, lurking in the shadow behind the throne. They're not always painted the exact same way, but the general result is the same every time.
(7:23:21 AM) Ivory: "...well, that is a little worrying."
(7:24:29 AM) Earthflame: "It's just a bit eerie, yes... And records from the time indicate they could be found on every portrait of a Belkan ruler, even up to the Kings and Queens themselves. We don't know quite why they were there, but... Well, I have my own theories. What would your read be?"
(7:25:27 AM) Ivory: "A more exotic guardian beast, perhaps? Or a spirit bound to the family?"
(7:27:59 AM) Earthflame: "It was more than just this family... At least, in theory, there are only a few other surviving pieces, and it's hard to tell how authentic those are. Still... A few are reported to have them, too." She pauses, looking at the largest picture of the hall, a beautiful and proud looking woman with blonde curly hair... Brighter in colour, but in form quite similar to Devi's. "...I think it was a
(7:28:00 AM) Earthflame: reminder to the rulers of old Belka. That even though you sat upon the throne, you were not invulnerable... That there was always someone or something out there that could bring you down. A reminder that complacence could cost your life."
(7:29:37 AM) ***Ivory nods. "A cultural addition, rather than a literal part of the situation."
(7:30:29 AM) Earthflame: "Well... That's my read. If there is an ancestral shadow demon tied to the throne... I'm glad I'm not sitting in it. Karrin seems untroubled... But then, her problems are twice as bad as mine."
(7:31:03 AM) Ivory: "I should likely not intrude by asking."
(7:33:11 AM) Earthflame: She shakes her head. "It's quite alright... I'm not shy about it, but people tend to find it disconcerting." She raises the eyepatch... Showing a warped, malformed eye, with no hint of iris, just an odd pattern of milky dark lines and patches scattered across her Sclera. "The Malagad doesn't always take both eyes... Although if it doesn't, you don't get any of the already dubious benefits it
(7:33:11 AM) Earthflame: offers. Otherwise I'd be making far better money as a fortune teller."
(7:34:26 AM) Ivory: "Ah, rather a bad deal." She nods, her smile fading.
(7:39:18 AM) Earthflame: "I feel like I'm luckier than Karrin... Being able to see the present is far more useful than being able to see the future, especially given that there's no evidence it actually works, even after a lot of studies on her and others with the condition."
(7:40:59 AM) ***Ivory nods. "There is that. A friend of mine has the ability to see the future...or so she claims. Tests have been less than conclusive."
(7:42:25 AM) Earthflame: "The Malagad is below average, even by those metrics... TSAB classification failed to recognize it as a Rare Skill. It's just a genetic malady of our family. But the old wives tales are persistent." She sighs. "...And sadly, my brother still believes them. He holds to the old family tradition of spending every waking hour staring into that blot in our sky."
(7:43:03 AM) Ivory: "...that cannot be healthy."
(7:44:34 AM) Earthflame: "If you believe our history, it's how this originally happened." She points to her eye again. "Someone with the Glalagad staring into the Tenvalkrau until..." She pauses, catching herself. "...Someone with the perfect sight, the families actual rare skill, staring into the dimensional anomaly... I think that's the proper modern word for it?"
(7:48:00 AM) ***Ivory nods. "Mostly because we don't have anything more precise than 'thing we don't understand.'"
(7:50:26 AM) Earthflame: "And that's why fools drive themselves mad trying to understand it." She pauses, smiling a bit. "...I suppose I have you to thank for my brother being in town at the moment. Usually he spends all his time down at the observatory, but Dr Kabine insisted he accompany her, coming up here to meet with you. She's the TSAB scientist currently partnered with him."
(7:51:56 AM) ***Ivory nods. "I've yet to meet her. I'll admit, I do believe I am likely the least useful of the various people here. Crime rates here do not exactly seem high enough to need a provisional enforcer added."
(7:52:37 AM) Earthflame: "...Well, you're probably more useful than the other two."
(7:53:06 AM) ***Ivory raises an eyebrow
(7:54:01 AM) Earthflame: "Well, I've only heard about them from Saezhi, the observers attached to the Archerien... From what she says, one is always asleep and the other is perpetually out to lunch."
(7:56:41 AM) Ivory: "...well, that is concerning. The report concerning them was relentlessly bland. A lot of 'nothing happening'"
(7:59:42 AM) Earthflame: "I mean... That sounds about right, honestly." She shrugs. "...Maeziou is kind of boring, as much as it's home. I've wondered about leaving, but..." She pauses, and then shakes her head. "It's a silly idea, really. Nobody would look after this place if I was gone."
(8:01:03 AM) Ivory: "What would you do if you left?"
(8:01:29 AM) Earthflame: "...I don't know. Study at a university? Doing history, maybe. I know the TSAB employs a lot of historians..."
(8:02:01 AM) Ivory: "When there is so much history to recover, it's not really surprising." She nods.
(8:02:41 AM) Earthflame: "...Although Belkans don't seem to be doing too well right now. We heard about the trial of Lady Jaeger... It was absolutely shocking."
(8:03:44 AM) ***Ivory grinds her teeth slightly. "She got better than she deserved."
(8:04:10 AM) Earthflame: She pauses, looking at her. "You... You were connected to that case?"
(8:05:08 AM) Ivory: "Only barely. Some of my friends were."
(8:06:26 AM) Earthflame: "...I'm so sorry." She sounds sincere. "...It's probably because of people like her that Belka fell."
(8:07:12 AM) Ivory: "She is in jail." She shakes her head. "So it is dealt with."
(8:08:31 AM) Earthflame: "...But it sets an example. Our tourist numbers dropped, as soon as it hit the news."
(8:08:50 AM) Ivory: "Ah, I am sorry."
(8:10:53 AM) Earthflame: "It's nobody's fault but our own. Like I said... Belka isn't remembered at its worst without reason. It's why it honestly surprised me, when those Hyperionites set up shop... One of them even came by, to suggest doing some combined cultural festivals, sharing examples of both our histories and cultures. I felt a bit awkward about that..."
(8:11:36 AM) Ivory: "I can't help there. I've only met them once and that was after I arrived here."
(8:12:18 AM) Earthflame: "They seem like the types to know everybody... I'm very much not that." She chuckles, glancing around the large, empty spaces of the museum.
(8:13:14 AM) ***Ivory shrugs. "The world needs both and they seem nice enough."
(8:13:48 AM) Earthflame: "Nice is... a way to put it."
(8:14:30 AM) Ivory: "Energetic? Enthusiastic?" She smirks slightly.
(8:15:22 AM) Earthflame: "Overwhelming..." She sighs softly. "...In the mood for that tea, now?"
(8:16:29 AM) Ivory: "Please."
(8:18:43 AM) Earthflame: She leads her back, away from the faded finery through a small side door. A small office sits to one side, stacked with books and filing cabinets and manuscripts, while the other leads to a small but comfortable sitting room with a kitchenette, and the open door of a small bedroom further on. "Please, make yourself comfortable... The bell will go off if we get any more visitors, and I have
(8:18:43 AM) Earthflame: cameras around the place."
(8:19:48 AM) ***Ivory takes a seat. "Thank you. This is a lovely museam."
(8:20:59 AM) Earthflame: "Thank you for saying so... It only really has a maintenance budget from the family coffers, mostly just to keep me paid... Nobles don't like other nobles looking poor, as much as I don't look the part most of the time." She shrugs. "But... A few generations down the line, it feels like we'll all be in this state, and it's not so bad in my experience."
(8:21:54 AM) Ivory: "Have you applied to the TSAB for a budget? They support a lot of historical societies."
(8:22:50 AM) Earthflame: She shakes her head. "We can't... Letting someone else care for our own history? We still have our pride... For all the good it's doing us." She busies herself making tea, the china very fine- Likely antiques.
(8:23:57 AM) Ivory: "I meant more for support, rather than them taking over. After all, arn't we stronger we together?" She smirks.
(8:24:46 AM) Earthflame: She shakes her head. "...I suppose it's hard for a non-Belkan to understand. Even asking for help would be... A failure, on our part. An admittance that we couldn't do it ourselves."
(8:26:43 AM) ***Ivory nods. "I don't have much cultural pride...or anything for that matter. It's a bit outside of my frame of reference."
(8:27:51 AM) Earthflame: "...Oh? You don't feel particularly close to Midchilda? Or are you from another TSAB world?"
(8:29:11 AM) Ivory: "That, I have no idea." She shakes her head. "Childhood amnesia and  lack of documentation."
(8:29:30 AM) Earthflame: "...Oh." She pauses, looking unsure how to react. "I'm sorry... I was thoughtless."
(8:31:40 AM) ***Ivory chuckles. "Please, it's not a problem. It was years ago and I'm fine."
(8:33:35 AM) Earthflame: She nods, sipping her tea and taking a moment to compose herself. "...So, how are you finding Maeziou so far?"
(8:35:19 AM) Ivory: "Confusing. The streets are convoluted and the buildings much taller than I'm used to...but so far, aside from the first arrow, the people have been very nice."
(8:36:22 AM) Earthflame: She chuckles. "I've never been offworld... Although I guess the new buildings outside the wall are meant to be more conventional? It always seems strange to me, so flat, all straight lines..."
(8:38:23 AM) Ivory: "Oddly enough, Hyperion's architecture is a bit more like this than it is Mid-Childa's, from the pictures I've seen. Tall skyscrapers everywhere."
(8:39:11 AM) Earthflame: "Interesting... Perhaps I should go talk to them about that."
(8:43:34 AM) Ivory: "TSAB...we definetly build outwards more than upwards." She nods.
(8:44:34 AM) Earthflame: "...I can see the sense in it. But... Well. I grew up here." She shrugs. "...It makes it hard to wrap my head around not thinking about directions vertically as well as horizontally."
(8:45:17 AM) Ivory: "While, since I can't fly, all that height is odd to me."
(8:45:46 AM) Earthflame: "Probably a good thing... A few tides back, the Archerien got very cross with a couple of TSAB types for flying within city limits."
(8:47:16 AM) Ivory: "Oh, yes?"
(8:48:26 AM) Earthflame: "I don't remember too much about it... That was back when Saezhi's mother was still First Arrow, we were still young, she was only a junior officer in the Archerien."
(8:50:14 AM) Ivory: "So they were not likely shot down. The current first arrow made it very clear how well she shoots when she told us not to cause trouble." She rolls her eyes.
(8:51:36 AM) Earthflame: She chuckles at that. "That wasn't just her showing off. She's always been like that... Obsessed with being her grandfathers equal. He was the last true master archer, although he taught her everything he could... He died, before she mastered the techniques. If she can't figure them out from what he taught her, the knowledge might die with her."
(8:52:08 AM) Ivory: "Ah...I see." She nods. "I think it was still partially showing off."
(8:52:24 AM) Earthflame: She smiles. "Probably. She is very proud of her archery."
(8:53:32 AM) Ivory: "And not very fond of us."
(8:54:05 AM) Earthflame: "That's... Not your fault. But I shouldn't say more." she looks apologetic. "Sorry. It's a private, personal thing for her."
(8:56:55 AM) Ivory: "Then I won't pry." She takes a sip of her tea
(8:57:52 AM) Earthflame: "Thank you." She nods, having some more tea. "So... Anything else I could help you with?"
(8:58:20 AM) Ivory: "Not off the top of my head, thank you."
(8:59:16 AM) Earthflame: "Well... If you ever want to pop by, it's nice to have visitors. I usually have some, but tourists are rarely willing to stay through the whole Tenvalanv." She chuckles. "We had a group get stuck here once, when the tide came early... It was an awful mess."
(9:03:11 AM) Ivory: "Oh, yes?"
(9:04:26 AM) Earthflame: "They were a cruise group who had just meant to be stopping by for a week... They depleted the entire planetary supply of booze less than halfway through, and were hell for the Archerien to keep control of. They deputised almost anyone who could use a bow to help out."
(9:05:54 AM) Ivory: "Well, I hope to cause less trouble than that." She laughs.
(9:06:52 AM) Earthflame: "I don't think you're capable of it..." She pauses. "...Although, I heard there's a few of you. And a new one? the story on the grapevine sounded absurd."
(9:08:06 AM) Ivory: "I'm still not entirely sure what to say in that particular case." She shakes her head.
(9:09:27 AM) Earthflame: "I suppose it's impolite to ask you to comment on ongoing events... I'm not much of a gossip, but I do hear things. Saezhi, Karrin and I used to be very close, and we still talk most days."
(9:13:39 AM) Ivory: "More I have no clue what is going on there. I'll be able to comment on it when I have anything understood about it."
(9:13:58 AM) Earthflame: "...That sounds appropriate for how strange the story sounded."
(9:18:44 AM) ***Ivory nods. "It's very strange."
(9:19:23 AM) Earthflame: "Well... At least you'll have something to entertain you, during your stay?"
(9:20:00 AM) Ivory: "One can hope."