Taught: Gael

A stone bridge.
The shadows violently writhe and twist along the ground here, indicating a war shrine of Nocht nearby. There is a very light rain shower. This small bridge provides a crossing point over the Glomdoring River. Constructed of grey stone, its edges are built up to form a low wall, whilst the centre is a well-trod path from south to north. Small symbols of birds and stars are carved deeply into the stone, some barely visible below the lichen and moss, others still clear and vibrant. Along the river, it is possible to see some distance to the west and northeast, as the ashes and willows drop back from the murky waters. To the south, a dirt track leads away into a dense ash forest, whilst the way to the north is dark and shadowy, bordered by blackened, twisted trees. A sedge of galingale is firmly planted in the forest floor. A marjoram bush flourishes here, spreading its delicate scent. Lovely coltsfoot carpets the forest floor. Sprays of chervil cover the forest floor. A mature hemlock tree stands proudly here. Casting darkness all around, a shadow totem thrusts up from the ground, chilling the air.
You see exits leading south and northwest.

A slow dissonant drum rhythm pulses through the air, preceding the arrival of Gael from the northwest.

Wandering slightly aimlessly through the wood, arms crossed behind his back and gaze fixed to his feet, Gael spots you as he approaches the stone bridge, stopping about halfway across before dipping his chin to you, "Good afternoon, Auspice Esei. How are you?"

You have emoted: Staring out over the river with their hands clasped behind their back, Esei turns their head to dip it in greeting to Gael. "Evoker," they whisper. "I am well."

Watching you with a nonchalant air of passivity, Gael tilts his head ever so slightly before murmuring, "Congratulations on the cartel election. I shall have to come bother you when I have even more designs to submit." Despite the neutral tone of his voice, there is a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth.

A starving deer enters cautiously from the northwest.

You whisper, "I shall look forward to it..." their voice tapers off into silence for just a moment as they look back over the water. "Is something wrong?"

Shifting his attention towards a starving deer, Gael's good ear twitches faintly.

[gael empowering the deer]

As the sun passes below the horizon's edge, Mother Night unveils her terrible, shadowy beauty, spreading darkness across the land.

You tilt your head back and look up at the sky.

Turning away from a starving deer, Gael returns his attention to you for a moment of consideration, shaking his head after a quiet beat, "No, Auspice. I simply wished to come say hello, and then it occurred to me to congratulate you." Lifting his chin slightly as the branches above whip in the wind, setting a clattering sussuration of wood echoing about the bridge, he adds softly, "It is...troubling to me, that we still see such weather even after the Sea Spirit has been put to rest...but perhaps that is just circumstance." Lowering his gaze back to you, he asks, with an air of open curiosity, "What did you make of the events of that weave?"

Across the heavens, the stars and moon challenge night's dark reign, revealing familiar constellations that tell the tales of myth and legend.

You have emoted: Esei tilts their head to one side, humming in a vaguely non-committal tone. "I believe that the weather systems are still acclimatizing to the loss of the storm after so long with it," they offer softly. "As for the events... what has been done is done."

You close your eyes and inhale deeply, absorbing the scent of your surroundings.

You reach out with your mind and entice the clouds to condense.
A shimmering power ripples through the sky and the clouds disperse slightly. [x2]

You whisper, "Unless you wanted me to specify...?"

The sound of a distant scream echoes between the trees, only to be suddenly cut short.

Gael nods his head slowly, though his eyes again travel almost automatically towards the skies, "What is done...is done. Aye, Auspice." Eyes widening slightly as the clouds above ripple and disperse, a slight upturn at the edge of his mouth proceeds a faint chuckle, "Well...that is somewhat better...I often forget the capacities the Blacktalon of the forest possess." Returning his attention to you, he shrugs ever so slightly, "I had no specific questions. I merely wondered at your thoughts on the matter."

You have emoted: Esei turns a lissom blooming blackthorn staff lazily in one hand before passing it to the other. "I see..."

In a quiet, lilting voice, Umbral Evoker Gael, Wyrden Idolator says, "It is...somewhat sad, to my mind, that after all that suffering...the Lady Li-Varili still returned to one of those who imprisoned Her in the first place...Lord Nocht was right, She could have had allies, but...what is done is done."

You whisper, "And did you find relief in helping Her healing with the magnolias?"

Gael considers that for a long moment, gaze turning distant as he stares out off the bridge into the river below, "...no, Auspice. I had hoped She might learn something from Her ordeal. Change somehow. And yet..." Another shrug, more weary and resigned this time, "We cannot make decisions for Her...but I can still wish it might have ended differently."

You whisper, "Some are exceptionally stubborn, and cling to the ways they think are best despite all attempts. I imagine something similar applies to the Gods, though I would not presume to know as They know."

You whisper, "Childe, you say you have met the Lady Empyreal, correct?"

Gael dips his head slightly towards you and murmurs, "You are likely correct." Still staring out over the river, standing nearer to the edge of the bridge now, he adds, "Aye, Auspice. We met and talked...and I am far enough along in the Elder Wars now to better understand the context of what I saw and felt."

You whisper, "What was your measure of Her?"

In a quiet, lilting voice, Umbral Evoker Gael, Wyrden Idolator says to you, "She is...stalwart in Her beliefs...and, also, I think She was just as hurt as Her Brother, at the loss of their other Sibling...I pitied Her, Auspice."

The last vestiges of midnight shadows flee as Mother Night hides herself from the luminous arrival of her shining mate as he chases her across the bowl of the sky.

You have emoted: At this, Esei offers no comment, merely tilting their head the other way.

A large shadow flits across the edge of your vision for a bare instant, vanishing between the trees.

With a glance and a small twitch of his ear, Umbral Evoker Gael, Wyrden Idolator says to you, "Mind you, I am aware that I heard merely Her retelling of the story, and it is likely one biased towards Her own viewpoint...mayhaps I will get the chance to ask our own Lord Nocht about it, but...I also do not look forward to that prospect."

You whisper, "Whyever not?"

Turning in place to face you now, Gael murmurs, "Not for any sort of fear of retribution, or chastisement...simply, I do not wish to inquire into a topic that...seems like it might upset Lord Silent, or cause Him more painful reminiscences."

A starving deer enters cautiously from the northwest.
Shifting his attention towards a starving deer, Gael's good ear twitches faintly.
[empowering again]

You have emoted: Esei remains unmoving, their profile inscrutable. "I see," they reply simply, voice still no louder than a whisper. "Do you think that He is avoidant?"

Gael considers this next question a long time, his eyes returning to the river below after attending to the deer. Quietly, he murmurs, "I think that They have lived a long time to carry such a pain...and that it is unworthy of me to poke at it just to sate my own curiosity."

You hum thoughtfully.

Contemplatively, you whisper, "If He does not wish to share, does not wish to contemplate those memories, then He simply does not have to. And should He be wroth..."

You whisper, "Well, we are but mortals to His Divine might."

You shake your head.

You whisper, "No matter."

Gael nods his head at you.

In a quiet, lilting voice, Umbral Evoker Gael, Wyrden Idolator says to you, "You are correct, Auspice...but aye, it is no matter, in all honesty."

With curiosity, Umbral Evoker Gael, Wyrden Idolator says to you, "Have there been any other memories from the mantle? I have not seen since the last time we all went to check on it."

You whisper, "None that have presented themselves to me, at least..."

A large shadow flits across the edge of your vision for a bare instant, vanishing between the trees.

You think to yourself: ** half a dozen of His memories rattling in their head, each shivering with such power and intensity that crackles like lightning in their mind... **.

You purse your lips, deep in thought.

With a tiny, thoughtful nod, Umbral Evoker Gael, Wyrden Idolator says to you, "Perhaps I will go and check, then...if for no other purpose than to have a destination for my feet to take me."

You whisper, "Perhaps I might go with you."

Shifting his attention towards you, Gael's good ear twitches faintly.

In a quiet, lilting voice, Umbral Evoker Gael, Wyrden Idolator says to you, "I would welcome the company, of course."

You hum thoughtfully.

You whisper, "Now, or would you like to wait a moment?"

In a quiet, lilting voice, Umbral Evoker Gael, Wyrden Idolator says to you, "If it's a moment, I do not mind. As I alluded to, I am...somewhat just wandering, at present. So you are not keeping me from anything if we wait."

You hum thoughtfully.

You whisper, "Follow me, then."

Gael begins to follow you.
Caressing an Idol of Nocht gently in your hands, you focus your thoughts on Nocht, seeking out His Master Shrine and fulcrux.
You find yourself engulfed in a swirl of scintillating lights, drawn to your Patron's Master Shrine.

The Fulcrux of Nocht.
The image of a beautiful nighttime sky has been stretched across the fulcrux. Dim stars struggle futilely to compete with the terrifying beauty of Mother Night. The ethereal image wavers on occasion, the sky rippling like water in a pond. A lonely hill covered in tall grass leads up to a single shrine. Behind the shrine stands a large blackthorn tree. The tree is taller than most of its kind, extending upwards rather than outwards. Delicate blossoms shower down from its branches, creating a flurry of white petals and filling the air with the pungent scent of wyrden foliage. A complex series of stones orbit around a stygian orb here. A rippling image of a beautiful night sky has been magically wrapped around the fulcrux here. Reverently laid before the shrine in a sheath of starlight and shadow, the Sidereal Mantle of Ailustris emanates Divine power here. A painting of an otherworldly grove has been thrown on the ground here.
You see a single exit leading through an image of the night sky.

You give the master shrine of Nocht a respectful bow, one hand clasped over your heart.

As you bows to the master shrine of Nocht, Gael glances curiously around, first to the lone blackthorn tree, then up higher to the falling petals and an image of the night sky, and then, finally, to the Sidereal Mantle of Ailustris.

You have emoted: Esei's dark gaze turns to Gael, tilting their head slightly.

[insert a lot of touching of the Mantle]

Gael glances from the Sidereal Mantle of Ailustris to you before giving a small shake of his head, good ear drooping low.

You have emoted: Esei turns to look fully at Gael once more, eyes slightly narrowed in contemplation. "You say you have read what I've advised you to," they whisper, cocking their head to one side in a distinctly bird-like manner. "Tell me what you learned?"

Glancing back briefly to the Sidereal Mantle of Ailustris before returning his gaze to you, Gael murmurs, "That Amberle should have heeded those who warned Her, as our Lord likely did based on the mantle memory, that the Heralds would not be swayed by diplomacy...and yet..." Frowning slightly, his attention wavering down to the ground between the pair, "And yet...I do not think, due to the nature of the Soulless, that much would have changed, in the long run. They still would have proceeded to Lusternia, or at least one that was more readily guarded by those of the First who perished, and without having grown stronger from the essence of those who did fall to them..." Good ear drooping almost down towards the ground, he whispers more faintly, "I...don't really know or see how anything would turn out differently. Their advance seems almost an inevitability. A force to which we can only respond to the symptoms, but never the cause..."

The image above wavers and ripples gently as a cold breeze howls through the fulcrux.

You have emoted: Esei's face remains impassive, their dark eyes completely blank and flat as they listen to Gael.

You close your eyes and inhale deeply, absorbing the scent of your surroundings.

You let loose a long breath from your lungs, exhaling slowly.

Taking a step closer, you whisper, "Evoker... Tis dearest Olethea who is your mentor, yes? At least, in name, even as she turns to meditations more often than not?"

Gael nods his head at you.

You whisper, "Mm..."

You have emoted: Esei's dark eyes consider Gael for a moment longer.

It is now the 23rd of Kiani, 596 years after the Coming of Estarra.
There are 8 days until the New Moon

In a manner that seems almost abrupt, even as their voice remains rather flat, you whisper, "Do you consider me a good teacher, Evoker?"

Shadows swirl around your arm as the Fingerblade of dha'Wyrden-cree digs itself more painfully into your finger.

With a firm nod, Umbral Evoker Gael, Wyrden Idolator says to you, "Aye, Auspice."

In a quiet, lilting voice, Umbral Evoker Gael, Wyrden Idolator says to you, "You have taught me a great deal."

You think to yourself: ** mere curiosity, nary a hint of shame or doubt welling in their mind at the question - or the answer. if anything, a strengthening of their position, like digging their heels in like roots. **.

The image above wavers and ripples gently as a cold breeze howls through the fulcrux.

You hum thoughtfully.

You have emoted: Esei takes several steps closer, all but circling Gael as they whisper, "And what have I taught you, hm...?"

Gael remains still, hands clasped more firmly behind his back as he watches you and murmurs, "How to survive...what is expected of my within the Glomdoring...various ways and means of performing duties and tasks around the Basin...many things, both great and small."

The boughs of the large blackthorn moan loudly as they shake, sending a new shower of petals cascading across the fulcrux.

You have emoted: Esei hums, a soft, low sound in the back of their throat as they turn. "Shall I leave you to contemplate what you have seen so far?"

With a slow shake of his head, Umbral Evoker Gael, Wyrden Idolator says to you, "No, Auspice...I think I am done here...and perhaps ready to rest, as well."

You nod your head at Gael.

You give the master shrine of Nocht a respectful bow, one hand clasped over your heart.

The boughs of the large blackthorn moan loudly as they shake, sending a new shower of petals cascading across the fulcrux.

Gael inclines his head politely to the master shrine of Nocht.

You think to yourself: ** a soft, fluttering wave of gratitude, rushing forth in a silent cascade. **.