Zerren's Fortune

[Anselm]

Anselm stared at Zerren with dark, dead eyes. He appeared to have gotten his animal nature back under control, and then he had dumped his life story out on the table for Anselm's examination. At least the salient parts. The ironic thing was that Anselm really did understand. He too walked a fine line between two worlds. But are you lost, old man? He asked himself. It was not the first time he had entertained this question. His mind wandered to another place and another time. A late afternoon on an early Spring day. The sun sat low in a cloudless sky, throwing the mountain peaks into sharp relief. Long shadows reached out from bare trees like greedy fingers clawing their way across the slushy snow that still covered most of the ground around the compound. A small band of purple crocuses were gathered together on the sunny side of the dojo, a cheery group in an otherwise barren landscape of dirty white and mud. Anselm and Master Ahn were walking together toward the nearby stream. Neither had spoken for several minutes. “Are you lost?” he asked abruptly. “No, Master Ahn. I know exactly where I am.” The old master allowed a small smile to appear briefly. He knew that Anselm was being facetious. He also knew why. He had asked a question the Nuit did not want to answer. “Perhaps I was not clear,” he said. “Do you know where you have been? Do you know where you are? Do you know where you are going? Do you know in what direction the trajectory of your life is taking you?” They walked on in silence. After a while Anselm answered. “No. I don't.” He brought his attention back to Zerren who was still waiting for an answer he would not receive. “It is not my place to tell you what you should do,” he said. “But perhaps the oracle has given you a clue. You will find joy in 'watching over' others. Who knows, perhaps you will even find a bond mate.” He folded his gloved hands together on the table in front of himself. “In any case, I think we have learned enough for one day, don't you?” OOC : Master Ahn.

[Zerren Verre]

Zerren continued to watch Anselm as he waited for his answer. Anselm was simply staring at him, or possibly through him since Zerren thought he saw a far off look in his eyes. Though that may be a trick cause by the lack of light… Or lack of life… He wondered silently what could have happened to the dead man that he clung to life even after his heart ceased beating. Was there something that you didn’t want to give up, Anselm? Or did something not want to give up you? Anselm seemed to reanimate as he suddenly began speaking. I didn’t see him breathe in… He must have been holding his breath or something. Or do dead man need breath in order to speak? The pain of thinking of his surrogate father’s death was starting to dull once more in light of the mysteries that lay before Zerren. In fact, Zerren was so caught up in his thoughts about the dead man that he failed to register what Anselm was actually saying until he was already half finished speaking. Zerren considered the old man’s words, being careful to only consider them as a future, not in relation to the past. Perhaps I would be happier if I had someone to look after, someone to ‘watch over’ as Anselm puts it. I never felt torn like this when… Zerren cut off the end of the thought and shook his head. I’ll think about this some other time when I’m not quite so likely to injure someone. He looked back at Anselm once more as he stood up from the chair. “I suppose you will have other customers sooner or later. Thank you, Anselm, I’ll be thinking about this later. Perhaps I’ll even stop by again sometime.” I wonder if a dead man still “ages”… Would his body continue to wear down after he came back to… Wait a second. Just as Zerren reached the flap of the tent he stopped and turned once more to face Anselm. “You know, you never did answer my last question, but I’d hate to impose anymore today. I’ll just ask again next time.” With that, Zerren turned and exited the tent into the afternoon light. I'd better hurry, if I'm up near the northern peaks by midnight I'll miss what little of the change of season flash I can see from this far away. And with that last thought Zerren walked off through the crowd towards the mountains, eager to start a new season, and maybe a new life if he could.

[Arcane]

Rewards and Treasure! Anselm : Experience Points +1 Meditation +2 Philosophy +1 Observation +2 Fortunetelling +2 Rhetoric +1 Teaching +1 Hypnotism Lores Oracle of WardingThe thoughts that Anselm arrived at in the first post Zerren the Kelvic Zerren, unsure of his own identity Zerren the Once-Bonded Zerren's uncertainty on his loss Miscellaneous Ledger: +5sm Comments Apologies, but at Competent Auristics, your use of it is too brief and simple to warrant the XP Though Anselm is not a high-level Intelligence Agent, the lores that he's gathering from the various denizens of Zeltiva may prove valuable should he choose to trade in gossip, rumours and information. A mixed bag of Rhetoric and Teaching (with the 2nd point of Philo) is given for his general old-wise-man approach to Zerren. I approve of this heartily. Zerren : Experience Points +1 Rhetoric +1 Observation Lores Anselm the Fortuneteller Anselm the Irritable What the Oracle truly is Zerren's Oracleaka what you paid for: Earth above, following. Lake below, joyful. Joyfully following truth, acting in accord with that joy, It is therefore called overseeing. Overseeing is watching over. Anselm's Advice Regarding Oracle: Joy in 'Watching Over' Others Miscellaneous Ledger: -5sm Comments I'm afraid there's nothing much that I can give in the way of XP, but not every reward should be measured in XP anyway. I hope that with this encounter with Anselm, Zerren can further explore himself and develop beyond his grief and meandering from his lost bondmate. In Conclusion Excellent banter, and I just wanted to say that I appreciated the verbal cat-and-mouse game played by the two of you. And yes Mr. Kelvic Zerren, I do see the irony in that and the awesomeness of it did not escape me. Zerren I look forward to your further threads in Zeltiva, and Anselm you probably already know what I'm gonna say Keep it up you two!