[Location] Citizen Registration Office

[Nemesis]

The man smiled and simpered as the white-eyed woman spoke words of reverence and promise to their shared God. Annalisa's words were more carefully constructed than most, which made her all the more believable, as was the clear aesthetic bond that the Mage had with The Defiler. Tawny nodded gently when she was finished, still smiling widely. “Thank you, Miss Marin, for those beautifully spoken words. I can only reiterate how glad we are to have you in the city.”

Tearing his gaze away from the beautiful woman's face, he bent down over the papers in front of him and scribbled away. Once done, he lifted the probationary citizenship papers and offered them to the woman. “Normally we require that the applicant remains within the city limits for a minimum of two seasons, and does nothing... naughty within that time After this probationary period, the applicant gains full citizenship...” Tawny simpered again, “but, for one such as you, I am happy to half that probationary period. Good luck, Miss Marin.”
*

[Hadyn Skellig]

1st of Winter
514 AV
9th Bell

"Stop fidgeting," Hadyn snapped quietly to her companion who was pulling a thread out of the hem of a brocade sleeve. Casting a glance that included an unimpressed frown the woman's brother and continued, with intention, to pick at the dark thread.

"Focus on the application," he answered with a cant toward the parchment balanced on the weaponsmith's lap. There wasn't much of a crowd this morning, a father with his two children seated opposite the siblings and an elderly woman at the other end of their bench staring listlessly into space. The sound of pens scratching against paper filled the cold space as Hadyn wrote dutifully. Her brother could not help but peer over her shoulder with a worried knit of his brows.

"What are you going to put for the last bit?"

"The truth," she replied dismissively before pausing in the application to look at her blue eyed brother. "Relax, Ioan. You've lived here for twelve summers now and you have a respectable position as a scribe. I am sure they will understand our circumstances."

"I hope so," he murmured, settling back against the seat, attempting to appear calm.

Hadyn couldn't blame him. In truth she and her children arrived at the end of summer, exhausted and in poor morale. Avoiding her brother's incessant reminders to apply for citizenship the weaponsmith instead spent the better part of fall recovering from their ordeal and ensuring both children were well. She'd found employment as a weaponsmith on the condition she apply for her papers at the start of Winter. The brunette once again silently thanked her brother for remaining a stable loyal citizen to the city that had adopted him over a decade ago.

"Finished," she announced, standing before Ioan could review her answers. She smiled down at him with a wink before making her way to the registrar. Greeting the individual with a polite nod the weaponsmith turned over the application, waiting with her hands clasped behind her back as the fellow reviewed the parchment, Hadyn reading silently along with him.

Citizenship Application Name: Hadyn Skellig Race: Human Parentage: Owain and Marnie Skellig Place of Birth: Syliras Primary Trade: Weaponsmith Known Magic: none Financial Holdings: 2,745.66 Mizas Please state your reason for being in Ravok: Visiting Ioan Skellig, Scribe at the Center for Employment and Business Licencing

[Nemesis]

The woman who approached Tawny was beautiful, with high cheekbones and pale skin, something that was not particularly common in the Citizen Registration Office. Blindly and wordlessly he accepted the woman’s application, and it took a little effort for him to tear his gaze away from the woman’s dark eyes, to look down at the application. Immediately, he found himself disappointed to learn of the woman’s traitorous heritage, “Syliras? You’ve drifted a long way from home, Miss Skellig.” Instantly, the woman had become less attractive and he was glad that it was him to deal with this applicant, rather than Jill, his nervous Junior Registrar. “A woman weaponsmith, eh?” Again, he looked her up and down, examining the woman's slight body, “Are you sure?”

“Oh, visiting family. Is he a citizen of this city? That, no doubt would help your application.” He smiled politely at the woman, and then continued to read. It occurred to Tawny that he knew the supposed relative of this woman, as they both worked for the state, rather than a private business. “I recall Ioan telling me that his sister was arriving a couple seasons ago.” He turned to catch the Scribe’s eye, “Wasn’t that right?” Sighing, he looked back towards the woman, “Well, before anything is decided, I will need you to verbally swear your allegiance to Ravok, to Rhysol and to his most loyal.”

*

[Hadyn Skellig]

The woman's visage remained placid, allowing the man to take his time reading her application. Truthfully she'd never done such a thing having lived in Syliras her entire life. But the initial expression on the Ravokian fellow's face put her at ease, suggesting this would be rather painless. But it seemed he was not as charmed as she initially thought.

"Aye," she replied, effectively answering three questions at once. There wasn't much to elaborate on and Hadyn wasn't particularly loquacious. She wasn't shocked he found her profession surprising. She'd lost a bit of weight on their journey and her muscles were not as well defined. But that was none of this man's business.

She did, however, offer a small smile when he mentioned Ioan. The man himself was probably pacing the stone bare, his nerves practically palpable. The brunette was at once thankful he'd joined her on this venture, the thought to doing this without his credibility to back her up now daunting.

"Ioan has a way with words," she commented with a wink and grin, painfully aware her brother was exceptionally well spoken. Ah yes. Now to the somewhat messy bit. Ioan and his wife warned Hadyn many times she would have to swear fealty to Rhysol. Considering she'd never sworn allegiance to anything in her life apart from alcohol and smithing there was no cause for concern. It wasn't as though she was forsaking another god for this one.

"For the favor of citizenship I profess my loyalty to Rhysol and his followers," she murmured, catching the man's gaze. She had no reason to lie, nor did she have any reason to suggest she was disloyal to the god. In fact, she had no opinion either way of the deity but she would most certainly obey the laws of Ravok and behave accordingly in Rhysol's city. And as far as Hadyn was concerned - that was loyalty.

[Nemesis]

When the one-word answer came, the man waited, expecting - nay hoping - to get more information out of the attractive young woman stood before him. His position required him to probe into the lives of applicants to become citizens; for even he who would accept a bribe upon occasion would not risk the security of the city, all for a pretty face. But no such elaboration came, and, steeling himself, he continued through the application process.

The vow was short, unusually so, but it nevertheless contained all of what he, and the city, required of their applicants, and it occurred to him that her words contained nothing but the bare minimum, that there could be no doubt as to their interpretation. His full smile returned. “Im sure your brother has informed you, Miss Skellig, that there is a probationary period of two seasons, in which you must stay within the city proper, and remain lawful. However,” Tawny looked over to meet the eyes of Ioan, “As you have resided in this city of a while now, without incident if complaint, I am willing to reduce this probationary period. If your brother will act as your guarantor, we might consider you to be a full citizen in... Forty-five days from now.” Smiling one final time, he waved the beautiful woman away.
*

[Cowlquape]

86 day of Winter, 510 AV

Cowlquape was very pleased with the interior of the building. Though it was busy and chaotic - it was organized. Such a professional way to register your citizenship. Much better than where he used to live.

Cowlquape swooped by the stack of citizenship papers and grabbed one for himself, taking a bit of time to fill it out. Once it was finished, he perused the paper over and over. He was confident a business could be started anywhere - especially one like his own. Not to mention, this city would allow him to carefully analyze clues that might lead to the whereabouts of... that man.

Cowlquape did not mind standing to wait. It gave him time to survey the interior of the building, mentally noting every minute detail.

---
Name: Cowlquape
Race: Benshira Human
Parentage: Bartholomeo and Gentry
Place of Birth: Silaris

Primary Trade: Observation (PI) and swordsmanship.
Known Magic: None
Financial Holdings: 300 GM

Please state your reason for being in Ravok: Wanting to start a business for myself, and getting away from my previous life in Sunberth.
---

[Baran]

.
.

5th Spring, 517 AV

The journey on the lake had taken longer than he had thought. The lake, Lake Ravok, was much, much bigger than he realised, although their journey was an indicator of roughly how expansive it was. The bells had passed with ease though, with Baran massaging his shoulders and conversing with the surprisingly argumentative elderly woman he was seated beside. She believed him to be a Kelvic, and he had been persuading her otherwise. The fight had been a draw as the ferry had pulled into the docks, and Baran had grown more interested in the city they were approaching.

Ravok was amazing. He surprised himself by discovering his eyes couldn't stay still, flickering as they were from house, to boat, to canal and back. How it all managed to float was beyond his perception, but gods did he want to find out. Almost star-struck, he was grabbed by the elbow and lead through the streets and over bridges by Tarra, until he was thrust towards a grand-looking building. Not as grand as the one it stood beside, but impressive enough. Tarra didn't leave an explanation and simply patted him forcefully on the back. "Goodbye, Bar." He nodded, and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, as he was unsure where or when he'd see the girl again. "Goodbye Tarra." And with that, he stepped through into the building.

It was full of people, all bustling or queuing, or arguing. The epicentre was one woman struggling with a guard, as her young son watched on. Various strangers and possible relatives were arguing all around, but the musician wasn't bothered with some stranger's issues, and simply stepped up to the queue that snaked around the room. If it hadn't been obvious what the place was before, it had been as soon as he had stepped in. Fifteen chimes later, and he had the opportunity to read over, and fill in, the registration forms.

Name: Baran
Race: Human
Parentage: Caiynen (deceased) & Aailuce Veredith
Place of Birth: Kenash

Primary Trade: Musician *Play Musical Instrument(Gamba): 30XP
Known Magic: None.
Financial Holdings: 291 GM 5 SM 3 CM

Please state your reason for being in Ravok: Make a living.

He had to count his money there and then, rummaging through his coin purse and discovering he had a little more than he originally thought, something that pleased him. Then he waited again, although the place was slowly losing the commotion that had welcomed him.

A man beckoned, and Baran was up, giving his papers to the man opposite. He was a vaguely disturbing character, all gauzy smiles. Yet the application process seemed to go smoothly. The musician had one final thing to do before leaving, and that was swear an oath.

He had a momentary hesitation as he didn't even know what he was properly promising. But it was required, so he spoke, mellifluous and calm, with a slight tone of curiosity. Rhysol was as much a mystery to him as the whole city itself, but it wasn't a problem.

"Although I'm a stranger, I will endeavour to follow truly the rules of the Black Sun and learn these rules. As for Rhysol, any god that creates a city such as this is worthy of being praised, and I willingly swear allegiance and loyalty to Him." He mused over the words, and wondered what was to follow.

.
.

[Lilith Krauss]

25th of Spring 517 AV Midday If there was one thing that Lilith was not fond of, it had to be paperwork, and no paperwork was harder to get done in this city than getting registered, at least in her case. No, no, it wasn’t because she had been disobeying the law or was considered to be of the rising dawn, actually, scratch that, she’d be dead by now if someone even as much as suspected about it and luckily for Lilith, she was and intended to remain a good citizen of the city...back to the point, she wasn’t a slave and she was indeed human. The reason behind her horrible experience was the fact she needed to make a living. Lilith didn’t have much time to sit around and wait for the endless bells to pass before she’d be accepted with her application. When she just arrived, she was too concerned with exploring the city to care about the papers, during winter she had to earn some coin or she’d surely perish and end up being a slave, assuming someone would want her as one. Finally, when spring arrived she realized that putting it all off was a no go, she asked her employer a day off and was determined to gain all of her paperwork done today. Well..she’s been waiting for no less than 3 bells by now and the lines didn’t seem to get any shorter. ”Just my luck...” she muttered under her breath. Another bell passed, and finally, she was granted her chance to have her papers looked over. Lilith stood up and brushed imaginary dust off her skirt, immediately heading to the office of the registrar. Inside, she politely greeted the person waiting and placed her filled out form to them. Citizenship Application Name: Lilith Krauss Race: Human Parentage: Orphaned at birth Place of Birth: Zeltiva Primary Trade: Masseuse Known Magic: None Financial Holdings: 506 gm, 9sm, 0 cm Please state your reason for being in Ravok: To make a life here She wasn’t particularly nervous, as she had nothing to hide and knew well that she was here to serve Rhysol and become a good citizen.

[Nomi]

Nomi
Citizen Registration Office
Spring 30, 517 AV

It could be argued that Nomi didn't understand the concept of boredom.

Logically, of course, she had to at least comprehend the state, and if Nomi were locked in a plain, grey, rectangular room with no chance of escape, it's probable that she would eventually begin to ache for some form of entertainment. But here, in the Ravok Citizen Registration Office, Nomi appeared completely at ease as the winding line slowly trudged ahead of her. Chime after chime and bell after bell passed without so much as a sigh of frustration, and instead of anxiously shifting in place like so many of her companions in this bureaucratic hell, she had her arms crossed and was... looking around.

Every single person around her had a story, after all, and the marks of their lives could be picked apart by a discerning eye. The man in front of her had a powdery, clay-like substance on the underside of his boots that made Nomi think he'd recently come through some sort of construction area, the woman behind her kept fiddling with her rose-gold necklace in a clearly nervous tell, and a tired-looking person in a leather cloak had obvious ink marks on his hand that betrayed him as being left-handed. A couple with a baby were clearly getting the newborn's citizenship sorted, but they both looked tired rather than nervous, so Nomi assumed this was either not the first time they'd done this, or the rigors of parenthood had exhausted them so thoroughly that they couldn't muster up the knowledge to dread the coming trial ahead.

Or, maybe they were just practical people who didn't fear bureaucracy, in which case Nomi could assert that they were fools.

Regardless, Nomi passed the time pondering the circumstances of others, until Mr. White-Boots (who also had a chronic sniffle [allergies? No cough, but a reddened nose] and terribly illegible handwriting) had been serviced and, directly next was Nomi herself.

Nomi stepped forward, her head held high and her shoulders squared, and greeted the attendant with a polite slant of a smile before turning in her immaculately written document in to them. Nomi's handwriting was disgustingly good, and only served to compliment her put-together, composed appearance. There was no room for goofs or japes today; it was all cold-hearted, intent professionalism.

Name: Nomi Race: Konti Parentage: Hori of the White Isle and Martel Durand, originally of Ravok. Place of Birth: Konti Isle Primary Trade: Fortune Telling Known Magic: Divination Financial Holdings: 513 GM 6 SM Please state your reason for being in Ravok: To properly experience the city of my father's birth, as well as investigating the whereabouts of Louise Durand, my aunt.

[/quote]

[Minnim]

19th of Spring, 517 AV

Enough was enough.

Minnim had put off the citizenship application process for over a season now, for nothing more than fear of commitment. It was high time he bit his tongue, so to speak, and filled in the form.

He arrived early in the morning at the city's center, before the sun had truly risen, but after the world began to light up. Upon entering the building, Minnim found that already, several others had the same idea to arrive early, and the line only grew by the tick.

Minnim clucked his tongue in disapproval. Then, he grabbed a form to fill out and stood in line as he penned the answers hastily.

Though he initially hesitated to answer "Nuit" as his race, he opted into sharing the information. He had so far been well recieved, and had no reason to believe it was illegal to be undead here.

Parentage, too, gave him pause. The ink leaked into the paper as he held the pen still. Petch. When was the last time I heard my parents' names. Do I even remember them? But when the pen moved again, he found that he must have remembered them somewhere deep inside, for the names appeared on the paper.

When at last Minnim arrived at the front of the line, he handed over the paper quickly and without flourish.

Name: Minnim
Race: Nuit
Parentage: Tahlia and Lou Vallar
Place of Birth: Riverfall

Primary Trade: Weaving
Known Magic: Animation, Hypnotism
Financial Holdings: 369 GM 9 SM 5 CM

Please state your reason for being in Ravok:
To learn and later teach at the Institute.