"Quite unsophisticated and brutish, if you were to ask me." Ignotus said with a sigh of overwhelming boredom. To the Ethaefal's challenge came a long peal of rollicking laughter as if Alses had just told the funniest joke of all time. "Apologies," he finally said as he straightened up and brushed stray strands of hair back in place, "Your transformation was quite impressive. I'd kill for one of my officials to have your elegance. Of course I have no ill intention: quite the opposite, in fact." While the Nuit maintained his amicable air, if Alses chose to examine his emotions directly she'd find no small sum of contempt.
Mercifully the moment passed as the conversation turned to Alses' favorite things, the wizard falling into step with her with an intrigued smile. While he nodded at her question, truthfully Ignotus lacked any familiarity with fine music. Still, the idea appealed to him, and new experiences were always good to have. "You're correct," the Nuit responded to Alses' assertion on the necessity of manners, "but there's more than one level of civility. For instance, at the dock, the both of us needed to practically script ourselves, whereas now we merely need to speak like courteous beings. I hardly mind being polite, but wearing a mask can grow oh-so tiring."
The Opera building itself did not disappoint in the slightest, the ornate structure and sumptuous hallways promising unthinkable miracles of sound. "I see your taste is as excellent as your radiant form and impeccable tongue would suggest." Ignotus said as he followed her to their box, sitting opposite her once they arrived and letting his cane lean beside his chair. "I must say, I'm quite looking forward to this."
He laughed off her faux-pas, saying "It's fine. Indeed, some compare tact to a more urbane cowardice, though I'm not entirely sure how much I agree with them."
When she asked about what he wanted, Ignotus turned silent and contemplative for several ticks, lacing his fingers together and resting his chin on them. "Have you heard of Sunberth, dear Alses?" he finally said, tone and expression melancholy.
"The buildings there are nothing more than shacks cobbled together from stray wood and common stone. Grime crusts every corner; everything is brown and dying there. Its denizens are fierce, evil people who kill each other for scraps of food and force children to fight to the death for entertainment.
'They would descend upon you in an instant Alses." he said gravely, his eyes boring into her. As he continued, the Ethaefal would occasionally get the briefest image of what he described in all its graphic terror. "They'd strip you and bind you with hemp, violate you in every way you could imagine, then when the scores of men have spent themselves, they'd sell you as a slave to the highest bidder. Wizards of all types there are defiled, then murdered indiscriminately. It is a barren hive of misery and sin, and it is not alone. I've seen much of the world Alses, and such privation is far from uncommon.
'The man-eating savages to the South, the starving people of Endrykas, the dying race of Riverfall, all over Mizahar there is barbarism and misery, not born from lack of resources- the land is rich and can provide for all- but from fear and disunity. I will bring that all to an end. I will cleanse the world of hunger and eradicate the scourge of slavery. I will bring the light of civilization to every corner of Mizahar- but I cannot do it alone. That is why I have come instead of some representative, Alses. I believe that if I am to ask your help in saving the world, you deserve that much respect."
The Nuit spoke with an infectious surety and his Djed-tinged voice demanded admiration, demanded that Alses feel the same sunny audacity as its smiling owner and when Ignotus asked "Does that sate your curiosity, my dear?" she felt a faint urge to throw in her lot with him. Then the Nuit chuckled, and the magic ceased. "I myself may have lost a bit of tact- perhaps such conversation was a bit too heavy for a ballet, no?"
Mercifully the moment passed as the conversation turned to Alses' favorite things, the wizard falling into step with her with an intrigued smile. While he nodded at her question, truthfully Ignotus lacked any familiarity with fine music. Still, the idea appealed to him, and new experiences were always good to have. "You're correct," the Nuit responded to Alses' assertion on the necessity of manners, "but there's more than one level of civility. For instance, at the dock, the both of us needed to practically script ourselves, whereas now we merely need to speak like courteous beings. I hardly mind being polite, but wearing a mask can grow oh-so tiring."
The Opera building itself did not disappoint in the slightest, the ornate structure and sumptuous hallways promising unthinkable miracles of sound. "I see your taste is as excellent as your radiant form and impeccable tongue would suggest." Ignotus said as he followed her to their box, sitting opposite her once they arrived and letting his cane lean beside his chair. "I must say, I'm quite looking forward to this."
He laughed off her faux-pas, saying "It's fine. Indeed, some compare tact to a more urbane cowardice, though I'm not entirely sure how much I agree with them."
When she asked about what he wanted, Ignotus turned silent and contemplative for several ticks, lacing his fingers together and resting his chin on them. "Have you heard of Sunberth, dear Alses?" he finally said, tone and expression melancholy.
"The buildings there are nothing more than shacks cobbled together from stray wood and common stone. Grime crusts every corner; everything is brown and dying there. Its denizens are fierce, evil people who kill each other for scraps of food and force children to fight to the death for entertainment.
'They would descend upon you in an instant Alses." he said gravely, his eyes boring into her. As he continued, the Ethaefal would occasionally get the briefest image of what he described in all its graphic terror. "They'd strip you and bind you with hemp, violate you in every way you could imagine, then when the scores of men have spent themselves, they'd sell you as a slave to the highest bidder. Wizards of all types there are defiled, then murdered indiscriminately. It is a barren hive of misery and sin, and it is not alone. I've seen much of the world Alses, and such privation is far from uncommon.
'The man-eating savages to the South, the starving people of Endrykas, the dying race of Riverfall, all over Mizahar there is barbarism and misery, not born from lack of resources- the land is rich and can provide for all- but from fear and disunity. I will bring that all to an end. I will cleanse the world of hunger and eradicate the scourge of slavery. I will bring the light of civilization to every corner of Mizahar- but I cannot do it alone. That is why I have come instead of some representative, Alses. I believe that if I am to ask your help in saving the world, you deserve that much respect."
The Nuit spoke with an infectious surety and his Djed-tinged voice demanded admiration, demanded that Alses feel the same sunny audacity as its smiling owner and when Ignotus asked "Does that sate your curiosity, my dear?" she felt a faint urge to throw in her lot with him. Then the Nuit chuckled, and the magic ceased. "I myself may have lost a bit of tact- perhaps such conversation was a bit too heavy for a ballet, no?"
