After Hours (Hadrian)

[Kassan]

Kassan watched the man walk away. Curious, he thought. He had his head up in the clouds, firmly with the Gods, and yet he seemed clueless as to what had pulled him here. Nyka was not called the Mother City for no reason. Those with burgeoning faith were attracted here, like iron filings towards a magnet. And they were unaware of that tug, it seemed. All manner of people ended up here, in the Syliran city he now called home. The next thirty chimes passed quickly. He did another lap of the streets, patrolling the entire quarter. He found no other waifs wandering in the darkness. He yawned a little when his shift was done, passing over to his fellow monk, and then headed for the Safehaven Hostel. It was a little walk, but the night was brisk. He rarely slept much anyway. Painful memories and nightmares ensured that. It would be wise to assess the mans reasons when he got there. There had to be a motive behind his questions about the Aperture, Kassan just needed to pinpoint what before telling of his own experiences. When he got there, he pushed the door open to the sleepy building. There was a foyer area, fireplace crackling. A few seats, and a few guests, sitting around with drinks or dice. He glanced around, and then spotted the man from earlier in the corner. Face neutral, he began to walk towards the table. There was some investigation to be done. OOCI hope you didn't mind the teeny tiny bit of god-modding there!

[Hadrian]

As soon as he turned a corner, his aura dimmed, held under his masterful control. Were an aurist to seek him out, they would find nothing, for he had not yet met his match. Stitch had been close, but not quite. Next he swept cloak of illusion over his body, making him invisible, even erasing his shadow. But still, this required stealth. His footfalls were careful, soft soles barely making a sound on the street beneath him, breath under control. He could meditate while walking, the way he had read the men and women of Denval did with their sacred labyrinth. In any case, his magics proved effective en route to the Safe Haven, though, truth be told, there weren't many people out past the curfew. It took him longer than it ought to have, but he was being careful, and these streets were not so familiar to him yet. All the same, he did have a table in the corner and a pair of drinks. He had, of course, removed his illusion and let his aura bloom forth. He even smiled slightly at the Benshira so far from home. Such an awkward turtle was Hadrian Aelius. "You came," he noted, as if that had been in question.

[Kassan]

Kassan pulled a chair out from under the table, settling down in the interior of the Safehaven Hostel. He had only been here a few times. It was a place for visitors - a place they could stay, and refrain from becoming entangled in the Celestials affairs. "Of course," Kassan said with a frown, "I do not make promises only to break them." He called a waitress over, requesting a drink. No alcohol, however. He did not drink alcohol, though many of the Monks did. It clouded your thoughts, and your judgement. If you were thrown into combat after drinking alcohol, you would not be able to make tactical decisions clearly. He looked the man over again, in the light. There was something eclectic about him. Something that didn't quite... work. There was more to this man than at first sight, he was sure of it. "Now," Kassan breathed, relaxing back into his chair, "you have questions, and I have answers. Feed your appetite for curiosity. Oh, and I don't think I caught your name."

[Hadrian]

"I beg your pardon," he said quietly. "I did not mean to question your integrity, but rather to express pleasure. And I would shake your hand, but I'm more curious as to the proper and polite form of greeting one should give a Nykan monk of Benshira extraction. I am a student of culture, and you are a new mixture in my experience." He smiled briefly, never quite sure how to express himself, though he paid careful attention to Kassan's face for clues. "Then, if you wish, I would like to know more about your faith, your god, and your experience in the Aperture. I don't mean to pry, but I am curious. Whatever you wish to tell me would be most enlightening."

[Kassan]

Kassan smiled wanly at the man's honours. If he stayed in Nyka long enough, they'd be sure to erode away. "I am one of a kind. There are no other monks from our people," he looked at the man's hands and shook his head, "there is no need to shake my hand, we have greeted each other well enough." His hands were reserved for the tools of his Alvina. There was no need to shake this man's hand to satisfy his urban niceties. "My faith? Perhaps it is better to describe it as my life. Uphis is a deity of absolution. There is justice in all things - even if we cannot achieve what we desire immediately. We grow stronger, and then we can. Uphis has his own score to settle, as I do my own." He looked up, and into the eyes of the man who quizzed him. "I am Kassan of the Sharp Blade. And I survived the Aperture. What else is it you want to know? It is hard for foreigners to understand our ways."

[Hadrian]

In his head, Hadrian was taking notes, of course, but outwardly, he was just attempting not to be a social faux pas. No shaking of hands, no second expressions of greeting even after parting. This Kassan was a strange, but interesting man. Prickly, but he had not given Hadrian trouble for being out past curfew, and he had come here to speak to him. That was telling, too. "We grow stronger," he repeated, nodding, "and then we can. I suppose faith is something impossible to truly put into words." Perhaps Qalaya would disagree, but then, the gods spoke in the celestial language which was, it was supposed, perfect. "I won't understand your ways from one conversation; I know that. But I am curious about the Aperture. Perhaps I would have to experience it myself, though. Again, words fail. "Do you have any questions for me?"

[Kassan]

OOCI'm sorry this is so late! "The Aperture presents itself differently to each and every person." Kassan's eyes narrowed, before nodding knowingly, "to some it merely gives hallucinations and visions. But there are physical dangers too. Monstrous things spawn from its depths." Nyka was not a safe haven. It was no Syliras, where the citizens were tucked away from evil. It was unlikely this man had ever been anywhere quite like Nyka. "I would ask what brings you here. You mentioned the Celestials. Did the Alvina draw you here?" He was a curious man, with a voracious appetite for knowledge. Kassan sensed no ill intent though. Some were curious for curiosities sake, but he thought wryly about where that often got people. "You should not take their presence lightly."

[Hadrian]

"I think perhaps I will wait until my next visit to see the Aperture," he mused. "Today I am merely waiting here for a ship to take me south. Such a thing should be the focus of a journey, like a pilgrimage. Else why should I expect the blessed Alvina to protect me from danger there?" His vocalized musings rather answered Kassan's questions, but he continued all the same. "I am not sure which of the Alvina would draw me in particular," he admitted. "I respect Skerr's desire to feed the hungry and maintain civilization, but I have no intimate interest in the raising of crops. My father is a merchant, but I am not, so Laat's blessing would be appreciated that I might never want for anything, but again, I feel no great closeness. I've crafted blades, and will craft more, I'm sure, but I have no vested interest in the feud between Myri-Queen and the son of Ruros. Xannos too, she might teach me something of gemstones. I've an interest." He had power to do with the Earth, but he did so with Semele's blessing, he hoped. He wasn't even sure an Alvina could hear a prayer from across the continent. "But I do not take their presence lightly. The city is theirs, the monks are theirs. I am a guest in their place. I can respect and appreciate that."

[Kassan]

Kassan bristled. "It is no feud. The conflict is not as simple as you pass it off as." Despite the minor annoyance, he softened at the rest of the man's words. There was respect for the city and its denizens. It was clear that Hadrian wanted no trouble, despite his curiosity. Kassan sighed a little. He had his duty and his honour, but he was not an ignorant fool. He remembered his own wonder when he had first come to the city. He could not take all the moral high ground - his position meant so much more than that. "It was not so long ago I found myself hurtling across Mizahar. Though you are right in saying the Aperture is a spiritual haven of sorts, you are wrong to think it must be approached as the sole reason of your visit. If you wanted to get close to it, I would escort you. Perhaps then you will get a sense of its dark heart."

[Hadrian]

"Really? I would take issue with someone murdering my father and taking all that he had worked for onto themselves." But he shrugged. "You would know the mind of Uphis better than I, however, so I am not arguing the point." He settled into his seat; this Kassan was interesting, but he was trying to be cautious and not offend him. Many of the monks here took honest ignorance as a sin, even when one was clearly eager for enlightenment. "Well, you could take me now," he said, only joking in his tone of voice. "But I am sure I will return at some point, so it would not be the end of the world to miss it today."