springstar is as different from highstorm as he might have expected — teleportation makes it less clear where they exist in relation to one another, but it's very like taking a transport from one planet to another. different levels of tech, different climates, different heavenly bodies in the sky. in a different life, he might find it jarring; but coming from the galaxy he does, and the life he lived, it's maybe one of the most normal things he's encountered in kenos.
he hasn't tried, yet, to make contact with cyrus or any meridian. not beyond the people he spoke to through communion, anyway. he's here to see what information he can gather with his own eyes and ears, learn more about the place as much as the faction, as much as the people. it's less that he chooses this bar because he wants to have a drink and more because it's a good place to listen, to maybe talk to people, and...well, yeah, eat and drink something.
he strides in with the casual gait of a tourist, looking around to take in the atmosphere, the layout, before ambling past the scattered tables for the man in the back. the smile cassian wears is friendly, disarming; he lays his hands on the countertop with fingers curled, gloves not quite long enough to hide the loops of an aspect tattoo on the inside of his wrist.
he nods towards the bottles, the menu if there is one, asks, ]
[It’s somehow both comforting and almost alienating that life has just been continuing to go on as normal, despite everything that has happened over the past few weeks. He’d nearly died—nearly killed others through no desire of his own—and then spent far too long in a cage with nothing but a living doll and that bastard of a mad scientist for company. He’s just supposed to just go back to normal after that? And the answer is… yes. Life is still waiting for him to pick it back up, and it’s surprisingly easy to slide back into things even if it comes with plenty of apprehension on his part.
But it’s good. It’s good.
Tam had managed to keep Punch Drunk in one piece while Vander had his little vacation from hell (he’ll have to find a way to thank him later, once he finally stops looking at him like he’s fragile), and it’s a relief to get right back to picking up shifts manning the bar when he wasn’t running around Alenroux or the undercity, dealing with those messes. Y’know. Normal.
It’s a typical day in the place, a low and subdued buzz of conversation filling in the spaces between tables occupied by local regulars and some folks looking to take some time to just relax. Vander’s in the middle of taking stock of the state of the bottles up on those shelves behind the counter when an unfamiliar face approaches. He stops in his work and turns to greet him with a smile in return, giving a thoughtful scratch at his beard at the question.]
Well, we’ve started serving a new drink that the regulars have been going pretty wild for. “The Midnight Suns.”
[There’s an excited whoop from a nearby table, where one of said regulars raises a glass toward them with some very eager nodding. Vander laughs.]
[ he turns his head towards the commotion, the smile on his face only growing at the enthusiastic response. when he turns back to vander, his shrug is good-humored. ]
After that, how could I order anything else? [ then, ] Can I get something to eat, too? Whatever's easiest. I'm not picky.
[ nor is he in a hurry, judging by the way he leans against the counter, content to watch vander work and soak in the ambiance. you can tell a lot by the mood in a cantina, and this place is clean, warm, friendly. he hadn't gotten any strange looks or unwanted attention for being a strange face. ]
So it's true? [ he asks presently, probably about the time he's being given his drink. he clarifies, ] the suns really never set here?
[He gives an approving nod and a “Sure thing” to the additional request for some food, passing along an order to the modest kitchen for the quick and easy finger food taking up the spot as today’s special. Then he sets about the familiar work of whipping up the dark drink with two slices of citrus as a bright garnish, hands deft with years of practice.
He slides the tall glass over to Cassian once it’s ready, a bemused smile on his lips at the question.]
It’s odd, isn’t it? Took me a while to get used to it.
[Especially coming from a city back home that didn’t exactly get much daylight in general. Vander begins cleaning up those bottles needed for that drink prep, casting a curious but friendly glance Cassian’s way when he speaks up again.]
Heard there’s been some new folks finding themselves here over the last few weeks. Guess you must be one of them?
[ he goes to sit on one of the barstools as his order is sent along, making himself comfortable. he accepts drink and food, when it arrives, both with a nod and smile. fishes some coins out of his pocket and drops them onto the counter, pushing them vander's way. cassian doesn't know much, in truth, about bartending; but he's had enough shitty drinks to the know difference between one and a good drink, and it was already clear from watching vander which the midnight suns is. taking a sip, smiling as the flavor fills his mouth, is only confirmation. ]
"Odd" is a good word for it.
[ he's been to dozens upon dozens of planets, seen many varieties of diurnal cycles. he's even seen places where the sun(s) don't set, like springstar, though much more rarely. the experience actually is something of a novelty to him. he looks upwards at vander's question, and his eyebrows tilt upwards ruefully as he nods. ]
Guess I made that obvious. I'm Melshi. Are you...?
[ a shard-bearer, he means, by the cant of his head. ]
[It’s been interesting, working a new bar in a new city. A lot of it is the same—the familiar rhythm of the work, of bantering with customers day in and day out. The entertainment district in Springstar and his old place back in the Lanes couldn’t be much more different, however. It’s a different atmosphere, upbeat in a more laid back sort of way, aided by the fact that it’s a lot more common to see new faces around here. Not that that didn’t happen back in the undercity, considering the business the place had been built for.
But, well. The nature of things here in Kenos makes it more common altogether.]
A wayward soul from another world, same as you. [A nod, the flash of a knowing smile.] Name’s Vander. Still fairly new here in the grand scheme of things, but it’s been long enough that I’ve gotten used to the whole thing.
[It has its ups and downs. He sweeps the coins from the counter and tucks them away into a pocket for now. He takes a moment to glance over the room, make sure everyone’s settled and didn’t have need of him. Then he leans casually against the counter, glad to take a moment for some conversation.]
What’s your take on all of this so far?
[The cities, the Shards… There’s genuine curiosity there in his tone.]
[ and it's true, really. vander has steady work here, may even own the place for all cassian knows, seems well-known and liked. after all, who doesn't like the guy who pours the drinks? he doesn't seem unruffled by the idea of being here, by the idea of new people arriving, the — everything. maybe it's a facade; but if it is, then vander's very, very good at the projection of stability.
he takes a few bites of the food as he considers that question, frowning thoughtfully. he knows what his take is, of course, but the question is really what he does want to admit to? how does he want to spin it for vander? ]
It's overwhelming, [ he says after a moment, swallowing. ] The new world is strange enough, but factions on top of that? It makes things complicated.
[There’s a brief flash of a sympathetic half-smile for him. Some people take to the whole thing easily, and others find themselves struggling to navigate it for much longer. Or hell, struggle to accept this new reality of theirs at all.
Just as there’s numerous worlds all the Shard-bearers are coming from, there are also countless possibilities of histories and life experiences that could color how this whole thing shakes out for people. And it’s not getting any easier in that regard.]
Newcomers like yourself have gotten more of a raw deal when it comes to the factions, unfortunately.
[He rubs at his beard for a thoughtful moment, trying to decide the simplest way to explain it.]
Up until pretty recently, the factions more or less just existed by name. Folks on either side got along decently well, cities were open and friendly to visitors from either side. The tensions are only really just starting to kick in.
[ he asks, curious and attentive. it's not the first time he's heard a sentiment like this, but he still only feels like he has a vague grasp for the answer. it's frustrating; there's so much to understand here, and so little that he actually does. in his line of work — and, he suspects, here — not having enough information can make the difference between life and death. not having the right information is just as bad. he's been trying so hard to pick up as much as he can, but it hasn't been enough. it's what make excursions, chance meetings, like these so important. ]
[Vander’s expression takes on a slightly somber shade at the question. It’s a good question, one that any new Shard-bearer should be leaping to in order to wrap their heads around this whole thing. But the answer to it is trouble, and there will only be more of it on the horizon at this rate.]
A large part of it started after the first contest to go after the Oracles. There was no more dancing around and blurring faction lines after that one.
[A beat as something occurs to him, and he switches gears to ask a quick question of his own before he gets back into it.]
I’m hoping you already got the basic rundown about what these supposed Oracles mean for both sides?
Yeah, that’s about the gist of it. Some kinda nebulous power both sides are vying for.
[Probably not the most extensive way to elaborate on that, but all Vander can really do in that regard is pass along what had happened the first time an Oracle came into play.]
We got shepherded off to another island when the first sign of them showed up. We didn’t have too clear an idea on how to win it, but some people got real… cut-throat in their efforts to get their hands on a resource we’d be encouraged to gather. Not everyone, but enough to make the week we spent there tense, to say the least.
[There’s maybe a touch of disappointment coloring Vander’s features as he thinks back on that time over on the Scorching Isles. After his first few months here, he’d truly started to wonder if maybe bloodshed could be avoided with this whole thing. Some people were eager to prove him wrong there.]
Zenith won that first bid, and as you can imagine, it didn’t exactly leave the folks here in Springstar feeling great. Especially when the situation surrounding a runaway Zenith Shard-bearer came to a head not long afterwards.
[ his rueful smile suggests that he was hoping for a more specific answer from vander. but that's still information. the more specific answer about the oracles simply doesn't exist, or at least it's not something the other shard-bearers know.
but the rest of what vander has to say is more interesting. sent to another island to find this oracle, for a week, and — when it came down to it, shard-bearers were more than willing to turn on one another to serve their faction's goals. no, to get what they want. vander may be disappointed — and that, too, is something to learn about the character of this man — but cassian wishes he could be surprised. so it's true that he'll need to choose a side carefully, and be wary of the opposing one when he does.
any thought of commenting on that story, though, is lost in the wake of the last piece of information vander gives him. ]
[Talking about what to expect of the oracles is an easy enough thing—largely because of how much of an unknown there still is surrounding them. Any new Shard-bearer ought to be up to speed with them before the next opportunity rolls around.
Everything around the situation with Manon, now that’s a lot harder to properly get into. At least in a semi-public space like this. Word got around about it, sure, but it still feels odd to speak so casually about the whole ordeal. Maybe he’d just let himself get too invested in it all. So he shakes his head as he considers the most straightforward way to tell the tale, a rueful half-smile at his lips.]
Well, there’s this guy, Manon. He’d worked for Zenith for about a decade. Eventually found out the higher-ups over there were involved in something that gave him a crisis of faith. Came running over here before going into hiding down Below, ended up running afoul of a… mage that goes by Aetós.
[There’s clear displeasure in his voice at that name, a tension in his jaw before he continues.]
Did a real number on him. But the long and short of it is… Meridian ended up in possession of his Shard after he got out of there and wanted to give him the choice of where to go after it was safe enough to revive him. Zenith, obviously, didn’t like it.
[ he is, of course, doing more than just listening to vander's answer on its face.
he's also watching vander — the tightness of his jaw, the anger in his voice, the inflection on the word mage — as he talks. cassian is subtle about it, easily done when he has the distractions of a drink in his hands, food, the kind of things that make a listener look casual. he's half-focused on eating, see, this is pleasant chit-chat. but pay attention he does. vander clearly has feelings about this topic, maybe strong ones, maybe personal ones. he's been here, after all; he's been involved in happenings in kenos, met the players on the board here, for all that he's kept his explanations minimal and impersonal. ]
[Vander has no qualms about revealing more than he says with body language—especially when it comes to something this important. Maybe this situation wouldn’t have the same weight to it for a newly arrived Shard-bearer, but when it comes to the way both factions have been regarding one another, it’s important. And that means it's important to get those feelings across too.
The question has him frowning just slightly, and he keeps his voice a little lower as he answers.]
Zenith had been apparently working with Aetós to experiment on Shards.
[That had been the word straight from Manon’s journal, at least. Whether that had been elaborated on when he was finally revived and questioned back at the Tree… well, he doesn’t really know. That entire day was still largely a blur in his mind. Whatever twisted magic Aetós had thrown at Vander that day to make him go berserk had really thrown him for a loop.]
Considering the things are people's souls, I can’t blame him for finding it distasteful.
[Even moreso after similarly suffering at Aetós hands himself.]
[ cassian's eyes narrow despite himself, when vander answers with lowered voice.
that is a damning revelation. it doesn't take a man who's been here for longer than cassian to understand the importance of shards, to understand the implications of experimenting with them, to understand the implications of a faction being involved in this. he has to wonder: how high up did the knowledge of this go, if this manon was telling the truth? how widespread? did yima herself know? other shard-bearers, other officials in highstorm? ]
No wonder he left, [ cassian murmurs. his dislike of the notion is real, whatever else he might be hiding. ] What happened to him after Meridian got his Shard?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
slides in here
springstar is as different from highstorm as he might have expected — teleportation makes it less clear where they exist in relation to one another, but it's very like taking a transport from one planet to another. different levels of tech, different climates, different heavenly bodies in the sky. in a different life, he might find it jarring; but coming from the galaxy he does, and the life he lived, it's maybe one of the most normal things he's encountered in kenos.
he hasn't tried, yet, to make contact with cyrus or any meridian. not beyond the people he spoke to through communion, anyway. he's here to see what information he can gather with his own eyes and ears, learn more about the place as much as the faction, as much as the people. it's less that he chooses this bar because he wants to have a drink and more because it's a good place to listen, to maybe talk to people, and...well, yeah, eat and drink something.
he strides in with the casual gait of a tourist, looking around to take in the atmosphere, the layout, before ambling past the scattered tables for the man in the back. the smile cassian wears is friendly, disarming; he lays his hands on the countertop with fingers curled, gloves not quite long enough to hide the loops of an aspect tattoo on the inside of his wrist.
he nods towards the bottles, the menu if there is one, asks, ]
What do you recommend?
no subject
But it’s good. It’s good.
Tam had managed to keep Punch Drunk in one piece while Vander had his little vacation from hell (he’ll have to find a way to thank him later, once he finally stops looking at him like he’s fragile), and it’s a relief to get right back to picking up shifts manning the bar when he wasn’t running around Alenroux or the undercity, dealing with those messes. Y’know. Normal.
It’s a typical day in the place, a low and subdued buzz of conversation filling in the spaces between tables occupied by local regulars and some folks looking to take some time to just relax. Vander’s in the middle of taking stock of the state of the bottles up on those shelves behind the counter when an unfamiliar face approaches. He stops in his work and turns to greet him with a smile in return, giving a thoughtful scratch at his beard at the question.]
Well, we’ve started serving a new drink that the regulars have been going pretty wild for. “The Midnight Suns.”
[There’s an excited whoop from a nearby table, where one of said regulars raises a glass toward them with some very eager nodding. Vander laughs.]
no subject
After that, how could I order anything else? [ then, ] Can I get something to eat, too? Whatever's easiest. I'm not picky.
[ nor is he in a hurry, judging by the way he leans against the counter, content to watch vander work and soak in the ambiance. you can tell a lot by the mood in a cantina, and this place is clean, warm, friendly. he hadn't gotten any strange looks or unwanted attention for being a strange face. ]
So it's true? [ he asks presently, probably about the time he's being given his drink. he clarifies, ] the suns really never set here?
[ the midnight suns, after all. ]
no subject
He slides the tall glass over to Cassian once it’s ready, a bemused smile on his lips at the question.]
It’s odd, isn’t it? Took me a while to get used to it.
[Especially coming from a city back home that didn’t exactly get much daylight in general. Vander begins cleaning up those bottles needed for that drink prep, casting a curious but friendly glance Cassian’s way when he speaks up again.]
Heard there’s been some new folks finding themselves here over the last few weeks. Guess you must be one of them?
no subject
"Odd" is a good word for it.
[ he's been to dozens upon dozens of planets, seen many varieties of diurnal cycles. he's even seen places where the sun(s) don't set, like springstar, though much more rarely. the experience actually is something of a novelty to him. he looks upwards at vander's question, and his eyebrows tilt upwards ruefully as he nods. ]
Guess I made that obvious. I'm Melshi. Are you...?
[ a shard-bearer, he means, by the cant of his head. ]
no subject
But, well. The nature of things here in Kenos makes it more common altogether.]
A wayward soul from another world, same as you. [A nod, the flash of a knowing smile.] Name’s Vander. Still fairly new here in the grand scheme of things, but it’s been long enough that I’ve gotten used to the whole thing.
[It has its ups and downs. He sweeps the coins from the counter and tucks them away into a pocket for now. He takes a moment to glance over the room, make sure everyone’s settled and didn’t have need of him. Then he leans casually against the counter, glad to take a moment for some conversation.]
What’s your take on all of this so far?
[The cities, the Shards… There’s genuine curiosity there in his tone.]
no subject
[ and it's true, really. vander has steady work here, may even own the place for all cassian knows, seems well-known and liked. after all, who doesn't like the guy who pours the drinks? he doesn't seem unruffled by the idea of being here, by the idea of new people arriving, the — everything. maybe it's a facade; but if it is, then vander's very, very good at the projection of stability.
he takes a few bites of the food as he considers that question, frowning thoughtfully. he knows what his take is, of course, but the question is really what he does want to admit to? how does he want to spin it for vander? ]
It's overwhelming, [ he says after a moment, swallowing. ] The new world is strange enough, but factions on top of that? It makes things complicated.
no subject
[There’s a brief flash of a sympathetic half-smile for him. Some people take to the whole thing easily, and others find themselves struggling to navigate it for much longer. Or hell, struggle to accept this new reality of theirs at all.
Just as there’s numerous worlds all the Shard-bearers are coming from, there are also countless possibilities of histories and life experiences that could color how this whole thing shakes out for people. And it’s not getting any easier in that regard.]
Newcomers like yourself have gotten more of a raw deal when it comes to the factions, unfortunately.
[He rubs at his beard for a thoughtful moment, trying to decide the simplest way to explain it.]
Up until pretty recently, the factions more or less just existed by name. Folks on either side got along decently well, cities were open and friendly to visitors from either side. The tensions are only really just starting to kick in.
no subject
[ he asks, curious and attentive. it's not the first time he's heard a sentiment like this, but he still only feels like he has a vague grasp for the answer. it's frustrating; there's so much to understand here, and so little that he actually does. in his line of work — and, he suspects, here — not having enough information can make the difference between life and death. not having the right information is just as bad. he's been trying so hard to pick up as much as he can, but it hasn't been enough. it's what make excursions, chance meetings, like these so important. ]
no subject
[Vander’s expression takes on a slightly somber shade at the question. It’s a good question, one that any new Shard-bearer should be leaping to in order to wrap their heads around this whole thing. But the answer to it is trouble, and there will only be more of it on the horizon at this rate.]
A large part of it started after the first contest to go after the Oracles. There was no more dancing around and blurring faction lines after that one.
[A beat as something occurs to him, and he switches gears to ask a quick question of his own before he gets back into it.]
I’m hoping you already got the basic rundown about what these supposed Oracles mean for both sides?
no subject
Something to do with the power needed for their goals, I've heard. Nothing more specific than that.
[ so he's glad vander's brought it up, actually, as much as he's glad vander seems prepared to give a clear, thorough explanation. ]
no subject
[Probably not the most extensive way to elaborate on that, but all Vander can really do in that regard is pass along what had happened the first time an Oracle came into play.]
We got shepherded off to another island when the first sign of them showed up. We didn’t have too clear an idea on how to win it, but some people got real… cut-throat in their efforts to get their hands on a resource we’d be encouraged to gather. Not everyone, but enough to make the week we spent there tense, to say the least.
[There’s maybe a touch of disappointment coloring Vander’s features as he thinks back on that time over on the Scorching Isles. After his first few months here, he’d truly started to wonder if maybe bloodshed could be avoided with this whole thing. Some people were eager to prove him wrong there.]
Zenith won that first bid, and as you can imagine, it didn’t exactly leave the folks here in Springstar feeling great. Especially when the situation surrounding a runaway Zenith Shard-bearer came to a head not long afterwards.
no subject
but the rest of what vander has to say is more interesting. sent to another island to find this oracle, for a week, and — when it came down to it, shard-bearers were more than willing to turn on one another to serve their faction's goals. no, to get what they want. vander may be disappointed — and that, too, is something to learn about the character of this man — but cassian wishes he could be surprised. so it's true that he'll need to choose a side carefully, and be wary of the opposing one when he does.
any thought of commenting on that story, though, is lost in the wake of the last piece of information vander gives him. ]
A runaway Zenith? What happened?
no subject
Everything around the situation with Manon, now that’s a lot harder to properly get into. At least in a semi-public space like this. Word got around about it, sure, but it still feels odd to speak so casually about the whole ordeal. Maybe he’d just let himself get too invested in it all. So he shakes his head as he considers the most straightforward way to tell the tale, a rueful half-smile at his lips.]
Well, there’s this guy, Manon. He’d worked for Zenith for about a decade. Eventually found out the higher-ups over there were involved in something that gave him a crisis of faith. Came running over here before going into hiding down Below, ended up running afoul of a… mage that goes by Aetós.
[There’s clear displeasure in his voice at that name, a tension in his jaw before he continues.]
Did a real number on him. But the long and short of it is… Meridian ended up in possession of his Shard after he got out of there and wanted to give him the choice of where to go after it was safe enough to revive him. Zenith, obviously, didn’t like it.
puts both hands directly over timestamps
he's also watching vander — the tightness of his jaw, the anger in his voice, the inflection on the word mage — as he talks. cassian is subtle about it, easily done when he has the distractions of a drink in his hands, food, the kind of things that make a listener look casual. he's half-focused on eating, see, this is pleasant chit-chat. but pay attention he does. vander clearly has feelings about this topic, maybe strong ones, maybe personal ones. he's been here, after all; he's been involved in happenings in kenos, met the players on the board here, for all that he's kept his explanations minimal and impersonal. ]
What did he find out?
politely averts my gaze (you're fine!)
The question has him frowning just slightly, and he keeps his voice a little lower as he answers.]
Zenith had been apparently working with Aetós to experiment on Shards.
[That had been the word straight from Manon’s journal, at least. Whether that had been elaborated on when he was finally revived and questioned back at the Tree… well, he doesn’t really know. That entire day was still largely a blur in his mind. Whatever twisted magic Aetós had thrown at Vander that day to make him go berserk had really thrown him for a loop.]
Considering the things are people's souls, I can’t blame him for finding it distasteful.
[Even moreso after similarly suffering at Aetós hands himself.]
<333
that is a damning revelation. it doesn't take a man who's been here for longer than cassian to understand the importance of shards, to understand the implications of experimenting with them, to understand the implications of a faction being involved in this. he has to wonder: how high up did the knowledge of this go, if this manon was telling the truth? how widespread? did yima herself know? other shard-bearers, other officials in highstorm? ]
No wonder he left, [ cassian murmurs. his dislike of the notion is real, whatever else he might be hiding. ] What happened to him after Meridian got his Shard?