Chronicles of The Omniverse Archived Tiranoth: Taskill Harbor

Fishman

Fishman

Broseidon
Benefactor
As evening set over the harbor, a ribbon of red stretched out along the sky, melting into deep purples and greens.

The harbor was almost empty, though it was no wonder why. The winter season was upon them and people were with their families. So many sailors had already expressed their weariness and willingness to go home. Still, one ship was coming in. From the pier, one woman could see it in the distance, and that woman waited.

As the boat came closer, the sun all but vanished beneath the horizon and prompted the city at her back to light up like embers on a smoldering fire.

Two floating lanterns on the pier shined against the woman's scaly green skin and slick red hair. She certainly wasn't human, though the woman kicked two legs against the pier, and not a tail.
 
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He couldn't help but feel uneasy as he collected his belongs from the cargo hold of the passenger ship. Issunar was a land of the dead, long held in the clutches of necromancy, and no where was that more evident than in the city of Tiranoth. Here, of all places, his father had insisted he come. No matter what, the scarlet haired young man couldn't understand the motive behind it all. His whole life, Hachu had always had his questions about the family's connection with this continent pushed aside, never aside, Hells, shunned was an even more accurate description. Then, out of nowhere, on the eve of his leaving, a ticket had been thrust forward unto him.

His mother sided with his father. His teacher, the genie expert in Caldonia had already been called, and her services canceled. All of it, undone in an instant it seemed like. Months, nearly years, of careful planning and communication sacrificed seemingly on a whim of...of...

"A businessman..." The words tastes bitter on his lips, even more bitter when the loathing behind them caught up to the Losenji native. No. That wasn't fair. His dad had always been good to him. Distant. Cool. But supportive of his craft, and understanding of it as well. And...much as hated to admit it, Tiranoth wasn't exactly a bad choice. Many summoners of both ancient and modern legend hailed from this city. Their knowledge would be pasted down and recorded. This was hardly the worst place he could've been sent.

The ship made dock. The crew disembarked. Hachu was one of the last to do so. It was dark when he came above deck, carrying little save the clothes on his back and a large duffel full of scrolls and books, and an address to apartments meant for him but prepared in his mother's name. The twenty-seven year old conjurist was no fool. He knew this city's history, to an extent. He knew that being mortal, and living, on these streets could mean more than a fair share of trouble for him. He wondered if his parents would have anyone waiting for his arrival. He doubted it but still...he could hope.

So Hachu began his walk down the pier, doing his best to not seem confused or lost, but not succeeding very well at either.
 
The green-skinned woman nimbly hopped onto her feet and approached the young man excitedly, lifting a hand to wave to him. "Hey, there. Hi. Hello! I'm Elspet Ewart, I'm with the MPP- we're a welcome committee for the alive and well who come to immigrate to Tiranoth- I'm here to escort you to your home, assuming you have one, and then take down some important information." She flashed a smile, one toothier than intended. Easy to do with twice than the human amount of teeth. "How was your trip? Did everything go well?"

Elspet was much shorter than Hachu, but she didn't seem to notice it. She stood with her back straight as a board, chin raised up proudly, with a peppy alertness to her eyes. A poncho draped over her shoulders and gleamed like the scales on her skin. Beneath the poncho, a simple business dress clung to her figure.
 
Above all else, Hachu was a studious type. He'd pause before Ms. Ewart, silent as he took a moment to take in her form and figure. Though those silver-grey eyes glided across every inch she had to offer, there wouldn't be anything to the gaze. It was the look someone would have if they were reading a book, or examining a sign post for directions. "Ah...thats a lot to take in all at once, Ma'am." He hadn't expected a sponsored greeter, not from Tiranoth, but it did lift his spirits, if ever so slightly.

"I will address all of your inquiries in order. I do have a home waiting for me, completely furnished, or so I've been promised." He recited the address as best he could for memory, making sure get across as clearly as he possibly could that it was located towards Downtown Kahleann. "My trip was long, but not unpleasant. Most of the crew kept to themselves, and I kept to my studies. The more superstitious amongst them did not particularly like having a spellslinger and a conjurer aboard the vessel, but alas, my family paid them well for passage from Losenji."

Again, he would pause, half awkward and half unsure of what to do next. This Elspet mentioned she would be taking information about him down, obviously for record keeping, but still, the idea did unnerve him ever so slightly. People were so much harder than spelltomes to understand sometimes, and this one wasn't exactly human. "What next?"
 
"Next? Well," began Elspet, "I'm going to ask you some questions that might seem a bit invasive, okay? Here, let's get in the carriage so that we're not wasting time. It's a bit of a journey."

She beckoned him to follow her as she lead him from the harbor onto the streets of Uisgare. They were greeted with a carriage made of a polished, dark oak. At its coach was an invisible figure clad in a tailcoat, a bucket hat, and a pair of corduroys. The reins lead to a wicked-looking creature that wasn't quite a horse and wasn't quite a lizard or a bird, either. Some mishap of nature and a spell of undeath made the beast, and it wasn't immediately identifiable, either. It was a chimera of sorts.

Elspet held the door open for him, "After you."

Once inside, she placed a clipboard on her lap filled with several papers. She took a pen to them. "Well, here we go. Could you tell me your name, date of birth, current species, race, any afflictions you may be carrying such as undeath, werewolfism, et cetera-" She went on for another brief moment with the general things. "Please let me know if you're uncomfortable revealing any of this information, by the way."
 
Hachu wasn't the type to argue against those with authority. His entire life he'd been under the care of both his parents, and several magical instructors. A long history of discipline ensured that he'd grown up with a healthy respect for the laws of man and the arcane. So he followed after the strange looking Elspet, eager to spend more time with the woman, just because he'd never seen one quite like her before, not even in his texts.

Then again, he hadn't exactly had time to study up on Tiranoth, and Issunar as a whole, before coming here. Especially considering how his father had made the entire continent seem so taboo his entire life, until less than a month ago.

The carriage itself wasn't wholly interesting...but the creature pulling it was. He didn't wish to delay the two of them, so he gave it the briefest of investigatory glances with his steel-blue eyes before climbing into the vehicle, and then his own seat. A tad more lavish than he'd expected, but already much more comfortable than the ship. It didn't lurch and sway under the sometimes calm, sometimes cruel grasp of the sea. Already a vast improvement.

"Ah. No. This is hardly invasive. Seems like a standard questionnaire form for immigrants I imagine." He replied quietly, almost a tad too soft to be heard over the wheels and padding steps of the beast who drove the box. "My name is Hachu Yukime. I was born twenty seven years ago, on a colder than normal, rainy day of spring, according to my mother. I am human, as far as I can tell, and completely at that, though the folks back home liked to joke about my mother's side of the family having a history of...ahem..." The youth did not blush, but pale at his own choice of words, "consorting...with spirits. Nonsense, of course, but I thought it best to divulge that rumor early in case it came up later. My father is of Issunar roots, Lutetia specifically, but as to what connections he or his blood might have their, or to this land as a whole, he's never openly spoke of any of it. Other than that, the only other affiliation I can claim to have any connection to is my art, which is study of the arcane arts, specifically conjuration, evocation, and divination. The first of the three being the reason I come to your..." The word fair probably would work.

Fair implied light. Beauty. Openness. Descriptions that the the Losenji native was not sure fit the necropolis of Tiranoth, not yet anyway.

"Your interesting city."
 
Elspet tapped her pen onto her lip for a brief moment, the light behind her eyes contemplative. The corners of her lips curled even more in a curious smile. "Perhaps, if you are willing, we could have an animancer gaze at your soul. But that is for another time," she told the boy, scribbling down the paper on her lap.

"Let's see... you study in arcane arts. As we reach the downtown area, I can point out a wide variety of libraries that will benefit you and also teach you the spell that will give you full availability to the Hex Library. Also, since you're human, pointing out parts of the city you might want to avoid and others that might be more to your fancy would be beneficial. As an example, one might want to avoid Thacras. It's a district that seems to attract the largest number of Hungry Undead, as they're called. Zombies, wendigo, ghouls; you can find every variety there, and some aren't... great company for the living, even though Durga Thornell works tirelessly to keep them sated. Is that understood? This is for your safety."
 
Hachu nodded along, listening intently to ever word. Cataloguing them and pouring over each inflection and hint of body language that Elspet provided. "I understand. I do not plan to engage with much of anyone really, unless socially obligated to do so. Mother always said I was more comfortable around books and scrolls and old tomes because I can read them better than I can read people. But I'm studying up on that, or at least trying to. Overcome one's weaknesses, and such." A sheepish smile, but for some reason, his guide might the inkling it was disingenuous, and in truth, it was. Facial expressions weren't something that came naturally to the Losenji born conjurist. "I'll steer clear of those areas in particular though. Curious as I am, I'm not entirely eager to end up being somebody's snack."

Animancy reading. Hmmm...He might have to bookmark that idea for later, at least for the sake of his own inquisitive nature. He'd always wanted to have one of those performed on him, but Father had always been adamant in his rejection of the idea. But now, he was free of such control. And it was an odd feeling. Never before had he felt so independent, and liberated, all in the same week, while simultaneously unsure of how to handle such new ideas as freedom and complete autonomy. While he waited for the pointing out of academic and intellectual hot spots for spell slingers such as himself, the crimson haired youth found it harder and harder to bite his tongue about one question, and one question in particular.

"Ah, miss, if you don't mind me asking...what exactly are you?"
 
"Me?" she said with a chuckle. She put her hand over her mouth, eyes fluttering upward to stare at Hachu. She peeled her hand away from her mouth slowly, revealing a long, pearly row of numerous, numerous needlelike teeth.

"Well, Mister Yukime, there are those who would call me something a little unpleasant and misleading. Siren, Morgen, and Undine are just a few. I don't sing, though, no, and I don't drown people. I don't eat people, but these teeth don't do much to expel the idea. No, Mister Yukime. I'm what happens when young wizards get a little curious. They house animals, they experiment, they try and they fail and they don't stop until they succeed. Eventually, they come out with something they call a success." She splayed her arms gently, giving the man a wan smile. "They sometimes come out with something like... me. For what I am currently, I have no name. Once upon a time, I was called a... gar."
 
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