< atton revisited > The information page for Atton has been fully revised and updated with the new map!
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< magic lore update > Magical Lore has been enhanced with the addition of a post on Magical Education. From Beginner to Expert, this is how you learn the spells.
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Welcome to the world of Fortuna, a land of fantastic proportions. This is an original fantasy roleplay that takes place in a world developed over nearly a decade of work and collaboration. We aim to encourage all participants to have a hand in the stories of the characters here, and the world around them. Your choices are key - so make them with pride. You decide who wins the wars, you decide who becomes King, the world is ours, and together we will bring it to life!
Post by Tehodis Kitai on Dec 11, 2016 20:32:54 GMT -7
Why did he have to tell her? Why couldn't he have just kept it to himself? If he hadn't told her, she wouldn't have known. He could have simply refused her offer for a place to stay. Moved on. Woodrow would be none the wiser. She would be none the wiser.
"You should get your day in court in a few days, should you demand one. If you don't, you receive the mandatory minimum for your crime of petty thievery, which is six months. You can fight your case to try for a lower sentence, but the judges in Eersaeb err on the side of citizen safety so... I wouldn't recommend it. But I can put in a good word you, since you came forward of your own volition. Usually that can lower the sentence quite a bit. And if you let me put your name - your alias - into the report for Plague, that would get you some favours as well. Maybe a month, then?"
Post by Endless Laeretti on Dec 11, 2016 23:53:47 GMT -7
He stopped, breath coming short. Tehodis didn't seem to be forcing him to move, and she even allowed him to turn slowly to look at her, as though she was expecting this reaction from him and was ready for it. He simply stared at her, eyes wide, looking almost horrified.
"It could be six months?" No, no, no that couldn't be right, that couldn't be fair, that was absurd! He shouldn't have to let good behavior and the fact that he'd helped catch a damn pirate be what reduced his sentence to a POTENTIAL month. Not for something like this. "It was two years ago, Tehodis. It wasn't even in Submiere. How could that sentence possibly be fair?"
He hadn't intended to argue, hadn't intended to become inconsolable over this. To his credit, he still wasn't resisting her, he was just standing still. Standing still because she was letting him, taking deep panicky breaths but not doing anything violent. On some level he supposed he could appreciate that she was giving him this moment. "That just..." he said, shaking his head. "That doesn't make sense. I could work off the cost of ten of those loaves of bread in a week. How can six months be justified?"
He said that, but it had been because he was in Dirys that he hadn't actually done just that. The economy had been suffering at the time, and among all the places he'd been to around those years, the lower sectors in Dirys had had some of the fewest freelance opportunities. He'd tried to find work, and it was because he couldn't that he'd been driven to what he had. He'd even deliberately chosen a wealthy shop, frequented by upper class people, just so he could have a small assurance that he wasn't likely taking any food out of the mouth of the owner.
He didn't bother explaining any of this. What was the point? Tehodis seemed intent on arresting him no matter what, she couldn't even let him go without the manacles that were making him feel increasingly panicked. He could hardly trust that she'd care what his reasons were. His wrists twitched and he suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for the girl he'd helped capture.
He took a deep gulp. "Can I... can I write letters in here?" he asked in a small voice. Because suddenly all he could think of was Simon, and how he didn't want him to think Endless was never coming back when months went by with no word from him. He'd promised he'd visit again, that he'd come back. He didn't want that to be an empty one.
Post by Tehodis Kitai on Dec 12, 2016 10:13:14 GMT -7
She was growing frustrated. He kept complaining - but he had committed the crime. And he had felt guilty enough to come clean about it. Did he really think that he'd just get a pat on the back and an 'aww, it's okay that you're a criminal' and that was all? She was feeling more and more steady in her decision as he spoke.
"Look, Artemis," She said the name clearly and loudly enough that those around her were certain to notice it. She needed to make sure they thought that was his name. Criminal or not, there were some things she could do to help him. "You didn't just steal. You evaded arrest. If you had taken your lumps at the time, we wouldn't be here right now. You would have done a night or two, or been asked to do odd jobs for the person you stole from. Sweep his floors, take our his garbage, run his errands. You made this worse for yourself -- and obviously you know you did something wrong. If you hadn't, you wouldn't have told me about it. You made that choice. Stop trying to moralize your way out of it, you've done that for two years. Now it's time to accept, pay your penance, and then you can start over with a clean slate. The more you try and talk yourself out of this, the worse your situation becomes. The truth, Artemis. That's the only thing that can free you - body and soul."
She lead him to a holding cell. It was the one they used for 'sensitive' cases. Ones that needed to be alone. She wasn't going to put him in with ruffians and thugs, she hoped he appreciated that. She would make sure that when he was moved to the prison that he was equally protected. "Six months seems like a long time, and this seems like the biggest deal, because you're still a kid. You're what, barely twenty? And what did I tell you? I can get it down to one month. That's only fifteen days, that's not even a moon cycle. End-- Artemis. Now you understand why even at our most desperate times... There's still one thing we've got left inside of us, morality. That's why the teams from Vieri have homeless shelters across the world. That's why you ask to barter in exchange for what you need. You don't always need coin to get by. I've bartered my way through a lot of places when I had nothing - I never stole. Not a thing. You can act as hard done by as you want, but I've been in your shoes, and I made a different decision. You let it sit for two years, let the wound fester. Now you have to pay the price. That's how the world works. Think of it like... You're paying interest on what you stole."
She began to pat him down, taking anything found off of him and into a chest sitting on rollers, "You'll get this all back as soon as you're out. I'll make sure it's safe, and no one else examines it." It's when she grasps the storage charm that she gasps. The magic is strong and gives her a physical shock that has it clattering to the ground. She leaves it there for a moment, afraid to touch it again. She recognizes what it is, but it's what it made her feel that's strange. Was it perhaps made by a master conjurer? She stared at it for a moment, entranced, concerned, but eventually stooped down and pulled the handkerchief from her jacket's breast pocket to scoop it up. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to drop it... It just gave me a shock. The magic... I just wasn't expecting something like that."
She turned it over in the handkerchief, feeling any hunger quickly being satiated merely holding it. "This thing must have been expensive," She commented as she observed the thing, the craftmanship impressive, the magic heavy on her tongue. The thought creeped upon her that this could be stolen, too. Was Endless not the person she remembered him as? She was thinking more, her mind going down the rabbithole. He was in between her forgotten past and her more recent memories. Was he... Perhaps the reason she'd lost it all? Was he perhaps more dangerous than just a petty thief? She didn't know what to do in this situation, the handbook didn't really cover it. Should she go to Vincent?
Last Edit: Dec 12, 2016 15:19:00 GMT -7 by Tehodis Kitai
Post by Endless Laeretti on Dec 12, 2016 16:15:14 GMT -7
She was lecturing him, she was lecturing him, as though he didn't already feel lousy enough, as though she didn't understand or respect that he just needed to express his feelings right now. She hadn't even answered his question, she hadn't told him if he could write letters, and she seemed to insist that she could get his sentence down but how did she know for sure that she could?? She couldn't promise him anything. It's not like he could count on her, he'd already learned that ages ago.
But he couldn't stand being lectured like this. It only reminded him of Vincent, and even if it was unfair of him to think so (because how could Tehodis even know that), he still found himself wondering how dare she try and act like him. He bit his cheek, feeling angry at her, but seeing no further reason to bother arguing. She thought he was throwing himself a pity party instead of objecting to how ridiculous this sentence was for what he did. She called it paying interest on the bread he stole. She talked about the shelters of Vieri around the world as though she had been where he had been at the time. Had she ever even left Aebrynis? Did she even know how bad Acheron was for poor people? Because he certainly hadn't known when he'd gone.
She started patting him down, and he startled when she found his storage charm and suddenly dropped it. He gasped a bit, worried that it might break, but that was an illogical thought - it was made of a very sturdy, lacquered wood. It was a purchase he had been proud of. He thought it meant something when he bought it, like he was being responsible. That charm was linked to the pocket dimension he'd purchased from a Master Conjurer, and it's where his most important and dangerous item was stored, an item he kept very carefully safe.
The thought occurred to him that he could use that item to make Tehodis let him go if he really wanted to, but that was a temptation he very quickly banished. That was exactly the sort of thing that an evil person would use the staff for, the type of person that Endless was keeping the staff safe from. It had been a sobering thought, though, and the fact that it had even occurred to him made him think maybe he should be taking this punishment. He calmed down a bit.
When she commented on its expense, he just nodded at her. "It was. I spent a lot on-... oh god..." he almost whispered the last part. How had it not occurred to him before? He'd considered it a necessary expense, still did considering how dangerous that staff was, but all the same... he'd somehow never considered that part of why he had fallen on such hard times to begin with might have been because he emptied so much of his savings on that thing.
"I spent so much on it..." he murmured, almost horrified.
Post by Tehodis Kitai on Dec 12, 2016 16:35:14 GMT -7
She believed him in that moment. It didn't feel like her was complaining, moralizing, lying. He was being honest. Her trust returned in a fell swoop, and for some reason it made her feel more comfortable. She hadn't noticed how tightly her stomach had been clenched, or how her mind had been aching - not until it had stopped.
"I'll keep it safe," She reassured him, "I know you don't think that... That I, of all people, could help you right now. But I promise." She put the storage charm into her own pocket instead of the chest, knowing that the chest could be accessed by anyone, that the charm was too important to Endless. She would put it in her drawer with Vincent's letters. It felt safest there.
Letters. She had been so frustrated with him that she had purposefully ignored his question, a petty action to take out, but one she had to admit to. She closed the jail door and had him put his hands through the opening, where she undid the manacles. "I'll bring you some parchment, quills, and a SafeSeal--" They were flame-less seals, as prisoners most certainly weren't allowed fire, "And then I'll do my arrest report. If you've got a letter ready by then... I can make sure it gets in the mail to be sent tomorrow. And... I won't just leave you here, Endless. I'll visit you every day. We can talk. Catch up. It's not the dream, I know, but at least... At least it won't be lonely. Okay?"
Post by Endless Laeretti on Dec 12, 2016 16:59:59 GMT -7
He couldn't do much besides nod at her. Yesterday had felt like one of the highest points of his life, and now, sitting inside of a jail cell, felt like one of the lowest.
Tehodis spoke to him softly, and if Endless were less spooked by his current situation, maybe he could have appreciated how much special treatment he really was receiving. After all, he was in a private cell, Tehodis was going to try to lower his sentence, and she even promised she'd come visit him. Who else could say they got that kind of prison treatment. She had even renewed his hope somewhat by offering to bring him the items for letters.
It wasn't ideal, but it was better than he was sure many people got. Maybe later, after he'd had some time to process everything, he'd feel better about this. Feel better about speaking to her. Right now, though, he just wanted her to leave him to his misery.
"Sure... not lonely at all," he said. There wasn't much sarcasm in the tone, but it was probably obvious it wasn't sincere. He sat himself on the bench inside the cell and turned himself away from her. All he wanted to do now was curl up and ignore the world.
Post by Tehodis Kitai on Dec 12, 2016 19:18:01 GMT -7
She didn't know what else to say or do - so she didn't say or do anything. She just said she'd be right back, and then went to put the chest of his minor possessions away. Then, she'd stop by her office, grab the materials for letter writing, and return.
She thought that by the time she returned, she'd know what to say. Still, she didn't.
It wasn't until after she finished the report; after Endless had given her a letter; after she had sent it; after she had returned and pulled up a seat, handing Endless an apple through the bars, that she finally thought of something to say. She smiled and asked, "So, who's Simon?"
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