Dangers Unknown {Closed}

[Morrigan Reid]

The sorceress' boots softly scraped along the soil as she wandered through the light wood. Ordinarily Morrigan would not be so careless as to venture into any Elibean wilderness alone. All of this was still foreign to her, after all. It was best she stuck to cities and trails. But what she had felt passing by this forest was...it was something she could not ignore.

Ever since entering the nation known as "Lycia", Morrigan had felt powerful and yet shifting natural energies all around her. It was weaker in Badon, where she had arrived upon returning from a relief mission, but in this territory it was much more noticeable. The most damning thing was that Morrigan could not decipher what exactly had caused there to be such noteworthy shifts. Every so often the energy felt truly natural. Pure, like her anima magic would be even more potent if she utilized it there.

At other times, however, this energy felt foul. The ignorant would liken it to the feeling of elder magic, but to Morrigan the sensation that the Nether gave her was a hollow yet comforting darkness. Like being bathed by the gentle cover of the night itself. Something she was only so comfortable with because of her years of experience and familiarity with it. This was a different sort of darkness. Like a bubbling tar pit, rotted and reeking with the flesh of those unfortunate enough to be swallowed up within it. Thick and heavy, not light and soft.

Where she currently stood, though, in a small clearing between the tree lines, the energy felt pure. Natural and true. There was no...corruption. Nothing foul lurking beneath the surface, lying among the shadows. As much as she wanted to muse about the cause and source of such unnatural sensations she would instead bask fully in the current one.

Morrigan pulled out her basic trinity tome. Lightning magic was still her focus, but she had learned the basics of every element all the same. She opened the tome and turned to a familiar page but she dared not look at it. For her magic to flow she would need to feel it throughout her being, drawing and sharing from and with nature in an equal harmony. Just as she was taught.

Morrigan drew a deep breath and planted her feet firmly on the ground. Be with the Earth now. With the soil, the grass, and the towering trees. She raised a hand confidently, firmly, but without aggression, and watched as thorned vines and roots snaked out from the bushes before her. They danced and weaved around each other, ensnaring an enemy that did not exist. Such grace and ease...surely it had to be a result of the natural magic in the area. Near Badon she had felt the call of water, but in this wood...it was as if the Earth itself spoke to her.

[Aaron Winsett]

The flow and exchange of the natural magic around Worde seem to be in flux. A similar, if less concentrated version of the effects in Ostia. The "wild" magic left after the catastrophe in Ostia seemed dangerous and volatile, as an unstable flow of Excalibur or Volcanon might seem. It was ready to break apart and unleash itself at the slightest provocation. The smallest tremor could have set it off. I may have borne witness to such an event while watching from the edges of the province. Here in Worde though, these "wild magic" phenomena are less common and less unsteady than they had seemed in Ostia. Perhaps this can be likened to how water flows downhill, until it equalizes with the rest, or is contained somehow.

Aaron stopped scratching away in his notebook where he rested under a tree in the forest. He didn't have enough findings to actually confirm any of his ideas. He only knew that Ostia after the meltdown had been an unfriendly place, and now he was in Worde and it seemed more vibrant than many places he'd been. He'd have to travel far and wide before he could confirm any of his formulating theories. For now though, Spending time in the wood here would be enough. Maybe there would be oddities unique to this sort of vibrancy of natural power. He didn't think it'd been long enough yet though. Surely, things would take months to begin exhibiting any changes or differences. Just as it took seasons for a tree or a bush to grow mature.

He rested for awhile. Something he'd not taken the time to do for far too long. Just listening to the trees growing, the breeze blowing, and the sensation of the sun dappling through the air. If he stretched out his senses, he could feel the spirits of nature dancing all around him now. Once he'd been taught to think of them only as tools to be shaped and forged as he saw fit, but there was something to be gained from knowing and watching them in motion all around the lands. It was what moved their world, after all.

There. His eyes popped open at a "sound" rippling along the area and echoing through wood. Magic was in motion, and he'd sat and listened to it in silence for so long that anything other than the dancing winds, and the dappling leaves gathered his attention. He pushed himself to his feet and turned around to pick up the bag carrying his notes. When he stood up, he was immediately confronted with the sight of someone else in the wood nearby and far nearer than he'd thought.

Barely fifty strides away, a figure with long wavy black hair stood "playing with nature". He just stood and watched for a time, turning his attention on how the magic was reacting, and on how she was influencing it. She was definitely not taught from his school of thought, to "hammer" the spell into the shape you wanted through formulas and knowledge of its bounds. This was different, and far smoother. He'd changed his own way of interacting with the magics of the world over the years, and this seemed closer to what he did. Still not quite the same methods though. He began walking closer, carefully pushing the few small branches aside that were in his way. Deeper in the woods where he'd been, the life didn't grow so explosively as it did at the edge, where it fought over the sunlight.

He cleared his throat and split his attention between this woman's touch on the anima and she herself. "Greetings.... That's a very light touch you have." His voice carried calm and carefully across the forest floor. He was given to making observations before stepping in too far. He looked on the work carefully, searching for the magic "fingerprints" left by her work, but there wasn't much to look at. It was almost like it had worked itself into that form. He stopped, about ten paces away, then spoke up again.

"I wasn't expecting to meet anyone else out here. My name's Aaron." He was open enough, and wasn't expecting trouble out of this, but he was still patient with how he spoke to people. Especially ones he didn't know.

[Morrigan Reid]

Satisfied basking in the flow of natural energy, Morrigan carefully removed herself from said flow. The vines creeped back to their natural positions in the forest, snaking in reverse to the bushes whence they came. With the way she inserted herself so softly into nature's flow her exist made it seem as though she had never been there. No trace whatsoever. With plant magic that much was easy to accomplish. Raw Earth...not so much. It took a great deal of skill and power to set the earth back into it's exact position, and Morrigan's focus in anima was not even in the realm of Earth magic. It was lightning.

Either way, it seemed her timing was impeccable, as she appeared to have a spectator for the majority of her test. He was rather respectful, not saying a word until a few moments had passed, so in turn Morrigan would respect him with her attention. The sorceress turned her violet eyes onto this man, who had green hair and was fairly well dressed. At first glance he seemed like a man she was more likely to find in a city, but Morrigan couldn't rely on first impressions in a world she was still fairly unfamiliar with.

"Greetings, and thank you." Morrigan weighed her words carefully. She had no idea who it was she spoke to, but treating him as an enemy outright was foolish. She was an outsider in this land. If she wanted to survive and learn, if she wanted to accomplish her goal, she needed to make allies and not enemies. "If you study or practice magic I'm certain it must have been a fairly new display for you." She already knew Elibean magic, for the most part, was different in practice. The end results were similar enough, but the paths taken were so varied. So different.

Brushing a lock of hair from her face she gave the man a small smile. Genuine, yet intended. "My name is Morrigan, and I honestly didn't expect to meet anyone else out here as well. There's a certain...aura, about this area. Nature's call is stronger here, so I had to test it myself."

Her reasons were honest and her explanation there. Rather than let it hang idly she pushed herself to make a further comment, to engage this man further. "What brings you here?"

[Aaron Winsett]

As she finished up her little experiment, the green haired sage once again noticed the lightness with which she directed the flows of nature. Almost as though she wasn't really there. It was in stark contrast to the heavy handed prowess that he and many others had been trained up in. It still differed from the methods that he'd converted to on learning more and growing in his own expertise. It might be worth asking about, if he got the chance.

Now that they'd come closer together and actually spoken to each other a little, he noticed more of her. Dressed in light loose flowing fabrics of dark colors, part of her garb seemed more suited as finery, but there was more than enough functionality to it as well. The accents were what drew attention however. Things suited more to the wildlands he'd heard rumors about in more rugged areas of the world. All of this to complement the small woman he saw before him. She'd taken it and made a stunning and exotic look that just seemed to match the intelligent violet wells staring back at him from her face.

"Study." He answered back to her, pulling a plain notebook from his bag at his side, and holding it up with a quick flourish as if it bespoke volumes about his purpose. He kept on speaking, a smile from the satisfaction of actually finding someone else who took an interest in what he was looking at, if only a passing one.

"I've come looking for these places though, where magic seems to be..." He struggled with finding the right words. "Sometimes inflamed. Sometimes just more vibrant. And sometimes there's a corruption, but that seems mostly localized around Ostia. I'm trying to make certain that it's not spreading, and trying to confirm a theory on the patterns and movements of these vibrant patches of anima." He had other things he was doing as well. Checking up on the taint around Ostia was only the beginning of what he was doing on that front. Every stride he took, and every step he traveled would gain knolwedge back to the Lycian League when he returned with it. "It's not something that many people I know of are looking at, but it seemed useful to apply myself too."

"Few enough people on the roads these days, as things are. What with all the monsters rumored to be roving around the western side of Lycia's provinces. They encourage people not to travel alone, you know." A small smirk crawled onto his face, as he said that. She looked to be traveling alone, but didn't seem concerned. He, likewise, was very much alone. But he was confident in surviving unless misfortune came upon him at unawares. Brash and arrogant? Probably, he'd decided to himself. He didn't test it often though. He did his best just to stay on the edges of any problems that came his way, and scare off or outwit the rest.

[Morrigan Reid]

The man before her seemed pleased at Morrigan's decision to ask about his business. He waved a notebook before explaining, in rather eloquent words, the exact same sensations that Morrigan had felt from the area. Had she truly found a fellow magus? Morrigan smiled at the idea and nodded along with the man. She slipped her tome back into her satchel whilst replying, "Intriguing field of study. I know exactly what you mean, about the flow of nature magic in this area. All across this nation it seems to shift wondrously, and yet there is a strange sensation to it at times. Corruption and inflamation describe it well."

Morrigan had spent time in Lycia before. On missions from her Convent. Granted most of that time was in Badon where, once again, all she really felt was a strong flow of the water element. Etruria had lesser flows of anima throughout, from what Morrigan had experienced, and sadly those were the only Elibean nations that the sorceress had visited. Then of course there was her Convent itself. A natural well of anima in general. If one searched and felt deeply enough every element was in fairly equal balance throughout that area. While beneficial to practitioners and students of anima, it meant that feeling each individual element was...difficult. They were all in a blended harmony.

The sorceress took care not to wind up lost in her own mental reflection, however, and it was good that she succeeded. The man off-handedly mentioned an odd term, one that certainly caught her attention. So Morrigan paused before taking a small step forward, curiosity gleaming in her eyes. "I'm sorry, you said 'monsters'? I can't help but wonder what you mean by that."

[Aaron Winsett]

The green haired nature mage found himself spurred on a little by Morrigan's agreements and comments. He didn't know how much she knew about the field, but it sounded like she'd seen some of what he studied and searched for. He didn't find it too strange to stumble across another caster out in the field, but maybe he ought to. Finding anyone traveling alone was unusual in these times.

"It's not a common sensation. But yes. It is there...."

Her next comment puzzled him though. He'd mentioned the monsters plaguing the country... no the world, in truth. No recognition had lit her face. He knew there were skeptics, and doubters, but he hadn't expected to meet anyone who hadn't heard of the monsters that had been attacking people and making travel difficult.

"Monsters...." He said the word slowly. Not for her benefit, but for his as he thought of how best to explain them and not sound too ludicrous. How did one explain chaos, evil, corruption, and madness though?

"Monsters. Shamblers. Walking Dead. Skeletons. Gargoyles. Doom Wolves. Bael. Giant Spiders.... Supposedly some creatures worse. Take your pick. It's what's been plaguing western Lycia since Ostia's fall, and it has half of the country living under its shadow." Was she for real? Surely not. But if so, where had she been that news hadn't reached them. His expression was serious as he spoke.

"I have a small encampment not far off the road, on a hill overlooking the wood, and the road. If you'd like, and you're willing, we can talk more there." He gestured further up the road, and to the side, where a large hill with a weak stand of trees and a few rocky outcroppings stood. It looked as though it'd been cleared of the worst of the tree and rock cover years ago. He spoke up as he looked back to her though.

"I don't think anyone should travel here without knowledge of what prowls these lands, though."

[Morrigan Reid]

The man reiterated, slowly, before listing off examples of monster species, at least that was Morrigan's guess. His expression was...a bit confused, most likely at Morrigan, and yet he seemed very serious. Morrigan focused her eyes on his facial features and listened closely to his tone, to see if he was lying. Yet as he continued to speak her heartbeat quickened just a tad, and her eyes grew wide.

"By the Nether..." It was difficult for Morrigan to recall when she began to curse in the name of the Nether. Being a practitioner of Elder Magic first and foremost, it likely just made sense to her. Why curse in the name of Elimine or the nature spirits? "You're serious, aren't you." Morrigan had already ascertained that much, but she couldn't help but speak it aloud out of sheer surprise.

So...either monsters truly did prowl the land, or this man very genuinely believed as such. Either way Morrigan's curiosity was piqued. She'd want to investigate further before coming to a conclusion. "Yes, I would very much like to continue the conversation. I'm afraid I know nothing of these monsters, and I haven't heard a single thing about monsters since I've arrived here."

The way the man spoke...it was as if he expected such a thing to be common knowledge. Had everyone she met heard of the monsters then, and just not spoken of them? How great of a threat were they, then? Were they truly a threat at all, or just like rabid wolves: something to be avoided. Perhaps the people were so fearful they simply preferred not to speak of the monsters if they could help it, or perhaps some were skeptical and had yet to see them for themselves. So many possibilities. Morrigan truly hadn't anticipated this.

[Aaron Winsett]

"Alright then." Aaron spoke up, reaching around him to make sure he had everything that he'd brought with him. It wasn't much. Just a a messenger bag treated to protect from water, and a small skin of water. His writing equipment and other books were already put away in the bag, and there was nothing else to collect up for him.

He smiled a bit, in spite of the subject matter. He enjoyed helping others, and he was engrossed with the subject matter, even with its bleak nature. Talking about it to people who were interested in it was one of his favorite pastimes. He wasn't about to throw away all wariness. He wasn't really expecting trouble, but there were rumors of bandits and brigans causing problems across the country as well, preying on the vulnerable.

"It's not a long walk. But it is up the hill. I wanted a good view of the area when I camped." He'd not been concerned about hiding his presence when he came here. Anymore, most people didn't stick around once they say you slinging swaths of raw fire and ice towards them.

They came to the camp where he'd collected a small fire ring and had a small one man tent resting. A small pot for boiling water, rested against the stones nearby, and a large lone log served as a seat near the firepit. It actually looked a little out of place with how barren most of the hill was. It had gotten up here somehow though, because the attentive would spot the drag marks bringing it from elsewhere. He sat down, and gestured for her to do the same, before pulling out a different, larger and more worn note book. It'd been through a great deal. He'd carried that one for a long time, and the corners of the cover were beginning to show where they were wearing down.

"If you don't have a strong stomach, don't look...." He warned, passing the notebook for her to look at. "That's a collection of sketches and notes on the beasts. Some I obtained from professionals. The rougher ones are my own work." Inside were several sketches of the Doom Wolves. Some looked completely rotted through, artists depicting the skin practically falling off. Others, like some of the rougher work, depicted the wolves with patchy fur, and spots where the hair and hide seemed to be missing all together. A note reading "Fearless, pack hunters, relentless pursuit, acid saliva" could be seen carved into the rougher image with what had probably been charcoal. Since then, it had been lacquered over to preserve the image.

He started loading up the fire ring with wood to burn, intending to boil some more water for his skins while they were here. He let Morrigan take her time.

There were other images. Some depicting winged monsters of thick hide and backwards bending knees. They carried spears, but had no need of armor or any other garments. Most stood at least as high as a man, but some were another half as large. Some of the rougher work was included among these, labeled "Gargoyles". "Clever Pack hunters" was written under them. Shamblers or walking dead were demonstrated as well as weapon toting skeletons, with a few notes on them. "Dangerous in Groups" Some other creatures could be seen scattered through out. The notes were less conclusive, and there were none of the rough work left in the book until you came to the last page.

On the last page was a charcoaled in figure standing in armor, and carrying a spear. More attention had been given to the spear than any other of the rough sketches had received, and there was a separate sheet of paper included about how it had seemed to drip dark magic.

[Morrigan Reid]

Morrigan followed the green haired man to his camp. There was only one tent, obvious enough as the man appeared to be alone, but it was well put together all the same. Seemed to have enough to suit one's basic needs. Morrigan sat across from the man, her eyes quickly focusing on a large and worn book that he brought out. It really looked as though it had been through quite a bit.

Aaron warned her not to look if she was faint of heart...to which Morrigan couldn't help but giggle a bit. It was a bit late to give such a warning, literally as he passed the notebook onto her, not to mention the fact that Morrigan considered herself many things: but among the faint of heart she most certainly did not. He went on to explain that it was a collection of sketches and notes on various monsters. Morrigan flipped through them, her eyes widening at the graphic and grotesque details within.

"...I won't lie, I was expecting sights more...comical. Fantastical and fictitious. Not quite so morbid" Morrigan stated as she continued to flip through the book. She felt no fear, gazing upon the sketches of such beings. Instead she felt a sort of rude awakening. This really was no jest. No made up tales to make sure children went to bed early and did not wander at night. The notes took the sketches very seriously, with details that would be difficult to fabricate. "This is...where did they come from? WHAT are they?" The sorceress didn't even know where to begin asking questions. All of this was foreign to her.

When she was finished with the notebook she offered it back to Aaron, awaiting some sort of answer.

[Aaron Winsett]

Aaron remained quiet as she flipped through the book. He'd finished stacking the firewood, and paused as he set the last log down, willing the fuel to ignite from the bottom up through the middle. It was a simple exercise, but he still performed it quickly and precisely. Next he reached out to the ice and chill elements around and above them in the sky, dragging them down, and conjuring water about half filled in the pot as he set it on the fire.

He took the book back as she handed it to him.

"No longer a doubter, I see." He spoke up, observing how she took the realization. Anyone that dealt with these creatures reached a similar point of dealing with how foreign, alien, and monsterous it all seemed. Better that she do so among the peace of a camp than on the road and surrounded by the beasts. His face was a little passive as he spoke, but not from boredom. Instead, it was the face of someone unsure of the answers. Someone hunting for a dark and scary conclusion.

He held his right arm out, and started rolling back the sleeve on it as if to show something. On his forearm was a set of small puncture marks, as though a beast of some sort had locked onto it long ago. Around it, little spots from the burning spittle of the monster could be seen burned onto his skin. The marks were small and very faint, compared to what you'd possibly expect from the drawings.

"That's a memento from my first encounter with a doomwolf pack. I was traveling back from Ostia, to Laus with a band of travelers when we were pursued into a natural cave where we holed up. I was lucky, and had help. That was treated immediately after the fight with a vulnerary salve." It had dulled the pain, and helped with healing, but had failed to completely fix the surface of the injury.

"Some accounts say that the beasts are merely animals driven mad by dark magic. Others are far worse." He gritted his teeth as he said this, and looked away. "The City of Heroes in Sacae came under attack by these several months ago. As to where they came from...."

That was something that he'd been searching for the answer to for a long while. "I think every mage in Lycia has asked themselves that at some point. Ostia region is the earliest of sightings that I can confirm, but I've heard rumors of sightings on the Plains even earlier."

He let his sleeve roll back down and gave her an appraising look for a moment. "I'm surprised that you haven't heard of these things before. If you don't mind sharing, I'm curious where you've come from, and what brought you out here."

[Morrigan Reid]

As Morrigan waited for Aaron to take his book back she noticed his liberal use of anima. Nothing too spectacular, though there was something different about how he was using it. It was less...harmonious than how she was taught anima, like he was taking from the elements as opposed to inserting himself into nature's flow. That said he only really did simple tasks with his anima, yet the switch from fire to water was rather swift and seemed far too easy for him. He must be an advanced practitioner of anima, then.

"I'm choosing to believe this is real as opposed to believing that you are insane." Morrigan stated simply. The details were too plentiful and horrifying. If he truly fabricated all of this then something would have to be wrong with him. In fact he even went so far as to show her a rather strange bite mark. He was lucky his arm was in as good a shape as it was, if one of those beasts were what caused the wound, which he even went to confirm both of these things. "That sounds...frightening, truly. You were indeed lucky to come away from that experience as intact as you are."

He went to share some ideas as to how the beasts came to be, but yet there was a disappointing lack of true information on that front. He mentioned a few cities she knew little about. Ostia, she'd heard, suffered some horrible tragedy in recent years but was once the capital of Lycia. The City of Heroes, though, was entirely foreign to her. As such Morrigan simply nodded along, but didn't necessarily comment. She committed the information to memory, yes, but she had little to say about it.

Then, of course, Aaron put two and two together and figured that Morrigan wasn't from around the area. Obviously her complete and total ignorance towards these monsters was proof enough to that fact. Morrigan wasn't quite sure why she hesitated in answering his question. Force of habit, she supposed, as for so long the location of the Convent was to be kept as great a secret as possible. If Morrigan had her way the future would be quite different.

"Er, yes. I'm not from Lycia or the Elibean mainland at all." Morrigan crossed her legs as she began, thinking exactly how to explain this to the man. "I come from a small community from deep in the forests and mountains of the Western Isles. We simply called it the Convent, I know no other name for it. It's a...you would describe it as a tribal community, no doubt, that is...um..." She paused, continuing to figure out the best way to explain this simply. "...dedicated to furthering the study of all magic, but for the vast majority of it's existence it has prided itself on remaining secretive, allowing no visitors or outsiders within it's territory."

[Aaron Winsett]

"Hah! Thanks for that." He quipped with a quick laugh, pushing the pot up closer to the fire. He balanced it carefully, trying to be sure that it wouldn't slip and fall, spilling everywhere. OF course, he could simply heat the water to a boil near instantaneously by lacing it with a "fire strand" but there was something satisfying about doing it the old fashioned way. Maybe he just didn't want to lose his appreciation for what magic could let him accomplish.

"Yes.... I had some friends in the cave we took shelter in. They helped. We weren't the only band to flee to it though." He remembered that night, and how people had seemed to come from all sides to hide and shelter from the storms and the howling. It had been a wild night.

As Morrigan began explaining where she'd come from and what her home was like, the green haired sage payed close attention, fixing her with an attentive eye. He kept half an eye on the fire and the water but hearing about this "Convent" was dominating most of his attention. He nodded as she told him she was from the isles, and he made the connection with her garb.

"So that's where the furs and feathers come from. I've heard that wealthy hunters in the isles can sell their wares and come back loaded with gold from the mainland." He smiled. There were plenty of rich Lycians that loved such things, and paid a premium for them.Many of their things looked grand and even ostentatious. Her clothing looked like how he imagined something directly from the Western Isles would look, though he had no personal experience.

"The Convent, Hmm? I can't say I've ever heard of it. A tribal community of magic of scholars?" He shook his head briefly. "I'm trying to... imagine what that would look like. Do you mean like a church of Elimine? But dedicated to magic?"

[Morrigan Reid]

"Er, yes, though of course I'm no hunter." Morrigan answered with a small smile. Aaron seemed to make the connection that she hailed from the Isles quickly, not that he really needed to anyway. "Many back home wear similar clothing. Depends on personal style, for the most part." It also depended on whether they were a mage or just an ordinary member of the Convent, though Morrigan decided to leave that part out. She really had no idea where to begin explaining what the Convent was to him.

Aaron was trying to figure it out for himself, or at least obtain some sort of image as a starting point. However..."Like a Church? No, nothing like that. I'd almost describe more as some sort of tribal academic society." Morrigan chuckled a bit at her own description. "Magic wasn't worshipped, just heavily studied. The more skilled you were the higher you could rise in terms of rankings, and the more pull and say you had in the Council."

"The Council was more or less responsible for the vast majority of decisions that went on in the Convent, though for the most part the Convent is rather...stagnant, so there is very little change. Beyond acting as glorified talent scouts and maintaining the Convent's secrets they do little on the political end of things." At first such a statement was just a theory of Morrigan's, but now of course she could say it honestly, being a member of the Council herself. Aaron didn't need to know that at the moment, however. It just didn't seem relevant.

"Having said that, though...they are the most powerful mages in the Convent. Even if they do not do much at the moment they are quite wise. They often have pupils they are raising up as potential successors." Morrigan shifted her seating position a bit before giving Aaron a small smile. "I'm...sorry, I rambled on a bit there, didn't I?"

[Aaron Winsett]

"Aha..." So that was the dress of where she came from? He laughed a little, the image of his grandfather and the fellow staff members at the academy dressed in furs and feathers and sporting beaded braids and sweeping dramatic robes. He wondered what the Lycian folk who went their to learn trades would think if the mages in Barek's Academy dressed as such. He turned back to her though, and put thoughts of that place away for the present.

"Ha, well it suits you very well." It was meant as a simple and genuine compliment, and he wore a frank smile on his face as he said it.

Her references to the Convent only intrigued him more and more. He wasn't exactly certain what she meant by tribal.... Cloistered seemed a given from what he'd heard so far, and it was becoming apparent that it was some type of magocracy. The Council ruled and maintained their Convent while directing others who studied under them and overseeing their findings? Yes. That seemed to be what she was describing. It was a wonder that such governments weren't more common among the nations of Elibe, but it was Etruria's people that had reached the farthest in such directions. The other nobilities seemed to have a healthy balance, or even favor more martial exploits.

"No. That was helpful. I have, at the least, an idea of how your people must operate now. Something seems to have prompted your people to look without their walls though, or else you wouldn't be here." He prompted. This occurrence was a big deal to Aaron. The discovery of a people devoted to the studies of magic? There were scholars from many places that came together to study, but what secrets might be hidden in this hidden house of knowledge. Her own tale sounded as far fetched as his stories of monsters in some ways, but he'd seen her skill briefly in how she'd handled her magic earlier. That lent some support to her story. And he knew that the Western Isles were geographically some of the most removed and secluded places in Elibe and its islands.

"I have so many questions...." Aaron mused aloud, as if to himself. "Perhaps it's best if I respect the privacy of a people who wish to remain hidden though."

[Morrigan Reid]

Aaron let out a small laugh, and at first Morrigan thought he was mocking her in some way. However he followed it up with a simple yet genuine compliment, regarding how her apparel suited her. Morrigan gave a small smile and a polite nod in reply. "Thank you."

Evidently Aaron hadn't minded her rambling, which did give her some small relief. Perhaps he was like herself? Eager to listen to the stories others had to share. Evidently he picked up on the fact that there had been SOME change to the Convent's old traditions and systems, simply based on her presence in mainland Elibe. Twas true. "Something, yes. I'm here for more than a couple of reasons, actually..."

Before she continued on, she picked up on the fact that Aaron had further questions for her, yet he wished to refrain from asking in order to respect the Convent's privacy. While Morrigan was thankful for that, she knew then and there that she needed to be open about the Convent with this man. He seemed genuinely interested, and of some noble character. "No. The Convent's greatest issue is that we've been isolated and secretive for far, far too long. Perhaps it may be what many members want, but it is not what they need."

Laying that statement out, Morrigan straightened her posture to take on a more professional demeanor. Whether Aaron knew it or not, he spoke to a council member of the Convent. One of two representatives of Elder Magic. Even if that meant nothing to him, and nothing to this land, she still wished to carry herself with some degree of professionalism. "So please, ask whatever you wish. I will answer to the best of my ability."