Enlightenment {Solo(?)}

[Shara Tiinedra]

There was likely near constant debate on the nation of Etruria throughout all of Elibe. From what little details Shara had discovered, she determined that this debate, primarily, was primitive and one-sided. So not so much a debate as a sort of comedic roasting. Lycians detested Etruria and Etrurians, in general for both parties. Shara had steered clear of Bern since their rebellion ended, rebuilding and restoration was far less interesting than the chaos of warfare, but she imagined they didn't care much for Etruria either, but the rage wouldn't be as fierce as Lycia.

Sacae and Ilia, from her understanding, felt the same way.

Even some ETRURIANS felt that way.

The nation had become the oppressive bully of the continent. Disliked by most, but Etruria's leader was too powerful to depose.

But that was beside the point. Really Shara...no, she didn't care about any of that. Even if Etruria was an ugly nation in terms of it's policies, actions, and beliefs as a whole, the architecture that stood proudly throughout the great city of Aquleia was just remarkable. The city was as beautiful as Shara imagined it to be, and she walked around with the faintest of smiles on her face as she took in the gorgeous buildings. Many of them, particularly the ones in the section of the city she was headed towards, were very old as well. However they were maintained excellently.

The people were well-dressed in the main areas of the city, mostly nobles of various status, and so she was able to take in the fashion of Etrurian nobility as well. Shara, herself, had brought out one of her finest dresses for the occasion. She did not wish to appear the vagabond she technically was, and her appearance even earned her a few blatant looks from the populace. Of course she did not bother to actually acknowledge them, but as she was expecting them she still took note.

She felt happy to finally have arrived at her main destination. It was here that one of the greatest archives in Etruria was present for all to read, and it was not long before she arrived at the archive itself.

Shara entered the large building, gazing up to admire it's high ceiling. There were paintings on the interior...Eliminean paintings. Of course. Even in in archive that was to be expected. It was Etruria's capitol, after all. No doubt their largest church was nearby as well, but Shara had little interest in it. From her understanding the Eliminean religion was essentially pointless. It provided very little for the people save a poor excuse to blindly follow the word of one man, and the way people went about in it's worship was...

Hold on. Shara had walked over to one of the book cases and seemed a bit shocked. There were books, yes, there certainly were. Texts and tomes as far as the eye could see. Yet they did not FILL the bookcase. It was a rather large case or shelf, tall and broad for sure, so while there were still plenty of books there was not nearly the number Shara would have liked.

...Disappointing. Why was that so?

[Shara Tiinedra]

Nonetheless Shara eventually did take a book from the still relatively large selection, one that she hadn't read before. “A History of Etruria” it was titled. Likely not the most exciting read coming her way, but what better text to serve as the opener to what was likely going to be a weeks long reading session in Etruria's capital than, indeed, a history of the nation itself.

However Shara was still displeased. She hadn't taken a full look at the archive's selection, but comparing it's size to, say, an archive in Laus, there was about the same quantity of books and texts. How many of them would be pointless stories? Fairy tales? Mythology was relevant to an extent but there was little point in focusing on what, very likely, did not exist. Shara wanted facts over fiction. Not that she didn't enjoy the latter, just...

The dragoness sighed, the only real way she could vent her displeasure, as she sat down at a table off to the far side of the archive. She gazed at the cover of her chosen text, shooting one last longing look at the rest of the book shelves, and finally resigned herself and took the cover between the tip of her index finger and thum, ready to begin.

“From what I've heard, the archive used to have a larger selection, not all that long ago.”

Shara paused and looked up. At a table just a few spaces in front of her own was a dark haired woman dressed in a plain brown cloak. Her violet eyes met the dragoness', and they widened when Shara blinked in confusion. “Oh, my apologies. You just looked so...”

“Disappointed?” Shara replied, quirking a brow in amusement. She had just been caught off guard by being spoken too so suddenly. For all the glances she'd received walking through Aquleia very few had actually bothered to speak to her. Didn't help that the woman's voice was so soft...then again it was a library.

“Yes. I felt the same way when I first arrived.” The raven-haired woman went on. Shara focused on her a bit more. Beauty mark on the lower end of her left cheek...actually, taking a closer glance, the woman was quite stunning. Shara's beauty was technically not natural, and while the woman looked to take good care of herself hygenically and cosmetically, she was still beautiful enough to stand out. It almost made Shara a bit jealous, but that would be a pointless emotion to hold onto.

She looked to be about halfway through a book of her own, even had what looked to be a raven feather to use as a book marker. Speaking of feathers...the woman's cloak was partially open. Shara could see some raven feathers just barely poking through. Interesting, at least mildly.

“Do you have any idea why that is the case?”

“Well...” The black haired woman paused, setting the aforementioned feather between her pages. She glanced around in a humorous manner. Humorous because while the woman clearly thought her glances were inconspicuous, they made her look more suspicious and obvious than if she hadn't bothered. Beyond her good looks she was unlikely to draw much attention for the other visitors in the archive.

She stood up from her seat and moved over to Shara's table, pulling out the chair and sitting across from her. “Well, you know about...Etruria, yes?”

...Ah, already Shara knew where this conversation would be going.