Open | November Catch-all & Dream

[pactmarshal]

Who: Trahearne and you!
Which: Open log
Where: Out and about in town all throughout the month, mostly the archives
What: Catch-all for the month! Dreamboard quests in Reverein and reliving the earlier years of his life in a dream
Warnings: The disfigured undead (zombies), ghost peppers, others to be added if they come up

> REVEREIN | LIVE LIFE WELL AND FULLY, AND WASTE NOTHING.

❋ harvest.
[ As much of a bookworm Trahearne is, he does understand that he needs to go outside every once in a while. And what better way to be outside than to make himself useful at the same time?

And so, the sylvari decides to help out with the harvest one sunny afternoon, burying himself among the thick leaves of the ripened harvest to really get in there and get all the goodies out. Nothing like some hard physical work to refresh the mind, right?

Unfortunately, however, the natural colors of his "clothes" and skin blend in quite handily with the rest of the foliage, especially at this time of year. When he feels a firm grab on the leaves that make up his skirt, he shoots upright and whirls around to look at you, bewilderment written all over his face. ]

--Oh! That's--that's me.

❋ photographs.
What a curious contraption.

[ Trahearne will not say no to something novel and interesting. After being handed the dreamotion camera, he turns it over in his hands, studying it. Questions about how it could have been created, how it works roll around in his mind, but he quickly scolds himself--what point is a test if he doesn't actually experiment with it?

He turns to the person nearest himself--that's you--and holds it up with a smile. ]

Let me take a picture of you.

❋ archives.
[ As the one who runs the archives, Trahearne is there all the time. Every day. By the time the sun rises and long after it sets. He rarely takes full days off; it's rare to find him elsewhere. Sometimes, he even brings his cat with him.

And so, if you have any sort of business at the archives, he's there, ready to help. He knows every book on every shelf, and at a healthy six-foot-two he can reach the top shelves. He's happy to tutor anyone who needs assistance putting together an entry. He's happy to talk about work, either in this life or the last. He's just happy to be here, to be honest. ]

❋ wildcard.
[ Feel free to make something else up, or find me on the discord or at unkie for a personalized starter! ]

> DREAM | THE SCHOLAR DREAMT OF A LAND RECLAIMED FROM THE DRAGON'S TOUCH.
[ In his Dream before life, Trahearne saw the dead Kingdom of Orr, a land that had been dragged out of the sea by the undead dragon Zhaitan, green and growing again. Upon awakening, he knew this was his life's mission: to purify Zhaitan's corruption and bring life back to Orr. His goal is impossible. Laughable, even. Yet the call of a Wyld Hunt is irresistible, so as much as he hates it, he spends weeks, months in the dead land alone, scrambling for any lead that might bring him closer to his goal.

He will eventually cleanse this land. He will eventually lead the forces that will fell Zhaitan, but not in this dream. Right now, that is many, many years away.

The land is devoid of life, cramped by unnaturally-shaped terrain, ruins of buildings that are mere shadows of their former grandeur. Oversized barnacles and dead coral from centuries under the ocean cling to the crumbling structures, towering over the soggy ground like otherworldly trees. Unnatrual shrieks occasionally pierce the silence, perhaps seabirds that strayed too close to the corruption. It stinks of brine, of rot and decay. The clouds above take on a sickly green hue, a reflection of the putrescence that permeates the land below. And dotting the landscape, all around, are graying, decaying corpses shambling about, looking for victims to which to spread their corruption.

This is Trahearne's life. ]

❋ research.
[ Orr sat at the bottom of the ocean for nearly two centuries--any original writing that may have existed on the island decayed or was destroyed a long, long time ago. It is exceedingly rare to find any in-tact inscriptions, much less legible ones.

So when Trahearne clambers this tower and finds what looks to be a massive stone tablet partially buried in rubble and debris, he can hardly contain his excitement. The first line peeks out from the dirt--"Darkness pays Orr a visit." Is it a poem? Epitaph? A warning of sorts? He has to know.

Except the tablet is nearly twice his size, almost five times his weight, and the rubble that obscures the rest of the inscription is cumbersome--it might even be supporting the rest of the structure at this point. Regardless, he's going to try and pull it free, whether it's a wise idea or not. ]

❋ cornered.
[ Despite how careful he tries to be, Trahearne isn't perfect, and the Risen are very good at popping up where he doesn't want them to be. He's ventured into one ruined structure, keen to map it out and determine what possible use it must have served, but the problem with grand buildings of this scale having been hidden underwater for centuries means the inside is essentially a subterranean maze, interrupted in places by tunnels filled with putrid water and rotting plant matter.

Trahearne should know better than this, and curiosity is coming dangerously close to killing the sylvari. He stands with his back against the wall in this little pocket of air, the only passages in or out are filled with water. Risen stagger out from the water, clawing at the ground to try and tear Trahearne apart. ]

S-stay back! [ He brandishes his scepter, though he knows it isn't much of a threat. His own necromantic minions stand before him to guard him. ] You will rue the day you crossed my path!

[ Despite what he says, the fear is evident in his eyes. The Risen are everywhere, and there are so many of them. If only he weren't alone... ]

❋ respite.
[ Nighttime in Orr is dark. With no real settlements for miles in any direction, the veil of night that falls over the island is thick, impermeable. The only dot of light is the small fire Trahearne has going--he's perched himself atop a crumbling stone structure, just large enough for two people to sit side by side. Not that anyone will come to join him, of course. He's alone in Orr, as he has always been, and he sits with his knees to his chest, as though trying to shrink himself from the Risen's view.

There is a little pot bubbling over the fire. Cooking inside are asparagus, truffles, and ghost peppers--what he always eats. It's all that really grows around here. The oysters and fish are nowhere near safe enough to be consumed.

Absently, Trahearne reaches into his pack and takes a bite out of one of his ghost peppers. He doesn't even flinch. ]

Comments

[pactmarshal]

[ Trahearne can't help but smile in turn. So long as others are being kind to him, and that he's finding joy in life (?) here, then he has nothing to complain about. ]

I'm glad. I hope we will have more fun together in the future.

[ But even after he writes that, and turns his attention back to the boy, he can't help but say out loud: ]

Things could not have been easy for you.

[ Trahearne never had the experience of learning to communicate from scratch, after all. ]

[zomboii]

[ "Me too." He wants to keep having lots of fun with the people he cares about. He wants to spend lots and lots of time with them! Being alone sometimes is fine, but he's always much happier around the people he cares about.

He sees Trahearne's lips move, but doesn't understand. He tilts his head with a blink and prints:

"Repeat please?"

He hopes it's something to do with stories. He wants to ask Trahearne for more. ]

[pactmarshal]

[ Oops. Sometimes, Trahearne voices thoughts that are better left unsaid. Even if the boy can't understand him--can't hear him--he can still see him speaking. He doesn't want his pity, perhaps unwarranted pity, to come across in a manner too obvious.

After the briefest moment of thought, he writes down a more positive reinterpretation of that thought: ]

I'm glad you have people here to help you grow and live a fruitful life. You deserve that much.

[zomboii]

[ Fruit...ful? Full? Full of fruit?? Why would Trahearne want him to be full of... Blegh. This is just like Shigeru telling him he needs to eat more vegetables, isn't it? He appreciates the concern--very much he does--but it doesn't stop the dismayed expression from taking over his face as he sticks out his tongue a little.

"Thank-you. I have lots good people but no like fruit please. No eat."

he loves u trahearne...but he doesn't want to eat an apple 4 u. ]

[pactmarshal]

[ Trahearne studies the writing for a moment, briefly taken by surprise by what he thinks is a non-sequitur. But when it dawns on him, he can't help but give a little laugh. ]

Fruitful = productive, busy, fulfilling.

Why don't you like fruit?

[ In all honesty, he isn't sure if the undead really need the nutrients that come from fruit... In which case, is it his business to make him eat fruit. Probably not. ]

[zomboii]

[ ...What, if it means all those things, then why on earth does it have 'fruit' in it? Written language is so weird. Signs make way more sense.

"Fruit taste bad. Like meat but no eat meat now. Animal friend."

Aether was the one who clued him onto the fact that domesticated animals like cows make for easy prey because they consider people 'friends'--an over-simplification of the idea, but one he's taken to heart. ]

[pactmarshal]

[ There is a genuine etymological reason for this but Trahearne can teach him another time. He understands the confusion.

And here's another one. His eyes narrow as he reads this. Who told him that?? ]

You're allowed to eat meat if you like it. Some animals are friends. Some animals are for eating. But be sure to ask the owner first.

[ If all else fails, he can just go to a restaurant and get meat there. ]

[zomboii]

[ That...what??? ¿Que? Unnamed stares at Trahearne, visibly confused.

"All animal friend?" Isn't that how it works...? Animals that are used to humans or don't run away are friends. ...Right? ]

[pactmarshal]

[ Trahearne returns the boy's confused stare with a sympathetic, somewhat tense one of his own.

Oh dear. Before he writes, he reaches out to pat him on the shoulder, as though trying to soothe him. ]

All life is precious, but that includes you. If you need to eat meat to survive and be healthy, then it's okay to eat animals.

Some animals are precious friends to people. Don't eat those.

Some animals are raised to feed people. Ask the owners before you eat them.

Some animals are wild. If you are in the forest and are hungry, it's okay to eat them.

But some animals want to eat you. These are not friends. Fight back, or get help.

[ Does that break it down? It's a bit on the simple side, but hopefully his message gets across.

He also does not want the boy to get attacked by a hungry bear if he ventures out into the woods. ]

[zomboii]

[ There are some words in that he hasn't learned the meaning of yet--precious, include, survive. Others, he knows well: healthy, friends, wild. It's not easy to piece everything together into one coherent whole, but he does his best and takes several minutes to read it. He even sign-spells out some of the words, trying out signs to test them and see if it matches a word in his memory. It's obvious he's working hard to understand in the same way someone learning to read would try to sound out a word. ]

Ouhh...uh, auh. Auh?

[ Unnamed sends a look Trahearne's way points to his journal, careful as he prints words onto the paper.

"Some animals eat OK? Some animals eat not OK? Some animals eat me?"

Ironically, he has run into a hungry bear in the woods. It wasn't there for him--animals tend to avoid him--but it had still been a bit frightening because Azula doused the area with FIRE, THANKS ]

[pactmarshal]

[ In all his patience, Trahearne lets the boy process what he's written--he knows it's a lot to take in at once. But it's best they go over this now before he runs into danger in the woods and no one is there to help him. ]

To all: Yes.

If you're not sure which is which, ask someone you trust. They will help you.

[ But not whoever said all animals are friends. ]

[zomboii]

[ jshdg poor Aether....

"Cows? I know no eat dragon. Spicy friend!" ...He means the noodle dragons who can add flavours to soup. Hopefully Trahearne understands.

On the other hand, he might as well start making a list of animals he shouldn't eat now. ]

[pactmarshal]

[ Dragons shouldn't be eaten anyway, the noodle ones or not. Trahearne does visibly stiffen at the thought of eating one, but it quickly passes as he moves to write. ]

Do not eat dragons. [ They are most definitely not friends but he doesn't have to go into that now. ]

Cows are livestock.

Livestock = animals farmers keep for food. People eat these cows, but only if the farmer says it's OK.

Sheep, chicken, pigs are also livestock.

[zomboii]

[ This is just blowing his mind. You can raise animals...just for food?? That's okay? But what about the animals who trust humans and consider them friends...?? How do you tell the difference between those? What if your 'livestock' starts to like you?? ]

Uuuuuu....

[ "What livestock like you? Still eat? OK I eat livestock?" ]

[pactmarshal]

[ Well. That's certainly a difficult question.

Trahearne isn't sure how to answer that at first. He reaches up to scratch at his ear to buy himself time and think. ]

Some people keep cows, sheep, chicken, and other livestock as pets.

You should always ask the owner first, Nanashi. It's complicated, and I don't always know the answer.

[zomboii]

[ What a convenient list of animals. He perks up right away and holds his journal up over his head-- ]

Auh!

[ "COW I know cow! Make milk. Help nose mucus!"

...Which isn't quiiite correct. He doesn't know that spicy food = runny nose, and milk helps the burning sensation on the tongue. But it's the trip to the store to get milk with Aether that started this whole 'all animals are friends' thing. SO.

[pactmarshal]

[ What an enthusiastic reaction! Trahearne chuckles a little. ]

That's right.

[ He can't contribute on the mucus front, since sylvari don't get runny noses. ]

Do you understand better now?

[zomboii]

[ "Little understand. Lot think about. Still learn read not know some words." he can be upfront about that; that they can have a conversation at all is already a marked improvement.

"I ask question again? Later?" He looks up at Trahearne, hopeful. ]

[pactmarshal]

I know. But of course, you can always ask me questions. I will do my best to answer them.

[ The prospect that the boy can now message him over the journals...actually brings him a joy he doesn't know how to understand. He's not getting misty-eyed or anything. ]

But first, let's take these vegetables to the farmer.

[ Trahearne lets the boy read the message, quickly puts his journal away, and begins collecting all of the things they've harvested so far. There's so much! ]

[zomboii]

[ Nope, definitely not. not an emotional moment at all!! (for Trahearne); reminded of his original task, Unnamed has the good sense to look surprised--he 100% forgot about that when he grabbed mom's grass skirt. ]

O--ouh!

[ He nods and picks up the eggplants and beanstalks he'd had previously (actual stalks, he just grabbed the vines and tugged them off) and fills his arms. It will probably take them a few trips to get it all ]

[pactmarshal]

[ They'll take as many trips as they need to!

Trahearne scoops up a bunch of the turnips and potatoes he'd collected and gets to his feet. With a smile and a nod of his head, he motions towards the farmhouse and sets off. ]

Let's go. Be sure not to trip.