Misunderstandings And Breakthroughs

Misunderstandings And Breakthroughs
Date of Scene:	16 April 2013
Location:	Palamecia Castle
Synopsis:	Emperor Mateus and Rena Laradyne have a conversation that begins harshly and ends on a much more positive note.
Cast of Characters:	Emperor Mateus, Rena Laradyne

---

Emperor Mateus has posed:
Word of Carwen’s successful defense has been circulating through Palamecia, the national pride rising high as a result. Lands away from the Northern Continent, and other worlds away from this World of Ruin itself, have called into question whether this was orchestrated by the dark nation to the northwest. Carwen itself has remained outwardly silent on the matter, but has sent a private message thanking the nation for the assistance and offering condolences for the losses incurred.

Emperor Mateus has been kept busy with matters and responsibilities that come with the title. Forces to rearrange, training to be mandated, morale to raise... In the face of all that, why should he be concerned with those who peer too deeply for their own good? He had ordered a platoon to Carwen out of mutual interest, certainly no different than Archades protecting Fluorgis months before. And yet, because his country is known to be so close to Darkness, Palamecia is viewed with suspicion and hostility while Archades is largely forgotten.

How so very quaint.

Emperor Mateus strides through the halls, issuing orders to aides and nobles as he absently weaves a faintly-glowing orb in his hand. He is not in his suit-and-tie, nor is he in his emperor robes. Instead, he is in his purple-and-gold armor, his horned crown almost hidden in his mane of golden hair. Only when all have left him with his commands does he pause for a moment, shifting his weight onto one leg and rubbing his chin with one hand, his other arm folding over his chest to rest in the crook of his upraised arm.

Rena Laradyne has posed:
Being a guest means a lot of things. A partial freedom and partial restraint. A place to stay and yet no place to fit. A place to watch but also a place to be seen. Rena did not spend the long hours in the guest chambers of the labyrinthine castle. She roamed the corridors at first, making notes on places on a small notebook she had bought in Traverse Town and never within the sight of anyone, servant, knight or otherwise.

She secured permission to borrow a horse from the stables and had vanished into the surrounding wilderness. She returned only this morning, clothing mottled with dirt and dried blood. Once she had attended to herself (she never let her armor or her weapons leave her room when she was not wearing them) and enjoyed a languorous bath and reclothed in a simple skirt and shift with a short jacket over her shoulders, she went stalking a different prey.

A word or two here. Wait. A polite question of directions. Wait. Linger over something mildly disappointing in a omelette with cheese and unidentifiable meat. And now.. trailing. Listening to the sounds of commands in the echoing vaults of the corridors, and eventually the aides and nobles and assorted lampreys detach themselves. "..ah. I thought I would have to get a sword to slice in a word edgewise. Do you have time for a question?"

Emperor Mateus has posed:
Emperor Mateus turns his head slowly, apparently not surprised at Rena’s presence. “Ah, Lady Rena. I was about to wonder who has been ghosting my path.” He turns to face her completely and bows deeply at the waist. “By all means, though I must request that we talk as we walk. I can’t linger in the halls for much longer,” a long-suffering look crosses his face, “else someone else may find further busywork that I would need to delegate elsewhere.”

He motions for Rena to join him at his side before turning a corner and progressing at a leisurely walk. “Does something trouble you, mi’lady?”

Rena Laradyne has posed:
"Oh of course." she takes the chance to catch up, dropping the hand trailing across the stones in her haste. She slows back down to match paces as they turn a corner. "A legion of quillmen would likely descend in short order." she gives a small and chagrined smile.

"I regret that I've seen only a little of the surrounding countryside,  but I saw something curious on may way through the mountains. A great stone building a little the worse the wear for the ages. It reminded me very much of a coliseum, although somewhat grander in scope than the one built in Traverse Town." she begins to trail her fingers again across the stones.

"Is this building part of Palamecia and still in function? I did not see anyone on my first approach, but I did not see it as up close as I would have liked."

Emperor Mateus has posed:
Emperor Mateus’ eyes light up in recognition. “Ahh, yes, I know of what you speak. ‘Tis a Coliseum once used for sport on my world, but for now used to store the beasts and monsters that supplant my forces. I would advise against entering freely, however. My soldiers are under strict rules to not let the unwary past, as the monsters within are often not adequately trained.”

He nods slowly. “I do have plans to restore it in time, but with greater matters beyond,” he waves off to the side with a flair indicating the outside world(s), “it has been largely ignored. It is a location older than my predecessors twice removed. It shall keep for a time yet.”

He folds his hands behind his back, a loose clasping of one hand within another. “The Dark Knight tells me you have taken a keen interest in him. I am curious as to your honest thoughts of my best soldier.”

Rena Laradyne has posed:
Rena keeps her steps measured and short, tilting her head slightly as she looks over and down at him. " Words I have in easy and cheap supply, emperor." the smile on her face grows slightly but remains thin lipped. " It's the honest part that costs. That's why honest steel serves better but cleaves deeper into the wallet." she chuckles very faintly.

"Honest words cost even more dearly, and honest thoughts?" she snorts very softly. "I don't believe you can afford. I would like to visit the coliseum at some point, if you'll grant me such a pass. I'm curious as to who has neglected the creatures so, when they should prosper in such a rich environment." She pauses then adds in a light hearted and flippant manner.

"As to your commander. His title caught my attention and I later found him very intriguing, although NOT, sadly, a sparkling conversationalist. A pity, he is rather attractive for a man without a name."

Emperor Mateus has posed:
Emperor Mateus arcs a thin eyebrow at Rena at her wordplay. It has been some time since anyone has even considered such a thing, to dare to match wits. But he only thinly smiles and the edges of his eyes crinkle accordingly, though no warmth reaches his eyes. “My dear, there is always a reason to my decisions.”

He sweeps his arms to the sides in an overly elaborate shrug. “If you wish for a behemoth to lay waste to my home in his fury, for coeurls to level the peaks that protect us with their magic, for beasts unchecked to wander to Guadosalam and the Giza Plains and undo my hard work, then feel free to advocate their freedom all you wish. But I request in return that you do not make such assumptions such as that I have abandoned them, as I have a full company of beast-trainers tending to their every need night and day. They are even free to roam the abandoned grounds within the walls and exercise their strength, no different than... I believe the facility is called a ‘zoo’, in other worlds.”

He nods his head to the side, eyebrows raising as his eyes close for that moment. “With that said, if you would rather see for yourself than to believe my word, I will give you the required pass without hesitation.”

He pauses for a moment, his attention keying on something she says about her generalized observation of the Dark Knight. He had noted her annoyance at the lack of true introduction upon their first meeting, and apparently the lack of a name bothers her still. “A man without a name. This bothers you?”

Rena Laradyne has posed:
“Well then." Rena adds with a minorly reproduced shrug of her own. "Please don't make assumptions as to my intentions to free them." Rena blandly returns with a smile. "I am simply stating by your own words that you find them inadequate in some way, despite their virtues. Otherwise you would not kindly turn the unwary away from their place of training. You can either rush to their defense or rally against them, emperor. To do both leaves you somewhat exposed, conversationally speaking." she pauses, then continues.

"Thank you for the gracious gift of your missive, however. It will give me a chance to see for myself that you are correct and I will then have an opportunity to apologize for my error." She tucks a curl of red hair back behind one ear. "I am curious. When and why did you decide to put aside the mantle and wander the worlds as a performer? It seems hard to imagine, considering everything that I have seen here."

Emperor Mateus has posed:
Emperor Mateus stops, his expression unchanging from that warmthless smile yet his gaze chills noticeably for the instant he squarely meets her gaze. This child’s impudence would be her undoing, twisting meanings and words beyond the context it was given, seeking a fight in peaceful conversation. It is... a disappointment.

“So be it.” He turns his gaze away as he resumes walking, dropping the matter for now.

Instead, he continues to her question. “I realized early on, upon waking here in the World of Ruin, that I cannot move freely as myself--Emperor Mateus of Palamecia. The power of my station, the reputation of my country, my own abilities only being a few. ” He spins his almost-forgotten orb on one finger, like an athlete would a basketball, staring distractedly into its depths. “To walk as Matthew, a mere performer, to see the people of so many lands and the lives they lead... why would I pass such a golden opportunity to learn?”

His gaze, though far less cold than earlier, focuses up at her once more. “However, my dear,” his head cants downwards without breaking eye-contact, “you did not answer my question.”

Rena Laradyne has posed:
Rena does not smile this time, gazes locked and unflinching. She bows her head slightly, but it is not in apology. She is merely withholding what she would otherwise say, as if on evaluation, it was no longer worth saying to him. When he drops the subject, she merely follows and listens.

"Well. I am glad you took such an opportunity." the smile returns to her face and it looks more genuine than before. "It brought me your gift, and the grace of your home for which I thank you. As to before.. words mean things. My culture is one of words and names and memory." she makes a waiving off gesture. "It is very unusual not to have a name and so the subject of many stories. As such, that caught my attention because it was familiar. As very few things are."

Emperor Mateus has posed:
Emperor Mateus chuckles softly, his demeanor softening slightly but still walking with the air expected of royalty. “I am pleased to hear such praise from you, Lady Rena.”

He cants his head to the side still further, looking all the world like a curious cat watching a most intriguing target. Whatever had determined the icy tit-for-tat verbal exchange just moments ago is but a distant memory now. “I believe I begin to understand.”

He steeples his fingers in front of his mouth, the orb framed on all sides as if within a pyramid, a thoughtfully distant expression on his face. He taps his fingers against his lips once, twice... and then looks up at Rena once more. “Would you like to hear the story of the one called Dark Knight?”

Rena Laradyne has posed:
Rena raises an eyebrow slightly at that and her shoulders relax minutely. Her expression closes down into something more like a listening calm as she twists her lips to one side and then soberly nods. "Yes." she admits quietly. "I would very much like to hear the tale."

She stretches out her hands, bending the fingers back to stretch her wrists as she falls gradually into a matched cadence. An automatic stride in which she is not really giving any attention to any but emperor mateus, giving him her full attention.

Emperor Mateus has posed:
Emperor Mateus doesn’t bounce nor hop, but levitates more to Rena’s eye level as he has done once before. His implied pace is akin to his walking speed, which is in and of itself matching the Shivan’s. He himself seems to be paying no attention to where they are going, but he can be excused as he knows this castle like the back of his hand.

He resumes contact-juggling the orb one-handed for a moment. “He is not of Palamecia, originally. His home was originally of Fynn, a small city-state I conquered on my homeworld before it fell.” He closes his eyes, recalling the events from memory. “He attempted to escape the burning town with his family, but my soldiers regrettably cut them down in front of him before he was captured and brought to me.”

His brow furrows faintly as the orb disappears from his grasp, as if it was never there to begin with. “He was... a broken young man, more akin to a wounded wild animal than human. He claimed to hate me by using empty words as threats, but what he truly wished to do was die--and his eyes betrayed him utterly. I saw promise in him, so much potential, but I could not use him as he was. Even if I had released him, he would not have survived a day without dying, whether by his own hand or by other means.”

He inhales needlessly, not out of some sort of regret or otherwise emotional response, but of a final gathering of thoughts. “Therefore, I reforged him. I gave him many gifts, not the least of which was a purpose to continue living, but a price had to be paid. For such a ritual to work, I had to lock his heart and seal his memories even down to his own name.” He sighs softly. “It was a grave pity, but I could not risk him being consumed by the Darkness he wields so completely because he let himself falter.”

He falls silent for a time stretching many seconds and many marching footsteps. “Leon,” he finally says, almost as an afterthought. “More accurately, Leonhart. That was the lad’s name, but it holds no meaning for him now--and if it does, only pain and suffering.”

Rena Laradyne has posed:
~'Rena. I want you to kill me.'~ The Shivan continues to listen intently to the emperor's words. A phantom moves and speaks to her right but she does not acknowledge them, even when she hers her own voice playing back the words. ~'Come with me, Jacob.'~ ~'You know better than that. I promised. It's done. So get across the span, and never use that name again.'~

'Rena. DO IT.'

she shakes her head minutely and the spectre fades, replaced by the crackling fire of a burning town and the empty hatred of a broken man. She uses this to hone her grief and her silence, stroping the blade with every detail.

The Shivan's face shuts down entirely, only her eyes glimmering and flashing with the beginnings of something very close to wrath. The expression falters, drawn back behind the crystalline ice that shields the depths of her eyes. It softens as he explains further and vanishes completely when they speak the commanders name, lost as it may be.

Such a gift.

A lost name, given so carelessly.

'RENA!'

Her eyes flinch slightly before she speaks. "Thank you.. Matthew." her voice is sugary but inflectionless, a sweet overlay of thin ice over a chasm. Her words are slow and sincere. "..that was quite a gift. I appreciate such a tale, however tragic. It does.. in fact.. put a great many things into perspective. Thank you."

Emperor Mateus has posed:
Rena’s face blanking out and the minute keys to expression that follow are not missed by the floating Emperor Mateus. There are many things he does not know about this young woman, as she has not been nearly as open with him as he has been to her. And there are limits to his kindness, even if it takes some time to get there... and at this rate, they are both speeding right towards it.

Her voice, foreboding and falsely sweet, seals the matter right there. Certainly she may be sincere, but not in a manner beneficial to anyone. “Mmmm, you are welcome. Though it seems I have been striking raw nerves ever since this conversation began.”

His chin lifts faintly, a miniscule show of defiance in the face of such thin ice masking impending wrath. “Think of me as you will, Lady Rena, I care not. I did what I believed to be best for both the lad and for my country--my people. And I will do so again, because that is the price of power--whether it be a name, or freedom, or some other arbitrary reason that fits one person or another.”

He lands on the ground and resumes walking at that same leisurely pace. “What happened to Leon I do not intend to let happen again. But what is done cannot ever be undone.” He turns his head to regard Rena. “So, knowing now the truth--about me, about Palamecia, about Leon--do you regret coming here?”

Rena Laradyne has posed:
Rena chuckles direly. "I dare say that you have, although it is no fault but mine." she inclines her head and it's real apology in her voice as she rumbles. "It's only a short jump of memory still from here to everything I have lost. So forgive me for falling easily into poor habits. You have been open. I should extend you the same courtesy."

The shivan radiates tension for a few moments as she lets it go, her expression grimly amused in a rather caustically self-depreciating sense. She listens and takes this in, her expression ticing slightly as she takes in a deep breath. She strains to point out the various and sundry contradictions but closes her eyes, takes in a breath and relents to the apology while internally berating herself for allowing a phantom to disrupt her control.

"So.. before I answer that question in the honest coin it was offered in, may I tell you a tale in return? It will explain, if not excuse, my apparent fit of temper."

Emperor Mateus has posed:
Emperor Mateus’ guarded expression does not change, but that familiar warmth seen so easily in Matthew’s eyes glimmers for just a moment. He doesn’t say another word, simply nodding once in agreement.

Rena Laradyne has posed:
"My people are called the Children of the First Frost. And we live on the border between worlds. A lot of my.." she pauses then continues.

"Classmates, are from places where technology is common. Where steel and city beat out lake and forest. My people, the Shivans, live on the unyielding glacier. It is an entire lost continent of icewood and tundra and bitter cliffs of ice." she slowly closes her hands as she talks. "And slowly that steel and those cities was reaching out across the ice and taming it. Sealing it away. And so those of us who still live and strived on our own.. without the aid of cellphone or laser lived in nomadic tribes. Tribes who clutch even more fiercely to our stories as our ways of life slip out of our fingers." And the smile she gives now is very bitter, if sincere.

She then laughs harshly. "And this is not to besmirch the luxury of a hot shower or a supermarket, but the Hrimthur, my clan, prefer to keep things as they have always been. Even if that is the most hard headed thing in the world to do." She stretches her arms towards the ceiling and then lets them swing down in exasperation, playing one hand against the wall again as they walk.

"My people honor names because when everything was new and all was created, everything was given first a secret name.  And there is some extremely dull discussion on who exactly created the world first, but every living being has a spark within them. A fragment of the divine perhaps, or simply a core of life that animates them. So, in respect to names which have connection to that animating fire, we do not use them lightly. We do not sell them, not even for great power. We do not TAKE them, for to do that is to become Atalar. A shaman of darkness and chains. For to have someone take your name is only another word for enslavement. To bind the will of another forever. And for you to sell your own name willingly to another force is even worse. Even if you do it to save someone else."

She pauses for a long time to collect her thoughts and then smirks, splaying her hands. "So, do I regret meeting you, knowing that you are Atalar? No. The word is an insubstantial as air. You took because he could be of use to you. There is no special hatred of mine for what you did. It only shows I have much to learn. Your ways are not my ways and my people are gone. The struggle has ended. You have made me kind offerings and I have taken them. You have allowed me many trespasses, and I will attempt in the future not to scorn them."

Emperor Mateus has posed:
Emperor Mateus listens very closely, a whole new perspective--no, an entirely new WORLD--being laid out to bare before him by the power of words alone. He drinks every drop of information, lavender eyes brightening and his face relaxing into more and more wonder as he visualizes what Rena’s homeland must have once looked like. Perhaps visualizing Palamecia itself in deep winter, only with no castle and no town? Difficult to say.

And as she speaks, everything finally falls into place. Her demeanor, her beliefs, her every move and motion. Finally, the ‘why’ is answered. What was once disappointment becomes understanding, and the path forwards is as clear as his crystal orbs.

Upon her words answering his last question, he stops moving and fully turns to face her, meeting her gaze without any of the earlier clash-of-wills. An honest look, seeking honesty in return, and he finds it. “Lady Rena Laradyne.” He bows on one knee, taking her hand in one of his own, and gently kisses the back of her hand. “You have looked upon me and still accept who I am, what I can do. I can safely say you are the first to do so, and that is a gift greater than repayment could ever give in return.”

He bows his head. “Regardless of our misunderstandings, there is more yet to show you. More yet to offer on your new path. T’would be a pity for paths to diverge so soon.” He smiles, that warm smile Matthew seems to show so easily, and rises to his feet with almost boyish enthusiasm as he throws his arms wide. “So let us learn together, measure our shortcomings and strive to betterment. If I may even be so bold, I would be honored if you would consider my home yours as well.”

Rena Laradyne has posed:
Rena looks down at the emperor. The spectre stands slightly behind him and for a few moments she looks past Mateus. She lets everything go, letting the anger and bitterness slide off her into the darkness. She holds onto a single thing as the raw and painful emotion slips away underneath the ice.

A silent promise. No matter what she had to do, she would do this. She would make this right again.

Then Mateus kisses the back of her hand and she comes completely into the present, the ghosts of the past shredding away as she gives him her full attention again. She gives him a small and genuine smile that flowers into a bright expression of barely suppressed bemusement.

"Ah,  well. In any case, it will make a fascinating tale." she laughs and throws her hands up in surrender. "If I did not stay to hear it and to dance the part, I would be negligent." She sighs, her smile a trifle sad for a moment.

"Now. Tell me more about this path we walk together. I may as well learn where my feet are going before the quillmen descend on you in another swarm." she then continues to walk through the labyrinthine corridors.