markofthebrave | [Written/Action] .002

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[Written/Action] .002

So, we can use these things to contact everyone? That's pretty neat ~~if really really weird.~~ I think I'll start of writing, though, because talking to a book still seems like something Dock would do.

That's got to be annoying, for so many people to look at something if you just want to talk to one or two people. The guide said something about being able to filter these things? But I don't really see how that could work...

Tormod, you can have your cape back whenever you want. Have you found a place to stay yet?

And hey, if there's a Hugo or a Derek out there, I'd like to talk to you for a few minutes.

[So not one to stay copped up in the house, Katara is going to pack up her journal and her waterskin and bundle up. They're in the middle of a cold snap, but now that she has shoes the freezing doesn't really bother her so much. She's going to head on over to the grocery store to get some soup ingredients and check out the other buildings. She's friendly! Feel free to say hello!]

ETA [Voice]
Hey Toph! I'm at the grocery store, do you want anything?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Oh? You're one of those benders, too? [Wow. Even after being here this long, he was still amazed by some of the skills the other villagers had.] That would be really helpful. We could get a lot more done without all that stupid snow in the way.

I'm a waterbender. [It's easier to demonstrate than explain, so she pulls the water and ice out her glass of water and has it swirl around her hand without touching it. To further show how she can help with snow, she freezes it all, again keeping it from touching her hand, then turns her rotating ice bracelet back to water and ice, sending it back to the glass with hardly a splash. Showing off? Maybe a little. But she also just wanted to see how hard it would be.]

This place... it's messing with how strong my bending is. So I don't know how long it will take to clear the area or if I'll be able to keep the whole thing clear in a storm, but getting it clear in the first place should only be a matter of time.

Not bad. [He doesn't mind the demonstration, really! This stuff is actually kind of cool.] Things should be warming up soon enough anyway, so there's no reason to exert yourself. If anything, you can look at helping us as practice for yourself—you'll have to get used to doing that stuff all over again here, since this place messes with everyone's powers.

[She nods earnestly] Yeah, it seems that way. [She makes an annoyed face for a moment. Stupid power draining.] And I don't mind using it to help this way, I think it's a good thing for the village to be protected as much as it can be.

[Business taken care of, she's shifted over to being curious.] So how did you get put in charge of the barricade project?

My brother asked me to do it. He either had other things on his mind, or he just wanted to keep me busy. Possibly both. [Shrug.] Either way, it's been a while since I've had any real work to do, so I don't mind too much.

[You sir, inspire curiosity.]

So... you said you were a strategist and Hugo is your general... are you coming from a place that was at war too? And is your brother like... your commanding officer?

[Caesar lets out a snort at her second question. It was an unconscious reaction. Really.]

Uh... no, not exactly. My brother and I come from a family of famous military strategists, but we didn't work together. A person's style of strategy depends heavily on their personality, so it's not uncommon for their ideas to clash. We were at war before I arrived here, though, yes.

[...OK, so he doesn't work for his brother, but as for the rest you might as well be talking an ancient air bison]

...I can see how different personalities could make ideas clash, but I'd think that they'd also help enhance a plan so that you could fill in any holes. So military strategy is like... the family business? Is that because your world has been at war for a long time?

Each strategist has their own way of thinking. Even if they have a similar goal, their methods can differ greatly, and they aren't always willing to compromise if they feel that their method is best.

Wars happen, but we're strategists more because it's tradition. It's just what we've always done. Back home, everyone's heard of the Silverberg name.

[There will be a small pause here as Katara chews over what he's saying and then fastens on what is - to her - the most important part.]

...So you weren't given much of a choice, then. Do you like it?

That's a tough question. It's caused a lot of trouble for me, but I don't dislike it. Not many people can do what I do and be good at it. If I can use my skill to help people, that's exactly what I want to do.

[Ooooh, right answer. RIGHT ANSWER. She beams at him.]

I think that's wonderful. And it sounds like it hasn't been easy, but that you're doing exactly that here. I'm glad for you.

[Wow, that was really nice of her. Caesar is... a little embarrassed suddenly. |D;]

Uh... th-thanks. I'm just glad I can help.

[That's Katara. Embarrassing people with honest admiration since 2005. ...if it helps, his laziness has yet to be revealed and she's gonna get a little embarrassed at his embarrassment. Sudden topic switch is go!]

So - does your world have a name? I've met people who come from all kinds of different places, and even from places that have the same name but aren't the same. I've even met someone from a world that has different elements!

[Babble, babble, just moving right along here.]

[Fortunately for him, his laziness probably won't make itself apparent for a while! Once he actually starts working, he's usually pretty consistent. \o/ He doesn't mind this topic switch, however, random as it may be.]

I've heard of stuff like that, too. My world doesn't have a name, though. We just refer to everything by country. Uh... how about you?

[Katara nods.] That's how it is for us too. I'm from the Southern Water Tribe, but there's also the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation and there were the Air Nomads, but... [sadness crosses her face for a moment] the Fire Nation wiped them all out years ago.

Huh. So the elements are very important in your world. [Something about that vaguely reminded him of the Grasslands.] For runes being as important as they are in my world, we don't have countries named after them or anything.

[Half shrug] I've never thought of them as not being important. It's hard to imagine any place without bending..

What are runes?

Runes are the magic we use in our world. It's believed that the world was created from them, so it's understandable that most people feel strongly toward them. [Hmm...] For example, the Sun Rune governs over the power of the sun, and it's kept in the Queendom of Falena by tradition. Of course, because of the runes' importance, it's not uncommon for wars to break out with them at the center.

[Katara pauses for example to absorb this entirely different and completely foreign worldview. A single thing to hold the power of the whole sun...]

So runes... hold power. And they are like... objects? I met someone who said he did magic with a stave, is it like that?

[He shakes his head.]

Not quite. Runes are usually encased in crystals, but they're useless until you speak to a Rune Master. They know how to release the power from the crystals, and when they do, the rune becomes embedded on the person's body. Hugo has one on his right hand—the True Fire Rune. Like the Sun Rune, it's one of the 27 True Runes, so it's more important than regular ones that you can find just about anywhere.

[...great. More fire. True Runes? Regular Runes? What? Was everyone else's world so complicated?]

...so getting a rune to work is like an art form. You have to be trained in it? And... there are two different types?

[Rueful laugh] Your world is complicated.

That's right. [He nods.] Regular runes are descended from True Runes. They aren't as powerful, but they're much more common, and they still get the job done. There are a few people here from my world, but none of them are Rune Masters, so even if we could find runes here, there's no way we'd be able to use them. Likewise, if anyone came here with a rune, they wouldn't be able to take it off.

[That comment kind of catches him by surprise, though. He lets out a bit of a laugh, too.] Is it? I never really thought of it as complicated.

[...descended? And here she thought a rune was a crystal! Her head is going to start to hurt in a minute, so she switches the conversation to something a little less... impossible.]

Oh? Who's here from your world? You mentioned your brother and Hugo, right? Are there many others?

There are quite a few of them, all from different points in time. Um... [Let's see, good examples. He didn't know a lot of them very well.] For example, there's Flik, a famous mercenary. He's kind of a hero—he fought in the war that liberated my home country more than fifteen years ago. I've actually read about him. On the other hand, there's Jacques, a Harmonian mercenary from around my time. He was on our side in the war. He hardly speaks, but he's a good guy. [He shrugs.] There are a few from your world, too, right?

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