callada | [ITN] IC Inbox

⟪ The attitude is different in various parts of her world, and she has lived through several ages of it –– then again, she has lived most all her life in Temples, where births were usually prevented by moon tea. And then even longer in Asshai, where children were never to be found, or had at all. ⟫

I wouldn't know of ageing.

⟪ That secret is out, she reckons, with the plaque on her shrine. ⟫

I suppose it is physical change we'll need to look out for. ⟪ She tilts her head, the little ship catches the light, and she attempts something of a jest: ⟫ We shall know once the first men try to grow out their whiskers.

[A jest he might even chuckle at if he wasn't still stuck on the first thing she'd said there. What??]

You don't age?

[Look, the dates on her plaque were in some weird calendar he's not familiar with. Who knows what it meant? What if a year there is short, or something? What if those letters and numbers meant something else entirely?]

⟪ Truth be told, while she had been aware that she was quite old for a person not looking to be anything over thirty, she hadn't been aware that she'd been born when the Doom of Valyria was still fresh. That one had been... a bit of surprise. ⟫

I am some four-hundred years old.

⟪ Yes, she, too, feels weird saying that. ⟫

Wow. That's... incredible.

[Blink. Ash crumples off the end of his cigarette and falls to the table as he registers this apparent fact. Does he doubt her? Maybe a little, but what's the point of lying about something like that?]

Is that normal where you come from?

⟪ Something of it is so genuine that it makes her laugh a little, facing the bonfire until she can compose herself again. ⟫

No, it is not usual. Priesthood grants longevity, this I knew, as the Red God protects his own... ⟪ she worries her lip, considering how much to tell him, but finding little harm. ⟫ I did not know myself, until I saw the marking by the shrine.

You didn't realize so much time had passed?

[That's wild. And makes him doubt even more, because how does a person not register the passage of hundreds of years? Even if the temple was isolated from the outside world, how??

The whole thing is just completely strange. It has to be a factor of where she was all that time, right? The island - or continent, or whatever, he's used to thinking of things in terms of islands - must have a different scale of time than the world outside it. A place where one can stay for ten years and then leave to find out a hundred had passed elsewhere. Not that he's ever heard of a place like that either, but it's somehow more believable to him than a "god" creating long-lived priests.]

I knew I must be... at least two centuries old.

⟪ This much had been able to track, but truth be told, she hadn't even known her year of birth until she had seen it on the gravestone. ⟫

To keep time is not much of a necessity in the Temple. It was when I was younger, certainly, but –– ⟪ she tilts her head. ⟫ Which are the things that mark your day? Here, for instance. There is no sun to alert you to the passage of time. What else does?

When I get hungry, or tired, maybe. But also the tablet tracks time.

[And he suspects being hungry or tired might be at least partly psychologically related to that time. When it reads noon, he tends to think it might be a good time to grab lunch. His sleep is occasionally interrupted by insomnia and bad dreams, but it's not completely irregular. Without the clock, he might have lost track of those things, but...]

The stars must also cycle here, though. Now that we've been here a while and it doesn't look like we'll be leaving immediately, I'll have to start charting them. At least a few obvious ones anyway.

[He frowns, scratches his chin, looks up at the night sky, then shrugs and directs his gaze at her again.]

Things like that.

Oh, I do like the clock.

⟪ Measurement of time is a lot less precise where she is from. In the Temple, it was measured in chimes of the bells, and she'd liked that, too –– but the bells in this church don't obey such logic. She's checked. ⟫

I do not need to eat, and I avoid sleep when I can.

⟪ So those two are out, but she supposes that might make her lose track of time, in a way. ⟫

I like your idea of mapping the stars. It would be a useful thing to have, should any of us ever venture out onto the lake.

A lot of people would be envious of the things you can do.

[Doesn't eat, doesn't care to sleep, and oblivious to the passage of time. What a fascinating person she is - though "fascinating" doesn't feel like it has the sort of weight to it that best describes her. Ancient. Humbling, somehow. It's a shame Sengoku can't meet her - and it makes him realize perhaps why he's comfortable with her strangeness, having been raised by a man who is himself a Buddha, patient and wise.]

And I do intend to go out onto the lake. I've been helping a few people who are trying to get a boat or two put together, but it's going to take a long time. It's hard to be patient, I admit.

God had grand plans for me, once.

⟪ On the one hand, she takes pride in herself, in how far she has come in His service, in the many ways she has honed her abilities over the years. On the other hand... there are quiet moments, incredibly rare ones, during which she wonders of the alternatives. If she wasn't collared and bound to the Red Temple. If she had not become a Shadowbinder. What kind of life could she have lived? There had never been much space to think of it, she had focused on her visions when such thoughts came. But here... Here, she speaks to others, mortal people with their families and loves and such.

What kind of life ––?

None of course, it's silly to think about, and pointless to boot. Without the Temple, without God's light, she would have died a slave, never even making it to adulthood, starved or taken ill with some rot or other. ⟫

You did say so when we first met. ⟪ Her smile is calm, even, but there's a note of concern in there, too. ⟫ I am glad you found like minds here. It must be safer to venture out in a group, too, rather than seek something on one's own.

I don't mind traveling alone. I actually enjoy it, when I get the chance. But I can't deny it's safer to be with people. At home, I know the sea. I understand how the world works. Here...

[He gestures with a hand at their surroundings. Self-explanatory, really - strange fire, strange darkness, strange unreadable sky and people from so many places.]

I don't know the rules here. Maybe the water is a death trap, or maybe it's where all our answers are. So yeah, I'll go with people. They're kids, but kids who grow up around water have a pretty good handle on it.

I recall this. The Hand of the King has –– had –– seven sons, and most of them I met, all of whom knew more of ships and sailing than I ever dreamt I could.

⟪ So, you know. No judgement. ⟫

[Does that mean the man she speaks of is dead, or that one of the sons is dead? It's a mystery that will remain so, because he can't bring himself to ask about more death, not in this one singular positive moment in time. Instead, he nods, understanding.]

Yeah, I first started learning when I was around ten. And these kids look a bit older than that. I'm sure they still have a few things to learn, but we all do. I'm looking forward to when we have more than one built, so we can split up the search effort.

[And he recalls Cao Pi's thoughts on magic, too. How it might be used to augment the non-magical. Does someone here know how to create their own wind? That would be helpful. He'll have to keep it in mind.]

I am sure most of them would count as men and women grown in my world.

⦑ This doesn't necessarily mean Melisandre sees them as those by herself, but it does mean she is rather used to half-children taking on the tasks of older persons. ⦒

A small fleet. ⦑ She smiles, but there's some memory to it, too. ⦒ It would be convenient to know all that which lies upriver, too.

And in mine as well.

[So on that, they can agree. It's not always right or good, but the fact is that he's known plenty of kids who were essentially on their own from an early age, orphaned by piracy and warfare and monsters. He was one of them. Children of well-off noble families have the luxury of growing up late that the rest do not. So while some might have prejudices here against children being able to contribute, he would argue it's good for them - time to learn skills helpful for their survival. Beacon is safe enough for them to still be kids and enjoy their youth, but adventurous enough for them to pull their own weight.

On the topic of the river though, he nods.]

Cao Pi and I went upriver just before all of this happened. I think it gets too narrow for boats quickly. But following the river is easier than just walking in the woods. We didn't find much but I've been talking to a few others and we'll head inland farther soon.

Less risk of getting lost, too.

⦑ These things happen faster than one would like to believe, and more so if spirits are at work. Often, they don't mean much by it, but it's easy to do quite a bit of damage to a being that needs to eat and rest and drink to live. ⦒

Who are you taking?

Grandmasters Kuai Liang and... hm, Hasashi? I forget his given name. I haven't met him yet, unfortunately, but Kuai speaks highly of him. Wade, also, so that we'll have medical care if needed.

[Which hopefully they won't, but having a medic familiar with the route is a good thing. Plus, he likes Wade. Wade's a good, helpful guy. He lucked out with the people who ended up lodging with him, because while many here are all right, he's not sure he would get along with all of them quite as easily.]

I know Doc Wade, of all the three you named. He is a good man, reliable.

⦑ And Gene speaks even more highly of him, which calms her at once, truth be told. Rosinante must have built himself a solid crew to travel with. ⦒

You will mark your path, yes?

Of course. I have paint, and we're also bringing rope to run the whole length of the trek so even without light, it should be easy to walk it.

[So long as it doesn't get cut. They're bringing torches, of course, and they should have four lanterns, so light shouldn't be an issue - but there's no telling what they'll run into out there. The torches could be lost or put out. The lanterns, they might have to cover those to hide. Best to be able to make the way back blindly if they absolutely have to.]

If we find anything helpful, you'll be one of the first to know. I'll look for plants again - maybe I'll find something different from what's just around town here. I didn't really come up with much on that last walk I haven't already seen close by.

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sldkghdf why did I forget where they are, two threads at once is so confusing

IT TOOK ME A MOMENT TOO

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