Open House

[Rhodes]

Rhodes offers a slow nod. "When it comes to namings and conventions, I am little more than an amateur. Knowledge of our skills, our magics, and how they work - that is my domain."

A small smirk, and a shake of the head. "Your theory presupposes a 'Grand Scheme'. I do not believe in such, or even if the Wyrd possesses such motivations, it's moves are too large and obscure for me to fret over when very real threats are nearer. Just as life after this one is questioned time and again - we cannot know, but the here and now is too real to ignore over such thoughts. Some may say we already sacrifice a part of our humanity to become emotional vampires - inciting emotions in humans without care just so that we fuel our powers, and that such is a cost." He leans back in the throne, steepling his fingers again. "Cost is a matter of the conscience, of perspective. What I consider a just price is likely different to yourself, and whether one must measure in lives...." He trails off, the dark smile returning. "I do not shirk in the cost of lives - it is terrifying and one of the basest Fears. It is what makes us decidedly more dangerous than we appear, more willling to go to extremes, for we know the darkest places not of this world... however bright they may have been." His rough grows sharper, rougher.

Rhodes focuses back on the Succubus. "On... what? Philosophies? Mysteries? Enigmas of Magic? Just what is it you are seeking? You seem to lack... a focus, specifics, so far as I can see."

A smile tugged at his lips. "And there you see the other." He pauses, phrasing his answer. "I rarely expect gifts, Save the Autumn Solstice. It was pleasantly surprising. Perhaps you should consider adopting Lady Seraphina's old Mantle of Joyeux."

[Yamiyo Lillich]

"So to play within that wheel house in what way do you differentiate between our skills and our magics? As you mention them as different things so are they clearly not the same so where is the line drawn between them?" Her pen quickly taking notes, writing one odd symbol after the other only to occasionally add a couple of letters from the English alphabet then back to various symbols.

Slowly shaking her head.
"I can see how you can think of it like that but that is not necessarily true, there doesn't need to be a scheme or purpose by design but perhaps unintentionally. Think of it like small small bodies of water, each time it's fed a little more water is added somewhere, slowly over the course of generations these small bodies of water finds each other and in time it will become a river, give it even more time and it will become an ocean. Is it true or not? Who knows, however where it grows of interest is when we take in that there are magics of others around and most likely so do they have a power source and who knows how they all work and if they all somehow are connected or widely separated? Still it's just thoughts, enough to be careful but mainly it stems from me being curious nothing else." Taking a moment as he calls them emotional vampires, not to far from the truth and who knew how it affected people if you overfed on them for to long. "A difference between us though is that you are a scholar dedicated to use your knowledge to defend us, such is not my ultimate aim if I can so naturally will I but it is not my direct aim."

Looking away for a second before looking back at him.
"We have all seen hell, we know that sometimes darkness is needed for a greater good true however to divulge into it will only make this a dreary conversation. We will all be tested in time and we can only hope that we can live with whatever decisions we take."

Giggling a little.
"It's rather that my aim is wide. The true goal is to find the folk lore, the old tales be it of werewolves, demons, things that go bump in the night or the thing living in the woods. Then view them all with the eyes of someone that knows of our world, to find which tales are of us and to see how we have been seen over the ages of man whilst simultaneously learning the stories and old beliefs of mankind. Endless stories told over millennia all showing people of the time and their stories. It fascinates me and fills me with joy to be able to see things in tales that most people cannot or just imagine how these stories shaped peoples worlds. It's a topic that interests me, I gave up on any hope of being able to do what I wanted with my life and prepared myself to work crappy jobs and barely survive but now I have a chance to live to my hearts desire and for that my choice is to spend my life doing something that fills me with joy." Perhaps to wide an explanation but true.

Making a small face.
"Christmas gifts is a given same with birthday gifts, to bring smiles is enjoyable." That was all there was to it. "I will carry a mantle of my court the day my fair Queen appoints me one be it Joyeux, sage escort or any other until then so will I strive to better myself to be of grander use for the freehold as a whole."

[Rhodes]

He waves a hand causally. "That is more a simplification of language.... but I suppose skills would be things that we have gained without needing knowledge of them - our dreamwalking, our heritage-based talents. Magic is the Contracts, the Pledges.... things that we learn specifically from Arcadian lore. But that is my thought alone, others may tink differently. It matters little, I suppose."

Rhodes cocks his head. "I'm... Not sure what you mean, or what you are getting at, Miss Lillich. That isn;t how our magic works. Some things just.... are."

He nods, ever so slightly. "Then... puruse those thoughts, I suppose. Though I am not sure what is it you want from me, in that case. I need specifics if you want me to teach you anything." Emerald eyes blink slowly.

What does she want? Are we just musing hypotheticals we may never know? Contemplating the Wyrd's nature? History of the supernatural? Pick a lane, woman.

[Yamiyo Lillich]

Waving her finger at him.
"It does matter perhaps not heavily but it does help me see where you are coming from with your words, along with making me understand your words better. So tell me are there any grand skills I should keep my eyes open for that otherwise seems hidden?" Tapping her pen against her notes. "Say there are those of us whom belong to one type like me being a succubus for example and those whom have another on top of that, have there ever been anyone whom carries three more?" They didn't seem common if such were the case though.

"As said just a curiosity and a wonder of how our magics and others magic are connected or why they aren't. Do not go to deep into them it's just my curiosity whom enjoys building up possibilities even if they will prove to not be true or really aren't so by creating a hundred or more possible scenarios so can I be prepared if something I learn fits into one of them. If not so well keeping my imagination active might help me become a better writer one day." It would be fun to add some writings for others to read instead of just reading books herself.

Smiling towards him.
"You are a well of knowledge, all you know about us and our history or other things are still fascinating. True my focus is either to vast or lacking right now but the more I learn the more I will start to focus on things as I find my niche. If not so well all knowledge you can impart might make me able to be of use for the freehold at some point."

"But if you want questions then how about this, which are the oldest ones of us whom walked the Earth as you know of? Names if possible but location and kith are also highly interesting."

[Rhodes]

Rhodes drew a breath, slowly. "Any matters of the occult are useful talents, as are knowing the nature of survivng if you seek to enter the Hedge regularly. Beyond that, an academic understanding of story structure and evolution can come in handy, as can any books on faerie lore, human or changeling alike. All offer insights and the theads of common themes are most often those with grains of truth. Beyond that it is only practice an dexpereince that discern fact from fiction." A shrug. "I have never seen someone share more than two kiths - usually a result of an unusual Durance, or the Keepers specific styles and desires - but I suppose it could be theoretically possible. The Keeper would have to be a broad amalgam of concepts... a niche oiverlap of themes from the Kiths we know or suspect.... Possible, certainly, but one would never know until one saw it."

"Hm," he answers, noncommittally.

He leans back in the chair - the icy wind of his mantle flares again. "Well... I suppose that depends on the context. Lady Titania is from several decades previous, though has settled in rather well to this time. If you mean aside form the chronological distillation of the Durance... I have encountered a Changeling who claimed to be over a century old, if you mean the Arcadian perchant for shifting our bodies. Though I could not know if they were being completely truthful. Ah.... Callaghan, she said her name was. Or, at least, she told me to call her. An autumn Wizened of no small skills."

[Yamiyo Lillich]

Her pen flying quickly around keeping up her writing style whilst trying to let all his words sink in they were quite a lot in very few words though.
"Well do not count on my knowledge being primary for the next few years, between private studies, studying medicine and keeping up my school work along with all my sisters and the work there and trying to keep hidden so am I stretched a bit thin." Thank the stars that she had learned how to get things done quick. "Then let us stay on path, various kiths are affiliated with our seemings but we can carry the traits of secondary ones not affiliated with our seeming meaning it probably came later or something akin to that. However is there any difference there or not? Does it mean something that a secondary is not affiliated with the standards and in case of two how can you even know which came first if one now did?" Perhaps not all that important but curiosity knows no bounds.

Evidently not a subject he wanted to delve into which were fair, then his mantle flared. For a second remembering how it had felt scary at one time when she were still new here, how it had made her chill in a sense of not just fear which she suspected they all felt. But she had grown since then, her own mantle flaring up in response letting her scents fill the area as she feels the vanilla scent calm her mind.
"I think you have misunderstood my meaning here, I meant the one of us whom appeared in this world first, the first appearance of a Lost in this world in other words. During what century or Millenia did they come here and from where and what is known about that individual or those individuals. Did it occur during the dark ages, Viking ages, whilst Caesar still held the throne, in ancient Greece or perhaps even before? Also in contrast what is known both of the first European one and first one in these lands. We called this the new world but often do not take the stories of the natives in all to well and they have plenty of stories, sadly far to many are lost of course."

[Rhodes]

Rhodes shook his head. "Not necessarily, and it is difficult to say. Kiths are.... flexible. Our Arcadian purpose we were forced to uphold generates the Seeming. Because the Gentry are beings of legend and story, this creates certain magics. But it is not as simple as one, then another. My Keeper wanted flowers, and so flowers we became. Had she wished for jewelled flowers, I would be some Treasured/Flowering hybrid, but the changes would be as one. Or a plant-beast hybrid. Their wants are infathomable, and an original trait can be subsumed if that is the intent. We are playthings to them, our very flesh their clay."

The clash of ice and perfume caught his senses. She had not been so potent before, and that was curious. "Ah, I see. Well.... some surmise that we have a hand in many of the creatures of legend - Greek Satyrs, for example; nymphs and so on - are almost certainly tires to our history in some way. From there one could propose even the Egyptian gods were beasts bursting into life. I doubt we are all these things - there are too many other factors to claim credit for them all - but it is likely or forebares were there. But so give you a date would be impossible. How long have tricksters and faeries existed in stories? longer than demons, almost as long as the otherworldly to all cultures. Beyond that? THere is no way of knowing, short of uncovering histories of the time. I have explained how scarce such a thing is even from recent time - from early European history? Nigh impossible." A small shrug. "I know little of Native American Lore, save a few legends that tie into kiths as lead by other avenues of study. I see no reason we could not have had such cousins in this culture as well - there are Kiths from all cultures. But it is not something I consider."

[Yamiyo Lillich]

Sighing.
"In mild words yes, still it does create a wonder of how things work and how we can change even after our durance is a thing of the past. It also raises a lot of questions that this is not the time and place to discuss. Still every last ounce we can get to understand it all the better we can hopefully protect ourselves even if it is perhaps far more likely that we would delude ourselves to find sense in chaos that might work once, twice but then be completely altered and leave us stumped." Unpredictability were a part of their existence after all. "However I wonder if there is a link to another world, realm, dimension or whatever you wanna call it that we are perhaps not aware of and how that might affect things." The differences between them all were not an area she really had any knowledge in.

"Now that is part of my theory as well but there is a difference in knowing and in assuming, hopefully some things in mythology and legends alike were just things either completely made up or at least not associated with us or maybe even things that were seen and then we were made to imitate those things without having been the original." Far from unlikely. "Naturally you cannot say who the first were, perhaps no one can but the first one you can say for sure is a different tale." There were also the possibility that along the lines either the Gentry or just really powerful ones of their own kind had been seen as gods at one point or another. "There was a time when Egypt had an average lifespan of 20 years so for some of us to really stand out there would not have been hard."

Slowly shaking her head.
"That to is hard to say, it all depends on the views. Demons in present sense is actually quite young things but what can be seen as demons is another and there are surely tales of demons that in truth might be fey or tricksters and perhaps vice versa. The annoyance there lies in going into what is a demon and what is not and does demons in truth even exist or is it just a name we throw around far to easily?" Quite possible actually. "My main wonder there lies in the thing that Ireland and areas around there have deeper connection with fey, fairies and alike both with Oberon, Titania and the connection with Mór-Ríoghain at the same time that only tells of a potential stronghold and not a truth of origin nor the connections to this new world and with a grand genocide so is it hard to know how many tales were forever lost."

[Rhodes]

The Dread Lord shrugs a tiny shrug. "Possible. But again, not something I consider relevant. Our powers still work the same, the Wyrd is still changing and fickle."

Rhodes gestures vaguely with one hand. "We cannot know. If you want certainties, occultism may not be for you. Precious little is, or can be. We can only discern what is likely."

A nod. "Just so, which makes my former point all the more difficult to pin down." He rubs the arm of the throne idly with the tip of his forefinger. "Ireland and many places like it are rich in folklore, but I have found nothing to suggest it is more aligned with the faerie realm than anywhere else. A lot of that is stigma by the English. Many tales are passed orally and change over time, so the places that kept this a s a strong tradition often have more versions, some of which tie together." He shrugs again. "Trying to find a definate truth is nigh impossible - all we can do is try and find what can be confirmed as true for us, either anecdotally or with evidence."

[Saber Sloth]

Yamiyo receives a phone call and leaves.

Yamiyo has been removed from play. LadySin is no longer playing on EoD