(Non) Compos Menti
Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2022 10:53 am
TIMESTAMP: Earth's Rest 9, Ash 122
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The season of Ash was one of turbulence, of monumental change. It was one of self discovery, of growth, of opportunity and of unique choices. And for none of this was Æros prepared, in truth. For how could he have been? Why would a spiraling addict think that he would end up thrust into a situation of any import? Why would he think he’d have the fortune– or misfortune, perspective depending– of speaking with two divines? When Ash began, in truth, the Fæ had hoped that it would end up being the denouement of his tale, and while such a thing almost came to pass multiple times, that wish was not granted.
Instead, he found himself with life breathed into him anew. Weak and tentative as it was, he now nurtured the smallest of flames, one which burned for a future wherein his quest for power would never end– even in a future wherein that little flame becomes a raging inferno. However, the question that still remained for him was thus: where would he start?
And the answer to that would be yet another serendipitous surprise. It was evening now and the half-elf was home, sitting alone in the living area of his flat. While he did have what remained of the day free, he had few plans and wasn’t quite in the mood to go out for the moment. Really, he found himself wanting to be alone. There was some solace to be had in spending time in quiet solitude, especially given the fact that he’d just acquired a new Cardinal rune and was overall exhausted from the last month anyways. And as such, he intended to spend this evening high and alone.
However, as with many of his intentions, such a thing would not come to pass. A sharp knock on his front door pulled him from his ruminations and at first, he had thought he’d imagined the sound. When the door was struck again with another series of knocks, he realized that was not the case. The elven Færie felt a familiar sense of dread as he dragged himself to his feet and moved to approach the door. He had not a clue who this would be, but that was precisely the problem. Somebody showing up unannounced really could run the gamut of incredibly positive to incredibly negative, and really, there was little chance for a middleground.
And while his nerves were certainly high, he opened the door with a serene expression and an air of calm, the stars on his skin matching false ones on his clothes from Masquerade. Of what skills Æros did possess, he was quite good at masking his emotions in general and ever better with the help of his mastered Mesmer. The person on the other side of the threshold was certainly a surprise, though such a thing did not break his composure.
“Avunculus? What brings you here?” The only indication of his surprise was a widening of the eyes and slight raise of the brow, but the Fæ’s expression read as more curious than anything else.
“Let me in and I’ll tell you– for today, my only intention is to talk. It really has been too long.” The other man replied, a moonborn elf with a deep, blue toned complexion.
At that, Æros stepped aside with no resistance and a subtle sort of reverence to the way he gestured his guest inside. The two were, in large part, wordless as one led the other to a place where they could talk. His uncle sat first, the younger of the two asking if the other wanted any sort of refreshment for while they spoke. Never the one to decline such a thing, the offer was accepted. Æros walked off for a few moments and returned with a chilled red wine and some scones a friend of his had made and dropped off about a day ago.
Now sitting across from one another, it was the visitor who spoke first. “I heard your mother’s attempt to ‘fix’ you did not work, hm?” He chuckled, a sort of levity in his voice that Æros found most puzzling given the context, tasting the offered wine after the question was asked.
“...alas, you have heard correctly.” He shrugged, the slightest bit of embarrassment in his voice masked by a markedly sardonic tone. “I don’t imagine you’re here on her behalf, though? The two of you never did see eye to eye when it came to matters regarding me.” The Starborn did not quite know what the other man was getting at, but he could at least have some confidence that he was not sent here to harass him, for within his family, there was nobody who held a higher position than the man now before him.
“And of that, you are correct. At this point, I no longer possess the desire to respect her wishes, either. She has made it abundantly clear that she’s ill equipped when it comes to guiding you.” The older man paused, dark eyes shifting over his wayward nephew. “Over all these years, all I have ever seen her accomplish is crushing you into dust. So…I arrive here today with the intention of doing the opposite. Constantly constrained, she never gave you the opportunity to flourish or even develop into your own man. Always did she regard you as a prop or a tool, and in doing so, she failed to account for the fact that one cannot divorce you from your personhood without shattering the mind in turn.” He shook his head as if thoroughly disappointed in the parenting techniques employed by his dear sister.
Æros just listened. He didn’t know where the other man was going with this and he had very little to add for the moment, intrigued as he was. Though he had many questions, he figured that they could wait. That being the case, he chose silence and the taste of wine while his elder continued to speak.
“I’ve always seen great potential in you, Æros, and with that in mind, I have an offer for you. A lifeline to your drowning, if you will. My seat on the senate– I would like to share it with you.” House Len’Sælyan’s head said this in a really rather casual manner given the weight of the offer; Æros was utterly stunned.
“Not every time do we gather is it over something of great importance, mind. I figure I can give you the reins for things a bit more simple, no? Of course…I do not do this lightly. I am, however, willing to take a gamble on you because if it pays off? We all gain. You’ve lived your entire life with no power at all, entirely under the yoke of your mother…so I am curious to see how it’ll go when you’ve actually the power to do anything at all. Think of it as a way to prove that you are, indeed, capable, hm?” And with the delivery of the last few words, Janus’ elbows rest on the table, fingers knit together with a mischievous narrowing to his eyes.
It really was a gamble, this proposition of his. However, Janus was a man fond of the bold, colorful and chaotic, so for him, it really wasn’t that much out of character. These methods of his did have their fair share of detractors, but always a wily one, he was quite good at keeping anything tangible that could be used against him buried or hidden.
“And worry not, I won’t throw you in completely blind. You’ll have as much of my guidance as you would like– you need only seek me out for it.” The elf smiled, something warm and genuine despite the fox-like nature of his gaze. “So, then…what say you?”
The offer, genuinely, was one that Æros would have to be an utter fool to decline. He was, however, very wary of accepting something so grand given his self-awareness of his own emotions and behavior. But would an opportunity like this ever rear its head again? He simply couldn’t say no. Not even just for that reason, but that he genuinely admired his uncle– and to decline this profound act of kindness would be a slap in his face.
Taken aback, it took the Fæ-elf a moment to compose his thoughts. “I…how could I say no? I’m…a bit baffled, sudden as this is, but I’ll sit in for you gladly whenever it is you’ll provide the opportunity.” His words were laced with great respect and delivered in a tone of voice most gracious. And in turn, his Symphony rang the same, held open and projected towards the other man as a way of reinforcing his point.
“Excellent, but that being the case, I have no desire to end our reunion quite so soon– indulge your elder, will you? Just what have you been entangled with all of this time, hm?” The question was asked out of little more than genuine curiosity. Janus was not entirely in the dark to the goings on of his nephew, no, but he’d never heard the account thereof from the boy’s own mouth.
Instead, he found himself with life breathed into him anew. Weak and tentative as it was, he now nurtured the smallest of flames, one which burned for a future wherein his quest for power would never end– even in a future wherein that little flame becomes a raging inferno. However, the question that still remained for him was thus: where would he start?
And the answer to that would be yet another serendipitous surprise. It was evening now and the half-elf was home, sitting alone in the living area of his flat. While he did have what remained of the day free, he had few plans and wasn’t quite in the mood to go out for the moment. Really, he found himself wanting to be alone. There was some solace to be had in spending time in quiet solitude, especially given the fact that he’d just acquired a new Cardinal rune and was overall exhausted from the last month anyways. And as such, he intended to spend this evening high and alone.
However, as with many of his intentions, such a thing would not come to pass. A sharp knock on his front door pulled him from his ruminations and at first, he had thought he’d imagined the sound. When the door was struck again with another series of knocks, he realized that was not the case. The elven Færie felt a familiar sense of dread as he dragged himself to his feet and moved to approach the door. He had not a clue who this would be, but that was precisely the problem. Somebody showing up unannounced really could run the gamut of incredibly positive to incredibly negative, and really, there was little chance for a middleground.
And while his nerves were certainly high, he opened the door with a serene expression and an air of calm, the stars on his skin matching false ones on his clothes from Masquerade. Of what skills Æros did possess, he was quite good at masking his emotions in general and ever better with the help of his mastered Mesmer. The person on the other side of the threshold was certainly a surprise, though such a thing did not break his composure.
“Avunculus? What brings you here?” The only indication of his surprise was a widening of the eyes and slight raise of the brow, but the Fæ’s expression read as more curious than anything else.
“Let me in and I’ll tell you– for today, my only intention is to talk. It really has been too long.” The other man replied, a moonborn elf with a deep, blue toned complexion.
At that, Æros stepped aside with no resistance and a subtle sort of reverence to the way he gestured his guest inside. The two were, in large part, wordless as one led the other to a place where they could talk. His uncle sat first, the younger of the two asking if the other wanted any sort of refreshment for while they spoke. Never the one to decline such a thing, the offer was accepted. Æros walked off for a few moments and returned with a chilled red wine and some scones a friend of his had made and dropped off about a day ago.
Now sitting across from one another, it was the visitor who spoke first. “I heard your mother’s attempt to ‘fix’ you did not work, hm?” He chuckled, a sort of levity in his voice that Æros found most puzzling given the context, tasting the offered wine after the question was asked.
“...alas, you have heard correctly.” He shrugged, the slightest bit of embarrassment in his voice masked by a markedly sardonic tone. “I don’t imagine you’re here on her behalf, though? The two of you never did see eye to eye when it came to matters regarding me.” The Starborn did not quite know what the other man was getting at, but he could at least have some confidence that he was not sent here to harass him, for within his family, there was nobody who held a higher position than the man now before him.
“And of that, you are correct. At this point, I no longer possess the desire to respect her wishes, either. She has made it abundantly clear that she’s ill equipped when it comes to guiding you.” The older man paused, dark eyes shifting over his wayward nephew. “Over all these years, all I have ever seen her accomplish is crushing you into dust. So…I arrive here today with the intention of doing the opposite. Constantly constrained, she never gave you the opportunity to flourish or even develop into your own man. Always did she regard you as a prop or a tool, and in doing so, she failed to account for the fact that one cannot divorce you from your personhood without shattering the mind in turn.” He shook his head as if thoroughly disappointed in the parenting techniques employed by his dear sister.
Æros just listened. He didn’t know where the other man was going with this and he had very little to add for the moment, intrigued as he was. Though he had many questions, he figured that they could wait. That being the case, he chose silence and the taste of wine while his elder continued to speak.
“I’ve always seen great potential in you, Æros, and with that in mind, I have an offer for you. A lifeline to your drowning, if you will. My seat on the senate– I would like to share it with you.” House Len’Sælyan’s head said this in a really rather casual manner given the weight of the offer; Æros was utterly stunned.
“Not every time do we gather is it over something of great importance, mind. I figure I can give you the reins for things a bit more simple, no? Of course…I do not do this lightly. I am, however, willing to take a gamble on you because if it pays off? We all gain. You’ve lived your entire life with no power at all, entirely under the yoke of your mother…so I am curious to see how it’ll go when you’ve actually the power to do anything at all. Think of it as a way to prove that you are, indeed, capable, hm?” And with the delivery of the last few words, Janus’ elbows rest on the table, fingers knit together with a mischievous narrowing to his eyes.
It really was a gamble, this proposition of his. However, Janus was a man fond of the bold, colorful and chaotic, so for him, it really wasn’t that much out of character. These methods of his did have their fair share of detractors, but always a wily one, he was quite good at keeping anything tangible that could be used against him buried or hidden.
“And worry not, I won’t throw you in completely blind. You’ll have as much of my guidance as you would like– you need only seek me out for it.” The elf smiled, something warm and genuine despite the fox-like nature of his gaze. “So, then…what say you?”
The offer, genuinely, was one that Æros would have to be an utter fool to decline. He was, however, very wary of accepting something so grand given his self-awareness of his own emotions and behavior. But would an opportunity like this ever rear its head again? He simply couldn’t say no. Not even just for that reason, but that he genuinely admired his uncle– and to decline this profound act of kindness would be a slap in his face.
Taken aback, it took the Fæ-elf a moment to compose his thoughts. “I…how could I say no? I’m…a bit baffled, sudden as this is, but I’ll sit in for you gladly whenever it is you’ll provide the opportunity.” His words were laced with great respect and delivered in a tone of voice most gracious. And in turn, his Symphony rang the same, held open and projected towards the other man as a way of reinforcing his point.
“Excellent, but that being the case, I have no desire to end our reunion quite so soon– indulge your elder, will you? Just what have you been entangled with all of this time, hm?” The question was asked out of little more than genuine curiosity. Janus was not entirely in the dark to the goings on of his nephew, no, but he’d never heard the account thereof from the boy’s own mouth.
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