Eik knows little of the characteristics of the courts of Novus. He had no idea that theater and performance were skills of the Night Court, and learning this makes him feel mixed feelings. He is a man of stories plainly told and does not much see the value in the embellishment of words. But the thought of a people that does, that intrigues him. It is not like anything he's ever known.
(Made of stories, can you blame his intrigue?)
"I would like to see that..." He muses, thoughts drifting with the wind, and for a moment he is elsewhere.
And then he returns. He has not thought specifically about his beliefs in some time. They are the framework through which he looks at the world, but he doesn't often analyze them. It is a good thing to do, on occasion. He is often surprised by the way they have changed without his notice, like some part of himself is going in one direction while the rest of him is veering another way.
It is easy to get lost in the structure beneath the structure, in asking yourself why why why you think a certain way. It is easy to become obsessive and to then drive yourself mad with the questioning. So he doesn't think of it much, but it is nice to hear the thoughts of another, especially one so young. Well- Vadim isn't so young as much as Eik feels so old. Eik finds himself nodding silently as the other man speaks, a small smile spreading at the conviction in his voice.
"I used to feel the same." He pauses, carefully considering his next words. With age comes certainty in a good number of things, but in some cases... my, how the rug is pulled out from under you. Time wears everything down. "I often still do." But there is something he doesn't understand, just beyond his senses. It is just this thing that washes over him from time to time, this eerie feeling that he is looking at everything through a veil. He wants to reach forward and push the veil aside but never can.
Divinity and reality and the strings on which the world vibrates. It makes him uncomfortable to think about, and he shifts his weight as though trying to settle himself once again.
"I think regardless of what you believe in, it is important to stand by your convictions." He hesitates again, instantly thinking of many atrocious acts committed in the name of conviction. But at the end of the day, everyone lives their own life, and all that matters is the way you judge yourself.
The man's laugh is a relaxing sound, and it eases Eik's uncertainty. "You don't believe in the gods, then?" He asks plainly, no hint of judgement in his voice. Just curiosity and the tumble of water over river pebbles.
