Arah HAPPINESS CAN AWLWAYS BE FOUND EVEN IN THE DARKEST OF TIMES; IF ONE ONLY REMEMBERS TO TURN ON THE LIGHT
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Or rather she had. This was her emergence, the release from what had been. A chance to live life the way she should have done. Once she got her family back together and they all residents in the same home, then they could continue as the one unit. It was also important to establish herself in The Night Court, she was desperate to learn of her new home, eager to prove herself and more than ready to settle down in a herd. Ambition had not been the downfall of societies, nor had it been responsible for her personal collapse. If anything it had been the lack of ambition that had allowed her to loose her way. This was her chance to figure out what she wanted now, what her purpose in this new land would be. Knowledge had always been her pursuit in life, through it was no longer secretive intelligence that she sought. It was history, the lessons that their ancestors left behind. It was learning about magic, how it worked, how it empowered others. The leaders of the lands, the wars, the gods, the changes in landscape and everything else the world had to offer. She was greedy.
Together, side by side they matched in a strange way. Like shadow and light, they chased one another, never meeting but always dancing. Light and shadow chased, they fought, they mingled and they worked together. Who was he shadow? She had enough darkness in her to often be chasing the light but could he represent the light? Perhaps.
Silky ivory hairs reflected the torch lights. The cable was surprisingly well lit, though upon reflection perhaps it shouldn't have been such a shock to her. There had always been light reflected in the window panes of the castle. Although it was larger inside than she had originally thought it to be, with corridors and high ceilings that enabled even the tallest to wonder through. Was there more than one building like this in Novus? Just how large was this land that she had found herself in? Helovia had been large enough that it would take months for one to walk from one end to the other. Seasons would change before one reached their destination. Was the size of this land comparable to that of Helovia? Was there magic in these lands? Would her own eventually return once her body and mind got over the shock of falling through the magic of the rift. The doe assumed that her body had been over exposed to the magic contained in the rift that she's travelled through. In order to preserve her body and sanity (though it had been a close call, Wynter had saved her mind) Arah's own magic had shutdown, cut itself off from being assessed by the doe. It was preservation, survival. Hopefully her abilities had not been too altered by the magic of the rift and when her body was ready for her abilities to return she could still summon them.
Wynter was another matter entirely. She'd not herd from her bonded since the rift had shut down after spitting her out. Although it would be easier for the doe to remain here while Wynter sought her out, the griffin being a natural born tracker, the doe doubted just how useful Wynter's tracking skills would be in regards to her whereabouts. The silver hadn't exactly left a traceable trail. The only reason Arah had decided to remain here was because Wynter might have gotten the smallest sense of these lands through the open rift. Moving on to new lands would be counter productive if this was the case.
The pace was a leisurely one, Arah appreciated this as it gave her time to survey her new home in great detail. They first made their way through the grounds, her hooves lightly brushing against each stone as if she could feel and experience each moment of the individual stones' history. How many hooves before hers had kissed the surface that she now walked upon? The stories that would be told if the stones could speak. Arah would listen, she had never lost the thirst for knowledge. "I do enjoy variety." Arah smiled, thinking about the antics that carried on in the general population of herds or courts. No doubt it would be just as entertaining in her new home. Those who had little to think of but themselves and their drama always served the more common practice of entertainment. "It has been some time since I read. Written works were far and few in my previous home." Yet being fluent in three tongues and able to get by in a handful of others she was positive that she'd be able to read the majority of scrolls kept within the library. In tales, as old as time itself, she had heard of the Great Wanshtin's Library. Filled with the world's knowledge about every subject imaginable. It had been lost to the world centuries ago, not seen since The Great Explorer closed the great doors behind him. Arah had never even been in a normal library, the idea of having access to one excited her greatly. The other mentioned ranks held some similarity to those in Helovia, though the lack of crafters disappointed her. Those about to create marvels from bare materials had always fascinated her. The lack of a spy rank was also intriguing, perhaps there was more trust between the courts here than there had been between the herds populating Helovia. Yet the presence of the warrior ranks suggested else wise, protection was still big business. Battle - she had no talent in this art. At best she survived.
The admission that he was not always a warrior surprised her. Clearly she was rusty at reading others. "No, being outplayed often makes some return to childhood." As a mother, she knew the tempers of children. Glancing at his scars she felt a flash of sympathy for him. They were an unfortunate price for service. "Looks to have been a severe tantrum?" The doe remarked, ending the statement as a question should he wish to continue with his story. With such words he'd peaked her interest, she knew it would be an intriguing story. Though she also wanted to be delicate as it may be too painful for him to recall. Not asking him outright allowed him to politely refuse to answer her question.
It seemed that Kaisar had never seen the power of names. True, she'd given her willingly but she was a mere mortal, speaking a god's name outright could be very dangerous. Even her old gods where simply known by their elements (Earth, Sun, Time and Darkness) they never made the mortal natives privy to their names. Nodding to show she had heard him, the doe did not dare test the fates and repeat the name. They'd had demi-gods in Helovia, though they'd not had their own domain. Arah wondered if the Gods had taken their children before the Rift tore them away from their lands. "I shall seek out the sages and the visitor, thank you." Arah had often traveled to other herd lands to inquire about history and gods but being so new to these lands it was quite convenient to have a visiting sage here. She also liked to attend festivals, perhaps that was practised here as well. "Does each court hold a yearly festival to honour their patron god or goddess?" Arah asked, perhaps these questions would be better suited for a practising sage to answer. But curiosity had a thirst for being answered sooner rather than later. As soon as it suited she would join the sages in the library, so far it had been too soon. Too overwhelming. Yet even just this introduction, the help of Kaisar had assisted her with growing in confidence, excited to delve into the history of these lands. The Great Hall earned it's name. It was massive, large enough to fit the court in order to seek council with Reichenbach. Parties? The doe liked the idea of parties, they'd had festivals in Helovia but not parties. She followed his gaze to the left, excited to see the stairs that lead to the library but she was also just intrigued to see the apartments. Would she be entitled to one? "I'm curious to see the apartments first." Arah decided, her eyes looking down the towards the rooms. "Who is entitled to a room?" She inquired not wanting to be embarrassed by asking if she might have a room outright. Then she glanced towards him at the mentioned kitchens and dungeons. With a grin and an arched brow she simply inquired, "dungeons?" Perhaps the shock was because this civilisation seemed more advanced than Helovia, she's assumed they had no need for dungeons. Though this was clearly incorrect she couldn't help be curious to see where prisoners where kept. Then she should also see to the gardens, see what healing herbs they grew. It was good knowledge to have on hand. "I would like to see the gardens please." She could always inspect the dungeons on her own later.
