VIGIL 4: Swordfights!!! on Air

[Shadowcaller]

[Upper Village]

"Perhaps," Wenomir says, somewhat non-committally, before looking out to the water. "But enough about my relationship history for a moment. What do you plan to do now, Shanti? Since you have this young lady to take care of."

Command Center

Iamar nods to Felandria. "Nothing else to it, then." With that, she will head off to inside, presumably with Felandria.

Yes, Ma’am.

She turns to Iamar.

I guess it’s off to Inside, then.

Command Center

"You're dismissed then. Good luck." Cessie bids them farewell.

((You guys haven't waited on me though, have you?))

[Upper Village]

"I'm planning to find a more permanent residence in the nexus. With so many people lost in Skyside, I will need to contact their families and perhaps try to arrange the release for them somehow." Shanti explains. "I will need a place where natharia can stay when I'm working however, somewhere where she can hang out with kids of the same age."

[Morty]

[Upper Village]

"That certainly makes sense," Wenomir says. "If you want a place for Natharia to stay, there's always the Good League of Good. Don't ask me about the name. It's a campsite that houses a charity and redemption organization. They recently opened a daycare for kids of all ages."

[Shadowcaller]

[Upper Village]

The druid tilts her head. "I would have to see this place first before I make that decision. Natharia will have something to say as well I suspect."

[Morty]

[Upper Village]

Wenomir shrugs.

"It's a nice and peaceful place. Protected by a spirit-charm covering the whole grounds."

[Training Grounds]

As is the case a lot of the time when he's not commanding and performing administrative duties, Wenomir can be seen there, practising. This time he's standing between four suspended rubber balls that swing in seemingly random directions. He's blindfolded as he dodges them and swats them aside with his axe.

[Devixer]

Training Grounds

Another arrival for training is Vigil's newest member, Iamar. She's forgone her hauberk today, though the rest of her gear remains. She glances over at Wenomir - though she had yet to meet him in person, she knew well enough about the man. At first, it's only a glance, but the method of training catches her eye. A way to improve reflexes, perhaps?

She walks towards Wenomir, though careful not to interrupt his practice.

[Morty]

[Training Grounds]

As Iamar approaches, Wenomir steps away from the rubber balls and takes off his blindfold to look at her.

"You would be Iamar, right?" he says. "I've been informed you joined us recently."

[Devixer]

Training Grounds

Iamar nods, no perceptible change in her expression. "And you are Wenomir." Her eyes flit to his axe. "You fight with plain weapons as well? 'Tis not something I see often in the Nexus."

[Morty]

[Training Grounds]

Wenomir, on the other hand, smiles slightly as he weighs the axe in his hands.

"Indeed not. The martial arts aren't widely used or respected around here, are they? But according to Kal, you handle yourself well with them."

[Devixer]

Training Ground

Iamar frowns a little. "I don't know that I would call what I do an art, but yes. I have fought for a long time, against the crusaders and in here. I would not be standing here if I could not hold my own."

[Morty]

[Training Grounds]

"I do call fighting an art," Wenomir says, leaning against his axe. "It sounds like you don't feel this way, though," he adds, as a sort of half-question.

[Devixer]

Training Grounds

Iamar shakes her head. "I do not. There is no artistry in fighting or in war." Iamar glances away from Wenomir, towards the hilt of her shamshir. "All that comes of it is suffering."

[Morty]

[Training Grounds]

"Suffering comes from many things," Wenomir observes. "Usually it's people's greed, hate and small minds. Violence becomes their tool, but it can also be a tool against them. Which we do here. I haven't always done it. I used to fight for my own pride and ambition, but I know better now."

[Devixer]

Training Grounds

"Once, I only fought to protect my home. But here, hm. I suppose I could've found something else to serve as my calling. But I fought against the crusaders for so long... this is all I know." Iamar scowled - perhaps at herself.

[Morty]

[Training Grounds]

"So you never wanted to fight, but had to," Wenomir summarizes. "An altogether too common story. Whatever you may have done instead, or done later, you're here, and you're a warrior. Seems to me the best thing to do would be to make the most of it, but maybe I'm not one to talk. I was supposed to be a serf, but I scratched and clawed my way into being a warrior."

[Gullara]

[Upper Village]

The druid tilts her head. "I would have to see this place first before I make that decision. Natharia will have something to say as well I suspect."

[Upper Village]

Wenomir shrugs.

"It's a nice and peaceful place. Protected by a spirit-charm covering the whole grounds."

[Upper Village]

Natharia comes out of the water again and runs back over to the two adults with a big smile on her face. "That was fun." She smooths her hands over her snakes and makes sure her blindfold is firmly in place again. It's sodden now, but her eyes are still blocked fine. "I need something better to cover my eyes." She decides in that moment.

[Shadowcaller]

[Upper Village]

"You do." Shanti agrees as she kneels down to help Natharia make sure the fold stays on. Then she turns to give Wenomir a concerned look. "You do, do you have anything like that? Some manner of goggles perhaps."

[Morty]

[Upper Village]

Wenomir looks uncertain.

"Finding a pair shouldn't be hard, but... do they have to make sure her eyes aren't visible?"

[Devixer]

Training Grounds

"I would not be here if I didn't intend to put the skills I do have to use. Sometimes, though, I think of what could have been. Perhaps I would have taken up the oud, or stayed at the farm." Iamar shakes her head. It doesn't do to dwell on what could have been. "But my place is here, reluctant as I may be to take it."

[Gullara]

[Upper Village]

"If anyone sees my eyes they turn to stone and die." Natharia says very matter of factly. Perhaps a harsh reality for a child, but one she needs to understand.

[Morty]

[Training Grounds]

"That's a rather defeatist outlook," Wenomir points out. "I understand why you've come to think this way, but now you have the option not to simply accept the hand you've been given."

[Shadowcaller]

[Upper Village]

Wenomir looks uncertain.

"Finding a pair shouldn't be hard, but... do they have to make sure her eyes aren't visible?"

[Upper Village]

"If anyone sees my eyes they turn to stone and die." Natharia says very matter of factly. Perhaps a harsh reality for a child, but one she needs to understand.

[Upper Village]

"Yes, exactly. We have to make sure no one sees them." Shanti implores.

[Devixer]

Training Grounds

"And what else is there? Do you expect me to find some kind of enjoyment in all of this?" Iamar sighs - she was growing too irritated by this. "It is just not the person I am."

[Morty]

[Training Grounds]

"Enjoyment? Perhaps not," Wenomir says. His voice is calm and firm. "But there's satisfaction and purpose. Enlightenment, even. Better than miserably holding on to something just because it's the only thing you know how to do."

[Upper Village]

That's a rather disturbing thing to hear from a child. Wenomir would like to have a few words with that serpent "deity". But for now, only one thing they can really do.

"I'll go see what I can find, then. One of the workshops should have something."

[Letter]

At some other time, a letter to Wenomir and Cessie will arrive from Dipsnig. Attached are Erasmus and Fayyaad's report on the Blade of Hope Removed, where to find it and its history.

((Relevant posts begin here.))

[Gullara]

[Upper Village]

"Thank you, Wenomir." Natharia says politely. Hopefully it'll be more comfortable than this.

[Devixer]

Training Grounds

Iamar scoffs at that. "And tell me, exactly what sort of purpose or enlightenment is there to be found in a sword?" She wasn't being fair, and part of her knew it. But she just couldn't see what enlightenment could be found in battle.

[Morty]

[Upper Village]

Wenomir will leave for a moment and return with a pair of opaque goggles. They're a bit bulky, but conceal the wearer's eyes completely.

[Training Grounds]

"A sword is a tool of steel, made for conflict," Wenomir says. "And conflict is inevitable. We might not want it, but it will come. When it does, it reveals who we are better than any words. When conflict came for you, it seems to me like it revealed a person who would rather do something she hates than let foreign invaders run roughshod. Studying the sword, or any other weapon, is more than just studying how to wield it and inflict harm. It means to study conflict and how we emerge from it."

[Shadowcaller]

[Upper Village]

Shanti nods gratefully. "Thank you, Wenomir. She do need something better than a blindfold by now..." She glances at the gorgon. "You're feeling okay otherwise?" She asks gently.

[Gullara]

[Upper Village]

"Thank you, Wenomir." Natharia takes the goggles. She turns away from a moment to replace her sodden blindfold. Once the goggles are firmly in place she turns back. "Um, yeah. I'm fine." She's not sure what Shanti is worried about.

[Recaiden]

Alice is here testing out the demon-warding circles that Marshall provided her, not simply leaving them on record in the library.
Obviously, such a pursuit calls for lots of demons: Aaiesi's minions, kidnapped imps, damned souls, etc. And lots of salt. One by one, the monsters are instructed to try breaking through the circle.

((It's a big training ground, though, isn't it? No need to bother anyone doing philosophy if they don't want.))

[Morty]

[Upper Village]

"You're welcome. I hope they're more comfortable than a blindfold," Wenomir says, glancing at Shanti. What did she mean?