aterat | Pulse 001

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Pulse 001

Speaking Crystal

[Mid-morning, a familiar voice rings out over the crystals.]

Good morning, everyone! We trust you've settled in well! We'd like to meet you all formally and invite you to join us in the fountain square this afternoon! We look forward to seeing you there!

Who; The Aspects (Halcyn & Athony) and YOU!
What; The Aspects welcome their new summons to Aterat
Where; The Fountain Square
When; Thursday; Mid-day
Warnings; None I can think of. Will update if necessary

The Fountain square remains unchanged from your arrival, the multiple tiers containing archways all dim save for the one from which Halcyn and her counterpart, Athony, step at the appointed time. Around the fountain, though, have gathered artisans, performers, and salesman as well as recruiters. People are looking for clerks, delivery persons, and people to run small tasks for them. There are leatherworkers interested in hiring intrepid individuals to acquire more exotic skins for their trade and various other ways to earn coin.

And then there is a larger stall built into the back of a large covered wagon pulled by two oxen. It's set off a little ways from the others, either to set itself apart from the vulgus or simply to afford it room. Two people dressed smartly stand a bit apart from it and will encourage any passersby to come speak with the clerk behind the desk. Emblazoned across the side in intricate gold leaf are the letters "MGB" and the callers will inform anyone inquiring they are representatives of the Merchant's Guild Bank, and that they are willing to negotiate investment in any business ventures newcomers may be interested in...for a modest cut, of course. They assure the contract is thoroughly negotiable and urge you to speak with the broker in the carriage.

All business dealings cease when the portal on the highest level of the fountain activates and Halcyn and Athony step through. She is tall, lithe, with flowing red hair and an aura of goodness and life that overrides any attempts to read her mind. He has a darker aura, clad in deep gray armor with a gem-encrusted sword at his hip and a formidable shield strapped to his back. The murk around his mind is just as difficult to pierce, and anyone sensative to the flow of time would sense these two seem to exist as though apart from it.

They descend the dias to stand at ground level, equal to the gathered crowd, but when Halcyn speaks, her soft melodious voice carries as though its amplified, though there seems to be no source of amplification save for a subtle vibration of magic those sensative to it may sense.

"I'm so glad you all came!" She claps her hands together, clasping them before her before spreading her arms wide. "We have so much work to do, as I've told you all already. We have been tasked with the reconstruction of this world, and we simply can't without all of you. The reason why is complicated, but I can assure you we require nothing of any of you that you are not capable of." She motions around at the square and all those gathered here.

"The people of Aterat are eager to welcome you as well, but Athony and myself will remain around should you wish to speak more privatly. Again, thank you all for coming!"

With that, the gathering dispurses into it's former form, though the Aspects remain should anyone wish to speak with them.

Feel free to post top levels to meet and greet your fellow arrivals and to explore the offerings of this strange new city.

Throughout the city, not only today, but at random times, a new rhyme seems to have been picked up by the children at play, skipping rope or playing hopscotch, or dancing in a strange circle. There's a haunting quality to it, but maybe that's only because no one's taken notice of its existence before:

Traveler, traveler, what do you seek?
Riches and fame make oaken souls weap.

Traveler, traveler, watch where you're led.
One turn left, three turns right will take you to bed.

Traveler, traveler, try not to get lost.
The dwellers in the mirk may well be the cost.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"For.. a job here." She frowned and for a few seconds of silence, Syeira stared at Jagger. She knew him. Not his face. This was the first time that they had met but she knew his voice. It was familiar and comforting... but why? It didn't make any sense to her.

"Sorry."

Syeira gently pressed her fingers on to either side of her nose. She was feeling dizzy. It was as if threads were meeting but nothing should have that sort of impact in this city. It's weave was thin and simple in its construction and design.

"I just- I know you... I- we were supposed to meet." She tried to retrace her own thread backwards but there was something making it difficult to focus. Could she reach the tapestry of her world from here? It was a strange question because she'd never thought to ask it before. She'd never tried.

"I mean, if you do...circus things, sure." His answer was off-handed as he was focusing more on this strange girl and the clear confusion she was experiencing. He was reminded of himself when he was lost in a particularly strong impression from an object or a person, trying to shake off the reality that had flashed through his mind and hold on to the one before his eyes.

He reached out to touch her shoulder, almost instinctively, his eyes seeking hers. "Take it easy, love. Why don't you start at the beginning?" It didn't even occur to him how strange it was that he moved to touch her, it just seemed like the natural thing to do.

She nodded and hoped that it was enough of an answer. She had lived her entire life in the circus and that was the only life she knew. Syeira was trying to adjust to this new world but it was difficult for her. It was lonely.

Except she wasn't alone.

Jagger's palm rested on her shoulder and she felt the world center and focus. It was as if the many futures were now options instead of demands. She could see the tapestry clearly. It was just as simple as Halcyn had said, with each new thread appearing and intertwining as the cloth strengthened.

She reached for his hand and rested her palm lightly over his. Her gaze met his and for the first time since her arrival, she could focus on something. "You're a Viewer. You see the weave too. That's why I knew you, we were supposed to meet. We're from the same weave... I mean, world, time."

He tensed at her motion, prepared for whatever vision her unexpected touch might bring, but none came. He blinked down at her hand, then back to her eyes. If the furrow of his brow was any indication, things like 'viewer' and 'weave' meant nothing to him.

"How can you be so sure?"

There was a lot that she wanted to explain but it was too much to unload on him now.

"Because I've seen it. I heard you before we met, our threads were going to intertwine." Syeira was unshakably confident. "You can see the cloth too..." Her voice trialed off and she winced when she realized what his confusion meant. He'd had no one to teach him about the weave.

"Time." She corrected herself gently. "You can see into the fabric of time too. Less than me. It's just a glimpse but you can see it. That's what I mean."

Everything she said both made sense and was the most confusing thing he'd ever heard. Brow furrowed, he shook his head slightly. "I don't know anything about a fabric." His eyes diverted to his hand, still touching her, still telling him nothing.

"Or anything like that."

"You can see into time. When you do, it is the weave you are peering into. It's only a section of it and I-" Her gaze unfocused. "I can see it all." She gently took his hand, the tips of her fingers brushing against his wrist.

"I could try and show you. If you'd like." She'd done it for her father in the past. "You won't see anything of me unless I let you and- I am okay with you seeing it." Syeira felt her heartbeat skip. "I want you to see me."

She wanted him to know her.

"Not...really." At least he'd never seen it that way. "I just...touch things, and sometimes I can read things from them, things about the people who touched it, things that happened wherever that thing was."

What she was suggesting sounded so...intimate and frightening he was tempted to pull his hand back. He swallowed, looking around their surroundings for a moment before looking back to her.

"Maybe not here?" It seemed almost like voyeurism, doing it out in the open.

Her lips part, her expression surprised before she recomposed herself. "Yes. You're right, we shouldn't do it here." Syeira had completely forgotten that they were currently standing in a public place. It felt as if the entire world had melted away and only the pair of them existed with the steady warmth of time flowing behind, below and before them.

"Where should we go? I was given a room in the red building. I don't know many other places."

She hadn't gotten to explore a lot just let.

He licked his lips, how uncertain it was all making him evident in his expression, and he glanced toward the residence in question before nodding.

"If you're comfortable with that, we can go there."

She saw his expression but didn't know how to handle it. She could look into the paths of the future but a little voice within her told her that he was different, she should ask him first. He was... important. It was a feeling she couldn't shake and she didn't know what it meant.

"I am." Syeira reluctantly loosened her fingers from his hand before turning towards the room she'd been given upon her arrival.

"Yes. It's more uncomfortable living in a room. I've never been on my own like this. We shared space. It isn't a big place but it feels big and empty." She didn't like being in her apartment. It was nothing like the circus.

He blinked at her explanation, but nodded at her agreement, falling into step beside her. He felt drawn to her, but he shook it off, explaining it away as being intrigued by so strange a girl.

"We?"

"My Clan. Um... my family and I. More often than not it was with Mami and my older brother. We travel and perform, going from city to city. There are a few car's but we don't always have heat, so it's better to have more people together." Body heat was the best way to stay warm and Syeira worried about Mami, who was one of the few who had extra blankets for sleeping.

"There aren't too many of us but... I love them." She smiled over at Jagger, leading him towards the building that she'd been instructed to call home. "Tell me. That is, if it's alright-" She could look herself but Syeira wanted to hear it from him.

"Do you have people like that?"

A beat.

"He sounds wonderful."

"Not many, but-" He watched her for a moment, tilting his head to the side curiously as she paused only a moment before acting like he'd spun her a full tale. It clicked, then, a voice that sounded rather like Carl filtering through his mind.

"You're a clairvoyant."

"Huh? Yes. Did I not mention that?" She stopped when they reached the door to her apartment but didn't draw a key. She had one with her but Syeira wasn't used to locking doors.

"I am a Seer... in a sense. My clan calls us Readers because we can read the tapestry of time or cloth, if you'd prefer to call it that." She stepped inside of the apartment, leaving the door open for Jagger. Syeira didn't spend a lot of time here. The only indication that she lived here was the fact that there were a lot of pillows and blanks pulled onto the floor in what looks like a nest she might have slept in. It's been difficult to sleep, without her brother or the clamor of the circus outside her tent.

"Not yet." It was sardonic, the response, but it was also his typical reaction to things that didn't make sense to him, at least until he'd had a chance to sort it out and comprehend it.

He looked around her small apartment, taking it all in and making note of what he could determine from the appearance. Whatever the reason, Syeira wasn't comfortable here, but truth be told, who was? "Your clan?"

"My family. That's just, what we call it." She took a seat on the floor and gently gestured for Jagger to join her. Syeira didn't really know what she was going to do or what she wanted to try and show him but she was going to try something that she used to do with her father.

"What- um..." She felt her face flush slightly. "You can see some and because of that I can show you some within my past. Did you want to see my family?"

"Yeah, sure." It wasn't as though it was something he'd never heard. Only, it had been in history texts and cultural studies.

His breath quickened at her question, and at first even he couldn't place why, exactly. Did he want to see her family? Maybe. Did he want to be shown using some power he didn't understand? He wasn't sure.

"...maybe."

She gently takes his hand and leads him towards the floor. There was an awkward pause but then Syeira moved to take a seat on the couch, leading Jagger with her. She wasn't used to having a couch but she was trying to make him more comfortable.

"That isn't really a yes or a no." She didn't want to continue without his permission.

Her fingers lightly brushed against the materials of his gloves as a thoughtful expression touched her features. "Do you always wear gloves?" He was safe with her but she didn't know the full depths of his struggles. Syeira had made a point not to look into Jagger's past.

He allowed himself to be led, though not without a degree of reservation. There were very few people, two, in fact, he trusted with the knowledge of the full extent of his abilities: His partner Carl and Detective Richmond of Homicide in Detroit who barely believed him in the first place.

He nodded in response to her question, looking down at his gloved hands. "Yeah. Easier to keep from accidentally touching something."

She gently turned over his hand before slowly taking off the glove. "I don't know... but if it helps you. Then I suppose it does." Her fingers felt cold in his palms but there were no unwanted visions.

"How about I show you the circus." She closed her eyes and focused on her own memories before gently opening the way for Jagger to see. It wasn't a lot but a rush of laughter and the thick buttery scent of popcorn mingling with the sugary rush of cotton candy. The people themselves blur in and out as Syeira is seen in the middle of one of her dances.

It shifts again and she's younger, in a tent with her older brother. They're playing a game where he guesses the number hidden behind her back and he always reads the correct number. There is an older man in the tent with them, telling them both that it was time for bed.

Carl often suggested the gloves didn't help at all, that it was just a mental thing, but even if that were true, Jagger didn't feel there was anything he could do about it. His eyes followed the trail of her fingers even as they traced tickling treks down his palm. People were the easiest to read, whether he wanted to or not. With this, though, there were no intrusive thoughts, no memories, not even a weird craving for food he usually hated. It was just a human's touch.

At least until the visions flow from her. They aren't chaotic like they usually are, and it's easy to see them, like someone tuning a radio, and he realizes quickly they aren't coming from his mind, but are being funneled into it, instead. They were from Syeira, and they were about her. She loved the circus more than anything, and her people more than she loved herself, but there was a sadness he sensed when the older man showed up a deep and penetrating sadness.

"...what happened to the man?"

Syeira's eyes open as her lips formed into a frown. It was easy to keep the vision in her minds-eye but it was hard to hide how she felt from Jagger. The pain was too fresh.

"My father." She spoke softly. "He was killed because... I couldn't protect him. He was my Reader. That is why I knew that you were one too." She didn't entirely answer the intent of his question and she knew it but it was difficult for her to talk about. She'd already lost her mother, then her father and now that she was in this city, her brother too. Syeira was alone and she didn't like it.

"How are you supposed to protect him?" Or were you might have been a better way of asking. It didn't seem fair that she would blame herself. She may be a visionary, but she was no fighter. "How...did he die?"

"I should have seen it coming. The visitors..." Her mouth tilted into a frown. "They hid their future from me. I don't know how. My father and brother went to meet them. I wanted to go. It was someone important but father told me to stay back. Only my brother made it back... but I saw it happen. The weave made sure that I saw it."

Her hands gently loosened from his before falling down to her lap. "It was a Druid. They're supposed to protect the balance." She felt her tears drop into her hands before she realized that she had begun crying.

Pulse 001

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