Reunion - Fallout

[Ancelas]

Mirrai mulled over Taliesin's words. If Kurnoth still existed in the deep places... would it be possible Marrin did? But how could a goddess like that hide?

With a sigh, she sat up straighter. If there was a chance... "Corisandia," she said. "Er... Corrisande. That's where I'm from, and where we lived. The city of Arindel... it was the capital, back then. She had a lot of titles... I'm not sure what might have been more important. The Joyous One, The Gentle Heart, Daughter of Preservation... and no, she wasn't especially close with a particular deity, although she knew many. Her ascendance estranged her from many, including her sister - my aunt. The only one who was able to get close to her was my father, Xielann."

[§~Samwise~§]

Taliesin jotted things down as she noted them. He frowned softly as he reminded himself where things were. "Corisande ... right. On the other side of the mountains from Gilneas." He flipped a few pages back in his journal. "And the Valorfall sea is right there as well. The Truth Seer's Recourse in the care of Telemon's Storm Giant kin."

He flipped back to the page on Marrin. "Well, the closest I have been is the other side of Gilneas on the coast. But, Adonai. And the Valorfall sea ..." He made small noises as he pieced together possible answers, each likely further from the truth than the last. "Well, we killed the one living being who might have had insight into your mother yesterday." He sighed at that acknowledgement. "Then again he shifted sides to Hectapol and ..."

He blinked several times and just stared confused into the middle distance.

[Ancelas]

Mirrai frowned and looked over at Taliesin. "What's the Valorfall Sea?"

[§~Samwise~§]

Taliesin shook his head and looked over. He thought he had shown her a map, but even if he had, he might not have called it by name. "Oh. Uh, one moment."

He flipped to the back of his book and started roughly making a map calling out the name of features as he placed them. "Bryll ... Farondis ... Gilneas ... Mountains ... Corrisande ... Valorfall Sea .. Ashara?"

The map was not cartographer level, but it clearly depicted the general regions with the peninsula of Meridia on the west and Ashara the arm on the east surrounding while an archipelago of tiny islands bridged the gap.

"Legend says that Valor fell in that location in battle and caused the Sea to empty in." He looked up to Mirrai, curious what she might say of the area. He quickly added in. "Legend also suggests that after falling Valor was banished by Ruin to a location that only she knows."

[Ancelas]

Mirrai leaned over to look at the map, frowning. As Taliesin explained, her face grew pale and her fingertips brushed across the surface of the rough map.

"Indara," she murmured softly. "This... this was the country of Indara... It stretched from the sea to the mountains. It... doesn't exist anymore... Do you have more maps?"

[§~Samwise~§]

Taliesin frowned softly. "I can do vague approximations based on what I recall from the maps that Sae has. But they may not illustrate enough." He remembered showing maps to Mirrai much earlier, but there was so much going on at the time that she probably had information overload and didn't recall.

He remembered something that they specifically discussed and continued the sketch on the same page. He continued from Ashara to just make the continent of Mazuri with the small island of Argonia to the west and then added the continent of Corinthia to the east with a sea between. " We talked about this one before. The continent of Mazuri is here and the island of Argonia is a part of that. To the east is the narrow sea and the continent of Corinthia."

He looked up at Mirrai. "If I remember correctly you noted that there should be no sea there and that altogether." He thought about it a moment and realized that perhaps there was a library in the castle, possibly with maps. He wondered if perhaps he could get Mirrai some time to research and note her findings.

[Ancelas]

Mirrai recalled the maps showing the Vale, Illyria, and Astorea, and had accepted that countries had risen and fallen in the time since she had left Mobius, but the existence of the Valorfall Sea revealed a scale she had not comprehended before.

Mirrai rested her elbow on the table and rested her forehead in her raised hand. She stared at the rough map and closed her eyes.

"...This is too much. I can't... process... all of this. There's been no time to consider how much history I've missed, or how much the world has changed, or what gods are here or not... I can't... I just...."

Mirrai trailed off and clenched her jaw, tears welling at the corner of her eyes.

[§~Samwise~§]

Taliesin went silent and stood. He moved around the table and gently placed his hand on her back in an attempt at comfort. A thought raced behind his eyes and he looked toward the door of the common room. "I think I know a way to help you, and honestly help others at the same time."

He knelt down in order to stop towering and looking down at her. "This is a lot. I know. But I believe that we can start working through this a little bit at a time." He rubbed his hand in a small circle hoping to ease tension and woes. "We could even do a sort of joint research like you did with Ta'ro. Only, more collaborative without the possibility of spawning some other worldly being." He added a light tone to the end of the sentence to clearly outline a playful joke to lighten the mood.

[Ancelas]

Mirrai started shaking her head as Taliesin knelt beside her and spoke, but managed to bark out a laugh at the joke. "I don't know. If we're able to conjure up one of the old gods, then maybe it'd be worth it."

Her smile quickly faded as she shook her head again and looked to Taliesin. "I've barely been back in the world a month, and I've already seen and experienced too much. Rushing headfirst into more upsetting realizations... I don't know if that's a good idea. So much has changed, or been lost... all I stand to find is heartache and pain. I can't bring myself to willingly embrace that when I've barely come to terms with what I already know."

[§~Samwise~§]

Taliesin continued looking at Mirrai seriously and sincerely. "How about this ... I'll get you a book and you document the information you know of the gods that aren't widely known anymore, regardless of pantheon. It'll keep you busy and will ensure that we can And I'll start tapping on some doors and see if we can conjure up some old gods."

His tone was calm, even, and sure. If nothing else, he seemed confident that her joking reply was actually a possibility. "I need to visit the temple quarter myself. I also need to see a man about some clothes. Do you want to come with, or would you like to stay here in the glade and around the castle?"

[Ancelas]

"I... like that idea, actually," Mirrai admitted. "Keeping a journal is a good idea... it could help keep me grounded. It sounds like you're looking for some kind of... history... book, though." She shook her head. "I'm not a scholar. I was young when I left Mobius, and if you're looking for information from that time, I don't know how useful it'd be.

"But as a tool to help me keep oriented with this world.." She nodded, more to herself. "Yes... that may be a good idea."

[§~Samwise~§]

Taliesin stood back up from his kneeling position. "Not really a history book. You'd be amazed at what we can dig up once we know what we need to ask for." He offered plainly.

"I'll make a point of getting another book, bag, and scribing materials for you. If it helps you level out and take in this future you find yourself stuck in, it's worth it." He didn't make a big deal about her not answering whether she wanted to come with him or not. He looked over to his bag and then back to Mirrai.