As requested

As requested

Postby Cauchemar » Sun Feb 24, 2013 2:07 pm

A letter would arrive via messenger to the meeting house, addressed to Glenn. Not Govenor Burnie. Simply Glenn. His name was penned in beautiful script across the front of the tri-folded ivory parchment.

My dear Glenn,

Per our conversation a few days ago, I have decided to write you a letter. There is so much I would love to discuss with you, Glenn. Our interaction these few days past did hinder what I was willing to tell you in that moment. I really must request that at our next meeting you conduct yourself with a bit more decorum. The finale of our encounter was a bit more, dramatic, than I have a liking for. Civility at all times, that is what we will strive for next time. Wouldn't you agree?

You asked me to tell you something. Something amazing. I will give you this, for now, and nothing more. You asked of my mother. Where she was. What she thought of my being here. You did not ask, -who- she was. My mother is called Tressa. She is quite a beautiful woman. Porcelain skin, narrow features, wide violet eyes. Her hair is the most beautiful color of red you have ever seen. Crimson like a rich velvet. I have heard that her brother is known to you. One of Myrken's heroes. His name is Altias Bromn.

I have so much more to tell you, Glenn. So much. I have so much I want to learn from you. About you. I do hope to hear from you soon. And I hope you have something amazing to tell me.

With affection,
Nightingale


The letter is sealed with red wax, the Bromn family seal embedded in the wax.
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Re: As requested

Postby Glenn » Mon Feb 25, 2013 3:57 am

Answers come to Glenn Burnie. Had he deceived Ariane? No, because the end result was as she expected it. She had denied him what he wanted but had to understand that he would accept what he was not allowed to take. It was a matter of degree and no one understood that as well as the swordswoman. Of course, she also understood absolutes and that might come to a head at some point

To Burnie, all of this hinged on one very important question: Was the girl over her head or not? Or, to put it more simply, was the girl even a girl or was she something else entirely. A brief encounter had given him an initial supposition, enough that she was allowed to live free for another day. For now, it would be a chain of words and ink that he bound her with. It would be up to her to walk the careful balance between that and something far more draconian.

Nightingale,

It is with no small appreciation that I have come to find your letter before me. There was always a chance that you would have decided upon flight, either from me or Myrken. In fact, in many ways, that would have been your wisest choice. I gave you the chance for freedom, and yet you have tied yourself to our mast. You'll humor me that. Nautical reference rarely carry much weight in a landlocked province. Still, it is unusual to find the siren tied to the mast instead of the captain. We'll have to see what comes of it. I suggest not blocking up your ears, however. You will miss much if you do.

On civility, my betrothed would agree with you in a happy moment, that it is the goal one must always strive towards. Climbing that pinnacle is unfortunately not a luxury I am always allowed. Necessity in all things, Nightingale. Necessity, brilliance, and then, I suppose, civility. I refuse to wear the mask of false civilization if it bars my way in the creation of true civilization. You shall humor me this as well. My incivility will never be brutish or without purpose. Know that.

It was important that you understood the stakes of this game. They are high enough to make calling it a game at all offensive, trite. They are nothing less than people's lives. Thankfully, I am never one to shy from offending those around me when it suits and so often it does. It is up to you, however, if you will humor me on that count. Know that even if you don't, it will avail you little.

I find it interesting that you speak of your mother's beauty but not of her other features, that you liken her to Altias but not to Garrison. Is she not sister of both men? Or in those ways that matter, is she only sister to Altias? That is an interesting thought, don't you think? A sister of Garrison would not have let you come alone, nor would she have bowed so thoroughly to your father. Do you think me to be a man moved by beauty first and foremost? I appreciate that you are a rose, Sparrow, but only so far that it has provided you with enough confidence to let your other talents shine. It is but a single mean to a thousand other ends.

Was there anything amazing in the above? It becomes occasionally difficult to tell in my own missives. Self-reflection is one of my weakest skills, I'm afraid to say. An amazing question then. Why did I not ask you who your mother was? To make it easier, I shall hone in further. Why might I not care? I wonder if it would offend you to offer a third clue. I shall take my chances and you may chastise me for it later later. It was not because I knew your father so well.

Luck,
Glenn
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Re: As requested

Postby Cauchemar » Mon Feb 25, 2013 10:19 am

Glenn,

I have not come this far to run. What good would it do to run? You know she would hunt me, now that she knows that I exist.

You know I will listen as well as I am able, Glenn. You have much you can show me. I am not so foolish as to deny that which is right in front of me. I would ask that you do the same.

You make excellent points in regard to civility. There are times, I would suppose, when manners are not of the utmost importance. I simply wish for you to know that force is almost never the way to get what you want. At least not from me. As far as offending, I shall leave that to you, if you find need of it. It is my last resort. That is not completely true, violence would be my last resort, but then I think that is the choice of anyone truly wise.

Most women have two glaring flaws, Glenn. Curiosity, which I will confess is one of my flaws, or as I see it, a wonderful strength. The other is vanity. I mention my mother's beauty because it defines who she is. She does not see the woman that I do. A woman so gifted in word and magick. She sees only what my father saw in her, her beauty. If I am a rose, then I would say it is my thorns that I cherish more. I would not cease to be the woman I am, if I did not look the way I do.

Was there anything amazing? Well, something learned, certainly. As for your question...I would gather from what you have said that you did not care who my mother was because anyone so easily and completely cowed to a madman like Thadius Dhrin holds nothing of interest for you. You already know of my Father. To be honest, you may indeed know more than I do of him, in a manner of speaking. My mother, regardless of how she is related to the residents of Myrken is not of interest because you have nothing to gain from knowing her, or even knowing of her. She serves no purpose in creating your vision. If I am wrong, then perhaps I am not as clever as you thought I was.

With consideration,

Nightingale
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Re: As requested

Postby Glenn » Tue Feb 26, 2013 6:45 am

Nightingale,

There is a good reason not to run but fatalism is never it. You have decided not to run because you wish to live, not because you know that the risk of death is as good elsewhere as it is here. You wish to flourish, remember? You've shown courage. Embrace it.

Cloistered. I know something of this. I know of a theoretical world that one can be immersed in, where people are not people but names and facts and possibilities. Words in a book. Lists and patterns. Wisdom and civility serve you well in that world. Wisdom and civility there are the only weapons you need. Reason and ration can overcome any problem. You've emerged from that world and find yourself in ours. We use every tool at our disposal. I employ tactics and, shall we say, personnel that are not wise in the least, but they serve their purpose, reshuffling the board and introducing the element of unpredictability at key moments. If you move with nothing but wisdom, you will lose. There is always someone wiser than you, after all.

Your mother was cowed not only by Dhrin but by yourself as well. That is not the least of it though. The answer, Nightingale, is that I care not for mothers at all, neither for mothers nor fathers, save for the sake of understanding one's past. There are ways in which comely Tressa might have tempered you that could have mattered, compassion, empathy, love. You described her as overcautious, with hair crimson like a rich velvet, the most beautiful color of red I have ever seen, don't you know? If she was something more than a pretty face, you would have said as much. If she provided you with more than a pretty face, it would be the same.

Even so, that is not it. I care not for family at all. Whether your mother provided you with empathy or your father with understanding, are you capable of processing that? Could such a notion exist in your enclosed island paradise?

Wisdom,
Glenn
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Re: As requested

Postby Cauchemar » Tue Feb 26, 2013 1:09 pm

She had sat staring at the letter for at least an hour. Reading the contents of the document again and again, trying to look at the word from every conceivable angle. He was good with words, this Glenn Burnie. Very good. There was much truth in the words, and it required a good deal of time and consideration before she sat down to put quill to paper once more.

Glenn,

I find that courage rarely comes without a ration of fear. I embrace my courage, and the fear that sometimes accompanies it. Perhaps it is just a youthful trait that I will learn to move around, or even outgrow. Time will tell.

You are correct. Until now most of my interactions with people have been theoretical. Civility works well on paper, but as my interaction with Miss Emory proves, sometimes it is not enough. I was perhaps unkind with her, perhaps too naive to believe she would understand my intentions. I need practice interacting with people to truly understand how the nature of human beings really works. My goals are what I was taught, perhaps not would work as well in practice. I will take this into consideration, and I thank you for the insight.

My mother did what she was asked to do. Nothing more, nothing less. She instructed me in reading, writing, mathematics and many other important skills we shall not go into at this time. She was not my teacher when it came to the nature of people. She provided what she was told to provide. She did not provide love, as she knew I would not require it. She was, a teacher, more than anything. I call her mother because it is the name I was born to knowing. And to be honest with you, Glenn, if I never saw her again I would not shed a single tear. And she was beautiful. My father always says so.

I understand that such things do not matter to you. They only really matter to me as a frame of reference. Where I came from, what was expected of me, what I know and do not. Now is the time when I can begin to decide those things for myself, you see. Free of the expectations, and free to find my own destiny.

It is curious to me that I find the tone of your letter almost disapproving. You will find, with children, they need time to grow, and learn to understand the world on their own terms. That is what I am doing, Glenn, and I had hoped you would walk with me during my journey. I feel there is so very much I could learn from you. Perhaps, you might even learn something yourself along the way.

Respectfully
Gale
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Re: As requested

Postby Glenn » Wed Feb 27, 2013 1:12 pm

The response would come hours later this time, into the early evening. Did that have certain meaning or was Burnie just busy with the affairs of state? Was he sending her a message?

Nightingale,

If you survive the trials that Myrken shall present to you, I have no doubt that you will learn to move past fear in all of its forms.

As for people, for understanding the divide between their minds and their hearts and of your understandings of both and what is true, even if the former is far more rational, that will come with time and experience. Diving straight into Myrken was a daring choice, but also a premature one. Here you have enemies and while that will strengthen you, it will come at such a cost. You could have blossomed elsewhere, Sparrow. The problem with the element of surprise is that you can only use it once.

Your father says it so. This is interesting. Can the concept of beauty exist in a void? Do we decide what is beautiful through our interactions with one another. Did you have no natural feeling on the matter? What do you feel is beautiful, Nightingale? Without someone else telling you so? Or are you unable to feel such a thing at all? Underprepared to? Do you need the validation of others to know what is beautiful and what is not? Perhaps that is why you've come here, to find what is beautiful to your heart? I wish i had a bard on staff. What a lovely song flitting ever so softly between the obsidian drops of my ink.

I'm hardly going to coddle you. If Dhrin did, that was his greatest disservice. If you are going to keep my interest, you shall earn it. Still, I will give you something more. The reason I do not care about your mother and father is this. For you, your family was your whole world. You are moving past them now, or at least past her. For me, it was different. I was sold in the womb, the youngest, unplanned son of a fallen family that could not properly support what they already had. I grew up in cold halls of stone, trained to be an soulless cog in a bureaucratic machine. When I ran it was away from an empty fate and towards whatever future I could make for myself. This is what I made. I am what I made. You've heard of what I shall make. If there is such worth to family, I have not felt it. If you wish me to know of it, do not tell me with your words. Show me if you can.

Perseverance,
Glenn
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Re: As requested

Postby Cauchemar » Fri Mar 01, 2013 7:30 am

Glenn,

The divide of heart and mind, truthfully, makes perfect sense to me. The heart is a weak thing, easily crushed and manipulated. The mind, in the right individual, possess so much more strength and value. My father does not, coddle me, as you put it. He has always been very honest with me. Brutally so, in most cases. He has warned me of the danger of letting my heart override my mind. I was not taught to love, it was in fact discouraged. Mother tried, as she is a Bromn after all and they are historically far too gentle of heart. Emotions are so...tiring.

The concept of beauty is quite clear in my mind. Though it is perhaps, as you say, not something I experience myself. It is more an aesthetic that I understand and can see, if not enjoy. I had an interesting conversation about this very subject just a few nights ago. I do not know how other people feel. I am not sure I want to. It was dizzying, this concept of life being art, and viewing things with one's heart and not the mind. It seems, frankly, a waste of my time to try and find enjoyment in things such as a sunset, or the color of mother's hair. Do you see? What is beautiful in my mind is order. Control. Knowledge. These things are beautiful. The rest is, shall we say, not for me. If you think perhaps I am missing something by not learning to...enjoy...these things. I would love to hear your theory on it.

If I have not already taken some of your interest, you have wasted a good deal of time looking for something curious. I do not know why you would have even returned my first letter if you did not see something that made you wonder. Something you thought was worth your time. As for family...I can not teach you to appreciate something that you never had, and I never wanted. Others would say 'I am so sorry, Glenn, that you suffered so. I wish you had known a mother's love.' I will not say those things to you. If you had lived as other people had lived, you would be as they are. What you lived has made you what you are. Any deviation in that road would have changed you. What I will offer you is this...you have a wife now. She is your family now. She is the family you have chosen. It is that sort of family, Glenn, that is worthy of you. Those you choose to surround yourself with. As I have come to do here in Myrken.

Truth,
Gale

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Re: As requested

Postby Glenn » Sat Mar 02, 2013 4:12 am

Nightingale,

This is a difficult thing to explain, yes, even for me, but it is important and I will try. It comes down to purpose. You have stood your ground here. Some of that is fatalism. She shall hunt you down, you say, so running does not matter. With that in mind, better to stand and fight and at least have a chance.

That's not why I've stood my ground and given up my freedom, sparrow. The mind provides direction, provides focus, plans and eventualities, but it is through the heart that we find purpose. Were I to have solely intellectual drives, I would not spend my time reforging Myrken as I do. Oh, it is a challenge, and one worthy for its difficulty alone, but there are other challenges out in this world, some of them with more worthwhile and obvious rewards.

It is as you said. My family is what I make it. I value what I choose to value. I was a boy without a home once. My heart has settled here, and thus I use my mind to reforge it into something worthy of my desires for it.

In this, my motivation is different than yours. Passion can express itself in many ways, but spite and hatred are so much easier to tap into than love.

Tell me a bit of your time in Myrken so far. Who have you met? What do you wish for them? Of them?

With earnestness that I do hope you value,
Glenn
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Re: As requested

Postby Cauchemar » Wed Mar 20, 2013 12:46 pm

Glenn,

Tell you of my time here in Myrken? Of who I have met? What I wish from them? Of them? I will be frank with you, Glenn. I find these to be odd questions. However, I will answer them as best I can, because they seem important, to you.

With a few notable exceptions, my time here has been uneventful. I have spent a good deal of time observing at the inn. While there I have met a few people. A rude and rough boy named Son. A small and odd boy named Cherny. There was the meeting with Miss Emory. And a long conversation with a man named Sir Duquesne. And you, of course. There was a man, Catch, Grand Catch, who touched my hair and wondered why I did not have a scar like his. For most I can honestly say that I wish nothing from them. Save for Sir Duquesne. From him I wish to learn more about art, and beauty. About poetry and language. These are things that I believe I could benefit greatly from. As for what I wish of them? Now, Glenn, there are some things a lady simply must keep for herself. Don't you think?

So, if I am to understand you correctly, you feel that the heart is just as important and the mind. Perhaps this is something I should consider in my studies. It would seem that Sir Duquesne is accepting students, at least one that I have heard of. Perhaps it is time I found a mentor. What do you think, Glenn?

Curious, as ever,
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Re: As requested

Postby Glenn » Wed Mar 20, 2013 1:30 pm

Nightingale,

You find my questions odd. Answering them is not unimportant, but delving into what is odd about them, why I ask them, what I am getting at. This is the task you should be focused upon. Everything I write is a clue. Everything I ask is a piece of information, not just a request for it. Is it a feint? Am I earnest? Do I lure you or do I encourage you or do I somehow do both? This is what you need ask yourself. You've arrived amid rings, draped in mystery, heralded by death. An impossibility. Through your existence alone and your presence here especially, you have found yourself in the middle of a dangerous game, one that is all yours. Information and intuition. These will see you through or to your destruction.

What do you know of Sylvius? What does your heart say when it comes to him? You could learn so much from him, Sparrow, but I will promise you one thing: I wish for you to flourish. That is what my heart says. Sylvius Duquesne? His idea of you flourishing is to grow into a tall, strong tree, but that tree will no longer be you, Nightingale. She will be someone else. Heartened, strengthened, cultured, brilliant, but when you look in the mirror, you will be looking back at a stranger. A wonderful stranger, but a stranger nonetheless. Training with Sylvius will be a retreat from all you are.

There is not a sensible person in this province that would suggest you do anything else. If you wish for me to write a letter of introduction, I shall. I will send it to you with a lovely letter of farewell and that will be just for you, a final flourish of affection and charity before you leap into the breach bravely to become a better person.

Otherwise, we will continue as we are. Rhaena cannot wait to meet you. You are just what I need but cannot have. Yet you are also what she desperately wants and she can have whatever she desires.

You are blessed if you do and blessed if you don't.

What a lucky girl.
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Re: As requested

Postby Cauchemar » Thu Mar 28, 2013 2:11 am

She had taken days to consider her response to Glenn. The last letter had brought a range of conflicted considerations. There had been questions and conversations that had finally led her to sit down and pen what might be her final letter to the handsome young governor.

Glenn,

With your last letter you have brought me to a rather uncomfortable realization. It is with great trust that I admit this to you now. I do not know as much as I would like about this place. About these people. About people in general, it would seem. I have a great deal to learn, and a teacher is in order.

As for Sir Duquesne, he is a very capable man. A very wise and artistic soul. He could teach me all I wish to know about language and art and poetry. Perhaps he could teach me about beauty and love, and the expression of those things. After careful consideration, I have determined that these things are not what is most important for my development, at this moment. I do not believe a letter of introduction will be necessary.

You spoke to me of the importance of emotion. That through the heart do we find purpose. When I came here, I had purpose. I have come to understand that having purpose alone is not enough. It is the drive behind that purpose that truly matters. That purpose must be of my own making. I must make my own choices. In order to make choices, one must possess knowledge. To be fair, to make informed choices, one must possess knowledge. You asked me once why I had come to Myrken. I now have that answer for you. I have come to Myrken to find my purpose.

I do not wish to retreat from what I am, Glenn. I want to be what I was born to be. I wish to find my purpose. I wish to find it, with your guidance. I do hope you know it is no simple thing to admit that I wish your help. I look forward to your next letter.

Humbly,

Nightingale
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Re: As requested

Postby Glenn » Sat Apr 06, 2013 5:31 am

Nightingale,

Sylvius is a wise man and he knows more about people than you may think, but he looks with the clinical eye of a surgeon. He dissects as if a person was a character in a history. Causality. Stimuli. The very last thing you need.

Did you know that we are plagued with a litany of shared dreams here in Myrken? A godlike being, the creation of an even stronger one seeks to learn of humanity and thus himself, his own options, by putting us through unreal ordeals. This is why I have become as I am, Sparrow. The challenges we face have forced me to be better. Keep that in mind when you formulate your own plans. You must be more than they. Smarter. Better. More personal, for they are anything but.

You do not have such luxuries when it comes to learning of the human heart. You cannot stage wars for your own edification. You cannot engender grand romances and affairs. It's a bit of a vicious circle, I'm afraid. You need the very things you would learn in order to force situations so you could witness.

Still, here in Myrken, positioned just so, you will be able to begin your lessons. And we shall see you thrive.

Enjoy your view,
Glenn
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Re: As requested

Postby Jirai » Sun Apr 07, 2013 3:31 am

The missive was a flowery thing, artfully penned on scented parchment, delivered by a uniformed runner.

Dearest Nightengale,

I hope you will excuse the familiarity - though we have not yet met, I feel as though I know you very well. Now that I am back in Myrken, we simply must meet; I am sure that we will be the very best of friends. I brought several varieties of tea back with me from Razasan. Most of those are for young Sera Kaczmarek's establishment, but I confess that I plan to keep some for my own use. Do please join me two days hence and we can enjoy the tea together.

With Affection,
Rhaena Olwak
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