Impressionist Arts

Att Syne (and friends) travel up to Fort Ouph in order to explore it, and investigate the old ties to Imps in that region with the various works of arts and architecture that is in the region.

OOC: Generally open for people with Moonlight Artisany or are looking for related answers.

Liminality
Fort Ouph - Main Square

Fort Ouph. The city in the skies, beyond the clouds. The city that casts a shadow upon the port beneath it. It is the city of OSHA violations. No railings, only paths that lead up and down. Many winding stairs that lead to nowhere. Buildings around plazas, streets, and more importantly...

Statues. Architecture.

From the beautiful architected Church, standing attached to the plaza itself, with glorious stained glass. Massive sweeping paintings across the walls. There are statues to be found in the many maze-like streets all throughout the city.

There is much to be found within Fort Ouph. And those who have heard the rumors, would know that Imps have had a hand in ensuring all of the great architecture, paintings and statues are kept as beautiful as they have been for centuries.

As the crew arrives at the plaza, they have many avenues to investigate to give them more access to some of the finest of secrets within Fort Ouph. From its hidden chambers, to the origins of these statues, to the ones that maintain them. The question is, where will they begin?
Kita
Fort Ouph - Main Square

In many ways, Kita more closely resembles what one might expect from a typical art student, rather than an armor-clad adventurer. Fashionable dress, exotically colored hair, glasses, piercings, and the ever-present sketchbook that she seems to spend an inordinately large amount of time doodling in.

The young Imp has come a long way from Alne in her research, and she has the general look of a tourist on their first visit to the 'big city'. The girl seems to be taking in her surroundings, occasionally stopping to do a quick study of a statue, or trying to sketch out the shapes built in stained class.

"The archways really are beautiful, here, just like they said." Apparently, someone had pointed her to checking out the city and its unusual architecture. "But... is it really connected." She hrms to herself, jotting notes next to a series of rough sketches of the nearby arches.

Mostly, she seems to have little direct goal for her searching, mostly observation and examination of what is here. One more stop on a tour of Root Cities that had started a while ago.
Att Syne
Fort Ouph - Main Square


"I always thought an Ouph was only a creature from a card game," Att Syne is saying as they approach the plaza in the OSHA-non-compliant Fort. "Or a noise you made when you fell off something. Not... this." It's a marvel, all right. This world continues to surprise him in all the best ways.

Also some of the worst. The thought of being driven mad by his artistic drive is still a little unsettling, even now.

Att Syne hews closer to the armor-clad Adventurer archetype, dressed in black with accents of gold and a slash of deep crimson in the form of a shoulder cape on his left side. He's got a sword at his hip, a staff that looks quite mage-like in his right hand, and a generally dark and elfin sort of appearance that makes it obvious he's one of those dastardly Spriggans. Of course, he's also an Adventurer, so any dastardly doings are entirely his own instead of those of a mythical pre-player racial history.

"Okay! So we're looking for... art. Architecture is cool, but it doesn't quite qualify unless it's entirely made for display, I think." He's addressing his companion on this quest of his, partly in explanation, partly thinking out loud. "Ideally, someone who knows their way around sculpture. So where do we start...?"

Att's eyes go skywards. "Upwards, I think. Get the lay of the land." He starts looking for a way to do that. Those wings are, alas, pretty much just for show.
Sunshine
Fort Ouph - Main Square

     Sunshine is here--Inspect names him as a human Charlatan, part of Plant Hwyaden. His clothes are the simple, breathable attire of a traveler. By far, his most distinctive features are his long blonde hair, bound in several spots with rawhide, and his guitar--a metal resonator with a green patina finish.

     He, too, tends to hang around Alne. His reasons for coming here are partly the insatiable curiosity of a rumor-monger, the wanderlust of an avid explorer, and last, the relatively new impulse to help out a guildie. He's trying to get used to doing that. So it'll feel more natural.

     He's not much accustomed to secret passages or hidden chambers, but he is, assuredly, a lore buff. "Sounds good to me, partner! You take the lead, and I'll whip us up a little music. See what shakes out."

     Sunshine claps Att's pauldron amiably, filing in behind him as he brings his guitar about. He plays a bit of music, something merry and folksy, in an effort to announce their presence and to make it known as a friendly presence. If the ones who maintain this fort and the art within are still around, maybe he can coax one of them out to score a tour guide!
Liminality
Fort Ouph - Main Square

Kita is right. The archways are connected. Not just the bridges running between the various plateaus of the city, but also the arches of the various buildings. The ones that form the bridges themselves seem to bend from the plateaus themselves, as one collective existance. As if the foundations of the floating city had been carved into this shape by artists, thinning the lines between Artistry and Construction. Perhaps 'diecast' seems more truthful than 'constructed'.

Yet the arches, the lines into the stoned arches, are too artistic, too defined, too fine to consider being able to be produced by such a process. And on that scale, it seems impossible.

Yet, amidst the arches, amidst the lines, she'd start seeing patterns. The flow of lines and circles amidst them that is too structured, and too asymmetrical to be accidental.

"Beautiful, are they not?" A woman asks as the steps up to Kita. A woman, rather tall for an imp in a blue coat, steps up beside Kita, as she sketches them out.

----

Att Syne's journey carries him up. There are multiple towers on the outside 'walls' of Fort Ouph. Even with the various holes in the midst of the city, there are still walls. Finding one of the stairs in the many walls, he finds a way up. Up along the winding but wide stairs, clearly made to help many troops to get to the battlements. It is not called a Fort for nothing. Sunshine's music echoes off of the walls on the way up.

When finally up above, they're given a beautiful view of the skies below. The white clouds floating on by. It's the kind of height where one would easily and quickly feel that sense of vertigo. A large Arbalest sits, grooved into the top of the tower itself, able to turn by means of a simple set of handles that seem far too technologically advanced for the Yamato area... if one were to ignore the existance of the Root Cities themselves.

Even the Arbalest itself looks beautiful. It is not made of wood, but rather out of some kind of stone. Grooves of blue crystal runs through its structure. And upon closer inspection, has subtle 'writing' lining some parts of its mechanisms. A writing similar to what Kita is looking at, and writing similar to what has been found on Chaos Gates before.

As if summoned by that music though, another person joins them up above. "What is a Spriggan..." A pause. "Ah, an Adventurer. I see." A somewhat tall and gray faced Imp steps up from the stairs. "It isn't often an Adventurer climbs these walls. Aside from a few... unfortunate souls." He glances down at the edge of the tower... towards the open sky.
Kita
Fort Ouph - Main Square

There are times where it might feel all too easy to get lost in the beauty of a place. It's something that has struck Kita from time to time since joining Elder Tale Online. There are so many things here that seem to capture a more natural beauty, things sometimes lost in the modern world. But this... the way everything is built here, it seems to blend function and form.

Her pencil scratches at the paper, brows slightly furrowed as she seems to almost start making that connection, seeing that pattern of how things might be laid out.

Then, of course, a voice distracts her and her pencil stills. Looking up, Kita pushes her glasses up on her nose. "Yes." There is a brief hesitation that catches in her voice, that slight shift of her eyes as she activates an INSPECT on the Imp beside her. She seems quite used to being the shorter one in most situations, so her head lightly tilts up to take in the woman beside her.

"I was doing some investigation on the great artworks of Yamato and was told that the archways here were of particular note." She explains, "Though I can see there's far more to it than that." Clearing her throat as she tries to martial more of her usual outgoing demeanor, Kita adds, "I was hoping to find out more about the artists of the past. Maybe those who designed places like this."
Att Syne
Fort Ouph - Main Square


"Alright, then. Let's go... thataway."

Att ends up humming along to Sunshine's tune not far into the climb. Having background noise during the exploration of a fantastical place like this is a sideways path towards normalcy. It reminds him of when he did this kind of thing for fun, rather than because it was life. The thoughts make him start to dwell, and then he starts to get a little morose, but snaps out of it when he spots the view and the Arbalest.

"...woah."

He just takes a minute. Being up high doesn't bother him; the sheer beauty of the lands around them definitely help there. He tears his eyes away from it eventually, looking to the artillery, reaching out to gently run his fingers across the surface while he inspects (and Inspects) it. "We should get a copy of those characters for Proteus," he murmurs to Sunshine, gesturing at the subtle writing. "It looks like-"

They're joined by someone immediately suspicious of him. He isn't surprised. He looks up, blinks, then smiles. Att inclines his head in a polite motion. "I assure you, neither of us are quite that unfortunate, sir." A name -- Pazuzu -- briefly appears in his field of vision. Lander. Imp. Alright, then. "My name is Att Syne; this is my partner, Sunshine. I thought a better view would help me find what I was looking for. I guess sculptors probably don't often want to be visible from the battlements though, huh?"
Sunshine
Fort Ouph - Main Square

     Sunshine ascends, for the most part keeping his eyes on Att's back, focusing on two things: ascending and playing. It isn't until they come to a place with a view that his thoughts begin to drift. If things had been a little different... if he'd answered differently on that test, years ago... might he be more familiar with skies like this? More used to towering, awe-inspiring depictions of height like this? Maybe. It's enough to distract him from his music, for a moment.

     And it's that pause, that momentary absence in music, which makes the tall Imp's voice all the more clear. Inspect! ...Pazuzu, huh? Sunshine grins, nodding a silent, but friendly greeting when he's introduced. His eyes are ablaze with interest, but he lets Att take the lead, first. He's just here to help, and besides, someone back at HQ might be able to make sense of the writing on that Arbalest.

     "One step ahead of you, pard," the bard says laughingly to Att. Fishing a crumpled slip of paper out of his messenger bag, followed by a quill and an inkwell, he begins taking notes, neatly (despite the very disorganized state of his bag, his handwriting is good) attempting to copy the symbols he sees for later interpretation. As he copies them down, he poses a question, once there's an opportunity:

     "These here statues all 'round the fort... they commemoratin' anything in particular?" Usually, people don't make them just for the heck of it, right?
Liminality
Fort Ouph - Main Square

Mora Chester. Imp Hero. Though many of Scale Emblem would not be amiss not to know a thing about her. The dark haired woman can't help but smile a bit when Kita looks at her and activates her inspect. No doubt she's seen many Adventurers look at her lik that before.

"It's not often that Adventurers take the time to really study the artworks of Yamato. Certainly not here in Fort Ouph. Many of your brethern find this place... unsettling." What with the lack of railings and the dangerous drops litered around the place.

The woman the offers a hand, suggesting for Kita to rise up. "I'll show you another place. You might find it interesting." She suggests to her. It is a known fact that Heroes tend to mentor and favor those of their own species.

As Kita rises and hopefully will walk with her, Mora motions her hands a bit. "The ones that designed this place are no longer with us. This city, much like the other Root Cities, were created by the Alv." She begins to explain. "Much of the art you find here, was created by them. By techniques unique to them."

----

Pazuzu considers Att Syne as he gives him that inspecting look. Getting the details he gets. Yellow level. Dangerous, but to an extreme like a Hero. As for the Arbalest, an Inspect simply declares: ARBALEST. After all, it'd require a specific skill to appraise the item, which generally takes touch and some time with it. Depending on what's in Att Syne's arsenal.

Pazuzu then steps to the edge for a moment, touching his hands on the edge, and looking over it. The only 'railing' in this entire place, it almost seemed. "It is hard to figure out what the Alv were thinking when they made many of the wonders in this city." He answers Att Syne. "But most sculptures in this place were laid on the insides, rather than the outsides. No doubt to protect them against the ravages of monsters and time itself." The Imp remarks.

He then steps away from the edge and looks at the Arbalest, running his fingers over it as he looks back out over the city itself. "But I imagine many of them commemorated their fallen allies and loved ones. As much as our ancestors considered them monsterous in nature... they still had lives, partners..."

He glances aside to the other two. "Hrrm... if you are looking into art, I could show you something." Certainly one way to get them away from some of the battlements and the military secrets of Fort Ouph.
Att Syne
Fort Ouph - Main Square


Att isn't sure what skill you use to inspect military works. Or to create them. Construction? He can do that. Some kind of combat skill? He's got nearly all of them in some capacity. He'll have to do another pass later and see if he can narrow it down. It's going to nag at him until he does.

"Makes sense, yeah. Sometimes I wonder if the reason we can't figure out what they'd intended is because we don't think on the same scale that they did." Att glances towards the horizon again, then to Sunshine, brow quirked. Show them something? Well, if they're done here anyway. He turns back to Pazuzu, smiling again.

"I am, yes. I'm something of a sculptor myself, and I'd heard that this was the place to look if I wanted to see some examples of real masterpieces. What've you got in mind?"
Kita
Fort Ouph - Main Square

The name of the Imp before her is unfamiliar to Kita. Once, Scale Emblem had investigated the Heroes of the past, but Mora's name was not among those. As for the rest of the game-lore, well... Kita has been more focused on creating things than on digging into the past. At least, up until recently.

"I was..." Kita starts to explain, then seems uncertain how to phrase things for a Lander. "Before I came here, I was training to be an artist." It was a graphic design degree, but close enough for most Landers, "I don't consider myself much of a fighter, so it's one of the things I can still do to contribute."

The smaller Imp rises as she is bid to do so, "This place doesn't bother me, I don't really have a fear of heights." Kita closes her book but tucks her pencil behind one ear as she inclines her head to the woman. "Of course, I'd be glad to see more of the city."

"I'm Kita, by the way. Kita Blackthorne." It is only polite to at least offer her name, despite what an INSPECT might reveal. "Mmm." With a soft sound, "I've heard that many of the great works were made by the Alv, but I also heard that the strange moods people have been experiencing have something to do with the creation of such arts."
Sunshine
Fort Ouph - Main Square

     Sunshine nods towards Att. Yeah, he's game! "Sure! Be glad to see it," says the bard to Pazuzu, putting away the parchment and the quill for the moment. He's canny enough to notice the care Pazuzu has for the Arbalest, and that, given the earlier mention of 'unfortunate' adventurers, he's kind of clued in that prying too much into military secrets might not be the best idea. No big deal! "Everything's got a story behind it, and I love stories. Lead the way mister!"

     He'll gladly follow to whatever Pazuzu wants to show them, evidently just glad to be here and soaking up the history. It doesn't do to be a poor guest. "What kinda enemies did the Alv have, for a place like this t'be necessary?"
Liminality
Fort Ouph - Main Square

Indeed, Mora's name would not have come up. For she is not a historical Hero. She is a Hero of the now. "Some of the greatest artists in the far past were actually some of the greatest combattants." Mora remarks to Kita as they walk. And, not having access to INSPECT, the Lander appreciates Kita's offer of a name.

"Mora Chester." Normally, Landers tend to give their name before they begin a conversation. But sometimes the GM forgets this fact. "Strange moods?" She then asks. "Hrrm... I've heard of some Landers landing in strange moods, creating half-finished sculptures, and on rare occassions, really great works." She answers Kita. "Such people come about maybe once... maybe twice every decade." She proposes. "At least, here in Fort Ouph." She then adds.

----


"A bit of a sculptor?" Pazuzu seems amused at this as Att Syne mentions this. There's that little shred of racism there, no doubt. That idea of 'A Spriggan... a Sculptor, phaw'. But far more measured and hidden than that.

"I suppose the Enemies of the Alv were the Seven Original Races." The Imp answers the two. "All the ones your people know, minus the Cait Sith, Were Fangs... and the Spriggan." He explains to the pair of them.

"But you were right to come here, if you were looking for sculptures." The man descends the tower with them. "Just... follow me."

----

Pazuzu and Mora stare at eachother as they both meet as the two 'teams' come down different stairs leading down from the plaza to a somewhat hidden bridge. The heavy winds might make some a bit uncomfortable with how 'thin' one of the many paths hidden beneath the plaza is.

They pause, glancing at eachothers entourage... and then show this stoic smile at eachother. "It seems today is a day of artists." Mora offers Pazuzu. The stoic man answers with a simple; "So it would seem."

The two then guide Kita, Sunshine and Att Syne into a door underneath the Plaza, and step in. The heavy wind creating a constant 'fluting' sound within the chamber they enter...

There, stand hundreds of unfinished statues, paintings, drawings... and a few finished ones.

Notably, the ceiling of this chamber has the Red moon shining from above, causing a 'red' glow throughout the entire chamber itself. To Att Syne and Kita alone, they might recognize some of the manic madness in some of those statues. The marks of blood, of sweat and tears that must have gone into them.

"The Alv were not always succesful." Pazuzu explains, as he steps towards one of the walls, and pulls on a yellow cord - which moves aside a tattered red curtain, and shows a /beautiful/ piece of work. No...

It's not just beautiful.

Painted on the wall, is a woman seated on a chair. Simple, yet majestic. Her smile makes the entire image feel... so alive. It's the kind of thing that, even if Kita were to sketch it, she just can't quite replicate. It eminates a sensation that seems almost untouchable.

It's a young woman, maybe twenty years of age. Wearing simple shoes, a knee sock on one side, and a beautiful set of wings that originate from near her lower back. She's got hair that flows from green, to purple, to yellows, in a beautiful and intricate mix of colors that seem almost otherworldly.

A radial 'halo' of light seems to flow around near one side of her head, with writing on one of the bands of that light, in that same mysterious language. Her dress is simple, her chest has a simple half-shirt covering it. A shawl hanging off of her shoulder. Everything about it seems like it's alive. Like the colors are moving.

It's not as audacious as Att Syne's beautiful sculpture, yet even he can tell... this is well beyond his skill. The kind of sight that literally brings Kita and Att Syne to tears. It evokes an emotion of a sad kind of serenity.

Followed by a status message appearing for all three of them, Sunshine, Kita, and Att Syne all.

<< You feel inspired >> Followed by a /spam/ of all of their stats temporarily going up in all parameters with a small 5 minute timer.
Sunshine
Fort Ouph - Main Square

     Everything has a story. The Alv were not always successful. This painting... is this work of majesty, this grand and overpowering work of art, a failure? It couldn't be. But it is surrounded by works that weren't finished. Is this where the best of their artists came, to bask in the radiance of that work? He looks up, at the red moon. Then... towards Att. That day, when the Eaters invaded Alne, he'd inspected his guildmate, and found that word. Moonlight.

<< You feel inspired. >>

     If the Alv are old enough to predate the Spriggans, the Cait Sith, the Were Fangs... if this place is of Alv make... could their artisans have been the first 'Moonlight' artisans? He should write a song. Something to tell people--players, Landers, anyone--about the melancholy serenity of the woman in that picture. But it should tell her story, too; give context to that emotion. Time is short.

     "Mister, I *gotta* know who that is. Her story," pleads the bard. "Is there anything you can tell me about that lady?"
Kita
Fort Ouph - Main Square

A soft laugh forms in Kita's chest, "I don't know that I'll ever be one of those, but I'm trying. We each have to come into our own in this new world of ours." She murmurs the last bit more quietly. Thoughts that are, perhaps, drawn from many interactions with different people, facing the disaster before them in so many different ways.

As she follows, Kita continues, "Yes. It seems those moods are occurring again in the world, though perhaps a bit more frequently than before." She almost doesn't notice the pause, but manages to avoid bumping into the taller Imp as she blinks, looking around her to those who have already gathered at this strange meeting point.

Sunshine is a stranger to her, but Att Syne does look familiar. She gives an almost shy incline of her head, "Seems I'm not the only one who came to Fort Ouph looking to follow the footsteps of those from before." She raises her brows.

As they are brought into the chamber, it is the unfinished projects that draw Kita's attention. In some ways, it feels like so many of her own projects. Sketches and ideas built on countless pages which never amount to more than fleeting ideas. "What happens to them? Those who don't finish?" She murmurs, "Do they just return to their lives as if nothing ever happened, or..."

Then, the mural is revealed and it all but captures her attention. Her hand reaches for her pencil, but even as it does, the Imp seems to realize that there is no way she could capture something like this onto a black and white page. It would lack that spark of life. So, she lets out a breath and simply takes it in as it is, holding her sketchbook to her chest.

She seems to catch herself, reaching up to wipe at her cheek, staring at tears that she can't even really feel for herself. The status message coming as even that much more of a surprise in that serene moment. "What... what is this?" She asks, looking first to Mora, and then towards the others.
Att Syne
Fort Ouph - Main Square


"Yeah. You know; a bit. I went into 'a bit' of a fugue state and made something pretty nice, I think. A statue of the Burning One. Put it up in Alne. That whole --" He waves his hands in a vague, all-encompassing sort of way. "-- /thing/ is what spurred me to come out here in the first place." His smile is polite. "I can definitely do better."

He follows. The path is narrow and a bit treacherous, in that way that anything without proper guard rails at any serious height seems much less stable than the passage of years might suggest. He spots Mora and Kita and nods in greeting, flashing a quick smile after the exchange of words from their hosts. A quick Inspect follows, habitually. He makes a slight overhand gesture afterwards, as if he were gesturing to a UI element that only Adventurers could call up. Inspect is as good a way as any to identify one another without proper introductions:

                         Att Syne / Spriggan Mastermind                        
                              Guild: Plant Hwyaden                              

"That's a very specific way to put it," he says to Kita, amiably, "that is nevertheless *exactly* right."

He steps into the chamber. The red glow and the sheer number of unfinished works make him stop a couple steps inside. Att scratches at the back of his head absently, then abruptly catches himself and stops. It reminds him of the sensation of that project. If he could capture it, maybe he could do something like that again... but he wouldn't want to do it out here, so far from the people he knows and trusts to watch his back. Sunshine would help him, he's sure, but it took a lot more than one man to keep him going through all that. Still, he can't stop himself from murmuring the first thing to come to mind, looking up into the red glow: "...Moonlight."

The painting is revealed. Att's breath catches. His jaw drops, the corners of his mouth dipping as the sense of sad serenity seems to just flow out of it. Another absent gesture, this time wiping away tears from the corners of his eyes.

"It's... a masterpiece. I couldn't even dream of..." He trails off into stunned silence.
Liminality
Fort Ouph - Main Square

Kita asks some rather pertinent questions. Pazuzu is the one who answers.

"Many of them gave up. Unable to be satisfied with their own skills and waht they made. Others, simply broke before they could complete it. But some of these are here, discarded, only for the artist to work up something better eventually. But these are all that were gathered over the centuries from Fort Ouph. Some from the Alv... and some from our own people. There aren't that many, as you can tell." Not if one spread their appearance out over the years.

Upon Kita's question of what this is, Mora answers her and Sunshine simultaneously. "This is the work of one of the few Alv Artisans. We don't know much about this young woman, I am afraid. You won't find many Landers who have any interest in researching the Alv like that."

Pazuzu chimes in with; "They are more hated than his people." Motioning to Att Syne.

Mora adds; "But if you are looking to take a step... to follow in their footsteps - as the young woman said earlier. I believe... this is where you must begin. To realize that the first Moonlight Artisans... were the Alv. Inspired by the Red Moon."

She motions to the many broken statues. "And that perhaps, a few broken statues and paintings lay ahead of you, before you might reach something like... her."

In that moment, Kita and Att Syne have a small window appear in front of them.

<< CONDITIONS SATISFIED: Follow in their Footsteps >>
Kita
Fort Ouph - Main Square

In that moment, perhaps, Kita finally comes to grips with just how much help she had gotten to be able to complete that sculpture that now lies within the center square of Tolbana. "I wouldn't have finished if it weren't for Jurou, Xander, Uta..." A few more names are added to the list. People who kept her from breaking, leaving her idea as so much abandoned thought.

Letting out that breath, she inclines her head forward, white hair strands briefly shading her eyes, "I really need to make it up to them properly, someday." That appreciation seems to settle in her, even as she looks to Mora. "Seems we should take more time to appreciate the things the Alv have built."

Then, looking to Att Syne, she seems to feel a kinship to his sense of wonder. They were both on this same path, it seems. "Can't make a masterpiece without failing a lot along the way." She muses, "Still..." Glancing at that painting again, "It might be a road worth traveling."

The message set in front of her seems to solidify that fact. Then, almost hesitantly, as if this were more her true self than the more outgoing and headstrong personality she usually portrays, Kita asks, "Would you mind if I tried to sketch some of the unfinished pieces? Since... inspiration doesn't strike often, it might be worth capturing what drew others to create."
Sunshine
Fort Ouph - Main Square

     "Howdy," Sunshine says to Kita. The Inspect function names him, lists his class as Charlatan, and his Guild as Plant Hwyaden. Att will note that 'howdy' is more... distracted than is usual for the sociable bard.

     It's because he's already writing again. Beneath that first set alien symbols beyond his grasp, he scrawls what he sees on the painted lady's halo. It's all Greek to him, and he doesn't dare get closer to the portrait--but maybe Proteus or one of the more academic types might know what it says. And even if they don't, or if he mistranscribes it, it's a good souvenir.

     Underneath that second bit, he scrawls an idea for later. 'Second Chances.' An idea for a song. A working title, for now. All around, there are unfinished works, abandoned projects. A song for those artists who had the drive to get back up and try again. He smiles. "I like that," he says. It speaks to him, on a personal level. Realizing he just talked to himself, he scratches his head, and pretends like he was responding to Mora.

     "That idea, I mean. This is my passion," he says, tucking the paper away, and patting his palm on the guitar. "But I had my share of setbacks, gettin' to where I'm at. Prolly have more, too, but I like the idea that one day I can reach that," he says, nodding towards the painting, "With this." He gently strums the guitar.

     "There's info on Spriggans, but... how come everybody hated the Alv? Was it something they done, or just..." A bad memory resurfaces. "Or just business as usual?"
Att Syne
Fort Ouph - Main Square


It says something about the power of the piece that Att is so overcome at that very moment that he doesn't have an immediate rebuttal to Pazuzu's commentary about hated Spriggans.

Deep breath. He closes his eyes and works to center himself. He clears his throat lightly, then again, a little more loudly, trying to banish the tightness in it. "Uh -" His voice is unsteady, so he tries again. "Yeah. Help of our friends, right?" He casts a glance to Kita. "Mostly they've just refused to hear it, when I talked to mine about paying 'em back, but --"

A-hem-hrm. He takes a step back from the masterpiece on display, as if a little more distance will make it easier to operate around it. He doesn't want to be the kind of person who becomes numb to this kind of wonder and beauty. "...Yeah." Att exhales. Kita gets it, he thinks. "Yeah. Can't wait to see where it goes next."

Att laughs, suddenly. "I need to stop blandly repeating my affirmation or it's not going to mean anything after a while. Are there unfinished Alv pieces down here, too?" Sunshine asks a good question. He opens his mouth as if he's going to provide a habitual answer to a weird lore query, but he finds he doesn't really have one.
Liminality
Fort Ouph - Main Square

Pazuzu and Mora look amongst eachother, then nod. "You two are welcome to come here when you are looking for inspiration. Just... keep this place on the downlow. If people come here just because they are curious, or want something to look at, this place will no doubt lose its power." Mora explains.

Pazuzu agrees; "And you risk someone defacing her." He motions to the work of art of the Alv. Some might realize... this is the first time they've really _seen_ an Alv. Let alone in such a clear manner.

"Do not even speak of this to other Landers. Imagery of the Alv are not appreciated. And some statues have been defaced before." Mora explains to the trio here. "If you look for inspiration, you will find it here. But remember... art is putting yourself on a canvas."

At Sunshine's questions, Pazuzu and Mora look between one-another. "That's a rather complicated question. And not one we really should answer. Let's just say... a lot of jealousy and war was involved." Mora proposes - and it seems that even just that much gets her a bit of a glare from Pazuzu.

"You're better off asking the other races." Pazuzu simply answers. "For a more... spread out response." Before motioning to a few of the pieces furthest in the back. "For the Alv ones, look for the ones that use more complicated paints, stones, and the like." He answers Att Syne. "And the ones which seem more... molded than sculpted."
Kita
Fort Ouph - Main Square

With the clock timer ticking, Kita retrieves her pencil from behind her ear and flips open her sketchbook. The strange hardcover book has an odd effect, meaning that as she pages through, it never seems to get closer to the end. Resting her fingers close to the paper, she hesitates a moment longer, then does a very characteristically Japanese bow to the two.

"Thank you... both of you. I'll be sure to protect the secrets of this place." She pauses, looking at the mural, "I can't imagine anyone wanting to deface something so beautiful." Brows furrowing, she pushes her glasses up on her nose, then shakes her head.

"I... should get to work." So, for likely the extent of the remaining timer, and a long while afterwards, Kita will sit on the floor before various works of art. Unfinished paintings and statues, trying to grasp what they had been meant to be. Some might be Alv works, some might not, but she seems to try to search for the heart behind them... or at least her own interpretation of it.