• Solo • The Puppet

[Victor Amielle]

Cylus 5, Arc 721

Sometimes, Victor Amielle, the younger brother of the Lord of Lysoria, once a scholar of magic and a researcher of unusual phenomena and now a Warlock of the Syns and a citizen of Melrath, could not help but wonder if he was losing his mind. He had already doubted his sanity after the Aberrant that he had had a brief, ill-fated romance with had been executed, and then again during his imprisonment in Niflheim, but he had never suffered any visual hallucinations before.

But then again, he considered as he looked at the small jester puppet that was sitting on the kitchen counter, staring at him from out of lifeless eyes, unmoving, perhaps someone was simply messing with him. It had started after Yeva, Woe and Balthazar, his future initiate, had fought the Mountain Induk Ornthus in Scalvoris. He had first seen it during that spirit party, when he had participated in one of the numerous games.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath and then another one and another one, trying to block out all thoughts, trying to redirect his focus and make himself relax, but he didn’t quite manage, and when he opened his eyes again, the strange puppet was still there, still as unmoving as before. He turned around abruptly and left the kitchen where he had planned on making breakfast for himself again as he was not in the mood for food anymore. Fortunately, the puppet did not follow him into the living room – he could at least not see it anymore.

When he returned to the kitchen a little later, compelled by his stomach that had started to growl, the counter was empty, as if the puppet had never been there in the first place. He approached it, hesitantly, wondering whether it might show up again the moment that he came too close and let his hand glide across the wooden surface, slowly and carefully, looking for a hint of something invisible. Neither his touch nor his Gleam Sight – an ability granted to him by the Syns – revealed anything unusual though. He sighed with relief.

He withdrew his hand again, filled the teapot with water, started to make tea and finally prepared his breakfast. As he took a bite off of the slice of bread with butter and raspberry jam, he gradually started to feel better, and calmer, although he still cast a glance at the counter every now and then. Fortunately, his entirely unwelcome companion did not show itself anymore. Maybe he thought, preferring to be hopeful in that regard – he had already had too many bad experiences in his life - that had been the last time that he had seen it.

Eventually, he finished eating, cleaned the dishes – he always did so immediately after he had eaten – and made his way into the living room once more, in order to sit down at his desk and write. He had acquired a number of books recently, on the history, geography and culture of Melrath. He had learned some things since he had moved there, but he wanted to familiarize himself with his new home as best as he could; and besides, his little private research project would hopefully distract him from the puppet for good.

Notes

The puppet is a consequence from this thread.

[Victor Amielle]

For a moment, Victor wondered what his brother would say to him if he could see him now and whether he would change his mind and perhaps even be proud of him. Stefan had accused him of neglecting his duties, among other things, but he was dutiful now, wasn’t he? And he lived in relative wealth – he had made all that money through his own work. There was, he had to admit, a part of him that missed … not home because Melrath was his home now, but the kind of relationship that he had had with his brother once.

He had realized that he had been wrong as well. Stefan had broken his promise to him – he had said that the Aberrant would be free to leave, but then he had been executed, anyway - but perhaps, he should never have brought that man into the fortress in the first place.

He had meant nothing but bad luck.

Shaking his head slightly and casting another glance at the door – his unwelcome guest was still nowhere to be seen – he finally opened the first of the books that he had acquired and grasped his pen in order to summarize what he learned. Having lived in Melrath for about an arc now (He didn’t count his imprisonment in Niflheim as “living in Melrath”.), he was of course familiar with the basics, but what he had learned about Melrath from just living there was not enough for him.

He wanted to dig deeper and understand his new home and its people better.

To that end, he decided to start at the very beginning – with the founding of Melrath. The book that was lying in front of him now was titled “Melrath. History, Geography and Culture” which made it sound like it would be a promising start. He moved to the table of contents, found the appropriate chapter – the one that covered the history of Melrath – and started reading and taking notes. Soon, he had found out that the nation of Melrath had been founded in 318, by a woman named Ashara Veldaris who had spent her youth in Ne’haer.

The members of House Veldaris, and their Jarl, Amelie Veldaris, were that woman’s ancestors, and their emblem was a golden eagle.

That book, while interesting, wasn’t nearly detailed enough in his opinion though. He didn’t just want an overview; he wanted to know the whole story of Ashara Veldaris and the founding of Melrath; for that reason, he opened two other books, both of them history books, before he started to take notes once more. He wrote about how Ashara Veldaris and her people had left in order to find a new home, founded Raelia where the Vynmur River merged with the ocean and formed an alliance with Fensalir, and how Melrath closed its borders, a long time later, after endless confrontations with the Lotharro to the south.

He read about the construction of the four towers, and how the people of Melrath had become highly self-reliant which was something that made him wonder. Was he not the same to some extent? Had he not left his home and taken his destiny into his own hands as well? Or was it a sign of arrogance to assume that he had anything in common with her?

[Victor Amielle]

The next topic that Victor decided to research was the geography of Melrath, both out of curiosity and because it would help him greatly in his work as a member of the Syns, the military of Melrath. He had offered to take part in patrols outside of Raelia on a more regular basis. To that end, he went back to the first book that provided an overview of various aspects of Melrath and spread a map out next to it, because he wanted to compare what he read in the book and what he saw on the map in order to get a more complete picture.

Soon, he found himself reading about the rugged landscape of his new home that was dominated by the wilderness, about the snow-capped Melrathi Mountains that were located to the west, about evergreen glades and clear mountain streams. He learned about the lakes that were called Dwynmer Lochs (He made a note on a separate piece of paper to research the word Dwynmer and its origin.) and the comparatively friendly Mer that lived in them. He read about the caves and tunnels dotting the mountains, and the Myrkvior Forest that few, apart from the rangers of the Ydalir, ever dared to venture into.

He read about the islands along the coast of Melrath that were used by the Melrathi military and about a land that was still wild and untamed, for the most part, a land of endless beauty and nearly unlimited possibilities, a land that he wanted to see in its entirety one trial and explore from north to south and from east to west. The thirst for adventure that he had as good as lost after the incident with the Aberrant, his imprisonment in Niflheim and the long illness that had followed was slowly coming back.

[Victor Amielle]

After a short break during which he had gotten something to drink from the kitchen (He had stopped worrying about his unwelcome guest, for the time being and come to the conclusion that it might have decided to call it a trial.), Victor returned to his research – and the least two topics that he had decided to research – the government of Melrath and the law. “Melrath. History, Geography and Culture” contained very little information in that regard – it only mentioned the Circle that oversaw the governance of Melrath and that it had fourteen representatives, with thee seats reserved for the three most prominent factions, and one to the Dwynmer people from the city of Verimeer.

(There was that word again. Dwynmer. He made a note in that regard.)

The last book that he checked – it dealt with matters of the law and politics for the most part – listed the most common laws in Melrath though. Melrath was a fairly isolated nation, but some laws seemed more or less universal. There were laws against thievery, trespassing, murder and violent assault, extortion, abduction, slavery and treason.

Where the laws of Melrath differed the most were matters of magic and spirits. He already knew that mages had to register, of course – he had done so himself, due to his being a Transmuter. Furthermore, it was illegal to intentionally act in a way that caused harm or distress to a spirit – which made him wonder how one decided that it was intentional. What happened if a foreigner that knew nothing about spirits caused one harm?

Melrath was not particularly welcoming to outsiders. He still faced some xenophobia every now and then even though he bore an embla now that took the shape of intricate geometric golden patterns on his right temple. But then again, was there a need for him to concern himself with such things? He did not intend to harm any spirits in Melrath, and he was not a judge. He would leave that matter be, for the time being at least, he decided.

With that thought in mind, he closed his books and put them away. He would look into the Dwynmer people and the Dwynmer Lochs some more, but that was a research goal for another trial. For now, he would eat something, and then it would be time for him to head to work.

[Avalon]

Review Rewards

Name: Victor

Points awarded: 10xp

Knowledge:
Research: The history of Melrath
Research: The geography of Melrath
Research: The government of Melrath
Research: The laws of Melrath
Research: Checking several sources to get the complete story
Writing: Summarizing what you read in a book

Skill Review: All Skills used appropriate to level

Notes:
I know that I've reviewed one other Victor thread in my time but I'm having a hard time placing it, so we will consider this my introduction to the wonderful character that is Victor! I was so excited to see this thread in the queue!

This was a wonderful read. You write all your characters so differently that it's fun to note the uniqueness you bring to each. Victor is similar to another character I know (name starts with a 'D' and might have the nickname at the Institute in Rharne of 'Professor Tall, Dark and Handsome') but you bring a different approach to him that makes him distinct.

Thank you for the note on the puppet! I went and looked that up (what a wonderful consequence!) and I found Victor's interactions with the puppet amusing...and only slightly terrifying.

The way you mixed Victor learning about his new home with memories of his old one was beautifully written.

I'm so glad to see Victor on the boards. Please, please, please....write more of him!

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding this review, feel free to PM. Enjoy your rewards!

Avalon