new arreyeval [open!]

[hellojon]

Who: Elias Bouchard & OPEN!
When: mid-April
Where: ADI and around
Summary: getting settled & visiting a graveyard
Warnings: will edit if needed

around ADI
Elias finds himself fitting right into Administration. There's a part of him that wants to go into Research, of course. That desire to learn, to know, to figure out and explore whatever is going on still lives strong in his mind. But for the moment, Administration fits. After all, the more he learns about this place behind the scenes, the more information he has and he can use to shift things to go his way.

It is very easy to doctor a paper trail if you work in the department involved in paper trails to begin with.

The problem with working in administration is that Elias needs to do busy work. And with people vanishing on a daily basis (something which he tried to Know the cause of and was very put out that the only thing he received in return was a nosebleed), the new guy gets stuck with the busy work: roll call.

So he approaches people, he'll ask, "Pardon me. You're someone from a different world, correct?"

50 steps
Well. This is interesting.

Having seen his demise once already (stabbed, beaten bloody at the hands of the Archivist of all people), Elias lingers around the graveyard anyway. Curiosity wins out: how does this place count a death? Would he see how the body of Jonah Magnus died? What about possible deaths? After all, if he knows about this death, why would he keep things the same and let it come to pass?

That curiosity is driving him. So he lingers in the graveyard, to the point that he's still there when they're rounding up people to leave, walking around as he looks for those steps again.

wildcard
He's around ADI, so hit me up with anything!

Comments

[graveyounglady]

"No, there's some as evil by their being. The Dread Watcher is the god of Nightmares. She's a jealous thing who hooks her claws into people's dreams and poisons them as spite against the kin who shun her. She's a right grim thing as much as she's pitiable. Only people I know of who worship her are in other countries from where I am. Reckon it's a sort of worship in hopes she'll turn her attentions on their enemies. Can't fight a war if you ain't had no sleep."

Marcy shakes her head slightly. "But there's gods like the one I grew up with, Brother Earth, who's all about death and decay. The One Below Who Feeds Above." There's a reverence in her tone still. She never can fully separate herself from Him, it feels like. "He watches over the sacred cycles that take the old and bring new life to the world."

[hellojon]

It's interesting to Elias how Mercy positioned her gods as different from the Entities. As far as Elias is concerned, the parallels are as clear as day. Her Brother Earth seems to be simply the End, reskinned and with better PR.

"I could see other countries being terrified of Brother Earth," Elias muses. "A god that's focused around death? People would do anything to avoid dying—something like that, something that reminds them of their own mortality, would be absolutely terrifying."

cw: fantasy bigotry

[graveyounglady]

"Oh, they are. We ain't welcome most places. Few and far between in Leigland'll stand us, too." She says this with the casual acceptance of someone whose lived this her whole life. There's no particular grudge or grief there. It simply is as it's always been.

"My family got lucky after they conquered our homeland a few generations back. There's an abbey for the Blind Mother that lets us tend their graveyard. Sradans--that's my people--we got powerful teachings in the ways around death and how to make sure bodies is prepared and stored proper so there's no sickness. And we'll see to their death rites, as well, whatever their creed. That sort of thing."

She pauses down the hallway at one of the doors that has a placard reading INFIRMARY, and moves to open it to show him in.

[hellojon]

Elias nods, following Mercy as they enter the infirmary. However, the questions, the story, this information about Mercy, they're delicious. Elias wants to keep them coming. His curiosity burns fast and he wants to learn.

"It's good that you're doing something like that," Elias nods. "I've never been afraid of death myself," Elias lies, through teeth that aren't his in a body that he took because of that fear of death, "but so many people in my world are. They do whatever it takes just so they can extend their life a few more precious moments."

[graveyounglady]

She's reminded, very suddenly, of the nightmares the Lullaby Girl had brought. A field of bloody flowers and bone trees, and soil she'd tilled and pulled up to make room. Another body for Brother Earth to take, to turn to soil and start the cycle over once more. She recalls seeing the dates of death for friends... for her lover.

Garner's countdown at an end.

Mercy gives herself a mental shake and offers Elias a knowing smile. "Some go to the grave digging their heels in, but they'll all go in the end. Honestly, it's not getting there that scares me more in a place like this." There are fates so much worse than death that she's experienced and seen and heard of.

"But! This is a place where we stave off that sort of thing, best as we can." She gestures to the infirmary, which is a military-style bay with partitions and hallways directing you to various special equipment. Notably, most of the high tech-looking equipment appears to be from the Copernicus company. "Most of these medicines and tools is well past my time, but I've had near-on two years to practice. And I'm getting better all the time. Hoping I can bring back some of the knowledge about healing to my own world when we figure out how to go back."

[hellojon]

He looks across the infirmary, taking in as much as he can. This is certainly not what he was expecting with regards to an infirmary. It's somehow high-tech and basic, brand yet and yet a little hodgepodge all at the same time. Elias makes a mental note to try and never to end up here, if only because he's not so sure how many of his fellow arrivals actually know how to work things like this.

"You bring up an interesting point: figuring out how to go back. Has there been any progress on that front?"

[graveyounglady]

"Well... not really? I'm not sure." Mercy scratches at her cheek briefly as she glances to the side and wonders at how much she ought to say about Aelwyn and her efforts. "There's folks better than me to ask about that. I keep busy here, mostly. Mr. Jon was working on some of it 'fore he disappeared. Martin might know what some of his research was pulling up. Mr. Martin Blackwood. And Aelwyn's awful smart, but she's away on a special mission. Ms. Eda Clawthorn's clever as any silver-haired elder you ever met. Reckon she's maybe got an idea or two about it."

Her gaze stays to the side as she starts to squint, thinking about who else he could ask. "Oh! Ms. Yelena Belova. She's keen on things, too. Goes after all kinds of mysteries."

[hellojon]

"Martin and I are already acquainted," Elias says, with a calm little tone in his voice, absolutely not belying the fact that Martin hates his guts.

"I'll ask around—and thank you for those names." Elias lets out a small little 'tut-tut' clicking with his tongue as he muses, "It is odd that everyone seems to be taking ADI at their word. I'd have thought that people here would be breaking down the door to try and return home."

[graveyounglady]

"Well, I don't know about that. We've had... more years than I've been here to get some kind of truth out of them." Her tour leads them into a small laboratory that looks like it's used to grow cultures for tests. "Reyes and Ms. Bonnie've been here from the start of folks turning up. And Reyes was working as Ms. Nia's assistant until-" She thinks. "Longer than I was thinking. Been months since they got demoted and Ms. Rae took over. But seems like they trusted ADI enough to take that up."

[hellojon]

"There's a difference between trusting someone and seeing them as your only option," Elias muses. But there's a moment where he looks over the laboratory, giving everything a small little nod before continuing,

"Not that I'm speaking for Reyes and Bonnie, of course. It's simply...something to think about."

[graveyounglady]

"Maybe. But there's good folk here." There's a firm conviction in her tone that rises beyond wishful thinking. "Ones who is from here natural like and ones who've fallen in. I think what they're doing here is something good, too. Stopping bad things from taking over this world, helping folk who need it.

"I trust a lot of them. Been here long enough that cracks would've started showing in their true ways if they were faking it wholecloth."

[hellojon]

She's an idealist. Useful, but also something that could be so easily broken if the time were right. After all, you can keep up good intentions and fake smiles for decades if given the opportunity. If good intentions and fake smiles give you what you want.

Elias simply nods before idly pointing out, "I'd like to think the same." Good people are useful. Good people are easily manipulated. "After all, we're all in this together. More would be accomplished with trust instead of division."