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Lucent stumbles a bit, still getting used to his new size as he walks the halls of the Labyrinthine Cascade, looking for where Cerin the Wolf might be... he had a thing or two to talk to him about, after all!
Cerin is eventually found in one of the upper gardens of the Cascade, looking out over Solaria. He is sitting in a chair, pencil in hand and sketchbook before him, a small cup of tea steaming next to him. "Greetings, Lucent Copper Haze."
Lucent "Greetings, Cerin the Wolf." He smiles, taking a step into the garden, Jupiter seeming to shine brighter within that green place. "Mind if I sit here for a moment? I have wished to speak for you for a while..."
Cerin "Please, join me." He gestures to one of the chairs around the small table, setting pencil down on the sketchbook on the table.
Lucent sits down, watching the view... "What are you drawing?"
Cerin In the foreground, paths of rocks, floating freely in the aether, connect massive slabs of rocks, veins traced out, in a vast network, and lines above hint at storm clouds and flashes of lightning through it. Then, towards the rear of the sketch, great structure rises in the center of the ebony platforms -- a building like a great, flower, five petals stretching from the center where a pillar rises into the sky. "The Nightshade."
Lucent nods, impressed, giving him a smile. "As beautiful as the paintings of the old days. Beautiful, that, Cerin." He nods. "So... I have been thinking about the last and only time we actually got to talk..."
Cerin "Our discussion in my study." He nods.
Lucent "That one. I... think I offended you, back then."
Cerin "I believe that I may have offended you also."
Lucent "Well, remember from where I come from. Oaths are... sacred." He sighs. "I understand now that this is not that time or that place, however; And that things have changed much. It is your nature to make every footstep, every word, count. It is not mine. It is hard to reconcile that..."
Cerin "Things have indeed changed. Yourself, for instance. And the curious amulet you wear beneath your cloths."
Lucent "Oh, that..." Lucent nods, touching it... "A memento of her."
Lucent "There is love in hell, you know. Odd as that might sound."
Cerin nods. "It is not too strange a concept. They have beauty, after all."
Lucent "Well, you were there too. So you know. But I... I had no idea, when I was... ensnared."
Cerin "That was a long time ago, yes?"
Lucent "Yes. A long time ago. High First Age. Zahara and the chime saved me, before they saved you..."
Cerin "Ah. While I was otherwise ... occupied."
Lucent "At that time, yes. It feels odd, though, for Zahara and the others it was a moment ago. For me, it was... well, centuries."
Cerin "That must, indeed, be odd. I only got to talk to myself."
Lucent blinks "... talk to yourself? How... did that happen?!?"
Cerin "The ring. It brought me back in time. That time was also the last time Ymir walked upon Meru."
Lucent "Oh, you meant Ymir. I thought you meant Cerin the Wolf. Talking to your own past lives is not unheard of during certain trances... although an enigmatic spirit must be quite a different experience than seeing them in flesh and bone as they were."
Cerin "Ymir is in many ways quite enigmatic enough to talk with without a trace confusing things." He grins
Lucent laughs. "That she was. Not that I got to talk to her much, mind you."
Lucent sighs. "So... about my earlier apology...?"
Cerin "It is accepted, of course."
Lucent "Thank you, Cerin the Wolf. That does mean much to me." He smiles. "Sorry, just... I should have understood how you are. I should have understood how much a single word means to you."
Lucent "What did you talk to Ymir about, though?"
Cerin "The past. The future. Zahara."
Lucent "And Talmuda as well, you mean."
Cerin He shakes his head. "Talmuda was dead, even then."
Lucent "Ah... I see..."
Lucent frowns. "Sorry."
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