CH. 09 - A New Beginning

[Daos]

Ladonna
"My son and one of my other apprentices are probably studying in the library now," Sern tells her.  "It's down on the first floor."

[HorizonsDream]

"Thank you,"Ladonna says. "And it was a pleasure to meet you," she adds before she leaves, and heads for the library. While walking there, it crosses her mind that she doesn't believe she has never met someone as nice as that old man.

[Daos]

Ladonna
Ladonna departs the office, crosses through the copy room, descends back into the chapel, crosses through the dining hall, back through the entrance chamber and waiting room, then south to the library.  Only then does it occur to her that in all her meandering with Sern about her hometown and her father, she never actually got around to asking to apprentice to him.

The library is quite large, with each wall lined with shelves filled with books, as well as numerous bookshelves arranged in stacks on the southern side of the room.  On the northern side are tables and chairs for studying, and at least three people are in there now.  One is a very elderly man, even older than Sern.  One is a young man, about Ladonna's age, with dark skin and hair.  The third is a half-orc, looking a bit out of place but still wearing robes and reading diligently.

[HorizonsDream]

Ladonna approaches the table and looks over the three curiously. "You three are studying diligently."

[GravityEmblem]

"True, true," Lillian admits. "But in a system where most of those positions are hereditary...it takes a lot to change that."

[Daos]

Ladonna
"As one might expect from a library," the dark skinned man says with a wry smile.  "Were you expecting something else?"

"I've never seen you before," the half-orc states, curious.  "Have you recently arrived in Hart?"

The old man, so engrossed in his book, does not even acknowledge if he heard or understood Ladonna.

Lillian
"Yeah," Finbul agrees, sullenly.  "But it's not a flaw of the system, it's a deliberate feature.  It was designed from the ground up to exclude anyone not human.  Changing it may well take generations.  And in the meantime, many will continue to suffer under it."

[HorizonsDream]

"Perhaps someone sleeping on the table. That does happen once in awhile," Ladonna says with a light laugh. "Observant one you are," Ladonna says with a smile towards the half orc. "I am new to Harr. I just arrived today in fact. I'm Ser Ladonna Marche.

[Daos]

Ladonna
"Well met, my lady," the half-orc replies.  "I am Zesk Gir."  He stands to properly greet her.  Getting a better look at him, Ladonna can see that he is a bit older than her by about 5 years or so.  He's bulky and broad-chested, with shoulder-length black hair, brown eyes, and grey skin.  His ears are boulbous and somewhat pointy at the end, and a pair of tusks just from his mouth.  He is wearing simple and dirty white robes.



While Zesk introduces himself, the dark-skinned man seems to watch Ladonna carefully, as if judging her reactions to various things.  He then says rather casually, while remaining seated, "Norris Sern."

Norris is much closer to Ladonna's age, maybe a year or two older.  In contrast to Zesk, he is thin and scrappy.  His dark hair is in short dreads.  His eyes are brown.  He wears well pressed, clean white robes with gold trim.



The very old man continues to ignore them all, although he brings his book even closer to his face as they talk.

[HorizonsDream]

"It is a pleasure to meet you both,"Ladonna says to the both if them. If Norris is looking for any tells or tricks that Ladonna might have, she certainly deosn't show them. She is simply being pleasant for the time being. "You must be Almoner Sern's son, and the two of you must be his apprentices?" She asks.

[Daos]

"Indeed, we are, and the pleasure is entirely ours, I'm sure," Zesk says.  He looks to his companion.  "Isn't it, Norris?"

Norris continues to stare at Ladonna, then shrugs and says, "No, I'm not much like my father at all.  And why couldn't a half-orc be a mage?  I've seen full blooded orcs use sorcery, as well.  They call them witch doctors, but the principals are the same."

"Norris!" Zesk admonishes.  "We've discussed this.  It's rude to read a person's thoughts.  Just because you are a diviner does not mean you can intrude onto another person's privacy."  He looks to Ladonna.  "My lady, I am so sorry on his behalf."

Norris shakes his head.  "What?" he asks innocently.  "It's the most efficient way to learn about someone.  And only an abjurer like you would defend someone who looks down on him for his race, Zesk.  If you spent more time in other people's heads, you wouldn't be so trusting or friendly, trust me."

[HorizonsDream]

Ladonna doesn't seem surprised or even the least bit offended. "My thoughts weren't meant to be offensive," she says directly to Zesk. "I'm from Buho, and not everyone is quite as accepting of other races," she tries to explain before she turns to Norris. "And I think my method of learning about others is more effective," she says with a suggestive grin towards Norris. Though, she suspects the grin will be lost on him.

[GravityEmblem]

“That will be hard to fix,” Lillian admits. “We either create a non-hereditary system-which would still exclude non-humans-or start a campaign to put non-humans in positions of power, which few people are likely to support.”

[Daos]

Ladonna
"I do not hold your own private thoughts against you," Zesk assures her.  "Nobody should be persecuted for what they think.  And Buho, you say?  I think I've heard of it, but never had the pleasure of visiting there."

"I've been there," Norris claims.  "Nothing to write home about, really.  Although that hedge wall is interesting enough."  In reply to Ladonna's comment about her own methods, he asks, "Is it?  People put on masks all the time, and always lie about themselves, especially when trying to impress others.  Gonto tells us that lying is a sin, but everyone does it.  Everyone.  Even priests and paladins.  They lie even to themselves.  They don't even realize it."

Lillian
"Wrestling power away from those who have held it exclusively for centuries is never easy," Finbul agrees.  "There are too many people currently in power who stand to lose, so we can't rely on them to ever do the right thing.  It must be the will of the people.  If the people aren't behind the idea, nothing can change."

[HorizonsDream]

"I'm afraid that your friend here is right. There isn't much to Buho. Some of the people are interesting enough, though," Ladonna admits to the half orc before looking to Norris again. "Most people remove the masks and lies once they believe you to be a friend," she says.

"You can read the surface thoughts of a person easily enough, but that doesn't really tell you a lot about the person. I could have easily been thinking that I wanted to kill a friend of mine when you read my thoughts earlier. That doesn't mean that I would actually do it. I could have just been really angry about something that my friend did," she explains. "Without the context, it would be easy to assume that I am a potential murderer with those thoughts," she explains. "I end up learning more about people with my method."

[GravityEmblem]

LIllian sighs. "Hopefully, we can do it peacefully. A violent uprising isn't likely to garner support, and the consequences if it fails are a lot more dire."