[Open]

[spellcollect]

[ Frieren's mind opens up; as before, on the surface it's a calm, smooth pond. She's not quite used to this, so the connection (at first) is a touch tentative and then as she feels her way forward it opens more until she thinks she's finally ready. ]

I have a question for all of you. And you may consider it a simple matter of curiosity; I won't take offense at being ignored.

[ There's a pause, as if she's collecting her thoughts. ]

How many of you are long-lived species? Or long-lived by virtue of who you are? My kind are rare, even in my world, so I can't assume others will be particularly more common here, at the end of the universe.

[ It's an open question. ]

Comments

[sterngaze]

I suppose you would say a different race. Certainly no rituals or enchantments were involved.

[Liem has never really considered what he is to be a proper race, like human or elf, but he's also not magical. His mind is locked up tight against probing, though; a combination of natural attributes and a very reserved nature.]

Are you of a long-lived race, then? You said your kind were rare.

[spellcollect]

I am. I'm an elf and I've only met two other elves in the last few hundred years.

[ She doesn't sound particularly worried about it. It is what it is, after all. ]

[sterngaze]

Is that so? Were you not raised among your own kind?

[He seems to be assuming that "the last few hundred years" is roughly how long she's been alive. Liem's parents were not like him, so he has no greater people from which he could really claim to be descended, but surely the elven race in her world had some sort of homeland, even if her parents had not been living there when they raised her.]

[spellcollect]

I was, but my village was destroyed by demons long ago. Since then I've been a bit of a wanderer and lived among humans. Elves are a rare people these days... we don't reproduce very quickly.

[sterngaze]

Oh... I see. I'm sorry to hear that.

[Obviously their entire worlds were all destroyed by Oblivion anyway, but it's the thought that counts. Especially because Liem is in the camp that wants to just return everyone's worlds to the way they were.]

I've always lived among humans. It must be strange to experience, after living among elves previously.

[spellcollect]

I can't say if it's truly strange. I've spent a long portion of my life living among them; my master was a human, one of the first great human mages. But it's only been relatively recently that I've been trying to better understand them.

[sterngaze]

So you apprenticed under one, then.

But that didn't help you better understand human people?

[Liem asks out of polite interest; he knows already that mages often tend to be at least a little odd, especially the more well-known ones. It would be a mistake to try to learn about ordinary people from experiences with a renowned arcanist.]

[spellcollect]

I was much younger then. And after she passed, I spent a lot of time on my own.

[ Which might explain a lot. ]

But I did learn a great deal from her. Although I didn't appreciate all she had to say until later in life...

[sterngaze]

[That does indeed explain a lot.]

Does that have anything to do with why you decided to ask this question?

[The one she'd posed to everyone, he means.]

[spellcollect]

A little. I wanted to know if I was the only one with my sort of experience.

[sterngaze]

Being long-lived? Or being long-lived and living among humans?

Either way, I can understand your curiosity. Many of Kenos's inhabitants do seem to be human, as do many of the shard-bearers. But some of them are not as human as they appear.

[spellcollect]

Both, in a way.

[ There's a flicker of acknowledgement there. ]

Humans do seem to be the most common, but I'll keep that in mind.

[sterngaze]

The place I lived before was not like this. Non-humans were quite rare, and looked upon with curiosity at best.

[He pauses, not entirely sure how much he wishes to share about this topic, particularly with a stranger. Even now, disclosing casual information about his life feels uncomfortable, though there is no real danger in doing so.]

I have found it significantly easier to navigate Kenos, despite its quirks and its dangers. Among those who do not recognize me as a shard-bearer, I generally pass as completely unremarkable.

[Well. He's also handsome and well-dressed. But those are not bizarre or unwelcome qualities to be afflicted with.]

[spellcollect]

I tend to stand out, regardless. I don't make an effort to hide who or what I am. But elves, even if rare, are known - as are dwarves. So it isn't all humans. Just mostly.

[ Hm. ]

Although most don't treat me any differently because of it.

[sterngaze]

Elves were rare in my country, also. Their homeland was located some ways north of our border, and as you mentioned, they were not an especially populous race. They were not ill-regarded, generally but... hm. Taldor is a mostly human country, and people tended to have preconceptions about them.

Even with the number of humans here, Kenos is much more diverse. Springstar especially—or Skysong, I suppose—contains so many cultures that I think people are less likely to make assumptions at a glance.

[spellcollect]

I'm glad to hear that; I think people should do their best to get along with one another... even if there are differences.

[ Unless they're demons.

Fuck demons. ]