Circle of Stars (SanctifiedSavage)

[quaggan]

 He reached out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind his ear. "I wonder where should we go..." He remembered the giant map of the known lands of Le'raana that was hanging proudly over the staircase leading to the castle's third floor. He always liked to stand there and read the names, trying to pronounce them and imagine what life would be like there. Whenever a traveler was staying at the castle, he listened to their tales with bated breath. It was a fascination he never imagined he'd pursue - he was still a prince of Astanill, he had a duty to this island.

But now it looked like he would get to see the world beyond the sea. His curse has taken so much from him - almost every friend he had, any hope of succeeding, he could go on without stopping - but perhaps something nice could come of it. He has learned not to hope for too much - it was a sensible approach... but it was sometimes hard to be sensible.

"Where do you think we should go?" he asked. "Thanatos is the closest, so it should be easy to find a ship sailing in that direction."

[SanctifiedSavage]

Kassandra smiled when she saw him thinking about what might be. It was nice. The possibilities that didn't involve a stuffy life here with people that frowned at him in passing. It was mind boggling to one so loyal and family orientated that so many might turn against one of their own.

The world was a funny place like that.

When he asked her where they should go, she had a small smile to cover the splash of panic. She had absolutely no idea but she didn't want to tell him that either. A lot of her training had been about how to take care of gear, of weapons, horses, how to ride... All the books she'd picked up had been manuals. Maybe she needed to go look at some maps and just point to a place.

Any would be better than here, right?

When he said a place, though, she nodded a little. "Good place to start, eh? Maybe we could get a better idea of where to go from there?"

@quaggan

[quaggan]

 Val could speak some of the complex Thanati language - not enough that he'd be able to live on the islands, but enough to converse with the travelers passing by Astanill.

"We could start there" he suggested. "I should ask around or maybe try finding some books on Thanati customs - I remembered they were rather peculiar about their swords, I'd hate for you to be detained because you're armed." He never carried any weapons - even if he wanted to, it would just lead to catastrophe.

A sudden fear gripped his mind. Everything he tried turned to ruin, and the world kept making attempts at his life and well-being. What if the ship he chose ended up sinking because of his curse? He's seen people hurt because of him before, but never outright dead. Could he do it? Could he risk lives of innocent people just because he wanted to see the world?

Hesitation began to take hold. Was he being selfish? Was he taking stupid risks? He had no right to prioritize his egoistic whims above the lives of others. If that's what it took, he would accept being locked away in some tower where his curse couldn't hurt anyone. But was it truly the best option? He always knew that Astanill was never as great as other massive countries - its scholars were easily outclassed by Serenians, its army would be quickly defeated by Adelans, and its artists would probably be looked down on by the Thanati. Val loved his kingdom, but wasn't blind to its scale. And because of this, he could have hope: perhaps the world outside could have a cure. Wouldn't it make it his responsibility to leave the island and seek it?

He winced as the sun ray from the window hit him in the left eye. Tempus fugit. "I was supposed to visit the Court Mage later - not right now though, we still have time. Perhaps we could go see the big world map? I could tell you more about different countries and we could make plans" he offered.

[SanctifiedSavage]

Kassandra watched her friend while he mulled over the idea. "Whatever you think might be best, works for me." She tried to smile and add, a little playful, "I'm but a humble knight in your service." She didn't think she was particularly unintelligent, she just understood where her own strengths and weaknesses lay.

Learning about where they should go next sounded like a solid plan to Kassandra, though. If anything, Kassanda should do some of her own research and not expect all of the information to come from Val. She'd make a poor escort indeed if all she ended up being was a mindless suit of armor that could swing a sword.

Ah well. As much as she hated book studying, she'd do it if it meant being helpful and useful.

When Val mentioned visiting the court mage later, she did tense a moment. Expecting some manner of issue. Instead, at the suggestion of the map, Kassanda nodded a little. It was encouraging to think he was already looking forward. Maybe looking at a map and really seeing the possibilities would help? She stood and offered her hand to Val with a small, encouraging smile. "Let's go, eh?"

@quaggan

[quaggan]

 Val noticed Kassandra tense up when the Court Mage was mentioned. Perhaps he shouldn't have been surprised - it was Mistress Linus who put forward the theory that he was cursed, and was responsible for providing most evidence as well as researching it in more detail. If that was wrong, it would make her efforts rather unhelpful.

He could go on to visit her alone. For now, they could just go to the map and discuss the future. "Oh, you don't have to do any of the boring reading if you don't want to. I'm always happy to play the guide." It was good to be useful, and it would be probably hard for his curse to make it backfire. And he thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the world, too.

He carefully rose, waiting a moment just in case he would get dizzy. It looked like his problem chose not to mess with his head for now - a small blessing, but one he would welcome nevertheless. "Let's go."

He no longer paid attention to the servants and guards hurrying out of his way. Fortunately, his perception was affected so most of the time he didn't notice the stares and didn't hear their whispers. He had no right to complain - their suspicion was warranted.

They soon reached their destination. Val plopped down on the ground - having accepted that his clothes would get dirty and torn no matter what he does made him less worried about royal poise and caring for his things. He leaned back a little to get a better view - this map was huge. "Here's Astanill" he announced, pointing to a small island on the ocean before moving his hand to trace a path. "Thanatos is the big landmass over here - and while I'm not an expert on navigation, I think a ship would take a route like that..."

[SanctifiedSavage]

Kassandra watched her friend once he stood. Ever mindful that sometimes it took him a moment or so before they would be on their way.

Walking through the Palace was always an exercise in mastering her expression and temperament. It was difficult not to shoot a glare at the people who couldn't be bothered to be quiet enough or who scampered unceremoniously out of the way. It wasn't just that Val was still a noble, it was just so... inhumanly rude. It rankled Kassandra on a person-to-person level. The lack of understanding and empathy everyone had for someone they believed to be cursed and a person wrapped in misfortune bothered her more than any curse really would. Like there wasn't a single good person in the entire place that had any sort of compassion.

It ruffled her something fierce.

Her friend deserved to be around people who wanted to help, not people who thought he was a problem that needed to be shoved off somewhere or hidden away. If he had a problem.

Once they arrived at the map, Kassandra stood back some to take it all in. A reminder that the world was far more vast then she thought about. Bigger than the narrow minds of the people in the Palace. Surely someone, somewhere would be able to help set things right. Were that the case, Kassandra would help Val go anywhere, if it were within her power to do so.

When he gestured toward a path, she nodded a little. "I can always ask about the trade routes from here and where they might go. It won't seem so odd coming  from me."

@quaggan

[quaggan]

 "That would be nice, thank you" Val agreed. "Although, won't your parents be surprised to hear that you have an interest in leaving Astanill, just after being knighted?" He wasn't privy to the entire situation in the Eimhear household, but he knew that his friend's family was really excited to see her become a fully-fledged knight. Then again, there was no reason why she couldn't be a knight outside the island. He noticed the glares she shot at the castle staff - perhaps a change of scenery would do her good.