Ancestral Voices - PCs - Mark - Diaries - Further Study

Further Study

Date: Started 25/07/2007, Ended 13/12/2007

Synopsis: Having left Vincent, Marks takes a turn around the Library to check on the others and to share any gathered information.

Gwyn is talking with a swarthy-skinned man of Mayan appearance, when Mark approaches. There are several books on the table before her, and he's sitting on the opposite side.

Mark has been wondering around the Library checking up on folk - seeing how they are doing. After all, sharing clues just may help. As he approaches, he'll take a good look at the man, but offer him a smile before quietly adding, "I hope I'm not interrupting?"

"Mark, I'd introduce you, but I'm afraid we jumped right into the fascinating topic of dragons and didn't bother with the formalities." She smiles at the Mayan gentleman, "I'm so sorry, I'm Gwyn and this is my cousin, Mark."

The man nods briefly, nothing more. There did seem to be a conversation, but there isn't now.

For the sake of conversation, Mark holds out his hand to the Mayan looking man, "Mark White. Pleased to meet you."

Behind Mark, Chance looms into view - there in time to hear the conversation.

Chance walks forward. "I hope I'm not intruding. Can I speak to you two?" He eyes both Mark and Gwyn.

"Chalchi Huiteh," says the Mayan-looking man. "I see a book there that I'm interested in, however, and I've found my bookmark. Feel free to call in on me, any of you." He goes over to a bookcase a while away.

Luckily Mark isn't the twitchy type... and instead offers Chalchi a smile as he introduces himself and then leaves. Then, turning to Chance, he adds, "Sure.... What news?"

Gwyn smiles at Chalchi and turns her attention to Chance.

Chance says, "Sorry to have been so rude, I'll apologise to the librarian.

I need as much of a description and the full name of this dragon, to attempt to magically locate it."

"I will go to my quarters to prepare for the journey, then return for any info you can offer me. Mark, can you join me, I need to pick your brains. It won't take long I promise."

Mark shrugs, "Sure. My search here has been fruitless although Vincent was able to locate a play that just may contain a grain of truth... and a description of your dragon." She smiles, "So what information are you after?"

She smiles, "So what information are you after?"

“As much of a description that is available will help. But I do need a full name for a Locate spell to have a chance to work.” Replies Chance.

Mark looks first at Gwyn and then the book before looking back at chance, "Well, no problem then. I'll give you the name from the book, Gwyn'll have a name? And we'll contact Karm and find out what he called the Dragon... and you can try all of those while I go and rustle up a few more? I figure though that, if the stories I learnt as a child have even a grain of truth in them, that none of these names will be its *true* name. Would you give away such a thing freely?"

Gwyn agrees with Mark then looks over to the gentleman in the chair. "We might ask Chalchi Huiteh. He seems to know quite a bit about dragons."

The gentleman in the chair seems absorbed in what he is reading now. It is an oversized book of nursery rhymes.

"Good idea, Let's do that." Says chance.

With a smile on her face, Gwyn approaches Chalchi. "Excuse me, Mr. Huiteh, my cousins and I wondered if we might have a word?"

"Not mister, please," he says. "Just Chalchi will do." He gets to his feet, and looks. "You've multiplied! Maybe I /am/ a fertility god, at that..."

Chance introduces himself to Chalchi, "Excuse my lack of manors earlier. I am Chance."

"Chalchi Huiteh. Hostage Prince."

Hostage? Mark listens but lets Chance and Gwyn do the talking for the moment.

"I need your assistance. What I need is our dragon's full name and the best description you can offer.", says Chance to Chalchi Huiteh.

"/Your/ dragon?" Chalchi looks surprised. "I was thinking about /my/ dragon. Are they the same dragon?"

"One and the same."

Mark produces a fine raised eyebrow at Chance's words as they do appear to be a wee bit of an assumption, but leaves well enough alone as even tracking down Chalchi's dragon could give them a lead....

"Well, I was looking up Cipatli, the Primordial, as I suppose you'd translate that. Just to see how Amber looks at things - it's become a hobby of mind since I came here. He's the foundation-stone of the Gods."

"Um," Gwyn is clearly a little uncomfortable, "Which gods would those be?" She gives chalchi an apologetic smile.

"The local ones. ... do you have any idea who I am, or are we all equally lost in the jungle?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm not native to Amber, so I am quite lost in the jungle, adrift at sea, up the creek without a paddle, as it were" she shrugs apologetically. "Would you be so kind as to fill me in?"

"Oh... I'm sorry. It hadn't occurred to me. I'm a Hostage for my father's good behaviour. Chipilluit Huiteh of Intezka." He pronounces the foreign syllables with an outlandish accent, and then drops straight back into good Thari. "I'll be executed if Intezka should invade Inkatek, say." He jerks a thumb up at the gallery. "There's an Inkatek Princess trying not to be irritated at me right now, but we're up the same tree. But as for dragons? I think they're in all truth a bit of folklore because our minds can't handle the full glory. They aren't limited like we are, so we just see the dragon. They see the whole thing."

Mark looks up from the books, "So... How many of these so called 'Dragon's' are there?"

"Depends. Either one, which is all of them, or lots. Holy books tend to differ - you might have noticed. But... as far as I can make out, there are lots of things that shadow /calls/ dragons, but gladly few that /are/ dragons. In that they spawn magic in their wake, by destroying the physical."

"And how do you know so much about these dragon if they destroy everything in their path?"

"I don't. I freely admit that a lot of this is guesswork. But we're in the wrong tense. They /did/ do this. We're pretty sure, because the echoes are still around. Things like life." Chalchi shrugs. "I could be wrong."

"So... correct me if I'm wrong." And at this, Mark looks at his cousins too, "You're suggesting that this Dragon... or Dragons... are the creators of 'magic' and that they do this by destroying reality... or is that just shadow? Or are you suggesting that Amber is but a 'juicy' bit of shadow?"

"Not that they're destroying reality - I think they must have created it as well. I mean, subject to Amber's existence, of course." Chalchi smiles slightly. "They don't have to obey laws, is what I'm talking about."

"Laws? Are you speaking of physical laws as well as the laws of the land," Gwyn asks.

Chalchi replies, "It wouldn't have occurred to me that the laws of the land mattered to even a shadow of the dragons. Sacrificial hearts don't get given to everyone."

"So... this is all conjecture. You assume this or these Dragon or Dragons are able to create 'life'... because there is life. That is hardly a concrete link between the two. Do you have no 'proof'? For all you know, the 'Creator' could be a benevolent purple and lavender striped cat, with these Dragon creatures being the parasites who destroy and maim the cat's creation?

"And you could be a wanker, but I'm not going to call you that to your face, because it's only my personal belief." Chalchi looks away from Mark

Stifling laughter, Gwyn asks Chalchi, "Personal beliefs aside, I'd like to hear more about sacrificial hearts and whatever else you know of dragons."

Laughter? Mark raises an eyebrow, "I would ask you to keep a civil tongue in the presence of a lady. As to your opinion of me, I am more than willing to let you elaborate further... when we have more time to disguise it, however, right now this dragon of yours holds our interest. Is there any proof? Make me a believer if you will?"

"Proof? No. Weight of evidence? That one, those two, that shelf, although avoiding the pink folder, which is misfiled..." Chalchi makes an impotent gesture. "I know I may sound like a priest before the choir, but essentially, I am. My father is the King and therefore the highest religious authority in Intezka. It took me a lot of thinking before I questioned that, but Intezka's wrong. I know there's something special about Amber, but I think that while it's unique, its world-view is wrong as well. I just can't pin it down to how without a paper turning into idiocy as I write it."

"Now that I can believe...." Mark smiles, "Hopefully your opinion of me is as easily changed." He pauses and then asks, "I assume you've studied the various philosophical and religious texts in the library to see if any others might follow similar reasoning?"

"Well, most of them are frankly not worth the paper. It isn't even absorbent. But yes, a lot of them do, generally from the point of view that something special must have happened to create said shadow, or usually said author. But it's noted, nevertheless. There are the remains of big events floating around here and there."

"Well, if that is the case," And now Mark looks at his two cousins, "Maybe there is something we could do to isolate these occurrences and track them to their source or sources?"

"Wasn't Chance saying something about a locating spell?" Gwyn asks.

Mark looks to Chance, "It doesn't look like we're getting any concrete information about what the Dragon actually is, but maybe you could try and locate the sources of these creations with your spell? It isn't really my forte, but," And this to the group, "Maybe we could go out into shadow and try and examine shadow as a whole... map it, see if there is a 'pattern' to it. In the shadow of my birth, the scientists believed that the universe was created in an explosion and that the worlds around us radiated out from it. Maybe shadow is similarly shaped?"

“Sounds like the start of a plan. Says Chance. “Why don’t you join me while I prepare for travel? I need to pick your brain about shadow travel,“ says Chance to Mark, while still taking in this new info.

Well, this is the second time that Chance has tried to get Mark alone to talk to him so.... to Gwyn, "I'll head off with Chance and sort things out and catch up with Uncle Gerard. If you keep the ball rolling here, I'll be back shortly and we can maybe use the trump you so recently acquired."

[The scene then splits as Chance and Mark head off leaving Gwyn in the Library]

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