Rhapsody in Blue

Log Info

• Title: Rhapsody in Blue
  
• GM: Riptide
• Characters: Rune, Harkashan, Telamon, Ravenstongue, Slixvah
  
• Location: Quelynos
  
• Summary: Rune and friends go to Grandfathers' in order to speak to 'Blue' about the Golden Fate, and learn that a common foe is responsible for far more than they'd anticipated.

It's a long walk to go outside of the gates of Alexandria and find a spot agreeable to the sorcererous duo for plane shifting, but once the group arrives, it's surprisingly not too terrible of an evening. Starry skies stretch overhead, the clean air crisp and lovely with the chill of autumn in full swing. It's perfect, all things considered, for a sojourn.

Except they won't be here for terribly long.

"Is everyone ready?" Cor'lana asks, dressed in her sorcerer's traveling and combat robes. Even if it's to Grandfather's house, one must be prepared. "Nobody is bringing cold iron with them, right?" That's said in a voice that more or less translates to 'please don't shank my beloved fey patriarch'.

With the weather shifting to the cooler winds of fall, Rune is wearing a simple overcoat beneath her fur-lined cloak. It's enough to ward off the chill that comes in the evening when the warmth ebbs away. The rogue, otherwise, looks anxious and uncertain as she checks a scroll-case attached to her belt and then touches her necklace for reassurance.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Rune's voice is quiet, as if she were not quite as confident about all this as she might be in other circumstances. She has less certainty of her own social abilities than she does in her blades. "And I made sure to keep my cold iron back at the inn. I wouldn't want to offend Grandfather or Blue." Despite knowing her name, Rune still refers to the butterfly-fey by the name she was provided.

"Fuck I'm anxious." She mutters to herself, and then shakes out her hands as if trying to get rid of the feeling by physical motion alone.

"Ready." The infernal looking Sith-makar answers.

Tallest there that beautiful light, he looks down across the sorcerers, witch, and his cihuaa. The way the stars reflect off of his body, along with the natural crimson light of his Patron's markings make him look like a lazy lava-flow at night. Were it raining, no doubt the waters would be pleasantly steaming off of him.

He doesn't own any cold iron weaponry. And as time has progressed, his Khopesh has become more and more ceremonial than anything. A reminder if the vow to the Death Singing Dragon. As they stand there, ready to just 'hop to another plane', he takes a moment to reflect on the journey since he found Rune once more. The memories that Thirku so adores and returns its power to him for.

As the last syllable touches the air, he reaches out to Rune as she mentions being anxious. Laying a hand into her hair and pulling her close into his warmth. Leaning down and kissing the top of her head with the tip of his muzzle.

"All will be well, Cihuaa. You are surrounded by friends." He rumbles sweetly to her, seeking to hold her to his chest for a moment, before relaxing his arm and releasing her again. Looking down at her with warmth and love in his eyes.

Meanwhile, Telamon is clad in his autumn ensemble. A deep blue or violet tunic -- depending on what angle you look at it -- over cream trousers tucked into his boots. Over this, he wears a leather and fur frostrider longcoat with a jaunty-looking hat on his head, the violet feather gleaming even in the twilight.

He smiles at Lana, still holding her hand, and gives Rune a nod in turn. "Relax. You'll be fine. Just one more mystery to unravel, another lock to pick." He squares his shoulders. "Ready. Lana, you want me to handle it, or do you want to take care of the jump?"

Slixvah isn't wearing nearly as many robes as usual, but she has her full array of ribbons on display. Why no need for extra cloth for the weather? Simple. The egalrin's missing patches from fire are gone, and she's about twice as fluffy from last time.

"Oh I'm totes ready," Slixvah coos, hands in her pockets as she watches Harkashan and Rune with a happy squint to her eyes. "Ye Ruru. Like Shasha says- we here fo' ya."

The question of cold iron weapons and things gets her to check her pockets and coming up empty. Save for a few feathers. "Nothin'! Ready!"

GAME: Ravenstongue refreshes spells.

"I can take care of it," Cor'lana responds with a smile that's just as loving for Telamon as the look in Harkashan's eyes for Rune. "The goddesses know that I will never get tired of taking us from here to Quelynos. To Grandfather's house we go."

Her violet eyes sparkle as she holds her hands out for her allies to form up in the shape of a circle. Once all are joined together, she takes a deep breath, closes her eyes, and...

She casts the spell.

GAME: Ravenstongue casts Plane Shift. Caster Level: 17 DC: 25

The change in the air is immediate. It's crisp, and chill, yet the light above is the startling change. Gone are the stars. Gone is the light of Ni'essa in the sky. What remains is that twilight-stretching span across the sky, the gentle rays of that eternal sunset peeking through the leaves.

Every little breath of air through the branch is something _more_, somehow, than it was back in the mundane world. Yet... No sign of Grandfather's house in the distance.

There are plenty of unhappy-sounding croaks coming from the trees, however.

GAME: Slixvah rolls alertness: aliased to perception+2: (15)+14+2: 31

GAME: Rune rolls perception: (13)+23: 36

GAME: Ravenstongue rolls Perception: (15)+21: 36

GAME: Telamon rolls perception: (3)+25: 28

GAME: Harkashan rolls Perception: (20)+12: 32

Rune's eyes slip shut as she seems to let the touch of clawed fingers in her hair and the brush of Harkashan's muzzle ease some of the tension in her form. It doesn't quite leave completely, but when she opens her eyes again, there is more determination than fear showing in them. "Thank you, all of you. I would never have gotten this far without the help of good friends."

With that said, she steels herself for the transition, knowing that it always feels a bit strange to be yoinked from one place and time and yeeted into an entirely different realm. Luckily, Rune has gotten more used to this, over time, so there is only a slight shifting of her balance as they arrive.

It isn't unusual to arrive at a distance from Grandfather's home, but something about the sounds coming from the trees has her ear twitching, eyes searching around them and brows furrowing with confusion. "Do you hear that?" She asks of the others, "Other than the ravens, that is..."

GAME: Harkashan casts Magic Circle Against Evil. Caster Level: 11 DC: 20

Harkashan is calm when the change happens, ad they shift almost immediately into Quelynos. But then... distance.

"Hrrrm, the trouble with Planeshifting. One never knows how far from the destination one ends up." Harkashan remarks with bemusement at first. Except... those sounds. That laughter. That rumble in his chest turns into something more akin to a growl. "It's him - or something Like him." Harkashan then remarks, knowing better than to use that Fey's name. "Fear and Dread itself approaches, Rune. Be ready." As he touches against Rune herself, and immediately creates a ring of light around her from his divine gift. "Blue may not be around to protect us this time."

Telamon looks around, unfazed by the transition. "And here we are again. It'll be good to see Grandfather." He lifts his hat, running his hand through his hair before resettling it on his head. "Always good to be on a better errand though, than..." His voice trails off, as he tilts his head.

He frowns a bit. "Lana," he says in a deceptively calm tone. "I think we need to move along. Something -feels- amiss. And I hear something laughing. I don't really think Grandfather will appreciate it if I have to fend off something and I rearrange the local geography."

Slix takes hands and breathes deep, watching Lana cast the spell with vested and academic interest. The twisting and shifting to a different place is uncomfortable. But- they're here! Her gaze goes up to the sky, marveling in how different it looks from home. "Splendid..." she whispers on the exhale.

Her friends getting on edge get her to drop into work-mode. "Wha-whadya mean, Shasha?" she whispers to Harkashan, reaching into her robe and pulling out two wands in a fist. One is waved about before poked on her beak and holstered, the other is left out.

She steps closer to her friends. "... yeah.. don' like, which way we goin'?" she inquires to Cor'Lana, nervous energy channeled through twirling the stick of cedar between her fingers.

GAME: Slixvah used a Wand of Mage Armor.

Cor'lana's brows furrow when she hears the laughter. "What could it be that is waiting for us--" And then Harkashan's words have her pausing, violet eyes going wide. "No!"

She lifts up her hands. "Everyone can go on ahead, I'll--"

Except Cor'lana's mouth shuts the moment that a blue butterfly flaps in front of her face. "Shh!" says a voice familiar to Slixvah, Harkashan, and Rune both. "No heroic antics today; I'm _not_ in the mood for chronicling that one's nightmarish deeds. Come with me!"

Blue--Glasina, as some know her as--flaps over to a tree and touches it gently. The bark seems to rearrange itself entirely until it creates a yawning entrance that goes--yes, to a very well-maintained garden, patches of lavender and other lovely flowers waiting on the other side. "Go on ahead. I will catch up with you as soon as everyone's through."

The laughter continues, but the croak of ravens grows even louder, like the birds in the trees are trying to misdirect the source of the laughter away from the group.

Harkashan's words have Rune going pale at the thought of having to deal with a certain Fey that should not be named. Her pulse kicks up, as does her breathing, and her hand reaches back as if she were going to draw her weapons. Her last face-to-face encounter with the individual in question had certainly resulted in a fair amount of fear.

Then, that flash of iridescent blue draws Rune's attention and she looks towards Cor'lana and the butterfly. "Blue." The name is spoken as a whisper, but showing some measure of relief. "This is who we're here to see. We can trust her." She informs the others.

Then, ever so briefly, she stares in wonder as the tree opens up into an entirely other place. It is definitely like something out of one of her mother's stories. The sort of thing that would have fascinated her as a child. However, it is not the time to be enthralled by strange Fey magic.

As the laughter kicks up again, Rune lets her hand drop from her weapons and she heads towards the tree-portal, moving on quick feet.

"Do not go sacrificing yourself. Especially not when we all know it wants you more than anything." Harkashan rumbles to Cor'lana. On-board with the plan to run. But he can tell, based on those feelings of his comrades, that they are not prepared for this yet. They've been trying to draw it out, so they should have expected this.

Then, Blue. He glances towards the butterfly, and his posture relaxes a bit. "Blue." Using the name she'd asked him to use. He doesn't thank her, instead just nodding his head and moves towards the bark. Remaining close to Rune. Making sure she gets through first.

Keeping himself there - going through last, as his armor bolsters his allies against that sense of fear he expects to rise very soon.

Telamon's starry eyes are already turning cold, ready to fight, but when Glasina -- Blue -- flitters in, his gaze flicks to the fey woman. "You underestimate my chances, my lady, but I won't risk my wife or my friends." He casts a glance back where the laughter comes from, his expression frighteningly blank. "Soon, though."

With that, he takes Lana's hand, and walks her toward the opened tree, as insouciantly as if he was escorting her to a royal ball. There's something almost casually disdainful -- the body-language equivalent of a rude gesture made to their shared foe.

Slixvah almost has a retort for Cor'lana, but the familiar voice gets a quiet squeak out of the witch. "Oh hiya- understood!" she quickly agrees, jogging towards the newly made entrance. The others have a certain streak of fear in them, and while she's out of the loop, the secondhand anxiety was building. There's a beat as she look at the tree-door. As much as she'd love to pick apart how it works, she herself didn't want to be picked apart. So she passes on through, zipping through with a final flap of her wings.

Cor'lana certainly has no complaint about going through tree-doors--tree-portals?--especially when Rune and Harkashan identify the butterfly as an ally. She nods as Telamon, in his usual gentlemanly fashion, leads her on and through the portal.

When they emerge on the other side, Cor'lana breathes a sigh of relief as she looks around and... Yes, it's the immaculate tree-home that she knows well. The gardens, the laundry-lines hanging across the garden that currently hold nothing on them--

"Grandfather?" she asks in alarm.

Grandfather--better known to some as Alud'rigan, the Feathered One--stands outside the massive tree that he's made into his home. He holds simply a cold iron blade in one of his taloned hands, a cruel and wicked-looking thing that clearly, Cor'lana has never seen before, judging by her wide eyes. His violet eyes, a match for hers, are trained entirely on the treeline of the forest.

"Hello, everyone," he says softly, but not warmly. "Get inside the house, _now_, and then I'll have a better and warmer greeting for all of you. My apologies."

Telamon lets out an exaggerated sigh. "Really, Grandfather, at some point you should let me prune the weeds back in your forest." He looks at Slixvah, and offers a grin. "My wife's great-many-times-over grandfather, Slixvah. Please, let's step inside. Grandfather, if you need assistance dealing with the riff-raff, I am of course at your beck and call; there are rules about hospitality."

He chivvies the others forth into the waiting tree-home, his eyes checking at the forest while he does.

The moment she passes through the portal, Rune realizes that Slixvah may not be as aware of the threat as everyone else in the group. Thankfully, the very fluffy avian doesn't ask too many questions as they make their way through.

However, seeing Grandfather decked out for war with that impressive blade has Rune staring briefly. One - because he's hot, two - becaues that weapon looks badass, and three - becaues the attractive elven man /with/ the badass weapon is even more hot. "Well, at least someone gets to wield a cold iron blade against our enemies today." Is she a little salty on that? Maybe.

Turning to look at Slix, Rune offers, "Fey enemy of ours. Asshole has a particular hard-on for the Lupecyll-Atlons, but also happens to know of my connections, too. Real sicko motherfucker." Then, she doesn't need to wait for a second invitation, heading towards the house. "Come on, I trust our host to know how to deal with this."

Harkashan steps through last, and is startled by the sight before them. Certainly, he has seen Grandfather before. The rather beautiful Fae man. But to be carrying a cold iron blade is a rather unusual thing. Certainly something this disturbing. But then, people in this family of Ravenstongue's have carried some rather devastating blades in the past.

"He's been getting stronger, hasn't he?" Harkashan remarks to Grandfather with a heavy tone. He leaves it to Rune to explain the situation as he heads through the gates as beckoned. It would be most rude to refuse Grandfather's offer.

Slixvah affords a moment to sigh in relief, hands on her knees and lightly panting. She's not cut out for running! She looks about, trying and failing to not be entranced by the garden-- and the tree home!

Self preservation comes to the fore. Listening to- oh hello. Wait, that's a weapon, cold iron? Gods that must hurt like hell to hold! "Don't gotta tell me twice, hotty tater totty," she quips, taking no second to slip past Grandfater. "Yuh, we've met Telly!"

Opening the door, sliding in and holding it for others, she huffs at Rune from inside. "Ya kno', I feel li' thi' is somethin' I shoulda been filled in befo' hand, but ya'll can give me th' skinny later after thi' trip."

"That's my Grandfather," Cor'lana murmurs in a very weak protestation at Slixvah calling her ancestor a 'hotty tater totty'. She will never quite get used to other people hitting on her beloved fey patriarch. "Apologies, Slixvah, we'll explain once we're in."

She follows in right after Telamon. "Don't start lobbing fireballs at the trees; all of Grandfather's birds would be homeless if you do." It's worth reminding her husband the powerful archmage-sorcerer of that from time to time.

Once inside the home, she takes a big breath of relief.

Blue, however, doesn't make it any better as she flaps past Grandfather. "Hello, lover~" she calls out to him.

"Hello, Glasina," Alud'rigan replies. Not coldly, but clearly more determined on the matter at hand. Once everyone is inside, however, he walks into the house and shuts the door firmly behind him.

The whole place is as it was. Bigger on the inside, it sprawls up and up and up, with a library of many, many bookshelves lining the inner walls of the trunk, but also a room with a fireplace and a rocking chair with many, many, _many_ scrawled and etched names worn into the wood. Curiously, however, something lies in wait on the rocking chair: a shawl of blue silk that shifts gradually into a bright, gold-flecked yarn. It looks immaculate.

The blue butterfly forms into her true self: a small elvish-looking woman, shorter than both Rune and Cor'lana by a few inches. Her eyes are the colors of a rainbow, and her black-blue hair has an odd iridescent quality that reminds one of her eyes. She smiles warmly at Alud'rigan--and sizes him up from head to toe--as the man makes his way to one of a few doors.

"Does anyone want tea?" he asks. "Or other refreshments?"

Telamon exhales, and grumbles. "True enough," he replies to Lana. "I just hate having to run from that son of a--" Then they're inside, the door shut firmly behind them. He squares his shoulders, looking up and up at the vertical library. A faint grin crosses his face, despite the gravity of things. "Been too long since I've been here."

He raises an eyebrow at Glasina's fond greeting to Grandfather, though he says nothing... but there's a twinkle in his starry eyes. Not quite fey mischief, but something similar. Instead, he responds to Grandfather. "Tea would be fine, sir. I appreciate it."

"I wasn't exactly expecting him to make an appearance!" Rune protests in response, motioning towards the door and the obvious chaos that has been brought in the dark being's wake. "I haven't seen him in months." Though, a quick glance towrards the sorcerous couple suggests that she is well aware that they have had their own fair share of problems with this entity. "Cor'lana and Telamon have been having some issues with him, I just... didn't expect that to carry over."

Once the door is shut, there is only a vague feeling of relief that comes with it. If Grandfather is offering out tea, that means he must not be too worried about the dark forces outside finding their way in. However, Rune remains a bit on edge.

She looks to the butterfly turned elven woman, inclining her head. "Good of you to meet with us, again." Rune chooses her words carefully. Then, she looks to Grandfather and offers a soft shake of her head, "I think I'm too on edge to eat or drink much. How long has... all that been going on?"

Harkashan walks into the house in a more natural manner than last time. Previously, they were also met by another one of Ravenstongue's family, he recalls. But it looks like she may not be around in the immediate viscinity right now. "I will accept some water or tea." Harkashan remarks, as he moves to get himself seated on the nearest body of furniture that might support him and his big tail.

He listens to the others speak, and focuses on just that for now. Listening.

"And this is why I turned down the idea of fey pacts early on," the egalrin mentions to Rune in response. "This biz." Slixvah sighs in relief as every gets inside, her waving off the apologies with a hand as her attention was certainly focused on the interior of the abode, her circling around the wood with many names, eyeing it curiously. Before said attention drifts to the gold flecked blue shawl. As a fellow enjoyer of such wear. "Beautiful," she comments, looking but not touching.

"Oh, I'd love some tea, whatever Tel is having. And maybe a-." She turns back to the others, gaze drifting over Grandfather, then Blue's true form. "-a snack," she blurts out before falling into a chair.

"He's a terrifying... individual, and Grandfather's cousin," Cor'lana explains gently to Slixvah as she goes and finds a seat by the fire. Her eyes glance longingly at that rocking chair for a moment before she holds out her hand for Telamon to take if he cares to sit with her. "He's fixated on Telamon and I for the moment. But soon, he will trouble us no longer." That's a lethal little promise in her voice.

"The laughter? Almost as soon as you arrived in my forests. My birds alerted me as soon as they spotted him." Grandfather raises his hand and the blade he'd been holding simply... vanishes, rippling out of reality. "They also reported... a corpse. Left not far away from where you entered."

He seems oddly tight-lipped on that matter, choosing not to elaborate any further. "I will procure the tea. Glasina, everyone--please make yourselves at home."

With that, he steps to the door into the kitchen and disappears. Glasina, meanwhile, claps her hands together and smiles. "Now then," she says. "I understand that you have something that you wanted to discuss with me, Leirune Theran?"

Telamon neatly seats himself next to his wife, having doffed his hat. Taking her hand, fingers interlinking as he smiles in a way that is definitely not too far from one of Grandfather's expressions. "Indeed." At Grandfather's remark about a corpse, his eyebrows rise up, but he doesn't press the issue -- for now. Instead, he settles back, with his free arm going around Lana's shoulders.

As Glasina invites Rune to take the stage (so to speak), Telamon doesn't intrude further. This is Rune's path, after all; he's just here to help out as needed.

A tightness passes on Rune's features with the confirmation that they had brought this dark presence here with them. "It was never our intention to bring that kind of attention here to your doorstep." She explains, lowering her head in the process.

However, the mention of a corpse has her briefly looking to Cor'lana and then back again. She seems uncertain if this is something that she should ask about, so seems to lean on her friend to read her Grandfather's demeanor.

Instead, Rune turns, her ears perked and her head lifting when her full name is used. There are relatively few who know her full name, and even fewer who use it, but names have power, especially to the Fey. "Y-yes." Her voice comes in a slight stammer.

Gathering her courage, she takes a deep breath and releases it again, "I know you knew my mother. Perhaps you were even a patron of hers, I'm not sure. But I also know you have a connection to both her and to the Golden Fate." The way that Glasina had shown up at just those right points along the journey was certainly more than coincidence.

"I've been charged with freeing the Golden Fate from her grief and torment, and possibly freeing my mother's spirit in the process. The problem is... I don't know how. You've helped me time and again, and I'll admit I don't know all the reasons why. But I was hoping you might be willing to help me again." With a glance towards her friends, Rune reaches down to the scroll case and removes it from her belt.

"I was told you are a patron of stories and songs. So we worked together to write this one. It has not been heard by any ears but those in this room. So I offer it in trade."

Slixvah rubs her neck. "Yeesh. Sounds like he needs a better hobby," she huffs, quirking a brow at the double speak. Only for the other brow to meet the first about a corpse. A topic for another time. The fact a blade just vanishes out of thin air barely registers. But just enough to get her to pry her fingers off the wand she's been holding.

She shifts to watch Glasina, the witch on the edge of getting lost in rainbow eyes, but pulling back to focus on the conversation at hand. Further attention as she hears a full name- filed away for later- and as Rune speaks.

Right! The song! Unmesi leans forward, fingers steepled and her beak resting atop it. The diplomat side of her intensely interested in the outcome of what she's stuck her beak into.

"You've got that right, Slixvah," Cor'lana mutters with a little huff. But then... The scroll case is pulled out, and Cor'lana feels the need to rise to her feet. She nods to Rune, a little signal of 'ready' in case a performance is needed. She offers Telamon a quiet little look of apology. Clearly, she'd been enjoying that little cuddle by the fire.

"It is a consequence of what is, and has been, already in motion," Glasina says gently to Rune's concern about bringing the Corpse-Eater to Grandfather's doorstep. She does not elaborate immediately on her words, however, even with the slight tinge of sadness on her lips.

She inspects the scroll case as Rune removes it from her belt, however, and the sadness gives way to a full look of excitement on the short fae woman. "You have heard most correctly! A song in exchange for the how--I will gladly exchange such information." She doesn't comment on how she knew Rune's mother--for the moment.

Glasina then... looks expectant. "Now then--may I hear it performed? Preferably by those who wrote the song or had a hand in its writing?"

Telamon's part in this was peripheral, mostly due to keeping up another facade. But he leans back in his seat with an interested expression, his glimmering eyes watching his wife and Rune. He offers Lana a smile as she gets up, encouraging her silently, before his gaze moves back to Rune and Glasina again.

Though an orator in nature, Harkashan had perhaps the least influence on the story created. Seated, he awaits Grandfather to return with the drink as he looks to Rune, and simply gives her a nod. She doesn't need his encouragement. Rune did this all by herself, working with all of those people. Creating more ties around her. More and more of those golden threads...

He's proud of her. Of how far she's come.

Slixvah spies Cor'lana get to her feet, but surprise ebbs on her visage from the request. And soon she finds herself on her feet too. Glasina's excitement rubbing off on the egalrin easily. She unfurls her rainbow ribboned wings, as a finger flits briefly through the air, capturing an ethereal string and weaving it under Rune's collar. "S'it uora alet," she coos warmly, instilling a bit of a story to come within the half-silf. Unmesi pats her on the back, and shakes her wings out.

Time to freestyle.

GAME: Slixvah casts Heroism. Caster Level: 8 DC: 18

With a deal struck, Rune doesn't try to press for additional answers, at least not yet. Instead, she inclines her head, "A performance, we can do." Her eyes look to Cor'lana and Slixvah, "Are we ready?"

There is a mote of anxiety there. It is obvious to any observer that Rune is not someone who often takes the spotlight. In some ways, she has lived in her mother's shadow much of her life, never really developing her own talents in performance because she always doubted they would stand up against the woman that Kiira Theran was.

The song begins with a single voice. The first few phrases catch with that uncertainty before Slixvah's spell seems to bolster her enough to become more confident in her words and the notes that flow outward.

The song begins as a tale of someone in their last moments. A feeling that clutches at the heart. As if, in these final moments of their life, they were looking back on a life and what it means to live and die. It has a somber element to it, drawing on the sorrow of missed opportunities and moments that slip through the fingertips like water.

Then, other voices begin to join in. Cor'lana's voice joins in, and the story seems to skip backwards in time like memories being drawn forth. Childhood days safe and warm and loved. Running through fields, learning new things, the joy and light of a first love that ignites the spirit and the soul. The loss of innocence and the hope for the future.

Third joins Slixvah, another perspective. Another time, another place. The feeling of being wed beneath the stars. Holding a newborn child. Experiencing life through their triumphs and mistakes. Growing old and watching them move on as the sun sets and time grows slow and old.

And last, Rune returns as the voice of the storyteller, but the sadness seems bittersweet and tempered by all the joys of a life long lived. Loves, and losses. Dreams and tragedies. The highs and lows of a single, mortal life, captured in the harmonies of three voices strung together, each one fading out until one remains. At peace at last.

Glasina stays at rapt attention the entire time that the song is performed. Her eyes never move to any particular individual, however, save for that they rest entirely on Rune. At the very end, her smile widens, and she allows her applause--the gentle sound of small palms clapping--to fill the space that is left in the wake of the quiet.

"A stunning performance by mortal voices," she exclaims softly. "On a subject not heard often in these wild places. We know not of mortality--we can hardly understand it, save for... those like Alud'rigan." She sounds puzzled for a moment with her note aside, like she doesn't understand his taste, but it's otherwise not as much of a judgment as one might expect.

She gathers her breath for a moment before she says, "I did know your mother. Several times over, many cycles over. I've always hoped... That the last time I would meet her would also be her last time. But..."

Glasina seems to ruminate on things for a moment. "There are two keys to undoing what has been done to the Golden Fate. The first is actually somewhat simple. You are to find the place where the Golden Fate's bride is hidden. I know this place; I can take you there... But I will only do so if the second is completed."

Her rainbow eyes flicker to Cor'lana and Telamon before they return to Rune. "The Golden Fate is cursed. She was informed that she will inevitably kill her bride. Her wife was then spirited away to a location that the Golden Fate hoped would protect her. A place out of time and space, a place between your realm and ours. Yet the Golden Fate's bride is cursed to experience a vision of her doom at all times. A vision that your mother is, in her own way, cursed to always find her end trying to fight."

Glasina then smiles a little. "But if you were to kill the one who placed the curse on her--then the vision will break. The one who placed the curse on her is the same one who anticipated your arrival. Legus'elain: the Corpse-Eater."

A moment of silence, broken as well by Telamon applauding for the performance. His dark eyes are a touch misty, but appreciative just the same. "Indeed, a well-crafted song. A reminder of why we exist, and continue." He slides forward on his seat a little, resting his arms on his knees as he listens to Glasina lay out the problem.

When the name of the many-cursed Corpse-Eater is revealed, though, his eyes harden, and become cold again. He smiles mirthlessly. "Well then, Rune, Harkashan... it seems our paths move together at least a little longer. For Lana and I are quite eager to end him as well."

Unmesi finds herself breathless at the end of the song. Bird twitters and chirps are one thing, full on singing and putting raw emotion into it is something completely different. But her stature perks up from the compliment and applause. "Thank you, thank you. Ruru had th' best of it tho'," she croons, looking for that tea. Her beak was dry after all of that!

Getting herself situated and sitting, she takes in the information with some interest. Okay, the former doesn't sound too bad, but the latter--

"Drop the sky on me, Ceiwen, really?" she twitters in a huff, rubbing her face. <Auran> "With all due respect-- and pardon my Khazad-- what the hell is up wit' this family." It's a statement, not a question.

With the end of the song, Rune offers out the scroll case. After working so long, having the song finally shared brings both relief, but also a sort of sadness at letting it pass from her fingers. In some ways, there is much of Rune, herself, in the story, life and death and learning to cherish the time you have, no matter how long or short.

And then, Glasina begins to explain her role in the tale. Whenever matters of Rune's mother come to play, she seems to clasp that necklace even moreso. Despite the years that have passed, it is a loss that always seems to remain fresh in her mind.

And yet, when the Corpse-Eater is mentioned, Rune just lets out a soft curse, "Shit." She looks towards Telamon and Cor'lana. "You know it's a path I would have walked with you as close friends, regardless... but it brings me no joy to have my own part to play in it." She takes in a breath, then lets it out again, thumb pressing against the necklace. "Seems like another thread that binds us together."

There is a comfort that Rune seeks in that moment, so her path inevitably leads her to walk over and lean a little against Harkashan. "I guess we know our next steps, then." Then, looking to Slixvah, her lip quirks. "Your friends attract trouble, I'm afraid."

A lovely story, and a lovely song, that so easily captures the mind and draws one with it. A sorrowful one at that. Indeed, the Fae know little of mortality.

"For just a bit? I believe you will not be rid of us so easily." Harkashan answers Telamon as he speaks of their paths moving together. He takes in a long breath, then exhales it again. Of course the Corpse-Eater would be involved. This explained why they so easily recognized those markings upon Rune's own body.

It's all a miserable thing. "An eternal cycle of misery for Him to feed on." He huffs. Then, a deep nod to Rune. "I will make further preparations."

Cor'lana seems, herself, astounded by the revelation that the Corpse-Eater is responsible for... In some way, everything. If the Corpse-Eater hadn't cursed the Golden Fate, would she have ever taken Rune's mother into her company? Would Rune's mother have ever ended up in this vicious cycle of time repeating across itself to try and save the Golden Fate's wife?

"Would Rune and I have ever met?" comes the soft, horrified question that leaves Cor'lana's lips. She looks so pained, so conflicted.

It's at that moment that Grandfather finally emerges from the kitchen with a platter of freshly-poured tea cups and still-warm cookies. He looks squarely at Cor'lana and says, "My child, you look like you need a hug from your Grandfather."

He sets down the platter for all to graze on, and he takes Cor'lana up into his arms, squeezing her tightly, yet so gently with those monstrous taloned-hands of his. Over his shoulder, he looks at Rune. "It sounds to me that you know who your allies are: and what your final steps may be. I will warn you now: my cousin is... a terrifying combatant. One who littered his battlefields with a trail of viscera and gore behind him."

His violet eyes become resolute. "But I believe fully in the power of every mortal here to see it through."

The little get-together drags on after that over tea and cookies. But partway through, Glasina goes to take her leave, but not before she gently takes Rune by the shoulder and leans up on her tip-toes to lean into Rune's ear.

"I do not wish to inspire false hope in you--but they call it a golden ending because everyone's happy and alive in the end, save for the villains. Should the vision break... Your mother does not have to die, I do not think. Call it a storyteller's intuition."

She offers a little smile and then turns into a butterfly again, flying out a window in the tree-home that opens for her.

The story continues.