The text on the back of the page said, "Haelar the Long-Minded Receiving His Offerings."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
Ky kept skimming to see if there was anything else about Haelar.
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
There was nothing there, only the illustrations and text indicating what was happening in the vaguest of terms.
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
She sighed, drumming her fingers on the book. “Pine cones…” she wasn’t going to be able to get those tonight. She should just go apologize to Gaius for wasting his time, probably. She fanned through the book to see if anything else caught her attention.
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
There was a page dedicated to Strithr as well, and a section for the artist's notes.
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
Ky glanced at it, making a mental note to come back to information about Strithr later so she could tell Jerica about it. But for now, she needed to go rescue Gaius from the cold.
She set the books on one of the "please don't put these away" tables and then ran up the stairs to her room to grab her coat and then rushed down the stairs and started for the door of the Keep nearest the grove.
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
Gaius had nestled into his warm coat and scarf. The goat was nibbling at the stone of the bench impatiently.
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
Ky made her way towards them, subconsciously slowing as she neared. She was anxious to tell Gaius she’d wasted his time. She glanced at the goat, feeling a little bad for it.
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
Gaius looked up as she approached and boosted himself to his feet with his cane. "Well, what have you found out?" he asked.
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
(Same! I’m unfortunately very sick lol but it was still nice getting to see the fam and take a few days off work)
“Um… I have to get him nine gilded pine cones… so… I don’t think I can do it tonight. Sorry for um, wasting your time. I didn’t mean to. Sorry.” She answered mostly to his chest but finally risked a glance up to his face.
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
(I saw your wall post; that's really rough! We headed out today a little early because it turns out my grandpa has covid. And I expect I might have it now too.)
Gaius was frowning, but he didn't make a move to leave. "Well, is that all you have to get? Aren't there other offerings?"
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
(Oh nuuu I’m sorry fren! That was absolutely horrendous when I had it last month. I hope you don’t but regardless of if it’s that or something else I hope you feel better soon <3)
She clutched her pendant defensively, taking a step back. “I’m not giving him my necklace! I can just wait til he comes back to my dreams or get the pine cones or something.”
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
(Thanks! It's just a cough at the moment; I feel tiptop. But I don't know what else it could be; Grandpa's been visibly sick since Christmas Eve at this point so I've definitely been exposed. Hopefully it doesn't ruin our New Year's Eve plans...)
"I never told you to give it to him," he retorted. "Do as you please."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
( :/ I hope not, either! But also other sicknesses still exist, I can attest lol I went to the doctor yesterday and he listened to me for like 2 seconds and went "have you ever had pneumonia? we're doing a chest x-ray because I don't like the way your lungs sound at all." and thankfully we ruled out pneumonia (for now) and also COVID but got a diagnosis of bad bronchitis AND the flu. So. Fun stuff all around lol)
"... Sorry." She was being an ass. She blushed, glancing away. "I know... you didn't. I'm sorry. Se--" She should not bring him up. "I..." She cleared her throat. "I can give him nine gilded pinecones, something that I care about dearly, or a rune bone carved with Nortung. That's all he'll accept."
"u and rina are systematically watering down the grammar of yws" - Atticus "From the fish mother to the fish death god." - lehmanf "A fish stole my identity. I blame shady" - Omni [they/he]
"And what should the rune bone say?" he asked. "That one would be simple enough, wouldn't it? I could tell you the letters to write."
"The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that." -Karis Nemik
