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[SeriousConcentrate]

"No, I'm from the harpy kingdom Ordartas, in Ssistyl. This is my first time talking to humans!"

His father had forbid all unnecessary contact with humans. He wondered why; these two seemed like normal people, and so did the others at the fountain. Maybe it was due to their alien nature. Perhaps he thought they would be a bad influence on his people? He left his musings aside and bowed to the tall woman much as he had the warrior woman.

"Prince Tiorneskal Mayuradana of Ordartas, ninth son of Tanirris Mayuradana XII."

He wondered if she would introduce herself, or if withholding names was a human custom. Perhaps it was some strange courting ritual; human males had to earn the right to know a female's name? That would be a silly custom if so, but it wasn't his place to judge. Tio had no interest in courting someone of another species, but he wondered how to make that known. It seemed rude to state it outright and make assumptions about their culture. Perhaps the best thing to do would be to wait and see.

[IamanElfCollaborator]

"Ssistyl and Ordartas? Unfamiliar names, but then, it's rare for one of my people to stray from our homeland."
Branwen returns the bow respectfully. Princes were rare in her world; from what she'd been told by other elders, they were roughly equivalent to tribal chiefs or shamans like herself. Still, she bowed because it was respectful, and her father had taught her to be.

Also equally respectful was to introduce oneself with an equal manner to the one who introduced themselves first.
"It is an honor to meet you. It would be rude of me not to introduce myself then."
A pause.
"I am Branwen ap Pwyll, Raven of the Donnar De, daughter of Pwyll ap Lleu, the Boar, and Seer of the World's Tides."
She hoped it wasn't too long, her introduction. That was how it was done back home. She did feel that assuming her customs would apply here would not end well, but then again, that was what learning was for.

[SeriousConcentrate]

Tiorneskal seemed genuinely surprised and caught off-guard.

"Ah, a Raven!"

Now he knew where they stood. Ravens were quite low caste indeed due to the lack of colors in their feathers. If humans used a similar system - and they might; they looked quite a bit like harpies despite the lack of wings and feathers... and different feet... and a different sort of chest on females, and she had introduced herself as a Raven - then she would be a woodcutter, perhaps. She did have an axe at her side. She also had a surprising amount of titles for a Raven. And she had disproved his notions about names, so it must have just been a personal thing with the other woman - leading to the question of why nobility wasn't to hear it, as she had stated.

"Apologies. I'm still attempting to understand human culture. My silence is only because I'm working it all out; I mean no offense to you Branwen."

"A shame you know as little of Hub as I do. I was hoping that sooner or later I could find someone to guide me to the council..."

"...but I am in no hurry and it's a pleasure to speak to the both of you. I must confess to a small confusion; how are you a Raven and a Boar?"

That would make her both a low caste harpy and one of the porcine demihumans, and that was a combination that wasn't pleasant to think about. For one thing, the last thing THOSE people needed were wings.

[IamanElfCollaborator]

"My father, Pwyll, was the Boar, I the Raven. Those are titles conferred upon the elders of our tribe, depending on the animal we take as our symbol; it helps with our histories, when we recount stories of our past to one another. My father's father was the Stallion, his mother the Mare, and so forth; when stories are told of me among my people, I shall be the Raven. It's a title, and nothing more. Sorry if I confused you."

Now here was a first. Ravens must be odd in his society, or else he wouldn't have been so surprised. After all, ravens were prized as animals of clairvoyance among the Donnar De; their flights were said to portend the movements of the masses of the world, and so many ravens were taken by the Donnar De to predict the future in conjunction with the tellings of shamans such as herself.

[SeriousConcentrate]

"Oh, I see. You don't need to apologize, it was my mistake."

Tio ducked his head slightly.

"It seems that you use Raven differently than my people do. For your people, it is a title of honor; for mine, Ravens are the common laborers - the woodcutters, miners, builders, and so forth. When you announced yourself as one... I assumed my people's meaning out of habit."

[IamanElfCollaborator]

"Ravens among my people are prized highly. It is said that they can predict the movement of the earth, and it used to be that when the elders were indisposed, we would follow their flights to newer pastures. And yes, I also assumed my tribe's meaning. It's a mistake I'll make quite a bit, before I become accustomed to the rules of this land."

[Blade Master Model 42]

"Ah." Burhardt wasn't quite sure how to react at this point. What was this guy after, exactly? "In what way?" Burhardt ventured a question, hoping to get back to his previous conversation soon, but not wanting to shut the other man down rudely.

[SeriousConcentrate]

"That is something we'll have in common. Perhaps humans and harpies aren't so different after all."

That was Tiorneskal's hope; perhaps all humans would prove to be reasonable people like this one.

"So you would follow the ravens? Your people must be nomads then, like the cervine demihumans."

[IamanElfCollaborator]

"Yes. We move with the landmasses of our homeland. The islands we live upon move with the streams of magic throughout our world, you see, and so we must move with them; as the tribe's elder, it is my duty to portend these movement and so guide my people. Rare and fortunate are those who do not have to."

[SeriousConcentrate]

"I see. My people live high up in caves we've hollowed out ourselves; it keeps us safe from land-bound predators, and we can range quite far afield to hunt and gather. And the rock, ore, and gems we excavate can be made into things or traded to friendly tribes."

He tapped his leather chestplate, the front of which had silver filigree and studs decorating it.

"This is Ordartas silver set in multiple layers of bear hide, for example."

[IamanElfCollaborator]

"Our people live nearer the coast, in forests. We grew up there and we thrive there. Predators aren't rare, but we can deal with them."
Branwen taps her own leather chestplate, which is far plainer than Tio's.
"This, I made and skinned myself. Coincidentally, it is also bear hide."

[I_Like_Pi]

"Well, first of all, I had this tome," he pulled out a blue tome with a decal of a whirlpool on the cover, "commissioned. It's one of those tomes that can't be used by anyone else, so I don't have to worry about it being used on me. Second, well, you could say I've got my eyes in the sky."

Xeno wasn't even being overly vague on purpose; as someone who once valued his secrets above all else, it just came naturally to him. And now that he had a lot of time on his hands he was just sort of doing things at his own pace.

[GiglameshDespair]

Cydia startled at being addressed.

"Who, me? Oh, well, I've been about a bit."
She listened to their conversation, liftig up the visor of a sallett to reveal a pixie-like face.

"I've not seen many demihumans. Never seen a harpy at all. Are they all as brightly coloured as you?"

[Blade Master Model 42]

"Oh, a bonded tome. I can't say I've ever cared much for the practice myself, from the standpoint of a researcher. It seems somewhat wasteful to lock magic to a single person. Though what you choose to do with your own money is your own business." Burhardt didn't know what to say about the eyes in the sky, and so said nothing.

[Twinwolf]

"A unique tome? Interesting. That sign, though... a water tome? Or am I misinterpreting? If it is, I'm sure the Academy would appreciate information on whoever made it for you. Water magic is really rare." Luna says, looking at the tome. She was hardly a scholarly type, but unique magic was of interest to her - not least because of the one-of-a-kind (that she knew of) tome currently weighing down her own bag.