Chapter 151: Maelle And Xendros
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The stranger with the most beautiful purple eyes stared at him with not much of a care or interest, and yet...
That gaze seems to be penetrating not his soul, but the very fragment of the universe that makes up his existence.
There is something metaphysical about that gaze.
The eyes where those purple orbs of strong, powerful nebulousness are in were deep-set, and laden with thick lashes curled at the tips. The eyebrows that arched over it were thick and yet sharp, shaped perfectly to give an appearance that is a little hawkish yet also robin-like. In other words, those eyes were intimidating, yet also endearing, and gives a sense of strange calm.
Not the refreshing calm of the sea. But the calm of nothingness, of the night.
He was aware of the genetic make-up of Ilvedians. To them, he looks strange and alien, for he has light-colored hair and light-colored eyes. Bu this beautiful man by the door...
He has dark skin, like that of delicious sweet and bitter chocolate from the cocoa that Maelle's family themselves harvest themselves and store in order to turn them into hot drinks to keep out the cold in winter. He had a silly thought of tasting that skin in his mouth, biting a bit of it from the stranger's neck and shoulders.
Would it taste sweet as chocolate?
Of course not, yet he still wants to try it. To taste it.
This interest is childish, not in any form like that of someone sexually attracted to someone. Not that there was any cause for Maelle to be alarmed if he did feel any sort of attraction to this stranger. Priests in Crescentia are allowed to have sexual and romantic relationships. Again, as long as they have a strong relationship with the Crimson Wolf, like that of a friend that can understand It more than most people, then they can be a priest or priestess.
He just like his appearance, the same way we like the appearance of a view in front of us, or a beautiful piece of architecture.
How can someone so beautiful exist? Is he aware of his own beauty, he wondered?
He hopes so. Otherwise.....
He might not react well to the compliments this Crescentian priest would give him later, when he is finally free to interact with him. He wants to tell him how much awe he had brought to him, how much a single look at him had caused Maelle's day to be a hundred times happier than before.
"Er, thank you for your performance, Maelle of Crescentia. We can somewhat understand now you religion....." King Fabian said, and Maelle was aware that he is not speaking the truth.
He had a gift, similar to the one the Crimson Wolf had, of discerning if someone is truthful or not, and being correct all the time. A Truth Intuition, one may call it.
The King does not want to appear daft for not understanding his complex story about Life, Death and Man, and so he will pretend to keep his composure. His queen is the same, who nodded and rubbed her chin, acting smart when there is truly no thoughts running inside her dainty little head.
"You may now take your seat at the side. Next shall be the priest from Gargenstadt, Solfensus."
"Thank you, Your Majesties." He made a polite bow, which further confused everyone. he can bow politely after all, and the perfect way according to 1000 paged Ilvedian ettiquete, so why didn't he before?
Was he testing the King and Queen for something?
The real answer is he simply didn't care to follow etiquette earlier. But now that he is pleased, he felt like doing so. That's all.
He does things according to his mood, not out of righteousness or honor or anything silly like that.
Maelle, Like many Crescentians, has a simple mindset. Do what you like, do not apologize for it. Of course 'doing what you like' includes apologizing, and they apologize when they like to apologize.
He went to the side, and approached the beautiful stranger. "Good day, Great Purple One."
The man blinked. "Why did you call me that?"
"I just want to."
"As an insult?"
"No, as a praise." Now it was his turn to be the one to blink profusely. "Why would you think it was an insult?"
The man's face relaxed, realizing something. Right, he was talking to a foreigner. A foreigner who might not be aware of the insane and unreasonable beauty standards in Ilvedia.
"I mostly get insults for my purple eyes. It's abnormal, and unsightly." He answered.
"Unsightly? Why, they're the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen. And the eyes are the reflection of our souls in my religion, so you must have a beautiful soul as well."
The purple-eyed stranger was stunned by this, and looked away, not knowing how to respond. The most polite way would be to thank him, but this really was too forward in Ilvedian standards of complimenting. If someone thinks of you so highly that way, they must have had a life debt to you.
You have done something to save their life, and so, they must shower you with praises to boost your ego of being 'good'.
Yet he only met this person today. He cleared his throat, and realized he should not follow Ilvedian standards with this particular individual and just be frank with him.
"You do not know what you are doing. There are a lot of things in Ilvedia that you must follow, and you are not following them right now. If you keep going like this, you might earn the abhorrence of the people of my kingdom."
"Hmm, is that so? But..." Maelle grinned. I do not mind if I earn the detestation of the Ilvedians. I don't mind anything like the rules to follow at all, I am just being myself. I know all about the strange rules and unspoken laws here, they are really fascinating. But so what? They are not punishable by death or imprisonment. "
Xendros frowned. All his life, he had to be imprisoned because he was born to break the standards and rules, without him truly doing anything wrong. And yet this man is saying that him breaking the rules through his own actions is just him being 'himself'.
Xendros was also being himself, and yet that is not allowed.
He doesn't harbor any dark feelings for Maelle though. Not yet. It was simply both confusion and curiosity intermingled, a feeling a wanting to back away so his mind would not hurt from all the complexities of this person, yet wanting to know as well and start to understand him.
He said in a tone that is neither hateful nor reprimanding. "There are some things worse than death and imprisonment that you may suffer here in Ilvedia."
"And what is that, I wonder? Please inform me Great Purple One." The Crescentian prince tilted his head to the side.
"I will tell you. But please just refer to me as Xendros from now on. That is my name. I do not like being called the Great Purple One, even when it is what I am."
Maelle nodded knowingly. "Ah, Xendros. I see. I am Maelle, as you have heard upon my introduction earlier courtesy of His Majesty the King himself. I am very joyous to meet you and know the name you go by in this life."
"The name I go by in this life?" Xendros repeated.
"Yes. In Crescentia, we believe in what is called reincarnation. The soul of a person will not perish along with the body where it resides, merely serving as a temporary shelter. Then, once that home is destroyed, through natural or unnatural means, the soul will look for a new home. It is not always a human, though. You can become a spirit residing in animals, or trees, or the winds, the seas.... Anything."
Xendros nodded. "I see. A certain tribe outside of our walls also believes in befriending nature and treating them just as their kin, though that may not be due to a religious concept and merely a shared belief. I would like to get to know more of the dogma of the Crimson Wolf, as the representative chosen by my Kingdom."
Maelle's yellow eyes then burned with flames of passionate happiness towards all things became even brighter. "You are the representative who will visit Crescentia? Ah, what luck! What a stroke of fate!"
"I believe it should be 'what a stroke of luck! what fate!'." Xendros corrected plainly.
"Hehe, I do not care. I am simply joyous of this news." He grinned. "I shall show you around my kingdom and get to know you more like the back of my hand, Brother Xendros!"
Xendros nodded, being infected by this simple and yet enthusiastic excitement as well. "As I you, Brother Maelle."
They both felt that this was the beginning of a great connection, of the stars aligning for a meeting of souls that is meant to meet. Being companions and learning about each other in this journey towards the goal of absolute friendship and mutual understanding.
Brothers.
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The stranger with the most beautiful purple eyes stared at him with not much of a care or interest, and yet...
That gaze seems to be penetrating not his soul, but the very fragment of the universe that makes up his existence.
There is something metaphysical about that gaze.
The eyes where those purple orbs of strong, powerful nebulousness are in were deep-set, and laden with thick lashes curled at the tips. The eyebrows that arched over it were thick and yet sharp, shaped perfectly to give an appearance that is a little hawkish yet also robin-like. In other words, those eyes were intimidating, yet also endearing, and gives a sense of strange calm.
Not the refreshing calm of the sea. But the calm of nothingness, of the night.
He was aware of the genetic make-up of Ilvedians. To them, he looks strange and alien, for he has light-colored hair and light-colored eyes. Bu this beautiful man by the door...
He has dark skin, like that of delicious sweet and bitter chocolate from the cocoa that Maelle's family themselves harvest themselves and store in order to turn them into hot drinks to keep out the cold in winter. He had a silly thought of tasting that skin in his mouth, biting a bit of it from the stranger's neck and shoulders.
Would it taste sweet as chocolate?
Of course not, yet he still wants to try it. To taste it.
This interest is childish, not in any form like that of someone sexually attracted to someone. Not that there was any cause for Maelle to be alarmed if he did feel any sort of attraction to this stranger. Priests in Crescentia are allowed to have sexual and romantic relationships. Again, as long as they have a strong relationship with the Crimson Wolf, like that of a friend that can understand It more than most people, then they can be a priest or priestess.
He just like his appearance, the same way we like the appearance of a view in front of us, or a beautiful piece of architecture.
How can someone so beautiful exist? Is he aware of his own beauty, he wondered?
He hopes so. Otherwise.....
He might not react well to the compliments this Crescentian priest would give him later, when he is finally free to interact with him. He wants to tell him how much awe he had brought to him, how much a single look at him had caused Maelle's day to be a hundred times happier than before.
"Er, thank you for your performance, Maelle of Crescentia. We can somewhat understand now you religion....." King Fabian said, and Maelle was aware that he is not speaking the truth.
He had a gift, similar to the one the Crimson Wolf had, of discerning if someone is truthful or not, and being correct all the time. A Truth Intuition, one may call it.
The King does not want to appear daft for not understanding his complex story about Life, Death and Man, and so he will pretend to keep his composure. His queen is the same, who nodded and rubbed her chin, acting smart when there is truly no thoughts running inside her dainty little head.
"You may now take your seat at the side. Next shall be the priest from Gargenstadt, Solfensus."
"Thank you, Your Majesties." He made a polite bow, which further confused everyone. he can bow politely after all, and the perfect way according to 1000 paged Ilvedian ettiquete, so why didn't he before?
Was he testing the King and Queen for something?
The real answer is he simply didn't care to follow etiquette earlier. But now that he is pleased, he felt like doing so. That's all.
He does things according to his mood, not out of righteousness or honor or anything silly like that.
Maelle, Like many Crescentians, has a simple mindset. Do what you like, do not apologize for it. Of course 'doing what you like' includes apologizing, and they apologize when they like to apologize.
He went to the side, and approached the beautiful stranger. "Good day, Great Purple One."
The man blinked. "Why did you call me that?"
"I just want to."
"As an insult?"
"No, as a praise." Now it was his turn to be the one to blink profusely. "Why would you think it was an insult?"
The man's face relaxed, realizing something. Right, he was talking to a foreigner. A foreigner who might not be aware of the insane and unreasonable beauty standards in Ilvedia.
"I mostly get insults for my purple eyes. It's abnormal, and unsightly." He answered.
"Unsightly? Why, they're the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen. And the eyes are the reflection of our souls in my religion, so you must have a beautiful soul as well."
The purple-eyed stranger was stunned by this, and looked away, not knowing how to respond. The most polite way would be to thank him, but this really was too forward in Ilvedian standards of complimenting. If someone thinks of you so highly that way, they must have had a life debt to you.
You have done something to save their life, and so, they must shower you with praises to boost your ego of being 'good'.
Yet he only met this person today. He cleared his throat, and realized he should not follow Ilvedian standards with this particular individual and just be frank with him.
"You do not know what you are doing. There are a lot of things in Ilvedia that you must follow, and you are not following them right now. If you keep going like this, you might earn the abhorrence of the people of my kingdom."
"Hmm, is that so? But..." Maelle grinned. I do not mind if I earn the detestation of the Ilvedians. I don't mind anything like the rules to follow at all, I am just being myself. I know all about the strange rules and unspoken laws here, they are really fascinating. But so what? They are not punishable by death or imprisonment. "
Xendros frowned. All his life, he had to be imprisoned because he was born to break the standards and rules, without him truly doing anything wrong. And yet this man is saying that him breaking the rules through his own actions is just him being 'himself'.
Xendros was also being himself, and yet that is not allowed.
He doesn't harbor any dark feelings for Maelle though. Not yet. It was simply both confusion and curiosity intermingled, a feeling a wanting to back away so his mind would not hurt from all the complexities of this person, yet wanting to know as well and start to understand him.
He said in a tone that is neither hateful nor reprimanding. "There are some things worse than death and imprisonment that you may suffer here in Ilvedia."
"And what is that, I wonder? Please inform me Great Purple One." The Crescentian prince tilted his head to the side.
"I will tell you. But please just refer to me as Xendros from now on. That is my name. I do not like being called the Great Purple One, even when it is what I am."
Maelle nodded knowingly. "Ah, Xendros. I see. I am Maelle, as you have heard upon my introduction earlier courtesy of His Majesty the King himself. I am very joyous to meet you and know the name you go by in this life."
"The name I go by in this life?" Xendros repeated.
"Yes. In Crescentia, we believe in what is called reincarnation. The soul of a person will not perish along with the body where it resides, merely serving as a temporary shelter. Then, once that home is destroyed, through natural or unnatural means, the soul will look for a new home. It is not always a human, though. You can become a spirit residing in animals, or trees, or the winds, the seas.... Anything."
Xendros nodded. "I see. A certain tribe outside of our walls also believes in befriending nature and treating them just as their kin, though that may not be due to a religious concept and merely a shared belief. I would like to get to know more of the dogma of the Crimson Wolf, as the representative chosen by my Kingdom."
Maelle's yellow eyes then burned with flames of passionate happiness towards all things became even brighter. "You are the representative who will visit Crescentia? Ah, what luck! What a stroke of fate!"
"I believe it should be 'what a stroke of luck! what fate!'." Xendros corrected plainly.
"Hehe, I do not care. I am simply joyous of this news." He grinned. "I shall show you around my kingdom and get to know you more like the back of my hand, Brother Xendros!"
Xendros nodded, being infected by this simple and yet enthusiastic excitement as well. "As I you, Brother Maelle."
They both felt that this was the beginning of a great connection, of the stars aligning for a meeting of souls that is meant to meet. Being companions and learning about each other in this journey towards the goal of absolute friendship and mutual understanding.
Brothers.
The stranger with the most beautiful purple eyes stared at him with not much of a care or interest, and yet...That gaze seems to be penetrating not his soul, but the very fragment of the universe that makes up his existence.There is something metaphysical about that gaze.The eyes where those purple orbs of strong, powerful nebulousness are in were deep-set, and laden with thick lashes curled at the tips. The eyebrows that arched over it were thick and yet sharp, shaped perfectly to give an appearance that is a little hawkish yet also robin-like. In other words, those eyes were intimidating, yet also endearing, and gives a sense of strange calm. Not the refreshing calm of the sea. But the calm of nothingness, of the night. He was aware of the genetic make-up of Ilvedians. To them, he looks strange and alien, for he has light-colored hair and light-colored eyes. Bu this beautiful man by the door...He has dark skin, like that of delicious sweet and bitter chocolate from the cocoa that Maelle's family themselves harvest themselves and store in order to turn them into hot drinks to keep out the cold in winter. He had a silly thought of tasting that skin in his mouth, biting a bit of it from the stranger's neck and shoulders.Would it taste sweet as chocolate?Of course not, yet he still wants to try it. To taste it.This interest is childish, not in any form like that of someone sexually attracted to someone. Not that there was any cause for Maelle to be alarmed if he did feel any sort of attraction to this stranger. Priests in Crescentia are allowed to have sexual and romantic relationships. Again, as long as they have a strong relationship with the Crimson Wolf, like that of a friend that can understand It more than most people, then they can be a priest or priestess.He just like his appearance, the same way we like the appearance of a view in front of us, or a beautiful piece of architecture.How can someone so beautiful exist? Is he aware of his own beauty, he wondered? He hopes so. Otherwise.....He might not react well to the compliments this Crescentian priest would give him later, when he is finally free to interact with him. He wants to tell him how much awe he had brought to him, how much a single look at him had caused Maelle's day to be a hundred times happier than before."Er, thank you for your performance, Maelle of Crescentia. We can somewhat understand now you religion....." King Fabian said, and Maelle was aware that he is not speaking the truth.He had a gift, similar to the one the Crimson Wolf had, of discerning if someone is truthful or not, and being correct all the time. A Truth Intuition, one may call it.The King does not want to appear daft for not understanding his complex story about Life, Death and Man, and so he will pretend to keep his composure. His queen is the same, who nodded and rubbed her chin, acting smart when there is truly no thoughts running inside her dainty little head."You may now take your seat at the side. Next shall be the priest from Gargenstadt, Solfensus.""Thank you, Your Majesties." He made a polite bow, which further confused everyone. he can bow politely after all, and the perfect way according to 1000 paged Ilvedian ettiquete, so why didn't he before?Was he testing the King and Queen for something?The real answer is he simply didn't care to follow etiquette earlier. But now that he is pleased, he felt like doing so. That's all.He does things according to his mood, not out of righteousness or honor or anything silly like that.Maelle, Like many Crescentians, has a simple mindset. Do what you like, do not apologize for it. Of course 'doing what you like' includes apologizing, and they apologize when they like to apologize.He went to the side, and approached the beautiful stranger. "Good day, Great Purple One."The man blinked. "Why did you call me that?""I just want to.""As an insult?""No, as a praise." Now it was his turn to be the one to blink profusely. "Why would you think it was an insult?"The man's face relaxed, realizing something. Right, he was talking to a foreigner. A foreigner who might not be aware of the insane and unreasonable beauty standards in Ilvedia."I mostly get insults for my purple eyes. It's abnormal, and unsightly." He answered."Unsightly? Why, they're the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen. And the eyes are the reflection of our souls in my religion, so you must have a beautiful soul as well."The purple-eyed stranger was stunned by this, and looked away, not knowing how to respond. The most polite way would be to thank him, but this really was too forward in Ilvedian standards of complimenting. If someone thinks of you so highly that way, they must have had a life debt to you.You have done something to save their life, and so, they must shower you with praises to boost your ego of being 'good'.Yet he only met this person today. He cleared his throat, and realized he should not follow Ilvedian standards with this particular individual and just be frank with him. "You do not know what you are doing. There are a lot of things in Ilvedia that you must follow, and you are not following them right now. If you keep going like this, you might earn the abhorrence of the people of my kingdom.""Hmm, is that so? But..." Maelle grinned. I do not mind if I earn the detestation of the Ilvedians. I don't mind anything like the rules to follow at all, I am just being myself. I know all about the strange rules and unspoken laws here, they are really fascinating. But so what? They are not punishable by death or imprisonment. "Xendros frowned. All his life, he had to be imprisoned because he was born to break the standards and rules, without him truly doing anything wrong. And yet this man is saying that him breaking the rules through his own actions is just him being 'himself'.Xendros was also being himself, and yet that is not allowed.He doesn't harbor any dark feelings for Maelle though. Not yet. It was simply both confusion and curiosity intermingled, a feeling a wanting to back away so his mind would not hurt from all the complexities of this person, yet wanting to know as well and start to understand him.He said in a tone that is neither hateful nor reprimanding. "There are some things worse than death and imprisonment that you may suffer here in Ilvedia.""And what is that, I wonder? Please inform me Great Purple One." The Crescentian prince tilted his head to the side."I will tell you. But please just refer to me as Xendros from now on. That is my name. I do not like being called the Great Purple One, even when it is what I am."Maelle nodded knowingly. "Ah, Xendros. I see. I am Maelle, as you have heard upon my introduction earlier courtesy of His Majesty the King himself. I am very joyous to meet you and know the name you go by in this life.""The name I go by in this life?" Xendros repeated."Yes. In Crescentia, we believe in what is called reincarnation. The soul of a person will not perish along with the body where it resides, merely serving as a temporary shelter. Then, once that home is destroyed, through natural or unnatural means, the soul will look for a new home. It is not always a human, though. You can become a spirit residing in animals, or trees, or the winds, the seas.... Anything."Xendros nodded. "I see. A certain tribe outside of our walls also believes in befriending nature and treating them just as their kin, though that may not be due to a religious concept and merely a shared belief. I would like to get to know more of the dogma of the Crimson Wolf, as the representative chosen by my Kingdom."Maelle's yellow eyes then burned with flames of passionate happiness towards all things became even brighter. "You are the representative who will visit Crescentia? Ah, what luck! What a stroke of fate!""I believe it should be 'what a stroke of luck! what fate!'." Xendros corrected plainly. "Hehe, I do not care. I am simply joyous of this news." He grinned. "I shall show you around my kingdom and get to know you more like the back of my hand, Brother Xendros!"Xendros nodded, being infected by this simple and yet enthusiastic excitement as well. "As I you, Brother Maelle."They both felt that this was the beginning of a great connection, of the stars aligning for a meeting of souls that is meant to meet. Being companions and learning about each other in this journey towards the goal of absolute friendship and mutual understanding. Brothers.
