#aedyran architecture

[tarbuchyloewenthal]

sargamis having the a mosaic of the dawnstars in the style of islamic art is an inspired choice.

seeing as how he hails from aedyr and we see similar motifs in the aedyran palace in the story trailer, i wonder if we'll see more of this in aedyran architecture.

plus the throne room has those distinctive horseshoe arches, famously seen in the mezquita of córdoba

(apologies for the poor resolution. i really had to zoom in on these suckers to make the details visible.)

[rannadylin]

Today’s tea: Aedyran Blue, a blend for Aloth Corfiser from Pillars of Eternity.

So, after 852 days of participating in the CommuniTEA and a 409 day streak of posting my daily photos there, I’m taking a break from it. It was certainly fun and I got to try some interesting new teas...but the flip side is that I have a lot of other teas in my house going undrunk, and I need to resume drinking down the stash. So I did not order this month’s CommuniTEA box, but I’ll still be posting daily tea and knit photos here, only with tea from my stash. Most of it is my own fandom blends, including today’s Aloth tea, which is a blend of earl grey and blueberry - two things that go together as delightfully as Aloth and my elf rogue Lenneth ;-D

Today’s knit: I’m almost done with the blue half of the Perc’ahlia cowl! Once I have ten of those little purl ridges that create the texture on this section, then I switch to the grey/beige yarn and start lace that is meant to resemble the architecture of Whitestone Castle. <3

Pattern: Vex Hearts Percy Cowl

[adraveins]

"monachopsis" for Hakona?

monachopsis: n. the subtle but persistent feeling of being out of place, as maladapted to your surroundings as a seal on a beach

On AO3.

---

Aedyr is nothing like the Land. Yarma is far to its south, and here, south means a growing warmth, not cold. A haze of hot and wet meets Hakona’s perpetually simmering skin, and in the corners of her eyes, the air wobbles like steam above a cooking fire. Behemoth white clouds cast long, creeping shadows, and buildings climb high and towering too, more dwellings than Hakona has ever seen in one place.

The chapterhouse is one such building, though it stands simple and austere, next to the ornate and open-aired architecture that Aedyrans here seem to favor. The heat must escape through all of those gaps, Hakona thinks, but that must be the point. Warmth is no precious commodity here. It spreads in abundance and makes her new black-armored compatriots sweat.

It doesn’t bother her. She’s always run hot.

She doesn’t see any godlike in the streets. Many elves, some folk, an aumaua or two. Some pale, some dark, but none touched by a god. She’d known how populated cities could be, from books and adventurous traders, but no description had really prepared her for it.

And yet, Hakona doesn’t glimpse a single glow or horn that isn’t her own.

The people here wear loose clothes that would freeze them to death in the Land, and their eyes turn her way as she passes. Most of them curious, a few awed. None of the hostility of other Glamfellen, witnessing unquenchable flame within their ice. None of the reverence of Tide’s End and its people, whose fires she’d kept burning.

Maybe she shouldn’t have left them. And yet, she couldn’t have stayed. The air is warm here, and so is her gray stone skin. She’d hardly felt the cold, back in the Land. But here, the heat is welcoming.

There is an altar to Magran burning within the chapterhouse, alongside altars for Berath and Galawain and Woedica. In an office as austere as the rest of the building, Torryn presents Hakona to a hard-faced Sceltrfolc woman whose brown skin is carved with scars, who wears the same midnight armor dedicated to the Pallid Knight, who bears an emblem of Magran on her shoulder that speaks of high rank. The Prior-General, Torryn had called her, and he explains how Hakona had offered to act as their guide through the Land, when she’d learned who their company’s mark was. How she’d led them unerringly through the treacherous cold and helped to kill the raiding band with all of Magran’s radiant fury. How she’d saved Torryn’s life.

And then she’d asked to come along.

The Prior-General regards Hakona in much the same way that Torryn does -- like opportunity has just unfolded before her. It makes something itch in Hakona’s spine, makes her straighten and square her shoulders. Cold doesn’t bite at her heels here, doesn’t sap at her flames, and people walk carelessly in the streets, their clothing loose, their buildings open, unafraid of what sky and water and ice might bring, what raiders and beasts might come galloping out of the dark.

People do not look over their shoulders here. Perhaps Hakona won’t have to, either. And yet, something in her braces for a fight.

But all the Prior-General says is, “You must be comfortable with death.” Mild, like an idle observation of the weather. Her Aedyran is easy, but her accent is different, unfamiliar.

“Have you ever been to the Land?” Hakona asks, with more fervor than she means to let slip. Like she is on the defensive. Like she wants to garner approval. She isn’t sure which. Her accent is thicker, but her Aedyran is just as smooth. She’s spoken to many traders and read many books. “I have seen more of death than some of your people here, I promise you.”

The Prior-General’s smile is faint, halting just shy of her eyes. “You’ll see more than that, with us,” she says, like Hakona has said something amusing. “And I must ensure that our Walkers can handle it without breaking.” She nods and begins rifling through parchments tucked away in a bookcase. “You will be permitted a trial period under Torryn. If you prove capable, you will serve with his company until you are granted a promotion.”

Torryn’s hand comes to rest on Hakona’s shoulder. He's strange for a Bleak Walker, kinder and more open than Hakona expects. “Shouldn’t take long, then,” he says lightly, and something passes between him and the Prior-General, as he accepts the parchments that she hands to him.

“I shouldn’t be telling you this,” he’d said, back on the ship, “but I will. There’ve been some power struggles in our order. Some bombs waiting to go off, and gods willing, they won’t. That’s what the Prior-General will be thinking about when she meets you. One of your kind in the frozen wastes, looking out for my whole damn company? You’re going to look like a sign from Magran to a lot of people. You’ll be a foreigner with no ties, and as long as you prove yourself, they’ll want to get you on their side or control you. The Prior-General’s going to need a successor soon, and it won’t be me. If she manages a retirement, it’ll outlast me.” Torryn chuckles. He’s a fair-skinned folk, and he’s no longer young by the timeline of his kind. “But it could be you. The Grand Masters tend to like fresh blood.”

Hakona isn’t familiar with loose clothing and open buildings, with sprawling cities and their soft peoples, with the regimented structure of paladin orders. She doesn’t want to be anyone’s successor or carry a title as unwieldy as Prior-General. But she knows the opportunistic look in Torryn’s eyes, in the Prior-General’s. The desire for survival isn’t always a struggle against snow and ice. Sometimes it’s seeking to secure a legacy beyond oneself, and for some reason, this man whose life she’d saved now sees it in Hakona. This Prior-General of the Bleak Walkers now sees it too.

Hakona had only wanted to leave the Land. To follow this company that had helped her to destroy the raiders threatening her home. To strike hard and merciless at anyone who dared to do the same.

She draws herself up further and says, “Within the decade.”

A brief turn of the Wheel, to a Glamfellen. To a Sceltrfolc too, and the Prior-General’s smile creeps a little closer to her eyes. And perhaps it’s a short time for a man of the folk, because Torryn nods his approval, like he expects her to follow through.

Hakona doesn’t know what political games they’re playing and hardly knows what to do with wide open dwellings and the strange clothes she’s borrowed. Her quarters in the barracks, at least, are not so open, almost too small for living and almost too utilitarian to be serviceable. It’s nothing like her family’s home in Tide’s End, built to keep warmth and provide what comfort could be found in the Land.

But Hakona sits on her cot and makes herself adjust to its stiff edges and tells herself that she isn’t in over her head.

[dragonologist-phd]

6, 8, 9, 19, 24, 32, 42, 44, 54, 58, 61, 84, 100 for Nona? 💖 💖 💖

thank you for all the questions!!!

6.What is your character’s opinion on nobility? On authority?

Growing up Woedican, she’s always had a lot of respect for authority- provided that they’re rightful authority and that they uphold the law in the way Woedica wishes them to, of course

8.What location encountered in the campaign has your character felt the most “at home” in, or just generally liked the most?

She really liked the ancient Engwithan city, and could have spent a lot longer down there learning about it or even just looking around and admiring the history and architecture

9.What deity, if any, does your character worship? What’s their opinion on other people’s worship?

Nona’s been a Woedican her entire life, and is now a very devoted high priestess. She has respect for the other gods and acknowledges that they all serve a purpose, although that doesn’t really mean she likes all of them. She doesn’t really like how chaotic and unpredictable Wael can be, and of course she has a lot of issues with Eothas right now.

19.Where in the world does your character most want to visit?

Hmm, I think she’d like to visit Old Vailia. She hasn’t had the chance to go there yet and there’s probably a lot of historical places she’d enjoy checking out

She also wouldn’t mind going back to Aedyr, just for a little while- not to see family or go back to her hometown, but just to revisit some familiar foods and traditions, and maybe enjoy the warm Aedyran winter

24.Which other player character does your character find themselves having the most in common with?

Already Answered!

32.What is your character the most insecure about?

It’s not necessarily a specific trait, but she’s nervous in general about not being able to live up to the expectations others have of her

42.What does your character think is the true meaning of life?

That’s a very complex questions and she could probably spend a very long time talking about different philosophical perspectives on that...but for her personal view, it’s to serve the greater good of the world

44.Does your character think more with their heart or their brain?

As a general rule she thinks more with her brain. She can be influenced by her heart, but at the end of the day it’s not typically the deciding factor

54.How does your character feel about keeping secrets from the rest of the party?

It really didn’t bother her all that much. Towards the end she started thinking she should share more info since they were all getting in deeper in their business with the gods, but she was still trying to keep things on a need-to-know basis. It makes things easier, in her opinion

58.If somebody (an NPC, someone from their backstory, etc.) your character trusts/loves asked your character to do something against the party’s best interest, who would they side with?

Nona would always side with Leaden Key, without a doubt. If it were anyone else, she’d probably stick with the party

61.How does your character imagine the way they will die?

I think she has actually considered this before, and she assumes that it will be on some mission for the Leaden Key and has pretty much accepted that

84.What does your character want to be remembered by?

Her faith, and her work helping Woedica reclaim her throne

100.What, currently, is your character the most curious about?

She’s learning more about the Engwithans and the soul-gathering machines, but she’s still very curious about how exactly they work, and the entire history behind them. She’s also curious about some of the things in Thaos’s past, although she knows some of those are painful memories and doesn’t usually press those questions

100 DnD Character Asks!

[babineni]

Some Watcher asks for Gaura: #3, 7, 9, 13?

Thank you sooo much 💖 sorry for answering late I didn’t want to reply through the app after yesterday lmao

3. How did your Watcher feel about Caed Nua? Were they excited to have their own keep, or did they view it as more of an obligation?

Oh Gaura absolutely lost her mind over having her own ruin keep. (She is a massive history nerd, she really likes ruins, what can I say.) And she was super proud of the place once it was rebuilt, although it took her some time to adjust to the glamour of Aedyran architecture.

7. Who was your Watcher’s favourite companion/s while travelling in the Deadfire? What did they like about them?

Aloth and Edér for mostly the same reasons that I mentioned here (although in Edér’s case he mostly made the Deadfire a little less foreign so to speak but I think Gaura, Aloth and Pallegina made him feel the same way). Gaura also liked Tekehu a lot, it has been ages since she could just hang out with other artists for fun, and while that was not the main reason behind their interactions, she ended up having a lot of fun in his company. She also liked Maia a lot, she might not have agreed with her on most things but she admired her strength, conviction and intelligence also she pretty much adopted Kana back in PoE 1 so she automatically saw Maia as her sister. Gaura also became fond of Fassina: she found her deadpan comments hilarious but also relatable, and her straghtforward nature was refreshing in the midst of all the corporate meddling.

9. Did your Watcher hire any Adventurers to accompany them in their travels? If so, tell us a little about them.

For a short time, there was an agent from Dunryd Row accompanying Gaura by the name of Géwynn. Basically I needed a cypher until I came across GM. He left eventually to help rebuild Dunryd Row after the riots in Defiance Bay.

13. Is your Watcher a natural leader, or was it something they had to adapt to?

That’s kind of hard to say. Gaura is a Fire Godlike from the Living Lands, where one of the common features among the different cultures was treating Magran’s children with respect (either out of fear or reverence) which made Gaura the ideal mediator for her community and was placed in this role very early in her life. She grew up with the responsibility of advocation and growing into a leadership role was very easy for her after that. But like I said, it’s hard to say if this is something that stems from her nature or not.