#asks for ensha

[izar-tarazed]

🍁 - in an alternate scenario where izar/ensha pursued incantations instead of sorceries, what general class would they have chosen and why?

Send 🍁 + Any question you’ve been curious to know about my muse! Okay, this is fun to think about!

Izar would probably go either with the Prophet or the Warrior. Prophet is the obvious choice looking at the stats, starting with 16 faith, but the flavor of the class also being related to foretelling fate in some way would still fit Izar very well. Also, both Heal and Catch Flame are incantations I could totally see her using. (She is someone who likes to help and heal, after all, and she’s also fascinated by fire even though she never really emphasizes that as an astrologer—however, Ashen Izar in Dark Souls 3 is a pyromancer, so.)

Warrior would be a somewhat more flavor-based choice because Izar does have ties with the nomadic merchants (and the blue cloth vest is one of her favorites anyway; if she started as a Prophet, it’s probably what she’d replace the initial robe with as quickly as possible.)

Either way, incantations I could see her using in that scenario would be Giant’s and Black Flame ones and probably some Two Fingers healing ones. Maybe Elden Stars just for flavor. She’d mostly stay clear of Golden Order ones but still use Discus of Light.

For Ensha it would be either Confessor or Bandit. Confessor seems good both in terms of stats and flavor, given that confessors are spies and start with two incantations that are thematically very on-brand for Ensha: Urgent Heal (given that his armor and weapon are already all about restoring health) and Assassin’s Approach (the latter explicitly referring to assassins of the Roundtable Hold).

Bandit is what I actually chose for my Ensha run because it seemed best for the Dex/Arc build that Ensha is, and flavor-wise someone ‟who strikes for weak points” seemed fitting, too (but if we're making him go after incantations, I think confessor is perfect).

I think Ensha would go with several other Two Fingers incantations (Darkness and Shadow Bait come to mind, maybe Rejection and probably several of the buffs). For offensive stuff—instead of the gravity sorceries he uses—he might pick Bestial Sling/Stone of Gurranq, or maybe grab some of the red Dragon Cult Incantations because they fit his lifesteal fist’s color scheme.

[ask-mrpuzzles]

Hi Pusztavision!

P: .. .

E: Oh that's your actual name?

A: hehe Pussyvision

P:NO.

[katyspersonal]

Hey so, i kinda am a little confused at how things make more sense now, (referring to the post with tigers) how does it makes sense now?

Okay, this is a reference to this post:

I am cracking up at this meme format every time hdfshsdg I assume you both are referring to the last part and not just anon, since the first one is kinda simple: Marika's reactionary paranoia towards any subspecies that believes they are divine has backstory, former deifying of Crucible was part of her clever plan to screw Hornsent over as soon as she can since they mention her "betrayal" and snakes are seen as traitor of the Erdtree as Messmer and his simps were thrown under the bus blablabla we heard all this

As for Ensha: My friend @val-of-the-north made a better post on the topic here ( x )! I recommend simply reading it, but I will summarise anyway!

So, the gold of the Erdtree and Scadutree are connected as they're two sides of each other, for starters! Ensha's bones are strangely golden too, and they even share the same passive power of slowly healing the wearer as gold of the Erdtree with their stones of tailsmans depicting the Erdtree sap! It is now very likely to suggest that he was a warrior blessed in a similar way, but brought back since he was a king, a very important figure!

The term 'soulless' is otherwise used exclusively for the Demigods that died in the Night of the Black Knives; Godwyn and those who are now buried in Mausoleums and guarded by their headless knights! Ensha is not only called that, but also his "weapon" is a literal skeletal arm latching onto him �� Him having been one of the warriors blessed upon death, but having his death somehow disturbed after Shattering works naturally! Maybe other corpses instinctively crawled towards him because the healing power still lives in him. I also like to think that this golden energy was what deceived D's radar x) Besides, Roundtable Hold welcomes not only Tarnished because Dolores, stated to once have been a part of the Roundtable Hold, wasn't one for example:

Radiant golden eyes are not the thing that happens with Tarnished, with the exception of Anastasia who became monstrous upon eating many people ( x ) Hers are closer to the effect of eating Dragons' hearts on the eyes than grace

(P.S. Mentioned already, but Ensha can't talk and Alberich, who was driven mad by people talking shit about him, coincidentally drops a Tainter's Tongue which is also golden! Alberich was heretical from the Golden Order standpoint, so Ensha's backstory being linked with it would explain speaking not kindly of him.. and paying I guess 💀 )

As for Dung Eater: Apparently, sun-face is connected with the Fell God!

I need a button on my keyboard that just says 'sorry I forgot to copy a screenshot' fdshdfhsd Okay so, I did kinda think that 'the guidance he once saw' was supposed to refer to being called by Grace, especially since Gold has subtle connection with the sunlight. But even back then it didn't make much sense because all Tarnished depicted in the intro were shown to be raised from their deaths by Grace (except for maybe Fia but overall it is complicated how deathbed mechanics works)! And so he already had the sun symbol before:

Besides, according to Boggart, who shared jail with him (weird flex to put a thief together with a serial killer but sure), he was already doing.. whatever he was doing. So I decided I didn't have enough braincells to understand and left it for later, and I was right I guess fhhdfsd

Apparently, Fell God has connection with the horns, so, Crucible! It is like a missing link in why two of Marika's children were born Omens and why Leonine Misbegotten, the ones with red manes, are internally known as 'children of radagon' ( x )! Also, one of the Leonine has Radagon's sword!

Omens also are haunted by Wraiths, who are both fire creatures and have horns:

^ a kind of 'fire' Omens with uncut horns can summon, fire Morgott explodes into upon stage transition, and also Dung Eater can summon wraiths too! The wraiths do respond to the bells of wraith-callers as well!

The nature of these spirits is for another tangent (and yes I do have a guess fdhfds), but yes it seems like that the "guidance" he envisioned was actually about Fell God, and not Grace! His goal is and already was to curse everyone with Omen stuff, whatever is the reason. He might have came in contact with a weird power and decide it was a good goal to pursue, much like Gowry and Shabriri (Flame of the Fell God states that Fell God still lurks even after death). Or maybe he was strangely in contact with the wraiths despite not being an Omen himself, and their own yearning for curse upon everyone descending from Marika rubbed onto him? (could also explain why he feels like he should have been born an Omen) Or maybe he himself just researched a lot, in simple terms, he is Just Like That xD In any case there is finally some extra context to it!

[velvet-apricots]

Ensha for the ask meme since I don't see anybody talk about that guy

OHHHH YAYA

favorite thing about them

I love how he is just... there. All the time. Just outside the door, leaning and watching. Why is he there? *shrugs* He just is. Kinda creepy. I also love how loyal he is, to a fault.

least favorite thing about them

He is very underutilized. Like, if you go the whole game with out ever getting a medallion piece, he just vanishes at the end of the game. Doesn't even leave his armor. *poof* gone.

favorite line

Bro says nothing. He says less than Horace from DS3. Horace groans a bit but Ensha just looks at you and gives you a gesture and thats it.

brOTP

Ensha and Gideon, and Ensha and my lil Kindred of Rot baby, Geralt. That is his uncle bones right there!

OTP

Don't have one. Ive considered Ensha/Gideon which shockingly has NOTHING about them (i thought y'all liked old man yaoi????) Also toyed with Gideon/Fyra/Ensha, but nothing has ever come of it. Id imagine if someone i knew started shipping an OC with him, I'd be into it.

nOTP

No one ships him with anyone. But let me filter through a list of npcs.... *pulls out a name card* Milicent? yeah okay. hate that ship.

random headcanon

Imma just toss a few in here, first i just flat out consider canon, second is an interesting 'what if?' thing, last one is from something an rp partner came up with (i miss you allknowingofnir =( )

Ensha is mute and speaks with sign language

Ensha is actually Gideon's maiden and is ftm. (he sometimes has breasts if you remove his armor)

Ensha is a former child soldier for a king named Ensha, who was an enemy of the Golden Order. Gideon saved him from death when the King and his forces were wiped out. He thus donned the king's bones and took the name Ensha

unpopular opinion

I don't really like the headcanon that he's a Puppet. I just think he's a loyal and weird dude who follows Gideon around.

song i associate with them

Uh.... Hmmm....

favorite picture of them

*shuffle shuffle*

[rotten-pest]

👤+ Izar (and Ensha)?

(girly gossip hour commenceth)

Cotesia hums a note and smirks, chin in her hand. “Bless her heart.”

[Cotesia… likes Izar, but I would not call it like-in-a-good-way perse. Tacitly interested by. Like watching an animal struggle.

She appreciates Izar’s spark, despite her own ego she has enough sense not to want to piss Izar off, but thinks Izar sort of foolish and tenderhearted. There is however something of a genuine thread of emotion in that Cotesia thinks the Tarnished are a grotesque perversion of the order of life and death, and yet is somehow envious of it. You get to live and make mistakes and learn, your god has imbued you with purpose and draws you back to life and has rested all her hopes in you.

Cotesia may be semi aware that Marika is not exactly benevolent in this matter, and thusly therefore sees the Tarnished as sort of pitiable things. She hates their station, their curse as she sees it, and therefore there might be a small thread inside her tugged on by the fact Izar is good anyways, keeps pulling herself off the ground, even when it is terribly difficult to be so in their world.

It reminds her a bit of a certain someone.

Cotesia has firmly placed Izar on the ‘Do Not Kill’ list because A. having an semi-immortal being angry at you? Not good. Cotesia can promise an unpleasant death but not necessarily one that’ll last. B. Millicent wouldn’t like that.]

“Ensha’s…” Cotesia clicks her tongue, then sticks her finger in her mouth to extract something from between her teeth. She flicks it away with a chuff. “Hounds are all the same. Come to heel, loyal to their master. I don’t fault him for flashing teeth, as much as I’d like to strike him on the nose for it” she says flatly.

[Cotesia despises undead of all forms, though more out of a sense of discomfort. The dead are supposed to rot. While Ensha has certainly retained more individuality and personality, she does not care for that personality. He’s grating, he knows too much, he communicates in a way she cannot understand (for someone who relies heavily on manipulating others and reading them closely, not having a face or a voice to work with makes her life difficult), and, in Cotesia’s mind, he weighs Izar down and fetters her mission. He will die, in one way or another, Izar won’t. Despite supposedly being her caretaker, he does not seem especially competent (which is a touch ironic, but that probably just pisses her off more). This reading is incorrect, obviously, and Cotesia’s probably just sore Ensha’s not easily contended with. She does, however, have a begrudging respect for his apparent care for Izar, if only that it makes Cotesia’s manipulations a lot harder, and she’s nothing if not sporting.]

[crybaby-tarnished]

Ensha pokes Fyra repeatedly. Poke. Poke poke. Poke. - allknowingofnir

Fyra gives a little smile, lifting a long slender hand and, after some hesitation as she wasn't quite sure how much force to use, she gave him a firm poke back in the chest.

"Hello Ensha. It's me, Fyra... Just in case you can't tell."

[wispwatched]

@antiivarook said: ❛this was not the plan, it’s too dangerous.❜

💬🌩️ — The qunari whips back around to sneer at Krian. "If you are afraid... you're welcome to stay behind." It was an unfair jab, certainly. But he was scared. HE was afraid. And so, like a fearful dog, he lashes out. He tries his best to steady his breath, forcibly and sharply breaking eye contact. And he falls silent for a long moment as he does... before finally-- finally he wills himself to speak again. She did not deserve his ire. And yet... Why could he not help himself? "I killed her once, you know..." he says, much softer this time despite the subject matter. Silent again, he gestures to his face and the nasty scars marring the side of his face and around his eyes -- marks born from electric-type magic gone awry, crawling all over his skin like spiderwebs woven into his very flesh. "It was an accident... I always told her to knock before entering... My magical inclination is very dangerous if unfocused. She knew that, and yet still... still she entered and distracted me from my concentration, and..." He trails off, mind lost to his memory of that one terrible day... and yet, he lets out a soft huff of what could be amusement, had it not been for the melancholy that dug its heels into his tone. "It was only for a few moments... but it one moment too many." he murmurs quietly, pale hues flickering back at her from over his shoulder. His lips part for a moment as to speak again, but fall closed - only to reopen a moment later, and an ember of that spark returns to the mage again - this time in form of determination, rather than frustration. "I will not let her die again. As one of the Mourn Watch, I am taught to embrace life and death and the sanctity of it all... But death... death will not have her. Not yet." He straightens himself out a little, jaw setting and chin raising. "I am going. You will join me as you said you will... or you will leave. but you will not stand in my way."

[wraith-caller]

I didn't read the document you've sent to me, sorry hdghhgbv But:

Do you think D tried to kill Ensha upon first seeing him? Ensha's bones (and tongue that Alberich cut, apparently...) are literally golden and he was revered as 'Soulless King'! We learned from DLC that golden bones are of those who fought in Crusade and got buried with high honor, and the armor of Ensha is literally his remains, it isn't just a style! But the NPC is named Ensha, it IS him lol. He is dangerously close to Those Who Live in Death!!!

I assume he got raised from the grave by grace or maybe a deliberate ritual. I doubt he is a Tarnished because those are raised back into living in a good shape, otherwise many of them would be raised as corpses. But like..... do you think D would just jump at the guy the second he saw him at the Roundtable and others just had to hold him back like NOOOOO WAIT ffhfggnn

so your question delivered a vision to me

i have wondered what ensha's deal is now and then. i never thought to connect the blessed bone shards to the gold of his bones!! good catch. when you take that into consideration, it may be worth asking what does it mean to be blessed by the gold of the scadutree, as opposed to the erdtree? the remembrance of the shadow sunflower says the scaudtree is "Born of dark notions that bear no sense of Order, that twist and bend its stock, rendering it brittle", so it's interesting such a blessing would be considered a blessing at all. the thorn sorceries are also pretty negative, going on about rejecting everything due to marika's abandonment. ensha's sort of the opposite of that - 'lord of the lost and desperate', someone who may not be quite so quick with such rejections. if his golden bones are those blessed by the scadutree rather than something decorative done after his death in his honor, or something to do with the erdtree's grace, were the crusaders disillusioned by their abandonment those 'lost and desperate' that he was lord of? and if so, how'd he end up in gideon's company? and how is he soulless! that's always been the main thing to attract my attention because it's so in line with TWLID, but he has no other point of intersection with them. we can assume he isn't one, because he's a compatriot of gideon, and hangs out in a golden order stronghold. if the order is seeking to exterminate them, it seems weird to make this one exception. so then that just leaves you to wonder why or how is he soulless? at any rate, if ensha's bones are in fact his very being rather than a macabre costume, then yeah i agree it's doubtful he's tarnished! they get to keep their faces after all lol i definitely think darian encountering a walking skeleton in a place that's supposed to be safe from such things would catch him off guard! although it'd be quite a spectacle to get to watch them face off. maybe whoever's around would let them go at it for awhile if they're bored :] (also just going to tag @izar-tarazed bc ensha chat may be of interest to them!! but no pressure to respond or anything lol)

[mercurialmalcontent]

I killed the Omenkiller with Nephili this afternoon, and when I noticed she'd vanished from the map I thought huh, maybe she's at Roundtable Hold. So I teleport there, notice it is ominously dark--

"Ensha has invaded!"

Excuse me????

After soundly beating his ass and asking Gideon what the hell that was, then finding out he cast out his own adopted daughter -- who he talks about like she's some useless underling -- I wouldn't mind giving Gideon a sound beating too. I mean, I already didn't trust him, but now I'm expecting a knife in the back every time I go back there.

Also, to hell with Cliffbottom Catacombs and its plague of Omens. (Yes, I died on the floor under the staircase. I had to go out anyway at that point, so I may or may not be back to finish clearing it out. Stupid Omens...)

[alberichfanpage]

i would like to ask about alberich for the character game~

(sorry for not saying there was no ask box, i thought maybe with sideblogs you had to go ask the main person or sth haha)

Thank you for the ask, I love your posts! (No problem, I should have checked before I posted it)

Before I start, I have a confession. Guys, I like Alberich a very normal amount; I just picked this blog name on a whim when I wanted to make a sideblog...

Favorite thing about them: Considering there is so little content on him in the game, it is pretty hard to pick between his little bow gesture, his spooky outfit and his immaculate vibe. My favorite thing is probably how he combines two of the most overpowered status effects into one build.

I ended up incorporating aspects of it in my Int/Fai playthrough but I am really considering doing a dedicated Alberich cosplay run just because it is that fun to use.

Least favorite thing about them: My least favorite thing is the same as my favorite. His build is great but awful when it is used against me...

Also, he has a big chunk of glintstone on his headpiece if you remove the hat but it doesn't glow with the erudition emote!

Favorite line: Invaded by Mad Tongue Alberich! <- scariest popup to see in a supposed safe place

brOTP: Gideon for sure comes to mind. There is this fan theory that Alberich is Gideon's son, biological (same hair color) or adopted (like Ensha and Nepheli). Alberich probably enjoyed performing the grim tasks of the All-Hearing Brute with less stoicism than Ensha. Very much a one-sided evil henchmen kind of relationship. That was most likely his undoing, too.

OTP: This one is so hard because I could see so many toxic pairings. I think him and Ensha pair nicely as the only two people you can fight within the hold. They also share the fact they are in service to the Hold.

Rogier could be really interesting as the ultimate big hat power couple. But specifically, those hats are a sign of heresy and they are in very close proximity within the Hold. Then again, Rogier has quite a bit of romance going on already and I think the poor guy needs some rest.

Speaking of pointy hats, since Alberich knows cold sorceries, it may be possible he had something going on with the Snowy Crone that Ranni based her current appearance off of.

Regardless, I believe there is not a world in which Alberich would be in a healthy relationship (post mad tongue title) so therefore all pairings would be very unhealthy lol

nOTP: Sellen could be interesting but I think he might be a little too heretical for her liking. She might be a little interested in what's going on with his red glintstones from a purely academic standpoint, though.

Random headcanon: Literally the only information we have on Alberich is his clothing description, anything outside of that is headcanon:

Alberich was an aloof yet disturbed heretical sorcerer said to have been driven mad by jeering tongues during his service to the Roundtable Hold long ago

I don't really buy it, but I really wanted there to be some connection between the Blood Star and the Formless Mother just to tie in connection because the faith blood sorceries and the blood incantations. I thought it would help to roundout the world building and show how thin the line truly is between sorceries and incantations. Alas, these things remain very separate.

However, we did get two new sorceries in the dlc that are boosted by Alberich's set/staff but are related to the Scadutree. While the Thorn Witches themselves are related to the Fell God. Honestly, the worldbuilding around these things are really weird. My only other headcanon is that Gideon tasked Alberich into exploring experimental magic for him.

Unpopular opinion: Alberich drops the Taunter's Tongue item and a lot people treat this as his tongue, but I like the theory that this is actually Ensha's tongue and that is why Ensha does not speak would really make the OTP toxic if true. Considering I see a lot of fanart with him with a gold tongue, I consider this to be unpopular.

Song I associate with them: He seems like he would like Christian Death, the song Figurative Theatre comes to mind because of this line:

Their razor-sharp tongues invite to relax as they slip the skin of your eyelids back

Favorite picture of them:

Very biased but this picture I took while cosplaying him is so good, I am not sure I could replicate this again if I tried.

Thank you again for the ask!

[allknowingofnir]

"What is it about Sundays, is it the position of the Moon or something?" Gideon asks, looking at an astrology tome.

Ensha tilts his head.

"When everyone gets antsy, if you understand my meaning." He says gruffly.

Ensha snickers, but shrugs.

[izar-tarazed]

What is your OC's pain tolerance like?

What is the worst thing you have put your OC through story-wise?

(Questions form the edgy character ask meme)

What is your OC's pain tolerance like?

I had to think about this a lot, but I guess it’s somewhat medium for Izar. She has learned to put up with pain because she simply suffers it a lot from getting in fights, and I have this headcanon that being brought back by the grace still comes at a cost and is painful. If necessary, she can endure a lot through sheer willpower. But at the same time, she’s still a scholar and a sorcerer and—despite all her experience—not really a hardened warrior. A certain amount of pain will totally wreck her. I’m not sure how long I imagine the painful-weakened state after being revived at a site of grace to be but I know Izar hates it and tries to avoid going through it as best she can.

(As for Ensha, I’d say his pain tolerance is a lot higher, in part because he’s an experienced fighter and in part due to whatever else he is.)

What is the worst thing you have put your OC through story-wise?

I’ve struggled a bit with this question because I found it hard to decide what to count as things I’ve already put her through, or what is part of the story already. (Far from everything I have in mind is written down, and some of the things that aren’t yet written are still shifting and changing and may be discarded completely.)

From the already written stuff it might be the instance when Izar was threatened with losing the guidance of grace and therefore the privilege of immortality, making her realize how vulnerable and limited in her possibilities she would be without it. (But making sure she’d keep it would force her to pursue the Elden Throne with more focus and ambition than she felt, and keep her from what she actually wanted to do.

The other thing that deeply impacted her as a character is Rogier’s death (they were close friends) and her feeling partially guilty because she feels like she didn’t try hard enough to save him. (She feels like she didn’t even try. Izar can deal with failure as long as she knows she did her best.)

(For Ensha, I think the worst thing is the idea that he was still secretly reporting to Gideon all the time that he was travelling with Izar—this is both why he was allowed to accompany her in the first place, but also how Gideon learned all the spells from the great enemies she defeated. I don’t think I’ve mentioned this in detail before. But burdening Ensha with the struggle of genuinely wanting to keep Izar safe and stay by her side but only being able to do so by secretly betraying her trust for a very long time is absolutely the worst thing I’ve put him through, especially because he knew that Gideon would use all that gathered knowledge against her eventually, but kept hoping that he’d somehow come up with a solution for this in time.)

[ask-mrpuzzles]

A: don't you fell like someone it watching us?

P: No we should be-

A: WHAT THE FUCK!!

A:HEY WHO ARE YOU?! DONT YOU KNOW HOW EXPENSIVE IT IS TO REPAIR HIM?!

E: Oh sorry I got distracted....

[Mr Puzzles will be gone for 3 asks and New character Ensha will be added To our wacky adventures!]

[katyspersonal]

hiii 12 and 24 (elden ring) for the ask thing? :-)

(Asks from this ( x ) meme)

12. The unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

I- I do not even have the list of these with the priorities from top to bottom, it is like... several neglected characters for which I want to speak all the same that I might basically just spin the wheel to decide which character to mention here XD .....and to think of it, I WILL do exactly this, holdup!!!

...annnnnd I had a feeling I'd get him. I hate the clairvoyance moments :'))))))))

But, yeah! I know he is probably not popular only and only because of the same plague that screwed over every other NPC; people are far too focused only on demigods and people connected with them directly! But

( x )

Are you seriously telling me that people are sleeping on a heretical madman sorcerer, who is slowly ascending to become eaten by a glintstone much like Azur and Lusat themselves only towards a mysterious Bloodstar one, who got enough of Ensha talking shit about him to the point where he cut off his tongue so he could no longer speak (I support him <3), who is the only one to break Roundtable's hold which is something not even Dung Eater is doing, who mocks you with a deeply reverential bow upon invading, who has SECOND heretical sorcery besides blood one that is ice one, and who also has aesthetic THIS sick?

I don't know, man, maybe I am looking in the wrong places, but he is such a cool and mysterious character! He is so much fun! Also if simps of Mohg, Varre and the whole dynasty squad are of any indication then blood kink in this fandom is real and deadly!!! Well? Then where are Alberich's bitches?

...Sigh, and yet I am literally part of the problem of Alberich mysteriously missing bitches even in the "Little Guy NPCs" part of the fandom, sort of, because you can tell my brain is a bit of a spinning wheel itself and I never can focus or commit. -_- All I have is a headcanons post ( x ), being the first to understand WHY Ensha doesn't speak that the girls liked, unfinished sketch of him and giving him the honor of being one of all two Elden Ring characters that I've drawn with myself, ever. :p

Now excuse me while I go and have slight panic because from second 0.1 of creating this wheel thing I had a hunch I'd get to mention him :pensive:

24) Topic that brings up the most rancid discourse

I... well, I will just leave this here because apparently only posting this video like 50 time is still not enough for me. XDDDD

(Fun fact: originally Faree was going to put THIS image as a thumbnail for this video:

But we could not find the way to 'confirm' the account from this clown country which was required to use custom thumbnails, so it is what it is xddd)

[velvet-apricots]

not sure if this counts but I have this headcanon for Izar and Ensha (even though they’re not necessarily a romantic ship):

Ensha doesn’t care for books much (he’s used to seeing them as tools for gathering knowledge because that’s what he sees Gideon doing), but Izar manages to find novels and story collections and is very excited about them. Initially she just tells him about her favorite bits, then she starts reading short extracts to Ensha and at some point he’s hooked and wants to know what happens next in the storyline so he urges her to keep reading.

Eventually they get into the habit of sitting down next to some fireplace at the Hold, probably with lots of pillows, and Izar reads to Ensha for a while. He loves it. He has never considered that books could be a source of joy and suspense and entertainment, or that he would be so fond of storytelling.

(Still, he’s unlikely to pick up a book on his own, because reading by himself just isn’t the same. But he’ll have Izar read to him whenever they get the chance, and she’s more than happy to comply. In his absence, she will often abstain from reading further on her own in a book they share in this way, no matter how curious she is, and instead wait until they get to sit down together again.)

omg sorry this took so long to answer I have been so scrambled and in a funk.

OMg thats so cute! Honeslty I am so glad you like Ensha so much, he is so under used and appricated. I know why of course, but still, what little lore we get of him is really interesting.

ty for liking Ensha!

[rotten-pest]

‟…we made something for you, by the way.” Izar’s smile, warm and genuine as it is, seems almost shy. Even after several encounters—and skirmishes fought alongside each other—, she still feels far from having figured Cotesia out. So she just holds out a cloth bag, died in the faintest shade of pink, at least somewhat reminiscent of Cotesia’s hair.

However, this is just the wrapping, and as Cotesia opens it, a book is revealed; some kind of notebook, it would seem, the leather cover smooth and soft. A book might be the last thing Cotesia expects, and expects to need. But upon opening it, she can see that every spread is filled with a map: the clean dark ink lines she knows to be Izar’s work, and soft watercolors. Each map comes with a multitude of carefully sketched landmarks—ruins and towers and cave entrances—, but there’s more. Small beasts and creatures, not merely ornamental: crayfish, rune bears and dragons, all placed where Izar and Ensha did encounter them on their travels. Warnings to heed, same as small figures of soldiers, each surcoat carefully colored.

But there aren’t just dangers documented. The small book is a treasure map at the same time, a compendium for a curious mind. Izar has included sketches of wondrous things; of places with wonderful views for a sunset and caverns brimming with fireflies. She has also drawn, in more vibrant colors than the maps themselves, varieties of bugs and spiders and butterflies, as accurately as possible—every image close to the place where that particular creature can be spotted.

Hours of research—in which Ensha assisted without her needing to ask—, hours of work, and she loves what she has created, though she still wonders whether it will be to Cotesia's liking.

‟We thought it might be of use in your travels.”

Cotesia tilts her head back and forth, like a hawk getting a better judge of its prey. Bright red eyes blown wide, becoming near unblinking. She licks the pad of her thumb and flips through pages slowly, tracing each and every creature with her index finger. There is an attention to form, a familiarity with each creature, that speaks to a great sense of care. The strained wide smile of greeting ebbs away to nothing more than a blank kind of look, so captured by detail.

There is a moment where joy overwhelms such a frozen heart and Cotesia closes the notebook and holds it to her chest, a gentler expression taking place as things like pride or propriety fade away. It is merely a joy to be gifted something so valuable.

"Good, very good, many—many thanks, my dear." — and while perhaps a bit awkward, arm still bracing the notebook to herself, Cotesia reaches the other arm out for a sort-of half-way hug. And a handshake, for Ensha.