• Closed • Cards and Cider (Victoria)

[Oscar Pyth]

Oscar shrugged as he got it wrong. “Such is luck sadly.” He noted as he took a drink before chuckling. “Bookish type… yes, you’ve got me I confess. University student.” The Acolyte lied through his teeth easily.

Not exactly a full lie however, he was indeed a student of something and often enough he was around the University. Just missing a few bits here or there. Oscar took the cup idly and gave it a good shake before setting it down. He wondered, for a moment, if Attunement could be used to cheat at games like this. Obviously not his pitiful Sight, however it might be interesting to explore. He could bet he’d be the first Seeker to think of that, magic being used for gambling. Could make himself rich if he was good enough.

The young man almost chuckled at the thought but instead held a finger on the top of the cup, poising it there. He traced around the sides as he shrugged. Nobility was nobility to someone like him. You had the blood or you didn’t. Those born with it had opportunity those born without did not possess. Then again, Oscar himself likely couldn’t speak for the plight of common folk or blood. Magic ran in his family to hear his Uncle tell it. Was just his father had possessed no talent for it and his Uncle had. Simply the way things worked.

“So what you’re saying is that a noble life as is popularly believed is a choice then. Not something universally agreed upon and varied depending on family. How fascinating. Only difference is such disagreements down here end in bar fights. Disagreements up there could send hundreds to their deaths. What a house of cards we live within.” Oscar remarked.

“Perhaps in that way, diversity isn’t for the best. Differences in culture and custom lead to divides is this not so? Would not a uniform set of conduct and rules seem more appealing then to prevent such differences from being created? After all. A person that lives in Andaris probably has different beliefs and thoughts than one that lives in Endor. Who is to say the same is not true for nobility? Wouldn’t things be far more stable if all noble families adhered to the same customs?” The Acolyte mused idly before chuckling.

“A rather moot question as such a scenario is an impossibility. Years of culture just don’t vanish after all. Still, an interesting one to pose in a philosophy class. Is diversity and individuality more harmful than not, or is uniformity robbing us of that spark that makes us what we are?” He nodded to the cup. “Either way, your bet.”

[Victoria Krome]

Victoria appeared to have landed her guess right as Oscar did indeed indicate that he was indeed a man of the books, a university student to be precise. He got started on his round of the game immediately, grabbing hold of the cup with dice within and commencing the shaking of the dice. It would hardly be long before it would be her time to guess. Would she lose or would she win? More of the former she reckoned.

She was never all too lucky when it came to the game, no matter how much she played or enjoyed it. Her companion then went on about the noble houses, and how the revelation came on to him that contrary to popular belief, the noble houses did indeed defer from family to family, or house to house.

It was no secret that House Andaris and Venora were more lavish with their wealth compared to Krome, and within House Krome itself, her family was one of the least 'noble'. "Yeah, I guess you can say that. Nobility may be nobility, but the lifestyle of every noble house differs from family to family and region to region. Down here fights by just depend on their mere selves, but when noble houses clash, they may very well affect the lives of hundreds along the way. It is just the way of life." Spreading her arms forward as the young woman got ready to begin her round of guessing the dice, she continued.

"I don't see a need for a uniform way of life for all noble houses to adhere to. We may all differ on the way we live our lives and the way we behave, but there is one common thing that links us, or at least most of us. Religion. We, the people of Rynmere, believe in the Sacred Seven, the first men and women who founded our great nation. Rynlism has always been our common ground, no matter commoner or noble. Do you not know this? Perhaps you are a foreigner and new to Rynmere?" As Oscar placed the cup face down on the tabletop for the second round of games, the lass began to guess.

"I'd say a a two and a four."

[Oscar Pyth]

Oscar lifted his cup and chuckled. “You’ve the luck of the Immortals it seems.” He noted as she had indeed got it right. He ordered a drink with a resigned sigh.

The young man, for the first time since they had met, frowned at the mention of the Sacred Seven. He leaned back in his chair and shrugged as he usually did when matters of faith came up. He had long ago accepted that his exposure to the Seekers had scrubbed away what it meant to be a Ryn. He’d been born in Andaris to Andaris natives. No one could say anything regarding his birth. It was just that the Seekers came before any nation, before any god. They were his home and his family. As weird of a family as it was.

“It was a hypothetical, Victoria. I’m fairly certain the only way you’d accomplish what I’d put forth would be to pretty much butcher half the nation and kill all the nobles. Or if you were an Immortal. Bringing up the Seven is typically a way to lose a debate as well. Religion can hold people together… until there’s a schism in doctrine or manuscript. Then you get people killing each other over who’s right. Rynlism is a rather dicey thing to depend upon for longterm coexistence when ambitious individuals always exists. Besides. Is it not true that I might have a different interpretation of it than say you?” Oscar shrugged as he pushed the cup over to Victoria.

“Now then, I will fully state myself as an ardent skeptic towards religion, so perhaps that skews my point of view. You might say it was for… family reasons that I lost faith but very little has since encouraged me to pick it back up. Yes, I am a native Ryn, but honestly my time learning what I have has really diluted what that means. I acknowledge such things might exist, however it has never really done anything for me. Thus far regarding matters logically has proven far more beneficial.” The Acolyte stated with a nod.

He hadn’t expected an intellectual debate on the nature of Rynmere culture and religion in a seedy tavern like this one however it was welcome. Oscar so rarely got a chance to cut his teeth like this. He paid for the shot that arrived and leaned forward. The young man stroked his chin and considered Victoria.

[Victoria Krome]

Seems like she won. What were the chances of that? That didn’t really happen all too often, she had totally expected to get one right, one wrong like most people do, but to get it right, perhaps that was simply a sign of better things to come. Or perhaps, she was simply reading too much into nothing. Anyhow, Victoria was glad she won the round, if nothing else. Oscar then returned her questions with answers of his own, commenting on the fact that bring the seven into this was a typical way to lose a debate. She didn’t know about that. Why would she? Yeah, she was smarter and far more intelligent than your usual low life scum right here in the tavern, but debates weren’t really her thing.

She didn’t do debates. Plenty of nobles were happy enough to spend days arguing and debating over both trivial issues and crucial points, but not her. Debates weren’t really her thing. The lass preferred solving things in the usual good-old fashioned way, in a good fight. Yeah, that was most definitely not noble-like in the slightest, but then Victoria was your usual cookie-cutter noble that fitted to any of the stereotype moulds that existed when one thought of nobles. She was quick to address the point.

“Oh no! I wasn’t planning to turn this into a debate! It was simply an opinion and thought of mine. You may even be right for all I know.”He could be, couldn’t he? Victoria had never given it much thought, for she had simply taken being Ryn and worshipping the Seven as a given. She and her family had been doing that since she was young and there had been little else to question her beliefs on those. Her companion here was definitely one of those bookish type, she was now confirmed and if there was anything she knew about debates, if was that starting one with those would not end too well at all.

Dragging the cup over to her side of the table she began the next round. “I’d say we end the game with this round, shall we? I’m sure you’ll get a much better luck this time.” Oscar had been such an engaging companion that she had almost forgotten how long she’d been in the tavern. Got to be one of her longest visits, thus far.