Baby, It's Cold Outside
Blog entry

04/03/06

Torlinque is in Drachlonde. He's been traveling there the last 3 days, and so far, the marks have been working great, no effort at all to find him along the way. I just tune into the mark, and there I am.

Last night, he camped on the grassy tundra just beyond view of their border. He crossed it this morning and was met by 2 guards who had been told to expect him (thankfully). He still had to prove who he was though by showing them the contents of the bundle containing their new crystal. They let him pass without further incident.

For several miles through the woods, he was talking to me, remarking on how beautiful the snow and ice there is. He never sees ice and snow in Sarna, so it was a novel experience for him. I told him I am too used to seeing it during the winters in my realm to be as excited about seeing it as he was, but I did agree with him that it is indeed beautiful. Closer to the inhabited areas, he remarked on how the Listari sculpt with it.

However, once he passed inside the gates of their timber-walled fort "city", the links were suddenly cut off except for just the briefest bits of image and a sentence fragment here and there.

Listari are more isolationist than Tulari are. They never bought into the Gate system from the capital city, but chose to construct their own (which ended up being a great idea). They too, seeded their realm and Ascended it which is why it is possible for Torlinque to travel there. They take care of themselves generally, but do not have the facilities for growing the large crystals they need. They always traded with us for them. Since the Tulari capital no longer exists, now they get them from Sarna, once in a great while.

In general, they don't trust anyone but their own. Even other Elves are suspect until proven OK. They especially do not trust anything discarnate. Given what we Elenari have been through, I don't blame them.

Therefore their city, if you can call it that, is very heavily warded. When I "travel", I'm discarnate, so their wards do a great job of keeping me out. Sure, I can force my way through, briefly, long enough for very brief contact with Torlinque, to make sure he's OK. These wards are of a type that feels "slippery" to me though, energetically. They rush back and grab me and push me out again every time I try to make a hole in them. I don't want to do it too much, and I especially don't want to destroy the wards, even though I possess the skill and strength with which to do so. It just wouldn't be the prudent or honorable thing to do, especially when we want diplomatic relations with the Listari to remain on friendly terms.

Torlinque and I had hoped to spend some time alone together this afternoon after the formal presentation of the crystal but before the traditional feast in his honor (as is properly done for all diplomatic guests). Alas, that cannot be due to the wards. We must wait until he exits the city in the morning.

He is fine, and has been warmly (well, "warm" as relative to the Frozen North) welcomed.

Just...argh.