Floor 3, Room 2

[chronosynthesis]

Syrlya

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[chronosynthesis]

[Syrlya cringes a bit.] Yes, things were a bit more troublesome than we expected. The castle's infirmary provided us care, and my wound will heal without incident.

[It's a bit of an uncomfortable and unpleasant place but at least it was a fairly clean arrow wound.] I think Mórag and Kurapika may have had the worst of it.

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[ The player looking at those threads and sweating,

He'll trust Syr's word about the injury, since it seems handled. ]

I'll check in on them too. You mind talkin' about what happened?

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Of course, come in. [Syrlya opens the door further and steps aside with it. Day is welcomed into a... frankly empty room, with the only places to sit being the bed and the chair at the desk where there's an open journal and quill.. Nothing's gone into personalizing the space at all, except for Syrlya's usual clothes and sword that are stored in the open wardrobe.]

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[ He's suddenly reminded of Yamato's room, at least until he got some additions recently. Day won't assume where to sit, he'll have this conversation standing if he has to. ]

By troublesome, what kinda trouble?

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[Syrlya, meanwhile, sits on the edge of the bed.] It was teeming with ghosts. They seemed to be the spirits of guards and servants from times past, and they were largely hostile.

They all disappeared once the rock was purified, so it must have been agitating them--oh, thanks for telling us how you got it to work on your own mission. [He smiles a bit.] It worked well, surprisingly.

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So it's related to death in some way too... [ First the rotting and withering (and the zombie vines) in the South, now ghosts in Central. ]

Glad it helped. [ Day manages a smile back. ] You wouldn't have happened to see a bunch of lights afterward, did you?

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Yes, there were four glowing orbs and I heard a voice thanking us. But they flew off before we could ask any questions. Did you see something like that as well?

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Exactly the same thing.

[ Can you sense a pattern emerging, ]

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I hadn't known at the time whether those souls had anything to do with the fragment of the moon or the castle. [He rests his chin on his hand.] But I suppose that makes it clear. I wonder what they were?

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Malice suggested they might be some of the spirits of this world, but...

[ He trails off, like he's thinking of something but isn't sure if he should voice it. It feels like he's just going off his gut, but his experience is also that coincidences are rarely ever just coincidences. ]

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The natural spirits? That is possible. We don't know the effect the moon's energy has on them. Exposure could result in becoming corrupted or trapped. [He sighs.] It would be nice if we had proper research on magic here.

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Most of it seems to be handed down from master to apprentice. [ Except for something he's heard vaguely about in the West. Something about an abandoned laboratory? He is not actually a scholarly sort. ] But I guess it ain't that surprisin'.

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And much of it seems to be written by the sages, but there's very little from other wizards over the years. [Syrlya frowns.] Given the perception of wizards elsewhere, I would have expected this library to be less restricted in its curation.

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Well, dependin' on those wizards' personalities, maybe they weren't the kind to want to leave written records? [ It is a thought to chew on for a bit. Even if the manor is more accepting of wizards by default, it doesn't change the fact it exists in a world where that relationship is more fraught and how that affects the people who live in the manor. ]

And it's...maybe it's 'cause there are a lot less wizards, but we ain't even heard anything like a little village of them, yeah? [ i.e. do wizards even feel the need to gather, he wonders? ]

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But over hundreds of years? [So many potential people, and none of them with solid research or their own direct experiences? He just finds that hard to believe.]

I feel as if we have not heard much of this world to begin with, but it seems wizards generally integrate with society despite its prejudices. The Sages of the manor may provide support but there must be more out there who have chosen not to serve with it.

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I guess it's better to ask, when you can live for a really, really long time, would you feel the need to leave a record for someone else to look back to?

[ This is something he's wondered before, because back home, records and documentation within the bureaus exist because it's required. He half-expects that if it weren't the repositories would be more sparse yet somehow just as much of a headache to deal with.

...And sometimes, predecessor Sidereals think to leave records and notes behind for whoever comes after them, but that's more like a will and acknowledgement that there's risk in their work. He's not so sure if wizards have to concern themselves with that here. ]

[chronosynthesis]

Does having a long life make those who come after you less important? There will still be new wizards born, people who will grow and seek guidance in understanding who they are and what they can do. We Sylvari are still very young, but we still understand the importance of nurturing future generations with the wisdom of the old and not everyone is suited to provide that knowledge directly.

[Of course, Sylvari also have a literal hivemind of memories but Syrlya knows that is Not The Norm and books are even more important to other races.

He hums, brow knit in concentration, before shaking his head.] It just doesn't seem likely that somehow almost every wizard has decided never to leave their knowledge behind than it being purposefully restricted or destroyed. What I can't figure out is why that would be the case even in the manor.

[troublereduction]

I guess that'd depend on how a long life affects you. ...Sometimes people who are long-lived enough seem kinda...disconnected, I guess?

[ He can name a few people who match that. But he shakes his head too. ]

We don't really know anything about the previous residents, do we? [ So all they can do is speculate. ]

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No, not really. [Syrlya's finger taps his cheek.] Tatara and Lazuli would know more about those who just disappeared, but I don't know where to start looking for previous generations out unaffiliated wizards.

[And Syrlya's going to need to work on his illusion magic if he's going to snoop around in public.

The moment stretches in silence as he thinks, before he sits up.] I'll just have to start a record myself. Consolidate everything I can on the magic of this world and what I've seen.

[Syrlya rises from the bed with quick strides to the desk to flip to a blank page in the journal.] The prince of the castle was a wizard, perhaps more that we've aided them I can put in a request to see their library.

[troublereduction]

[ It's...weirdly heartening to see how Syr kind of just goes for the initiative if Day had to be honest. Maybe because it's really just a form of "keep moving", in a more constructive manner. ]

It's not a bad idea. That'd be Prince Arthur, yeah?

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That's right. [He slides into the desk chair, looking up at Day.] As the country leaders he can probably procure texts that no one else could easily. They may have even collected it for generations.

[Power and money and all that.]

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[ Day's looking back down at Syr. ] Tatara told me the prince was lookin' into ways to send people back 'fore he disappeared too. [ So there's also that, possibly. ]

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He must have meant Tatara and Lazuli. [Syrlya's gaze flickers to the paper as he starts jotting down quick notes.] such a large group of us at once is unexpected. Hm... I wonder if some sort of experiment of his went awry and sent people away instead?

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It would explain why we're bein' asked to fix things by findin' them, not try to fight the calamity ourselves. [ It could, of course, just be wanting to be optimistic, but it also makes sense if Tatara believes they're simply missing and not...anything worse. ]

[chronosynthesis]

Yes, though I worry about turning our attention away from the calamity completely. If we fail to find them, or draw them back in time, we will still be the ones dealing with that.