Nerd Pride Radio

I thought I would take some time while we're waiting until Thursday to supply some backstory for Anna (and Sam, to a small degree) to help the rest of The Troubleshooters better understand why they're in the West.

While her new companions are wandering the shops and stalls in Magnimar, Anna decides to set out to complete another personal mission. As she wanders the stalls, shops, and pubs in the Naos district, she spies exactly what she has been looking for.

Anna pauses in a doorway for a moment, and her clothes begin to shimmer, slowly changing from the sky-blue robes she prefers to dusty, road-beaten leathers and a tan blouse. Ensuring that all of her hidden defenses remain in place, she enters into a nice looking, but not ostentatious, pub called The Topaz Blade.

Sitting at the far end of the bar sits an elf, appearing to be nearing middle age, wearing blades across his back and staring deep into a tankard, as if it was a talisman to keep the world at bay.

She sits down next to him, gives him a slight nod, and smiles.
"Good day, my friend. What brings you to this fine establishment today?"
The elf barely looks up from his drink, only long enough to take in the unwanted visitor and say "I don't want friends, and I don't want company. Go away."

Anna slightly smirks, as though she has heard this before. She gestures to the bartender and she approaches. "What can I get you two today?" The male elf looks up from his tankard. "She's not with me. I'll have another Fort Indros Ale. I don't care what she's having."

Anna's smile cracks slightly. "You seem to have a fine establishment here. Would I be out of my mind to ask you for two glasses of Midsummer wine, and another tankard of the ale for my new friend here?"

The bartender looks mildly surprised, but nods and says "I don't get asked for the vintage often, but I'm particularly fond of it myself. I have half a case downstairs. It might cost you though," she says with a gleam in her eye.

Anna smiles slightly at the compliment and says "I'm not worried about the cost... we can always cover the bill later."

The male elf seems irritated at the extra conversation taking place around him and looks up again. "I think I've made it fairly clear that I don't want company. I don't want your drink, and I've lost too many friends to make any more. Please, for the last time, leave me alone." His free hand slides down his side to the dirk sheathed at his hip, as if to punctuate his last statement.

Anna looks at him sadly. "My friend, I know how you feel." The elf begins to speak up, but Anna quiets him with a gesture. "Please, give me 5 minutes of your time. If you don't want to hear any more, I will leave you to your Fort Indros Ale, wish you a good day, and move on." His head dips, but ever so slightly, he nods.

Anna takes the two glasses of wine from the bartender, along with the tankard of ale. She reaches her hand out in the traditional elvish greeting of Sovyrian elves and says. "Well met. My name is Annamanue, of the Whitestars. I have travelled long and wide in search of elves like yourself."

The male elf looks up, surprised at her method of greeting. He returns the gesture. "My name is Selvion Lithval. I am a soldier, first and foremost. You could also call me a lost wanderer, but I'm sure someone as young as you would not understand."

Anna nods slowly. "Let me tell you what I understand. You have loved, you have lost. You have seen friends victorious after a great struggle, and you have buried these same friends on a seashore that no one will ever see. You have seen children born, and you have seen these same children die of old age, while you have perhaps gained a new scar, or perhaps a few silvered hairs. I know what it is to feel so forlorn when you awake that you wonder how you will put one foot in front of another. What it feels like to have humans, elves, dwarves, and other races of our world look upon you with pity, or even disdain."

Selvion looks at her, a look of sheer bewilderment crossing his face. "How could you possibly know that? Did you cast some sort of augury upon me before you approached?" His body language has become a mixture of awe and suspicion.

"I did nothing of the sort. I don't need to. I am not here to tell you that I can solve your problems. Far from it. What I can do is help you understand that there are many of our people who feel as you do, and they need your help. You have much to offer, more than you can possibly know."
Anna reaches into a sleeve of her blouse, and Selvion's muscles tense, as if expecting an attack. She raises a hand in a peaceful gesture, and removes from her sleeve a letter that she hands to him.

"I don't know who you are, but I need your help. As the woman sitting or standing in front of you has no doubt explained, your people are in desparate need of your assistance. We are attempting to start a new city, founded on the beliefs of acceptance and friendship. It is called Greengold, and it may be far from where you are now. As I'm sure Annamanue has told you, elves like yourself are an enormous asset to our new city. It is a city where elves and other humanoids can co-exist peacefully. It is a source of great pride for me, though it may not be popular with some of my more traditional advisors. It is, however, vitally important. If we do not change, we will surely perish. You can help us. It may be that you can teach, you can protect us, or you can simply bring some happiness to others. All of these things are crucial to us, and only you can do this.
Please. The future of culture, the world, and the wellbeing of all sentient races are in your hands.

Signed,

Queen Telandia Edasseril"

Selvion looks up with a look of bewildered amusement on his face. "You expect me to believe this? You want me to wander off into the woods towards a city I've never heard of, all with the intent to teach or protect or advise someone who isn't there?? What do you take me for?!" He slams his tankard down on the bar, drawing the glances of many of the Topaz Blade's patrons.

Anna nods sadly. "I do expect you to believe it. I have no choice but to hope. I can't prove it to you. We can farspeak the Queen, but you would have to take my word that you would be speaking to her in the first place. How else can I prove it to you?"

Selvion grimaces and says "You can't... I'd wager you have never even seen Sovyrian in person."

Anna makes a slight movement with her wrist, and, unexpectedly, a dagger appears in her hand, as if it appeared by magic. Selvion tenses again and draws his dirk. "Is that what it's to be? You can't convince me with your false letter, so you decide to draw steel?"

Anna sets the dagger down in front of Selvion. "I cannot give this dagger to you, but I present it to you as proof for my earnestness. Examine it closely, and you will see it is not steel at all."

Selvion picks up the dagger. Its blade appears to be made from dark blue volcanic glass and terribly sharp. Selvion gasps, however, when he examines the hilt of the dagger. "Can this be? I have not seen this in a hundred years, but I would know it anywhere." With awe in his voice, he murmurs "Lypenaia wood... You must have been there, or you were given this by someone who was. The wood would not last in this condition being used by an outsider."

He looks up at her, a sheen of tears in his eyes. "You were telling the truth... It's so hard to believe..." His voice trails off, tears in his grey eyes.

Anna nods sadly. "My companion and I have traveled long, helping the Queen in her mission to bring elves like yourself and other like-minded folk together. Our kind has spent too many millenia apart from the rest of the world. I know how you feel. You've loved, you've lost, and you feel like no one can possibly understand. Our job is to help. There are others like you, folk who just want to help, to lend a hand. Please think about that."

Anna reaches into her other sleeve as Samaidriel comes into the Blade, smiling. She sits down on the other side of Selvion and pats him on the shoulder. "It is as she said, my friend. We can help you. The Queen can help you. Trust us."

Selvion looks up, and is simultanously startled and heartened by the butterfly tattoo of Desna adorning Sam's face. "Your dedication to Mother Moon is all the confirmation I need of your earnestness, my friend. I will think on what you have said. It is a long journey to Kyonin, but I am at loose ends right now... Your words have given me purpose. I will go to them."

Anna smiles, nods to Sam, and reaches into a pouch at her belt. She removes a small silver pendant depicting a butterfly with the royal seal of Queen Edasseril in relief on its front. "Present this at the gate of Greengold. The sentries will know who sent you. Leave a message here, or, send word from Greengold. The Queen will know how to reach us. Travel well, my friend."

Anna and Sam embrace Selvion, who smiles, tears still in his eyes. "May Mother Moon bless your work and travels, my friends. Goodbye." He leaves the Blade, never to return.

Anna smiles as he leaves, and passes the second glass of Midsummer to Sam, who raises her glass in a toast to their success. "If we help no one else for the remainder of our time in the west, today was a good day."

Anna flags down the bartender one last time and asks, "Would it be possible to pry one last bottle of Midsummer from your stores? It may be helpful for us as we travel wide, in the event that we encounter any others like him."

The bartender shrugs and says slyly "That all depends. Come back at closing, and I'll see if we can come to some kind of understanding." Her cheeks flush with color as she hurries back down the bar to assist another patron.

Sam chuckles at Anna "You're incorrigable. Leave the poor girl and her wine alone."

Anna grins as her dusty, travel-worn leathers shimmer once more and the sky-blue robes reappear. "Who knows. I do so love a good vintage of Midsummer..."

YAY, I love the tl;dr stories, and this both clears up and generates NEW Anna mysteries!

Aw, I wasn't trying to be mysterious...

Did it read okay though? Not too much blathering on?

Yeah, it was very easy to read! But now, see, I want to know more about their past!

Very good! Bravo!

<3