driftfleet | mingle a little Mor tonight

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mingle a little Mor tonight

Who: Everyone!
Broadcast: Sure!
Action: The wonderful world of Mor, nearby way-stations, and ships!
When: The first week or so of arrival

[this is it-- Atroma's surprise vacation stay for you all! it's time to explore, speculate, relax, and totally behave yourselves. right?

how are you all dealing with the ever-so-educational volcano? have you played around with the visual toggle on those collars yet? aren't they cool? aren't these peasant clothes rad? if you haven't had a decent meal since Abeo, maybe you could afford some of that authentic farm-raised meat they have here. historical!

I bet you're all excited and completely thrilled to be here! who wouldn't be? ...so, make some discoveries, make some friends, and have fun!]

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[the change is small, but present. drab archaic clothes turn into equally-drab modern ones, and his one eye takes on a faint moon's glow to it.

at the question, he glances down at the notebook balanced on his knees and considers how much he actually wants to explain.

ultimately, he just points a finger around at their surroundings, and then gestures to the notebook.]

[Give him a moment to get it.]

... You were taking notes on the temple?

[He sounds surprised, then leans in curiously, showing his own journal.] May I see?

[Coil automatically leans away when Mattias peers in, protecting his work. but it's just a reflex. after he catching himself, and spending a thoughtful moment looking down at his notes and considering--especially with the man offering to show his own journal--he finally eases up a little.

he slowly nods, and points back and forth between the two of them as he holds out his journal. let's trade.]

[With a small smile, he returns the nod, opening the journal to a specific page and handing it over.

The sketches inside are rough, a series of scribbles collaborating to become a wavy shape of something. Could be the columns, could be the vaults and arches. It's a mysterious puzzle whereas his handwriting is superb, neat and stacked in tight cursive formations that march across the page, overlapping with tightly drawn diagrams, simple but clear in their meaning. Most of the journal focuses on the theology and practices, diagrams outlining hand motions or footpaths, floorplans of the temple itself.]

[well... their note-taking styles turn out to be extremely similar, then. Coil's handwriting is neat and exact--meticulous where it needs to be, and concise shorthand everywhere else--alongside economical sketches, diagrams, also outlining the theological details of the place. more like he's preparing to process it all as evidence, or pieces of some larger puzzle elsewhere, than logging every detail simply for posterity's sake.

these are notes that he intends to reference and use.

and as touchy as he'd been about letting his own journal be seen, he's quickly becoming absorbed in Mattias' book instead, scanning for details he missed and speedily comparing to his own observations.]

[Likewise, Mattias does the same. He pours through the book, each page bringing a broader smile as he looks over similar notes to his own. There's a kinship in the words, a like mind in the diagrams and a jittering elation bubbling from his heart.

There's also a fair amount he didn't notice. Pages that he marks with a finger as he browses, holding their place.]

These are fantastic. Your attention to detail is superb. This sign-[Carefully, he spins the book around, pointing to a symbol in the upper left corner.]-where did you see it?

[the kid is pulled out of his own running tabulation of mental notes at the question, and then properly shaken back to his senses when he sees exactly what the man is pointing at.

his eye widens for a fraction of a second, before he's compulsively snatching a hand out to try and take his journal back--regardless of any fingers attempting to mark pages, or anything else. it's an impulse that he can't stop.

because that symbol... it was unrecognizable because it hadn't been anywhere around. it's part of whatever Coil had been planning on properly comparing all of this to later on. it just happens to be one of several things in that journal that is not meant to be seen by someone else.]

[There's no resistance. The book slips from his fingers with nothing but a few papercuts that go unnoticed, his attention too focused on the journal.]

I didn't mean to offend...

[He's startled. The change was unexpected and takes time to process, a code going through decryption. Trying to process just what he had done wrong and narrowing it to one factor.]

I simply wanted to know it's location...

[he shakes his head in response, but it's pretty clear that he's already feeling awkward about the whole thing. if he'd only caught himself a moment earlier, he could have gotten the journal back in a way that wouldn't have brought so much immediate, uncomfortable attention to the thing he wants to hide.

so, instead, he just wordlessly pushes Mattias' journal back in its owner's direction. see, the trade is over. no need to ask questions about it.]

[Mattias always asks questions. Or rather, he always has something to say, and though he accepts his own journal quietly, he's quick to open his mouth.]

Well, your notes were superb, if that means anything. [With a flick of his wrist, his journal bats open, his pen summoned back between his fingers, hard at work already.] Your notes on the symbolism of the reredos patterns were interesting. I had dismissed them as unimportant but-[He glances at the boy almost fondly.]-you have an eye for detail. It's impressive.

[...hmmm. well, the fact that the guy is forging on ahead anyway does help... and the praise helps soften even more of the lingering awkwardness.

he tries to relax again, a little. and it takes him a minute, but the lure of the information at hand finally draws him out of the shell he'd been trying to crawl back into.

he nods, after his hesitation, and slowly opens his journal again. he's making sure to only turn to pages that don't including incriminating symbols in them now, flipping through to the sketches in question.

--ah, here it is. one triptych depicting three figures, compared to another done in much the same way, but depicting six figures, with all the similarities outlined.]

[Through some small acrobatic feat, Mattias is able to accept the journal and write in his own, using his non-dominant arm as some sort of support. The pen scribbles neurotically, copying the drawings in a sloppy hand, circling and noting all the same similarities.]

Interesting. The double earrings on the second figure changes to three on the other design. Perhaps it's a mark of age. This single earring could have caused a schism, for all we know. Iconography matters are highly controversial.

[He takes note to ask about it, speaking more to himself than to the boy himself. He'll keep going, too, detailing the possibilities of every little difference until stopped. Save yourself, Coil.]

[Coil doesn't save himself. in fact, he has further thoughts on the subject... which may doom them to staring at earrings carved on icons for much more time than could be considered reasonable.

he shakes his head! and he points to the first set of earrings and holds up two fingers-- clearly the number of earrings on that figure. then points at the second set and holds up three fingers-- again, the number of earrings depicted in that particular image.

then, he repeats the routine... though, this time he gestures to the number of figures themselves in the two images. three and six.

there's apparently something about the numbers that he finds significant.]

Two, three, three six...

[It's puzzling and the only conclusion he can come up with is frustratingly common. Is there something else he's missing. Some previous fact? He flips through the rest of his notes and finds hints, but nothing significant. Nothing to draw a link. Frowning, he shakes his head.]

I'm afraid I'm lost as to the significance. All I can surmise is that they're common factors, but that's far too simple.

[he nods, though. and he motions for his journal again, because he has another sketch to draw out.

he's not an artist, but he still has some skill in scrawling out diagrams and figures.

first, he draws out simplified versions of both images, and he pares the iconography down enough so that only the similarities remain. the first image is a sketch of three identical figures, and he only adds in certain accessories--those earrings included. the second image is a set of six figures, with only the accessories that are shared with the first set of figures drawn in. the matching accessories are all in sets of either two or three, and all match up in a way with corresponding figures in the other image--which is easy to see when compared side-by-side like this.

and then, he sketches little brackets dividing the six figures into three pairs, and draws a line from each of those pairs to one of the three figures in the first image.

'SAME,' he writes in big letters beside the diagram. he's proposing that these are different depictions of the same holy figures. they're sometimes depicted as three beings, and sometimes depicted as a trio of pairs, but are the same nonetheless.]

[Mattias' eyes widen, catching the similarities before the word is written. He quickly takes note, snapping the journal closed when he's finished and looking at the figures themselves.]

Three turn to six. [The question of why hangs in the air where he previously stood. He's moving forward now, taking the steps to the altar two at a time, brushing past whoever tries to stop him. They watch him incredulously as he motions to Coil to join him, shooing away another cleric with annoyance. Let him study the figures in peace. Motioning to Coil one last time, he turns back to his subjects, mumbling to himself about consubstantial pairs and hypostases, one god or three, etc. It's all speculation, all valid explanations that he's searching for evidence to explain.]

[Coil, after some small antisocial hesitation, finally gathers himself and follows after the man. a temporary combination of talents seems like a smart idea, especially when he sees how bold he is in getting where he wants, compared to Coil's much more subtle tactics. following Mattias, he's able to get right up close to the altar.

and, like the other gods worshiped here, they seem to be pretty standard star-based icons. some based on animal forms, and some much more human, with some identifying feature setting them apart from the others. and this god's trichotomy seems to be its (or their) trademark.]

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mingle a little Mor tonight

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i honestly have no idea what's happening

THAT'S OKAY I have an idea!

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