Text - un: blacklion / OTA

[lionunchained]

i. Private to Keith / backdated to Masquerade

[texting because he's not sure where Keith is and if he'll hear him trying to call]

I heard something that has me concerned.

Someone at the masquerade said she used to room with a woman named Allura who fits her description.

She's not here anymore. Which makes me wonder where is she?


ii. OPEN / day after

Question for those who have been here for a while. I was just told by someone that someone I knew named Allura used to be here and that's she's no longer here.

So I wanted to find out, what happens to people who just disappear? Where are they?

It's important that I know.

Comments

[ragnarsson]

There's always someone better no matter how good you are. If you're the best fighter, then sheer numbers will take you down. Even the gods have enemies they can't beat.

[Ivar's always up for a good discussion about the philosophy and the religion of the Vikings.]

[lionunchained]

I agree, sheer numbers would likely be the thing that made anyone lose, but just hypothetically. Really? The gods have people who can beat them? I thought gods were supposed to immortal and all-powerful.

[ragnarsson]

Not people. Monsters. Giants and wolves big enough to swallow the sun and a sea serpent so large it encircles the entire world. I don't know about your gods, but while mine might be all-powerful, they can still die when their time comes.

[lionunchained]

Ah ha... well, I would imagine wolves and sea serpents that big would cause a problem for anyone.

[Very rough society this guy comes from using their belief system as a guide]

I've never heard stories like that. Generally most of the ones with large creatures end with the gods defeating them.

[ragnarsson]

[This is what comes from a culture that revolves around fighting. They lived in a dangerous world and the stories of their gods magnified the danger even more.]

Some people like gods that are lofty and above them all. Vikings prefer our gods to be like us: vulnerable, with faults, and approachable.

[lionunchained]

That is different than I have seen from most. In some of the other cultures I know about, the gods are not approachable. They certainly have their faults... some of them more than others, but a large majority, you have options for how to reach them.

[ragnarsson]

Our gods walk among us. They're very fond of mortals. My grandfather is Odin, the All-Father of the gods. There's also a few of them right here in the Quarantine.

[lionunchained]

Some of your gods are here in Quarantine? I guess they really don't discriminate here.

[ragnarsson]

Guess not. Kind of nice for me, being able to have family here.

[Not every teen has bragging rights in being related to Thor and Loki.]

[lionunchained]

I'd guess it would. Curious though. If your grandfather is a god, what does that make you? Are you human? Or are you a demi-god?

[ragnarsson]

Just a human being with a divine lineage. Nothing unusual to speak of aside from not being able to walk. My father was the extraordinary one.

[Though whether he'd been able to do the things he did by being the son of a god or simply because he was just that strong and clever, Ivar had never known.]

[lionunchained]

Your father? Your father is a god as well?

[ragnarsson]

More like the bastard son of a god, whatever you call that. He lived up to his heritage. He was the Viking who started off as a farmer and ended his life as the most famous king known to all Vikings.

[lionunchained]

I see. So he was the ideal that everyone wanted to live up to then. From a humble beginning to being the one in charge. Impressive.

[ragnarsson]

Exactly. He's what I've always aspired to be. It was his legend that I always heard about growing up, but actually getting to know him, it was his faults I loved him for. No matter that he had them, he always found a way to overcome them.

[lionunchained]

You had an interesting look at someone who held a very powerful position. Not just the name he lived up to, but the real person. Hopefully you have the opportunity to live up to his legacy.

[ragnarsson]

That's what I hope to do. [And he would accomplish it, if the Seer's prophecy that Ragnar's sons would become more famous than he would was any indication.] I've already gotten a good start.

[lionunchained]

Good to hear that you have a good start on that. Hopefully you will get the chance to continue that. Where you're from, are sons automatically assumed to take over for the king or not so much? Based on what you've told me, they'd at least have to be able to defend the land.

[ragnarsson]

Sometimes, they do, if they're strong and powerful enough. But more often, you end up keeping what you kill. My father killed the current earl and became one, then killed the current king and took over.

[lionunchained]

So literally survival of the fittest. If you aren't strong enough to win the fight, you weren't fit enough to hold that title. We'll have to discuss this further at another time.

[ragnarsson]

Exactly. That's why I've survived as long as I have.

[Ivar was angry and mean, two qualities that had helped him survive in the tough Viking world.]

Until next time then.

[lionunchained]

Yes, until next time. This has been enlightening.