Culture Shock [Mu]

[Mali]

Okena felt proud as Morona said that she had talent. It was a nice compliment compared to her apparent lacking level of ability. She knew that what Morona had said wasn’t meant to offend her, but she still believed that she had surpassed her father. She may not be so skilled when it came to combat, but she was skilled at everything else that hydromancy had to offer. Her father excelled in the fighting aspect but not much else. It would only make sense that she had surpassed him since her ability to do everything he couldn’t was far greater than his.

Feeling slightly self-conscious about the silence that followed the reasoning for leaving Empire Nirvana, Okena didn’t know what to make of the silence. She knew that Morona was thinking about what she said, but he should say something, right? He didn’t seem like the type to comfort people just because, so she wasn’t expecting him to give her words of condolence. But she expected him to say something. When he didn’t, Okena couldn’t help but fidget on spot for a moment before taking a sideways glance at Baldur. At least he was here with her. She calmed down as she remembered that Baldur was trusted among these people and she trusted him as well. That meant that if any harm were to come to her, he would step in, right? Maybe not defend her, but at least he would void whatever issue came up.

So he was interested in the map. Did he know something about God Baal that he wasn’t going to tell anyone else? Maybe he knew who God Baal really was. All Morona had done while she spoke was nod his head. There were no questions about it as Baldur had had. Instead he acted like he already knew some of this information. She was curious now, what did he know that he wasn’t saying? A normal person who knew nothing about this would have questions. Since he didn’t have any, she assumed he knew most of this and now she wanted to know what he knew.

Okena watched as Baldur handed her map over. Was Morona impressed by the map? Did he mind that not everything was to scale? Why was she so worried about the map she had made anyways? It wasn’t like it was a reflection of her or anything like that.

Oh, so he did have questions. Maybe her assumption about him knowing something was wrong. “Thank you. I don’t treasure every piece of my history as much as a typical Nirvanian should,” she had to wonder if that was a good or bad thing. It was good sometimes because she didn’t want to keep things from people just because of a standard. But it was bad at times because other people she knew did and that meant that questions she asked sometimes went unanswered. She had to remember this when she was around those people, like Baldur.

She was slightly confused about what Morona was trying to say. Was he asking for her input on the topic or was he asking a question? “Well, the ancient language was brought to this land by the elves. So there has to be some tie between the elves and the humans from the Isle of Origin as it would be highly unlikely for the same exact language to be created in two places at once.” Okena decided to give her input on the topic instead of asking questions. She knew the history of Alagaesia enough to know that the Elves brought the language back from their homeland. But did that mean that they developed the language? There was some tie between God Baal bringing the ancient language back to a land that already knew it but had forgotten it. She just couldn’t figure it out.

“I’d assume that there was someone who was in both Empire Nirvana and Alagaesia who spoke this language. I would assume...” She didn’t know what she was talking about really, but that was what she assumed. Maybe she should stop talking before she said something that made her look stupid or ignorant in front of these people. She didn’t want to do that in front of Baldur.

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[Amur]

Okena was definitely showing that the growth required to overcome the societal standards being raised in Empire Nirvana left most every Nirvanian struggling with, was entirely possible. Perhaps she had the edge on that due to having lived in this land for quite some time longer than us and our people, but, we had noticed our people showing similar signs of growth. Their paranoia was slowly beginning to recede, their distrust toward our Allied Hunters was almost entirely gone, and they had even started becoming friendly with a number of the natives.

We had actually seen a fair number of people native to this land making an effort to visit someone they had become friendly with elsewhere. It had helped our village to prosper immensely; it had even started getting to the point where we were starting to consider constructing some kind inn or tavern... Of course, that would mean having to acquire drinks that were native to this land, Nirvanian distilled beverages had proven to be far too much for the people of this land.

Though, almost paradoxically many of them had made requests to start trading Nirvanian distilled liquor. We had been unable to understand why, but, it had opened another line of trade for our people. Which could only help our village grow further; things had been going very well.

We looked at Okena as she raised her own thoughts on the subject of The Forgotten Language and we simply nodded. We had become too lost in our own thoughts in the presence of company, and that was a very rude lapse on our part. Luckily, however, Okena didn’t seem to have noticed it, so we saw no need to apologise for it.

“Indeed, however, whatever that link may be remains a mystery, there were no historical records of who, or, whatever originally spoke the language when we were a singular child. So, there is only speculation on where The Forgotten Language may have come from. We had already learned of The Elves part in bringing The Forgotten –or Ancient- Language to this land from Baldur; which has already caused us to spend some time thinking on whether or not The Elves at one point had a place on The Isle of Origin before humans did.”
We said calmly. Of course, we had been unable to confirm anything, as there had been no sign of civilisation on The Isle of Origin prior to that of humanity. Nevertheless, there was no reason to doubt that there was now a definite link between Nirvanian humans and The Elves, we may not know exactly what that link was, but there was little doubt now that such a link had definitely existed at one point in the distant past.

“Regardless, proof of such things is difficult to come by.”
We concluded.

“Now, Baldur, was there anything else you wished to discuss with us, or was introducing Okena to us your main reason for this visit?”
We asked.

“Admittedly, it was simply to introduce you to Okena. She had requested that I educate her in Nirvanian culture and history. I felt that meeting you would serve as part of that education, since she was raised to believe you to be evil, like the vast majority of Nirvanian residents.”
He explained to us flatly. We gave his answer a small nod, but once again, couldn’t help but see another discrepancy to Baldur’s usual self from his explanation. And that was in the fact that he had explained his reason for visiting us in far more depth than he usually did, he usually only gave us single-sentence answers.

We wondered what, exactly, he was thinking.

“Very well, then. Did you have any questions to ask of us, Okena? We doubt that Baldur has left much to the imagination with his education, he is very thorough; don’t you agree? However, we would feel remiss if we did not present you the opportunity to ask a question or two of us. Since Baldur’s reason for bringing you to us and our village was educational.”
We put forward gently, in order to avoid coming off as patronising. We had done this enough to know that we had succeeded in that particular goal, and while we doubted that Okena would have very many –if any at all- questions for us, it would be best to remove all doubt surrounding the matter now.

[Mali]

Okena nodded her head. It wasn’t as if they could go back to Empire Nirvana either to see if there was any history from that time. There could have been some form of history from that time but they would never know to search for it or about it until now, after they had left. It sucked, but maybe one day she could return to Empire Nirvana. She had left when she was ten so people wouldn’t recognise her now. But as far as she knew, the borders were cut off. It would be very difficult for her to get there and she’d have an even harder time trying to get in. Might as well give up before exerting herself. Besides, she liked it here in Alagaesia.

Shocked, Okena had practically face-palmed as Baldur said that she thought Morona to be evil. He didn’t have to tell him that! Even though most Nirvanians thought Morona to be evil, she still thought that it was rude to tell him that so openly to Morona’s face. It was rude, really rude! Okena couldn’t help but blush and hide her face behind her hair after Baldur said that. She was embarrassed now.

Okena was about to start fidgeting again when Morona addressed her. Any more questions? She was still curious about God Baal but she knew he wouldn’t tell her about that so casually. It was extremely personal information and after she had mentioned the teachings of God Baal, it seemed as if he knew something and was hiding it. If he was hiding something, the chance of him telling about the encounter with God Baal wasn’t going to happen.

“Yes, he is very thorough. But I think this wasn’t just educational, I think it was a learning experience. That Nirvanian history can be misleading and wrong and you shouldn’t always trust it. I think that by meeting you, I’ve learned that pretty well,” she grinned to Morona and hoped that her answer was decent. She didn’t have any questions that she could think of now.

“I hope that should I return to the village, I would be welcomed in?” She had no idea where she would stay should she come to visit the village, but she hoped that there would be a place for her with the people of her homeland.

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[Amur]

We nodded to Okena as she answered our questions. Perhaps being raised in this land had been enough to break Okena free of the slow to trust and generally accept trait that many Nirvanians held. And, judging by her answer, Baldur had indeed been thorough with his tutelage of Okena. That had of course been unsurprising to us, Baldur usually excelled when it came to teaching others; it had been quite a shock to us when he had turned down our initial offer of making him a tutor within the village based on that alone.

“The village doesn’t openly reject entry to people unless they’re unquestionably hostile. However, if you’re asking to be recognised and welcomed as one in the same thing, then, we think it best that you allow Baldur to finish the rest of his intended tutelage for the day and take a wander around the village.”
We replied, giving a small gesture in the direction of the doors leading back outside.

“We don’t intend to come off as rude, however, we imagine that Baldur has much more to show you and has likely spent longer introducing you to us than he originally intended to. We do of course wish for you to enjoy your stay, as far as we’re concerned, any Nirvanian is welcome in our village.”
We concluded calmly, giving Baldur a small nod. At that he placed his hand on Okena’s shoulder in a manner intended to simply get her attention.

“Yes, I believe it time for you to see Nirvanian culture for yourself.”
He said in his usual matter-of-factly way while leading Okena through the doors. Taking a moment to think we shook our head gently.

“You are all relieved of your duty for the day, go home and take some time to yourselves.”
The four guards stationed in the audience room all saluted audibly and with a single “Yes, Lord Morona” they all left the room in a relatively timely manner. We waited until we knew that both sets of doors had closed before turning our attention back to Kaime.

“What did you make of that?”
We asked curiously. A thoughtful look crossed his face.

“Hard to tell, I never thought I’d ever see Baldur walking around without his sword in-hand.”
We nodded in response. Not bothering to point out that it was also unusual for Baldur to bring anyone else before us without telling us it would be happening at least a week in advance. Kaime was likewise familiar with the way that Baldur worked.

“Well, I for one think it’s adorable.”
Alexia chimed in.

---

After leaving the audience house and beginning the tour of the village alongside stopping to point out various things about Nirvanian culture of Okena as he walked the day had passed by very rapidly. And despite her initial anxiety, Okena had gradually become more relaxed and animated as time wore on. More than once they stopped to talk to some of the villagers, and during these talks Okena had actually become quite enthusiastic and even appeared to be enjoying herself. In fact, Baldur didn’t even have to say very much, the conversations between Okena and the villagers had been so smooth that it would have been difficult to believe that Okena had been as anxious as she had been upon first arriving.

By the time Baldur had finished showing Okena the village and educating her in Nirvanian culture the day was well into the phase of the evening. Baldur nodded, he had managed to cover just about everything he had wanted to; so for the time being today’s lesson had been more than a simple success.

However, now he was left wondering what he should do now. The village had no inn or equivalent, and he wasn’t about to tell Okena that she had to spend the night outside. He thought for a brief moment on the situation before coming to the conclusion that Ace did not presently live in their house so his bed was completely unused.

Yes, that would be a viable solution. It would give Okena privacy for the night and provide her with something more comfortable than the floor to sleep on.

“I believe we’re done for the day, Okena. There is presently a spare bed at my house if you wished to spend the night in comfort. Which, I imagine would be a welcome change from sleeping on the floor.”

[Mali]

What did Baldur showing her around the village have to do with whether she would be welcomed back, should she come on her own? She was confused for a moment when what he’d said started to make sense. If the villagers knew what she looked like, then maybe they wouldn’t be so hostile towards her?

“Thank you,” she felt touched by what Morona said. That as far as he was concerned, any Nirvanian was welcome in the village. That meant a lot to her. So if she ever wanted to feel like she was at home or welcomed by her people, she could always come back here. Okena couldn’t help but smile at Morona. She was happy to know that she would be welcomed back should she decide to come back.

Almost jumping, Okena turned as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She saw that it was just Baldur and smiled to him. As they walked through the doors, she turned around to wave to both Morona and Kaime. They weren’t as bad as she had thought they would be. They were actually quite nice and calm. Her father had only ever told her stories about seeing Morona on the battlefield. But then again, any story that spoke of a battlefield would be greatly exaggerated and gruesome.

---

That had been very enlightening. She hadn’t thought that the people here would be so nice to her. Then again, she hadn’t introduced herself with her full name. She had hesitated when she had first met one of the villagers. She was worried that even though Morona had assured her that she would be safe, that didn’t mean that they wouldn’t have negative thoughts about her because of her father. So she had decided to just introduce herself as Okena. It was simpler that way.

She was very pleased to have learned so much today. She had met Morona and found him a really nice guy, she had seen lots of Nirvanian culture and spoke to a lot of really interesting people. Someone had even thought that she had an accent when she spoke in Nirvanian common after telling them how long she had lived in Alagaesia, which was funny. No one else said anything though which led her to believe that maybe that person’s ears weren’t properly working or something.

As they came around near the audience house again, she noticed that the sky had already started to get dark. Wow, the sun was just setting over the horizon, how had it gotten so late already?

Turning to face Baldur, she could have sworn that she swooned as he proposed sleeping in his house. After seeing the village, she knew that there wasn’t an inn for her to stay at so it was either she sleep outside or at Baldur’s house. But for him to offer and not have her bring it up, it made her heart swell.

“Thank you Baldur, I would enjoy that. The ground is very hard compared to a bed,” She mentally stopped herself. Of course the ground was hard, was she an idiot? Well she certainly sounded like one when she said that.

“I mean, it’s nice for you to offer, thank you. Wait, I already said that,” it was then that Okena blushed like crazy while looking at her feet. This was embarrassing.

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[Amur]

Baldur couldn’t help but arch an eyebrow slightly at Okena’s reaction. Had his offer really meant so much to her that she was willing to start talking nonsense because of it? As far as he saw it, he was simply doing his part as a good host by offering Okena a place to rest for the night. Especially since it was his idea to bring her to the village in the first place; was it not his responsibility, in that case to make sure that she had somewhere to sleep for the night?

Nevertheless, he held his tongue and simply nodded in response to the gratitude he was able to pick out of the nonsense she had just managed to speak. Rationalising the moment to her being overwhelmed with the events of the day, he had seen Ace act similarly on several occasions because he had become overwhelmed. So, he didn’t comment on it.

“Very well, just follow me.”
He stated flatly, with a small nod.

He walked in silence for a short while, he remembered how anxious Okena had been when they had first arrived at the village, maybe it would be worth his time to make sure that she was alright, and to ask what she thought of the day, overall. However, he didn’t immediately begin talking; he waited until they drew closer to his house before saying anything.

“How are you feeling now? Your earlier anxiety made me think that I had brought you here too early, however, all things considered; I think you coped with everything quite well. I hope it wasn’t too overwhelming for you.”
He said flatly as he opened the door into his house, standing to the side to allow Okena into the house first. With several muttered words in The Forgotten Language, Baldur conjured several small orbs of light, which travelled to very specific points in the house and simply hovered in the air just above the height of Baldur's head; illuminating the house with a gentle glow, which would allow Okena to see.

“I also hope you found it interesting enough to make-up for your earlier anxiety.”
He added in calmly afterwards, closing the door to the house once both he and Okena were inside. He gestured to the small door directly opposite the front-door.

“That is the room containing the spare bed.”
He stated flatly, turning to his left and into the living area, he walked over to the book-shelf and looked over the neatly arranged books placed within. He had considered reading one of the journals written by one of the non-human combatants during The Preclusion War before he decided whether or not he was going to sleep tonight, himself. However, he still had many of those particular books he had yet to read. So, picking one was not a simple task.

[Mali]

“Okay,” and then she followed him. She felt like a major idiot now. She didn’t know how Baldur could put up with her nonsense. He was probably thinking she was an idiot as well. The ground is hard, no duh you imbecile. But maybe she was beating herself up too rashly. Maybe Baldur hadn’t cared so much about her rambled nonsense. He had arched an eyebrow at her and nodded meaning he had no idea what to say to her. He usually nodded silently when he was in an awkward position—usually put there by her—and had no idea what to say.

She could feel her heart pounding faster as he showed concern for her well-being. Stop it heart! But his concern for her wasn’t the kind she was hoping for. If he had worded it differently, she might have actually swooned. It was a good thing he hadn’t worded it any other way. The way that he had worded it just showed that he was worried that he had made a mistake by bringing her here too early. If he had left that bit out, then she would have definitely swooned. But she knew his concern was based on his possible mistake, not out of affection for her.

“I’m feeling fine. At first I was worried, but I met a lot of interesting and nice people.” she smiled over to Baldur before entering the house. She was still shocked by the size of the doorway. How big would Baldur get? She wished that she could see that form, and know everything about him.

“Goodnight then Baldur. I hope you get some sleep tonight, even though you don’t need it.” she said this as she walked backwards toward the bedroom. As soon as she finished speaking, she turned around and went into the bedroom, closing the door behind her. She was really tired but was glad to see that there was a bed her size in the room. Wait, if Baldur was that big, then how big must his bed be? She would have to investigate this tomorrow morning. For now, she was tired.

Okena woke up suddenly for no real reason. She hadn’t had a bad dream or been tossing or turning in any manner, but had just woken up in a sudden manner. Stretching off the bed, Okena placed her feet on the floor. She should get something to eat before they head out of the village. Opening the door, she noticed the small kitchen they had but kept walking. There was a large door along the wall and she was curious. It was slightly ajar and she peaked inside. Where was Baldur?

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[Amur]

Baldur nodded gently as Okena answered his first question, it was good to know that he hadn’t made a mistake by bringing Okena here. He concealed a small, controlled smile as Okena spoke again, telling him that she hoped for him to get some sleep for the night. Even though he was home Baldur didn’t know if he planned to sleep for the night yet, or not.

“No promises.”
He stated somewhat lightly, finally picking out the book he had opted to read for the time being. Nodding as he flicked through the first several pages of the book, he retrieved his sword from where he had left it before taking Okena to meet with Morona and then walked in the direction of his bedroom. Sliding the door open soundlessly, and closing it behind him as he entered, Baldur placed Findinokhind on its stand.

He cast a brief look around his room for no real reason and then head toward his bed, taking off his boots, Baldur then got onto his bed and sat with his back resting against the head-board. He opened the book and was about to begin reading the first page when he froze. He sat, staring at the first page, but not reading it as a realisation hit him.

“... Oh...”
Was all he could mutter to himself.

---

Baldur drew in a short breath as he looked into the sky. The sun was into the early stages of rising, giving the sky a red hue. He stood with the tip of Findinokhind’s sheath on the ground, and with both of his hands placed on its pommel. He had spent the night thinking over his earlier realisation and had found himself unable to come to a solid conclusion as to how it had happened. As far as he was aware, he had not given any reason for such an odd situation to occur, and he had briefly considered asking Morona about it.

However, for the time being, he had kept his thoughts to himself. It was little more than a trivial confusion and Morona had more important things to worry about. Shaking his head gently, Baldur readjusted his position and held Findinokhind as he always did before walking slowly back in the direction of his house.

He wouldn’t want to leave Okena alone, she was still new to the village and it would have been remiss of him to leave her alone in an unfamiliar location. She had a tendency to wake up early, and Baldur had spent longer than he had intended to just simply stood in place.

He continued running through his thoughts and managed to ultimately conclude that it must have just been a phase brought on by a sense of admiration. That was the only reasonable conclusion that he was able to come up with. After all, he had been the first Nirvanian she had met outside of her father, he had offered and had taught her of Nirvanian culture. And had ultimately been able to talk to her without being a typical Nirvanian after finding out that Wynn had been her father; it was only natural, therefore, for her to feel things that she shouldn’t have been feeling.

He had made the decision not to say anything about it; however, the phase would undoubtedly pass if he continued treating her as he always did.

Opening the door to his house, Baldur paused and arched an eyebrow as he saw Okena trying to take a discreet peek into his bedroom. He ignored the questions that her action put forward, and decided to stick with his initial plan.

“Good morning, Okena. I trust you slept well?”
He asked flatly, standing in silence for a brief moment as his question caught Okena’s attention. Placing his hands behind his back calmly he looked from Okena to his bedroom door, and then back to Okena.

“Apologies for my brief absence, I tend to take long walks around the village during the early morning. It was easy to forget that I was not by myself this time around, since I’m here alone for the time being.”
He concluded calmly.

[Mali]

Okena jumped as she heard Baldur address her. Turning to see him standing in the front doorway, she smiled sheepishly. She hadn’t intended on getting caught peeking into his room and yet he had found her. She noticed the raised eyebrow and wondered what Baldur was thinking. Maybe he thought it odd that she would be curious about what Baldur really looked like. Then again, as far as Okena knew, Baldur had no knowledge of her feelings for him. Which is the way she wanted to keep it for the time being.

“Yes I did, thank you. I was looking for you...” She thought that that was a decent enough excuse for trying to peek into his room. “I knocked first but thought you might be asleep still,” Okay, that part was a lie, but that didn’t matter. She was trying to cover her behind as to why she would peek into his private bedroom while being a guest in his house. Now that she thought about it, it was rather rude for her to snoop while being his guest. She felt bad now.

“That’s okay, you’re here now,” She tried not to act too nervous around him. She had been caught red handed and yet he wasn’t commenting on it, or asking her what she had been doing.

Looking up at Baldur, Okena was reminded of why she liked him, her heart beating just a little faster. He was strong, knowledgeable and smart. He was nice and caring when the rare chance came up. She wanted to get to know him better, but how?

Not knowing what to say next and feeling somewhat awkward in this situation, Okena decided that she would let Baldur say something first and go from that.

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