"Maybe you should start," she tosses out, "For the sake of future historians, and all the ridiculous theories they'll cook up to explain how one man could live so long. I'm putting my hypothetical money on the 'Adrian Tepes was a title, not a person' school of thought."
True, though, that his perspective is that of a single person, and one bound to be uniquely alien at that. Setting aside the immortality and the...parentage, he's also accustomed to a certain level of wealth and standing. But then Sypha supposes that's true of most surviving accounts of the ancient world. Little people haven't the time, energy, or anyone to look after their posthumous estates.
None of which helps her address the enormous gap in her understanding of her own people's history, or access that ancient knowledge right now. Sypha flings herself into the open end of the sofa, arms over her head in a posture of abject dismay and frustration. "It'll be weeks before I can get word back from any of the nearby caravans, with this weather," she bemoans, "And that's assuming any of the elders take my request seriously, or feel I can be trusted with what's probably considered apocrypha." She scrubs her hands over her face and fixes Adrian with a wry look. "I did mention they're not so pleased with the whole 'settle in a city semi permanently' decision, yes?"
Watching all of this, one truth becomes evident: Sypha is one of the most animated, expressive people that Alucard has ever encountered. It is neither a good nor a bad thing, just a simple truth that speaks to her passionate nature and how strong her opinions can be. And watching her? He...
...there's feelings, and he hasn't the time to reflect terribly long on them.
"I actually might like to read that argument," he admits with a terribly sly smile, before growing serious again. The matter of the Speakers is the real focus here, and how they have long contended with history.
With Sypha flinging herself into the awaiting end of the sofa, Alucard's focus shifts there. He doesn't reach out to offer comfort though, if only because it seems obvious that she'll be moving in a second and shrug his hand off.
"You alluded to it, yes," Alucard replies. "Although if you mention my name, there may be more of a response. Positive or negative though, I can't possibly say. I've long since lost track of where your people stand on me."
"You know," Sypha peeks slyly between her fingers, "There's a tacit Speaker tradition of disseminating misinformation when it suits the protection of delicate truths. If you want an alibi, we could start teasing that one out into the world."
Which, actually, ties to his suggestion of invoking him with the elders. Sypha twists her hands together, purses her lips, and then blurts: "I've been trying to figure out how to tell them about you. I wondered at first if they would even believe me, but now there's...this." The knowledge of Speaker magic, however brittle and threadbare. She taps her fingers to her mouth.
There are rituals to accessing knowledge. The Speaker aversion to written word has as much to do with its easy access as its easy destruction - in the wrong hands, information can cause as much devastation as innovation. And so there are steps, rote questions, call-and-response patterns that must be danced to get at the things a seeker might wish to know. Approach one of the elders asking about magic, and they'd assume she wanted to talk about the weather.
"I could start there," she muses, "Ask about you as a historical figure, work my way backward through the oral chronology. It's a way to test the current opinion on you, too. I confess, it's been a long time since I've taken a folklore refresher."
"If I need one, that would do quite nicely. Such as it is, I suspect the fact that you barely believed the matter of my father was real is more than enough."
It has been weird, watching that change and morph and be understood as more story than truth. Not bad...just strange. Humanity is a complicated thing, and the stories it tells itself even more so.
Far more wonderful is how Sypha's mind builds a plan. Watching it in real time is a joy, because each gear is visibly turning in her head. Processing, understanding, then putting step after step into place. He understands some of Speaker culture, but it's old and likely outdated knowledge. How to access even basic information in their histories? He's never learned.
"Given that I also don't know their current opinion of me, that's a good place to start. The last I heard it was very cautious."
For no reason other than how things unfolded as they did. Alucard then inches a little closer to Sypha on the sofa.
"What else would you like to know about the night world, since it will take a little time to contact and communicate with your people?"
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True, though, that his perspective is that of a single person, and one bound to be uniquely alien at that. Setting aside the immortality and the...parentage, he's also accustomed to a certain level of wealth and standing. But then Sypha supposes that's true of most surviving accounts of the ancient world. Little people haven't the time, energy, or anyone to look after their posthumous estates.
None of which helps her address the enormous gap in her understanding of her own people's history, or access that ancient knowledge right now. Sypha flings herself into the open end of the sofa, arms over her head in a posture of abject dismay and frustration. "It'll be weeks before I can get word back from any of the nearby caravans, with this weather," she bemoans, "And that's assuming any of the elders take my request seriously, or feel I can be trusted with what's probably considered apocrypha." She scrubs her hands over her face and fixes Adrian with a wry look. "I did mention they're not so pleased with the whole 'settle in a city semi permanently' decision, yes?"
no subject
...there's feelings, and he hasn't the time to reflect terribly long on them.
"I actually might like to read that argument," he admits with a terribly sly smile, before growing serious again. The matter of the Speakers is the real focus here, and how they have long contended with history.
With Sypha flinging herself into the awaiting end of the sofa, Alucard's focus shifts there. He doesn't reach out to offer comfort though, if only because it seems obvious that she'll be moving in a second and shrug his hand off.
"You alluded to it, yes," Alucard replies. "Although if you mention my name, there may be more of a response. Positive or negative though, I can't possibly say. I've long since lost track of where your people stand on me."
no subject
Which, actually, ties to his suggestion of invoking him with the elders. Sypha twists her hands together, purses her lips, and then blurts: "I've been trying to figure out how to tell them about you. I wondered at first if they would even believe me, but now there's...this." The knowledge of Speaker magic, however brittle and threadbare. She taps her fingers to her mouth.
There are rituals to accessing knowledge. The Speaker aversion to written word has as much to do with its easy access as its easy destruction - in the wrong hands, information can cause as much devastation as innovation. And so there are steps, rote questions, call-and-response patterns that must be danced to get at the things a seeker might wish to know. Approach one of the elders asking about magic, and they'd assume she wanted to talk about the weather.
"I could start there," she muses, "Ask about you as a historical figure, work my way backward through the oral chronology. It's a way to test the current opinion on you, too. I confess, it's been a long time since I've taken a folklore refresher."
no subject
It has been weird, watching that change and morph and be understood as more story than truth. Not bad...just strange. Humanity is a complicated thing, and the stories it tells itself even more so.
Far more wonderful is how Sypha's mind builds a plan. Watching it in real time is a joy, because each gear is visibly turning in her head. Processing, understanding, then putting step after step into place. He understands some of Speaker culture, but it's old and likely outdated knowledge. How to access even basic information in their histories? He's never learned.
"Given that I also don't know their current opinion of me, that's a good place to start. The last I heard it was very cautious."
For no reason other than how things unfolded as they did. Alucard then inches a little closer to Sypha on the sofa.
"What else would you like to know about the night world, since it will take a little time to contact and communicate with your people?"