The sky is the greatest kind of illusion

OOC Permissions Post

Sun, 30 May 2021 19:04:05 GMT

( Cut for space )

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Incognito, Incorrigible (for smartass_captain)

Sun, 23 Jun 2019 19:40:54 GMT

Organizing a proper wedding is no small affair even on Earth. In Tamriel, without the benefit of instant communications, instant transport and year-round amenities, it requires a good deal more planning. Particularly when it comes to guests who live any distance away. Roads and seaways alike are dangerous. Bandits prowl the land routes. Inclement weather closes mountain passes and keeps ships in their berths. Everything, above all, takes time.

With spring in full flight, snows melting and roads well and truly open, the excuses for delays in invitation replies and guest arrivals are both running out. Mostly this hasn’t been an issue. The arcane side of their guest list have their own ways of sending word, and the military side have first call on the Imperial courier network. Everyone who matters is accounted for. Except, that is, for one…

In the library of the Bruma house, Stratos leans on a desk covered in papers and rubs his eyes. Another day, another absence of word. Marcella did warn him that her mother would be nigh-impossible to contact. She was almost too resigned to the fact to be grumpy about it. But Stratos had thought his connections would get him where his cousin had been unable to reach. The trouble, he sees now, is that he really can’t be sure where that is.

One guest. Perhaps it’s not a disaster if she can’t be there. But this is his mother’s sister, and they have so few near relatives left, since the War….

And he’s getting worried.

Stratos rises then, and tidies away his writing implements. He heads downstairs to his room and changes into better gear for travelling- not too warm, he doubts he’s going to end up in Skyrim – and then he goes to knock on Felix’s – well, his and Jim’s – door. Nereus is out visiting with Terentius, so there’s nothing else to distract the youngest two, nothing else that ought to be occupying them. And if they’re still resting on the Enterprise - well, he’ll just have to go there and fetch one of them.

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Received With Thanks

Sun, 02 Dec 2018 20:04:41 GMT

( Link by link )

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Loud and Clear

Sun, 25 Nov 2018 16:01:12 GMT

( Seeds long sown )

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Batons Given

Sat, 24 Nov 2018 14:17:29 GMT

( Milestones passed )

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Limits Learned

Sat, 24 Nov 2018 13:07:15 GMT

( Lessons in magic, duty, expectation go hand in hand )

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Paternal Impostures

Sat, 10 Nov 2018 21:20:11 GMT

“My dear Felix,

“I write this letter in the same haste with which I travel to meet you. Forgive its brevity, but there is much to be arranged if I am to arrive in time, and I hope that our swift reunion will make up for a short communication. I was delighted, of course, to learn from your brother of your betrothal, though I am sorry that I have heard nothing from you concerning the young man in question. I must confess I am sadly confused that Stratos mentioned no details at all beyond the act of his existence, and at the very end of his letter!”

“I can presume that you will be returning to Bruma for the ceremony, and though your brother said little I infer that this will take place soon. Thus I have obtained an immediate leave of absence from my post; I will hope to meet you and, of course, your husband-to-be, in our home before Evening Star.

“My warmest regards to you, my son, and to your betrothed,

Father.”

( Stratos knows who to blame. )

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Shipboard Attire (for smartass_captain)

Wed, 19 Jul 2017 17:16:48 GMT

Stratos has never seen Jim's ship, aside from a few pictures Felix brought back for her. Her brother has been here many times, she knows. There's real curiosity in her eyes when the PINpoint drops them in his quarters and she has the chance to look about them. She doesn't know much of ships, and mere images didn't give her much sense of what to expect. There's none of the noise or the smell she expected subconsciously.

"This is... rather nice," she says, stepping back. It's more spacious than a captain's room on any ship she's been aboard. Warm without the scent of a fire. Sleek and neatly put-together as Jim likes to be himself. And there's a sense of... something all around them, like a muted enchantment. She can see why Felix spends so much time here.

Well, the most important one came with her, of course.

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I: First Seed (crosspost)

Sat, 15 Jul 2017 22:00:56 GMT

Stratos opens up about his feelings for the first time in twenty years. It makes everything go horribly wrong.

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And the Stars Turned Back [for smartass_captain ]

Thu, 23 Jun 2016 23:24:59 GMT

Once they’ve picked up Felix, Stratos leads the way back through their door. It’s left to his little brother to unseal the wards and stay back to set them back in place before following. The tribune-turned teenager conjures a light – that he can do, still – and shows Jim up the sloping tunnel beyond. The stone walls look like a mix of natural erosion and worn masonry, lit by intermittent torches mounted along the way.

It looks like a straightforward path, bending this way and that but leading steadily upward. Stratos, however, is well aware of the illusions laid to give that impression and he keeps Jim close. He’s frowning deeply as they climb, trying to ready himself for what’s to come. Trying to convince himself that all will go well when he presents himself to his subordinates.

It feels like a much longer climb than usual, though his legs can’t be that much shorter.

“Are you hungry?” he asks Jim over his shoulder abruptly. That’s one thing he can be sure of remedying anyway.

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Lost (April Writing Prompt for nexus_crossings)

Sat, 30 Apr 2016 22:20:50 GMT

( Lost is a very subjective term. )

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Fooled You! (April Writing Prompt for nexus_crossings)

Fri, 29 Apr 2016 21:50:45 GMT

( How to have fun with homework )

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At Dawn (April Writing Prompt for nexus_crossings)

Fri, 29 Apr 2016 21:40:02 GMT

( The earliest bird is one who never sleeps. )

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Ex Caelo

Thu, 04 Feb 2016 15:18:19 GMT

( A younger Stratos shows his brother the stars )

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Concerning Diplomats, and Other Venomous Fauna [for Samus Aran onemorebounty]

Sun, 17 Jan 2016 18:01:28 GMT

This trip isn’t strictly a mission, but there are just as many rules to observe, as many precautions to run through beforehand. Cover stories, dress codes, a brief rundown of Tamrielic geography. The fact that the Thalmor wizards will check for weapons and may well sense any of the electrical devices so popular among Nexus-goers. But then, Stratos has laid down his own polite ban on PINpoints. (Polite, because he’s quite sure playing on Samus’ sense of courtesy, if not friendship, is the most reliable approach.

Visits to the Thalmor Embassy are usually dull, dangerous and silently unpleasant. Stratos wonders if he hasn’t made this one too interesting for himself. He’ll find out, one way or the other.

He’s waiting at his door to Skyrim come the appropriate day, attired in his formal clothes - mostly dark blue, but there’s a Legion-red cape draped over his shoulders lest anyone forget who he’s representing.

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Invitations to Dance

Sat, 16 Jan 2016 15:24:23 GMT

( Some returned, and some rebuffed. )

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Writing Prompts: January

Tue, 12 Jan 2016 21:15:34 GMT

'Luxury commodity: often contraband, seldom verified. For best results, conceal before use.'

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Alignment of Interest [for Isidor Durant heirtothedragonsfire]

Fri, 04 Dec 2015 16:14:33 GMT

By now Stratos quite expects to find the forum desk unattended. He doesn’t bother to be annoyed. Wherever he is and whether or not he knows it, Felix is doing his job. That’s what matters. Besides, his little brother needs friends. It’s in his nature. Friends from other realms are hardly ideal, but they’re all he’s likely to get in the foreseeable future. Stratos accepts that.

At least they’re all mortal so far.

He stands by the table, hood around his shoulders and expression unreadable while he flips through the log book. One has to use that term advisedly, given the proportion of scribbles, doodles and indecipherable shorthand contained within. Deliberate carelessness. He allows himself a sigh.

Without anything particularly interesting in the recent entries, he keeps an eye out for any forum-goers who might approach.

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OOC Information

Tue, 07 Apr 2015 21:18:23 GMT

( Not sure who from. He wouldn't say. Just that he was a friend of yours. )

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Open Door [ IC Contact Post ]

Tue, 07 Apr 2015 00:36:31 GMT

The tribune has a small office on the upper floors of the Castle Dour garrison. For a few hours each day he can be found writing letters or working his way through the stacks of parchment on his desk. He keeps the window open, but the sea breeze never seems to disturb his paperwork. His door is likewise open to those seeking information, work or a personal word.

Less obvious, tucked in a pocket out of sight, is the PINpoint set to quietly buzz if he should receive a message.

Alternatively, when Stratos is out attending to his duties, the guard in the hall is willing to take messages to be left on his desk. Or slipped under his door, for those who'd rather sneak a note in.

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HMD/OOC Contact

Sun, 29 Mar 2015 18:59:43 GMT

Comment here for questions, plotting or comments!

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