You’ve just arrived in a swampy, dim town. As you look around, your gaze is met with shacks and cabins. It smells of rotted wood and wet moss. You duck and step into a tattered tent, illuminated by a series of candles suspended in the air. At the back of the tent, an old hag raises her head, “What brings you to this dingy town? she begins, then pauses to study your face—”Ah, it’s you. I’ve been expecting you. Sit,” she gestures at a cushion, “Tell me your story.”
((How do you respond?))
Despite the unsavory appearance of... well everything in this town, Alexei decided this was his best option. He'll hold his tongue on that matter, and instead focus on the task at hand. He was here for a reason, he wasn't here to judge or question. The man sighed and lowered himself onto the cushion. He did his best not to cringe at how dirty this could possibly be. It certainly didn't look like a clean dyed color. Focus Alexei. You're trying to be a better man.
"I am a traveler from the United Kingdom of Aaun, though I no longer wish to associate with them, and especially the Canonists. Call it petty, but I have my reasons." He needed to gather his thoughts. What does he reveal, what does he hide? His family are proud Canonists, with the younger brother hailed a saintly prodigy perfect in every way. Then there's Alexei. The son forced to prove himself to a father he's not even related to.
After he delayed his answer for too long, he forced a polite smile. "Apologies, just gathering my thoughts." He said softly. Well, he might as well start from the beginning. "I was born to a Heartlander mother and a Farfolk father." At least that's what he's been told. "That man disappeared shortly after I was born, and my mother married into a new family." The Pantarei household wasn't big enough to have their name anywhere, but they certainly believed they were enough. "I, not being a direct descendent of their fancy family name had my work cut out for me." He will admit, he tried his best. He did everything he could. But... "I took to reading and trying out everything I could. I could read in bed and learn as much as I could. Meanwhile, I became adept at a sword and was on track to making that my life." Alexei thought he was doing so well. "I had a younger brother, he was four years younger than I. He was the son of my mother and her husband. He is the heir to everything that man had. I didn't think that was a big deal, I didn't think he had much anyway." That's a lie. He just wanted that man's approval. A small part of him still does deep down. "He was kind of like my rival for our entire lives. He was always supposed to be better, and he was. He learned the sword much faster, he understood concepts in scrolls and books faster than I ever did."
Alexei shook his head. "You get the premise of it. Childhood rivalry, I was a sore loser, you can probably see where this is going." He waved his hand in a dismissive manner. Sadly, a lot of his life, up until a year ago, seemed to revolve around his brother and his mother's husband. "I left that life before a year ago. I made the Church very upset with some of the things that I did before then. So I couldn't turn to them. Religion is not often kind to a child such as I was. So I travel alone. Which brings me to now."
He hoped that was enough. He threw in enough unnecessary details to attempt to mask the lack of truth he actually revealed. He did get better than his younger brother at something, and it was magical. Not literal magic with spells and nature-moving forces. He had wanted to study Alchemy, a different sort of nature-bending practice. He believed that was a better calling than a knight or being in the shadow of someone four years his junior. It was something he could do, and his brother couldn't. He could read the Material Alphabet, or he thought he could. There's only so much one can learn from simple books without an actual teacher. He knew the risks, and he knew the potential sins of Alchemy. So he had to make sure his will was strong enough to either do the so-called sins, or strong enough to avoid them altogether. That will likely be up to fate. If it fails, he'll find another path away from New Vienne and away from everyone who knew him before.
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