shellphones | text

Entry tags:

text | octoblot

Type: Text

Sender ID: octoblot (Azul Ashengrotto)

To: Everyone

Subject: thornbind cure update, possible other business related matters

Warnings: None worth noting yet?

Hello everyone, this is Azul Ashengrotto speaking. I meant to put out this news sooner to everyone, but due to certain events that have taken place, my ability to do so was delayed until now.

[re: he got fucking kidnapped. yes, he's still mad about it, and no, he doesn't want to talk about it right this second.]

As some of you may know, there are very few things that I as a mage would be considered incapable of brewing, enchanting, or crafting a spell or potion for. [nice ego fluffing there azul] It came to my attention last month that there was a string of incidents involving the "Thornbind" disease that had begun to crop up: for those unaware, it causes vines and thorns to grow from the infected person's body and can be extremely dangerous if left unchecked. Luckily, I have managed to develop a cure that has proven successful after the tests I've done with it and from checking in on the people that I have given it out to thus far among the locals. Thus, if you or anyone else you know of are in need of it, please let me know. Anyone that would be willing to help with delivering the medicine to people, or to any of the nearby clinics and hospitals would also be quite appreciated right now. As for other ailments one may be experiencing in this place [you know, the brands they've all gotten lately, which he is not going to discuss too loudly here just to be safe] ... well, that may require more research and discussion among other like-minded mages or researchers like myself to come up with a solution for. But as always, my door is always open to any soul in need of a specific wish granted on your behalf, so please do not hesitate to ask if you have any requests to make for me here.

[Sorry, even in text form and while recovering from stuff, Azul has to play the businessman.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Yeah, about that--]

It might take a while to explain... ah, but isn't it about time for you to return the favor here, in regards to sharing information? In fact, you haven't even introduced yourself to me or provided a name yet, even though I'm pretty certain this is the first time we've spoken here.

[ Well... To not even ease into "hey tell me about yourself" with a nice transition with honeyed words. The guy is gatekeeping that information and then turning around to pointing fingers. Claude is just grinning behind his screen. ]

You were just so into explaining things that I couldn't find the right time. Personally, magic isn't my strong point but some of my friends back home are really strong mages. Lysithea would strangle me if I didn't at least ask, you know? Geniuses. What can you do...

Now I'd offer a formal bow and everything, as is our way, but text makes that difficult. My name is Khalid. I'm twenty-five and was born on the twenty-fourth of the Blue Sea Moon. I enjoy long flights on the back of my sweet babygirl, Azita, and reading if not taking a nap under a shady spot.

Edited 2025-05-01 16:07 (UTC)

[... Truth be told, he's too tired to play that nice. Leona might be on to something actually when he stops by later and tells Azul to go the fuck to sleep already.

He also does not believe that first sentence at all for even a second. Azul has pulled that exact kind of tactic or said that kind of sentence several times on other people here in getting them to share deets, in fact, and sometimes he's curious to see if others think they can try it on him in return without him noticing.]

It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance then, Khalid-san. I would offer a bow as well, but as you said, it's difficult to do via text. Normally I prefer meeting new people in person as a result.

[And he's not putting himself on camera right now when he is still recovering from the abduction he went through.

Even though the information the other man gives reads like a match making app, Azul does in fact take note of what is said, before he asks a question.]

Would it be safe to assume that Azita is a wyvern? You mentioned them briefly a moment ago.

[ The best lies are often told with a grain of truth. Azul is missing out by not believing that sentence! ]

I get what you mean. It's my preference too, but things being what they are? That's also a little difficult right now.

[ Also not putting himself on camera unless the other person does first. It's just a little paranoia, you know? Completely healthy paranoia. ]

Anyway, yeah it's safe to assume that. You might've seen her before. She's pretty hard to miss

[ And he's totally posted his face to the network with his white wyvern. Openly talking about her. So Azul's not asking anything that hasn't already been put out there. ]

[Fair as well. Azul also does that too in most of his interactions here on the network not going on camera unless the other person also is, unless he deliberately needs to sell his image of appearing as a friendly, reliable businessman. Then he goes on camera willingly by his own doing, as Claude might see if he saw Azul's first post on the network as an example.

In Azul's defense though, he didn't see Claude's recent post about his wyvern when it first went up... on account of Azul still being kidnapped at the time. He'll have to scroll back and look for it again, as the only news he initially looked for when checking to see what he had missed had been anything that might have been related to said kidnapping, or the thornbind disease.]

Good, I wanted to be sure before I made any hasty assumptions. I'm not that used to seeing wyverns before, to be honest, so I must admit that I am curious about your companion here.

[Dragons exist in Twisted Wonderland, but they're not that common. Especially for a guy who lived in the ocean most of his life.]

Who wouldn't be curious about my princess?

[ And he does so love to talk about her. Not something Khalid could have done as much before. ]

Here I thought in a world of magic colleges, wyverns would be pretty common? Or dragons, maybe.

They're not particularly common. At least, not in my part of the world where I grew up before attending Night Raven College.

[He does know a fae classmate that can turn into a dragon though.]

Must be a pretty remote place if it's not where a wyvern can thrive. My girl's been in just about every kind of environment you can think of and it hasn't slowed her down.

They're as common as horses and pegasi where I come from. Just not as easy to handle.

It is. My home is pretty far away from most major cities, as a matter of fact.

[On account of... being underwater.]

I didn't even get to see a real horse for the first time until I moved a few years ago.

[... unless you count seahorses......]

Same. Sort of. I didn't see a pegasus until about nine, ten years ago? Something like that.

Must be hard not to be around a major city. Hard to get things, right?

There are methods of commerce that allow us to get the things we need to get by, and vice versa in providing things that my home has that are sought after. It is however difficult for most to visit during the winter: not only does it get quite cold, but there are large sheets and chunks of ice that will form and stick around for quite a while. Even I don't like coming for home visits when it gets that cold these days.

[If this was video, this would be the part where Azul might clap, or make some kind of gesture to the camera when he says--]

Alright, your turn now! Please, tell me more about where you're from, or about your world in general.

Not a fan of traveling over the large ice sheets? They have methods of travel that make that sort of thing pretty easy.

[ Just ask the Srengi. But hey. Look. Khalid isn't a fan of the cold either. You'll never catch him in Sreng or Faerghus during the winter moons. ]

Now see, Almyra is just the opposite. It doesn't get cold there at all. Well, maybe at night, but that's true of any arid climate.

[Unless you know magic, or you're a mer who knows their way around them properly, its not easy to get navigate the ice that surrounds the Coral Sea in winter.]

Oh? Is Almyra similar to a desert, or is it just a particularly dry area to live in?

[ Thankfully, he'll let that topic drop. ]

Almyra's a big country. Only part of it is desert. It's nice down by the southern coast and plains to the far north.

[So, perhaps something similar to the Sunset Savannah rather than the Scalding Sands? Hmm.]

I see... it sounds like an interesting place. I take that it's probably not quite as remote as my home is by comparison, since you said that it was a big country?

[Not that the Coral Sea is necessarily remote just... not the easiest tourist destination.]

[ Azul's not wrong. Boy would he be surprised to learn that even some of the languages are similar. ]

Takes up the entire eastern half of the continent. On the other side is Fodlan, separated by a mountain range.

Edited 2025-05-06 19:57 (UTC)

Oh. That is quite a large area then, in comparison to what I was imagining.

[Sounds like it should be roughly the size of the Coral Sea for that continent, maybe? It's hard to judge sometimes how large an area of land is in comparison to the part of the ocean he lives in.]

Are there a lot of major cities, or is your home more made up of smaller towns? Or even farmlands, maybe? What kind of exports is it known for?

[lol of course Azul would have a stupid capitalist sounding question when trying to find out what a place is like...]

Oh it is. Fodlan next to us used to be divided up three ways, essentially. Not the case with Almyra.

[ Feels odd to talk about his own so casually with strangers. Only because Fodlani people hadn't been too interested in understanding Almyra. ]

Depends on what you define as a "major city." There's the capitol, where one of the royal residences are, but it's not the only place you'll find a royal residence. There are other cities along the coastlines, rivers, and even where people find an oasis. At the same time, there's provinces that are governed by a satrap.

For as many people that choose to live in cities, there are still a lot of tribes that prefer the more nomadic lifestyle. In fact, it was the previous king that actually managed to get their support. Not an easy feat.

We export quite a bit since we have a varied climate. Up north you'll find various kinds of livestock and agricultural goods. Down south it's more fishing and wine. Tea, spices, textiles. We boast a pretty big merchant navy too.

Edited 2025-05-06 20:53 (UTC)

Oh wow, that is quite impressive! It seems like the country has quite a lot of resources to offer, as well as a variety of different people I imagine, from royals to the more nomadic folk that choose to live away from the cities. I would probably want to visit myself from the sound of things, at least as far as being a businessman goes.

Oh yeah? And what sort of "business" would you even be interested in?

Well, it depends on what clients desire the most in a given situation or setting. I offer a variety of services that I am capable of doing based on what is asked of me... I suppose, if you were to make a generalization about what my business entails, you could say that what I do is grant a person's wishes.

As children, we're taught to stay away from beings that say that they can give us whatever we want. Just because they might have the form of a man or a beast doesn't mean that's what they are and the price is usually not favorable.

It makes me wonder how you'd try to earn favor with the king.

By not being anything like what you just implied, for one: how am I supposed to be successful if I don't have repeat customers that want to continue doing business with me, if I was only ever doing things that benefit myself?

[Like... come on Claude.]

It is true that you shouldn't blindly believe someone who says that they will give you whatever you want, especially if they don't ask for anything in return. But that's not what I said I do. I said that it was a generalization of what my business entails, which is to say that I provide a wide range of services to match what a client is in need of and willing to pay for.

Hey, you're the one that also implied it was like granting wishes. Though if you would've approached me like that, I probably would have turned you down regardless. What I want isn't something that can be bought or sold.

For the most part, it's an interesting concept. There are some people that are willing to do the same sort of thing, but none of them operate in the daylight, if you know what I mean.

Is that so? Now I can't help but be curious to know what that "something" might be that you want.

(no subject)

deepstar - 2025-05-09 01:29 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

octoblot - 2025-05-09 02:30 (UTC) - Expand

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only