"Of course."

"Do you have any other questions of us?" She leans forward slightly, smiling to herself.

"Oh, many. The worlds you come from, their histories, your abilities..."

"I could go on for quite a time about my world, though I don't know if that would try my companion's patience..." She glances at the Keres, still smirking.

The Keres has been steadily working through the fish, floating them over to her one at a time without touching the plate.

"I would also," she says softly, "be interested in hearing more about you."

"Very well. Where to start..."

"I find beginnings are usually a good place."

"You mentioned a village. And a massacre."

"My own beginning, then, for my world's would require a thousand years at least of quite contextless history to unfold."

"I was born to the clan head of Uchiha, a prominent, noble clan of shinobi - magic users, warriors, spies, and assassins. Alongside the Senju, the Uchiha had been one of the two founders of the Village Hidden in the Leaves - a fanciful term, for the Leaf was one of the largest cities in our nation. It served as a sort of worker's union for the mercenary clans of the Land of Fire, and eventually became a political force in its own right."

"But not all was well in the Leaf's heart. The first two leaders - elected fairly, mind you - had been Senju. The third was a Senju ally. The fourth was some no-name orphan. The Uchiha felt somewhat maligned, you must understand, but this was not more than a bit of grumbling."

"And then, a mere three month after our birth, our city was attacked by a monster. The Nine Tailed Demon Fox could clear a mountain with a single leap, raises tsunamis and cause earthquakes with one swipe of a tail. The leader at the time gave his life to seal it away in his infant son. The fox was one of those beasts the people of old feared, and it was rumored a skilled enough Uchiha might hypnotize it. The Uchiha were blamed for the attack - subtly, indirectly, but the suspicion had been cast. Discriminatory laws found their way onto the books. We were secluded into a ghetto of our own, easily monitored."

"And, when my parents grew sick of their treatment, easily removed. My older sister was the sword of our city, then. She carried out her mission on the condition that my life would be spared. That was ten years ago, now. I was seven."

"I became a full soldier of the Leaf at twelve, unknowing of my sister's mission. I'd been told, like everyone had been told, that she simply snapped one day. Not that I particularly cared; I liked her more, you see, and figured our parents must have betrayed her somehow."

"Time passed, and I grew strong, and I even made a friend of one of my teammates - Uzumaki Naruto, who I must assure you that other than his charm is as unlike me as someone could be. Didn't much like the other two, but, well, beggars can't be choosers."

"When I was thirteen, I received an invitation to leave the Leaf and grow strong away from their chains, from an old enemy of the place. The leadership quite refused to accept my resignation - we were slaves to them in all but name - so I slipped out. The man I joined wouldn't have known what to do with loyalty, though, and betrayed me in the end. So, I killed him when I was sixteen, and sought out my sister."

"Now, there's something you must know about the power of the Uchiha. Our bloodline, the Sharingan, arises only in great need. When we should die, or else lose whatever is precious to us, without it. I awakened mine defending Naruto, the first time."

"The Sharingan's ultimate expression arises only in the maddest grief. To see the death of one you love, and know it was your fault. It's cost is blindness, over time, unless you take the eyes of a sibling with the same power for your own."

"My sister had killed our cousin for it. She had gone quite blind, and felt she could no longer protect me. She asked me to kill her, so she may be my power and my light. I did, though I kept her for a while first."

"Of course, then some idiot asshole decided to capture all nine of the Tailed Beasts - of which the fox from the beginning of this tale was the greatest - and combine them into an ultimate weapon. This started a rather dramatic war, and it turned out he'd been manipulated by an ancestor of mine, who'd been manipulated in turn by the embodied will of an ancient alien. Kaguya had come to our world a thousand years ago, in search of something called the God Tree - a source of magic. A source of power utterly without cost. She consumed it, and was the spark that spread chakra - our magic - to our world. Of course, she turned out to be rather anti-social, so she was sealed away after a war like none that followed..."

"Until the war that resulted in her unsealing. She decided to destroy us, I know not to what end, and quite succeeded. I struck her down as she was most vulnerable in her moment of triumph, and then came to this world."

"Fascinating. I thank you for sharing."

"And you?" she asks the Keres.

The Keres has her eyes fixed on Hisame.

"Hm? Ah. My story. I think I will represent it visually, as you've heard most of it already, Hisame." She gestures and a new pair of ghosts step into the space between the three. One cups a ball of light in its hands, and the other begins pulling threads out of it, shaping them into figures. These act out the tale as she recounts it, adding a few details that were missed the first time. The machine city and her first meeting with the golden man, the encounter with Eidolon, the initiation rituals of the Nine, Boston, the Endbringers, Cauldron.

"And then I was brought here, rather rudely. A most unsatisfactory conclusion."

She's fascinated by the light show.

"Indeed. Though I can't say I am sad to see you here."

"A bright side has made itself apparent, in that a new tale has begun."

"And we'll make something memorable of it!"

Eliana takes a sip of wine.

"Interesting lives you've both led."

"I'd be quite put out if mine had been less interesting, at least."

"I'm afraid I must seem quite dull by comparison. I was born to an ignoble family but my magical ability was discovered at a young age and I was removed from those circumstances. I was schooled in the Minrathous Circle of Magi and did well enough to catch the attention of the Archon, who took me as a personal apprentice. My first trip out of the Imperium was as part of a delegation to Ferelden last year."

"Interest is what we make of ourselves, really. Most people in my world led dreadfully boring lives."

"Some would say that boring means safe."

She shrugs.

"Safe or not, they're all dead now."

"...Was there not a Blight happening in Ferelden last year?"

"The shortest on record. We had left Denerim before the seige, but we had a few encounters with roving bands of darkspawn while on the road."

"That sounds interesting, at least."

"More so than perhaps it should have been. We were returning in failure after the death of the one who headed the delegation. That I brought anyone back alive was cause enough for the Archon to grant me a seat in the Magisterium."

"Impressive."