Twist the sinews of my heart | Glowfic Constellation

It's a beautiful morning and Aria is running across the veldt, the wind in her ears and Tora at her side.

Aria's mornings are almost always beautiful, because she sees beauty in everything, come rain or sunshine, and she lets their bodies not just endure but enjoy the winter (is it winter already?), lets them run fast and far without tiring. They help those who need help, stop those who need to be stopped, eat their fill, and let the days pass them by as Nature unfolds around them.

Today they are following the trail of a giant snake. Its smell is unfamiliar to her, and it is too long since she met new life in these lands. It is fast, but it does not travel in a straight line; and Aria does not tire when she hunts.

They come on it just as it reaches a village. The people scream and scatter, perhaps more from Tora than from the snake. It's alright, she calls out to them, we're not hostile, but she doesn't know these people and it's unwise for them to trust strangers; she'll talk to them later. For now she has eyes only for the snake.

The poor creature seems to have tried to swallow a giant mirror. It's clearly exhausted and hurting, with its mouth forced wide open for hours or days. Snakes aren't made for long chases; it must have been maddened by the discomfort.

Aria spends a few minutes calming the snake down, and then she tries to pry the mirror loose as gently as she can, but she carelessly touches the reflective surface and -

That sounds pretty reasonable! One or more local Good gods, and a bunch of others mostly worshipped by immigrants, or perhaps just ethnic groups this man is unfamiliar with.

It is never not weird to hear maybe-Erastil and probably-Gozreh referred to as minority gods, but farming and the weather are not, fundamentally, city concerns. This man must come from generations of city-dwellers who think farming means the drovers coming in on market day. Captive generations, born and raised in the artificial heart of the city and unable to survive outside.

"Please point out the biggest temples on the map, where people go to worship and for healing. And then I'd like to learn how to find places with an address given. I can't read this language, you see, only speak it." She has a vague hope he'll think of a solution she hasn't but failing that, she's like him to read out the names of the biggest streets and quarters for her.

She takes out a quill (she made it herself, naturally) to make annotations in Taldane, and a tiny traveler's vial of ink (guaranteed no spills!)