[ Maia wanders through the amusement park in complete silence, staring at the strange machinery, the lights, the crowds. It is all so overwhelming - the teeming and (stranger still) indifferent crowds. The music. The smells from the stands that seem to be selling toys and types of food that Maia has never seen before.
Strangest of all, of course, is seeing it all alone. Since his coronation almost a year ago, Maia had not, at any moment, been alone. He had become so utterly used to the presence of his nohecharis - the guards who remained by the emperor's side, protecting him from any dangers - that it feels utterly surreal to be without them. He can go anywhere, do anything. Anyone might approach him, accost him.
Of course, he remembers that he had spent the first eighteen years of his life without constant accompaniment. He would get used to it, again. But for now, he keeps glancing over his shoulder now and then, as if he is going to catch a glimpse of Cala or Beshelar in the crowd. There are only strangers here. Strangers from strange lands he knew nothing of. He hadn't seen a single goblin or an elf since his arrival, and he feels, more than ever in his life, like an utter alien.
When he stops in his tracks, having almost stepped on a dog-size crab, Maia turns to the person nearest to him and asks, voice strained as he tries for politeness: ]
Pardon me, but- can you tell us... is this customary? For the, uh, festival? Are these creatures... ceremonial in some way?
[ Those pincers look worrying, but he does not know if his apprehension is merely a result of his ignorance. ]
iii
[ Since he had left Edonomee for the Untheileneise Court, Maia has had many more opportunities to experience music, art, performances of all kinds. But this talent show is quite different than the court performances: many fewer opera singers, far more diverse displays of skills that are met with boisterous, informal enthusiasm from the audience. He watches, forgetting to school his features. After all (and it gives him a thrill every time he remembers) no one in this place knows who he is. None is looking to him waiting to see if he will applaud or not. And none of them will gossip if they catch a glimpse of the emperor gaping in awe at the stage.
After the show is done, he even works up the courage to nervously approach a few people, to blurt out: ]
That was- truly, that wonderful!
iv
[ It's all a big misunderstanding - a question of unfamiliar vocabulary. Maia has never heard the term 'date' used to refer to anything to do with courtship. To him, it is merely a fruit from a palm tree. So when he is handed a voucher for a free meal at the 'blind date café', he assumes that blind just refers to some exotic method of preparing dates, and he shows up, glad for an easy meal and some hospitality in this strange place.
All of the customs in this place are so strange to him, and when the (very pretty) hostess asks about his preferences, he is flustered and distracted, unsure if there is a correct answer, and not quite catching that he is supposed to be specifying his preferences for a meal partner rather than the food itself. So, blushing, ears flattened slightly in embarrassed confusion, he says: ]
A-anything. That is to say- we have no particular preferences. Whatever is suitable.
[ It is a relief when the hostess leads him to a table, and he can take a seat. Maia doesn't understand why, exactly, she winks at him when she says she'll be back in just a moment with his date...
So when a stranger walks up to the table, Maia has absolutely no clue what's going on, but he does the same thing he's been doing since he came through that portal and just... tries his best. ]
Oh! Is this- are we at the incorrect table?
v
Friendr
«
»
» Age: 19 » Seeking: Friendship » Preferences: No thank you » Interests: Clockwork models, history, meditation » Bio: We are Edrehasivar the Seventh, Emperor of the Elflands, and we do not know why the gods saw fit to transport us to this place, but we wish to learn as much as we can while we are here.
maia drazhar | the goblin emperor
[ Maia wanders through the amusement park in complete silence, staring at the strange machinery, the lights, the crowds. It is all so overwhelming - the teeming and (stranger still) indifferent crowds. The music. The smells from the stands that seem to be selling toys and types of food that Maia has never seen before.
Strangest of all, of course, is seeing it all alone. Since his coronation almost a year ago, Maia had not, at any moment, been alone. He had become so utterly used to the presence of his nohecharis - the guards who remained by the emperor's side, protecting him from any dangers - that it feels utterly surreal to be without them. He can go anywhere, do anything. Anyone might approach him, accost him.
Of course, he remembers that he had spent the first eighteen years of his life without constant accompaniment. He would get used to it, again. But for now, he keeps glancing over his shoulder now and then, as if he is going to catch a glimpse of Cala or Beshelar in the crowd. There are only strangers here. Strangers from strange lands he knew nothing of. He hadn't seen a single goblin or an elf since his arrival, and he feels, more than ever in his life, like an utter alien.
When he stops in his tracks, having almost stepped on a dog-size crab, Maia turns to the person nearest to him and asks, voice strained as he tries for politeness: ]
Pardon me, but- can you tell us... is this customary? For the, uh, festival? Are these creatures... ceremonial in some way?
[ Those pincers look worrying, but he does not know if his apprehension is merely a result of his ignorance. ]
iii
[ Since he had left Edonomee for the Untheileneise Court, Maia has had many more opportunities to experience music, art, performances of all kinds. But this talent show is quite different than the court performances: many fewer opera singers, far more diverse displays of skills that are met with boisterous, informal enthusiasm from the audience. He watches, forgetting to school his features. After all (and it gives him a thrill every time he remembers) no one in this place knows who he is. None is looking to him waiting to see if he will applaud or not. And none of them will gossip if they catch a glimpse of the emperor gaping in awe at the stage.
After the show is done, he even works up the courage to nervously approach a few people, to blurt out: ]
That was- truly, that wonderful!
iv
[ It's all a big misunderstanding - a question of unfamiliar vocabulary. Maia has never heard the term 'date' used to refer to anything to do with courtship. To him, it is merely a fruit from a palm tree. So when he is handed a voucher for a free meal at the 'blind date café', he assumes that blind just refers to some exotic method of preparing dates, and he shows up, glad for an easy meal and some hospitality in this strange place.
All of the customs in this place are so strange to him, and when the (very pretty) hostess asks about his preferences, he is flustered and distracted, unsure if there is a correct answer, and not quite catching that he is supposed to be specifying his preferences for a meal partner rather than the food itself. So, blushing, ears flattened slightly in embarrassed confusion, he says: ]
A-anything. That is to say- we have no particular preferences. Whatever is suitable.
[ It is a relief when the hostess leads him to a table, and he can take a seat. Maia doesn't understand why, exactly, she winks at him when she says she'll be back in just a moment with his date...
So when a stranger walks up to the table, Maia has absolutely no clue what's going on, but he does the same thing he's been doing since he came through that portal and just... tries his best. ]
Oh! Is this- are we at the incorrect table?
v
» Seeking: Friendship
» Preferences: No thank you
» Interests: Clockwork models, history, meditation
» Bio: We are Edrehasivar the Seventh, Emperor of the Elflands, and we do not know why the gods saw fit to transport us to this place, but we wish to learn as much as we can while we are here.