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In the lobby of the grand lodge the usual white noise of discussion and papers shuffling commences as a man, standing about six foot five, barges in and starts to head to the lodge's lounge.
"I would like some tea."Joel said in a voice that is both lightly stern and monotone.
The bartender was reaching for a cup, but he paused as a strange creature caught his attention. His eyes widened as his mouth opened preparing to call for assistance.
Noticing this, Joel sighed and said "Don't worry it's just an eidolon."
With a sigh of relief the bartender proceeded to fetch Joel's tea. Joel paid the bartender and he sat in a comfortable chair while his eidolon, standing seven foot tall, stood guard behind him keeping vigilant of any danger that may come to his master.
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A rather pudgy (or perhaps buff) and short female Wayang enters the lobby, walking abreast with a a strange four-legged creature. It resembles a child's drawing of a unicorn, with an enormous head, huge, cutesy eyes, and a tiny muzzle. It's multi-hewed mane and tail counterbalancing it's pink coat. Yet even more strange, this creature seems to also have small bird-like wings, making it some sort of bizarre hybrid of a unicorn and a Pegasus. The wayang wears a polished suit of mithral breastplate, displaying the holy symbol of Grunndinar on it. The look is completed with a polished lance upon her back, though it is peacebound. Her companion is dressed with a saddle and a strange robe with loadstones woven into it.
"Oh, hi there!" she says to the bartender. "I was wondering if you had some sweet teas? Or maybe a mochachino? Oh, and an apple or salt lick or something from Rainbow here . . ."
"Oh, I don't need anything right now" the pink creature interjects. "Thank you for the thought though."
As the bartender shakes his head and turns to find something in his stock, the Wayang sees the on the other side of the room.
The Wayang rushes over to introduce herself.
"Oh wow! Another Eidolon, and so tall! Are you two partners?"
The pink Eidolon moves in and speaks up.
"Sorry, sometimes Twillika's excitement gets the better of her manners. I'm Rainbow Legacy, and this is my partner, Twillika Saiville."
The Wayang bows her head.
"Oh yes, sorry, Rainbow Legacy is right, sometimes I forget myself. Twillika Saiville, summoner of society and member of the Silver Crusade, at your service." The wayang bows in front of the man.
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"Yes, yes, yes, I understand that-" A young female voice seems to rebut as she and an odd cat-like creature round the corner and into the lounge. "Ok, but see, just because you can, doesn't mean-"
The young half-elven woman looks up from her companion to see those who have already gathered, and with only a moment's pause she returns to addressing her companion. "Nevermind, I guess if there are those like that..." She says gesturing with her head towards Rainbow Legacy, "Then by all standards you are fine the way you are. Just, don't bring attention to it, ok?"
The half-elven woman takes a seat at the bar a respectable distance away from the others and flags down the bartender. "A fine elven wine for myself, Mutalon can order on his own."
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"Well, yeah, I mean, my appearance can't even come close to obviously not of this world, but hey, some of us are heaven, some are hell, some are axis, and then there are those of us that are malestrom..." The strange feline creature replies dismissively, "Uh, just a strong coffee, no sugar or milk, please."
Mutalon awkwardly scrambles onto the stool beside Mirana, placing his oddly shaped forepaws on the counter and seating otherwise much like a cat upon the stool.
"Nevertheless, its best that I keep them practised in order to make better use of my skills." He says, turning back to Mirana.
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A half-elven man carrying different paperworks, walks over to a clear table in the room. After depositing the paperwork onto the table, he looks around the room. He raise an eyebrow and wonders what is going on. Huh? Is everyone here a summoner of some sort? Hm, wonder if they are aether or outsider summoners.
He nods as if agreeing to something. He pulls out a little vial of crimson liquid and pours a little bit onto the floor. He seems to be focusing on something for a minute as a draconic creature comes into existence next to him, over where he poured the liquid onto the floor.
"Right, looks like something interesting has happened. Crimson, what do you think?" As he gestures to the people and eidolons in the room.
"Oh. Looks like there are mostly aether summoners, Calathes." The silver and red draconic outsider stretches its body as it looks around. "Though I wish you didn't have to summon me for this, but since I am here... I want to have steak." The man next to him sighs and simply shrugs.
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The Bartender calls over Twillika and hands her the sweet coffee drink she ordered, and tosses an apple to her pink mounted friend.
She thanks the man and pays him before something catches her eye.
"Oh my . . . Calathes . . .Right?"Rainbow Legacy and Twillika make their way over to the summoner.
"Name's Twillika. I think we were both at Lady Avelina party some time back. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to meet you properly then." She puts out her free hand for a handshake while beaming a smile.
Rainbow Legacy joins in.
"Oh, yes, it is nice to meet other Silver Crusaders! Too few of us these days, I think!
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A flash of light and smoke bursts just outside the door, and a moment later a half-elf strides in followed by a graceful avian figure. The man has a mixture of kyonin elf and vudrani features and wears eagle knight armor topped by a blue longcoat with the rank insignia of a Knight-Captain. He has a well-worn leather tricorn pulled low over his eyes.
The eidolon following him looks like an artist's rendition of the offspring of an avoral and a garuda cast in glittering rainbow-hued mithral. It scans the room with keen eyes and shifts the bastard sword strapped to its back between its shining wings.
The half-elf smiles at the assemblage. "Ah, glad I made it. What's everyone drinking?"
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Joel looks over his shoulder, first at the pink unicorn shaped eidolon, then at the others.
" Hello my name is Joel Jodin, and this is my eidolon Otherland."
Otherland in an edolon with long mane-like hair, exoskeletal features on his torso and fore arms, and tattered pants.
Joel walks over to the bar and sits down.
"So what your story?" Joel asks the wayang.
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"Ah, greetings Miss Saiville. And yes, I do remember both you, and Legacy at Lady Avelina's gathering." Calathes bends down to shake the hand of the Wayang. He stands straight again as Crimson the eidolon moves around to his side and bows its head. "Though I believe you haven't met Crimson. He is my ally in our adventures of so long ago." Calathes sighs a bit with a slight shrug.
Regaining himself, he gives a warm smile towards the Wayang. "Anyway, looks like this is positively becoming a gathering of people that have partners bound to them." He turns and gestures to the barkeep. "I'll have a decent sized cask of ale, and a few mugs if you don't mind, and my partner here would like some steak."
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The wayang shakes Calthes's hand
"Oh, it's so nice to meet people who are nice to me! Most people just say I'm 'super creepy' or whatever. It's nice to meet you too Crimson!"
"Yes, very nice!" Rainbow Legacy adds.
The two turn to Joel
"Oh, Mr. Jodin! Twillika begins. "Well, My story is a bit involved, you see. Most wayangs, at leas the ones in my home village, it's a lovely little island in the middle of the sea by the way, well, most of them were . . . oh, what's the word in common . . . ummm."
"Xenophobic, I think" Rainbow Legacy offers.
"Oh, but that makes them sound so mean . . ." Twillika mulls it over in her mind for a moment. "They're just . . . well, very cautious about outsiders. Also, they're kind of sticks-in-the-mud. Always moaning about shadowplane this, and that, and how the matereal world 'corrupted' them or whatever. I never got it. I was always into tails of brave nights and saving the day, that sort of thing.
And so, when I was very young, I set out for the heart of all glorious crusades, Vigil, in the nation of Lastwall. I wanted to be a Paladin, see, but I didn't really know how. I'd never had any martial training to speak of, and, well, I knew I was supposed to worship Iomede, but I didn't know much of her scriptures.
Anyway, I show up there, and I hear that they accept anyone, but they turn me down. They said it was because they 'didn't know how to train wayangs, but I think that was just a lie to cover up that they didn't like me. Most big races think I'm 'super creepy, as they put it.
Anyway, I re-applied year after year, and always got turned down-worked in the stables to make ends meet you know. Went to all their jousting tournaments though. Even sneaked in once or twice to see daily training."
So eventually I decided enough was enough, and I was going to prove I was paladin material. So I saved up a bunch of money and bought a few books on summoning things, figuring I could summon my 'paladin mount' that I've heard about. Turns out the books were a bit different than that, and I ended up summoning my best friend here!"
She hugs Rainbow Legacy who nuzzles her back, with a brief "that's so sweet."
"Anyway, long story short, they said she was an 'abomination' or something, and threatened to kill her on the spot. Might have been that she spoke infernal. So that was the final straw. I left the Paladins, and the church of Iomede, and converted to worshiping Grundinnar, who had a small church in Vigil. Gnome venture captain in Vigil told me about the Silver Crusade, so I signed up. Was an intern for a while, but the two of us helped when orcs attacked the city and I got a field commission to full pathfinder, and made my way down to Absolom."
"Gee, that came out a bit longer than it should have . . . Twillika finishes rather sheepishly. "Sorry, didn't mean to ramble on.
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A tall dark-skinned man enters and listens thoughtfully to the end of Twillika's tale. He is dressed in sturdy clothes, made for working or traveling, and he carries a staff. A snake, striped in iridescent rainbow colors, lies across his shoulders, apparently asleep. As soon as he begins to speak, his accent marks him as a native of the Mwangi Expanse.
"Greetings, little one. It is unfortunate that the followers of Iomedae did not see the value of you or your companion. As for myself, I have received nothing but good will from the church of Pharasma on account of my eidolon, and he has shared much wisdom with me, for he has seen The Boneyard with his own eyes."
The snake opens its eyes just a little and flicks out its tongue one time. If you were not watching carefully, you would not have seen it move at all.
"But I am getting ahead of myself. My name is Mtengo, and my companion, here, is Njoka. It is not his true name - true names have power over summoned creatures - but it is simply the word for snake in my native tongue. He has agreed that it is a reasonable appellation while he visits on this plane."
"I had heard that there was something of a gathering taking place. I would be a poor Pathfinder if I did not take a break from my meditation and introduce myself to my fellows, who have also benefitted from the wisdom of such diverse other-worldly companions."
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The dark-skinned half elf puts in an order for a pre-republic Andoren vintage and listens intently to the conversation.
"Pleased to meet everyone, I'm Raylos Chattra." Motioning to the coruscating avian eidolon beside him, "And this fine gentleman is Niratha. Now Miss Twillika, while the Society may harbor some real creeps, I don't see any among the gathering here today. Least of all a charming pair like yourself and your fine companion. I hope you haven't had as much trouble within the Society as you had in Lastwall. Absalom is a place where anyone can make their way, but if it's too cosmopolitan for you here then there's plenty of room in the countryside of Andoran as well."
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Twillika looks down and hides her face, blushing a bit as Rainbow Speaks.
"Oh, no, we haven't had any trouble in Absolom. Well, some of the street vendors are a bit mean, but nobody in the society has been anything but kind."
Twillika ventures a soft addition, still hiding her face
"I didn't mean to imply that at all, everyone in the society has been super nice. Well, except some react strangely to Rainbow, but mostly they get set straight."
"Ah, the stigma of an otherworldly creature." Crimson holds up a clawed paw/hand. "Most people not in our partner's line of work would balk at our sight. That includes angels and the like." He points a single claw upward. "But our allies here know of our partner's strength of will and our strength of limb. Hence why we all can enjoy such freedom here."
Crimson notices the plate of food and a cask of ale being brought to the table and set down upon it. He tilts his nose upward and sniffs the air. "Ah! That smells good." He grins a bit, and looks a bit feral while he does so. "And no where else can creatures like us can get a steak cooked for us!" He hops up onto a seat near where the steak was placed and begins to chow down.
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Mutalon receives his coffee and expresses his thanks to the server before carefully holding it in his appendages and taking a deep sip.
"Crimson, was it? I agree. There are few places where creatures such as ourselves can such excellent service and well prepared food and refreshment." Mutalon speaks up after carefully setting down the cup. "Though I must say I am waiting on bated breath for when I can have a proper set of hands as opposed to these..." Mutalon looks down at his fore "paws", "...appendages? I'm not really sure what they are per se, they function as forepaws, but are articulate enough to make use of objects like thieves tools. Ah well."
Mutalon pauses long enough to take another sip of the coffee and sigh with content. "Also it is a pleasure to be able to indulge in such foods, as, at least in my own case, coffee doesn't seem to exist in my home plane."
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The metallic avian eidolon nudges Raylos with a multihued wing. "Hey Captain, now you've gone and embarrassed that nice girl, you scoundrel." He clacks his beak in an approximation of a laugh.
Raylos smiles at her and says "Buy you a drink to make up for it? The mwangi hot chocolate is fantastic if you're not drinking, or I can recommend this exquisite 4407 Carpenden vintage."
Niratha looks the other eidolons upand down with an appraising look as they discuss food. "As much as I love Elysium, I do enjoy being able to hunt for game on the prime material. It's considered impolite to do so back home, where the rabbits can form dance troupes and you never know when the salmon will decide to jump up a rainbow."
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As Twillika tells her story his eyes widen midway through returning to normal at the end
"For holy men of Iomede they seem very judgemental. If they thought you a heathen one would assume that they'd take the oppertunity to redeem you as a service to their goddess. Don't get me wrong I'm no doubter of the church but her servents can seem waning in their faith from time to time."
As he says this Otherland emits an unnateral mildly-agressive sound which fades as Joel finishes his statement.
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Twillika shrugs.
"Maybe it was just the people in charge of admittance. Maybe they had spent so much time fighting evil, that they were extra cautious. Maybe they had heard of my people's tendency for 'shadow magics.' I don't really know, but to each their own. And like I said, if they hadn't done that, I would never have met my best friend."
Twillika gives Rainbow Legacy a big hug, then resumes sipping her sweet coffee.
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Joel sighs
"That's good, I met mine by complete happenstance. Some kid was attacked and I ran in to help. Unfortunately the situation turned out of my favor. I pleaded to whatever force would listen and this guy showed up."
Joel points to Otherland with his thumb.
"Thing is: He doesn't even talk in his own mind. Not even sure my eidolon is a he to be honest. He just responds to my emotional state and guards me as if danger is under every thumb-tack. Thankfully he's good at dicerning credible threats."
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Joel sighs
"That's good, I met mine by complete happenstance. Some kid was attacked and I ran in to help. Unfortunately the situation turned out of my favor. I pleaded to whatever force would listen and this guy showed up."
Joel points to Otherland with his thumb.
"Thing is: He doesn't even talk in his own mind. Not even sure my eidolon is a he to be honest. He just responds to my emotional state and guards me as if danger is under every thumb-tack. Thankfully he's good at dicerning credible threats."
Rainbow Legacy looks worried, and Twillika gets a somewhat sad look on her face.
"Oh, that's so sad" Rainbow Legacy let's slip.
"I agree. Rainbow is my best friend." Twillika adds. "I've seen too many summoners treat their Eidolons like slaves. I hope . . . I hope he likes it that way. I mean, it'd be terrible to want to express yourself and not be able to . . . Maybe he's cursed? I know a spell that restores Eidolons, that might help. Takes a bit of money though."
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"Don't worry, he still won't follow suicidal request, or ones that would make him look foolish. His vigilence seems to be more of a self preservation thing. Every time I'm in danger he gets this intense fear of death. I'm pretty sure that if I die he does too. He's even stopped me from doing things that are too daring. There was this one time I had to go over a cliff and he held me down till I convinced him that it was safe. "
While Joel says this Otherland looks into Rainbow Legacy's eyes with a stern accusational glare.
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"In truth we are mostly of one mind far as I can tell. He may not think in language, but his emotions are very clear to me. Clear enough for me to deduce his opinion on something at a given moment. By the way he does not apprieciate your commentary on our relationship. Sorry about his choice of outwardly expressing that"
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"It is that bond that allows such understanding." As Calathes states. "He is a fine specimen though. And many eidolons out there are based on what we have seen before, or a reflection of ourselves. But that was before the new ways summoners figured out how to infuse planar energies into them. Now a days, we seen summoners being influenced by those same planar energies. Be them celestial or fiendish. Or even across the chaotic and lawful spectrum!" The half-elf sighs. He waves his hand to dissuade concern. "No matter. As you probably can guess, I am from the time before the world discovered the planar way of summoning eidolons. As you can plainly see by Crimson." He gestures to the draconic eidolon beside him where it chomps down on another steak and looks confused for a bit when everyone stares at it. Calathes chuckles at the sight.
He turns back to Joel. "Anyway, I am curious. I must ask, what does Otherland evoke to you Joel? Or for that matter.." He gestures to the whole room and addresses every summoner in attendance. "What does your own Eidolon evoke... Feel to you? Hm?" Calathes smiles wide.
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Joel turns to Calathes and says "What we have both felt is that we want to find out how we've come into our current state, just where does Otherland truely come from. We're not sure what we will do with that knowledge, but we know the journey is worth going on." after making that statement both Joel and Otherland nod at eachother.