“You’re an odd one, aren’t you, Viridis?”

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“You’re an odd one, aren’t you, Viridis?”
Sword Oritoria, Chapter 11
After the Battle of Knossos
After fighting in Knossos and killing all of the demi-spirits. Things settled down for a while. We took a few days off to rest and relax. Well, actually we took a couple weeks off, because I took my Team along with Wiene, Sky, Fia and Ryu to Pern. Welf wanted to go as well so he could work on making more weapons and armor to sell in the Hestia Armory in Orario. Anyone else from the Hestia Familia that wanted to go, I took as well.
I opened a portal to Pern and as usual once everyone was through, I closed the portal behind us.
As we walked to the house, there was a person, other then Dawn, in the graveyard.
"Y'all go on in. I have something to take care of." I told everyone with me.
"Is it that person talking to Dawn?" Iris asked.
I nodded my head in agreement. "Yes, it is."
"Can I go with you?" Wiene asked.
"Can I go with you too?" Sky asked.
I nodded my head, yes. "Yes, you can, both of you." I replied.
"I'm going as well. I was there when it happened." Cindy told me.
I walked over to where Dawn and the other person were. Wiene, Cindy and Sky followed me along with our companions.
"Hello Dawn. Hello Filvis." I said.
"Where am I? Is this heaven?" Filvis asked with fear and confusion on her face and in her voice.
"You are not in heaven; you are on the planet Pern." I started.
Dawn gave me a dirty look. "Would you stop having me put names of people on the gravestones, that don't know where they are going!? She demanded.
"Sorry Dawn, but sometimes it can't be helped." I replied, then I turned back to Filvis.
"I remember you from Knossos. How did I get here? And where is P-Pern?" Filvis asked.
"Pern is a planet a very long ways from your Earth and Orario. I'm Eilwyn." I introduced myself. "I'm the one that killed you in Knossos. That is why I wanted to know if you would have done things differently. By having Dawn put your name on one of the gravestones, when you died you came here. You now have the opportunity to do something better with your life. I should add that you no longer have a magic stone in your chest." I told Filvis.
Filvis stood and stared at me for several moments. "Th-that's not possible. When we die, we go back up to heaven and the gods either send us back down to the lower world to be reborn or they send up to heaven." Filvis told me.
I nodded my head in agreement. "Yes, that is how it usually works. You die, your memory is wiped, and you are usually sent back down to be born and live as someone else. But, as I said, if Dawn puts someone's name on one of the tomb stones, that person when they die appears in front of their tomb stone whole and healthy. And that is what I did with you and a few other people." I explained.
Filvis's eyes lit up. "If you can come here, you can go back, right?" She asked me.
"That is correct, but to the rest of your question. No, you can't go back. You died in Orario. Many people saw you die, so you can't go back. You could say you are stuck here for the rest of your life. Your new life." I replied.
"How did you know I would ask about going back?"
I chuckled. "Because you're not the first person to come here that way. Lloyd and Leena from the Loki Familia were killed by Dix in Knossos as well. I had their names put on the tomb stones as well. So, when they were killed, they came here." I told Filvis.
"Is my name on one of the tomb stones?" Wiene asked me.
I chuckled. "Yes, your name as well and Sky's name and Fia's name are all on the tomb stones. And, Everyone else that lives here, has their names on the tomb stones as well." I informed Wiene.
"So if we die, we will come back here alive?" Wiene asked.
I nodded my head, yes. "That's correct, Sweetheart. If any of you die, you'll appear in front of the tomb stone with your name on it, whole and healthy." I told her as well as Cindy and Sky.
"Oh, good!" Wiene exclaimed. "I want to be with you forever. I love you, Eilwyn." With that Wiene put her arms around me and hugged me tight.
I chuckled again. "I love you to Sweetheart." I told Wiene and returned her hug. I didn't think it would be a good idea to remind her that she is immortal and she along with Sky and all of the others will live forever as long as they are not killed or until they don't want to live any more.
Sky put her arms around me and Wiene and hugged us both. "I love you too, Eilwyn. I'm happy I'll be with you forever." Sky admitted.
I took one arm from around Wiene and put it around Sky and gave her a one-armed hug. "I love you too, Sky."
Filvis watched our interaction play out. "What am I supposed to do here, then?" Filvis asked me.
I shrugged my shoulders. "Just about anything you want to do. You can live here at my Hold. They use the word Hold to mean your house and also your land and house. So, You can live here for as long as you like, as long as you follow the laws and rules of my Hold. We own a restaurant and another store at The Market at Landing. Landing is a big settlement west of here." I pointed in the general direction. "You can learn to work with cattle or in the orchards. We also have a radio station that you can work at. Lloyd is learning to work in the radio station." I told Filvis then I explained what a radio station was.
"I would suggest you do everything you can to not act like an elf here. The people here have no clue what an elf is, and they will just assume you are rude and not friendly, if you keep your elven attitude. Besides you are the only permanent elf here. There are a couple other elves that come here but they live in Orario." I suggested.
I'll let Filvis get settled in and I will probably adjust her attitude a little bit so she won't want to keep her elven attitude of elves being superior to everyone else and so she will stop with the not being touched by anyone attitude.
"For now, you can take a few days to get settled in and used to being here. Then you can try out different jobs to see what you would like to do. You can leave and go to another big Hold but, since you don't have any skills other than being an adventurer, you will only get a job being a drudge. A drudge is someone that has little to no skills and they do lots of menial labore, or grunt work. They're not fun jobs to do." I continued.
"I still have my magic, so I could use that." Filvis told me.
I shook my head from side to side. "Sorry to tell you, but you no longer have a falna so you can't do any magic. Plus, you're no stronger than the average person." I replied.
"Oh… then there isn't much I can do…" Filvis lamented.
"There's a lot you can do here. You just have to learn what to do. As I said we have a couple shops at The Market. A restaurant and a store that sells jewelry, knives and other things. Leena from the Loki Familia is working at the Armory. She's also learning to make jewelry. Or you could help Opal clean the Hold. But as I said earlier, you can take a few days to get settled in and see what you might want to do." I informed Filvis.
Looking shocked. "There is someone from the Loki Familia here?" She asked surprised.
"Actually, there are two former Loki Familia members here. Leena and Lloyd. Lloyd is learning to work at the radio station." I told her.
"Two members of the Loki Familia are here." Filvis said more to herself than to me, as she looked around as if she was looking for them.
"Yes, Leena and Lloyd, were, members of the Loki Familia, but they live here now. They were killed by Dix the first time the Loki Familia want into Knossos. I had several of the Loki Familia members names put on the tomb stones, just in case. Leena and Lloyd were killed, so they appeared in the graveyard." I explained. "You'll meet them sooner or later. But I would suggest you don't mention that you were involved in any way with Knossos. I don't think I need to explain why." I added.
Filvis looked at the ground. "Yes, I know why I shouldn't mention that I was involved in Knossos. I don't want to die again." She admitted.
"You said, I can stay here?" Filvis asked me. I nodded my head, yes. "Where will I sleep then?" Filvis said dejectedly, having found out she can't use her magic anymore.
"I'll give you a tour of the house and you can pick out a room to stay in. But, after you decide what job, you want to do, you might move to a different location." I told her.
I turned to Dawn. "Thank you, Dawn. I'll try to let anyone else know that might come here that I had you put their name on a tomb stone and that they might show up here. But I'm sure there will be some that I won't have time to tell them what will happen. Sorry in advance." I told Dawn.
Dawn giggled. "It just get's tiring to have to explain to people that show up in front of one of the stones why they are here." She told me.
I nodded my head in agreement. "I can understand that. But as I said, I can't always tell people what will happen if they are killed. Plus, I don't want tons of people coming to me wanting me to have their names put on the tomb stones." I replied. "See you later."
"I see what you mean. Bye."
I turned to Filvis, Wiene, Sky and Cindy. "To the house." I said and indicated the direction with my hand.
I gave Filvis a tour of the house and showed her the apartments she could use to stay in. And while I was at it, I told her about the dangers of Thread and what to do when thread was expected to fall.
"We have calendars put up in the Cafe, the Bakery and beside both the front and back doors to let everyone know when Thread Fall is expected." I told Filvis and reminded Wiene, Sky and Cindy.
"Why would I have to move away from here?" Filvis asked.
I chuckled. "It's not that you have to move. It is just that depending on what job you choose; it would be easier if you lived closer to where the work is. If you work at the radio station, you would probably move close to the station so it is easier for you to get to work. If you work with the cattle, we have living quarters close to where the cattle are kept so you would probably move there. Besides we have a lot of living space here, but it is limited on how many people we can house here. Although we are thinking of putting up more housing close to the main Hold. But as long as you want to live here on my Hold, my land and you are willing to work, you will be able to stay and live on my land." I assured Filvis.
"I understand. Until I choose a job, where can I stay?" Filvis asked.
"That is what I was going to show you." I told Filvis and gave her a tour of the house, ending at the appartements.
"You can stay in one of the appartements. I would prefer if you took one with someone already using the other bedroom if one is available. Opal is our maid, but you need to keep everything picked up. Opal only does general cleaning." I informed Filvis.
"I think only one person is in that apparement at the moment." Cindy said pointing to the appartement with a sign over the door that read, "The Bunk House". "I'll let you get settled in. If anyone asked why you're here, just tell them what heppened and introduce yourself. They'll understand. Here at the Hold that is. If you go to Landing, just tell anyone that askes that you are from Tel Aviv Hold." I finished and headed down the hall with Cindy, Wiene, and Sky.
I gave Filvis Normalization before I left so no locals would think anything was odd about her being an elf.
Like I did with Leena and Lloyd, I left Filvis alone for a few days to get settled in. By leaving them alone, I didn't ignore them or stay away from them. I just gave them a little space. If I saw them, I would talk to them and answer any questions they had. I just didn't want to push any of them to decide what they should do while they were settling in.
I also used Retore Mind on Filvis to before the nightmare on the 27th floor, so she would not have bad memories or bad feeling about being turned into a creature.
= = = = = = = = = =
A few days later Filvis walked up to me. "May I talk to you?" She asked me.
"You sure can. What do you want?" I asked.
Filvis bowed to me. "Thank you for bringing me here. I don't understand it, but I am happier here than I have been in many years." She told me.
"You're welcome. I'm glad to hear that." I replied.
"Also, I would like to see if I could work in the Landing Cafe." Filvis asked.
"As I told you before. You can work about anywhere you want. If you think you can work at the Landing Cafe, we'll give you a try. But, remember, you might not like working there or you might not work out at that kind of job. So, if it doesn't work out, you can try a different job." I reminded Filvis.
"I will do my best." Filvis told me.
I chuckled and nodded my head in understanding. "I'm sure you will. I'll talk to the girls that are already working there and see when you can start your new job." I told her.
"One thing I should warn you about. The money here is called 'Marks' and it will seem like you're not getting much money, but you'll be getting about the same as working at a restaurant in Orario. Here one Mark is work about 1,500 valis. It's not an exact conversion, but it's fairly close." I told her and explained the different values of Marks and the different pictures on them.
"So, 1 Mark is about 1,500 valis?" She asked to make sure.
I nodded my head in agreement. "That's it. You can do a little calculation, so you know what each denomination of Marks are worth in valis. Although after a while you should just go with Marks and try to not do any conversion to valis. It will be easier on you that way." I suggested.
Filvis nodded her head in understanding. "Yes, since I'm going to be living here the rest of my life. I should learn how they do things here and stop thinking about the differences between here and Orario." Filvis admitted.
"I should have given you this earlier." I said as I created and handed Filvis a book about Pern. It has maps of the world of Pern with the major holds including Tel Aviv hold. It also has the government of Pern, craft halls, and about anything else anyone would need to know about Pern in general. I had also given copies of the same book to Lloyd and Leena.
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After Filvis has lived at Tel Aviv Hold for six months I will give her a Companion:
Name: Gioa/F (Pronounced, joe-a) Mythical (Copper Dragon) Size L2 Intelligence Level 2 Strength Level 1 Agility Level 1 Speed L1 Durability Level 1 Regeneration Level 2 Sustenance Level 2 Flight Teleportation Level 1 Elemental Attack L1 (Ice) Shapeshifting Level 1 (Forms: Lizard, Hawk, Horse (Percheron), Otter Magical Level 1 (Dancing Lights, Mend, Servant)
I will also give Lloyd and Leena their own Companions after they have lived on Pern for six months as well:
Leena: Name: Mox/F Mythical (Copper Dragon) Size L2 Intelligence Level 2 Strength Level 1 Agility Level 1 Speed L1 Durability Level 1 Regeneration Level 2 Sustenance Level 2 Flight Teleportation Level 1 Elemental Attack L1 (Electricity) Shapeshifting Level 1 (Forms: Lizard, Hawk, Horse (Percheron), Otter Magical Level 1 (Dancing Lights, Mend, Servant)
Lloyd: Name: Myca/M Mythical (Copper Dragon) Size L2 Intelligence Level 2 Strength Level 1 Agility Level 1 Speed L1 Durability Level 1 Regeneration Level 2 Sustenance Level 2 Flight Teleportation Level 1 Elemental Attack L1 (Earth/Rock) Shapeshifting Level 1 (Forms: Dragon, Lizard, Hawk, Tiger, Otter Magical Level 1 (Dancing Lights, Mend, Servant)
Filvis