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I do not expect loads of people to be knowing of Lunaria's events. Despite its population, it might be totally unknown from people who haven't heard the call. Apparently, somewhere in the universe, there's this plane of existence, that's undergoing some troubles. The Guardians of this Lunaria plane have left out a call for help- and people came. Whoever heard the call came. Someone came armed. People with various degrees of medical knowledge. Shamans, mages, warlocks. I have seen a living skeleton myself. He once made a very important ritual by using only a couple of rumba shakers.
The call of help from Lunaria has really attracted any kind of creatures. Most of them are humans, but in more than a thousand, maybe a thousand and couple hundreds of people that I have seen answering the call, I am lucky to have seen some Draconids, beastkinds, some Fauns, Catfolks, and many different. They all come here for a different reason.
A Catfolk on the run. He told me that, once, but then never mentioned what he's running from. He actually told me he's a Khajiiti-Nord hybrid, from Elsewyr, back there in Tamriel. I have never heard of such place. I have met several Catfolks, and he's not like them, at all. He only has fur on his head, a waterfall of thin braids, very well kept. You can see some tools hanging from his hair- magic sigils, flowers, sewing tool ( he mentioned casually that he has studied medicine from one of the best butcher in his town, so i'm not surprised by his hygene standards) and some mementos he fetched from his friends. His skin is all wrinkyl around his wirsts, and his paws. His ears are big, triangular and wrinkly. He looks almost like a very pink pig.
He's a character, for real. By being deaf, he was so scared to answer the call to Lunaria.
"I not sure how talk to people. What if they no understand" he told me, his voice a bit wonky. " I 4 years old. For cat, like 25 human? i loss hear 1 year old. i was tiny hairless cub". He looked at his hands. "not that i grew anything" he laughed, nervously. His laughter was kinda loud, like everything he said, actually.
The cat asked me, "why answer call?" and I couldn't think of a reply.
I don't think I even belong to this place.
"Aaa, no worry. When came here first, I lost. Where to go? Who talk? will they understand? Will I friends?" he told me, walking down from the Citadel to the Gregoria camp. He wawed to the guards, waved messily at me "with me! guest!" and they let us in. "I didn't know you were from Gregoria" I said.
"well, am not. I live there. Now and then. Made friends! everyone understands me- " he makes a gesture with his wrinkly hands "kinda kinda, see? not hard to follow cat speech. no worries after first day!"
It was true. It wasn't hard to follow his speech, even if he had some troubles remembering how to actually say some words.
"I no sure why answer call. Here, all heroes. All good people. Me just cat. Not even cat cat- cat human. That why no fur. I go to cat people, they say no, you no cat. Go to human. I go to human, they say you no human, you cat! Here no one cares. I am me!"
Later, he told me how tiring it was to speak all the time for him, and he taught me some very basic Sign Language. Now that I realize it, he has been signing a lot of words while talking to me.
It's just past noon, and a lot of the camp is coming back from the fight. The healers did a good job, Magnus Gregoria, the Guardian of the Gregoria's faction, was impeccable in selecting his army.
Those who were left in the camp were mostly preparing some food for their groups. My belly trembles a bit. I've left my food inside my tent, in my camp. 20 minutes under the sun walk. I sigh as I smell the most delicious meat being cooked on a very nicely kept fireplace.
"I teach you what do." the cat says, his smile larger than ever. He shuffles a bit in his satchels, that hang from a belt he's wearing. He takes a couple of bottles, and an extraordinary quantity of the tiniest apples i have ever seen.
they have a VERY sweet smell. I have never had apples THAT flavored.
He's holding everything in his traditional looking linen tunic, using it as an improvized basket. He points with his head to follow him.
There is this huge tent. He lightly cough.
A bald man, wearing what I've later discovered being "traditional Scotish clothes" ( what is this Scotish? Is a land? is a fashion? I still have to ask them about it) opens the courtain of the tent. The table inside is HUGE.
"offerings for a seat!" the cat goes. The man smells the apples. Takes the bottles. Open one and taste the spirit inside.
"Oh! I've heard of you. You have sewn up some of our man, and your chemistry is already well known here. Please, come inside, you and your friend. Serve yourself, we have plenty."
It was such a good meal.
The meat was so soft. The man told me they had it cook since we came to Lunaria, more than 18 hours at this point. He has set the fireplace and the meat as soon as he crossed the portal.
More and more people wearing the same colors came. They all took the cat's apples, thanked him, and invited him for some more drinks later, during the day.
Apparently, being a deaf hybrid human-cat was hard only from where he belonged, cause here, he seemed to have the time of his life.
We thanked them all so much.
"I suggest nap", he said.
I didn't want to go back to my Faction, and they could survive without one of the useless, fish out of water newcomers.
The cat smelled the air for some minutes, and grabbed my hand. We were still inside the Gregoria's Camp, but it was in a zone without many tents, and a tree would make a super lovely shadow. There were loads of field's flowers.
He told me he needed some rest for his tongue.
I have to admit I was slightly disappointed, as I had so many questions about everything, but it was so peaceful I couldn't get to bother the cat.
It was such a placid end of the Summer day.
"Sun dying. We have friends to talk with."
To me, it was still very light. I think the sunset was to be in 3 hours, at least?
The cat woke up, stretched nicely, and waited for me to follow him. He entered without being authorized to- in this huge, blue tent. There was a lot of blue things there. As I went inside, I could just see a man in a full armature, sitting down, with the cat handing him a towel for his sweat.
"You have bought a friend, cat! Here, here, take a seat. Water?" another man said. He was wearing the same white and sky blue tabard as the armored man was wearing, but he was much taller, less sweaty, and way less metallic.
I thanked him softly.
The tend's wall were covered in shields.
The day after this, when I'd met the cat again, he would calmly explain that during the previous calls he answered, he made his way trough the heart of the Gray Wardens, one of the the smallest Gregoria's group, yet very powerful. They were his friends.
A woman appeared from the back of the tend. She was so happy of seeing the cat again.
"I first time see you naked!!!!" the cat said. I covered my eyes- just to see that the woman was wearing a simple brown tunic, and the light blue and white striped tabard as the other. She laughed. "without my metal skin, I truly feel naked!" Her brother - a man that had a face so scary I would have ran away without turning my back to him- hugged the cat so lovingly. He didn't speak a lot, but his sister did it for him.
They chit chatted a bit, and I was just there sitting down with a glass of fresh water, just a bit lost in my thoughts.
He had told me how scared he was of people not understanding him. Of being left aside. Of just not belonging here. And, he had access to basically every tent. Everyone knew him, and held him dearly. _
I saw the woman and his brother, followed by the cat, exiting the tend. I excused myself to the two others and followed them as well. They were talking about axes and such, the woman kept repeating that she didn't had such a weapon, as her pick, and her brother's were short axes.
They approached another tent, and had a short conversation with a man with grey hair that was getting the fire ready for the evening. He handed them an hoe, and followed them.
The brother excused him shortly, and went away for a bit. The woman was carryng her shield and one of her axes.
I was just a bit behind them. And I've studied the warden's stance as she held her shield perfectly, and how the grey haired man helped the cat positioning his body and holding the hoe. He shown him how to hit and disorientate the shield holder, and then came back a bit towards me and the fire.
"An hoe is.. an interesting weapon?" I tried to say, as I kept watching the couple's training.
"Oh, yeah, it's.. I have been a fighter all my life. I came here after melting all my weapons, and when I heard the Call, all I had left were my tools.
He was a kind man. His clothes were simple and even a bit ruined by the passing of time. I could notice a wolf's head medallion hanging from his neck.
We sat by the fire. He was explaining me a bit on the errors the cat was making, and how you could tell the Warden was a very experienced fighter by her stance, the way she balanced both her short axe and her wooden shield.
He talked a bit on how he could tell she's very used to fight with an armor on, and how much faster was with only her tunic, and how much more defensive she was- without an armor, being hit would mean bleed to death in a terrible way.
The cat was extremely goofy, but he just wanted to train a little bit with a long weapon. He carried a short blade with him, and that's was his only defense.
That evening, I still couldn't understand why I was called here.
but seeing all these people with so many different backgrounds and provenience...
The warden was laughing with the cat as they were training.
The witcher- as he told me- was asking me to pass him some of the wood over there.
The sunset was incredibly lilac and orange.
I could still feel all the dust, and my muscle soreness from not being used to this field, to this plane of existance, to Lunaria itself.
"This place, too many heroes." the cat told me, at some point. "Normal people are not shamed. No need all heroes. Lunaria needs cowards, weak, or simple people. Everyone need nap, as me do."
Maybe that's why I answered.
As the night came, I felt much more relieved.
It was ok.
It was purple, and orange, and dark blue, and the stars were already so visible.
I stood there, still near the witcher who was getting his hoe back, and went to talk to some of his allies, stargazing constellations that I had never seen, from an Universe I didn't belong to.
"the first nights are the worse, and in some ways, the best." the grey haired man told me.
"Relax. I know what you're thinking-
and by the way you're looking at this sky, I can easily tell you belong here, with us."