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Post by Arania Stark on Oct 29, 2012 1:17:48 GMT -5
The temple lies to the west of the Great Pyramid. It is a magnificent building; beautiful, capped with golden domes.
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Post by The Forgotten God on Oct 29, 2012 1:31:59 GMT -5
ooc: assuming Arania heads here...
The streets in central Meereen are wide and open; partially to hold the many hundreds of thousands who reside there, but mostly to facilitate the movement of armies swiftly. Outside the great temple are many thousands of worshippers from all the world, even Westeros or the Jade Sea or Sothryos, on occasion. Markets flourish outside, and the courtyard of the temple is a giant and fragrant flower garden.
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Post by Arania Stark on Oct 29, 2012 2:24:39 GMT -5
Arania made her way to the temple, accompanied by several guards. She averted her eyes from the more shadowy parts of the city, keeping her eyes on the things that were beautiful and serene. Her cheeks colored and her steps quickened as she passed the Great Pyramid. Eventually she found herself at her destination: the great temple.
She gasped at the vast number of people, still shocked to see so many all in one place. She heard a thousand accents...from every corner of the world. She was drawn to the gardens, so green and lush in the desert city.
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Post by The Forgotten God on Oct 29, 2012 2:40:35 GMT -5
Carrying the book is a little girl named Shrinessa, a delicate and fae-like Meereenese girl of perhaps thirteen, her features rather recognizably Targaryen of some sort. According to the message she brought with her, King Sirius would be most thankful if the learned Oldtown girl could help her with her Westerosi, in exchange for her interpretative services.
She is pretty and short and skinny, with oversized spectacles and her hair pulled into a ponytail. She chats endlessly on her knowledge of the area, oblivious to the embarrassments Arania has suffered. When they enter the gardens, she chirps happily and points out the more exotic and eastern-specific types. "My grandfather planted this garden," she concludes proudly.
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Post by Arania Stark on Oct 29, 2012 2:50:35 GMT -5
"Did he?" Arania wondered if the girl would ever shut up. Even worse, she reminded her of herself at that age and the secondhand embarrassment was killing her. Still, she knew a lot, and Arania was learning more, even if it was just minute details about the streets they passed. "Its very impressive. How do they keep the flowers so green in the middle of the desert?"
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Post by The Forgotten God on Oct 29, 2012 2:56:25 GMT -5
"We bring in water through those huuuge aqueducts. Osmotic pressure causes the water to flow constantly from the rivers to the north." She smiles brightly. "So what's Westeros like?" She leaned in with wonderment. "I've heard there's a wall three hundred miles long!"
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Post by Arania Stark on Oct 29, 2012 3:03:56 GMT -5
"I see." The girl could give her a run for her money in trivia. "It is, and seven hundred feet high. I haven't seen it, though. I hope to, one day." She reached out to sniff a particularly pretty flower. "I come from very far to the south. I haven't been able to travel as much as I would like, within Westeros."
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Post by The Forgotten God on Oct 29, 2012 3:05:44 GMT -5
"Why not? Don't you have gold?" She leaned in. "Aunt Tristessa said you were going to be the Lady in the North!" They pass a chicken vendor. "I'm hungry! Let's eat!"
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Post by Arania Stark on Oct 29, 2012 3:14:20 GMT -5
She laughed. "I have plenty of gold. Or, my father has. I just preferred to stay in Oldtown...but now that I have left, I realize there is more to be learned from doing than from reading." She paled a little at the mention of her engagement, but kept the smile on her face. "Yes, I will be. So I do hope to see the Wall eventually, and everything else the North has to offer me... Of course, we can have something." The girl seemed to always be hungry, yet was slim as a pole. It was that age, she thought to herself. She followed Shrinessa up to the vendor.
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Post by The Forgotten God on Oct 29, 2012 3:17:06 GMT -5
The vendor starts speaking to the little girl, but she points with a familiarly imperious gesture to Arania. "You like chicken, yes?" The rest of the words don't make any sense to her. Shrinessa nods.
"Dont let him try haggling with you. He suspects you are a dumb barbarian."
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Post by Arania Stark on Oct 29, 2012 3:25:31 GMT -5
"I'll be sure not to." She looked from the girl to the vendor. "Why would he think that?"
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Post by The Forgotten God on Oct 29, 2012 3:28:09 GMT -5
"Because you're a foreigner. Don't fishmongers in Oldtown swindle Ibbenese sailors and such? I read that somewhere..." She thinks. "My father likes you."
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Post by Arania Stark on Oct 29, 2012 3:33:53 GMT -5
"I think they swindle anyone they can, to be honest." She attempted to pay for some food, fumbling with the coins a bit when Shrinessa mentioned her father. "Does he? And who might he be? Surely not Sirius?"
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Post by The Forgotten God on Oct 29, 2012 3:38:41 GMT -5
She looks surprised. "Of course my father's the king; don't I look like a princess?" She giggles. "I'm not though; father has no wife so I am just his little queen bee. Shrinessa the Pen-dragon, the other kids call me." She eats her chicken on a stick contentedly. "It's good. Seasoned with oranges, real ones, from the Summer Islands. Is it really always summer there?"
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Post by Arania Stark on Oct 29, 2012 3:48:26 GMT -5
And she was off on another subject before Arania could ask any further questions. "I've never been to the Summer Islands, so I couldn't say. I'm sure what they say is true, though." She looked at the girl again, attempting to steer her back to more relevant matters. "What does he like about me?" Surely his opinion had changed, after...she shuddered to think of it. How shameful.
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