A place for my "wood" [Gabranth]

[Auric]

Status
Because somehow, some way, your belly fills itself on pride alone.

Third trip round, still no such luck. Living space was at a premium, so forgive for not striking it down and getting myself a permanent place to stay. Oh, don't get me wrong... I've got a few houses spread out across the world. Having one in Archades would mean never having to worry when I was in town and needed a place to stay. It still got to me, though -- that brilliant place in Tsenoble got away because I didn't have the chops at the time. Good deal, too -- not that the price would have ever bothered me. Yeah, the irony isn't lost on me.. knowing a place few others had knowledge of and the perfect opportunity to buy it only to have that same knowledge given to some noble who give you enough chops to afford you the status you need to buy it.

Yeah, it still stings.

---

He supposed that he could understand the purpose of chops. He'd already been well on his way to getting a second Sandalwood chop though having another didn't seem to reap much benefit other than to rub in the faces of others. And that's what bothered him. See, chops were supposed to be a representation of service to your empire -- that you've serve the greater community by doing a deed or joining some form of government employment. Funny how at the lower quarters of the city the meaning of it was well-known... that it was a form of patriotism in the empire you were part of, but as he went up and met those from the higher classes, he got the feeling that the meaning was lost or twisted into having some sort of right to be an arrogant little snob.

Well, that was his impression of the younger people, anyway. It seemed so strange compared to how he was born... a part of him was disgusted but his ability told him that this place actually "made sense". Still, he'd been tempted at least twice to pick up some six year old and toss them over the railing and demand that they lose blood, sweat and tears before even daring to come back up. And to think that Auric was actually quite a patient man. Status aside (because to him it was completely irrelevant), it felt to him that the only thing the Sandalwood afforded him was a good view of the city. And now that he was looking out over the terrace, his mind revised on the freshest information he knew. Like, how Archades was poor in natural resources and land or how it was their culture and sciences that made them prosperous. Or how badly he needed to find someone willing to sell their luxurious living arrangements to him so he might be in relative comfort when he visited this sodding city.

That wasn't how he felt about Archades, but right now he was just venting fumes. The view was quite relaxing -- sitting side on, he could see the palace and the long drop below where they must have had parades whenever the bulk of the military was in. Auric was currently wearing his olive colored tank top, a leather vest with enough pockets to stow away enough gil to make him a walking bank account -- beige cargos with hardened leather like a shell for his legs, his side-arm was well secured on his hip. Just in case. He more or less looked like a streetear; difference being that... one, he was in Tsenoble and two, his equipment was finely made. Hey, if you're in a city known for its artificers, you may as well have your clothes made well, right?

"Uhn, if only this city had a good place to drink..." Auric muttered to himself as dusk came.