Noire

Viscet Name: Noire

Name Meaning: black

Nicknames? none

Gender: female

Age: equivalent of a 63-year-old human

Birthday: December 21st (winter solstice)

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Niko and the World Machine

General Information:
A quiet and superstitious explorer brought to the future by the scheme of a time traveler.
. The first thing you’ll notice about Noire is that she’s a little off. She’s always glancing around, checking every hidden place for traps, and she often carries more than should be physically possible. That last bit is actually fairly impressive – she’s been seen scaling trees with all of her gear, completely silently. Some people have tried to ask her what she carries around with her all the time. She usually responds with a worried glare and a soft mutter to leave her alone. I mean after all the crazy things she’s been through, Noire has every right to be suspicious of the world. That, in turn, makes the world suspicious of her.
. She find it very hard to make friends, as she trusts no one and basically no one trust her either. Noire is the kind of person who would gladly betray you for a sandwich. It wouldn’t even have to be fairly tasty sandwich. Things are more reliable than people because they can’t stab you in the back. Asherah, her only “friend”, tries to understand. But no one from this time can truly remember the lawless world Silvarum was after the Great Divide.
. Maybe Noire is lucky to be here now. Or maybe not. Being thrown out of one’s own time, no matter how bad that time had been, is still a disorienting experience. And everything has changed so much that it feels like a whole other world. She’s scared of so many things – being sent back, of staying here, of what lies beyond the Skyedge, of what is hidden at home. She calls it home, but it will never be quite the same.
. That’s probably why she carries so much around. In this unfamiliar place, one can never truly know what will happen next. It’s easier to laugh in the face of danger when you have tools to fend off the darkness, supplies to help you outlast the winter. (Perhaps someone should tell her that the world isn’t that dangerous anymore. But then again, maybe they have, and she just didn’t believe them.)
. It’s utter insanity that the leader of Starheart – the rebel kingdom! – Is trying to help her. No one in their right mind would help someone who had once been a spy for their enemy. Other people agree with her, she hears them. They whisper when they think she’s not listening, or assume that she’s not there. But Noire has mastered the art of being silent. She observes, and agrees. So the endless cycle of mistrust continues.
...Why did Malorin send her here? Does he have some plan, or does he just want her to suffer? Noire doesn’t know which option would be worse.

. Of course it’s not all bad. So many times throughout her day she finds peace in the little things, like a butterfly on a flower, or the view from the top of a mountain. The red viscet has always been an explorer at heart, after all, and if she appreciates anything about this future time, it’s that the stars are still there and the world is still full of beautiful hidden places.
. She’ll disappear for weeks just looking for those spots, for that feeling. Asherah has learned not to worry anymore, though she still frets when Noire returns with mud-speckled fur and leaves in her mane. (Noire never did learn how to take care of herself.) There’s only once place in all of Silvarum she won’t go, and that’s to the land beyond the Skyedge.
. The Skyedge - the very end of the world itself, with only ocean beyond. Yes, she’s heard that people have gone past it and found more islands, more peoples. Even dragons dwell in the Beyond, they say. But dragons breathe fire. The same fire that destroyed her home so long ago.
. Noire will never let the dragons come back.
. It doesn’t matter if they’ve changed.
. Everyone smart knows how to put on an act, after all.

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Petrichor had told so many tales... people were often surprised that he could remember them all. But he never forgot a single one. This one in particular had been started a long, long time ago... and continued just now. Certainly a tale he was excited to tell, if only to fix some wrong perceptions. There was always more to a fellow viscet than apparent at first glance.

How did Noire's life begin? In a world far different from now. Go all the way back to the beginning of Silvarum, to the start of the three kingdoms. Go back to the Great Divide.
. Her first memory is of the fire. It was said that in the beginning, Wander, the first king, when the three kingdoms were still one, was taunted by a dark entity that told him everyone was against him. He grew steadily more and more paranoid until, one night, he set the capital city on fire. Noire wad 5 at the time, and as the fire grew her parents were lost in the flames. Noire ran off, randomly fleeing down the dark streets, until she stumbled face-first into Wander himself.
. Wander lied about what had happened. He brought the terrified viscet to safety and told her that the dragons had been conspiring against the kingdom. They had brought down the fire. They had taken their parents. And Noire, being the small child she was, believed him.
. The next day, those that remained in the world gathered, and Wander told them all about how the dragons had betrayed them. Many believed him, but some saw through the lie and understood the truth for what it really was. About half of the world left to the south, to start their own kingdom, and the dragons, infuriated and betrayed, flew beyond the Skyedge. They would not be seen again for many, many thousands of years. The world, previously in one giant island, split into many, smaller ones. And so the Great Divide happened.
. Those who remained behind called themselves Sunglow. Noire stayed - her family was gone in the flames, and Wander decided to raise her to follow in his ideas. Perhaps, when she grew up, she could become a useful way to keep track of what was going on in the southern kingdom - Starheart, was it? No matter, really. In Wander's mind, everyone who had left had betrayed him, and one day he would get his revenge.

...Noire grew learning all she knew from Wander. He taught her that everyone else was not to be trusted, that those in Starheart had left because they hated him, and by extension, hated her. And Noire took these lessons to heart. By the time she was 13, she was already going on forays into (what she thought) was enemy territory, to search for information.
. It started out simple, as no one truly knew who she was. But as time went on she started getting recognized. She couldn’t openly walk about in Starheart any more, especially not after she was at several key meetings directly before Sunglow would get that same secret news. At 23, she was wanted for questioning in Starheart. Noire refused to go. She was banned from being in their kingdom the next day.
. (Not like she actually followed the rule. Wander still sent her to spy, she just learned how to be far more subtle. Mastering the art of disguise was everything.)
. But here is where things began to change. Because she was in Starheart so much, she heard things that made her question the reality she’d built for herself. If she’d been taught that all the people of this kingdom were ruthless, bloodthirsty traitors then why were they so kind to her? Sometimes, in her disguise, she’d walk among their streets and get friendly greetings, inquiries about how she was. It seemed much like the bustling cities back home.

One day Noire got careless. She was 30 when she finally got caught. Ten of the kingdom’s best soldiers chased her down until the king of Starheart himself caught up. And oh, my, was he agile for a horse. Jumping up on rooftops like it was no big deal. She got cornered, and she didn’t see any other ways out, so she planned on going out fighting, taking as many as she could with her, but... the king refused. He refused to let any lives be lost. He faced her on his own and he won.
. Noire next woke up in a suspiciously comfortable room. It was so much like back home. Blinking her eyes wearily, she realized that Starheart's leader was already there, just watching her with this forlorn gaze.
. "Are you okay?" the horse asked. That's the first thing he asked? He had finally captured his enemy and this was what he wanted to know? Noire stayed silent. She refused to say a thing, instead watching with dark eyes.
. The strange ruler didn't seem bothered by her lack of response. "Well, I'm Lake. You must be Noire? I want to make one thing clear - I have no plans to hurt you. I simply want you to know the truth."
. It was two long minutes before Noire finally replied. "I already know the truth. I don't need to hear it again from you."
. "From what I've been told... I don't think you do. Wander took you in, correct? Then he could easily have been telling you lies your whole life. Don't you at least want to listen to the other side of the story?"
. Another tense two minutes. "Fine," the spy agreed at last. She had no trust for this Lake...but she had nothing better to do while she was trapped here.

Lake told her the long truth, over two hours. He told of the dragons' innocence, of how Wander had gotten more and more scared of his own people and had been the one to burn the city down. If Wander had wanted Noire to be a spy, Lake said, then why start sending her on missions when she was so young? She could easily get caught, it was a very real risk for a novice spy. Didn't Wander care about her? Or did he just see her as expendable?
. Noire didn't know what to think. She remained quiet throughout the whole telling, not willing to fully believe it but seeing some truths in what Starheart's leader had said. In all the times she had been in Starheart, hidden among its people, she had been treated far kinder than she ever had in Sunglow. In Sunglow, people didn't trust her and she didn't trust them, but here... she didn't trust anyone but people trusted her. They saw her as one of their own. No, no, it must have been a facade - a way to trick her into sharing false information with Wander. Her mind looped, back and forth, over and over, until she realized that Lake had stopped talking.
. "I don't understand. Why lie?" she asked.
. "If he told the truth he'd have been denounced, rejected, cast away. You saw what happened to the dragons, the same thing surely would have happened to him, too."
. "Can I... can I just have some space, to think about this?"
. Lake nodded at once. "Of course. We have guards outside for obvious reasons, but no one will be watching you inside the room." He stood, mane falling over his eyes, and trotted to the door. "Take all the time you need."
. Then she was alone... but not for long. Lake had promised she wouldn't be watched, so why was it that merely five minutes in she could feel eyes staring at her?
. "Who are you?" she whispered to the empty air. "Show yourself!"
. A grim chuckle from behind her. "No one knows of my deeds yet, but I share a certain kinship with your dear Wander. I guess you could say we both really like fire."
. She whipped her head around but saw no one. "Are you a dragon? Come back to destroy this kingdom, too?"
. "Tempting, very tempting, but no. Far too early in the timeline to give me any benefit. Though maybe in the future..."
. He was talking gibberish and Noire wished he would just be clearer. Dramatic words did nothing, so why not get to the point? "Just tell me your name and what you want."
. She swore she saw one of the shadows move. "The whole world will know me as the Darkness of Silvarum many years in your future. You, however, you can call me Malorin."
. And then he appeared as if he was a ghost. Red and yellow fur, black horns. "As for why I'm here... I'm from a couple thousand years in the future. And I'm bringing you back to my time."
. Before she could comprehend, before she could do anything at all, he had pulled out a piece of a silver... rock? A silver something, but she couldn't see what, and then there was blue. Blue everywhere, sinking into her fur, blinding her, and then everything went black and she was gone.

When Noire next woke up, she was somewhere completely different.
. There were trees around her now, and a light breeze swept across her fur. She opened her eyes and knew at once that she was not in the same place. Where was the room she'd been captured in? Where was anyone or anything familiar at all, in fact?
. When the red viscet had finally gotten her bearings, she stood up and wandered off in a random direction. Malorin, Lake, anyone at all? Everyone was gone, and she was sure that something had gone very wrong.
. It took two hours of walking before she stumbled across a small town in the middle of the forest. Despite her disguise being gone, no one looked at her strangely. In fact, three people greeted her as a newcomer. Noire was... incredibly confused, but she took it in stride, and found her way into a diner near the center of the place. Alert, nervous, she saw someone from across the room look at her for a few seconds, then a long half-minute, and then this strange person was approaching with a strange, nervous look.
. This new fellow thought she was a pirate. What was that? Whatever they were Noire knew they didn't exist, or else she'd have heard about them. Oh, what was going on?
. Anyway they got suspicious and next thing she knew she was being brought before the leader of Starheart. Again. Except this time, it was someone different.

Asherah was a practical viscet and a former pirate herself, and one glance at this one told her all she needed to know. Not a pirate. She sent the worried citizens away, to talk to the newcomer herself.
. "The name's Asherah. Current leader of Starheart, warrior and thief, I'm sure you get the point. I'm not one for formality, so now that we've got that out of the way -"
. The blue-furred pirate jumped down from her throne and sat on the ground in front of Noire. "I know you're not a pirate. But something's up. You're confused. I just wanted to say I'm willing to help however I can."
. Okay, thought Noire. Okay. Lake is gone, replaced by this Asherah fellow, and why did everything seem so different and also why was this random stranger offering to help? (And where was Malorin?) Too many questions, too many. "Noire," she said. There, that was a start. Something she could say without giving away too much. The words were coming, though, and she couldn't stop her suspicions. "You with Malorin?"
. Asherah's face was one of shock. "Malorin? No one's seen him in nearly a hundred years. ...what happened?"
. Noire knew that this was the enemy. She knew that this was incredibly risky. But she just wanted to know what was going on. So she told Asherah the whole story. How she'd gotten captured, her conversation with Lake, Malorin appearing and the blue light. Asherah's face was horrified by the end. Oh, no, Noire had messed up, hadn't she?
. "You know, Lake was the leader of Starheart... nearly ten thousand years ago."
. Yeah, yeah, this was bad. Full on panic. "How did I get 10,000 years in the future!?" Noire gasped.
. Asherah sighed. This was going over about as badly as she had suspected. "Malorin's rumored to be able to travel through time. He could have easily brought you to this time, this place."
. "But why?" She was getting to the point of a full on panic attack.
. "Hey. Hey, stay calm. I don't know what he wants, but like I told you, I want to help. You can stay here, I'll do my best to keep you safe and show you how Silvarum has changed since your time."
. It wasn't like she had a choice. Either learn about the world or go wandering off into this strange new land. "Fine," Noire agreed. (This doesn't mean I trust you.)

This would be her life, from that fateful moment to now - she explored the vast world, learning all she could about her new home of sorts, but always came back to Starheart’s capital to stay with Asherah. It’s a good thing she did, too. When Asherah told the people who Noire was people were shocked and obviously confused. Some accused Noire of conspiring with Malorin. If she had been a spy in the past, why not now? Asherah spent a lot of time convincing them that Noire wasn’t a threat. She never asked for anything in return for all her help, but after five years stuck in this strange new land, Noire started collecting things she thought Asherah might find interesting. Feathers, flowers, colorful leaves and beads. It was her way of saying thank you, because she didn’t want to have to say it to the ruler’s face. (She still didn’t fully trust her.)
. Asherah would notice all the little things. She’d notice when Noire snuck back in after a week out, fur caked in mud. She noticed when Noire was feeling down, missing home. Even stranger, Asherah would ask her about it. Noire didn’t know what to think, never mind say. But that was a constant now. She didn’t mind. It was actually kind of nice (but don’t tell her she said that).
. Sometimes Asherah would sneak out of the castle too, on her own adventures. Sometimes Noire would come along. Most of the time she didn’t. Noire learned what pirates were on these trips. Loud, dangerous fellows. Definitely don’t trust someone who literally introduces themselves as a thief.
. Slowly, somehow, she got used to this world. Well, as much as she could. She still was paranoid, still couldn’t trust much - but she was less scared. She learned more every day. And, somewhat, she forgot about Malorin. Pushed him to the back of her mind and tried not to worry.
. Maybe, after so long, he’d just leave her alone.

Petrichor really couldn’t finish the tale, not yet. Things still had to happen. Malorin (he shudders at that name) still had to come back. Still, he thinks he told the tale very well. Stories of lives are always so intriguing, so wonderful. He did feel bad for this one, though. Whenever he went to visit Asherah, Noire would hide away. He really needed to help her open up a bit.
. But no, he was getting lost in his thoughts. The story ends here, he says, and for now, so it does.

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Fun facts.
. Noire is a pretty accomplished archer. She picked up the hobby while away from Starheart’s capital.
. The headband is a scrap of fabric from her first home. She took it the night Sunglow caught fire and kept it as a reminder of where she’d been.
. Super superstitious. Always carries salt. Just in case she runs into ghosts.
. Still believes that the dragons were the ones to destroy Sunglow. She will never be able to see the truth.