The rain would come in breaths, picking up here, and then calming at another time, it was almost rythmic and soothing, as was the conversation they were having. Her question regarding the Equestrian social class lit up a gleam in his eye, happy that she was both engaging and curious. "Well, funny that you mention that. See, in Early Rome, it was an Honor to serve in the army, mostly because you had to be able to pay for your own Equipment and Gear. Among that, were the Horses. Now, the average Family Farm could easily handle the costs of a new Sword every few months and some shiny armor every now and again, but horses were extremely expensive, not only to breed and train, but to house and feed as well. So, in the Roman Kingdom and even to the Late Republic, it was an extra honor to be able to pay for a Horse to ride into battle, and was a wealth symbol more than anything. Eventually, this translated into being an Economic Class entirely on its own, Families often passing horses down to their children and most Equestrian families requiring Military service to some degree, to the point where the Senate recognized them as an entirely separate Bloc from both them and the Plebeians, giving them their own voting rights and what not. Now, that being said, they were still technically Plebeians, but life was far more comfortable for the Equestrian or Equites, than it was even for some Patricians, like I said before. The Patricians were more of a Noble Class, where, by technicality, anyone could become an Equestrian, and then not a Patrician if all they did was serve as a horseman." He smiled as he remembered a joke from a History Lesson. "Something funny that I remember is Caesar ordered Horses for his men after a very comfortable winter in Gaul, and told those few men he got horses for to Ride with him as a show of power for Diplomacy. The men jokes that they had been treated so well by Caesar that they were made into Equites, both joking that they were literally Equestrians; Horse Riding soldiers, and that the nice treatment reminded them of what it would be like to actually be of that Social Class." Though it wasn't super funny, it was a memorable moment for the golden haired man. "So to answer your question; You didn't exactly have to be a horse rider to be in that class, but the idea was you had the money to be, if you so wanted." He smiled at her compliment nodding and giving a thank you. "Maybe, if only I knew someone who'd be willing to set that up for me. Maybe I should just make the audiobook myself and offer it for free on the internet..." He actually really liked the idea of narrating some of this stuff for people to enjoy and learn on their own. Though maybe a Podcast where he talks about the subject at hand, while only quoting certain parts in a book would be more appealing to some... Regardless, he loved the fact that Harveste seemed into it enough and even more to like his character joke, though the conversation took a bit more of a serious turn. "I uh- I guess?" He said, contemplating what she said. Maybe he was a stronger person for being able to recognize fault and laugh about it. Or maybe it was a sign that he truly hated who he was. Which either was the case, he was grateful to the Faerin for the comment, and would hold it to his heart for atleast a few days. "Jealousy is a sin," He joked, trying to shift the conversation away and once again lighten the mood.
For Harveste, it was rare to be able to sit still and be silent. Though the girl was a natural hermit and socially awkward misfit, she was surprisingly noisy and the type that could never keep her body in one position for more than a few seconds. Even though she was paying fair attention to the man and his explanation, trying to engrave each piece of information into her mind, one finger seemed to draw against her leg as she listened, a false form of doodling to help her memory. She prayed he wouldn't notice, and used her curiosity as he explained the historical reference to her advantage, trying to cut in just enough to react a bit to his words. "I never heard that story about Caesar, though I was never good in history myself. But if Caesar got them their horses, it didn't necessarily show their own wealth, did it...?" Perhaps she was looking too much into things when she spoke? She wasn't really sure what to think at all, in the end. "I'm a writer as much as I am a reader, but I don't really know much about how these things work- I just know I really enjoy audio books once in a while, even if I usually prefer to feel what I read in my hands." A giggle left her lips, her own realization entertaining her as she spoke it aloud. It was a good reminder for her to actually look at her bookshelf when she logged off next. "If you have any books you recommend, send them my way. I could use more reference material about older customs of the world. Or just tell me when you get a deal to read one." She hadn't even thought of a podcast possibility for him- mostly because the girl never bothered with them herself. What did come to mind lacked vocal aid, however. "I wonder if it would be good blogging material?" Shaking off the topic mostly because she felt useless in this field of conversation, the girl paid note to the man's joke about jealousy- but, unfortunately, the joke fell flat on her ears, not quite ringing as humorous. In fact, the girl took it to be quasi-factual in nature. She wasn't really of the religious sort, but the fact was that 'sin' also could just mean 'bad'. "Well, if I look at it that way... I guess I should tell people about my tendency to be jealous of silly things so that they know I'm not the goodie-goodie a lot of them see me as." She laughed a bit, though her laughter itself was mostly forced- it was a bad half-joke on her end in return to a joke she'd totally missed. "But still... I think it's less 'a sin' and more the nature of living, in some ways."
He certainly wouldn't have blamed the girl for doing something else while listening, understanding that it can be weird to be idle and just sitting there. Though to her luck, he hadn't noticed, his neck was slightly craned up as he gazed into the darkness of the cave, his eyes lost in the world of Rome and each word he said conjured an image in his mind, his own perception of how the people were and interacted. It was almost dreamlike for him, to put himself back in those Roman days and watch these events unfold in a sort of cartoonish way of showing what happened. "It's a minor story, which regarding Caesar there are tons. Like the one about how he created a third option when everyone else thought he certainly only had two. One of my favourite stories that. That one is more well known, but not as much as I'd like it to be. The story about the men with the horses was maybe a real five minutes of laughing and joking between soldiers, and only got recorded because some Quaestor probably found it funny. Or maybe it was made up as part of a Comedic Routine back in the day. Truth is, I don't know." He tried to explain the joke as he felt bad for not having made it obvious enough, now wondering if he had forgotten a part of it and therefore, she didn't get it as well. "Yea, but no one else would know Caesar got the horses for them, and the joke was now they were that wealthy." He shook his head, now thinking he was just bad at explaining it. "I like to read, but with Terra now part of my life, I rarely find the time. Though I still get my daily grammar and English reminders when I am sent long messages from Vina or Mizuki. God do those two type a page in a half each. So, I guess no loss. I get my daily dose of adventure and fun from another's perspective by asking the NPCs about their lives and tribulations. It's actually fun, you should give it a try sometime." "No books except old ones like where the Red Fern grows, honestly. What about you, any books you think I should read?" He was geniunely curious, though knew that unless he could get an audiobook in game to listen to while grinding, there was just no chance he was going to read. "Are you saying you're not a goodie-goodie? How is that so? You seem so... sweet?" He didn't know how to put it into words, but it did interest him; how some people, specifically girls, often saw it as a bad thing to be seen in a decent and composed light, how they wanted people to believe they were more nefarious, whether or not it was true.
A minor story or not, it had gotten the girl fairly intrigued and wanting to do some research of her own. She put the factor on the back burner of her mind though, as the man had clearly noticed her failure to comprehend a portion and took the time to reiterate the point of it. To her, it wasn't quite as humorous as it could be to others- but that was partially just the fact the joke had generally gone over her head. To her, lessons in history were generally more concrete and not meant to be laughed at. Or so she told herself, even when a soft giggle escaped her when she caught on more. "It's a truth in the human condition, if you think about it. If someone has something, whether they earned it on their own or not, a status symbol can easily disillusion others and even ourselves." Smiling to herself from having turned a joke she didn't quite get into a lesson she well understood (even if her wording might fail her at the time of explaining it). To learn, it was helpful to teach in the process. Wasn't that what the old saying meant? Or was that something else? "I ask the NPCs about themselves quite often, actually. I talk to other players about their lives, when I can, too. I find it fun to learn about people and about things through people. That's what stories are for, in a way. To teach us and to give us the ability to learn, not always from our own experiences, but that of others as well." A soft glance in his direction was seemingly pertinent for her to keep his recommendation close in her thoughts. She had a lot to keep track of in her tiny head, and her real mind was never quite so good at keeping things organized, either. Hopefully, if she at least kept an image or name to it, it would work out overall. Sure, they said smells were the best memory trigger- but really, she couldn't count on that once she logged off. "So it's called Where the Red Fern Grows? Do you know who it's by, by any chance?" She was trying to make sure to have all the facts before she'd give anything in return. There were quite a few books she liked, but none would necessarily fit his interests. It took her a few moments of mulling it over and scratching her head before her hands clapped together the moment she had her Archimedes moment. "One of my favorite books, overall, is a historical fiction. Since you seem like you like history overall... I don't really have any about Rome and whatnot I can think of, but maybe this one will still work? It's a look at the way women lived in 19th century China. It goes pretty in depth on things, including a pretty hard look at how foot binding worked... I wonder if that'd be a good recommendation?" Through her explanation, she failed to give him the title or author- mostly because, honestly, her epiphany didn't quite feel like one just yet. She had a lot of books she liked, she hadn't really figured out the theme of her tendencies, nor did she know what of them this particular man would like. For all she knew, he'd prefer pure fiction or fantasy, or some genre she didn't even read herself. "If I write something that mentions what you taught me, next time, I'll definitely recommend it just because you'll be involved. But until then... It's hard to decide what to share with you most." About to giggle from her embarrassment at how bad she was at making such simple decisions, the man noticed her words and threw them back as a devil's advocate- one in a topic she had a personal vendetta against, if only for stupid reasons from her youth. "Being a goodie goodies is different than being 'sweet' or just generally trying to be polite. I have my flaws too. Whenever people try to tell me I'm a goodie-goodie, it's usually their way of saying I'm 'too good'. Being able to point out my faults at those moments, especially if one is a more notable 'sin' as you put it... Isn't that a good thing to know to share?"
"You're right. As humans, we have a need for structure of some sort. And Hierarchy like that fits quite well." He actually really liked her observation regarding Social and Economic status, and how since the dawn of time, societies have been placing huge emphasis on them. To the point where, as she said, whether or not someone earned it, Symbols of status can easily be an illusion for actual accomplishment and self-esteem. Though, only recently on Earth, are people now able to not necessairly be wealthy in their wallets, but still live comfortable and happy lives. How strange that was. He smiled, happy to have that topic expanded upon, and even more so that Harveste, whoever she was, could not only hold real conversation, but also give her own input and diverge it more into a direction so that she could better understand as well. This actually turned into a rather nice ordeal, the rain being pleasant. "I guess that's right. It's almost exactly what stories are for. Take the Greek myths for example, basically, they're all stories, in order to help understand or explain things that weren't understood or explained before. Like the tale of Archna. I can guarantee that story probably came around because some small child had to ask 'Where do spiders come from?' after being bit by one. So someone made up a story to the best of their understanding to help everyone else get it. It's what I love about the Greek Myths, you can see just how mystical they thought the world was." She asked about where the Red Fern grows, and he looked up, placing a hand on his chin in thought. "Something Rawls. I don't know the first name, but only the last because I had to do a book report on something in Highschool, and I chose that book. So, Where the Red Fern Grows, by Rawls. That should be enough to find it. Worst case scenario, just google that book name and it will probably come up." "Oh yes, that'd be amazing. I love what I call 'Finer Detail' History books, where they go into the nitty gritty about customs and cultures during time periods and civilizations. That is an excellent recommendation. Please, what is the book name? I will happily order it online. Though I don't know how much reading of it I will do, since I spend most of my time locked up here in Terra." He nodded smiling to her words, his way of encouraging her with a yes without actually saying anything, not really knowing how to respond to that, other than to agree because it was interesting and he looked forward to seeing it. "Being able to recognize your own faults is a virtue, yes. Don't worry about what they say then, if you ain't a goodie-goodie, then you aint. Live how you want to, if you don't want to do certain things, don't. If you do, do. I was just saying, atleast from what I saw, that you came off as Innocent and not really into doing things that might be frowned upon. But if that's not the case, by all means, tell me." He smiled trying now to pry into her personality a bit deeper, wanting to know more.
It was possible the man was lucky that she dropped the subject for a moment when he went silent to ponder how much humanity had changed- because she had been greatly affected by the way social construct changed from her youth to now, if only because of small issues such as sexuality and religion, and having seen some great issues with other things in her childhood. Despite the tendency she had to go into reminiscent, anxious memories, she was fairly happy all points considered as she spoke with the mysterious stranger turning friend. For her, it wasn't often she met someone who acted as so many things: someone who shared her thirst for knowledge to the point in at least one subject they'd be considered a walking encyclopedia or dictionary; someone who could alter perspective without playing devil's advocate in some cases, explaining information to her in simpler analogies than even she could ever come up with. If this man did one day become deemed a true friend, the awkward Faerin couldn't help but hope for it. However, time was part of her ability to trust. It would take her a while to fully feel that he was an ally, but at the moment, a comrade could certainly be considered a role in her head. It was then that the man took her out of his thoughts not only with agreement on her subject of stories, but with an example she hadn't heard of in some time, if ever. "The story of Arachna...? I can't say I know that one. Subject matter makes sense based on etymology, but still... What story is that exactly? I'd like to know." With a small glance away, she tried to hide the mild nervousness she felt in relation to the subject matter. It wasn't that like a stereotypical girl she had arachnophobia- nope, she actually liked some of them, and wasn't the type to just kill a spider on the spot by any means. Still, she was embarrassed in the fact she did often wonder why spiders existed... If only because a fear of certain ones had been instilled in her since birth. "A lot of cultures had massive mythologies for such reasons. Many mythologies vary just how they see the world, and it's amazing to learn the differences. Each one has their own symbolism, their own reasons for being... the same goes for this world, if you think about it. This world has its own gods and concept of good versus bad. It's amazing, the creativity of the human mind when it tries to make sense of things..." Her eyes returned to look at the man rather than the cavern wall, eyes lighting up lightly as he gave her more details on the book and an interest in her own recommendation after she made sure to write the one he gave her in the back of her mind, but not too far away. "It's called 'Snow Flower and the Secret Fan', by Lisa See. I read it in high school as well, actually, though it wasn't for a book report. I was kind of a teacher's pet in English classes and was quick to finish my work, so my teacher would lend me books she liked that she thought might interest me so I could read while I was bored at times. It was the best one she leant me, hands down- and it's one of my top three, probably always." Her eclectic love of reading had never ended, or so it seemed- even now, her list of 'to read' books heavily mimicked the length of books she had finished and enjoyed, though not usually on a list of 'favorites' by any means. It was perhaps because of this that she had only started recently, in her twenties, to listen to audio books due to some of the strenuous parts of life. Some were ones she had the physical books for as well to read along or at her own times- but it was fun to have a story told to her sometimes. "I tend to love when there's more detail to a book myself. I cringed a lot reading that one, but at the same time, it had great fascinating facts, including the way they talked their daughters into even doing it, and I learned some other facts I never would've expected too. Reading is a gateway to new knowledge and understanding of the world and oneself. It's truly food for the soul." Blushing heavily as she realized just how excited she'd gotten to have a person to talk books with, Harveste pulled herself into a tighter ball, hiding her face between her knees. As she was trying to calm herself from the rush, he brought up a waterfall topic of sorts- both encouraging her and accepting her belief she wasn't as good as people said, while also giving a curious poke at what caused her to think that. "I've always been a bit... self-hating. I mean, it's not that surprising by my background. My social anxiety got me into some pretty bad moments when I was a kid." It wasn't what he was asking, so she opted not to delve into the samples- the samples that had scarred her, despite being decades in the past. "I'm a naturally lazy person. If I had the choice, normally, I'd be a hermit that only got the things she needed delivered and never dealt with people outside the net. Lately I've been getting better about it, mind you." She tried to think of the few times she'd left her apartment since starting in this game, in this new 'lifetime' in her mind. The memories embarrassed her heavily at points, causing her to turn about as red as a tomato or apple for a few moments, rather comically. In a way, the warmth of it was helpful, though slowly her cheeks felt like they were burning the legs she hid between. She pulled herself together and sprawled out, if only to air out the flesh that felt like it was aflame. "I only started dating in reality last month. I started going out and meeting people sometimes from the game, started working outside my house because of events and the like... But it doesn't change that I'm still a coward... And in reality, I still can barely keep a cactus alive."
It was a strange thing, how in that same Hierarchy of Social and Economic Status, someone could be born at the top, and pretty much any time in history up until very recently, if you happened to 'play for your own team' as far as sexuality goes, or had differing thoughts as far as Religion or general belief system, that same Hierarchy would toss you off the deep end, Kings would rip things from you, and citizens would call for your beheading. Which means that even now, an impoverished lesbian had a better chance of survival and standard of living than an atheist King. History, atleast for the Europeans was weird like that. And even weirder than that, that change was made somewhere into the Medieval Ages, whereas before and even after that, it was even more wrong to not be a little quirked like that. Those same Romans that the pair have been talking about often times took same-sex lovers on the side of their Spouses, Emperor's, like Constantine, often getting ridiculed for taking part in that. It wasn't status breaking, you were just seen as a weirdo. And then the 180 happened; how strange Culture can shift like that, yet remain so similar. His eyes lit up at her curiosity for the story of Arachna, which he was happy to tell, and began so right away. "Well, it goes a little something like this;" He cleared his throat and got into Storytelling mode, his voice and tone changing to best match the atmosphere. "There was a young girl named Arachnae, who was, in our words, a Seamstress. She spun silk and other cloths both for a living and as a hobby. The village she lived in spoke about how she was a master at sewing and tailoring, and soon the word spread out through all of Greece and up Mount Olympus. At this point, June, or Hera if you want to keep to the Greek names, had heard and was insulted, because some of those Greeks rumored that not only was Arachnae a Master, she might be better than Hera herself. Not wanting to be outdone by a mere mortal, Hera swooped down to Arachnae's village, found her and introduced herself. Without going into too much detail, mostly because I don't know the finer details off the top of my head, Hera challenged Arachnae to a Clothspinning contest to see who could spin the most intricate and beautiful webs of silk. After the short contest was done, and some arbitrary judging process, it was decided that Arachnae's were, in fact, better than Hera's. In Anger and Embarrassment, Hera cursed Arachnae into a hideous creature that was small enough to be stomped on should any person get annoyed with her, but as a saving grace, Zeus secretly allowed the small Arachane to continue to do her passion; Spin Silk. And thus, Spiders, or Arachnids, were brought into the world." He gave a long breath and went silent for a second to signal the story was over, and to be quite honest, it kind of left him wanting to talk more. That story was easily one of his favourite and now it had him in the mood to keep telling them, but where to start and what story to do next, or if she was even still interested Zelrius would leave for her to decide for the moment. "You mentioned that one of your favourite books was a Historical fiction. It wouldn't happen to be the Bible would it?" He smiled to himself, knowing full well what he just did, and hoping she'd understand that it was just a joke, but if not, then Zelrius could just stand up and leave the cave to avoid a religious argument; something he wasn't particularly interested in right now all that much. "Tell me about this book, what's it about, who are the characters, what is it like?" He'd leave the other topic for a moment, not wanting to dwell on it too much, but also wanting to maybe help encourage better behavior, which she gave a disclaimer that she was getting better at, but of course, the Golden haired man was a bit skeptical of people when they said things like that; always taking it with a grain of salt.
The girl listened closely as he explained his tale from the myths that had been passed down for eras, the myths she barely recalled that she'd probably heard one time in her life during her formative years. His way of explaining it was a bit less droning than how she would've heard it in the past, anyway- she cuold sense his intrigue in the subject, and as he explained it, there were only a few points he stopped him with questions- mostly asking about who Hera was, since she forgot. "So that's how the word arachnid came to be?" Spellbound she spoke, eyes peeking at him while thinking it over. "It makes me feel bad for being intimidated by spiders myself. Though I don't mind some, I was raised to worry about if it might be a brown recluse or some other poisonous sort. I wonder what species Arachnea would have been?" Smiling, she felt better thinking of the story than of the way it made her look upon herself. "It's not the bible, but I like your point there. It's a book about women in 19th century China, with in depth looks at how things were thought of and done. It can get pretty gruesome reading in detail about how footbinding worked, though..." This time, her laughter was once again a mildly anxious sort. "It's called 'Snow Flower and the Secret Fan', by Lisa See. You learn about things through the eyes of a girl living in the period, writing secret letters to a friend on paper fans they send back and forth throughout their lives. They're brought together through a form of matchmaking, much like how they'd be brought together with their future husbands later in the story. It shows pretty much every section of her lifespan, from her youth in the fields to her marriage and to her senior years in life." She took a deep breath, letting her explanation echo slightly before finishing her personal thoughts on the matter, and a slight insight as to what may have led her to them considering her deep memories of mostly certain sections. "It was pretty informative and interesting overall, at least to me. Though, to be fair, I also was reading it the same year as I read Things Fall Apart in class, and at the start, I really just liked that it was calmer in a sense. If you haven't read Things Fall Apart, I'd be rather surprised comparatively. I wasn't able to handle it myself, but... That was just me. It wasn't bad, by any means."
He answered the questions as they came, telling of how Hera was the direct wife of Zeus, and Queen of the gods of Olympus. One of the few women Zeus kept around, and the only one he'd show more than a passing affection for, often times heeding her advice and giving mercy on judgement whenever he passed it in many myths. Still, despite his longstanding affection, Zeus was known to bang anything that walked, crawled, or slithered. "Kind of? Well, the name Archnae for the character in this Myth was derived for the already existing word for Spider, Arachnida. The Ara part meaning Arthropod, segmented limbs and bones, and the rest I suppose just comes from how their language was. As for Arachnae herself, some late Renaissance paintings depict her as a black widow sometimes, or a Salticidae other times." Then a thought struck him as he issued a correction to his story. "Oh wait! It was Hera who let her keep the web spinning, but it was Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom and Crafts, who was jealous and challenged Arachnae. Sorry, I told you I can get a bit foggy sometimes." It was true enough. And now it was his turn to listen again taking in all the wonderment of this book she spoke so highly about. He'd certainly need to go and read it on his own, especially now that she ha provided a title and an author. It was definitely something he'd have to look into, just for the historical aspect, and a bit of story was always nice on the side. Zelrius was actually a bit disappointed that she didn't find his bible joke that funny, but the golden haired man himself thought it was hilarious. "Things Fall Apart?" He inquired, now wanting to know more about this book too. "What was it about and who was the Author, if you don't mind me asking? And why was the school having you read it?" So many questions, so little time.
