"Well," Otis responded, not even gazing at Davil as the needle danced between his fingers,
"you did kill plenty of their co-workers. Don't think they'd treat you kindly over that."Was that a joke?
"But yes. I'm expecting to continue my experimentations. Current events have been enlightening, and beyond that, there's still a lot more to document about your Ethos." His words were as clinical as always, but it was about as much interest as one could expect Otis to show in someone else. He lifted up the fabric he was working on, closed one eye as if to simultaneously 'imagine' and 'see' at the same time, before placing it down and continuing his work. Rio's words were a touch abrasive, but understandable. He was a faith-based caster, after all, and his Ethos was a collection of shields. If it had been Chloe that had been rendered comatose instead of Hildegunde, Otis would expect that the morning's convergence would have turned out very differently. Still, he couldn't help himself. Well, no, he could. But it was a carriage ride, and embroidery wasn't so mentally engaging of a task that he wasn't going to be able to ask questions and absorb responses while doing so.
"There's only one problem worth solving in this world," Otis spoke.
"The hero talk is to gather the impressionable young and to drum up investments from the nobles. If Ciara was such a threat, she could have done far worse in that sham of an entrance exam, rather than only going wild after being pushed into a duel." She could have gorged herself on would-be heroes, drunk deep from their prime essence, and become something of a perpetual motion machine, running almost an entire generation of Ethos-wielders. Or she could have been immediately cut down by Valen. What Fianchetto said was worth inquiring about, however.
"How would one become an interested party? Are there Umbralists in captivity even now, studied by mages? Is there some sort of donation one needs to make to the Astrite Faith in order to gain approval for that? Where would one find studies on the research and dissection done on them? I had imagined that though they utilized taboo essences and belonged to a heretic faith, they were still standard humanoids. Does the worship of Umbralism cause physical mutations?" 
Tally Dor
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