Noi
“I offer this diary to you to tell you what he was thinking, and what his fate was. He was always thinking who he was, where he’d come from, and where he was going. Everyone convinces themselves that life is an enjoyable thing. He, however, was always thinking about how much of a burden it was.
“He once told me that ‘every human starts as a genius. As they age, they become average. It’s because they get stupid that they can enjoy life.’ Although, I suppose you could say that people like Grania are the most human of us all. I never thought him to be dull, he was a brooding yet deeply empathetic man— although he’d get upset if you told him that. Of course, he was extremely bright, but to me, he was just Grania, my husband.
“The Grania I knew before the Stone of Silence was nothing like the one you know. He was born a brooding thinker, but he knew what love was. I loved him and he loved me back in his own way. But becoming a guardian changed him, so much so that while I knew he still loved me, I had to accept that I was no longer his peace. Or rather, I had to accept that Grania would never know peace again. I know the Somners were against isolating children, but Grania knew what he was doing.
“Life was beautiful and then it was a burden. It’s better to prepare them for the cruel fate of becoming a Guardian for the Stone of Silence. There’s no fate crueler than remembering happiness during everlasting sorrow.”
“He once told me that ‘every human starts as a genius. As they age, they become average. It’s because they get stupid that they can enjoy life.’ Although, I suppose you could say that people like Grania are the most human of us all. I never thought him to be dull, he was a brooding yet deeply empathetic man— although he’d get upset if you told him that. Of course, he was extremely bright, but to me, he was just Grania, my husband.
“The Grania I knew before the Stone of Silence was nothing like the one you know. He was born a brooding thinker, but he knew what love was. I loved him and he loved me back in his own way. But becoming a guardian changed him, so much so that while I knew he still loved me, I had to accept that I was no longer his peace. Or rather, I had to accept that Grania would never know peace again. I know the Somners were against isolating children, but Grania knew what he was doing.
“Life was beautiful and then it was a burden. It’s better to prepare them for the cruel fate of becoming a Guardian for the Stone of Silence. There’s no fate crueler than remembering happiness during everlasting sorrow.”
-Translated letter from Halinka, wife of Grania, the Forty-fifth Guardian of the Stone of Silence
Appearance
Noi has an unusual appearance that causes her to stray from conventional beauty standards. Her oval face is long with chubby cheeks and a big forehead. Her cat-like monolid eyes are playful with a slight downward tilt, the iris a deep gray that contrasts against her bright crimson hair (yes, it’s natural.) A long, flat nose that leads down to Noi’s favorite feature: her very full lips that always seem ready to smile.
Noi has a small, petite frame. Delicate shoulders and the absence of curves makes her appear much younger than she actually is.
Noi has a small, petite frame. Delicate shoulders and the absence of curves makes her appear much younger than she actually is.
The Stone of Silence
“I want to scream. The veracity of the solution passes up through my throat and I am choking. CHOKING. It’s closing in on me, my body, this room, the entire world. I can feel it getting closer, getting louder. It’s a secret I can’t reveal, a secret I must share if I am to live but if I share it then I know what happens to the rest of the world. From the bottom of the abyss I can feel the truth. It wants to be let free but I have to be silent. It’s top secret, this urge spreading through my lungs burns my throat and yet I!
And yet I remain unable to speak, unable to scream. What good is my mouth if I can’t even make the noises belonging to a animal? This existence gives me nothing but pain and suffering.”
And yet I remain unable to speak, unable to scream. What good is my mouth if I can’t even make the noises belonging to a animal? This existence gives me nothing but pain and suffering.”
-excerpt from the diary of Ballari, Ninth Guardian of the Stone of Silence. It’s believe this was written before she mutilated her face in her room of solitude.
The Stone of Silence is hardly a stone that gets much recognition out of the sixteen rune stones: the elements are often sung about far and wide, the dangers of disease and blood and void follow after, the greatness of the one and only life and death, and then the emotions carried by all. The last to be sung about is the Stone of Silence, which is fitting.
The Stone of Silence tends to give the guardians in charge of it a brutal existence, and centuries later, it was the Philosopher Grania that demanded reform in how the vanguard conducted its approach to the Stone of Silence. Certain children would be taken, from the moment they were born, and isolated. These children were often given willingly by their parents because they had some sort of defect to them: a cleft-lip, deformed limbs, or even coming out feet first would be a good enough reason to offer their children to the vanguard.
Noi was one of these children, and knew nothing of the outside world. Only her room and the locked door and the act of being fed. Grania believed that keeping children away from the outside world made them handle the Stone of Silence better. These children, unable to experience the world, seemed to not age and have always been perceived to look and be young.
At 18, she was chosen to be the new guardian of the stone of silence as the guardian before her was rapidly declining in mental health. The next two years Noi spent with the Guardian and the transference of memories, which was hardly a easy process. Quite painful and mentally taxing, but with each transfer of memory, the Guardian’s health improved. It was expected for Noi’s health to drop like all the others before her, but somehow it didn’t.
The Somners knew they had made the right choice in choosing Noi to be the next guardian. Maybe this time, unlike the other Guardians of the Stone of Silence, Noi could handle the rune stone for more than a decade or so.
Skills and Abilities
FROM THE STONE OF SILENCE:
Law of Vibrations: Noi can feel everything, all the vibrations of the world in any object— living or nonliving. This is best described as 360 degree vision to a certain degree. Due to these constant vibrations that has been consistent with every guardian, many Guardians of Silence tend to become recluses and keep away from large towns and gatherings. All of them have hated music because of these vibrations, but due to Noi’s synesthesia, she is granted this one reprieve.
Keeper of Secrets: all guardians of the stones have the ability to pass on their memories to the next. Noi only knows how to read and write because of the guardians before her that knew how to read and write. Within her, she has a collection of all the memories of the guardians before her and the secrets that they have carried. Like the guardians before her, Noi must also collect secrets.
Bocca Della Verità: mouth of truth; when Noi wills it, only the truth can be shared. This is often how she collects secrets. This action is usually a pleasant one for the person receiving it, disarming them completely and having them feel relieved after sharing. The effect does wear off after minutes.
Divination: Noi’s divination is very good, although it’s nothing specific yet also very specific at the same time. For example, when performing divination on a middle-aged man, she told him “be careful, something will happen to your heart.” And the man took it to mean he should take better care of his health. A month later he was stabbed in the heart.
Telepathy: the only way Noi can communicate other than reading and writing. Her telepathy is weaker than other Guardians before her, and she must touch someone’s skin to communicate with them. The only strength of her telepathy is that it is seamless, connecting her thoughts and the other without any hiccups that sometimes after Noi has finished her mental conversation with them, they wonder what exactly were their thoughts and which were Noi’s.
Silently: Noi doesn’t make sound, even if she’s running, no one can hear her. This also usually equates to her having no presence at all in a room.
Frequencies: Noi is currently learning this skill and discovering what it entails. Right now, as far as she can tell, controlling this frequencies requires her sending out either negative or positive waves of energy, each with different effects.
Law of Vibrations: Noi can feel everything, all the vibrations of the world in any object— living or nonliving. This is best described as 360 degree vision to a certain degree. Due to these constant vibrations that has been consistent with every guardian, many Guardians of Silence tend to become recluses and keep away from large towns and gatherings. All of them have hated music because of these vibrations, but due to Noi’s synesthesia, she is granted this one reprieve.
Keeper of Secrets: all guardians of the stones have the ability to pass on their memories to the next. Noi only knows how to read and write because of the guardians before her that knew how to read and write. Within her, she has a collection of all the memories of the guardians before her and the secrets that they have carried. Like the guardians before her, Noi must also collect secrets.
Bocca Della Verità: mouth of truth; when Noi wills it, only the truth can be shared. This is often how she collects secrets. This action is usually a pleasant one for the person receiving it, disarming them completely and having them feel relieved after sharing. The effect does wear off after minutes.
Divination: Noi’s divination is very good, although it’s nothing specific yet also very specific at the same time. For example, when performing divination on a middle-aged man, she told him “be careful, something will happen to your heart.” And the man took it to mean he should take better care of his health. A month later he was stabbed in the heart.
Telepathy: the only way Noi can communicate other than reading and writing. Her telepathy is weaker than other Guardians before her, and she must touch someone’s skin to communicate with them. The only strength of her telepathy is that it is seamless, connecting her thoughts and the other without any hiccups that sometimes after Noi has finished her mental conversation with them, they wonder what exactly were their thoughts and which were Noi’s.
Silently: Noi doesn’t make sound, even if she’s running, no one can hear her. This also usually equates to her having no presence at all in a room.
Frequencies: Noi is currently learning this skill and discovering what it entails. Right now, as far as she can tell, controlling this frequencies requires her sending out either negative or positive waves of energy, each with different effects.
Personality
Noi has four peculiar ailments, and no one is certain if she was born this way or if it has to do with the Stone of Silence. She is both mute and deaf and only able to communicate with weak telepathy that requires skin-on-skin contact. She also has synesthesia, although this is hardly a ailment if you were to ask her. The last ailment is her shrunken amygdala, which is probably the real reason why she was handed over to the Vanguard. Noi cannot feel fear. It’s not a gift by any means, instead, it’s the greatest obstacle she must overcome in many situations.
Noi has been noted to be cheerful but incredibly spunky, both things that are contrary to her sullen looks.
Noi has been noted to be cheerful but incredibly spunky, both things that are contrary to her sullen looks.