“Well?â€
Pierre Glaisyer glanced up from where he knelt at the side of the corpse. The downed wyvern had bled from a score of puncture wounds, ere it perished: wings, legs, abdomen, neck. Most of the blood had long since congealed, but what they’d managed to collect was now sealed within the small vial held within the Wildwood’s grasp.
“As expected,†he reported to his captain. “Physical confrontation. a trifle. No difficulties there. But we’ve no way to know with a true dragon. They are possessed of foul magicks; there is simply no telling how theirs will clash or otherwise interact with ours, not until it happens.â€
Tengri Geneq snorted, but he nodded in acknowledgement of his subordinate’s conclusions. There was, after all, little point in employing another’s expertise only to blithely and foolishly dismiss their findings. At that moment, however, something brushed against his thoughts and footfalls sounded against the narrow stone path that gradually ascended the Dravanian mountainside. He turned to find Ortolf Forgehands falling to one knee. Behind him, he could hear Pierre rising to his feet. The tension that ratcheted with each passing moment as palpable.
“What is the meaning of this?â€
“Ser,†said the highlander as he held aloft a rolled parchment, “a missive for you. Urgent, to the first degree.â€
Everything went still. Everything went silent. Had the mountain erupted with cannon fire, the Auri warrior would not have flinched. That was the extent to which he stood stunned.
The first degree was reserved for the abomination.
He stepped forward and held out a hand. Forgehands rose and passed him the parchment, which he unfurled and perused once.
To Mister Adonis and the Slaves whom are Bound to his Service,
This one begins by wishing you all a fine day and hopes that you are all well. The purpose of this letter is a follows: this one seeks to sit down and discuss the ultimate futility of your aspirations before you exert any more effort to obtain what is nothing more than dust upon the wind. The purpose of this conversation is to attempt to save the many innocent lives your actions will cause to come to harm by opposing the inevitable reality which this one is accelerating.
Should this intrigue you, come alone to the small town of Swiftperch. Again, that is alone. Should there be cause to suspect even the slightest chance of betrayal, our ceasefire will be forfeit and you shall have only yourselves to blame for what follows.
For now, this one wishes you good fortune and hopes that you might realize that your attempts to exercise control only enslave the innocents you wish to lord yourself over. Until then, your selfish desire to rule matters more to you than the freedom of your fellow mortals.
Respectfully,
Jin'li Epinoch
The parchment crumpled and tore as he balled his hands and clenched his fists.
“Come. We are for La Noscea.â€
“But captain, the child--â€
“Summerfield shall have to fend for them both for a few hours, perhaps a day at the outside. This is too much.†He straightened and looked to the south, across the forelands. “It cannot wait.â€
"Don't."
"I must."
"Please, captain--"
"No, Pierre."
"He cannot be trusted!"
"That is why I brought the two of you, Ortolf. Silence, please."
Tengri Geneq rounded the end of the fence and strode into Swiftperch. He wore a full suit of plate mail, sans celata, and the steel longsword at his side and the darksteel tower shield upon his back belied the nonchalance with which he walked. Two shadows, frenzied and furious, darted to and fro and about his own.
"I will not converse with you in private, as I was bid," he called out to the moonlit night, "until I have your guarantee, given face to face, of safe passage from this pathetic little settlement."
"Pathetic?" came the voice from the shadows, like a bemused purr hinting at something that might have been amusement if not for the off notes in it. Nothing moved at first. Only the stars twinkling overhead in the early morning sky.
"Of course those who desire power would find the simple dwellings of those they would seek to rule as nothing more than pathetic. But this is how the slaves you seek to control live out their lives. Not that you would care, your selfish minds care only for your personal well-being and power."
There was a pause as the form of a robed miqo'te stepped from the shadows near the back of the open space between buildings.
"Certainly words that sound like a guarantee could be uttered, and indeed, you do have such a promise. But, are words ever anything more than subjective phrases that vary from soul to soul?"
Jin'li's soulless eyes stared into the thing that was Tengri.
"I call this settlement pathetic because it neither holds nor has it been given any strategic purpose," explained the Garlean expatriate as he turned to face the abomination, "and yet those who abide here live in squalor and must eke out a meager existence for no reason other than that it is convenient for those currently in power for them to do so. Those who are kept lowly are kept cheap. For this place to flourish, investment is required. Investment of coin, of nourishment, of purpose. These people will never rise to their potential otherwise, so do not preach to me, Epinoch."
He lifted a hand and snapped his fingers. With an otherworldly screech, the two shadows departed post-haste for the horizon.
"But if currency was not a chain to bind them,†came the reply, â€perhaps their potential could be obtained."
Jin'li stood, his hands in his pockets of the robe that tugged gently on his small frame as a gentle sea breeze brought the smell of salt and brine up, off the sea.
"You still see yourself as the rightful ruler of all the world, it seems. Your attitude has not changed despite your reincarnation. One would think that a new perspective might have developed during this period of time."
Jin'li blinked slowly.
"So then, what does one call you now? One would hate to be rude and address you incorrectly during the course of our discussions."
"Your contention against currency is valid." The Auri male crossed his arms and grinned. "Your assessment of my perspective is not. Adin Adonis lives only in memory now, lost to all but those who knew him in life. Though he emerged-- though I emerged dominant from the amalgamation that was Rotunda, the man he was is not the man he became. I am not he."
He turned and paced back and forth along the dirt path that was the main thoroughfare.
"I took what principles and ideals he valued and retained those I deemed worthy. Rotunda would be a more accurate epithet... in many ways, I am still Thal's Dagger and Althyk's Axe, still the Dome that Shelters... but Rotunda is also my past, not my future."
He paused in his tracks and smirked at the short male.
"I am Tengri Geneq and Tengri Moks, he who hears and he who sees. I am the Sky, and I have a Voice, and I would step aside from my ambitions if only to cast out you and your ilk."
He bowed low.
"How interesting." Jin'li blinked slowly. A small smile began to work over his twisted lips. "In the end, Adin lacked even the willpower to remain true to himself."
The Geneq snorted at Epinoch's presumption. "How little you knew the man, after all those years spent in his service," he grumbled.
Jin'li bowed back and then stood, his face losing its hints of emotions as it became a flat mask again.
"So, Mister Tengri, you speak of ambitions. This one thinks it would be best that you cease your grabs for power. You will find that your time might be better off spent elsewhere."
Jin'li turned and motioned with a gloved hand for Tengri to follow as he began a slow stroll to the edge of the village that overlooked the sea. His fellow former Crow fell into step as the abomination made for the cliffs.
"Power comes later," he explained. "For now, I have settled for countermeasures and for weapons. My machinations heretofore have been of a singular purpose: to foil you at every turn. I consider this a worthwhile endeavour. I understand that you do not."
"Because your current endeavour is one that shall yield you no fruit in the end."
They came to the edge of the village and gazed out over the waters.
"Do you see those ships out there, Mister Tengri? There are three of them sailing together."
"I see them," he acknowledged.
Epinoch folded its hands together as his eyes watched the ships.
"You think that this one has plans that can be halted. That there is a way it can be stopped. You are wrong."
Jin'li turned his head to peer up at Tengri.
"You might as well be trying to end a virus or halt the endless decay to which the current reality is subject. You would try to make a new structure with which to house society. This one would find a way to topple it. For example..."
Jin'li turned back to the ships.
"There are three slave ships before you. Each a wonderful little self-contained society with a set of those who rule and those many trapped beneath. Everything and everyone in their place."
"But… if you add something that should not be there. Such as keys to chains, weapons for hands, and who knows what else, the entire neat little system can change in a moment. Why..."
One of the ships exploded in a ball of fire that sent flames and debris into the air. The fire illuminated the other ships and a moment later it became obvious that chaos had broken out on the other two ships. Fighting was spilling onto the decks and the figures danced in the bloody light of the flaming ship.
"You see, Mister Tengri, you are just one of the many to whom I am currently demonstrating the reality of the world. You seek to bind mortals to your will. To rule. You will find that mortals, deep down, despise being ruled over. sooner or later, everything you create will be destroyed. And this one will likely be there. Accelerating the inevitable. You cannot stop me, Mister Tengri. Even something as simple as freed slaves aboard a slaving vessel is a victory to me."
"Let us not bandy words." The Geneq grinned as he watched the proceedings. "You care not a whit for slaves, nor for free men and women. Your ambitions do not begin and end with such things."
He turned to Epinoch, his arms still crossed.
"In your arrogance, you believe yourself inevitable. You take the proofs of your own existence, in violation of all natural law, as evidence. Whether you have transcended the chaos that gave rise to you is immaterial; what matters to you is the reality you seek to impose."
He shrugged.
"If you are inevitable and your victory assured, and said reality will come, as I suspect it will, at the cost of all that these people," he waved a hand at the ships before returning it to the crook of his other elbow, "hold dear... then what, pray tell, is the purpose of this meeting? Surely you hold no lasting affections for myself... if, in fact, you hold any affections for anyone or anything at all. Why seek to spare me the effort, if in fact my exertions are futile? 'tis not for their sakes."
He paused and blinked theatrically.
"Unless... could it be... you are not inevitable?"
As if on cue, tentacles erupted from the sea. Long, thick, and sinister, they fell upon the ships. Battered them, crushed them, tore them to pieces and, in the end, dragged them one by one down into the depths.
"Reanimating a kraken was difficult, if inspired," he murmured in an amused tone of voice, "but worth the cost to deny you a cult of worshippers. You never were any good at chess."
He leaned forward, bent down until he was at eye level with the abomination. He grinned and his tail writhed with pleasure.
"So tell me," he all but purred, "do you fear me, Jin'li?"
Jin'li had observed Tengri's demonstration with a relaxed air to him, hands held clasped together. The short little Miqo'te made no effort to reply in any way, until the tall Au Ra leaned down and met him eye to eye. At first, he merely blinked..
"And what about you do I need fear?" His words were calm. "What would you do to me? Kill me? Capture me? Torture me? Cease my existence? Bring an end to my activities? You forget, I've endured anything and everything you have ever brought into being at least once. You might as well be shouting at a tempest, trying to prove how mighty you are. No, there is no fear, only displeasure. You asked why you are here. Well, the answer is simple. To let you know that I've been worming chaos into your plans. Slowly. One thread at a time. For example..."
Jin'li calmly reached into his robe and pulled out… the moonlight glistened over it. It was a mask, polished like an egg. The mask spun in the his hands as he held it up for Tengri to see.
The Mask of the Seven Horrors Hidden in Nald'Thal's Mist.
"It was chance that drew Mergrey to me in the beginning, so desperate was he for a necromancer to bring back his beloved. At the time, I had just taken the mantle from the former owner of this mask and was making use of the man’s reputation to establish connections. But then Mergrey came to me, and I saw a chance to keep an eye on him. It was simple at first. After all, what else are brothers for? But, then, lo and behold, you began seeking soulstones and, one by one, through my hands they passed. The Lady Mergrey let slip certain information, you see, and, well, the question you should ask yourself is, ‘did he sow a little madness into those stones before I received them? Is it wise to trust those who wield them?’ I was never very good at playing chess...â€
Jin'li blinked.
"...but this isn't chess. And there are no rules."
The Geneq blinked back and stared in contemplative silence, brow furrowed, as if assessing damages. At last, he straightened with a laugh.
"A minor setback... and there is much that you do not know. I see no reason to bring those matters to your attention, and so...." Tengri nodded, one hand raising to pinch the tip of a horn in salute as though it were the brim of a hat. "...our palaver, I think, is at an end. There is little to be said that has not been said already."
And with that, he turned his back on the abomination and walked back up the road, exposing himself… and his rudeness.
Jin'li made no noise as he silently slipped the mask onto his face and peered at the Au Ra. Behind the mask, the little cat's face twisted into an expression of mirth. He said nothing as his hands slowly slipped around himself in a hug and he squeezed himself tightly. The abomination began to cackle wildly as he tossed his head back. The sound of the laughter echoed out and followed Tengri as the runt collapsed into a mass of centipedes and scurried away in all directions.
"Khuja'ya," murmured the Geneq once he was certain that Epinoch had departed.
His own shadow twisted and contorted. From within that shadow emerged a second which resolved into a mangy Keeper, hunched over and chortling under his breath.
"We are fortunate that your unique... talents... were not required," the Au Ra went on. "Fetch Sarangerel from the Brewer’s Beacon. We are going home."
Khuja'ya Zhwan cackled and disappeared as the two shadows from earlier raced back towards Tengri.
Rotunda Crow smiled.
Pierre Glaisyer glanced up from where he knelt at the side of the corpse. The downed wyvern had bled from a score of puncture wounds, ere it perished: wings, legs, abdomen, neck. Most of the blood had long since congealed, but what they’d managed to collect was now sealed within the small vial held within the Wildwood’s grasp.
“As expected,†he reported to his captain. “Physical confrontation. a trifle. No difficulties there. But we’ve no way to know with a true dragon. They are possessed of foul magicks; there is simply no telling how theirs will clash or otherwise interact with ours, not until it happens.â€
Tengri Geneq snorted, but he nodded in acknowledgement of his subordinate’s conclusions. There was, after all, little point in employing another’s expertise only to blithely and foolishly dismiss their findings. At that moment, however, something brushed against his thoughts and footfalls sounded against the narrow stone path that gradually ascended the Dravanian mountainside. He turned to find Ortolf Forgehands falling to one knee. Behind him, he could hear Pierre rising to his feet. The tension that ratcheted with each passing moment as palpable.
“What is the meaning of this?â€
“Ser,†said the highlander as he held aloft a rolled parchment, “a missive for you. Urgent, to the first degree.â€
Everything went still. Everything went silent. Had the mountain erupted with cannon fire, the Auri warrior would not have flinched. That was the extent to which he stood stunned.
The first degree was reserved for the abomination.
He stepped forward and held out a hand. Forgehands rose and passed him the parchment, which he unfurled and perused once.
To Mister Adonis and the Slaves whom are Bound to his Service,
This one begins by wishing you all a fine day and hopes that you are all well. The purpose of this letter is a follows: this one seeks to sit down and discuss the ultimate futility of your aspirations before you exert any more effort to obtain what is nothing more than dust upon the wind. The purpose of this conversation is to attempt to save the many innocent lives your actions will cause to come to harm by opposing the inevitable reality which this one is accelerating.
Should this intrigue you, come alone to the small town of Swiftperch. Again, that is alone. Should there be cause to suspect even the slightest chance of betrayal, our ceasefire will be forfeit and you shall have only yourselves to blame for what follows.
For now, this one wishes you good fortune and hopes that you might realize that your attempts to exercise control only enslave the innocents you wish to lord yourself over. Until then, your selfish desire to rule matters more to you than the freedom of your fellow mortals.
Respectfully,
Jin'li Epinoch
The parchment crumpled and tore as he balled his hands and clenched his fists.
“Come. We are for La Noscea.â€
“But captain, the child--â€
“Summerfield shall have to fend for them both for a few hours, perhaps a day at the outside. This is too much.†He straightened and looked to the south, across the forelands. “It cannot wait.â€
"Don't."
"I must."
"Please, captain--"
"No, Pierre."
"He cannot be trusted!"
"That is why I brought the two of you, Ortolf. Silence, please."
Tengri Geneq rounded the end of the fence and strode into Swiftperch. He wore a full suit of plate mail, sans celata, and the steel longsword at his side and the darksteel tower shield upon his back belied the nonchalance with which he walked. Two shadows, frenzied and furious, darted to and fro and about his own.
"I will not converse with you in private, as I was bid," he called out to the moonlit night, "until I have your guarantee, given face to face, of safe passage from this pathetic little settlement."
"Pathetic?" came the voice from the shadows, like a bemused purr hinting at something that might have been amusement if not for the off notes in it. Nothing moved at first. Only the stars twinkling overhead in the early morning sky.
"Of course those who desire power would find the simple dwellings of those they would seek to rule as nothing more than pathetic. But this is how the slaves you seek to control live out their lives. Not that you would care, your selfish minds care only for your personal well-being and power."
There was a pause as the form of a robed miqo'te stepped from the shadows near the back of the open space between buildings.
"Certainly words that sound like a guarantee could be uttered, and indeed, you do have such a promise. But, are words ever anything more than subjective phrases that vary from soul to soul?"
Jin'li's soulless eyes stared into the thing that was Tengri.
"I call this settlement pathetic because it neither holds nor has it been given any strategic purpose," explained the Garlean expatriate as he turned to face the abomination, "and yet those who abide here live in squalor and must eke out a meager existence for no reason other than that it is convenient for those currently in power for them to do so. Those who are kept lowly are kept cheap. For this place to flourish, investment is required. Investment of coin, of nourishment, of purpose. These people will never rise to their potential otherwise, so do not preach to me, Epinoch."
He lifted a hand and snapped his fingers. With an otherworldly screech, the two shadows departed post-haste for the horizon.
"But if currency was not a chain to bind them,†came the reply, â€perhaps their potential could be obtained."
Jin'li stood, his hands in his pockets of the robe that tugged gently on his small frame as a gentle sea breeze brought the smell of salt and brine up, off the sea.
"You still see yourself as the rightful ruler of all the world, it seems. Your attitude has not changed despite your reincarnation. One would think that a new perspective might have developed during this period of time."
Jin'li blinked slowly.
"So then, what does one call you now? One would hate to be rude and address you incorrectly during the course of our discussions."
"Your contention against currency is valid." The Auri male crossed his arms and grinned. "Your assessment of my perspective is not. Adin Adonis lives only in memory now, lost to all but those who knew him in life. Though he emerged-- though I emerged dominant from the amalgamation that was Rotunda, the man he was is not the man he became. I am not he."
He turned and paced back and forth along the dirt path that was the main thoroughfare.
"I took what principles and ideals he valued and retained those I deemed worthy. Rotunda would be a more accurate epithet... in many ways, I am still Thal's Dagger and Althyk's Axe, still the Dome that Shelters... but Rotunda is also my past, not my future."
He paused in his tracks and smirked at the short male.
"I am Tengri Geneq and Tengri Moks, he who hears and he who sees. I am the Sky, and I have a Voice, and I would step aside from my ambitions if only to cast out you and your ilk."
He bowed low.
"How interesting." Jin'li blinked slowly. A small smile began to work over his twisted lips. "In the end, Adin lacked even the willpower to remain true to himself."
The Geneq snorted at Epinoch's presumption. "How little you knew the man, after all those years spent in his service," he grumbled.
Jin'li bowed back and then stood, his face losing its hints of emotions as it became a flat mask again.
"So, Mister Tengri, you speak of ambitions. This one thinks it would be best that you cease your grabs for power. You will find that your time might be better off spent elsewhere."
Jin'li turned and motioned with a gloved hand for Tengri to follow as he began a slow stroll to the edge of the village that overlooked the sea. His fellow former Crow fell into step as the abomination made for the cliffs.
"Power comes later," he explained. "For now, I have settled for countermeasures and for weapons. My machinations heretofore have been of a singular purpose: to foil you at every turn. I consider this a worthwhile endeavour. I understand that you do not."
"Because your current endeavour is one that shall yield you no fruit in the end."
They came to the edge of the village and gazed out over the waters.
"Do you see those ships out there, Mister Tengri? There are three of them sailing together."
"I see them," he acknowledged.
Epinoch folded its hands together as his eyes watched the ships.
"You think that this one has plans that can be halted. That there is a way it can be stopped. You are wrong."
Jin'li turned his head to peer up at Tengri.
"You might as well be trying to end a virus or halt the endless decay to which the current reality is subject. You would try to make a new structure with which to house society. This one would find a way to topple it. For example..."
Jin'li turned back to the ships.
"There are three slave ships before you. Each a wonderful little self-contained society with a set of those who rule and those many trapped beneath. Everything and everyone in their place."
"But… if you add something that should not be there. Such as keys to chains, weapons for hands, and who knows what else, the entire neat little system can change in a moment. Why..."
One of the ships exploded in a ball of fire that sent flames and debris into the air. The fire illuminated the other ships and a moment later it became obvious that chaos had broken out on the other two ships. Fighting was spilling onto the decks and the figures danced in the bloody light of the flaming ship.
"You see, Mister Tengri, you are just one of the many to whom I am currently demonstrating the reality of the world. You seek to bind mortals to your will. To rule. You will find that mortals, deep down, despise being ruled over. sooner or later, everything you create will be destroyed. And this one will likely be there. Accelerating the inevitable. You cannot stop me, Mister Tengri. Even something as simple as freed slaves aboard a slaving vessel is a victory to me."
"Let us not bandy words." The Geneq grinned as he watched the proceedings. "You care not a whit for slaves, nor for free men and women. Your ambitions do not begin and end with such things."
He turned to Epinoch, his arms still crossed.
"In your arrogance, you believe yourself inevitable. You take the proofs of your own existence, in violation of all natural law, as evidence. Whether you have transcended the chaos that gave rise to you is immaterial; what matters to you is the reality you seek to impose."
He shrugged.
"If you are inevitable and your victory assured, and said reality will come, as I suspect it will, at the cost of all that these people," he waved a hand at the ships before returning it to the crook of his other elbow, "hold dear... then what, pray tell, is the purpose of this meeting? Surely you hold no lasting affections for myself... if, in fact, you hold any affections for anyone or anything at all. Why seek to spare me the effort, if in fact my exertions are futile? 'tis not for their sakes."
He paused and blinked theatrically.
"Unless... could it be... you are not inevitable?"
As if on cue, tentacles erupted from the sea. Long, thick, and sinister, they fell upon the ships. Battered them, crushed them, tore them to pieces and, in the end, dragged them one by one down into the depths.
"Reanimating a kraken was difficult, if inspired," he murmured in an amused tone of voice, "but worth the cost to deny you a cult of worshippers. You never were any good at chess."
He leaned forward, bent down until he was at eye level with the abomination. He grinned and his tail writhed with pleasure.
"So tell me," he all but purred, "do you fear me, Jin'li?"
Jin'li had observed Tengri's demonstration with a relaxed air to him, hands held clasped together. The short little Miqo'te made no effort to reply in any way, until the tall Au Ra leaned down and met him eye to eye. At first, he merely blinked..
"And what about you do I need fear?" His words were calm. "What would you do to me? Kill me? Capture me? Torture me? Cease my existence? Bring an end to my activities? You forget, I've endured anything and everything you have ever brought into being at least once. You might as well be shouting at a tempest, trying to prove how mighty you are. No, there is no fear, only displeasure. You asked why you are here. Well, the answer is simple. To let you know that I've been worming chaos into your plans. Slowly. One thread at a time. For example..."
Jin'li calmly reached into his robe and pulled out… the moonlight glistened over it. It was a mask, polished like an egg. The mask spun in the his hands as he held it up for Tengri to see.
The Mask of the Seven Horrors Hidden in Nald'Thal's Mist.
"It was chance that drew Mergrey to me in the beginning, so desperate was he for a necromancer to bring back his beloved. At the time, I had just taken the mantle from the former owner of this mask and was making use of the man’s reputation to establish connections. But then Mergrey came to me, and I saw a chance to keep an eye on him. It was simple at first. After all, what else are brothers for? But, then, lo and behold, you began seeking soulstones and, one by one, through my hands they passed. The Lady Mergrey let slip certain information, you see, and, well, the question you should ask yourself is, ‘did he sow a little madness into those stones before I received them? Is it wise to trust those who wield them?’ I was never very good at playing chess...â€
Jin'li blinked.
"...but this isn't chess. And there are no rules."
The Geneq blinked back and stared in contemplative silence, brow furrowed, as if assessing damages. At last, he straightened with a laugh.
"A minor setback... and there is much that you do not know. I see no reason to bring those matters to your attention, and so...." Tengri nodded, one hand raising to pinch the tip of a horn in salute as though it were the brim of a hat. "...our palaver, I think, is at an end. There is little to be said that has not been said already."
And with that, he turned his back on the abomination and walked back up the road, exposing himself… and his rudeness.
Jin'li made no noise as he silently slipped the mask onto his face and peered at the Au Ra. Behind the mask, the little cat's face twisted into an expression of mirth. He said nothing as his hands slowly slipped around himself in a hug and he squeezed himself tightly. The abomination began to cackle wildly as he tossed his head back. The sound of the laughter echoed out and followed Tengri as the runt collapsed into a mass of centipedes and scurried away in all directions.
"Khuja'ya," murmured the Geneq once he was certain that Epinoch had departed.
His own shadow twisted and contorted. From within that shadow emerged a second which resolved into a mangy Keeper, hunched over and chortling under his breath.
"We are fortunate that your unique... talents... were not required," the Au Ra went on. "Fetch Sarangerel from the Brewer’s Beacon. We are going home."
Khuja'ya Zhwan cackled and disappeared as the two shadows from earlier raced back towards Tengri.
Rotunda Crow smiled.
![[Image: 1qVSsTp.png]](http://i.imgur.com/1qVSsTp.png)
