Exalted:End of an Era

[Mistress of Whispers]

Mia's eyes focused intently on Web. While she didn't detect a lie, she did detect a... it was hard to describe, really. It felt like an infinitely small snag in a woven cloth, or the faint trace of bitterness in wine about to go sour. Whatever it was, it indicated that something the Abyssal had said was less than fully true. And of course, she didn't miss to spot the 'about' in 'that about covers it'. Still, she could sense that the broad strokes were true, as were the Abyssal's intentions. And that was why they were having this discussion - for her to ascertain if the Death Knight could be trusted; not for her to crack open the privacy of the Abyssal's life. With that in mind, she had heard all she needed to (if not necessarily all she wanted to).

 

She nodded her assent. "Yes, that about covers it."

 

The time it too for Mia to reach this conclusion was less than a heartbeat, but she knew that the Abyssal must have spotted it - she would have, if the situation was reverse - and possibly the Engineer too, if her was more than mortal.

 

"Thank you for being so straight forward. And I apologize for judging without knowing - I was led by my own preconceptions of your kind."

 

She wondered where that left her. She still felt that the Chumyo's warmongering would endanger Creation, even if the Dawn wasn't a servant of the Dark. After all, the Bull of the North was a true servant of the Sun and he had ripped a hole in Creation that led straight to the Underworld - good intentions did not always lead to good choices.

[Biologist]

Hanzo was blissfully unaware of the heartbeat it took for Mia to reach her conclusion. He was pleased things had gone well. There were no outbursts of violence, no secret battle of wits and sneers as far as he could tell, and no awkward silences.

 

When Mia apologized, he looked at Web satisfied, convinced that the bad blood had been cleared and they could get on with their important business of securing the safety of the River Province. Tea was nice and all, and there definitively had to be time for tea, but there was a time and a place for everything. And a Realm Defense Grid with an insane Dragonblooded controlling it, together with a Death Lord who has access to horrible weapons of mass destruction - not to mention the possibility that the Abyssals were linked to the Solars and all the research that was needed to clarify it - called for different priorities.

 

He almost impatiently waited for Web to acknowledge the apology and get on their way. There was still much work to do.

[Takhesis]

Web did indeed notice the speed of Mia's conclusion, but since it seemed that things had been resolved - at least for now, she was willing to overlook it.

 

At the apology, Web inclined her head in acceptance of it:

 

"The preconceptions are - while annoying - well earned by those of the Black Exaltation. I can't find fault with the guiding thoughts behind your first judgement, though one learns quickly not to judge the contents of a book by its cover." Web gave a soft smile to reduce the impact of any perceived rebuke and added, "Especially when one is a complete outcast from their past and present."

 

She was referring to her own condition with that, the past being her pre-Exalt state and present being her renegade status.

 

"I have a duty to rectify the wrongs I have allowed to occur by my previous services, so I know where my immediate path leads."

 

Web could sense Hanzo's agitation at the side-tracking that was 'delaying' their previous mission and was trying to find a polite exit for the both of them. Though she did feel somewhat guilty at the dead end that Mia no doubt felt she had reached - having been proven wrong in her assumptions.

 

"Where will your road lead?" Web asked of Mia, hoping to at least show there was no hard feelings on her part and perhaps be able to guide another to see Creation in a different way.

[Mistress of Whispers]

Mia contemplates Web's question before answering.

 

"I'm not sure," she finally admits. "I'm still opposed to a war between the Realm and the East - The Bull of the North is a servant of the Unconquered Sun and had the best intentions, but he still ripped a hole in Creation. Unfortunately, despite our own problems with the Realm, neither the Empress nor the Wyld Hunt are the true enemy - the Neverborn, Demon Lords and Unshaped are. The Realm is still the strongest force for stability in Creation and if we need to make sacrifices to keep the Empress in power so she can fight the real threats, then so be it."

 

She falls silent after that and it's obvious that the young woman is uncertain about her next move - her dedication to peace is still clear, but not that sabotaging the new Seventh has fails, her next step is going to be tricky to figure out.

 

((It's gonna be interesting when Mia finds out that the Empress is now an Akuma. She's backing the realm because she thinks they are the strongest pro-Creation force out there, but obviously that will chance if/when the truth comes out.))

Edited December 20, 2013 by Mistress of Whispers

[Takhesis]

[That will be interesting indeed - assuming that fact slips out. Though how it might could be an intriguing issue in itself...]

 

Web could see Mia's uncertainty, and made a quick decision. She may not actually have the authority to make the offer, but perhaps it would at least be another sign of 'no hard feelings'.

 

"My seeking redemption has delayed one of those threats you mentioned, but his plan is still in place. Perhaps you'd like to join us in foiling that plan?"

 

Now to try and get both of them back to Shaya - so that she wouldn't think that Mia had found a way of immobilising them both.

 

"Of course, you don't have to decide right now. We'll be here for a while yet."

[Mistress of Whispers]

Mia didn't doubt that Web was unauthorized to actually make that offer, nor did she doubt that the Chumyo would be less than happy about it (while the Dawn had made a cursory effort to be polite, her annoyance with the saboteur had shone through). But it wasn't as if the Eclipse had anywhere else to go - the Bull of the North wasn't known for taking people back in once they fell out of step - and staying close to the most powerful military leader in the River Province might provide a good opportunity to keep war in check. More importantly though, she was intrigued by Web and her quest for redemption; if it was possible for an Abyssal to sucesfully turn her back on the Neverborn, that could be a turning point in the struggle against the darkness.

 

"Thank you for the offer," she said earnestly. "I think I should like that. I'll offer my services to the Chumyo."

 

By now, the teapot was near empty. Mia waited to see if either of the people seated opposite to her had anything more to ask or say, before moving to the last part of the simple tea ceremony practiced in the North. The other directions had more elaborate ceremonies (though the Southern ceremony featured khaff rather than tea), but Mia hadn't had opportunity to learn them yet.

Edited December 21, 2013 by Mistress of Whispers

[Mistress of Whispers]

Tinker was in the mess kitchen, pretending to boil water for fresh tea while trying to ignore the fierce headache that was making its way through his skull. He was clutching the communicator stone in his hand again, but unfortunately the stones worked best under the open sky (under the watchful eyes of the Maidens) and forcing it to work regardless, was bringing on a sensation that could only be compared to having a marching band going around in his head. Still, with so many people still up and about, the old Sidereal didn't dare move into the courtyard.

 

His mind was already in the mindscape, with its swirling mists and distant horizons, but to his surprise only the Chosen of Serenity was there to welcome him. Admittedly he hadn't told them he would be 'arriving', but after aeons of working together, they were so attuned to each other that there was usually no need to send word ahead. If the others weren't here now, that could only mean that an emergency had arisen.

 

Almost as if sensing his thoughts, the Chosen of Serenity - Silent Harmony - spoke up: "When your Chumyo made her speech, every single alarm in the Room of Bells rang. Our Chosen of Endings is working to obscure the knot from investigating Bronze Faction officials, Silent Falling Tree is still trying to bury the impossible oath the Abyssal made, and Walk Silently is hunting down the Pattern Spiders who were present in the Room when it happened, as she hopes to find out who returned - given the timing, we believe your Chumyo might be the reincarnation of Queen MRL but we have no way of knowing for sure."

 

Tinker remained silent, unsure how to respond. The Room of Bells was rigged to sound the alarm if any of the most dangerous Solars returned. The room was programmed to respond to the memories of over a dozen Solars, but only three would be able to trigger all the bells: Brigid, Mother of Sorcery; the self-styled Hierophant; and Merela, Queen of Creation. Only one of them was a Dawn Caste, so he could see why the timing of the event would point to Shaya being the reincarnation of Merela. In fact, he had experienced something that almost proved it...

 

"When the Chumyo spoke," he admitted, "I experienced a memory of a previous life. I cannot be sure as my memories of that time are sketchy, but I believe I saw Merela giving a speech."

 

Silent Harmony did not respond, but Tinker could see the Chosen of Serenity square his shoulders. Queen Merela was notoriously difficult to control - the Unconquered Sun himself had tried and failed - and they might be better off working with a different knot. For the first time in centuries, Tinker found himself unable to read the mood of his circlemate. Was the other Sidereal planning to abandon the Lookshyan knot? Or even throw them to the Bronze Faction as a distraction while the Circle of the Black Night selected a new knot? The old Traveller found himself resisting the notion - he had grown fond of the Lookshyan knot during his time with them and, furthermore, he believed that this was the knot for the task.

 

"We wanted a knot that's beyond anyone's grasp to control," he tried.

 

"Yes, we did," Silent Harmony replied evenly.

 

Tinker could only hope it was enough as he bid his circle mate good night and stepped back into his body. By now, his heachache threatened to overwhelm him and his hands shook so badly that he spilled the boiling water as he attempted to pour it into the tea pot. He immediately held his hands in cold water, but he could see an angry red welt rise on his hand. The old man contemplated using a Charm to heal the wound - Shaya and Pheonix might not notice it, but he was relatively sure that Hanzo and Web would - when he discarded the thought; with all the commotion in Yu Shan, the knot needed to lie as low as possible (if there was such a thing as 'lying low' for a core group consisting of two Solars, one Dragonblood, one Abyssal and one Sidereal, with a circumference consisting of another three Solars) and that meant no Essence use. He'd just have to play the 'fatigued old man with trembling hands' card and hope they believed him.

 

Pouring the tea - without spillage this time - he picked up the pot and returned to the barracks assigned to the Chumyo and her entourage.

 

 

((That also gives us a few more names for the The Circle of the Black Night - Silent Harmony for Serenity. So if you want, you can update the CotBN accordingly (see below). Also, so far all of them have names referring to Silence. Perhaps that's a clue to how they escaped the Great Curse - for some reason, they were in a place where no sound exists when the Curse was uttered, so it never reached them?))

 

[B]~ The Circle of the Black Night ~[/B]
Despite the ominous sounding name, the Circle of the Black Night is a force for good. Or at least: it *hopes* to be. The greatest flaw of the Servants of the Maidens has always been their inability to see beyond prophecy and fate - if it's not represented on the Weave, then it must not be important. It is this 'blindness' that has led the Sidereals to dismiss the Great Contagion (born from the Void), Fair Folk Invasion (sent from the Wyld), disappearance of the Empress (engineered by the Yozi) and emergence of the Deathlords (created by the Neverborn) as 'blips on the radar'. However, there are five Chosen of the Maidens that, through a combination of experience, wisdom, luck and an openmindedness found rarely in their kind, that *do* see what other Sidereals can't. Calling themselves the Circle of the Black Night, named for the creatures and fates that are not governed by the constellations of Creation, they believe that threats from the 'Beyond' may possibly be the undoing of all Creation. Furthermore, they believe that the heroes of old - Exalted that once defeated even the Primordials - are the only ones that can fight this threat. Theorizing that enemies beyond the Weave's control must be opposed by heroes similarly beyond control, they searched for the wildest, most uncontrollable fates and finally settled on a knot of three threads - a Fireblood, a Dawn and a Twilight Exalt - that was alternately besieged and aided by other threads that dipped in and out of existence. Using the Weave to predict when and where the knot would occur, they sent one of their members, a Chosen of Journeys, to forge a bond with the threads in the knot. Meanwhile, the remaining members work from Yu Shan to hide and protect the knot (and its direct allies) from other Sidereals. Apart from offering guidance and protecting the knot from other Sidereals, the Circle of the Black Night does not interfere with the knot - it fears that if it does, the knot's wild unpredictability (needed to combat the Beyond) will be nulled by the Chosens' own immutable fates.
[B]Members:[/B] Walk Silently And Carry a Big Stick (f, Chosen of Battles), ? (f, Chosen of Endings), 'Tinker' (Chosen of Journeys), Silent Falling Tree (m, Chosen of Secrets), Silent Harmony (Chosen of Serenity)

[Biologist]

Hanzo listened to the two women finish up the conversation, when, out of the blue, Web proposed that Mia join them. He was caught off guard. And even if he thought another Solar was tremendously interesting, he wasn't sure that the Chumyo would be pleased by that.

 

But before he could object, Mia saved him an awkward moment when she suggested she would broach the subject with the Chumyo herself. Crisis avoided, for now.

 

After that, he enjoyed the proper end of the tea ceremony, even if it was rather short. He hadn't seen any interest in tea from anyone in the Lookshyan group that could match this woman's obvious expertise. It would be nice to share a common trait as simple as tea with someone at last. He was looking forward to it.

 

After the ceremony, he rose as per proper custom and bid Mia good night with a slight bow. He waited patiently for Web to say her goodbyes.

[Takhesis]

[updated the Circle's info. And yep - Web did offer that out of the blue... but perhaps the old adage: keep your friends close and your enemies closer - could also apply, granted that could hold true for Web as well as far as Shaya's concerned.]

 

The tea ceremony wrapped up without any further talk; apart from the traditional farewells, Web bid Mia a restful night and prepared to face the Chumyo. No doubt that a report needed to be made.

 

Web was partially grateful for Mia's offer to approach the Chumyo, and partly worried by it. Shaya hadn't seemed particularly impressed by the interference and it may not go down well.

 

She turned towards Hanzo indicating that she was ready to leave for their assigned barracks.

 

Now to hope Shaya didn't get too mad about her sudden offer to the new Solar.

 

---

 

Pheonix had finished her self-assigned task of keeping the rest of the unit up to date with events. There was mixed reactions, but all of them agreed that it was a good thing - if a slightly odd occurrence - that an Abyssal had come through on her side of the deal so far.

 

It looked like that Web, if not completely proven herself trustworthy, had earned the benefit of the doubt from the group. Pheonix had still asked, and planned to do herself, that a careful eye be kept on the Abyssal - at least til they could be absolutely certain of her.

 

She met Tinker as he reached the door to the officers' quarters.

[Biologist]

Hanzo walked outside with Web after he bid Mia good day. Outside, he sighed with relief. He turned to Web as they walked back to the barracks. "That went well, I think? Or did I miss something?"

 

He was reasonably sure he got everything that was being said and implied, but he asked none the less. He wondered how the Chumyo would react, and her lieutenant of course. Well, no use second guessing. He would find out soon enough.

 

"Do you want to do the debriefing or shall I?" Hanzo didn't know what the Chumyo preferred or what army policy dictated, but he wanted to be there to see how the situation played out.

[Takhesis]

Web answered Hanzo as they walked towards the barracks.

 

"I believe that went well, though I am uncertain as to how the Chumyo would react to Mia's offering of services. And the fact that I was the one that suggested it...."

 

"As for debriefing, best we both make our report. For thoroughness if nothing else."

[Mistress of Whispers]

Mia contemplated Web's offer while she cleaned away the teapot and cups. The offer in and of itself was good - it would certainly give her a new purpose - but she wondered why the Abyssal had made it to begin with. Mia hadn't given the Dark Exalt any reason to care for her, after all. Perhaps the Moonshadow was simply putting 'keep your enemies closer' into practice, but Mia hadn't senses any maliciousness. Could it be that she'd simply felt sorry for Mia, who, for all intents and purposes, was now a young girl alone and far from home?

 

Regardless, the Eclipse resolved to offer her services to the Chumyo as quickly as possible. She knew that letting the tired Dawn get some rest would be more diplomatic, but she was young and anxious to resolve the uncertainty that lay in her future. Besides, she thought the Chumyo would understand the need to strike the iron while it was hot. Either way, Mia would return to her inn knowing what she would do in the morning.

 

She heard a sound snoring sound coming from the other room - it seemed Captain Dace had wasted no time going to sleep - and took care to be silent as she tiptoed out of the room, carrying the tea set to the kitchen to rinse it.

 

 

 

Tinker nodded to Pheonix as he met her by the door.

 

"Lieutenant," he offered in greeting, "I made fresh tea."

 

He knew that even the blunt Fire Exalt would catch his unspoken words. He had made tea, not khaff - it was time for the officers to have a last cup, round up what they were doing and finally get some sleep. After all, they had been on their feet since they entered Nexus nearly two days ago.

[Takhesis]

Pheonix nodded at Tinker's greeting, she had indeed caught the difference between tea and khaff. Even though Khaff was the favoured drink of Lookshyan military, tea did indeed sound good right about now.

 

"Excellent, tea sounds like an incredibly good idea." Pheonix replied, then proceeded to open the door for Tinker. After all, carrying the tray and opening the door at the same time would have been some feat for the elderly unit member - not that he hadn't managed in the past of course.

[Biologist]

Hanzo walked with Web towards the barracks. In answer to her doubt about the Chumyo's reaction, he said: "I don't know the Chumyo that well, but I know she has good advisors. And she takes their counsel seriously. We'll do a debriefing together, if that is what you prefer."

 

He then proceeded to walk and try and figure out how best to put together a debriefing other than it went well...

[Takhesis]

Web nodded at Hanzo's offered reassurance, as well as in agreement to the joint debriefing.

 

"At least this debriefing should be a quick one."

[Biologist]

The two Exalts reached the barracks of the Lookshyan delegacy and entered. They were greeted by the scent of freshly made tea. Hanzo took the lead and knocked on the door to the Chumyo's quarters, assuming Web would follow.

[Mistress of Whispers]

"Enter," Shaya's voice called out. She was still awake and would remain so until her officers got a chance to turn in too, even if there was nothing more for her to do to day (other than replay the day's events and brood, of course).

 

 

 

Setting out the tea set, Tinker poured a cup each for Hanzo, Pheonix, Web and Shaya. He didn't waste any time on ceremony as he knew people would be more interested in hot tea than pomp at this late hour.

[Takhesis]

As assumed Web did follow Hanzo into the Chumyo's quarters. Now for the report... as brief as it may be.

 

First the obvious statement:

 

"We've returned from meeting with Mia and would like to report on the matter."

 

Web then waited for permission to continue, when it was given she summarized the events. The questions that Mia asked while in conversation with them and the results of the answers she got.

 

"It seems she was satisfied with my answers, as she offered an apology for pre-judging the situation."

 

Now came the awkward part:

 

"The subject of future paths came up and I made an offer to Mia. That she could join us on our next mission." Web looked sheepish as she said it - knowing that she'd overstepped her boundaries with that one. "Mia also indicated that she'd speak to you directly about offering her services to you."

[Mistress of Whispers]

Shaya simply stood silent for a while. She wasn't upset - she was far too tired for that - but she was a little perplexed by this turn of events. She supposed she should rail at including a saboteur in their party, but she simply couldn't muster the energy for it.

 

"Al right, I'm sure she'll come see me then." And with my luck, she'll be here just in time to stop me from going to bed.

 

"You two get some sleep," she told Web and Hanzo, "I'm going to do the same."

 

As if on cue, there was a knock on the barrack door. Shaya groaned inwardly, but put on a brave face as she stepped past Pheonix and Tinker.

 

"That's for me," she commented without hesitation.

[Takhesis]

[surprised that Dace would actually have slept while there was an Abyssal in close proximity.... guess he really was tired. And Web's lucky Shaya is tired too - otherwise there would be trouble.]

 

 

Web was relieved that Shaya hadn't told her off for overstepping her bounds - but that could just mean Shaya was saving it up for a later explosion.

 

The next order was a very easy one to follow - that of getting some sleep.

 

It certainly seemed like Shaya had predicted Mia's arrival correctly as the knock came pretty quickly after the report.

 

Pheonix had just put her cup down to answer the door when Shaya walked past saying that it was for her. With barely a raised eyebrow, Pheonix picked her cup back up and took a sip as she turned an eye to see who was calling on them so late.

[Biologist]

Hanzo saluted as the Chumyo dismissed them after Web's debriefing. He was pleased with how things had worked out so well. They'd gotten through the Underworld relatively unscathed, Nexus had proven to be not as bad as all the stories he had heard, and the politics of the matter seemed to have gotten off on a running start. The only downside was that he hadn't slept in a few days, but if that was the worst thing to live through...

 

Lookshy

 

He shook his head and approached Tinker and the tea. I suppose I can always drink another cup before I go to sleep. Maybe look over some of the plans and designs. Keeping his mind busy with thoughts about schematics and patterns, he took a cup of steaming tea and sipped it. He smiled at Tinker, for it was excellent tea.

 

He watched Web go towards the sleeping quarters of their barrack and envied her. The truth was: he dreaded going to sleep. Ever since the destruction -No, annihilation- of Lookshy, his dreams had been filled with horrid images.

Not of his fellow Lookshyans dying in the blast, but of unknown faces staring at him with blank eyes, lying on unknown battlefields of unknown wars.

Staring up at him.

Changing.

Becoming more familiar,

until the faces of his friends and family, colleagues and superiors stared up at him with cold stares of...

 

He shook his head again vigorously to shake the memories of half remembered dreams, hoping for them to go away. His tea had cooled in his hand. He looked at it, blinking.

[Mistress of Whispers]

Tinker laid a hand on Hanzo's shoulder.

 

"They'll be there, whether you sleep or not. And better you face your nightmares while you're among friends."

 

He didn't need any Charms to 'read' the boy's minds on this occasion - he'd seen more than his share of traumatized soldiers over the course of his long life.

 

 

Opening the door, Shaya saw that her guess had been right - Mia was calling on her and just in time to block the Dawn from sleeping. For a moment, she considered telling the young woman to just go away, but she doubted it would be that easy. So instead she said "Come in" with a barely audible note of resignation.

"Chumyo," Mia said respectfully. "I was hoping I might speak to you." She didn't miss the look on Shaya's face - coupled with Web and Hanzo having already returned, she assumed the Dawn knew what she wanted. She didn't know if that was good or bad, but at least it saved her from overly long introductions.

 

Shaya nodded, allowed the Eclipse to enter and wordlessly turned to go back to her private room. As she had expected, the other Exalt followed. She sighed inwardly - maybe she should have told the Eclipse to go away, but it was too late for that now.

((I'm going to have their convo take place out of sight in the other room, since I'm no good at RPing conversations with myself . They'll return when they've reached a decision.))

[Takhesis]

[Conversing with oneself is fun - at least as long as no-one else catches you at it. ]

 

Pheonix sipped and watched the silent interplay between Shaya and her visitor. Looks like there's going to be some explaining to do.... though on whose part, Pheonix did not know.

 

Web may have had an easier time in getting sleep, in that she had no dead men - as such - haunting her dreams, but her very Exaltation had its own set of problems.

 

That being the fact she'd turned her back on its purpose - at least was trying to.

[Biologist]

Hanzo looked up in the eyes of the old soldier and let his words sink in. It took him a moment to process them, but it was sound advice. He'd have to face his demons sooner or later and he was in the luxurious position of being able to face them in a relatively safe environment with people close by, whom he trusted. He just hadn't expected he'd be facing the demons of his previous lives as well.

 

He bowed to Tinker, thanking him for his words of wisdom, and went to his bunk in the officer's quarters. He tried to ease his mind with a few simple breathing exercises, meant for relaxation. When his head finally met with his pillow roll, he was ready for anything.

 

He was wrong....

[Mistress of Whispers]

About half an hour later, Shaya and Mia returned.

 

"Mia asked to work with us," the Dawn declared. "I accepted. We'll see how it goes and then decide on a duration."

 

The Chumyo sounded worn out. Even if Mia hadn't used any mind-altering charms on her, she had certainly capitalized on the fact that the warrior was too tired to protest much. Although it was also entirely possibly, judging from the elated look on the Eclipse's face, that her timing was due to youthful enthusiasm and not as an attempt to manipulate her 'opponent's' state of mind (or state of wakefulness, more accurately).