Leith shook his head at the man’s statement. [color=#00FFFF]”Not pleasant, no, but possibly a lot quicker than others. As for the apologies, I feel that you should be safe with mostly everyone. But I am curious; you mentioned that you were a diplomat of the “[i]new[/i]” Yarosmere, as you put it. What is going on in Yarosmere?”[/color]

“Believe me. I am well aware of how slow a death can be.” The diplomat sighed, before continuing to reply to Leith. “What’s happening in Yarosmere? A small movement suddenly gained violent and vicious following. ‘Followers of the Sand God’ the called themselves. They claimed the Gods of Tiien didn’t exist and only through the benevolence of the Sand God could Yarosmere become an Empire, and all sorts of ridiculous notions. We largely ignored them until they got a new prophet in the past year and people started listening to them. They only increased in number until they were able to stage a revolution. The Kai and his entire family was wiped out, along with most of the government and ruling castes. Supposedly, the caste system has been eradicated but in reality the lower castes have simply switched places with the upper castes. The new prophet is a madman. He calls for genocide of the Naga and war with the rest of Tiien. The military had just been sent to the three villages the Naga had as I left.” 

He was quiet for a few moments. 

“He’s a madman, but listening to him, you are [i]completely[/i] sure he’s right. A fanaticism I’ve never felt nor seen the like of fills you, and you obey whatever he commands. I’ve seen him convince entire Garrisons that resisted him to happily kill themselves. Psychomancy, I assume. Incredibly powerful, psychomancy. So, in short, madness has claimed Yarosmere and we’ve launched an unholy crusade against all of the Naga, attempting genocide.”

Leith whistled at the man’s story. A revolution, and a with powerful Psychomancer leading it. Not good at all. [color=#00FFFF]”That is not good to hear. It seems that there has been a lot going on in the past few months, what with the demon attack a few months ago.”[/color] Leith frowned. Incredible power and insanity, he’d seen that before. Could it be related? [color=#00FFFF]”You said you’ve seen him influence people. Did anything strange happen to him when he did it?”[/color]

The diplomat frowned. “No, not that I remember. He wears his mask at all times, so that might be hiding something. He sent me here to both check on your strength after the demon attack, and announce the change in Yarosmere to the other nations you have here. They should have already begun expelling the Djarkel forces in the desert by now. The Prophet displayed great interest in moving quickly and securing his territory. Be very careful if you visit that nation, student of the College. A good man like you wouldn’t be able to stay out of the mess as much as he should.”

[color=#00FFFF]”I appreciate the warning. I doubt that I’ll be going to Yarosmere anytime soon, but it is a nice gesture. My name’s Leith, by the way.”[/color] He held out his right hand to shake the diplomat’s hand before he dropped it and offered his left. [color=#00FFFF]”What do you plan on doing after the feast is over? Will you go back to Yarosmere?”[/color]

“I am Yusef,” The diplomat replied, taking the sudden hand switch in stride and shaking Leith’s hand. “and I don’t think so. Going back to Yarosmere is likely only to get me killed. I think I’ll speak of how insane Yarosmere has become to a select few of the other nations, and then seek a job somewhere else. I wish I knew [i]where[/i] elsewhere was, but I suppose that is in the hands of the Gods. If you’ll excuse me, I have to go make sure trade agreements with Yarosmere are stopped while it is controlled by the Prophet.”

[color=#00FFFF]”Of course, I won’t hold you up. Enjoy the feast. A lot of work has gone into it.”[/color] Leith started to walk away before he paused. He turned to face Yusef [color=#00FFFF]”Oh, and if you’re looking for a job, why not look around for one at the College? I’m not sure what your skills are, but someone here might find them useful.”[/color] With that, Leith waved at the diplomat and left him to his duties. Now all he needed to do was find Uicle.