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[color=9B9F94][h3][b]Assani 19th[/b][/h3]
[sub][b]Location:[/b] ReTan - The Royal Palace Grounds
[b]Day of the week:[/b] Lepdes
[b]Time:[/b] Dawn
[b]Characters:[/b] Everyone.[/sub]

[center][h2][url=https://youtu.be/A8p8QUYJRao]Dawn ♫[/url][/h2][/center]

[hider=The Traveller Encounter 2]The Traveler turned, and now he was a tall, pale man with long hair. There was a different air about him, almost as if he changed based on people's perceptions: on what they wanted or - perhaps - what they [i]needed[/i]. He inclined his head ever so slightly to the side. [color=000000]"I can feel it bursting from you,"[/color] he observed. [color=000000]"There is much to be said."[/color]

Abdel, burnt but driven, and his faithful Qadira, were once again in the familiar realm separated from the flow of time. The animal recognized the shapeshifting entity and casually approached it like it had done before. The boy, on the other hand, let himself drop onto the floor in a hiss of pain. Binding was being progressively used, but he was distracted. [color=9e0039]“I sided with them. These Emperors.”[/color] he remorsefully confessed. [color=9e0039]“I knew they were tyrants but ...”[/color] he clenched his particularly burnt and scabby forearm and clenched in, causing it to ooze a variety of fluids. [color=9e0039]“They were ALL tyrants. Hungry for this land.”[/color] his teeth gritted as the pain consistently increased. He desperately sought to have the physical agony match and eventually numb the hurt that was within. [color=9e0039]“What was I supposed to do?! Just ... Walk away? And leave my friends?”[/color]

[color=000000]"When you join the game, there is often no winning play,"[/color] the Traveler admitted, slowly shaking his head. The boy was so lost in himself that he believed them to be outside of space and time when, in fact, they were not. The Traveler quickly made it so. [color=000000]"But punishing oneself will not make it easier. Distraction will not change matters, and I believe that we [i]can[/i] change them. Dare I say that we must."[/color]

Abdel relented on the self-harm, or rather he became more conscious of it when the traveler made his remark. [color=9e0039]“How?”[/color] he asked, brown eyes now locked onto the new form the freedom fighter had taken. [color=9e0039]“HOW can anyone even keep these people accountable? You can't.”[/color] he gestured meekly at the traveler's direction. [color=9e0039]“I can't. Rival megalomaniacs couldn't. These people can ... Just do what they want.”[/color] the bleeding wound began to close as Abdel composed himself, his frustrations going from a sense of defeat to a growing sense of purpose. [color=9e0039]“Someone's gotta, though.”[/color] he grimaced and shook his head. [color=9e0039]“Someone, out there, has to keep all these hungry creatures in check.”[/color]

The Traveler sighed. [color=000000]"In theory, that falls under the purview of the Knowers. They promote order over chaos. They work behind the scenes to prevent outbreaks of violence between these hungry ones from spreading and destroying others."[/color] He clasped his hands behind his back. [color=000000]"In practice, it often means that they accept and promote an ironclad tyranny so long as it is an orderly one."[/color] He shook his head. [color=000000]"I know them well and not even [i]they[/i] are a united front, somewhat ironically."[/color]

There was a brief pause. [color=000000]"In truth, it is as I have been saying all along: we must make the change ourselves. We must hold the cruel and the greedy directly accountable. To do this, we need to be strong - all the rest of us."[/color] His voice rose passionately. [color=000000]"We must not be passive and meekly accepting of the casual injustices that we see."[/color] He twisted to address Abdel as they walked. [color=000000]"We must not defer and accept out of politeness. We must [i]disrupt[/i], but never solely for the purpose of personal gain."[/color] He furrowed his brow and found the youth's eyes. [color=000000]"There are mana brews, there are aberrations, and there are devices which can promote and punish the magic of men. We cannot shy away from their use if we are to win."[/color]

Abdel nodded, a rapid pace for a nod that increased in intensity. [color=9e0039]“Yes. I agree. We can't just let them get their way because their RAS is big or they have an abundance of artifacts and wealth.”[/color] still, the notion of confronting the twins, or even smaller fish like the Ingrids of the world was a terrifying notion to ponder. [color=9e0039]“Without these girls,”[/color] he canted his head and looked to his Skuggvar that curiously inspected the shapeshifter. [color=9e0039]“there's no way I can do any of that. I'm weak, on my own. So very freaking weak.”[/color] at first it seemed his bottled up anger was going to surface, but instead the traveler was met with eyes filled with resolve. [color=9e0039]“How can I do it? Holding powerful people to account is against every law, because they make the laws. Might makes right, as they say.”[/color] he sighed. [color=9e0039]“They are just ... Too BIG.”[/color]

The scale of things scared him, really, and despite the bravado, the fear was just as obvious as the fervour in his eyes. So his mind recoiled into a smaller, more familiar scale. [color=9e0039]“Maybe I cannot hold titans to justice, but some ...”[/color] he scoffed. [color=9e0039]“Why did they all choose the emperors? After the promises many made. They just-”[/color] he shook his head. [color=9e0039]“I did not want to believe it when that man showed me the truth that my own friends would side with what we were convinced was an undisputed evil. Why? Why did they change their minds? Did they see the same things as I did? But then ...”[/color] his legs had finally healed, and so he stood. [color=9e0039]“They all seemed so confused as to what that giant monster was. So they cannot have.”[/color]

[color=000000]"I cannot say what happens in everyone's mind. That is his business alone."[/color] The Traveler shrugged. [color=000000]"But something in his past: in his experiences and his outlook, have made him think that his course of action is the best of those available. People are, by and large, self-interested. The great trick of it is to try to mild that self-interest: channel it in a direction that does not trample others in the prusuit of some greater self but, rather, uplifts them side by side."[/color] 

Space and time wavered and then the Traveler was a woman. She looked somewhat like Jocasta, but she was standing. [color=000000]"I will not lie. We must try to save all. Sometimes, we must even compromise on our beliefs in the name of a greater good. Such was what we did today, when we stood shoulder-to-shoulder with tyrants against the destruction of our world."[/color] There was something ethereal about her, but yet, paradoxically, so very mundane as well. She paused to consider. [color=000000]"There are times, though, when we should not - we [i]must[/i] not compromise: when we must meet strength with strength."[/color] She turned to him, earnest and pained. [color=000000]"Truly, I wish it were not so, yet we see, every day, that it is."[/color] She shook her head. [color=000000]"The small may yet humble the mighty, though, just as they did today. We were nothing compared to that Titan, and yet, we overcame it."[/color] There was a smile just a bit too tight to be satisfied at a job well done. [color=000000]"Collectively, and by using every boon, every magic, and every advantage we could muster."[/color] She pursed her lips, moving again, hands clasped at the small of her back. [color=000000]"So it must be in the greater fight."[/color]

Her eyes went to him, then, perhaps evaluatively, perhaps not. [color=000000]"And, as I believe you may know, we are not alone in this fight."[/color]

[color=9e0039]“It took the threat of death - no, total annihilation for them to compromise and work together.”[/color] Abdel concluded with bitterness poisoning his tone of voice. [color=9e0039]“Do you think there would have been a show of unity if it was just half the city at risk, the one furthest from here?”[/color] he shook his head. [color=9e0039]“I don't think so. I think you're spot-on with the whole self-interest bit. But,”[/color] the healing of his body had been nearly complete, allowing him to stand straight once more. [color=9e0039]“I don't buy that we can all just hold hands one day. Some need to be punished. Held accountable. [i]Fear[/i] was the strongest driver today. It definitely drove me to making my own decision.”[/color] he confessed, a look of shame brought down to the distortion in space-time by the traveler. [color=9e0039]“My girlfriend, Maura, is a strong advocate of the carrot, but I'm personally seeing faster and stronger results with the stick when dealing with self-interest and megalomania of the magnitude I've seen.”[/color]

The Skuggvar sniffed some more near the traveler, less afraid after an initial inspection. It circled her in a non-threatening manner, and then let out a low rumble for attention.

[color=9e0039]“No. I don't know who fights for freedom and justice other than the lot I've been hunting down. Your lot:”[/color] he remarked, arms crossed but standing his ground. [color=9e0039]“A bunch of random lower folk, with a scarce few with power they don't quite know how to use. Only just a league below me, commoner tethered with a disappointing RAS.”[/color]

She laid her hand upon the large beast, finding a spot towards the back of its head and scratching. [color=000000]"Some [i]do[/i] need to be beaten, and with strength of our own. Where there is a will, an understanding, and the necessary self-discipline, there is much to be found."[/color] She shrugged and then the world wavered again. This time, it was Manuel Escarra who addressed Abdel. [color=000000]"But we are legion, and we can be clever as well as strong. Some, we can convince. Your girlfriend and her... carrot."[/color] He shrugged. [color=000000]"That is worthwhile in some cases."[/color] He continued, and they were in an endless field, its long grains whispering in the wind. [color=000000]"Others, we can outsmart: use their own predictable greed against them. Do the mighty not just as easily turn on each other as step on the weak?"[/color] He grinned, and there was a sparkle in the corner of his eye. [color=000000]"And if push comes down to shove..."[/color] He trailed off and shrugged, glancing up at the star-filled sky. [color=000000]"We have the Dieci Volti. They are on our side and, though they do not come from wealth or power, they are mighty in their own right: mighty indeed."[/color]

Abdel scoffed. [color=9e0039]“Turn them against one another and one will emerge victorious to exert their newfound power even harder.”[/color] he nudged his head to the side, bringing attention behind him, where the ruined castle would have been. [color=9e0039]“Those twins are a good example. ReTan is huge, full of people - strong people. And yet they've ruled for two hundred years. When I see this I ...”[/color] he grit his teeth. [color=9e0039]“It makes me upset there's almost never someone, or someones, to stand up to these people. Not until the direst of situations, when all is at stake. Until then, promises and trinkets seem to do fine in pacifying.”[/color]

The Skuggvar let out a light purr of joy when it was blessed with the otherworldly scritches of the traveller.

The young tethered narrowed his eyes into a squint at the mention of the Volti. [color=9e0039]“I thought they were mercenaries.”[/color] remarked Abdel, wary. [color=9e0039]“... Strong mercenaries. Mighty indeed. People who can make a difference.”[/color] he nodded. [color=9e0039]“So they're the stick.”[/color] he chuckled, chin lowered and eyes closed. [color=9e0039]“Well.”[/color] he opened his eyes and slowly regarded the false-Escarra. [color=9e0039]“I'm angry. I want harsh justice on some. On tyrants. On some of my peers. And I'm not as weak as they all think.”[/color] he smiled. [color=9e0039]“I'd like to be that stick to your cause. Leave the incentives - the carrots - to you and Maura. I'm just ... Too bitter, deep down, to let all of this go. All that people like my parents, or Nialluses or Valerians just do to others. I just can't - I can't just compromise with these people. I want retribution. For me, and for others.”[/color]

The Traveler nodded sagely, as if knowing. [color=000000]"Your anger is not unwarranted and not without its place,"[/color] he acknowledged. [color=000000]"Just remember that it can only destroy, not create."[/color] There was a smile and the world began to waver. [color=000000]"There is a place for you within what is to come."[/color] For a moment, the Traveler was Abdel himself. [color=000000]"This, I promise."[/color]

[color=9e0039]“I can accept that.”[/color] was Abdel's answer, now looking at his very reflection. The world was about to fade, as it did the last time they had exchanged.

But there was a final thing. [color=9e0039]“Before you leave,”[/color] his features softened, the tension oozing out of him wavered with the space-time anomaly surrounding them. [color=9e0039]“There was a man - Zhiang - who looked after Dayanara. We never found him after the Nikanese raid.”[/color] he frowned with a look of concern trained at the traveller. [color=9e0039]“Do you have an inkling as to what happened to him?”[/color]

The Traveler seemed to know, instinctively, that he was speaking of 'Xiang' and not 'Zhiang'. He shook his head cryptically and winked. [color=000000]"Oh,"[/color] he assured the youth, [color=000000]"He's quite alright. I wouldn't worry about him."[/color] Was it a grin as one reality faded into another?[/hider]

Abdel was back with Maura by his side. A simple shared look confirmed their experience to both of them, and they hugged. A moment of true tenderness after all the death and destruction they had to endure. But it did not fill the hungering void inside Abdel. There was a need to make things right, or at least try to bring his justice to those he could no longer tolerate.

He, Maura and Dayanara made their way back, passing through the soon-to-be confiscated mollusk cadaver sprawled onto palace grounds. Rikard nearly paid the ultimate price, but freed himself just in time to save Captain Zhu, while Trypano stood idly behind them. It all went unusually fast, but ended with nobody harmed, and Tan Zeno Re dealing with the hazardous material. Good.

Once reunited with the others, two were conspicuously missing: Ingrid and Valerian. Both of which Abdel did not hold to the highest regard. Especially not after this battle. They were out of sight, but not out of the Tethered’s range. A gathering of individuals made the tracking easy, and the combination of close contact and shifts in their internal biologies made the outcome of that meeting obvious: They were promised a great power to turn on their allies. Well, Valerian was, anyway. He could only imagine Ingrid was attracted by the promise of power - having something else above others.

Both were going to get what was coming to them. Maybe in a day. Maybe a year. Abdel would not forget.

Then came trinkets from the Emperors. An abundance of wealth, which so many salivated upon. Many that had committed murder and treason. It irked Abdel, deeply so. To the point where he acted quickly to claim the Royal Qilin, distrustful of what his peers would do to this animal. Then, the pendant he’d offer to a prize-less Valerian as a poison chalice with a disingenuous smile. 

And then, a first effort to hold these people accountable: Niallus was challenged for his helm. The young Eskandish was left burnt and defeated, begging for death with only his void-stained sword he traded the life of Dragon Smirk for. The young man did not smirk as he passed, but Abdel certainly did as he walked away.

With three prizes guarded by Skuggvars and an increasingly confident Abdel, he made stood with Maura and Joscasta as one of the big winners, along with Kaureerah as a close fourth.

Then, finally, a familiar sight of a grove, now made physical in this world, came before their eyes, and Abdel made his choice:

[center][i]Truthfulness - The Lychee.[/i] 
[i]Skepticism - The Almond.[/i][/center]

His prime virtues as an investigative tracker. And his main attributes that allowed him to see through the deceits of all the power players, and yet he cursed his lack of strength to make the choices he believed to be the best, in hindsight. But now, with growing power and confidence, he could make everything right. 

The wicked will be punished, and their kin will learn to fear the few that could actually touch them. And his reach was about to become even greater.[/color]