EliteCommander

Star Wars - Jedi Exile

Shir-Val-Kuul was in her room, reading through one of the historical files on her datapad which she had requested from the archives for about the third time. She felt about her a particular uncertainty which had really strengthened in the past few months, though to say it was a recent development would be innaccurate. In reality, it had never been a secret, to herself or to her peers, that Shir's views on the Jedi and the code were somewhat unconventional, but she had always acted within acceptable bounds. Overall, no matter how she felt, Shir believed in the Jedi. She felt that the point and goal of the Jedi Order was something the galaxy desperately needed, but all of the little flaws she had noticed over the years, the things which did not seem quite right in her mind, they had been building up undeniably.

Shir let out a scarcely audible sigh as she dropped her datapad down on her desk. The Mandalorian Wars, they were a well-known event of history, something most educated beings were taught about, something young children loved to reenact with their toy blasters. But to Shir, they represented a failure of the Jedi. Such was not an uncommon view among scholars and historians, but she wondered in exactly what way they truly failed? The Jedi Council of the time refused to act and allowed entire planets to suffer, while those who defied them fell prey to themselves. In that, it was no different from much of galactic history, the cycles of peace, then failures of the Jedi to stop the wars. Shir could not yet profess to knowing exactly what it was, but if history had repeated itself so many times, then she coudl not shake the feeling that something was fundamentally wrong.

Suddenly, Shir's focus was snatched from her thoughts, and into the moment. He heard it, she felt it, strongly and intensely all around her. It was battle, that unmistakable sensation with whcih she was all too familiar. Even the dullest of Padawans could feel the disturbance which was so close by, the pain which filled the air. The Temple was under attack; that was unmistakable.

Shir grabbed her primary saber in her hand and snapped her tool belt around her waist. Like most of her species, it was all she wore. She rushed out of her room and started down the hallway. Normally, most Jedi would not be in their rooms for another few hours, so she saw no others until she turned the corner to three clone troopers. With all that she could feel and hear, Shir did not need to hesitate. With a thought, she activated her lightsaber while pulling her shoto to her other hand from her belt. Her suspicions were confirmed when the trio opened fire, but her well-honed reactions were more than enough to protect her. Two of the bolts she deflected, while the third she reflected into the center clone's knee.

As the middle clone was collapsing to the ground, the other two fired their second volley, through which Shir began to rush forward. She deflected the two bolts, then threw her shoto forward into the chest of the clone on the left, while sprinting at the one on the right. He was only able to fire one more shot before she reached him, and after she dodged to the side, there was nothing he could do to stop her from nearly bisecting him. By this point, the clone on the ground was bringing his weapon to bear, but a simple force push was all it took to divert his aim, followed by a clean slash across the neck.

Retrieving her shoto, Shir quickly moved on in the direction of the atrium. A few clones combing what they likely believed to be a less populated section of the temple were not too great a threat, but she had a feeling there were far more than a few present. She had no real plan yet, but finding someone to group up with seemed like a solid start.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth did not know what "drunk" was, but she decided to keep trying the wine. It had more character than other kinds of drinks, to the point that she wished they could have something like it all the time.

Rukeewei became particularly curious about Leaps as soon as he learned what it actually was. Given his small size, he wasn't any more afraid of it, but his mind started to wonder at how one could possibly raise a wamasu. They grew to be massive in size, incredibly dangerous, and they were reputed to be territorial. Their eggs were very valuable, but as this one was male, he could not provide even that for them. "A wamasu? How will you ever raise one of those? I mean...it will probably take many years for it to grow to a decent size, but still. I cannot imagine you will be able to take it anywhere near a city when it gets to that point, and the males are known to be territorial."

Lorag began to respond while still in the process of chewing up a part of his meal. "Well, al...Meesei is goin' to figure out how to get into him and neuter him. Doubt Leaps'll like it, but that's pretty much a sure way to make something docile." Lorag glanced down at leaps, who was staring up straight at him. It was likely only because he said his name, but it seemed only appropriate that Lorag's answer would get the creature's attention. "What?" Lorag said, looking at the wamasu.

"I see." Rukeewei answered, giving a pause to take a drink of his wine. "That does make sense, but still, how are you going to deal with his eventual size? They are about the largest predators in the marsh, and, well, they are the kinds of creatures that can accidentally kill you."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Rukeewei obliged with everyone's requests and produced cups of wine for everyone, along with the mead he was fortunate enough to have for Lorag. It wasn't "authentic" mead, as he had made it himself, but he tried to make it in the right style. The wine he selected was also of his own make; a slightly lighter version of Argonian Bloodwine. It was of moderate strength, and since he made it himself, not as expensive as drinks he had to purchase.

As the others began to eat, Kaleeth was of course the most confused at the tools everyone else was using for their meat. She grabbed the cutlery awkwardly and tried watching Janius to see how she was meant to use them. Luckily, it did not seem too complicated, so she was able to pick up on it reasonably well. She looked almost like a child in how she cut her meat, but she did not stand out too badly. Smelling the meat in the air, Leaps tried to jump up in her lap, so she cut of a piece from her meal and threw it down to him to keep him occupied, after which she took interest in the wine. By the way Janius spoke, there was something special about it, so she started off slowly. Given that she had drank only water, and some juices from various fruits, in her life, the experience was something entirely unexpected. She still did not even know what alcohol was; she only knew that the drink felt...warm. "I've...never had something like this before? You said it is made from berries, but it is a lot different from juices I have had before."

Rukeewei looked curiously at Leaps when he tried to jump up on Kaleeth. The creature had not disturbed any of his other customers so far, or destroyed any furniture, so he supposed it was fine to stay, at least for now. "So, Leaps-On-Elves, what kind of creature is he, anyway?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Convenient, since I couldn't load the site for an hour after you posted

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Oh, yes, right. I nearly forgot." Rukeewei answered to Ariel. As he was standing up, he heard Fendros' question. "Sure. All the judges want is quality wine; they don't particularly care how it is made. The point of he competition is to, oh what is the line they use? 'To serve as the center of culture and quality in all of Tamriel,' or something like that. I have seen some fairly unconventional wines in the competition before. I have heard some people, particularly from parts of Cyrodiil like...Skingrad, I think, who say that it isn't 'pure,' but they seem to have a lot longer of a history with wine than we do. Wine is an...imported tradition for Argonians."

As the plates were being passed around, Rukeewei took a cut of crocodile tail and set it on the table in front of his chair. "I will go get the drinks. What is everyone's preference?" He asked.

"Mead, if you got it." Lorag answered before anyone else could even let out a breath. "That talk of Skyrim's got me thinking about it."

It had been quite a while since Ahnasha had been able to drink, and she had no actually thought about the fact that she would be able to until this point. It took her a moment to come up with an answer, but she was actually starting to get a bit excited for it. "I recall rather liking Argonian wine the last time I had it, so I think I will go with whatever Argonian wine you think is reasonable. I would not want to ask for one of your expensive drinks."

"I will take wine as well, but nothing too strong. I have...decided that becoming intoxicated is something I should avoid." Meesei answered.

As the others were giving their answers, Kaleeth just looked around confused until she finally spoke up. "What is wine?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"It hasn't been too different from last year." Rukeewei answered as Ariel stood up. "My second place spot in the competition did gain me a few new regulars, so I made a bit more this year than the last. I still aim to win that competition, though. That could really propel my business forward. I am looking forward to the next festival; the batch I have fermenting for this next year is going to be special. It's being made from a combination of a local berry, and a sort of root from Morrowind. It is meant to make it nice and crisp. It is also going to be a bit of an experiment. I asked Ariel to add just a bit of alchemy in the brew. From the way I understand it, it will have that same calming sensation as a healing potion, but with a much less bland taste. I have never tried adding magic to wine before, but it might be enough to impress the judges."

"Hmm, magic wine. Thinking about it, that makes sense." Ahnasha began. "Alchemy seems to be able to create just as wide of a range of effects as magic itself, so I don't see why you can't do the same thing with food? Have flavors that disappear or change as you are eating, or maybe something related to illusion that just makes you think it is the greatest taste on Nirn? If it works out, you might be able to bring an entirely new product into town." She suggested before glancing to Sabine. "Maybe it is something you could try if you ever have the spare ingredients?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth had never heard of the kinds of creations that Ariel described, though by the way the others acted, neither had they. For someone just to create something entirely new like that seemed almost unbelievable, but by the way the others had described Ariel, she was an intelligent and inventive person. Kaleeth wondered what it would be like to have such a mind, one that could easily go beyond what others taught her to find something entirely new. It was the same with Meesei and her magic, but it was not a skill that Kaleeth had never seemed to possess. There had been a point early in her life where she tried coming up with new ways of hunting, but after a few, admittedly severe, failures, and some scolding from her father, she decided it was best to just do whatever he told her. Honestly, she had been afraid to come up with new strategies ever since.

Kaleeth shook her head. "Oh no...well, the Treeminder tried. All of the hatchlings were tested to see if we were good with magic, but I was not. There were a lot of things I wasn't good at, but I was not bad with throwing spears, so father decided to make me a hunter. I couldn't use a bow that well, but there was something about throwing spears that just made sense to me. I couldn't throw them that hard, but I always seemed to hit the right spots. Of course, now, with all my, um, training, I could probably throw one through one of these walls." Kaleeth commented. Prior to joining the pack, the weapon she had been most experienced with was the spear. She could have picked up training with it again, but none of the others in the pack had special training with it, apart from Lorag. However, during her less emotionally stable phase after becoming a lycan, she had only been comfortable with training with Janius. Plus, her skill with spears mostly only applied to throwing them, which was fine for hunting, but for fighting other people, she did not think it was a good idea to throw her primary weapon.

It was not long before Rukeewei was finally able to let his brother take over and end his shift, after which he immediately made his way over to the others in the corner. The meat was starting to come close to cooked, and the crowd of patrons had thinned out substantially. He noticed that the others were in the middle of talking when he approached, so he simply said hello once more as he sat down beside Ariel, this time giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Lorag gave a nod. "Yeah, it's been a while, but with how much training the Legion insisted on putting us through before we headed up there, I doubt I'll ever forget how to handle it. Skyrim has the kind of cold that can kill ya in minutes if you're not prepared, at least in some spots. I think Bruma's the same way; maybe not quite as bad, but still. We'll need fur, definitely. Nothin' we can find in this swamp will cut it. We'll need to either buy something when we get to the Imperial City, or kill something along the way. No way I'm headin' all the way up there without proper furs. Also, we'll need to carry around some good firewood with us all the time, instead of just lookin' for it when we need it. It takes up weight and space, but when you're cold, you might need a fire right then and there."

To both Meesei and Kaleeth, Lorag's description of the cold was less than encouraging. For a race designed for the warm, humid swamps, a snowstorm was a nightmare. Meesei had experienced a few cold nights in Cyrodiil, and even some light snow, but she doubted that Kaleeth had even felt cold before, much less seen snow. Not that it was going to be much more pleasant for any of the others. "You see, this is why I much prefer the heat. While it is possible to die of overheating, it is much easier to freeze to death. Still, we have time to prepare, and given Lorag's training, we should have no issue. Since this is going to be our last real time together with Ariel before leaving the marsh, I would rather not spend it going over our worries. I would rather relax and talk about...whatever seems interesting. Do you have any ideas for what kind of potions to create for next year's festival, Ariel? I am sure that will be a great opportunity for you." Meesei asked, at which point she noticed Hides-In-Trees enter the inn. He did not take over for Rukeewei just yet, but it likely would not be long.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Ssarak Dyreackthanose and Darius

---

Ssarak nodded, taking another drink. "Very well, let us begin simply. Where are you from, and where did you learn to fight? I recall seeing your swordsmanship during the attack a few months ago. Granted, it was not quite possible to observe the particulars of your style, given the circumstance, but you certainly held your own."
"I am from Yarosmere. To be more specific, Portti. I owe my skills to the army. I had joined when I was old enough to do so, and worked my way up in the ranks. I was assigned to guard the representatives of Yarosmere, but in was overcome with, what was it called..." He trailed of as he tried to remeber the term, snapping his fingers when he did. "Blood Sickness! I passed out, and when I woke up. The representatives were gone, along with everything they brought with them." Darius clenched his hand into a fist. There were a few small snaps in the air around him before he shook his head and looked at Ssarak. "I will ask you the same question."

It made sense that Darius had been in a military. It was a common source of combat knowledge, though there were other ways of attaining it. In all honesty, Ssarak still did not know what blood Darius actually had. It would be good for his next question, but first, he needed to answer Darius'. "Well, I was hatched in the Scorched Lands, so I am not uncommon in that respect. I was of clan Dyre, the son of one of its warriors. As such, I was raised to be one of its warriors as well, from before my first memories. In that, I was successful, and served them in war against our rival clan for many years before I left. I was a part of many battles with clan Xhoth, and the Scorched Lands themselves can be a foe of their own, so I do not lack experience. My role within our forces placed me on the front lines, hence my preference for heavy armor. I prefer large weapons, though as I am sure you know, warfare requires diverse training. I can also use polearms, blades, shields, and so on. What is it that you are skilled in? As you know, I am a psychomancer, but I do not know your blood."

Darius could not remember the name for his blood, so he decided to just explain it. "I can use the air to my advantage, but I can only control one part of it. I can make myself stronger than I usually am. The other parts I can control by using my anger to do it. I never found out about it until after I over-exerted myself during the attack." He leaned back in his chair as he tried to think of one more question. A question from earlier in the day popped into his head. He nodded towards the subject of the question. "Who is the child?"

"Her name is Lyn." Ssarak said, with a quick pause for another drink. "I do not know if you have met her, but do you know of Mar? She is a Naga, and Lyn is her child. Her's and Althalus', a Human man. As for why she is here..." He began, glancing at Lyn as he debated on how much he needed to reveal in order to avoid upsetting Lyn. "I cannot say I entirely know why. She is quite good at hiding, however, so I hope that is an advantage that will play in her favor on the road ahead. I do not like that we have to bring her into danger, but I fear we have little choice in the matter. I do not believe we can safely return her at this point."

With his answer out of the way, Ssarak moved on to his next question. "So, during your time with the army, or afterwards, how many battles have you been in?"
Darius was surprised to hear that Lyn was the child of a Naga and a human. He would not have thought that possible, but the child was proof. He thought about Ssarak's question. There had been a lot, and he had the scars to prove it. But he did not know the count. "Twelve years worth. I do not have a count of them, but they were many. Quite a few were against small groups of Naga that caused trouble." He shuddered at the memories, then looked up at Ssarak. "If you ever get into a fight with a Naga..." He tapped the side of his head. "It won't come back after that."

"I will be sure to keep it in mind, though Naga are not terribly common here. Still, I will be cautious of wounding strikes if the need arises. I suppose that is a good policy for any being with which you are unfamiliar." Ssarak commented. He had only asked a few questions, but he had worked out all of the useful information he had been seeking. Darius was a novice Aeromancer with significant military training. Ssarak still had the impression from previous meetings that he was an unsavory individual, so perhaps, he reasoned, his next course of action should be to determine how accurate that impression was. "I just have one more question..." He began as he finished off his mug. "Would you like another drink?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sorry for the shorter post, I am juggling multiple RPs at the moment.