EliteCommander

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

Tarentek was not sure if his counsel was helpful or not. On the one hand, she explained more about her beliefs that made her seem as if she was skeptical, but on the other, she also seemed to accept it in the end. In any case, he believed he had said all his limited knowledge would allow him to, so they were silent for the remainder of the walk to the market.

As with most markets, this one was crowded, at least in comparison to the rest of the village. Being that Amman was a sizable city, he was accustomed to large crowds, but this one looked a fair amount more spectacular simply because of the people themselves. Tarentek had been unaware that Onyx's people could show such a variety of bright colors in their wings. While perhaps not conducive to camouflage, their multicolored wings made his own race seem bland by comparison. This was the first time he had been in a crowd of her people, so Tarentek glanced over to Onyx somewhat nervously. "So...are there specific people in the market you think I should see, or should we just wander? Either way, it might be best for you to lead."

The Depths of Deception

I suppose it might be time to move us on altogether, but I'm going to be pretty busy today. I suppose I'll do it tomorrow, so Leon can have today to post if he chooses.

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

"You know, I believe I might disagree with that." Tarentek commented, casting his gaze across the village as they walked along in order to observe his surroundings. He did not know for how long her people had been living essentially alone in these mountains, but he had the feeling that they would not be able to maintain their isolation forever. "The way your people live, it seems to have worked for you. Even without those roles you just mentioned, your people have survived and, normally, would probably continue doing so. However, with this Empire approaching, I have a feeling that the wave of change is going to come crashing down over this place, and every other settlement in this area. No matter how events unfold, I see no way that any city is going to remain untouched. I do not know if I told you, but that mission your father assigned me is to go to Tel Nof, with an escort, and negotiate on behalf of your people to secure their aid in the coming war. From all I have gathered, that is something that has never happened with your tribe, or if it has, no one has mentioned it."

Tarentek looked back to Onyx with an encouraging expression. "This problem you face, with your heart being stronger than your soul, it may just be a sign of things to come. You people might not have traditionally needed the roles you are suited for, but as change sweeps the land, your people may find themselves in dire need of people like you. After all, if it were anyone else from your tribe who had found me, I doubt they would have saved me. You would not have received my warning, and you would be left to face our enemy alone, with no time to seek help from even your own kin."

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

Tarentek did his best to understand what Onyx was explaining. To him, what she described was a spiritualistic religion, a concept that was foreign to his people. Despite this, her beliefs were not so complicated as to make him unable to understand entirely. As she explained it, the soul and spirit was indicative of different parts of their personalities, with each guarded by one of their deities. That was actually reasonably similar to his own people's beliefs, though in the case of the Karisskan, Jhala imparted onto them their entire personality. He still felt that there were parts he must be missing, as any religion was too complicated to explain in a few short sentences, but he did have some thoughts on what she had said so far.

"I see, so these beings work against one another, but both for your benefit. And a stronger heart means you are blessed by...Fellagang. You said a strong soul is important when you come of age, but I have a question about your heart. Namely, what are all the traits a strong heart bestows upon you? If a strong heart gives you certain traits, then those traits would have to give you certain skills and abilities that others do not necessarily possess." Tarentek asked.

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

"I am not sure how well I understand." Tarentek responded regretfully. "Those concepts, soul, spirit, and heart, are not ones I grew up with, so I don't think I understand them in the same way you do. I remember you describing your soul as your 'eternal self,' but don't understand exactly how you can make it weaker or stronger. I will try to understand as best as I can, if you believe it is something you can explain in words. For my people, we did not have any sort of ritual to determine our role. In theory, our paths were chosen based on our greatest talents, but that was usually just following our parents' roles. After all, our talents are usually formed through what our parents teach us. The methods of your people are new to me; foreign."

Tarentek doubted his answer was what Onyx wanted to hear, but nevertheless, he gave a smile and tried to elevate the mood at least somewhat. "But, as I said before, my people are always open to new ideas, and I am no exception. And as someone with an outside perspective, I might even be able to give some advice."

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

Tarentek found Onyx's question to be curious, and unexpected. He had never thought about whether or not he was 'normal,' though that fact likely meant he was. If none of the others had any question about his place within society, then they likely had no issues with him. "I have not really thought about that before, but I believe my people would consider me to be normal. I am a warrior with knowledge and interest in our technology, both of which would be considered honorable among my people. Beyond that, I have not done much that would be exceptional. I suppose the most they might find strange about me is that I have not yet found a wife, despite being at the appropriate age. Still, that is not terribly uncommon." He explained briefly as his face took on a more concerned expression.

"What do you mean by 'lost'? Do others among your people take issue with you?" Tarentek asked. Given all that Onyx had done for him, he did actually find that he was sympathetic to any potential struggles she might be facing.

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

"Sure, we can explore the...nest, as you say." Tarentek said as he stood up from his seat. "You should lead the way. I am sure you will know much better than I where would be best for me to go. And I trust you will let me know if I am about to make some terrible mistake. Though, before we leave, I would like to take a moment complement your soup. I find that it was quite well-made." He said as he began to help her clean as well.

Once Onyx asked him about his singing abilities, he stumbled over his words for a few brief moments as he was forming a response. "Oh, um, well...no, I don't. Sing. I don't sing. My mother liked to, but I never really picked it up. A lot of my focus went into my studies on technology, so I never really had time to pick up any musical talents." He explained somewhat nervously. It was true that he could not sing well, but it had not been for a lack of trying. His mother had loved to sing, and he tried to learn, but was terrible to start. He might have improved, but teasing from other children had stopped him from trying before he could gain any musical talent.

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

Tarentek paused a moment, then shrugged his shoulders. "I cannot say if the university is still open. We know so little about our enemy that it is impossible to say without actually going to Amman. If they want to keep the people they conquer happy, then they would keep the university open, but if they are more restrictive and controlling, then they would close it. As for our connections making others join the Empire, I would worry quite to that extent. Asking a settlement to give up its sovereignty and join a larger empire is a much larger request than asking for a good trade deal. Still, those connections may give them some diplomatic advantages if they learn about them. Not enough to make other cities surrender immediately, but it is something to worry about. Although, we might also consider how we can use those connections to our advantage. If we can reach these sympathetic individuals first and tell them what has occurred, we might be able to convince them to lend us aid in fighting back. That would have the added effect of making them skeptical of any offers coming from Amman, as they might think the Empire is forcing my people to make them. Indeed, they may very well do that."

By this point, Tarentek was close to finishing his soup, though he paused just before his last few bites to make one more statement in an exceptionally determined tone. "And I can assure you, the scenario I would choose is to fight to my last breath to end the lives of those who destroyed mine."

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

Though Tarentek had not yet commented specifically on the soup, he was quite visibly pleased with it. He certainly intended to complement her on the dish, though as was common with his people, he would wait until the end of the meal to give his full opinion. As for the present topic, he was also quite eager to talk about his people's system of education. It was a point of pride for his city, and by extension, himself. "Ah, well, I should specify that some knowledge was considered to be secrets of the government. This mostly consists of the secrets of our weapons and defenses, including how to repair human weapons, creating gunpowder and ammunition, and building our fortifications. I am actually one of the few privy to some of those secrets, since they related directly to my role within our military. Otherwise, though, our knowledge is freely given to any who wish to learn. Now, it is true that most of the students of the university at any given time were citizens of Amman. Comparatively few outsiders are willing to come and live in Amman for the years required to receive a comprehensive education. However, they certainly exist, and we are happy to teach them. You see, spreading our knowledge through the world ultimately improves the lives of those who receive it, and eventually, that improvement will reach us. Settlements that learn better farming practices will have more food, those that learn better domestication techniques will have more productive work animals. All of this knowledge creates more wealth wherever it goes, and the common threads between it all are the people we educate. That is how the improvement returns to us. To learn what they need, these people spend years in Amman, not only learning from their classes, but connecting with the city. They become familiar with our customs, they form friendships with their peers and create bonds that give them ties to our city even after they leave. Though there are some exceptions, most of these outsiders become allies to us, or at the very least, remain friendly with our people. And remember, these people are creating wealth elsewhere. Those that become merchants often make trade deals with us that would not have existed otherwise, and if we are lucky, some of them will even grow to influence in their own cities. To us, educating someone from another city is to make a friend in another city."

Ashes [EliteCommander and Vesuvius00]

"Thank you." Tarentek said with noticeable enthusiasm as soon as Onyx placed the soup in front of him. He wasted no time in starting on his anxiously-awaited meal, which he found rather appetizing. In truth, he probably would have found almost anything to be appetizing at that moment, but he felt the soup was legitimately well-made. His focused shifted to the food almost to the point that he forgot to respond to her question, though he did manage to remember after a few moments.

"Oh, yes...I mean, no. No, my people are not born directly from their mothers as some other races are. Our females lay eggs, which hatch just over three months afterwards. In the meantime, they must be protected so the child can develop within. I have not personally had the responsibility of taking care of an egg, but I had friends who had children. They described the experience as stressful, but rewarding." He said before giving a chuckle. "Although, that description probably fits having children in general, regardless of the race. In any event, some of Tel Aviv's people were angry with us, but the positive effects of our trade ended up outweighing the offense, so no war or fighting came as a result. Overall, we had few reasons to go to war other than defense. Some settlements fight based on their religions, but our gods do not usually call us to war. Indeed, our worship is quite different from many other cultures I have seen. We do not have temples, or rituals as other might think of them. I believe I mentioned this before, but knowledge is our worship. If one wishes to show homage to Jhala, they must seek to improve their mind. The closest thing to a temple in our city were our centers of learning, our schools. I mentioned several instances of our people taking influences from other cultures, but this is one case in which others learned from us. Jerusalem created a university after learning of ours. Well, I do suppose my people were originally influenced by writings from the Humans, but ours was the first city in this area with a university. So as long as they are able to fulfill their normal duties, anyone in our city can attend free of charge, even visitors. Well, if space is limiting, citizens are granted entrance before visitors, but no one is charged. Our university represents one of our government's largest single expenses."