Muttonhawk

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sabine gave each of Tola and Saras an acknowledging nod. From her humble demeanour, she likely felt it inappropriate or strange hold a debt from the council. Ri'vashi, on the other hand, Sabine lifted her head to fully and spoke in response.

"I do, Ri'vashi." Sabine was nervous but she knew what to say. She nodded. "I know it is not the same but Rhajul wronged me as well. Before he captured me. He almost killed Meesei, personally. His men killed a friend I had made from the pride of werelions we saved from the Senchal clan. And, you are right, he was complicit in my torture. He was complicit in many things." She slowly took in a shaky breath. "I am not forgiving him for any of that. I do not think I should forgive him for any crimes he committed. But he is not like Arinette, who did it because she enjoyed seeing suffering. Rhajul did what he did under false pretences, believing he was protecting Tamriel. He has been shown the error of his ways and..." Sabine glanced over at Do'rhajul. "...it has crushed him. Everything he gave up was for lies. Everyone he killed or captured was for lies. And he now knows it without any doubt."

Sabine lowered one hand from her staff. She took on a more confident posture. "His soul is Vile's as well now, Ri'vashi. Just like all of your clan. I do not know what you want for him, but I know what I want. I want all of Vile's stolen souls released. Rhajul's soul and every lost soul from the Orcrest clan and every other lost soul from this war. Even all of Vile's stolen souls if we can. And I think that if Rhajul helps us do that...If he gives his life to that...then any other treatment of him will be a lesser justice for the Orcrest clan."

Oswall furrowed his brow but he waited. Sabine's story had given him some patience.

Vera leaned back in her seat and sighed through her nose, thinking.

Darahil, in his usual cross-armed, board-straight posture was stoic as ever. He merely slowly blinked, opening his eyes in Ri'vashi's direction to hear her response. Though his look had a knowing glint to it.

Do'rhajul's crimes were great. None in the room could deny it. But they all knew Sabine in one capacity or another. To see someone they knew suffer such a horrible experience at Do'rhajul's vigil and come out trusting him -- let alone implying they should let him help with the expected terminus of Hircine's war with Vile -- started a melee in their minds that would not settle easily. For those more emotionally charged, however, outrage was sure to brew in the confusion, righteous or not.

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk.II

@Scarifar@Vec



Army doggo's got your backs! You can both do it! Do the thing!

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sabine's pause was to collect herself before continuing. Ri'vashi's interruption threw Sabine momentarily off. She tried to respond with five points at once that all depended on one another for context and ended up saying nothing. In frustration, she almost raised her voice. Meesei had encouraged her to be assertive here.

She locked Ri'vashi's eyes, breathed in and spoke as level as she could. "I am not finished, Ri'vashi." She stared intensely into her eyes for another few seconds. "Please."

"Go on, Sabine," Vera said, gesturing forward. She did not indicate being convinced by Sabine's reasoning, though neither did she refute Ri'vashi's reasoning.

Sniffing back her emotion, Sabine cast her eyes down again. "I wanted the pain to stop, so I used the staff. I healed everything on my body. I was still...so angry and scared. They tried to attack. I threw two of them away with magic. I think one ran away. I made a ward so I could be safe but they did not attack. I told them where the book came from. Everything still hurt, even with the healing magic. When Yerig admitted they may have been mislead, when he tried to calm me down, Arinette recovered. She shouted that I was lying. Yerig protested. Do'rhajul was not convinced by Arinette either. He said he had been stonewalled and kept from secrets with Vile's priesthood. Arinette lost patience and struck Yerig down with a lightning spell. They were about to fight, but...I was so angry. Angry at her. I picked her up with magic and would have torn her apart, layer by layer. I could have done it. Then...I saw her face. And I felt my beast spirit. Cowering. It does not cower. Not since long ago. So I released her. But they kept trying to fight Do'rhajul, all of them. I started crying and rendered all of them but Do'rhajul unconscious. I did not want to happen what happened. I tried to make it right. So I went to Yerig and made his heart beat again. Then Do'rhajul surrendered."

In a similar voice, Sabine recounted everything of import from the following few days. Everything from the details of Do'rhajul's pact, his lost former life, her conversations with Yerig and Do'rhajul, taking the prisoners to the Daggerfall clan, and the entire process of defeating the dragon. She told no lies or misleading statements, though she curiously referred to Do'rhajul as 'Rhajul' from when he surrendered. She also omitted explaining her reasoning for allowing Yerig and Do'rhajul to help her defeat the dragon or why exactly she did not immediately return home after they capitulated. Other details, such as her dependence on the staff for comfort and the other lasting effects of her trauma were also left out.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Unlike Ahnasha, Fendros' reaction was to stare sternly. One could have believed that he was being callous, but he had mentally prepared himself for listening to Sabine's story. It was all he could do to stay composed. However, Ahnasha's expression did not escape him. He placed a firm hand on Ahnasha's shoulder to reassure her.

Sabine tripped over her words, nodding to Saras. She tried to bring her mind forward to the escape. Reliving her experiences had scattered her thoughts, so she spent some seconds with her eyes closed. She remembered the start of her opportunity back then. The protests.

"It was hours later. Yerig and Do'rhajul were the only ones that did not take turns to hurt me," she continued. Her tone had stabilised into its previous monotone, through no small effort. "Do'rhajul was standing nearby. Yerig was away. But Yerig approached, shouting while Arinette used magic to make me feel burning. He said...it was barbaric. He confronted Do'rhajul, asked why I deserved this, asked how he could stand for this having known him previously not to, and said he was told to fight monsters and not torture." Sabine's voice grew a little. "Arinette was angry and said I was a monster and that I would kill him if I could. Yerig got angry and called her and the rest of the group monsters. He said he saw monsters but none of them were nailed to a tree. Do'rhajul...he tried to calm Yerig by telling him that he did not want this either. But he also said that it was for the greater good. That lycans would take over Tamriel if they did not do this. I tried to tell them that was not true. Arinette burnt me more for speaking."

Sabine remembered the anger she felt that drove her to act. It showed in her brow as she continued. "That was when Yerig brought out the evidence Ahnasha left him. He had read all of it while I was trapped. He showed Do'rhajul the pages detailing the experiments at the Elsweyr stronghold. The kidnappings, lycanthropy infections, experiments, releases. Do'rhajul was shocked and questioned Arinette. Arinette claimed it was fake but Do'rhajul knew the handwriting. He got very angry." Sabine cocked her head, lowering her voice. "At the time, my arms were numb, but I could still move them a little. I felt the wooden stake slide through my hands. And through the manacles, I had some magicka left. So I..." Her stomach knotted even thinking back on it. She reflexively rubbed her palm over her fingernail. "...I...pushed off the stake. It still hurt but I hardly noticed. Then...I paralysed her. With everything left, I paralysed her and took her staff."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Sabine entered the meeting with a tight chest. She gave looks to everyone present. The most fleeting glances were directed to those clearly showing their uncertainty. Ri'vashi, Vera, and Oswall all counted amongst them, though they were not the only ones. More surely had questions for her.

She stopped and stood near between the table and where Do'rhajul and Yerig. She nodded by way of a cordial greeting, clutching the Staff of Magnus vertically in both hands against her left side. She opened her mouth to respond to Saras and hesitated.

"Take your time," Vera added softly, leaning forward on her elbows. "Start from the beginning. From the moment they escaped with you captive."

Sabine lowered her eyes and cast her mind back. She was so scared back then that forgetting the events from the start would have been a miracle in itself.

"They teleported away," she began monotonously. "Somewhere else in High Rock, I found out later. Arinette hit me, tried to make me tell her the plan. I was too afraid to say anything. They went to set up camp, so...the orc twins took everything from me and tied me to a tree. They put manacles on me that drained my magicka. They hit me some more as well. Arinette spoke to me again. She told me she would let me go if I could guarantee her killing Meesei. She also said she would torture me, and that they had suppression gas if I tried to transform. Then they rested for the night. I stayed awake. I was too scared to sleep."

Sabine blinked rapidly in a pause. "When morning came, they approached me. I had a little magicka because the manacles were not strong enough to drain everything. They once more said they wanted Meesei's head. I refused. Meesei is my mother." She repeated the words she said back then. She did not even mind how many people in the meeting knew of Meesei guardian relationship with Sabine. "Arinette took out a wooden stake. They..." Sabine's hands creaked against the wood of the staff. Her fingers went white from her tight grip. "They drove it through my hands, into a tree over my head. There was blood..."

Red rings had formed around Vera's eyes, despite her stoic expression.

"She...Arinette took out a knife." Sabine's tone wavered more with every sentence. She took longer to form her words. "She demanded to know where the clan was. "She stabbed me when I refused. Cut me. I...then lashes. They lashed me. I could not die because...she healed my flesh. She liked it when I screamed. She was smiling. I made her angry when I refused." A held-back tear escaped down from each of Sabine's eyes. "She said Meesei would not suffer like this for me. She was lying. Meesei already has. Then she put a knife into my mouth."

Saras likely only wanted to know how Sabine escaped but she had already forgotten about that. The memories played like her mind was a stage and she was tied down to watch it. Most on the council were either pale, saddened, or hiding their thoughts.

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk.II

So guys, I've been practicing a bit of art in my free time and I'd like to ask for requests over here. Does anyone have a character they'd like me to sketch or an object or the like? I need the practice and I've always wanted to draw a bit for my beloved Divinus :-)

@Frettzo

I have a request that is as much out of curiosity as it is about seeing Galbar come to life: Draw a hain, from your own interpretation of their description.

Might be a challenge -- they're weird, Henson-esque monstrosities that don't very well have a direct comparison in real life beyond Termite's doodles. I just want to see if what I had in mind is the same as or different from what it evoked in your mind.

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk.II

<COMMODITISMS>

@Double Capybara

I fill out what I can later for Yorum but I haven't fleshed out everything from there just yet. There may be some goods they have that won't really feature in any posts.

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk.II

@Antarctic Termite@Muttonhawk

By hibernation I meant when he went sleepy sleepy in New Chronos.

@Vec

My guess was based on that, yes. It was before Conata was born but after the Oath of Stilldeath was made. In fact, it was shortly after that.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The fortifying spell almost immediately had Sabine paying more attention. Her visage was still telling of her disturbed sleep but now at least she could concentrate better.

What Meesei brought up was yet another worry that had been bouncing around in Sabine's mind. Sabine nodded to each of the points while internally preparing herself. Standing up to Ri'vashi on her own was terrifying enough. She could not have done it without knowing she had the power to stop Ri'vashi in her tracks with magic. Now she would have to finish what she started while convincing everyone else at the same time. But Sabine still had her convictions. She was not prepared to give up easily. If the council and her reached an impasse, she was prepared to do anything.

"I will make them understand," Sabine said. She wrapped her hand around the Staff of Magnus and felt its magical flux. The familiar feeling of potential and power came with it. And following that, a knowing security that she was now capable of just about anything, even if the staff had since been drained. "And I will get help," she added, looking at Meesei directly. "I promise. It is what I want."

Mid/High Casual - Divinus: The Deity Roleplay Mk.II

@Antarctic Termite@BBeast@Muttonhawk

circa what time did UY go into hibernation, according to this new timescale we have? it was before PR that much i know...

@Vec

I honestly couldn't tell you with a lot of confidence. The timeline before the realta invasion is quite wibbly-wobbly. Anywhere between 20 and 200 years before the invasion would be a safe ballpark estimate.