[A Shattered Visage] Act 1.2: Remember That You Were A Slave

Axelgear

Axelgear

General Wontwit
Relief is a rare commodity in the deserts of the South, making its presence much more sharply punctuated than its absence. Behind the heavy wooden door and black granite walls, carved into the volcanic ridge, Seven's home provides respite to the singed and sun-baked band who fled from the depths of the tunnels. Red pillars out front, with blue banners swaying against them in the sand-scouring breeze, make it easy to identify.


Inside, it is cool, and it is quiet. The sounds of the riot already faded that far from the bazaar, but now, it is utterly silent. Finally, there is a chance to stop and think.


The man in the blue robe is barely conscious when the journey begins, but he is far from it by the time he is bound to a chair in the storage room. Far from struggling, he is politely deferential. He cheerfully directs his captors to his weapons when they begin to take them, informing them of hidden blades and bandoliers of firedust charges. He has a smile continually on his lips. It's a little creepy.


The air is still, but still full of the lingering scent of burning firedust and blood.
 
Okay, this is not normal. She'd seen some brainwashed people before and they always creeped the heel out of her. She addressed her new companions:


"Here is a place as good as any other to have a talk I think."


She now addresss their prisoner:


"Would you be so kind as to inform us why you were trying to kill us ? Rebelling against slave holders, I can very easily understand. Randomly killing passers by that expressed their desire not to fight, now that warrants an explanation."
 
Rahim Laenir


The Twilight dusted his worn travel cloak before entering, mindful of his host's abode. "I thank you for your hospitality", he told Seven, though he wasn't here for a social call. He was reminded that he also had to find some accomodation himself.


Rahim was somewhat unsettled by their prisoner's attitude. Even the Perfect's willing slaves, as far as he knew, did not behave quite that way. He almost preferred the fear and rejection that 'Anathema' got when their nature was revealed over such blind worship.


"So, who goes first?" he said, making a small gesture towards the blue-clad revolutionary. "Though I'm sure we all have many questions in common anyway." He turned towards the man.
 
Ezria


Perhaps spotting the whole pack winding through the streets of Gem, one dragging a blue coat on her back.


Good luck, bad luck. Seems the moron swinging his fists around had joined them. She had followed at a safe distance before they retired to a villa, she assumed to beat some facts out of them.


She would have to hear those facts. After hesitating while the gang piled in, she pressed her back to the wall, right next to the door, and did her best to gauge the circumstances. Her repeaters were loose in the holster.
 
"A thousand pardons," the prisoner says with a pleasing smile, "but I never tried to harm any of you. I was standing on a rooftop most of the time. I only dared approach the Most Enlightened One when I saw him surrounded in the sacred glow." He explains cheerfully, never once losing the cheerful grin.
 
Rahim Laenir


"Our Guarding Star watch over us, we've got a laywer in there!" he sighed. "Excuse me, but I'm just curious as to why you freed a bunch of slaves and then herded them against the Despot's holdings. I mean, from outside it looks like your organization and foresight are severely lacking, so why don't you enlighten us about your plans and motivations? And by you, I mean the whole of you blue-clad party-crashers. And why not start by your name? I mean yours, specifically."
 
Praan Cloudbinder


Praan is less-than-amused at the affair, looking muddy, bloody, and a bit dour. He stands nearby, tossing Skylight's unlit hilt up and down in his right hand. "Yeah, what did you have to gain from this? I understand altruism, but none of you were leading that charge. It's not going to pull through on its own, and even with what you were talking about you couldn't have known any of us would be there.


"... could you?" he asks, hesitantly.
 
"I am Asad Ibn Qadir, friend, and I think why we have done this should be obvious, don't you?" The man answers simply, never losing that smile. "Perhaps a better question is why we, by which I mean all of you and myself, are here, and not there." He answers, leaning forward for a moment to listen more closely to Rahim's response, before collapsing back into the chair comfortably. For a moment, his eyes drift to Praan, gladdening slightly.


"There are those who believe this world is long overdue for a return to its former order and glory." Asad says with a deferential bow of his head. "I, as a mere mortal, could not foresee the coming of those such as yourself, but... There are forces in this world, who ensure the servants find their way to their master."
 
Praan Cloudbinder


Apprehension tightens Praan's breathing as he regards the man sitting before them. "Who told you to do this?" he asks, fearing the answer.
 
"Thousand Scattered Grains; one of the Most High, such as you." The man answers without hesitation, proving he can, indeed, give a straight answer. "If you like, I can arrange a meeting with her for you, o' Enlightened One." He adds, shifting a little in the seat and against the bindings to get comfortable.
 
“The world may be due to change,†comes Bone Shadow’s voice from under the hood, “but that does not mean that you are the ones who will bring the change to pass. What you are doing will drench this city in blood; even if by some slim chance you succeed, you will have sowed so much hatred between former slaves and the free-born that it will take generations to uproot it all. This is not a return to light and order. This is more darkness. Your Most High One should know better.â€
 
"Indeed, Asad.


I for one would be most interested in meeting Thousands Scattered Grains.


...


If you guys don't mind, I will free our friend here from the bonds, he's not like he'll flee from a room packed with Celestials..."


Ruin approaches the chair, reading the knife to undo the bindings.


"Asad, have you ever had the chance to notice that those that most speak about glory are also those more eager to spread blood without regards for the innocents?"
 
Praan Cloudbinder


Praan opens his mouth to reply to the man in blue, but is seized for a moment by Bone Shadow's words. He favors her with a neutral look, and to his own surprise he finds his mentor's words tumbling out of his mouth, ones he doesn't wish to believe but can't refute. "Find me a society not built on a pile of corpses," he requests of her, before addressing Ruin. "And that's a laugh, coming from you.


"Is she nearby?" he finally asks the man in blue. "We don't have much time to work with, thanks to you."
 
Ruin frees the prisoner.


"I have been a soldier, Praan, and there's nothing glorious about it."
 
7:24


"Glory is just a word for children and fairy tales" 7 says, looking at Ruin. She turns to Praan, "Blood is spilled to create nations, this is true, but this blood could have been spilt for my nation, this other Chosen has caused the death of many I meant to use to my own ends."


7 looks over at the blue man "Take us to her and make it quick, this uprising needs to stop now."
 
Asad listens to the Chosen bicker without a hint of disharmony or displeasure on his features. Instead, he simply waits for breaks in the conversation to offer his answers. Any admonishments upon him are greeted with a simple bow of his head in acknowledgement of them, but he never stops smiling. He does not challenge them, nor debate them.


"Many apologies for any inconvenience or upset we caused you." He says as he rises to his feet, rubbing his wrists as the ropes fall away.


"Thousand Scattered Grains, in her infinite wisdom, does not burden us, her servants, with her grand plans and schedules. Where she is at this precise moment, I can only fathom. However, I can take you to where she shall be: Every evening, at midnight, she performs a prayer and speaks to the faithful. She will be there." He explains comfortably.


"If you want to find her any sooner, I'm afraid the only certain way would be to... Lead the charge, so to speak." He pauses, and mumbles a momentary apology under his breath. "If one so lowly as me can presume to know anything about ones such as you, then my best guess-" He pauses again to mutter an apology. "-would be that she is watching the Despot's palace."
 
Ruin


Ruin looks around.


"For me we can wait this evening. We still have to introduce each other, after all."
 
7:24


"So you'd wait for the city to burn and the population to plummet while we exchange pleasantries?" 7 scolds Ruin.


"Then again I don't want to make my way through a riot to the palace, unless..." 7 looks at the Chosen gathered in her home "Can any of you make your way to the palace unseen and find this Chosen One?"


7 looks at the blue man, "What does she look like?"
 
Ruin


"I tried to defend those exploited, you guys didn't like it.


I tried to send good Asad to stop his companions, you blocked him.


I grow tired of your contempt.


I can't do anything by myself, especially if we work against one another.


If we are to work together, we have better to know each other and plan.


If we go out and all act randomly, we'll just make more damage."
 
Bone Shadow somehow manages to tip her reed headdress like a hat without actually removing it from her head.


“That would be me, I think. Anonymity is one of my order’s watchwords, and I…take my study of its disciplines very seriously. No one ever notices me--†the until it’s too late goes unspoken but perhaps not unheard, “--unless I want them to.â€


When Ruin speaks, she turns her head in his direction. Even from behind the tengai, her frown can be felt. “I didn’t see you defending people, I saw you attacking other people,†she says in a cool tone. “For what it’s worth, though, I completely agree with you that we need to discuss our intentions in Gem -- at least enough so we can operate without treading on one another’s toes. But, finding this Thousand Scattered Grains would seem to be a thing we all wish to do right ow, am I right?â€
 
Praan Cloudbinder


Praan slumps against the storeroom wall, clutching his hands to his head as his fellows argue. This is exactly the sort of situation he didn't want to be pressed into, especially not so early in his time as one of the Chosen. "We're being used," he thinks out loud. "Someone knew we were all going to be there, and decided to use us. The only way to not be a part of it is to do nothing."


Praan's gloved right hand clenches and unclenches, the fingers moving with uncanny precision as he weights Skylight. "But we can't do that, can we?" he asks the others assembled. "We've outed ourselves. And it's always going to come to something like this, isn't it? We're getting people killed out there. They're dying in our names.


"We have to stop it," he says, pushing off the wall. "Question is who we're siding with."
 
Ezria


She'd heard enough.


She leans over a wraps twice on the door with her knuckles. With her off hand she loosened the sash of her coat, letting it fall open to reveal the bandoliers loaded with alchemic ammo and the twin repeaters hanging from their shoulder holsters. The orichalcum would do all the talking she needed.
 
7:24


7 is startled by the knock, Who would be knocking on her door during a riot? She grabs Tomorrow and motions toward the group "Watch my back."


As she opens the door she first spies bandoliers and begins to swing the hammer down on to the strangers head, but luckily she spies the familiar glint of orichalcum before the hammer rings true. "Get in here." She grabs the stranger by the coat and pulls them inside.


"That metal means you're Chosen, great, now who are you and why are you knocking on my door?"
 
Ezria


She lets the stranger drag her, raising her hands in a gesture of conciliation. "Ezria. And I couldn't help but notice you dragging that one through the streets." She nods toward the bluecoat. "I have an interest in 'em."
 
Praan Cloudbinder


Praan glares levelly at Ezria, not entertained in the slightest by her tight-lipped answer. "So's the rest of the city," he coolly says.


"I think... it's too far in to back out now. If we help put down the revolt we still won't be trusted, and there's no way to tell just how the Despot or Gem itself is going to react to our presence." Praan moistens his lips, nervous and uncomfortable with what he's about to say. "We need to push this the rest of the way. We need to take Gem."
 
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