The First, the Last (Bettsyboy and Tigress)

[bettsyboy]

It's shocking really, how quiet it was back in the back-when times. In long ages past, Humans, Beasts, all creatures with intelligence shared this world, they fought with each other but they all realized that they were all part of the same world, and no matter how much the supremacists of each kingdom, each race wished, they all knew that total annihilation of another race was impossible.


At the dawn of civilization, when the Sergal nomad tribes united under a single warlord and decimated the lands of the Humans and Elves, driving their people into the mountains and hills it was over a century wait but when the Humans and Elves returned, they smashed all the Sergals had established within the fertile lands of men using the wood from the forrests of the Elves, scattering the Sergals to be once again nomadic tribes wandering, raiding, fleeing the forces of other races and selling themselves as mercenaries and others.


As was the way of Karth for many centuries, the races would fight and kill each other but balance would always return... that is, until "the First" arrived.


Erupting from the ruins of the "Citadel of Sthula" the First's influence was immediate, what had come to Karth did NOT belong here. In the vicinity of the Citadel there was only a single medium sized tribe of the Sergal, numbering less than 1,000 strong. the First's powers quickly overwhelmed the tribe's minds, destroying their original sense of self and making them it's obedient servants. The tribe raided and pillaged the nearby farms and villages, the civilians were either killed or captured, bought to the First to be made into new thoughtless slaves, and so it was for almost 12 years.


It wasn't until Lord Gerralt Hyperion, King of Thrane, the city of Scepters decided enough was enough and decided to bring about an end to this madness. with his full force amassed, 30,000 footmen, 12,000 cavalry and a full contingent of 300 sorcerers and sorceresses, he marched upon the First. the First's Sergal forces as well as the human and other slaves were quickly defeated and King Hyperion thought victory over this mennace was assured... he should have followed his head sorcerer's advice and retreated so the magic weilders could destroy the area and cleanse it, instead he wanted to stab the First in it's eye so the bards would sing of his name. Little did he know however, it was all a trick, the King and his forces fell to the First's powers as they closed in on it's Citadel.


With the king and his army turned, they marched back to Hyperion, the gates opened and the king, under the First's command lead the charge into his own city, and bought the blade to his own people, it was then that the First's conquest had begun.


For centuries the First fought, lost and won against all the peoples of Karth, but as it's influence grew, so did it's understanding of Karth, it's people, it's strengths and weaknesses. gold flowed into the right pockets, knives entered the right throats, and the right armies fought in the right battles, slowly but surely, the First's influence grew as tribe after tribe, city after city... nation after nation fell to it's might.


It has been almost 5 centuries since the First's arrival at Karth, and by now the whole world is within it's shadow, all the nations bow to it, those who resist are always being hunted down, the First cannot brainwash the entire world, or even all it's followers, as barely a fraction of it's true power has been able to cross over into Karth.


Our story opens within Rumoor, the city of oaths, an ancient run down place, it's once great spires and columns are overgrown and neglected, the people walk in soggy roads of thick mud, the smell of rotten fish, piss, shit and decomposing bodies fill the streets as plague ravages the peasants and as they die, their bodies are thrown into the stinking rivers, the closest thing to any liveliness within Rumoor is in it's arena, the last piece of the city still in regular use that was there during it's glory days before the First.


We meet the hero of our story, a young man of barely 19 fighting for his life in the arena, he's a skinny lad with a stubble and dirty, tangled blonde hair and deep blue eyes, the kinds of eyes that always get knives jabbed towards them in the Arena. He fights for his life against his adversary, the young man by the name of Darryn ducks, swerves, his shield, or what's left of it is just the arm strap and a small chunk of wood, the rest having being broken away during today's fighting. his adversary is almost a foot taller than him, a great big strong man with a great big belly, with a duck, a weave and a spin with his blade in hand, Darryn liberates his opponent's bones from carrying such weight, by opening up his opponent's belly and letting it all fall out.


The battle isn't over however, his next enemy is coming, a man with a spear in one hand with a red and silver diamond shaped shield in the other and wearing only a lioncloth and helmet.


Darryn backs up, his feet sinking into the soggy ground of the Arena as the crowd cheers and boos as various fighters die all around him.


Meanwhile, up within the stands, the commandant of the local garrison stands up, welcoming his honored guest for today's fighting, another servant of the First "aaaah, Seeker, so happy you could join us, please, sit, have some wine and some nice spiced beef, today's entertainment has only just begun and they're all so lively today..." he turned and pointed to the fat man in the loincloth with the shield "your special interest item is already in play as per your request, however... I'm afraid none thus far have shown any real aptitude for it, it has already passed through four hands in the past hour, a shame really"


Darryn: http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs4/i/2005/139/a/9/Gladiator_male_version_COLOR_by_wtenshi.jpg


the Commandant: http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2011/001/3/5/jack_of_blades_by_torvald2000-d367tsu.jpg


(Lore Time! - The Commandant is one of "the Reavers" essentially the First's administrators and commanders. you can stab a Reaver, burn one, club it, poison it, nothing will destroy one unless you destroy the mask. Each Reaver takes orders directly from the First, when orders come from anyone or anything else, it will always communicate through meditation directly to the First to ask if it should follow those orders from another, When a Reaver's body is destroyed, the mask gets recovered by the First's followers and is placed forcibly upon another, they only work on either Humans or Elves. Each soul is crafted from the bones of those who would defy the First, their blood continued to course through it, the person's soul is tortured until it is broken by the First, then with the First's dark energies infused with it, it is placed into the mask, to go on until the mask is destroyed for however long that may take, obedient to it's master till the end, the Commandant within the city of Rumoor used to once be the lord who ruled this very city)<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2014_09/54084baf7a9718d9.png.0fbbb70a9114154573b8733df606f63a.png" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="28987" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2014_09/54084baf7a9718d9.png.0fbbb70a9114154573b8733df606f63a.png" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p>

 

[Tigress]

Nayeli.


The first of the Sergals to had been made into mindless slaves for the first had long since died out, but their descendants lived on, strong and by far some of the most powerful of the servants that roamed the world now. They, like most of the others had been split into ranks, each having certain jobs to do for their master. The job always depended on their strength and their loyalty to the First, the Seekers and the Reavers being the highest in ranking, but still beneath the First. Seekers were few and far between, chosen for their cunning and ability to travel quickly from place to place, as well as their abilities to find things and people they were instructed to find. Nayeli was one of these Seekers, and one of the more trusted ones at that. The Sergal's family had been servants to the First since the beginning, each member of the family being trained from birth to obey orders and do whatever was needed to remain in the Seeker's position.


And that is exactly what her family had done. Their bloodline had been chosen with only the best creatures that were around, and with each generation it became stronger. And now here was the strangely pale Sergal, her fur littered with long coal black stripes and the fur on the back of her head long, almost like the hair on a human's head. She always seemed formal, back straight and long tail curled so that it hung just above the floor. A chainmail shirt covered her torso with black and red shoulder plates, and a chainmail skirt was wrapped around her waist. Plates similar to the shoulder plates covered her hips, and pure black metal armor was wrapped around her lower legs and forearms, a few plates donning her upper tail. Bare clawed paws padded silently on the ground as she moved into the building, sniffing and nodding as she was greeted by the Commandant.


"A pleasure to see you, Commandant." she said simply, golden eyes narrowed slightly as she watched the conflict in the arena, a thin piece of spiced beef held between her clawed fingers before she slipped it into her mouth, strong jaws tearing it apart swiftly before she swallowed it, long tongue snaking out and licking any excess off of her lips. "I see.... So the item has passed through four hands already? How boring. But, I do have a feeling that the entertainment won't last long." she murmured thoughtfully, lashing her long tail as she watched each fighter closely, waiting to see what would happen with each move.

 

[bettsyboy]

The Commandant leaned forward "regardless of how today's matches go, you will be happy to hear we've already gathered the winners from yesterday and they'll be shipped off with today's winners tomorrow, they'll be taken by ship to Cayford, if you might need to return to your base at any time, I've taken the liberty of preparing your own ship, forgive me but it is a simple boat, hardly a grand warship, but I've made sure all the necessary luxuries have bee-" the Commandant stopped mid-sentance, two of the fighters, the fat orc with the shield and the other, a young human, the human had jabbed at the Orc and as if by some suicidal reflex, the Orc's shield arm shot away, giving the Human a clear piercing right through the Orc's heart.


Without having time to think the human, Darryn picked up the shield himself "No... Impossible..." went the Commandant in disbelief, the Shield must have moved on it's own!


The human had picked up the Shield, the dirt and grime fell from the shield as if it was being washed without clean water, the shield began to shine again! Another came at the Human, an Elf with a great bloody Halberd. the Elf bought his weapon down on the human who raised his newly aquired shield, as the Halberd's axe edge touched the shield, it bounced back with incredible force! almost flying right out of the elf's hand. Darryn ran to the elf, his shield raised, the elf once again tried to attack, this time with a shortsword... like before, it hit the shield and went flying away, causing him to stumble back from a shockwave released from the shield, Darryn charged at that moment, driving his rusted, muddy and blood soaked blade through the Elf's stomach, he pulled it out and followed through with a clean slice through the neck!


The Commandant was frozen ".... I don't believe it..." he said in absolute shock and awe, he turned to Nayeli "It seems your arrival was most... opportune, dear Seeker, who would have thought, after over a century, that shield changing hands tens, no, hundreds of thousands of times! and on the day you come to visit, the shield finds it's new master... the First will indeed be pleased!" the Commandant was almost laughing on that last bit, his dark, almost demonic voice on the brink of giggling!


"Shall I have his cell cleared for you to meet him? or would you prefer he come visit you in your chambers, honored seeker?" the Commandant had been waiting a long long time for this.


Meanwhile down in the ring, Darryn had slain his final opponent, once again thanks to his shield, his enemy threw their spear at him, it hit his shield, splintered into a thousand pieces and all those pieces went flying back at the thrower. With the crowd either in shock or awe, possibly both, Darryn looked down at the shield, a look of confusion on his face "... a-am I a sorcerer?" he asked himself weakly, what he just experienced was obviously some sort of magic, but he had no idea how it worked, how it happened without him having to do anything....

 

[Tigress]

Nayeli listened bordly to the commandant's words, more focused on what was going on in the arena. "Quite alright. As long as everything is organize, a small boat shall just have to do" she said with a small sigh, folding her slim, fur covered arms over her chest before her golden eyes widened at the sudden change in the battle, a large grin forming on her lips. This was what she had been waiting for. This was the man she needed to help find the relics for her master. Gaze flickering to the side, she stifled a laugh at the other's horrified and surprised expression before she climbed to her feet, the chainmail skirt clinking together slightly as she moved and her claws clicking on the ground. Now she had a better sight advantage and she was able to examine every aspect on the field. Each kill, and each movement the shield made now that it was in the human's grasp. Her keen hearing caught the human's words and she laughed softly, shaking her head before turning back to the commandant, a grin on her lips that revealed her sharp fangs.


"This is wonderful. My timing is perfect as usual. Today is most certainly a good day. Commandant, have some guards escort the young human to my chambers. I wish to retire early so that I may speak with him. Oh... And make sure he brings the shield as well. The First gave me strict instructions." she told him simply, her voice commanding as her golden eyes began gleaming with a dark excitement. Spinning on her toes, she walked back into the shade, a servant quickly moving to her side with a large tray of meats and wine, his silent voice explaining that he would escort her to her chambers. Her tail swayed gently as she moved after them, standing taller than most of the humans and elves purely because of her species. She enjoyed it really, it helped make her seem intimidating towards the inferior species and classes. A murmured thanks passed her lips once she had entered her chamber and she dropped a small piece of silver into the extremely young human's hands. "If anyone tries to take it, explain it is from me and show that it bears my mark." the instructions were told to the boy. He left quickly after slipping it into his pocket, but his happiness was clear.


Moving towards the plush chair, the woman lowered herself into it, long tail curling over her lap as she waited. Her few belongings had already been brought into the room and the large enchanted steel box lay open by empty on the bed. Nayeli waited in complete silence, her golden gaze examining her surroundings before she heard the knocking on the door that signaled the guards arriving. Standing once again, she folded her arms over her chest. "Send him in." she instructed, watching as the door opened and the human entered with the shield. He long tail lashed almost angrily.

 

[bettsyboy]

The match dragged on, one by one combatants fought each other, the winners of each bout moving on to the next one, sometimes ganging up ona single fighter before turning on each other, none of the others had seen Daryn's shield blowing back his foe's hits, the ones who saw that were the ones watching the fights and those who were soon to die.


Daryn's blade had broken against one of his oponents and in it's place he had grabbed an iron club, just as he landed a killing bludgeoning blow against another combatant, a man no older than himself, probably with a similar upbringing, At last he was up against two last combatants, both human, all the non-humans had already died, of course with this region being predominantly human such results were common. the first charged at Daryn, he was in his 40s, probably a farmer by the way he looked. He swung his greatsword again and again, but it was slow, too heavy for him to properly use it. He swung at Daryn's head and as he ducked and the blade flew over, he was given an opening, he jumped up, bringing his club heavily onto the side of the old man's head, with an autdible "CRACK!" he fell to the ground, dead.


The final opponent came in, he weilded a rusty tipped spear and began jabbing right away, however on the second jab, Daryn blocked it with his shield, sending the Spear flying out of his enemy's hand. the whole Arena went quiet as he fell to his knees and begged for mercy, knowing he stood no chance unarmed against someone clearly using some kind of enchanted item, but mercy had no place in the arena, if he showed mercy they would both be killed by arrows fired from the guards in the stands. Instead he took a breath "You know I -pant- can't... I'll make it quick" "may I say my prayers first?" the man begged, his body trembling, tears coming from his eyes "...just make 'em quick" as the man began his prayers he looked right up at the Commandant and at Nayeli, he didn't smile, he gave them a scowl. The man finished his quick prayer and before he could say "I'm ready" Daryn clubbed the man hard right on top of the head, once again, a loud crack and he fell.


Daryn turned to the crowd "... no cheers!?" he bellowed "Come on! over a dozen men are dead and you're not even entertained!?" he continued panting as he paced in a circle, eventually though, with a huff he threw down his shield and club and stormed for the entrance, but was stopped by the emergence of three armed guards "Lady Nayeli requests your presence" the one in the middle told him, the guards clenched their Haberds, eyeing him up, until after a few seconds "alright" sighed Daryn, he was lead out of the Arena and towards Nayeli's chambers.


Nayeli's chambers were not nearly as luxurious as she was no doubt useful, her personal quarters was a converted room in what used to be the town's library, surrounded by high shelves of books in the middle of the room was a large bed with the finest red velvet coverings in the region. At the foot of the bed was a table, with two plates set out, one with a large helping of spiced lamb cutlets, eggs, ham and an assortment of salads, on the other side, some bread and warm porridge for Daryn. He was bought to the room by the guards "Milady Seeker, we've bought the shield bearer as you requested" on the bed, placed there by the servants was the same enchanted shield he used in the Arena, it has been given a quick scrub and bought here ahead of him by only a few moments, the guards stood at the door, awaiting Nayeli's command.

 

[Tigress]

Lady Nayeli had been extremely entertained by the things she had seen today, having decided that this little human male was most definitely the one that The First had spoken about. She would certainly find him extremely useful in the tasks that she needed to carry out. Upon having returned to her chambers shortly before the last opponent had been felled, she had been able to eat a small meal, something she hadn't done earlier that day, and do a little research within the information that she had been given by the First. Her tasks were deathly important, and even the slightest mishap would cost her her head. That was something she didn't want.


Her gaze flickered upwards when the shield was brought in and a grin formed on her lips. Quickly moving forward, her long tail swaying behind her as she walked, she took it from the hands of the guard that had been trusted to bring it to her, shooing him away with a glare before shamming the door. Her golden eyes examined it closely while she turned it in her hands, flicking and taking in every single detail. Each fain scratch, the shining metal, and the colours that matched her armor, the blood red, black and shining silver. A small smirk formed on her lips then. "Such a beautiful creation, if only I knew who was the one that turned it into a relic.... I'd drag his sorry corpse to the First as a trophy and be giving the highest title possible. Higher than Seeker, higher than Commandant. The only person about me would be the First...." she murmured to herself, long tongue snaking between her lips as she licked her fangs. Sighing heavily at that thought, wishing it could come true, she slipped it carefully into the large steel case that had been prepared and enchanted to keep it safe, bolting it shut before muttering a spell to keep it locked tight. She couldn't let the human get hold of it again, especially not when they had the other relics in her possession.


Once again there was a heavy knocking on her door and she spun around, watching as it opened before flicking her gaze over the small human, huffing softly. "Well done. Leave him here and get out of my sight." she instructed them with a wave of her hand as she pushed the doors closed after pulling the other in. She turned to face him once she was absolutely sure that they were alone and offered him a smile, directing towards the platter of food that had been brought for him. "You are welcome to eat, shield bearer. I would like to know your name, since I am sure you already know plenty about me. But for once, this isn't about me." she paused then, leaning closer and smirking, her sharp white fangs visible. "This, little human, is about you."

 

[bettsyboy]

Daryn was taken aback a little when he saw the huge Sergal in front of him, he had never seen a female one before but he had fought males in the arena, the males were smaller, averaging only about 5.8ft, skinny and light on their feet. the females on the other hand were enormous, towering over their male counterparts by on average 2 feet, and she was big even for a female! her every step made a large sound as her feet hit the floor boards, her claws rattling on the boards... no wonder the First conquered so many nations in such small a time, he couldn't help but imagine a line of Male Sergals marching with the First's banners above them, while the Females sprinted on all fours around the flanks like giant wolves that improvised for heavy cavalry, and shock troopers when they joined the fray, breaking the enemy lines and killing all around them as the males charged into the enemy's broken lines.


As she gestured him to the food he took a step forward, his food was the same gunk they gave fighters down in the cells but unlike the mush served down below, this bread had no traces of mold, the porridge was free of dirt and was steaming with warmth, a genuine hot meal! He examined the goblet next to his meal, it was wine! not dirty water! he hadn't been faced with such a nice meal in years.


He sat down as was instructed and listened to her speak, about how this wasn't about her, it was about him, he coughed a little, covering his mouth as he did so "I-I'm not a sorcerer I swear!" he exclaimed, for fear of being hauled off to have his mind "silenced" as they say, being made into a mindless soulless husk to serve the First in dominating the minds of those around him, he looked to the shield "I never put any kind of spell on it! I swear! I just picked it up and it started doing those things!" he had forgotten his place, fear had overcome him and he was terrified... and his food and wine were both untouched.

 

[Tigress]

A smirk formed on her lips at the way his eyes widened at the sight of the food in front of him compared to the food he had usually been fed. She had requested that he be given slightly better quality food since he was now a guest of hers, and the servants had readily obliged. She loved being the Seeker, everyone was so damn ready to please her lest they be silenced, but at the same time she hated it. It was a lonely job, which is why she was so grateful for this task, where she would have a companion.


Nayeli watched him closely before laughing at his stammered, fearful words, and she shook her head then, sitting down on the edge of her bed and picking up a slice of spiced meat, dropping it into her mouth. "Such a silly human. Though, I'm not surprised you're worried about that. No, you aren't being taken to be silenced. I was given a mission by the first, and I can't do it without the shield bearer. That why the shield was added to todays fights. Of course, you won't be able to use the shield again. But that is no matter" she said as she picked up her own goblet of wine, sipping it slowly as she watched the tiny human next to her. It had been easy to see his shock at her sheer size when he had entered the room, and that told her that he hadn't seen a female Sergal before. Good for him she guessed, since the females were much more dangerous than the males. Not that it really mattered, he was going to end up being taken long whether he liked the idea or not.


Crossing one long leg over the other, she allowed her golden eyes to flicker over him once again. "You'll get to leave the arena life, human. You'll be fed better quality food as well. Much better than the porridge you have been served now, which I know is nothing like you've been fed down in the cells" she said with a smirk before leaning forward slightly, her dark lips curled back in a smirk. "Just think. No more fighting, no more risk of getting killed. Instead you'll be travelling. What say you, human?"

 

[bettsyboy]

Slowly, as she explained to him that he wasn't going to be silenced, he dipped his spoon into the porridge and took a mouthful, it was sweetened, warm and made him feel whole, it was like the good stuff his mother made on his birthday when he was little, as his father was a baker they always had fresh bread but it had been years since he tasted it, since his parents decided to harbour an injured man begging for help only for it to turn out that wounded man was a resistance messenger.


He gobbled down the porridge as fast as he could, after which he turned his attention to the bread, he ate as one would expect a starving, malnourished gladiator to eat, he shoved as much food in his mouth as he could hold, downing it with the wine when he was finished. He had finished his entire meal before Nayeli could take a sum total of 3 bites. once he was done he looked up at her "I-I'm sorry milady, I forget my manners" he said sheepishly, but if you looked deep into his eyes, it was obvious he wasn't really sorry, he was hungry so he ate, down in the cells those who don't eat fast and claw at each other for a bite, don't eat at all.


As she told him about traveling he glanced again to the shield "w-where will I be traveling to?" he asked, the shield fave off an ominous hum that only he could ear, but he didn't bring it up. He shifted a bit uncomfortably in his chair as she replied to this, he wasn't used to all this padding on a chair, he was used to hard stone and cold dirt to sit and sleep on.

 

[Tigress]

She watched him eat, with eyes slightly narrowed in amusement before climbing to her feet and padding over to the large doors, opening the one and beckoning the servant inside. She almost lazily directed to the empty platter, her long tail lashing from side to side. "Bring another platter of food for the human boy. And again, make sure it is good quality. Not the filth he was fed in the cells." she instructed the servant. The small male human she had given the gift of silver to earlier bowed his head and picked up the empty platter before leaving the room, closing the large doors behind him. Settling back down on her bed, Nayeli picked up another piece of the succulent meat and began eating it, her sharp teeth easily tearing through it.


"No need to apologize for you... Manners. You'll remember them soon enough." she told him dismissively before boredly running a claw over the top of the enchanted case that held the shield in it. She remained silent for a short while contemplating her words. "You would be travelling with me. And there is no specific place that we will travel to, we need to go everywhere." she mused slightly, directing her words at him, though it sounded more like she was simply talking to herself. It was obvious that she was still tired from her long trip, and her tiredness was easily showing through her calm demeanor. She glanced up again after a few short moments of silence, watching as the door was opened and the servant came in with the new tray of food. She gently thanked him, requesting he close the door behind him and remain outside in case he was needed again.

 

[bettsyboy]

Daryn licked his lips at the next plate of food "f-forgive my constant questions but... why? I can use that shield so you want to take me on an adventure? it just doesn't add up to me" he hoped her calm demeanor would hold out and she wouldn't get sick of his inane questions. Of course he had encountered those who acted calm and pleasant but were really violent psychopaths, they tended to have a feeling of stiffness around them, nothing they said or did ever truly sounded casual, but her... it was as if this was just a casual friendly meeting, which only put him more on edge.


He went into the food, but this time he didn't go at it as wildly as before, he ate it calmly and slowly, half of the reason for this was because he now remembered his manners, the other half of the reason was because quite simply, he had just finished a full meal and wasn't as hungry as he was before. He looked towards the box holding the shield "... are there more?... more things like that shield? don't they work for other people?"

 

[Tigress]

That's where she smiled. "You're questions are all relevant. Don't worry about me getting angry, I may be a Sergal but I still have my manners." she said simply, watching as his gaze flicked to the box before listening to his final question. Once again, it caused her to smile. He was clever too. She was beginning to like this little human more and more, maybe she would be allowed to keep him once her task was over and the pieces had all been taken to the First for 'safe keeping'. She leaned back and sighed slightly.


"Hm. My task is to go around collecting a few things for the First, and I simply desired company" she said in response, half lying because she wasn't all that fond of the idea of him thinking of ideas and killing the First. She picked up some of the salad this time, chewing on the green leaves with a little huff. She much preferred meat, but she still had to eat some of the salad.

 

[bettsyboy]

Daryn didn't believe her for a second, "just wanted company"? it was clear she wasn't even trying, of course he had no choice, one of the First's seekers wanted him for something? he was in no position to deny her. He bowed his head "as you wish milady seeker" he droned in obedience, there was no point in asking what she REALLY wanted him to come along for, but he figured the fact she honestly tried to dress it up instead of him just being hauled away by guards meant it had to be better than what awaited him down in the pits.


As if on que, there was a knock at the door and in walked the commandant, his black gauntlets's fingers linked in front of him as if in a show of humbleness "Lord Seeker, forgive the intrusion, but your ship has been prepared and a crew of the city's finest sailors and soldiers are being assembled to accompany you on your voyage" after this, the commandant approached a bit more "upon reviewing your travel plans, I must insist you take at least an extra two vessels as escorts, the waters you plan to traverse are nearly overrun with pirates and rebels, and I'm afraid that while I'm sure you could handle any threat that may come your way..." the Commandant took a moment to collect himself for what would surely be the Seeker's wrath "I'm afraid that your fighting prowess would be ineffective against your ship being sank or set alight"


Daryn looked back to Nayeli, tensing up in preparation to launch himself backwards to dodge the Seeker's wrath, as Seekers had a bad reputation of killing those who dared question their abilities, or their orders.