A Tale of Investigations, Intrigue, and Irritating Princes

[KChan she/her]

"There was a black thing," she told him in Masran, grateful for the support and comfort offered by his hand on her shoulder. "A darkness. In the light. Leyht. A darkness in the Leyht," she corrected herself. "It feels bad. Very bad. It is very very small, but very bad. I could not find it until I looked. I'm scared, akhi."

"In the case of the burned-out nodes," Harran offered while Kierra and Nasir conferred in Masran - he would have to ask them about that, later - "Perhaps I can shed a little light on the subject. Those nodes died in one of the great wars that eventually caused Xan to leave us. Powerful automata - golems powered by the Leyht - were used as soldiers, but at a cost that, tragically, could and should have been avoided. While natural life is given an instinctive buffer to prevent us from drawing on the Leyht too strongly, these automata were not outfitted with such restrictions. They drew more strongly than those nodes could handle, eventually cauterizing them with the very power that once flowed through them, resulting in the so-called 'dead' nodes we have today. That is why golem-crafting is so serious a crime in Alteiryn; two cauterized nodes are more than enough. I can imagine automata causing an unbalance, I suppose, if someone were crafting them illegally," he added thoughtfully, "but it is difficult to conceive of them poisoning the Leyht in the way you have described to us."

[Emeralis00 she/her]

"Interesting." Krh'rhl mulls over the problem, "I can't see how those automata could be the cause of the problem. What form do automata take anyway, could the dead Ohnryek have been a golem?"

Krh'rhl thinks hard.

This is new information for me. I can't tell yet what the connection between my problem and theirs is yet. While I am far more informed than most of my species, I simply lack the access to important background knowledge available to the Xanethi. What little I gained has been through years of hard work.

Edited October 7, 2011 by Emeralis00

[Kuri Shardweaver he/him]

The door to the ravaged waiting room thudded open in the most unobtrusive way plausible, smacking softly against a stopper before swinging slowly back into place. The equally abrupt humming ceased, jumping into a low whistle as analytic emeralds swept the room, noting the pock-marred walls, the lumpy rug, and the general unease of every single person present.

Thick, black lips gave way to an ice-melting-ly iridescent grin accompanied by a hearty laugh.

"Hoo bruddah, have I been in de wrong room! Who be throwin' da wild parhtee an' not be invitin' da party ah-nee-mahl~?!" Palms slapped together in a soft clap, Bix shimmied in a circle while pointing to each of them in turn as if to say 'was it you?'

[KChan she/her]

"I suppose it's theoretically possible," Harran told the Earthshell, "but I can't say for certain until--"

Just then, the door opened, to reveal a very familiar-looking Seelva. Was that...?

Kiki had just barely finished telling Nasir about the problem she sensed within the Leyht when the door thudded open and a familiar voice addressed the group at large. She hadn't heard it in over a year, true, but that accent was hard to forget - as was its owner. She couldn't help but wonder if he would recognize her, looking like this.

"Bix?" she asked. "Is that you?"

[borborygmus]

That...did not sound good, even if Kiki had not clarified that it definitely wasn't. Nasir had never studied the Leyht closely - Kiki herself had begun his real teaching in channeling, and she did not go much into the theory of it - but he was certain that there should not be any darkness in it. It must have been Krh'rhl's Wrongness that Kiki was sensing...but the Earthshell was telling them so little.

The door flew open, though, breaking him off before he could answer her, and Nasir's eyes flicked to the incoming Seelva with a careful assessment. Kiki and Harran both knew him, clearly; she addressed him by name...

[Kuri Shardweaver he/him]

Spinning back around swiftly on a heel at the mention of his name, the Seelvah male grinned all the more, beaded hair lifting in a colorful whirl. "Leetuhl seestah, ya be knowin' da Bix?"

Eyes twinkling merrily, he paced a few steps closer to the blue-haired noble lady. Looking through the thin-rimmed glasses and then over said rims, the cocoa-furred humanoid finally vaulted onto a palm and inspected her bottom to top, scratching his chin in thought.

It wasn't a difficult analysis. Blue hair was a predominant trait in one location of Alteiryn only, and her eyebrows and lashes spoke to the fact that it was not the work of a dye. Bix had only ever met one person from the Highlands. The voice was familiar enough, and while the hair was longer, it HAD been some time..

Bix laughed deeply, shaking his head. "Ya look a lot bettah when ya not be waist deep in jungle and pirates, Mizz Kiki. Why is it whenever deer be trubble, Bix be findin' ya dere?"

[KChan she/her]

Troubled as she was by the wrongness in the Leyht, Bix's reaction was enough to get a soft laugh out of Kiki. "You know me, Bix," she told him with a grin. "One man's trouble is this woman's adventure." She paused here, and turned to Nasir. "Akhi, this is Bix. Harran and I met him not long before you joined us."

[Emeralis00 she/her]

What is that!? Its voice is so...irritating.

Krh'rhl is inwardly wincing, as the creature enters the room.

The creatures dialect made it hard for Krh'rhl to understand what it was saying, though it clearly knew Kierra.

Just as long as it doesn't try to speak to much.

[Comatose he/him]

As she listened to the explanation, Sayuri kept an eye on Kierra and her tall friend. The more they spoke, the more she became certain the language they were speaking was Masran. The question was, what secret were they hiding that they felt the need to conceal it from the others in the room, even the Healer? Sayuri was beginning to realize that this group was full of secrets and deceptions, and that no matter how nice they might seem, she would have to tread carefully around them. Remember Alexandre, she told herself. He appeared to be kind as well.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the energetic Seevlah entered the room. Sayure's experiences with the strange race were limited, but she knew many of their beliefs coincided with that of her people, with the exception of their use of channeling.

She also took note of the names Kierra used for her companions, as she had not been introduced to anyone but the young noblewoman. Harran and Akhi she thought, committing them to memory. And Bix, of course. Seevlah were known at the university to be highly intelligent creatures, though sometimes infuriating to talk to. Perhaps this one would have some answers. Whoever he was, he seemed honest, which was more than Sayuri could say of Kierra, her companions, and their secrets.

"Greetings Master Bix," she said politely, stepping forward. "My name is Sayuri, and it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

[borborygmus]

A smile of amusement touched Nasir's face as Bix uttered a familiar question. The Seelvah plainly had Kiki's measure; Nasir couldn't count how many people had noticed that over the time he had been with Kiki. He had come to simply take it as a given by now; all of them were in and out of some kind of trouble nearly constantly. A supposed Ohnyrek prophecy was almost the logical next step when you looked at the pattern.

They would find a way. He needed to remind Kiki of that.

"Peace be upon you, Bix," he said, rising to bow to the Seelvah.

[Kuri Shardweaver he/him]

A Masran, a chatty Leyari, an Earthshell off in the corner. Poor thing probably thought he was a catastrophe waiting to happen.

Oh, and Kiki. The Crown Prince was most definitely going to have his hands full at this meeting.

"De plehjur iz bee'n mine, Mizz Sayooreh. We both be a bit far from home, ya?" Bix smiled, leveling his tone and volume some for the Earthshell's benefit before turning to bow to the Masran. "And wit ya too, my sandy bruddah."

[Comatose he/him]

Sayuri favored the Seevlah with a light smile. They certainly made an odd group. Represented in this room alone were members of three separate races, and Xanethi from every corner of the known world. While Tolvera was a cosmopolitan center, finding a group like this was still odd, and a testament to the significance of the Ohnyrek prophecy that had called them all there.

His comment about being far from home brought up a feeling of longing in Sayuri. It had been years since she had seen the Leya. Though she resented the restrictions and ignorance of her society, the quaint valley filled with forests of cherry trees was her home. No amount of logic could totally suppress the attachment she had for the place. Sayuri knew, for she tried.

You have no home she told herself. While she was out of her element here in Tolvera, she hadn't belonged in the Leya either. She had left for a reason, and wishing she could go back would help nothing.

"Sometimes I think my people spend too much time at home, Master Bix. Current events are leading me to believe life abroad is the more exciting choice."

[Kuri Shardweaver he/him]

"Ohoohoohoo!" The jovial ape-man chuckled lightly, softly clapping his palms together before pointing to the young lady before him. "Bix be tinkin' dat da first thyme dem words evah be crossin' a Leya's lips! I be likin' you, lil seestah!"

[KChan she/her]

"I'm beginning to think you like anyone with a taste for adventure, Bix," Kiki said with a smirk, though she was frowning on the inside. Where was Esteban? At this rate, she would have to go drag him out of bed herself if they were going to get anything done.

... Actually, no, wait, that was a terrible idea. He might take it as an invitation.

Maybe if she could channel something that would wake him...

[Kuri Shardweaver he/him]

"Well a'cours, Mizz Kiki. De worl' be so beeg an' full a' so many intrestin' tings ta see..If ya be stayin' in one place all ya life, iz dat really livin'? No offense, Mizz Sayuri. I been to de Leya, is a lovely place. Bix thought 'bout buildin' a summah hut, but dey would prolly be kickin' Bix out fer bein' dat neighbah." Grinning, he offered a shrug that almost seemed to indicate it would be the Leyari's loss, but at the very least he did not seem too bothered by the concept. Then again, given his near constant smile and upbeat, jovial nature, one could very easily wonder if anything bothered the man.

[Emeralis00 she/her]

Krh'rhl

This is taking too long. The stress of being in a room full of loudmouthed meatsacks was beginning to grate on his nerves.

"Does it normally take this long for problems to be handled? One would think that something of this nature would be handled with speed."

Krh'rhl sounds a tad impatient.