ꙮ Early midday (and it’s funny how quickly you’ve gotten accustomed to what the Beast has in terms of night and day, as strange as they are, with only the time you’ve spent in Queenstown with its ubiquitous clocks to go by.) It, and Samudra’s, are familiar cycles in terms of the length of time, and that certainly seems to help. Everyone’s gone their separate ways, at the moment - Tasna went down into the valley, some time ago, and Salme followed her. You’ll all reconvene, soon enough.
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- Yazhn Ravhi, the Hierophant
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#wolf
#rohsu xilai
, on the other hand, is looking for someone else–the not-quite-metahuman Xilai. His naginata left with his things for the moment, he wanders the camp, looking for a flash of scales.
ꙮ And, at some point, Duškomira found you, and recognised the look of Someone Looking For Something - you get the impression she wanders Queenstown’s bazaar, for fun, sometimes, helping people find whatever esoteric thing they’re looking for. In this case the answer was simple - Xilai’s in the storage caverns, working on something and, she hints, probably hoping for a reason to take a break and head topside.
, thus fortified with information, and screwing his courage to the sticking place, descends into the depths…which, really, are neither that deep nor that dark thanks to a bunch of gnosis-lights, but…hey, he takes adventure where he finds it.
ꙮ Lights in little niches carved into the wall, all on the same side of the passageways so you could always find your way out by walking so that the lights are on your left side; wide stairs with texture very intentionally carved into them so that you couldn’t slip on them even if they got wet. Everything done with meticulous care. ⁂
ꙮ You hear him first, before you see him, a bassy rumble-hum humming something meanderingly tuneful; eventually you pass through a wide arch into a spacious and, again, well-lit workroom. Against one wall there’s a huge, sturdy rack containing a collection of barrels, carboys, and bottles; Xilai himself is in the middle of carefully siphoning the contents of one large clay vat into a narrow-necked glass vessel.
intentionally scuffs his boots against the floor as he nears the workroom, so as to not startle the other–otherwise, the well-worn soles make surprisingly little sound, even on the hard stone. He pauses at a respectful distance. “Xilai?”
looked up, when he heard the boot-scuff - it wasn’t Tasna’s boot-scuff, which meant it had to have been one of their guests, and so, keeping one eye on the siphon, he stands and straightens himself out and turns to greet– “Ah! Wolf.” He bows, on something like impulse. “Can I help you with anything?”
: “Not per se–please, don’t let me disturb you if you are busy. But, if you do not mind…I wished to talk?”
: “Honestly, I was thinking about getting some fresh air anyways, I’d appreciate the break. Just let me finish this-“ -and he mutters something darkly under his breath at the siphon and grabs for it, repositioning it, growling ominously. “-now stay where I put you, blast it.” Harrumph.
lifts his eyebrows, a little–more amused than bemused–and stays safely out of the way. A good yeresh knows when to keep his hands to himself.
looks like he’s real close to asking Wolf to come over and lend a hand for a moment, but he’s got the situation under control, and the siphon makes a few really appalling sounds as it finishes its duty, and Xilai scowls down into the vessel, mutters something - a prayer? - over the dregs, puts a complicated-looking glass airlock on the vessel he transferred the liquid into, and picks up the original vessel by the rim in one hand like it weighs nothing. “Alright, sorry about that. Whole situation goes to smoke if you leave that process half-finished.” And, with some alacrity, he heads up out of the caves the way you just came down.
finds himself having to hustle, even with his long legs, to stay on Xilai’s heels. “You’re a brewer, then?”
sets the vessel down in a cavern near to the surface that has an entire little stream running through it, and picks -up- a bottle from that room and stuffs the entire thing into the pocket of his rough-looking vest. “I’m whatever needs done, really, but this is a joy I can share. Do they have-“ -he frowns. “Do they have bees on your plane?”
looks amused. “Yes. Of several different sizes. I’m told mead made from killer bee honey has quite the edge to it. If you survive raiding the hive.”
woggles his eyebrows and chortles. “Well, now I’m curious. I don’t know if this plane has bees that don’t have an attitude problem, I’m curious how they’d stack up to yours. Although they’re lovely once you get to know ‘em. Like most things here, really.” And then they get outside, and he takes a deep breath, and looks a good bit more comfortable, and gestures over nearby - there’s a stone table nearby and some chairs and it’s positioned in such a way that – it would be in shade, if such a thing were necessary here. He sits.
sits down across from Xilai, stretching his legs out, crossing his booted feet at the ankle. “With all due respect to the Beast, it seems like an ‘attitude problem’ is more of a survival skill here, than a downside.”
: “You’re not wrong. Wouldn’t be surprised if there’s flowers here somewhere that’ll take a nip at ya. Don’t got any of ‘em in my garden downstairs, though.”
blinks, briefly. “That valley is your work?”
takes out the glass, and– two cups that he pocketed at some point, when’d he do that? They’re some sort of nearly-clear stone, a little opaque, with intricate carvings. “Anyways, if they have bees, do they make mead? And in either case, would you like some?” A proud, satisfied look, to the question. “Not -just- my work, of course. Tasna helped me plan it, Duškomira had a need. But I’ve been tending it for quite a while now, yes.”
: “Yes, please.” He smiles a little. “And yes, there is mead. And ale. And beer. And wine.” Wolf’s smile takes on a bit of wistful pride. “If it can be made of a plant or an animal, it’s likely that Almachadta has it. Every kind of pie you can think of…” He grimaces, then laughs. “And some that you shouldn’t.” ⁂
: “Forgive my surprise–but all I have known of you so far is the echoes and fragments in the Rite. It paints a very different picture of you.” 🙧
listens, looking a bit distant - imagining that, at Wolf’s words, and you saw this before, when all of you were talking about your worlds- whenever you talked about Almachadta, he seemed incredibly intent, soaking in every word. He opens the bottle with a ‘pop’ and pours each of them a cup, and it’s surprisingly effervescent and lightly sweet. “Hah, that’s probably Khej’s fault. Although if the Rite were built around comfort, rather than conflict, I imagine you’d have seen a different side of him, too, so.”
takes his sip and savors it, letting it roll over his tongue before swallowing and letting out a soft, pleased sigh. “Indeed. Mm. If you are half as good a warrior as you are a brewer, Xilai…” He smiles a little. “I wouldn’t want to fight you.”
rumble-chuckles. “I’ve slowed down some, I think, since Khej began his rest. The occasional tangle with a beastie that doesn’t wish to be where I’d rather it be, or hunting for food. I’d not want to tangle with -any- of you, though, for that matter, not if it really counted.”
chuckles softly. “My companions are, perhaps…unusually strong, yes.” He tilts his head at Xilai a bit. “When you say ‘began his rest,’ do you mean…?”
takes a sip of the mead. “Tasna and Duškomira would make it simple, and say he died. I…” He looks thoughtfully at his mead. “I don’t remember much about where I came from. The passage was very hard for me. I look at the information you brought with you, and hear ‘Mu’, and my ears perk up in recognition, but.” He shakes his head. “In Mu, I know that we believed– we knew– that no one ever dies. They go to rest, and one day, they will wake. And– while I stood by Khejvard’s pyre and howled my joy for having known him along with the others, and I know things work differently here… in my heart, he too went to his rest.” Another sip of his mead, and a glance at Wolf’s face.
listens intently, watches intently. He simply nods, once. “May his memory be a blessing. And I hope very much that your faith will be rewarded.” And he does–it’s Wolf, and the sincerity just shines off of him. “I am sorry to hear that your passage was so difficult. I admit…I wished to ask you of Mu.” His smile is…mostly wry. “Sometimes I think the world conspires to keep me from too many answers too quickly.”
snorts softly into his mead. “If I had a Lucre for every time I overheard Tasna swearing the world’s conspiring to keep secrets from her. Anyways– go on and ask, I may remember, or the question might jog my memory. It’s been, what, a decade or so since the last time Tasna decided to interrogate Duška and me to see if she could get us to cough up anythin’ new?” He grins.
smiles a bit. “I suppose the question I most wished to ask you was…does the name ‘Yahzn Ravi’ mean anything to you?”
straightens out, almost immediately. “Yes.” Stares at Wolf, intently. “I was– God Almighty, this is going to be difficult to explain. It is– one thing which I do vividly recall.” He exhales. “I am Rohsu. That means… the material that protects, the shield.” He taps a claw against his own scales. “He was to be Yazhn, the…” He taps his own chest. “The core of us. He was not awake, yet, but I knew that he was to be awoken, and that his name would be Ravhi, and that I would protect him. The whole time I’ve been here, I’ve- wondered if he has been well. How do you– do you know him? Is he well?” His claws tap, lightly, against his own scales.
sits up straighter, eyes narrowing in thought. “I do not…I do not know. I…” His fingers drum against his cup, a rapid tattoo that beats and beats… “I have a gift, it seems. To drift in the Song, to let it transport me in dreams. One night, I drifted very far. Past all the worlds, to the farthest and most shrouded–to Mu. And there I saw a being. Like you, with scales of gold. And he…” Wolf pauses, gathering his words. ⁂
: “He was bright, and brilliant, and he was…breaking. A branch bent nearly to splintering.” Wolf’s eyes are distant, his voice low and rough–seeing, in his mind’s eye, that proud, bowed figure. “He held red orbs in one hand, and he was kneeling between two statues, and he was….he was weeping. Weeping, and…beseeching.” ⁂
: “It was not right. It was not right, that one so bright and proud should…” Wolf’s voice goes nearly ragged, before he wrests it back under control. His eyes come up to meet Xilai’s. “I did what I did not know I could do. I called out, with a true voice…to give him hope. I told him…” ⁂
: “I told him…you are not alone.” His voice, for just as moment, is sharp as a knife–sharp as truth. “And then the sun came, and howled, and I awoke.” Wolf is silent for a long moment, his breathing heavy, as if he had been in battle. “I pray every day that I can make those words be true.” 🙧
listens, and his ears swivel at the words spoken with truth, and his eyes widen, very slightly, and he leans forward, a number of things passing by utterly unguarded on his face. And then, very slowly and deliberately, he takes a sip of his mead, and when he responds, his voice is level. “Then he is not alone. And you will make those words true, and already are, even if I don’t understand how. That’s… a Yazhn question, not a Rohsu one, and I know it. But– thank you.”
shakes his head, once. “Do not thank me yet. The road between here and there is long, and I cannot see but the barest span of it.” But he smiles, just a little. “But I am He Who Holds the Fire and…if it is in my power, I shall not see his fire go out.” Wolf forces himself to relax a bit, to breath, to lean back and sip his mead. “I have tried to glean what I can of Mu. To prepare, so that I may be of aid.” He grimaces. “Your sun is harsh, indeed. I had to draw upon my deepest strength to bear it for more than a bare moment.”
: “You told me that he still stands. And that even if he suffers, that you’ll be looking out for him, and that… quiets an angry buzz I’ve contended with for a while on its own.” He looks thoughtful, for a few moments, and curious– “–I remember it being harsh, but not… that harsh. My guess is that it hasn’t gotten that much fiercer, and that the way you met it was a lot more… direct.”
blinks, at that. “Perhaps. It…ah, I should explain. Forgive me, I have gotten so used to the oddities of our journey that I forget that they are odd.” A wry smile. “Our Library has a window that opens out on to one of two suns. One–the one it is kept on, most times–is a very kind thing. It…loves, somehow. And if you flick a switch…it is Mu’s sun, which is, ah, very different.” He grimaces again–the look of a boy having to admit to foolishness. “I wished to understand it, you see, so that I might be better equipped…mm. But what understanding I gleaned is not yet helpful, I fear.”
shakes his head, abruptly. “Stones in an arch that hasn’t had its capstone laid yet so that the armature could be removed. Doesn’t mean the stones aren’t doing work already.”
definitely takes a second to process that metaphor, but it sinks in after a second. “Indeed.” He takes another sip, swirls what remains in the cup. “If I may ask. You said that he had not yet woken, but that he was going to wake. On my world, I would assume you were using a metaphor for being born…but that is not the case, is it?”
: “Ah, hmm, hmn, no, I’m not. I…” -he laughs, very softly, at himself. “At some point, fairly early in our partnership, Khej told a– lewd joke concerning procreation, which went… fully over my head, to an extent that then became the joke, and–“ -he smiles, a tiny bit ruefully. “Came to understand that what I knew wasn’t the case here, or. Anywhere else, it sounds like. No, people aren’t born on Mu, and the entire process sounds alarming and hazardous, frankly.”
is very fortunate to have a very good poker face, but even he has to very quickly turn an incipient guffaw into a smile, looking down firmly into his cup. “I can’t say I entirely disagree. One has learned to…handle…small children, but one prefers to leave them happily in the care of those more suited to the task.” He gets a better handle on his face and looks up. “May I ask how it…works? If it is not, ah, indelicate.”
laughs, softly. “Well. I remember enough to know that even when I could remember things clearly I didn’t. Know all of the details of the process myself. But the Vehru, the…” He clasps his hands together. “The outstretched hand, our warmth– they bring a cohort of humans and Kin forward, when the Zvahr-“ -and here he touches the point between his eyes- “-and the Yazhn believe it to be correct. And they are– grown, at that point, more or less. Ready to join a Hunt, in this plane’s terms.”
blinks, digesting that for a bit–and takes a sip of mead to help. “I fear I do not quite follow, but…” He sighs and leans back in his chair, letting his head fall back. “The amount of things in these worlds which I do not follow could fill a large cave, so I suppose it will just have to be filed alongside all the rest.” Wolf sits up straighter, gives Xilai an apologetic smile. “Forgive me. I very much appreciate you trying to explain.”
shakes his head. “Rohsu are good at many things and explaining the intricacies of a world we only vaguely remember as our home a very long time ago are… unfortunately, very much not one of them. Hopefully, you find your way there, and someone more skilled in that particular art than I can place the stones I couldn’t.”
: “One hopes. Or, at least, that one of my companions will be able to understand it.” He pulls another wry face. “Half the time I simply trust that Aurelius or Salme will make sense of it.” Wolf finishes his cup. sets it down a little regretfully, and pushes himself upright. “Thank you, Xilai. I shall not tax your memory further–but I appreciate you sharing what you recall.” He pauses. “When–if–we make our way to Mu…shall I mention you to him?” No need to guess who ‘him’ is.
: “And that’s the way of it sometimes, isn’t it? But I know that just as Tasna and Duška have untangled knots far too intricate for me, I’ve stood in front of them, let them lean on me when they’ve been tired. We’re all here for each other - and it sounds like it’s much the same for you and your companions.” He smiles- and then looks thoughtful. “Mmmm. I trust that to your judgement? He won’t have ever known me, might never have even been told of me. It’s enough, for me, if I know you’re looking out for him.”
: “I will try, Xilai. I will surely try.” He bows–the deep bow he reserves for those he deeply respects, hand-over-fist-over-heart. “And, if there is time before we move onwards, I would enjoy trying more of your brews–and telling you what I know of ours.”
grins. “I’d enjoy that very much. I’ll put together a couple of bottles for you to take with you and enjoy on your journeys, now that I think about it.”
: “That would be very much appreciated.” He smiles, and bows again, less formally. “Fair winds and smooth roads, Xilai.” And he’s off–probably to the Library, to contemplate.