[IC] Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

[EliteCommander]

Neesa huffed. "I can only hope. Most Dwemer 'scholars' don't have as much understanding of even the Dwemer language as they think they do. It is hard to understand a written explanation nuanced mysteries of reality when you can't even comprehend the words that are written. I mean, just look at you all: still thinking that the Dwemer relied on something as mundane and limiting as 'magic.' It's cute, almost. You're all like children who just started trying to read the books with bigger words. Ah, how to even begin explaining tonal manipulation? Let's see...well first, do you at least understand the fundamental nature of reality?" She asked, as if it were an average question.

As much as Meesei felt as if Neesa's questioning was just meant to mock them, she decided to play along for the moment. "I would say that is a rather vague question, in truth. And I would not know if my notion of reality was correct. The Dwemer had an exceptional understanding of the world, yes, but even those records that are complete are written in a way that seems vague, or perhaps just hard to understand without knowledge of their culture."

Neesa was, as expected, unimpressed with Meesei's answer. "Well, of anything you could study, the Dwemer would lead you the closest to the correct answer. Looking around, it seems like you have lived in the Dwemer's capital for quite a while, yet you apparently have not even recognized the hints. My question was not vague; I would say it was rather straightforward. What is the fundamental nature of reality? If you reduce everything you see around you, the stones, dirt, flesh, magic, energy, all of it, down to its most basic component. If you were to break everything down into its parts until there was nothing left to separate, what would you be left with? Bah, I can see you haven't the faintest idea. It is tones." She explained, ending rather abruptly, and smirking at the inevitable confusion her answer brought.

"Tones? Do you mean the world is made of sounds, or was that their name for something else?" Meesei asked.

Again, Neesa gave a huff. "Is it really not clicking into place yet? Tonal architects, resonators, attenuators, harmonic stability; did you think that the Dwemer simply picked these names because they had a fondness for music? No, the basis for everything in Aurbis, all of reality, are tones. Our world, our bodies, our spirits, are all, at their core, tones. And the Dwemer were the most skilled people in history at manipulating them. It is not exclusive to the Dwemer, but they were the only ones who understood what they were doing. Calling it magic is so laughably incorrect. Magic no matter how powerful or incredible, follows the rules. Magic is a part of Aurbis' song, while the Dwemer could write their own songs. Spells, like creating a fireball, for instance, can be imagined like a song on a page. When you cast a fireball, you play the tones in the right order, expend a bit of magicka, and just like that, you have a fireball. Now, if you were to use tonal manipulation to light a fire, it would be like taking the sheet music for the world in front of you and writing in some new notes of your own that call for fire. Then, Aurbis reshapes itself to match your new song. No magicka is needed, because a spell was not cast. Naturally, tonal manipulation is not limited to copying the effects of spells. With complete mastery, it can re-shape the world according to any song you feel like writing."

[Muttonhawk]

While Lunise remained stony, Sabine was far more expressive in her silence. She held her eyes ahead and her lips slightly parted, with her breath held as if to say something. In truth, the framework for all things -- including magic -- that Hal-Neesa placed onto their minds was a heavy one to adjust to. Just enough of it spoke of the bare basic mechanics of mysticism magic that there could have been some transference. Sabine suspected she was barely a hair from being able to link the two concepts.

Sabine shook her head after a moment. The notion of tones had precedents all of its own. "You make it sound easy," she said. "But more than that, you make it sound...unlimited. If all of reality is made from tones, then what could you not compose?"

[EliteCommander]

Neesa grinned, raising her brow somewhat as her eyes looked over Sabine almost analytically. She was judging her, and made no effort to hide it. "Ah, so now your mind starts to touch on the truth. The Altmer have always placed the Aldmer on a pedestal, but it was the Dwemer that surpassed their ancestors, at least based on everything that is known. I suppose it is possible that the inhabitants of Aldmeris had mastered tonal manipulation, which might explain why the whole continent was destroyed. At any rate, complete mastery of tonal manipulation would allow one to reshape reality to their will. What the other races saw as hubris, the Dwemer's goal of surpassing the gods, was a real possibility for them. No Aedra nor Daedra would have been able to stand against their tonal architects. Have you never looked around these cities, these caverns, and wonder how they were created? If you think they got together a bunch of people with shovels and pickaxes to dig their caverns, you are sorely mistaken. No, they rewrote the ground's song so that the stone was never there. Everyone always wonders of what secret metals the Dwemer alloyed together to form their metal; the metal that never rusts, never decays, never loses its edge. But there is no secret of smithing that will forge Dwemer metal, because it was tonal manipulation that created it. They modified the tones so that time itself could not touch their metal, which is why it is all in perfect condition today."

By this point, they had left the building and were on the streets, though Meesei was trying to keep them away from any crowds. It would not take more than a minute or two to come across at least a wandering Dwemer spider. In the meantime, Neesa seemed to have no problems continuing her explanations. "Of course, for all of their intellect and understanding, I do not believe the Dwemer ever came close to mastering their craft. Some might argue with me on it, but they had a long way to go yet. They were never able to make their resonators and other machines small enough to use directly in combat. They could only use them to make armor and automatons. I think their lack of mastery showed when the Chimer forced Kagrenac's hand, made him desperate. He tried to use Lorkhan's song to elevate the Dwemer, then they all disappeared. Ended my first marriage. I've heard some try to argue that the caused the entire Dwemer race to zero-sum, but if that were the case, we wouldn't remember them at all. Maybe that's just what happens when one tries to approach the ultimate power without first attaining Royalty. Or maybe they did succeed, and he brought his whole race to some higher plane of existence. If you were hoping that I had the answers to the mystery of the Dwemer, then I'll have to disappoint you."

[Muttonhawk]

Sabine looked away and blinked a few times. "You are still closer to the answer than any I know," she said.

"All very much ado about the Dwemer," Lunise piped up and turned her head halfway to Neesa while they walked. "But what of you? You apparently have an understanding of tonal manipulation. Are you capable of it yourself?"

[EliteCommander]

"Hmph, you want to know if I have long lost, ancient secrets at my fingertips?" Neesa replied, now giving Lunise her judgmental gaze. "Well I do, to be fair, but not those secrets. At least not in the way you are thinking. The tonal manipulation of the Dwemer requires tools, resonators, attenuators, their great machines and inventions. It is not like casting a simple spell, though I suppose it is possible for a being to manipulate Aurbis' song under one's own power. The Nords of old did it. Unknowingly, of course. Their Thu'um, their 'gift' from Kyne, is a form of tonal manipulation. A primitive, inelegant form, but a form nonetheless. A bit like trying to chisel a sculpture with a warhammer. Unlike the Nords, the Dwemer actually understood the forces they were meddling with. Regardless, I meant what I said about the power of the Dwemer: it is something that should remain buried. It is foolish for the limited mind of an unenlightened mortal to try and claim power surpassing the divine. The fact that Dwemer cities are now filled with nothing but ghosts, metaphorically, should drive that point into your skulls. It would be less worrying if they were literal ghosts."

Neesa paused when they finally spotted one of the Dwemer automatons. It was a simple worker spider, moving between two of the pump stations, but it was enough for her, though she did continue as she now lead the way in front of them. "Of course, that isn't to say the power shouldn't be claimed at all. No, I believe it is the right and destiny of mortals to surpass our original creators. But I am not enough of an idiot to follow the example of the Dwemer. I do not follow history's failures; I seek to emulate the two beings who have actually transcended the gods. I seek Royalty."

As they reached the spider, Neesa simply walked alongside it, observing it with a detail-focused eye. Although, it was impossible to tell exactly what details she was looking for.

[Muttonhawk]

"...Royalty?" Sabine echoed. "You mean like Tiber Septim?"

Meanwhile, Lunise lowered her brow in confusion. "I am more interested in what you mean to do with godhood, or 'transcending' such as you say." She folded her arms. "Or am I simply too young and immature to fathom your reasons?"

[EliteCommander]

Meesei commanded the Dwemer spider to stop in place so that Neesa could examine it more thoroughly, though Meesei still could not tell what she was looking for. If Neesa was being truthful about her past experiences, then she would likely be more familiar with automatons than anyone in the clan, so Meesei could only guess that it had something to do with the clan's usage of the machines. However, she could not think of anything that Neesa would be able to determine just by looking at a spider.

Meanwhile, Neesa stopped examining the machine only for a moment to give a seemingly genuine look of curiosity towards Sabine. She gave her the same analytical look as before, without expanding upon the reason. Though, she did certainly have a reply for Lunise. "I would think that question would answer itself, even for a Thalmor. Your group does seek to restore Mer to their 'divine' nature as Aedric spirits, yes? Rejoin the gods and waste our potential? But if you really need it spelled out for you, I just want to claim the destiny of all mortals. Lorkhan created Mundus so that the created could surpass their creators; to do what the divine cannot. Only two mortals I know of have ever attained true royalty, and I would think you would be intimately familiar with one of them, Thalmor. Oh, what was that quote the priests like to put in their sermons?" She said to herself, clearing her throat before delivering a monotone quote. "'You have suffered for me to win this throne, and I see how you hate jungle. Let me show you the power of Talos Stormcrown, born of the North, where my breath is long winter. I breathe now, in royalty, and reshape this land which is mine. I do this for you, Red Legions, for I love you.'"

"It was the most...obvious display of the power in history. It amazes me that more have not managed to see the truth of what happened. Perhaps you just would had to have been there to see the impact of it." Neesa added.

[Muttonhawk]

Sabine was ambivalent about the looks she was receiving. The conversation was moving along too much for her to address it, much less ask Neesa while she elaborated on Talos.

"I...do not understand." Sabine glanced between Meesei and Neesa. "What was the display of power to do with that sermon? Was it when the emperor had reached jungles in Pelletine?"

Lunise drew Sabine's attention by answering with a hint of frustration. "According to legend, Cyrodiil was not always the pleasant temperate stretch that it is today, that it used to be a vast jungle. Legends say Emperor Tiber Septim changed the very land."

Sabine peered down. "That would...I do not know how that could be possible."

"Well, you at least have one before you who claims that anything is possible," Lunise said with a sarcastic wave of her hand. "Though something tells me that the human who turned into Talos did not have to spend era after era researching how to become a god."

[EliteCommander]

Neesa grunted, not so much as glancing away from the spider. "Well, even I can admit that Septim was exceptional. Anyone with the eyes to see could tell. His supporters saw it, Vivec saw it, and even your leaders, Thalmor, know it to be true. No matter how much they deny it to the world. Indeed, it is why they deny it to the world. Even in life, his power reached beyond the gods. You see, girl, he did not just reshape the jungles into forest with his voice. No, that would not be nearly as impressive. He rid Cyrodiil of its jungles retroactively. With his voice, he spoke the jungles out of history entirely, so that they were never there."

Meesei stood with her arms crossed, transparently skeptical of Neesa's claim. She could think of several holes in the story with hardly a few moments of thought. "Forgive me, but assuming that was even possible, how would we even know about it if it happened? If the jungle was never there, then history would not claim that it ever existed."

Nessa grinned and hardly skipped a beat before responding. She had obviously anticipated the question. "Oh yes, it does not make sense, does it? Removing it from history would surely remove it from the records, yes? And yet, with but his voice, he removed the jungles from history so that only their song remained. The ability to reshape not only the world, but the rules it abides by. The ability to change the world in ways that defy all rationality, even the Earth Bones themselves. Sound familiar? It is the power the Dwemer sought, with the wisdom to use it. And that, children, is what I seek: CHIM. The Ehlnofex syllable of royalty. A state of being that transcends divinity; one that only mortals can obtain. And that, Thalmor, is why your masters are such idiots. The Aedra, by their nature, are imperfect, and becoming Aedric spirits once more would render us incapable of attaining it. Our potential, yes even yours, is greater than the gods."

[Muttonhawk]

Mention of Vivec set Sabine's mind whirring. She was deep in thought while the others tried to process what Neesa had to say.

"I read about that somewhere," Sabine said quietly. "CHIM. It was in an old Tribunal book from Morrowind. I never knew what it meant until now. Those were living gods." Pieces fit together until they caused visible realisation on Sabine's face. "You want to become like they were? But they...or it was only Vivec, but he..." She sighed. "I never read that far into the history."

As Sabine trailed off, Lunise once again chimed in low and unsure. "Perhaps, then, you might tell us how this how it all relates to this creation?" She pointed down at the spider.

[EliteCommander]

"It does not surprise me that you heard the word before; the 36 Lessons of Vivec was a prolific book series, particularly in Morrowind. But, few ever understood it. It is cryptic, like everything concerning the warrior-poet. Makes sense, considering that it wasn't meant for the people. It was meant for Nerevar, but that does not mean there is not wisdom within. Vivec was an authority on the Walking Ways. I doubt you could begin to imagine how many years I have spent studying his writings alone. You seem like at least a somewhat bright girl, perhaps you remember the sermon where Vivec first learned of the secret syllable? His meeting with Molag Bal." Neesa replied, though Lunise's comment gained only a quick, passing glance from her. "Hmm? Oh, it doesn't at all. You kept asking questions and I was bored enough to answer them. You should be honored to receive some fraction of my knowledge. Though I imagine my knowledge is more likely than not to just get you killed. The path to CHIM is the most dangerous undertaking in all of existence."

Finally, Neesa stood up from kneeling next to the spider and looked to Meesei. "As I thought, this machine is newly made, but according to the default Dwemer templates. My guess is that you just managed to reactivate an Animonculory and learned just enough to make its creations obey you. Understandable, since it would take a tonal architect for you to do any more with them. I shall be taking this automaton with me for my own purposes."

Meesei crossed her arms. "I am sure we can spare a single spider, but it may be difficult for you to take that one. The automatons we create only obey those with lycan blood. But, if you give some of your blood, I am sure we could..."

Neesa cut Meesei off mid-sentence. "Is that so?" She said, looking down at the spider. "Bcharn chal, fahlbthar."

Suddenly, the spider straightened up and let out an odd, bell-like tone, then returned to its resting position and stopped moving entirely. Meanwhile, a grin crept across Neesa's face when the machine seemed to respond to her. She pointed to herself as she spoke once more. "Bcharn chal, bthar."

Again, the spider let out a tone, then walked up next to Neesa's feet once she beckoned it over to her. Her expression was as smug as they had come to expect from the vampire. "As I thought, you have little real understanding of the machines you children are playing with. You don't understand how the animonculory functions, so you certainly don't understand how to remove the factory commands. The Dwemer would not have left them active."

[Muttonhawk]

As much effort as Lunise was putting in to hide her negative feelings from the much more powerful Neesa, she could not help but roll her eyes at the arrogance the vampire was incessantly piling on.

Meanwhile, all that Neesa claimed suddenly grew a degree of believability to Sabine as she watched the Dwemer spider. Even that simple set of what she guessed were commands were nothing she, nor any Dwemer scholars in the clan, had ever seem before. She spoke up as curiosity overtook any sense of her own insolence. "What do you intend on doing with it?"

[EliteCommander]

"It is a machine. It exists to serve, and so it will serve me. They are more intelligent than undead thralls, somewhat more useful." Neesa answered.

Meesei was understandably alarmed at the fact that Neesa was able to command one of their automatons with only a few words, even moreso than she was curious about how exactly the commands functioned. She had never heard the Dwemer language pronounced aloud before, given how long it had been since most of its speakers had disappeared. At the very least, that meant that only Neesa could potentially threaten them with that knowledge, should she so choose. Regardless, she tried to maintain her calm. "Well, as I said, we can spare a spider. If you do not need it for your...research, then is there anything else you will be wanting for it? I am afraid we may not be able to provide everything you might desire. Our resources are not limitless."

Neesa gave a quick, condescending laugh. "Oh there is nothing you could do to help me, even if you wanted to. I assure you. My research has spanned eras, and I am quite content being patient with enlightenment. Especially considering that failure means the most permanent form of death possible. The mortals who have sought CHIM and failed...those are the only ones I do truly mourn." She explained, her voice taking on an uncharacteristically and frankly surprisingly genuine tone.

[Muttonhawk]

Neesa's turn in speech left the rest of them in silence. For a moment, it felt as though their business for now was complete. However, Sabine remained cautiously curious.

As the others shuffled to start walking, Sabine stepped up beside Neesa. "The ones that failed to seek CHIM, who were they?" She asked sincerely.

Lunise turned her face away from Neesa for a moments and betrayed a twinge of genuine worry by the way her lips and brow tightened. She gave Meesei a look that likely spoke the exact same things that Meesei was thinking with regards to Neesa's capabilities. Every detail they learnt about the ancient vampire only presented more risks for them.

[EliteCommander]

Without much of a word or warning, Neesa started to walk back in the direction they came with her new automaton in tow, though she did give a quick smirk towards Sabine. "Oh, if only you knew how much of a ridiculous question that was, girl. You would be laughing at yourself. That answer cannot be known, for all that is left of them is traces of their song. From all of the writings and research I have scraped together through the millennia, CHIM requires three things: Will, understanding the Godhead, and understanding Love. No, not that kind. Love, as Vivec wrote it, is the knowledge that individuality is a lie. I am a part of everything, and everything is a part of me. Will is the just that: willpower. The strength and stubbornness of mind to declare that you do exist, despite all evidence to the contrary. It is the ability to retain individuality when you discover why it does not exist. Essentially, you have to have a massive ego in order to view the Tower and attain CHIM. Obviously, that is contradictory, which is why most fail. When you come to the realization that individuality is a lie, and know why it is a lie, then if you accept that truth, then Aurbis will do exactly as you believe and write you out of existence, retroactively. To do so is to 'zero-sum'. You would be erased from the present, past, and future, as if you never existed. There are only traces of writings from people who may have zero-summed, and that is debatable. It is the most permanent, and frankly terrifying, form of death. Given the existence of our eternal souls, I view it as the only form of death."

Neesa looked straight ahead and shrugged. "As for the Godhead, I have no clue what that is. I've seen the word in some writings from some authors; Vivec, Mankar Camoran, others. But, I do not know about it, quite intentionally, I might add. I assume it gives understanding for why I supposedly do not exist, but I do not know. Therefore, my Will has never been...tested."

[Muttonhawk]

Talk of the tower and logical paradoxes drew Sabine well and truly out of her area of understanding. She still could not decide whether Neesa was speaking the truth, even if it was meant to make sense in the first place. Of course, Sabine saw no reason that Neesa would make up so absurd a lie unless she was insane. Perhaps that was another possibility all along. Sabine remained quiet either way.

"Well," Lunise said, clearly tiring of the subject. "Best of luck with your future apotheosis, Hal-Neesa. I am almost certain we shall be calling upon you for the invasion before that happens. Now, unless you are not done gawking at Sabine's curiosity like a hungry fox, I believe you have everything you need for your stay."

[EliteCommander]

Neesa's expression held some degree of amusement towards Lunise's reply. "Hmph, you Thalmor never change. Trust me when I say that you would have fit in with every iteration of the Dominion from first to last. I'd wager your stubbornness would give you an advantage if you were to try to claim Royalty. If your leaders' goals were not so moronic, they might have succeeded ages ago. But yes, I have what I need for now. Though, I strongly suspect that the same cannot be said for all of you. No, this will not be the last we speak."

"I just have one more question." Meesei quickly interjected before Neesa could leave. "Lunise does raise one question in my mind. Why is it exactly that you have told us all of this? We questioned you, certainly, but you did not have to answer at all, much less in detail. Forgive me if I am assuming, but you do not seem the type to share your hard-earned knowledge freely."

"You do assume, and you certainly do not know me." Neesa replied in a quick, harsh voice. "Make no mistake, you should feel blessed to have even the broad details of the knowledge I deigned to share. For children like yourselves, it is dangerous, but powerful knowledge. The kind that could reshape your destiny." There was a pause as Neesa stared each of them down, her eyes lingering particularly on Meesei. "I normally would not have bothered to share even a hint of knowledge, but...I suppose it is rare to meet someone who might have some slight possibility of proving worthy of it. Perhaps you will do something productive with the knowledge, or perhaps you will just kill yourself with it. In either case, I am unbothered. Now, goodbye...for now."

Neesa gave no more time to converse as she and her spider were both enveloped in a bright violet cloud of what seemed to be alteration energy. It obscured the both of them for a moment, and when it faded, they were both gone. It was quite obviously a teleportation spell, but one that worked entirely differently from Meesei's. It was far quicker, and used much less magicka, by the way it felt.

From the entire conversation, there was, without a doubt, a great deal to digest. Meesei herself was not completely sure of what to believe. It was easy to dismiss most of what Neesa said as lies, but there was still the fact that she had the kind of knowledge on Dwemer machines that lifelong Dwemer scholars did not possess, which in itself was a cause for concern. After a few more moments of silence between them, Meesei finally calmed her thoughts enough to speak. "Did she...complement me?"

[Muttonhawk]

Lunise let her breath out after the last of Neesa's violet magic had her disappear somewhere else.

Meesei's first comment in the aftermath made Lunise's eyes light up somewhat. Not in any excitement, but in thought. "She is...deceptively easy to read on the surface. I expect she is hiding more plans behind her words." She folded her arms again and frowned at the floor. "But on face value, I would even dare say that was a gesture of respect towards you. The manipulative snake."

"She kept saying things about you that weren't true," Sabine said to Lunise. "Why did you not correct her?"

"Sabine, the answer is simple," Lunise said as a matter of fact. "I prefer that she sees me as a gormless drone of the Dominion than pursue any realistically informed manipulation of me. Hal-Neesa is an incredibly dangerous woman, and not just for her magical power, I could tell the moment I first met her."

Sabine paused. She eventually nodded in agreement. "She knows a lot. She could really advance the knowledge we have in this clan."

"If she is even interested in doing such a thing," Lunise added. "I have not heard word of CHIM since my days living at the university in Alinor. It is quite esoteric. And her true motives for it...I cannot rightly guess them. What do you make of it, Meesei?"

[EliteCommander]

For a moment, Meesei stared at the spot where Neesa had been standing and shook her head. "I think the notion of Hal-Neesa, of all people, attaining godhood is one of the most frightening thoughts that has ever crossed through my mind. That woman is far beyond insufferable. So...ageless and superior. And yet, there is something beyond that. It is hard for me to say if she even believes her own bravado. With her, it feels like anything she does could be an act. I wish I could believe that everything she said was a lie, but..."

Meesei released a sigh and took another moment to glance around at their surroundings to make sure there was no one around to overhear them. "You both saw what she did. We used lycan blood with the Animonculories to ensure that every automaton they produce will obey lycans, and yet she took control of it with just a few words. My council is not going to be happy to hear of that. And that is not even addressing the fact that she was speaking Dwemeris. Aloud. Most educated scholars only have an incomplete understanding of the written form of the language, and only guesses on what it could have sounded like. How could she know that unless she was there to hear it? If she was not lying about her age, then that leaves open the possibility that anything she was saying could be true. This was the first I ever heard about this 'CHIM'. Well, I saw the word before in Apocrypha, but evidently I did not grasp its importance enough to study it. Attaining godhood by simply being in a particular state of mind sounds too easy to be true, but I suppose not impossible. If it is true, then her motives may not be too complex. What ancient, power-hungry mage would not want to become a god? There may not be any sort of deeper motive. Were she to succeed, we would only be able to hope that her intentions were not malicious. Did anything she said match up with what you learned of CHIM before, Lunise?"

[Muttonhawk]

Lunise sighed through her nose and shook her head. "I know very little of CHIM. Too little to reasonably judge Hal-Neesa's knowledge. What you mention does provide a silver lining, however. We can at least say she has a goal beyond pure hedonism. That puts her at least partially out of risk of doing awful things while she is here for the fun of it."

"Do you really think she could attain godhood?" Sabine asked. "Or...surpass it, like she said?"

After blinking so slowly every ounce of deductions could have been flashing before her eyes, Lunise shrugged. "If she can, there is very little we can do to stop her. However, she has evidently been working upon that project for longer than I have been alive. I doubt it is worth the worry in the relatively short time we may have to suffer her presence."

Lunise fidgeted in place. Then, somewhat hesitantly, and most uncharacteristically for her public persona, she reached a palm out to place on Meesei's back. "It may be helpful to see this episode as a won battle in a declared war of information, Meesei. We learnt much about her. And with that, her little display of knowledge was to our favour, relatively speaking."