EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Kaleeth looked off to the side in silence for a few moments after Janius sat down beside her. It felt like she stayed trapped in her own thoughts until the silence was just awkward enough that she had to answer. “Sometimes, it feels like everything isn’t even real. This war has just been going on for so long…it’s hard to think of it actually being over.” She answered. That, in itself, was not an uncommon sentiment around the clan, but there was still something more that was clearly bothering her.

Eventually, Kaleeth leaned over towards Janius, though she was still staring off blankly ahead of her. “Sometimes, I think I’m just going to wake up one day and everything will be like it was. Meesei will still be here…I won’t be hurt. And sometimes, I wish it were all true, no matter how selfish all of that is.”

The Eye of the Needle (where Fantasy and Sci-fi collide)

General Kvarr

---

“This Castigator is a bright one, I would say.” General Kvarr answered. “Besides, despite how others may see us, rank and order still rule in the Ascendancy. She would not defy the wishes of the Archmagister.”

Kvarr gave a glance off towards the woods, in the direction the intoxicated Life mage had stumbled off to. “I know what to expect from you, and you know what to expect from me. We are prepared to deal fairly with Mythadia. The greatest uncertainty we have is with our new visitors. Once their leader returns, I believe we should get down to business. As nice as these festivities are, I think there are some questions we should not leave unanswered for too much longer.”

---

Kareet of Arcaeda

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While speaking with Vigdis, Kareet went silent for a few moments. After finding Niftari in the index and searching back through the book to the relevant section, her gaze focused down on the text. It was in a section on S’toric history, of all things, though the deity was not one that pertained to the S’tor. Rather, it was associated with a people they had conflicted with ages ago. Kareet had an answer, it seemed, but it was one that created far more questions for her to investigate.

“Why would he invoke the name of a Kriliteran god…” Kareet said aloud, though she was mostly speaking to herself. With this new, and fairly intriguing, revelation, her focus in the moment was shifted. She simply could not let a good mystery lie without attempting to address it, and more than that, she had information that might be relevant to the others.

“I…must go, must…see what is happening.” Kareet spoke up, clearly half-distracted in her own thoughts. She kept her thumb on the proper page, then closed the book and stood up to rush off after Kerchak and the others.

Kareet came upon the scene just after Kolvar explained himself to the others. For a brief moment, she took note of the unusual appearance he had taken on. Off the top of her head, it was nothing she recognized, but she did her best to memorize every detail she could see. Regardless, it only made for a short delay before she started to bring up her findings. “Why is it that you told one of the Humans of your reverence for a Kriliteran deity, Kerchak?”

The Eye of the Needle (where Fantasy and Sci-fi collide)

General Kvarr

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General Kvarr ripped off a piece of meat about comparable to the size of a small cooked chicken, swallowing it all whole. Outwardly, he was seeming quite relaxed. He leaned forward on the table, bringing him a bit closer to Esedel so he could speak more softly. “I thought we might be of the same mind. The arrival of these Humans…who knows how our kin up north will respond? It would not suit us to become so distracted with each other that we lose sight of the real threats.”

Kvarr shifted his gaze slightly in the direction of the Jotunheim. “They do not have any more than a village’s worth of people here. And a small one, at that. Yet, I can’t help but to wonder, if they could arrive here, could not others? I think it would be wise for both of us to get to know them well. It may also be wise to ask them if they want a wall or two.”

---

Kareet of Arcaeda

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Kareet was rather absorbed in the book she was reading when Vigdis found her, and was rather reluctant to pull her eyes from it even after being questioned. She had an interesting question before her, and she believed the answer was close within her reach. In that situation, she simply could not bring herself to avoid trying to answer it. She did not ignore Vigdis, but she was half looking to the Human, and half to the book in her hands.

“Hmm? Oh yes these…um…events.” She turned another page. “It is a nice show of courtesy. Respect. Something of that nature. For setting the tone of negotiations, I believe.”

For a short while, it was not certain if Kareet had even registered Vigdis’ second question. She was continuing to scan the pages in front of her, though she did speak up before Vigdis could. “Are you asking about entertainment? I know there are an abundance of options in Arcaeda. Sports, theater, art, music, tournaments, competitions, many bearing influences from most cultures across Kanth-Aremek. The Ascendancy’s culture was built up from a collection of all the people that formed it. Tekeri culture before the Ascendancy was…primitive. Small, scattered tribes in the mountains. They hunted, had some limited farming, and mostly just lived in their superstitions with little ambition to grow. Worthless." She muttered, with no small amount of scorn in her tone. “Through much of its early history, the Ascendancy grew from the immigration of the outsiders Archmagister Vyana sought to attract to her nation.”

The Eye of the Needle (where Fantasy and Sci-fi collide)

General Kvarr and Kareet of Arcaeda

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Kvarr, on his part, did not see the need to send anyone further after the Life mage. An intoxicated party guest hardly seemed like a concern worthy of more than a few concerned companions. Of course, he understood quite well Esedel’s intentions, but his lively, friendly exterior remained unchanged. His only break from the conversation was to grab another beer.

After a moment, Kvarr leaned forward onto the improvised table and tilted his head towards the Warden. “It is always good to catch up with you, sister, though I imagine you won’t be able to stay away from your Kerak for too long. Our kin from the North are never so kind as to give us time for a break, are they?” Briefly, a more serious and concerned expression flashed across Kvarr’s face, though it was quick to return to normal. “I think it benefits us both to get this all situated sooner, rather than later.”

Kareet, meanwhile, ended up finding her thoughts quickly distracted, despite her best efforts. The peculiarities surrounding Kerchak were all just building on one another. The way he acted, it felt obvious that he was not originally a Tekeri. His accent coupled with his behavior made that much clear. Of course, neither she nor many others in the Ascendancy would particularly care about that. The law gave no special privileges to Tekeri visitors or citizens, so a Life mage who preferred their form would find no obstacles. Yet, the question of exactly what he was still nagging at the back of her mind. The god he had mentioned, Niftari, was not one she was familiar with, yet she was sure she had heard of it before. She just could not quite place where it was from, and she knew well that it was going to bother her to an unreasonable degree until she could remember. Without a word, aside from occasional muttering to herself, she got up from the table to go grab her bag and see if she could find some relevant reference material among her books.

The Eye of the Needle (where Fantasy and Sci-fi collide)

General Kvarr and Kareet of Arcaeda

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Overall, many of the natives were perhaps surprisingly calm at seeing the transformed Kerchek stumble away, at least from the perspective of the Humans. Kvarr was watching with mild curiosity before Zey called for his attention. “That was the Life mage who called himself Kerchek. I can only guess that he tried to make a transformation that did not go as he intended. I did notice he was a few drinks in; perhaps he underestimated their strength? You see, any magic requires precision of mind and body, and drunkenness impairs both. A Life mage does not require effort to maintain a transformation, so I imagine he tried to make some transformation that went awry.”

There was a short pause from Kvarr. He may have had little cause for alarm, but there was a detail that had his curiosity. He glanced off towards the bushes, though Kerchek was already out of sight. “I do not at all recognize what it is he became, though. In all my centuries, I have personally met with every sort of person who calls Kanth-Aremek home, but that was nothing I have seen before. As in, it does not even resemble anything I know of. It could have been a form he created entirely on his own, but he would need to be quite an advanced Life mage to accomplish that.”

Kareet, nearby, had naturally seen Kerchek as well, though even with all of her studies, she struggled to place what she had seen him become. Add on the fact that he had mentioned some strange god she had never heard of, and she found herself wondering exactly where it was he had come from. She would have to do some research if she wanted to find some lead that could place her on the right track.

---

Wodan

---

The expedition that the Jotunheim, and by extension Wodan, had been slated to undertake had not anticipated encounters with alien life. Yet, the existence of the Yenge had made it a non-zero possibility. Wodan’s creators, in his training data set, had included provisions for that possibility. He had certain base guidelines for how to approach new forms of life, though as always, he could only provide advice for the Human crew members who would be having contact with the locals. His role did not give him the authority to provide orders to them.

“It is my duty to warn you of potential emotional biases in your observations of the locals. You may be inaccurately anthropomorphizing the local populations. They clearly possess the necessary degree of intelligence to be considered sapient, but their natural instincts and brain chemistry may lead them to respond differently to the same stimuli, compared to a Human. It is my…responsibility to warn you that it may be dangerous for you to rely on your previous experiences exclusively with Humans to inform your decisions.”

The Eye of the Needle (where Fantasy and Sci-fi collide)

General Kvarr

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Kvarr’s expression did little to betray his thoughts. Despite the nature of Kerchek’s line of questioning, he did little to react apart from a friendly smile back at the Life mage. “My friend, there are times and places for certain conversations, and I believe this is the time for a different one. Believe me that I have seen enough lifetimes of war to know how to wage it, but there is an even greater talent in knowing how to avoid it. We have, in this place, good food, music, and a chance to speak without the trappings of aggression. Perhaps you might benefit from taking advantage of this opportunity?”

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Kareet of Arcaeda

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It took a while for Kareet to pull herself from her train of thought. She had been asked a question to which she did not know the answer, but felt like she should. In preparations for traveling the continent, she had learned of the local customs and beliefs of many different parts of the world in order to more easily integrate herself with foreign populations, but this deity’s name was simply not one she recognized. It could not be a major one, or she would remember it.

Eventually, Kareet did focus her attention back on Arancini. “Hmm, yes your instincts are correct. The only one of the old Tekeri gods whose worship survived in the Ascendancy is Setia, the goddess of the natural order; I suspect because her teachings are compatible with the philosophies of the Archmagister. Personally…I do not have a need for deities. As for the Glen and S’tor, the gods they have are many, and it could take quite a while to describe them all.”

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Wodan

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It was simple and easy for Wodan to process the meaning of Mallory’s anecdote, though his mind was not programmed to make decisions in the same way as a Human. Much of Human history had already been included in his training data, but there were more potential variables at play that could make it problematic to draw conclusions from their own history. “It may be dangerous to apply assumptions about Human decision making to alien psychology. What is expected for Humans may not suit the logical and emotional priorities of an alien lifeform. In the absence of other data, drawing conclusions from the experience of Human history may be the best option available, but for as long as there is peace between these factions, we do have the opportunity to collect behavioral data on these species.”

The Eye of the Needle (where Fantasy and Sci-fi collide)

General Kvarr

---

With the Warden, Kvarr seemed even more relaxed than he had been in the tent with Nellara. There was little doubt that this meeting was more of a reunion for them. The S’tor gave quite a hardy laugh with his look back towards Esedel. “It’s funny, you say that every time you see me, Sister. Haven’t seemed to have shrunk down below you yet. Hmph, or maybe that Life mage didn’t quite put me back right?” He chuckled.

---

General Kvarr may not have had quite the appetite as Esedel, but he was still S’tor. Naturally speaking, the S’tor were certainly predators, but they were not strictly carnivores like the Tekeri. From their rugged and dangerous homeland, they were built to be survivors first and foremost. They were omnivores whose bodies seemed to be able to safely handle anything that could be reasonably classified as “food”, even many things that were widely considered to be toxic. That was part of why they were often able to grow to such impressive sizes themselves. That, and the truly gargantuan creatures of their homeland that they were able to make their prey.

Naturally, Kvarr was in the middle of an oversized tankard of beer when Kerchek tried to grab his attention with his questioning. The S’tor tilted his head as he examined the mostly-Tekeri individual before him. Perhaps to the surprise of any Humans observing, he did not so much as bat a metaphorical eyelash at the hybrid features of Kerchek’s current body. “And who might you be, my friend? A Life mage, I presume. By the way you are speaking, I can assume that you are not one of the Castigator’s people?”

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Kareet of Arcaeda

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As she was speaking with Vigdis, Kareet soon found herself essentially barraged by questions from another of the Humans. Ignoring the irony of that situation, the first of his questions captured Kareet’s curiosity. She just blinked and stared back at him in silent contemplation for a short time. “Kerchek said this to you? ‘Niftari’ is not a Tekeri god. The only god still sometimes worshiped in the Ascendancy is Setia. Niftari isn’t a Glen god either…or S’tor. Definitely not Iriad. Something from some small tribe, maybe? What language is that, even…” Her voice trailed off.

The Eye of the Needle (where Fantasy and Sci-fi collide)

Kareet of Arcaeda

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If there was sarcasm in Vigdis’ questions, Kareet did not pick up on it. If only because there was some basis for her to give an answer. “I have read stories of master Life mages being able to reattach a severed head on the battlefield, but I cannot confirm their veracity. Unsurprisingly, it is an especially rare event for someone to lose their head while one of Kanth-Aremek’s top Life mages happens to be less than a minute or so away to reattach it. There have been successful tests with recapitation on simpler creatures in a controlled environment, but for obvious reasons, such tests have never been performed on a person.”

---

Regardless of what her preferences for the evening might have been, Kareet nevertheless joined in this impromptu feast. It seemed that the Archmagister had seen fit to send one of her top generals, Kvarr, to deal with the mess at the border. She had seen him before, in one of his public addresses in Arcaeda, though they had never really met. Everyone knew his reputation, though. He was known for his friendly nature to friends and strangers alike. She had heard stories of him sharing drinks with patrons of taverns in the Ground District, if he happened to be nearby when he felt like having a drink. Of course, that reputation did little justice to the lethal efficiency he had been known for during the wars back in his homeland.

Kareet almost appeared startled when Vigdis spoke up to her, specifically, at the feast. “Kareet was…not one who was especially prone to small talk. Or socializing in general, but that appeared to be what Vigdis was doing. When she took the time to speak with someone, it was generally with purpose; yet, she could see this as being valuable. With most of Kanth-Aremek’s cultures, she was educated enough to be able to get by, but there was no literature she could read to learn how to interact with Humans. At least, she had not been given any as of yet. There was something for her to learn from this that could make the trouble worth it. “I…do not think that would be likely. Glen do not carry out deadly duels, and they are…exceptionally rare in the Ascendancy. Well, I suppose most duels and sparring matches are fought to the ‘death’ in a manner of speaking, but with a Life mage on hand, they are perfectly safe.” She explained.

The Eye of the Needle (where Fantasy and Sci-fi collide)

General Kvarr

---

As it happened, all three groups had come together in what was roughly neutral ground outside of the ship. General Kvarr gathered quickly which of the Humans was this Captain “Zeynap”. It was a strange name to him, but he supposed it would be no stranger than most else he expected to learn about them. Even as they stepped out of their camp and towards the gathering of the newly-arrived Mythadian soldiers, Nellara would notice not a hint of concern from him.

Before they reached the others Kvarr just had a few, quiet words for Nellara. “Just remember who you are. Stand firm and with your head held high, knowing what respect you deserve to command. Your will, your conviction, is what makes it true. Lose that, and you lose everything that comes with it. Blustering, insults, threats, they are all unnecessary. They make you seem as if you feel the need to prove yourself, rather than just knowing it to be true. That is how to earn the respect of a S’tor warrior.”

Kvarr paid little mind to words from either Silbermine or Nellara. As he approached, his focus simply went to the Warden. He waited, patiently and politely for her to introduce herself to the Humans, then took a few steps forward. He had no hesitation about walking straight up to her, then reaching out his right hand to her left shoulder, just as she did the same to him. It was a S’tor greeting, though far from a formal salute. It was quite a familiar form of greeting.

“Fair skies and warm sun, sister.” Kvarr said.

Once he stepped back, Kvarr directed his gaze back towards Zey. “It is my pleasure to meet you, Zeynap. I am General Kvarr of Arcaeda. I understand you have found a way to learn S’toric quite quickly, yes? I admire your ingenuity. It is to my shame that I am not in a position to host a feast for all of you, but I can say that the Archmagister wishes to give her greetings and extend her hospitality to all of her guests in the Ascendancy. Now, I am of a mind with Esedel; we may not be supplied for a feast, but a good meal does sound pleasant.”

Kvarr tilted his head and extended out a hand towards Silbermine. “Lord Silbermine, my good man, have your people bring up some of your stocks. We shall do the same. I am sure between both of us, we should be able to fashion a meal palatable to all of us here.”

---

Wodan

---

A hologram of one of Wodan’s ravens appeared close alongside Mallory following his question. “The railgun was not deployed during the crash and did not suffer any meaningfully damage. It is fully operational; however, as with all other systems, power is a critical concern. The Jotunheim’s reactors are still inactive, and the railgun has among the greatest power draw out of any system, behind the FTL drive and deflector barriers. Even at reduced power, a single shot from the weapon could drain weeks from our remaining energy reserves. I recommend its use only as an absolute last resort.”

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The first handful of days after the final battle had been busier than anyone in the pack might have wanted them to be. Fendros found himself placed right in the middle of making sure that the Imperials, Dominion, and Hal-Neesa’s followers all took their leave of Blackreach peacefully. Despite having worked together for quite a while now, not a single group present were natural allies with one another. They had all made their deals with one another, but now without the threat of Vile to force them together, time would tell how much weight they put on their promises. There were many important decisions ahead, not the least of which would be the fate of the Blackreach clan itself. Regardless of their attempts to obscure the entrances to Blackreach, multiple factions now knew their location. It would be an important decision on whether they wanted to take them on their word, or to move their clan for safety. They would be giving up a great deal by doing so, but it would not be the first time the clan had to relocate.

Fortunately, there was a moment of respite available for the pack for at least one morning. They had dealt with enough problems that they were able to free up some time to simply spend together. Fendros, his pack, and some of their family and friends, were all having a generous lunch prepared for them and brought somewhere quiet just outside the city. It would be right back to work just afterwards, but for a moment, they could let themselves rest.

It was starting to get close to the time where they needed to leave and meet with the others, though Kaleeth had done little that morning. She had stayed in bed late, long after Janius had gotten up, and she had not so much as even gotten herself dressed yet. She was awake, at least, but all she had done for the last ten minutes was to sit on the edge of their bed, silent in thought. It was not the first day she had done this.