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[member="Tyro'din"] was supposed to be the Red Ravens liaison with the Primeval, well perhaps it was time he liaised a little rather than just making her nervous, winning over the other Ravens to his side and skulking in the shadows. Hopefully he was at least planning on killing Patricia first. Besides, their initial meeting had been almost.. enjoyable.
Quite frankly, Chiasa knew next to nothing about the Primeval. They were a bunch of religious crazies the One Sith had said the Ravens had to play nice with. She didn't know what they believed in, she didn't know how their hierarchy was arranged, all she knew was that she didn't trust them and they'd sent her an assassin/spy. That should probably be rectified. The knowledge part, not the alliance part. Yet anyway.
So she sat once more at one of the booths in a quieter corner of the Dragon Palace Casino, privacy field not yet engaged, waiting on the Bothan.
Tyro'din walked into the Dragon Palace Casino, the same place he had met Chiasa Kritivaas the last time he had had a meeting with her about his position as liaison He was currently wearing a navy three piece suit and using a cane to walk due to his right leg not being fully healed from the damage it had recently taken. The suit was made out of shell spider silk, a material that provided some resistance against blasters and vibroknives while the cane was an old family heirloom and made out of Brylark Wood, a wood considered one of the strongest and most durable. As a sign of faith he had come unarmed. Well unarmed apart from the wooden blade that was contained within the cane which had a paralytic poison coated tip.
Stopping just inside the main room, Tyro'din cast his eyes around looking for the orange twi'lek he was to meet. He finally spotted her sitting in one of the booths at the back, in an area that was vastly less crowded than the rest of the place. As he walked over to the table, taking routes that wouldn't make it obvious (he knew that the Dragon Palace Casino was secure, but habits die hard), he withdrew a canister from the slim bag slung over his shoulder and picked up an empty glass from the bar.
Sliding into the seat opposite Chiasa, the Bothan nodded at her in greeting before unscrewing the lid of the canister and poured the still hot tea into the glass. Screwing the lid back on he placed it to the side and waited for the Twi'lek to activate the privacy field. When it was he bowed his head slightly in a barely there nod before speaking, "I must say, it is lovely to see you again, my dear." He then smirked before taking a sip of his tea.
Once again, it was more a matter of courtesy, that he was registered as a 'Raven', and that the scanners had deemed the poison to be non lethal that let the Bothan move uninhbited through the Casino. The Twi'leks mouth quirked up into a smile as he poured his own drink into the glass. Whatever the steaming beverage was, chances were the Casino stocked it, but she understood the caution all the same.
She inclined her head slightly at his words.
"Thank you, I could say the same, Anan."
But she didn't. Still, the petname in Ryl she'd assigned him so she didn't have to keep track of what name he was currently using or worry about confusing anyone who knew him by a name other than [member="Tyro'din"] said enough.
"The poison is on the cups by the way. Contained in nano-droids so they can be triggered remotely when consumed by the right being."
Tyro'din only let out a chuckle once the information on the poison was revealed. "A well played move." He placed his drink back on the table before golf clapping a few times. While doing so he lifted up one of the false teeth in his mouth with his tongue and swallowed the liquid contained inside the hollowed tooth. It was a generalized antidote and had no delusions about how effective it would be, but it would serve as a hindrance against the poison if it was released and give him time to find a solution to the problem.
"So, Arist, shall we get straight to the heart of the matter or indulge in these delightful games of misdirection, veiled insults and carefully chosen words?" The use of a Botha/Bothese word when he addressed Chiasa, one that followed the same tone as her petname, was chosen to show that he had understood her and was going to play along, even if there was no need. It was rare for him to find someone he could play these subtle games with, most focused on the big and showy stuff, after all.
She laughed, as before it was a surprisingly open sound. He was subtle, the muscles in his jaw barely twitched, but twitch they did, and she'd been watching.
"There is no poison, Anan, it is clever, and a good idea for other circumstances. This is my stronghold though. It would.. not deliver the correct message if those I met with went away so inconvenienced. They would be less inclined to treat on my territory."
Even if with nano-droids the poison could sit, dormant until suspicion would no longer immediately fall on the Ravens.
"I suppose I'll simply have to make due with the thousands of droids waiting patiently to shoot someone in the head, inelegant as it is."
This thought clearly amused her. The security in the Casino was ridiculous by any standards, but this was only because enemies of the Ravens kept trying ridiculous things.
"We can dispense with the games for the most part if you like."
It was almost impossible for her to stop completely, it was second nature. Even when she did speak in a frank and straight-forward fashion, it was always with an agenda, to make people think certain things of her in certain ways. Everything she did was calculated.
"To the crux of the matter then. The Primeval. I know very little about your.. religion? Organization? And yet I am told we must be allies. I resent the telling, but it is as it is for now. If we are to work together, I need to understand who and what is beside me."
Tyro'din was loath to admit it but Chiasa had beaten him in that round, even if it was a minor loss. He slowly started to growl in the back of his throat before that growl morphed into chuckles and chuckles morphed into a short, but real, laugh. "Well done, Arist, well done. You actually got me. It has been so long since the last time I was challenged by someone."
When Chiasa mentioned her inelegant solution he had to sigh. "It seems that everyone uses an inelegant plan. No one appreciates the beauty, planning and risk of a simple knife between the ribs. It's why I take such pleasure in my work." He smirked when he said that, conceding a piece of information to the orange Twi'lek, knowing that she would jump on it.
"For the most part, yes. These games are a part of you and me, I'm sure that you cannot stop producing calculated responses any more than I. But then, that's what makes these meetings so interesting, to spar with someone on my level."
Tyro'din leant back Chiasa questioned him on the Primeval, his highly calculating mind wiring as he assessed what information he could reveal and what he could not. In the mean time he did mutter. "It is wise for you to not trust the ones who stand beside you and seek knowledge on them, as they too could be enemies. But, do you also have the full knowledge of the Ravens. 'Know the other, know the self, a hundred battle without danger. Know not the other but know the self, one win one loss. Know not the other nor the self, every battle to be lost.'"
The Bothan growled slightly before taking a sip of his drink then continuing to speak, this time about Chiasa's inquiry. "You were correct in your first guess, we are a religion. We follow are Gods and believe that they are out there and will search for them while creating a base of power for them when they return. That is what the Host, what you know as the Primeval, is. An expedition. Does this answer your question?"
She was slightly surprised and slightly wary when the growls first started, this being a new reaction, though considering the setting she didn't feel threatened. When it changed into a chuckle and then a laugh however it earned a quick pleased smile from her. She liked that, it was fitting, like him it was dangerous and enjoyable.
He was right to think she would catch the information he threw her, for she did. Immediately taking it and analyzing, considering. She'd thought perhaps he was largely a poisoner, with the concealed blade and it's paralyzing agent and the antidote he kept hidden in his mouth. It seemed he was not a one note kind of being however. Knives, interesting. This also suggested that the limp, real or not was not as debilitating as it might seem. Knife work was for the most part done close in, and only a fool would close if they couldn't hold their own in a fight.
His almost metaphorical question won him an amused smile and another quirk of her brow.
"I do not trust anyone [member="Tyro'din"], perhaps this is the real reason I tolerate your placement beyond the fact that I enjoy this sessions. What is one more person with a knife and their own agenda? That said I know mine, I understand them, their desires and motivations."
She listened as he explained the basics of the Primeval. Here it was hard to keep a neutral expression. Religions of any kind were alien to her. She had very little faith to place in anything, certainly she had none for absent gods.
"It begins to, it gives me the questions I wish answers to next at the least. What Gods, and how do you know they wish to be found?"
The first because many beings believed in many different Gods as different from each other as fire and water. It was a safe bet they did not have a God of flowers and love, but the more information she had the better. The second because she wondered. And if it planted a seed of doubt so much the better. Surely Gods by nature of being Gods would be found if they wanted to be. If they did not perhaps they wanted nothing to do with their followers.
Tyro'din stilled at Chiasa's question, his mind sifting through information on the Gods as he debated with himself on how much he should reveal to someone outside of the religion. While his mind was a maelstrom of thoughts, the Bothan's face was still apart from the very minute rippling of his fur. After a few seconds of quietness on his part Tyro'din spoke up so as to fill the silence while he processed information.
"I do so hope, my Irys Arist, that you allow me to be in your jastra presence for more reasons than just because you find these sessions fun, enjoyable as they are. I do know that I do so enjoy the company of a woman as nyir as yourself for more reasons than these stimulating chats." Here Tyro'din raised his glass towards Chiasa in a toast, a smirk on his face, a teasing glint in his loan blood red eye and a purr like growl echoing from the back of his throat.
After taking a sip of his drink, Tyro'din cleared his throat and settled back into business. "First I shall address why we search. You raise a good point by stating that they may wish not to be found, one that many of our religion choose to not confront. I do not know about the others but I will search for the Gods even if they hide. I will search to keep their memory alive and prevent them from being forgotten, if only by me and mine."
Tyro'din took another sip of his drink to wet his throat before continuing. "Now, our Gods. We have four. Each are known by many titles. The first is Sargon: 'The Oldest One', 'The Accidental Creator', 'The Tongueless Speaker'. Sargon is the embodiment of nothing and as such it has always been. It is unseen yet is, it has no gender, no purpose but does. It is the contradiction and balance on the universe. When it spoke it birthed the universe.
"The next is Nogras: 'The Loud One', 'The Star Maker', 'The Inhospitable Caretaker'. With one word of Sargon, she came into being, lifeless. With another word she burst into the first flames and from the ashes she formed. The first to speak, her voice rang through the universe and shattered the heavens, revealing Sargon's power and creating matter, creating the stars. She, as the child of Sargon, is the only one that can be in its presence, as such she serves as its caretaker
"Then there is Balagoth, 'The Dead One', 'The Unmaker', 'The Forgotten Truth'. Balgoth was the second creation of Sargon and was formed from the shadows cast by Nogras's fire but given no physical form. He is unseen, unknown and serves non. He is the darkness of all beings and death is his aftermath. Anything that ends is his to take and all things forgotten become his truth.
The final God is Halrormalenth," When Tyro'din spoke the name, his voice took on a worshipping tone for a moment before returning to normal, "'The Speaking One', 'The Name Giver', 'The Broken Creator' and the God whose Temple and Pantheon I follow. When Nogras and Balagoth rose against their father to end his speaking, they removed his tongue to cease his creating. From the tongue formed Halromalenth. He is the one who gives voices to the many and sees into the heart of all to brand upon their soul their true name. It is he that recreates that which breaks, be it be people or objects, and accepts them into his Temple."
By the end of his speech the Bothan's gruff voice had become even more so due to the dryness of his throat. During said speech his left hand had found its way to his beard which it had began to stroke. Clearing his throat Tyro'din lowered his hand from his face and reach for his glass to drain it. A smirk found its way back to his face, replacing the stoic look that had been their during his explanation.
"Now, my enchanting Dall Arist, does that answer you questions? Or does your riskyr mind wish for more?"
The sudden switch to courtship or a facsimile of it had the Twi'lek in two minds. It was suspicious, and possibly he was poking fun at her, using a tactic that she might use. On the other hand she was attractive, why shouldn't he want her? Besides, she liked that growl. It evoked a fairly primitive interest in her. Cultured beast she might be, but as the sharp canines suggested, there was predator in the Twi'leks ancestry.
"Wolhi, n'isan san cla su'so Anan vil Do tosarta go rakoo dan to the Primeval."
She returned with a devilish glint in her eyes as she raised her own cup.
As he got down to his explanation however her face grew more serious. She was memorizing, analyzing. Quite frankly the majority of it reinforced her perception of them as a bunch of loony zealots.
Sargon and Nogras? Really? How did you make something out of nothing. Hold a mirror up to it apparently. And of course the only God referred to as female would be the one stuck playing nursemaid. It had started off so promising too, a Goddess of bright flame and creation and then whoops, back in the kitchen you go. Balgoth amused her. On the surface he was a good god for those who moved unseen, but below that.. That which was forgotten became his truth. He then would be best served if he was no longer worshipped, no longer search for. The irony in that was delightful.
Halrormalenth sounded like something said by someone with their mouth full, but from the way he said it, it was clear that this was his God even before he confirmed it. It never failed to amuse the Twi'lek how many Gods were formed from the chopped off bits of other gods. Hey kiddies, which part do you think your God was made out of? This God certainly seemed like the most accessible, and better yet, it provided insight into [member="Tyro'din"]. She wondered if he realized just how much insight..
What do you think your true name is Anan? And what broke you that you needed a God to put you back together?
"Always more Anan."
Was the immediate answer with another lightning quick smile.
"But it almost satisfies, though I wonder at alliances. The Sith worship only their Dark Lord, the Ravens follow the call of credits. We make odd bed-fellows it seems, and I wonder if it will last. When your current enemies are crushed and that territory is taken, it is the nature of the beast that eventually your eyes will turn to your once-allies and you will wish to search and expand there, no?"
Careful, flatter me too much Love and I might not return you
