| Logs |
2001 March 30
| Oloth |
| Realms |
Retired
| Reality Fault |
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| Realms: Oloth Logs |
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(OOC) Fri Mar 30 1901 11:25 PM by "Dakini" at "The Courtyard of Dammerung" (OOC)The Courtyard of Dammerung
You see a huge, curving, organic shape before you, in swirling shades of dusky ebony and soft dove gray, gleaming with cobalt blue accents. Dark, dusty, bottle-green shrubbery clusters below the low, round windows and about the slender path twisting to the doorway. The upper reaches of the building itself stretch slowly skywards in elegant, reaching branches and lofty minarets. More cobalt-bordered round windows peer down at the visitor, occasionally framed with an azure-walled balcony or a temporarily exposed stairway twisting around from one branch to another. The word "Dammerung" glows in vivid, scrolling script over the large, round doorway, and the building itself seems to sigh softly in the breeze, as if alive.
Dakini is only barely visible in the gardens of Dammerung. She's flopped out tiredly across a smoothly rounded... something in the garden. It looks like a veined, blue rock or stone, but it's 'giving' against Dakini so she's comfortable. She's got her boots and socks off, and is dangling her toes in the cool plashing water of the pond. Her bright hair is what gives her away... fiery gold against the muted, calm colors of the garden.
Dakini grins lazily from behind the reflective blue-green shades which hide her eyes. Her hair is long and tousled, a bright, red-gold mane that occasionally hides her small pointed ears. She's a tall, slender, strong woman, with small but callused hands, and well-muscled forearms. She wears a soft, comfortably loose, ivory silk shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Over that is a sturdy, quilted, sleeveless tunic of dark indigo blue embroidered with intertwined silvery stars and ivory-gold unicorns. It is belted off snugly with a wide, well-worn leather belt. On her right hip, tied down about the right thigh, rides a holstered flechette pistol. On her left hangs a decorated and runically embossed scabbard with the plain, worn-leather-and-wire wrapped pommel of a short sword protruding from it. Sturdy, worn dueling gloves are tucked into the back of the belt, mostly hiding a cross-holstered dagger.
Dryx stands for several long moments outside the gate of Dammerung, cloak drawn closed around him. He finds himself hesitating; there's something about this place that speaks distinctly to him, beyond the background chaos of a war-torn city. He isn't sure he likes that... Dakini watches the weary traveler pause at her gates, from where she lies quietly within the flower-bedecked garden walls. She's neither encouraging nor dissuading.
Wrapped in the dusty trappings of a vagrant, this drifter holds himself with an unassuming air and a reserved posture, despite his six feet of height. His boots are dirty; the leather battered, the soles worn. His tunic has lost its sleeves, ragged and faded gray with age, use, and the dust of the highway, tucked into loose black breeches held by a simple, wide sash knotted at the side. A dark gray traveling cloak falls over his narrow shoulders, and his gaunt arms are covered with tattered wrappings that partially cover his long fingers. What the frayed cloth does to hide his reedy frame it cannot do for his other features: his skin is smooth and a pale yellow hue; his eyes long, almond-shaped, liquid, and black. Dark rosette spots splash across his cheekbones and trail across his temples toward the narrow slash of straight black hair tied tightly back atop his head. His ears point delicately, tapering to fine serration at the outer edge. Quietly he draws his cloak more closely around himself and adjusts his hood, withdrawn and somehow weary-seeming.
Dryx shakes his head softly, and strides past the gate, silently cursing himself for his pause. You'll be imagining Flayers in your shadow next... He moves quietly toward the garden, adjusting his hood. Dakini doesn't move much, just waiting quietly for the stranger to approach so they don't have to shout at each other to be heard. There's a faint, quiet, calm smile... of welcome? reassurance maybe? hard to tell -- on her face, but that's about it. She lets the traveler introduce himself in his own time. Dryx closes the distance quickly, though his footfalls are very soft. He pauses near enough to the... rock? Close enough to speak clearly. "This... is the Dammerung?" His voice is low and soft and gently rasping, and his Common is faintly accented, as if there were some subtle difference in the construction of his mouth.
Dakini nods quietly, sitting up slightly, "Ja." She waves a hand casually behind her, indicating the large slate blue organic... thing behind her, "Dammerung. I hight Dakini... the Valkyrie Dakini Stardancer zu Dammerung. And yourself, stranger?" Her shades are tilted down slightly, revealing her gleaming blue-green eyes and allowing her to observe this newcomer with close interest.
Dryx nods once and turns slightly to look at the house... or growth... or whatever it is. "Dryx... my name is Dryx, yes." He makes it two careful syllables. "It's... a pleasure to meet you. Dakini. I was told I should speak to you about lodging."
Dakini nods quietly again, her gaze assessing... then she grins, patting the ground next to her, "That you may. Would you like a seat, to rest yourself and maybe enjoy the cool water as well with me?"
Dryx nods, "That would be... very nice. Thank you." He kneels, then folds his legs beneath him, seating himself carefully on the spot. He folds his hands in his lap. "Quiet here. Not so for the rest of your city, yes?"
Dakini smiles quietly, letting her head rest back on the rock, her fiery hair flowing across the slate blue, "Nein, more's the pity... but it will settle down soon enough... and here is the hospital, so it needs to be quiet and relaxing." She tilts her head so she can watch the unusual looking traveler, and asks curiously, "So... who are you?"
Dryx turns his head slightly, fixing one black eye on the woman, and is silent for a moment. "No one," he says at last, "-of any importance. A traveler... my vagrancy brings me here." He tries to smile a bit, but it arranges his thin lips in a way that just looks uncomfortable.
Dakini raises a faintly amused eyebrow, murmuring placidly, "Translation... none of your business?"
Dryx says, "Ah." He reaches up and takes hold of a corner of his hood, brushing it back and tucking it behind one long, serrated ear. "I apologize. I am... not very skilled at making conversation." For all the fluidity and ease of his movement, his speech and demeanor seem rather... stilted.
Dakini tilts her head again, looking curious, "Is that shape a borrowed one for you?" She studies the man for a moment, then adds, "If you don't mind my asking... what species are you?" Her peaceful smile hopefully removes any sting from her words.
Dryx actually manages a smile at that, though his face doesn't appear to have been made for the purpose. "Ah... heh. No... I don't mind. What we're called... I'm Githyanki. If you know that name."
Dakini thinks for a long, slow moment... then her eyes widen suddenly and she sits up abruptly, one hand falling almost unconsciously on her weapons belt, "Githyanki? What are you doing here?!"
Dryx's body twists, and he freezes half-risen, one hand held forward, two fingers upraised. Beneath them is held a plane, a wedge of shadow... dark purple refracts across its surface. His hood falls back with the movement; it reveals the length of red ribbon that ties back his hair, and the other of his ocean-dweller's eyes. "Easy," he rasps quietly, "Soft now. I guess you do know that name. Reputation precedes me, hey?"
Dakini's eyes narrow, and she murmurs quietly, "I think you should put that away. Now." She gently points out, "I don't know if you know what a geri-wolf is, but perhaps you'll understand the saying... never try to beard the geri-wolf in its lair."
Dryx doesn't move. "I couldn't drop this any more than you could make yourself stop breathing." His voice is very clear now, and his tone indicates that he isn't attempting levity. He straightens up slowly. "I'd have done it by now, if I was going to." His hand drops to his side. "Yes?"
Dakini nods, "All right." Her smile is more genuine, "And if you really meant to... Dammerung would have eaten you." She grins, her eyes hidden, "Joke. So... what are you doing here?" She tilts her head curiously, "And what is that?" She gestures at the thing in his hands.
Dryx raises his hand slowly and opens his hand. In his palm rests a long diamond shape, a flat polygon of darkness. Dark purple swirls across it, as the light bends over its surface. "Your mind is the most beautiful thing in the world," he says, and flicks his fingers, as if brushing water from his cloak. The plane vanishes, shattered into several dark motes that quickly fade. "And the most dangerous. Yes? As for what I do here..." He lets his hand drop. "I travel. And I don't lie. Why else travel with my own face and name?"
Dakini nods, "Good point." She studies the unusual traveler with frank curiosity, "But... I've never heard of a githyanki traveling alone."
Dryx folds his arms, gathering his cloak around him. "Not for long, at least." He cracks his face again. "I'm no one, like I said. Just a drifter. Not the scourge of the astral I know you're thinking of."
Dakini smiles, "Well, I did think of that initially, ja... but then it hit me -- you're the tiredest, loneliest, dustiest looking scourge I've ever seen." She grins lazily, "You should fit in here just fine, at least as far as alignment."
Dryx laughs then, a low coughing sound. "I'm afraid that my warrior pride is not what it used to be. However, I think you've covered everything; tired, lonely, and dusty, yes."
Dakini raises an eyebrow, then adds inquiringly, "Hungry? Or did you eat at the Path? You must've stopped there to know about Dammerung, ja?"
Dryx nods softly. "Yes... I ate there. Interesting place, that... lot of loud clientele." Dakini rolls her eyes amusedly, but remains discreetly silent... for once. Dryx shakes his head once, with a top-to-bottom motion reminiscent of a horse, shaking out his dark slash of hair. "So... I've come at a bad time, yes? Your city looks to have been recently infested with vermin."
Dakini grins at the gesture, then wriggles her toes lazily in the water for a moment, splashing slightly and thinking about the question. Finally she smiles, glancing back up at the quiet man sitting nearby, "Well... sort of. I suspect they're all dealt with, mostly. If we can persuade the governor not to let greed blind him to the danger inherent in neogi, that is." She sighs softly, shaking her head in wry amusement, "Men... well. Enough of that." She looks up again, "I don't think there's any danger of more invasions, to be honest. So... why are you here?"
Dryx folds his hands again in his lap, and looks at the reflection of the light on the water. "Neogi," he murmurs, and makes a soft spitting sound. He looks up at the curious woman next to him, "Because I put one foot before the other when I woke today."
Dakini laughs! "All right, all right, I'll mind my own business!" She grins, rising lithely and gathering her boots and socks up in one hand, "So... would you like to see the available rooms?"
Dryx rises smoothly and brushes the dust from his cloak. "That is the reason," he says. "I'm a wanderer. As I said. But... yes. I would, if that's alright."
Dakini nods, walking gracefully ahead of the githyanki into the large organic form, "Certainly. This way, please..." Dryx sets his jaw a bit, and follows, shrugging off the vague disquiet the building pushes on him. They go up a few flights of stairs, and then Dakini pauses, waving a hand, "Here you go." She smiles, "If you care about the meaning of the runes, I'll be happy to tell you."
Dryx looks up at the ceiling, catching his breath. "This," he murmurs, "This... is alive." The impression... no.. this can't have a mind to feel... can it?
Dakini nods, "Ja, it is." She smiles, patting a wall, "I have always had Dammerung, as long as I can recall."
Dryx nods absently, still staring up at something. "That must be... yes... yes, I see it. It's fascinating. I could feel this from outside..." He places a palm against the wall for a moment, then withdraws it, looking at his hand. "I've not seen anything like it."
Dakini smiles, leaning against the wall with her arms folded, "Ah. You're psionically aware, ja?" She beams a bit proudly, "Dammerung is quite unusual, ja."
Dryx nods, coming back to the here and now momentarily. "Yes.. I am not unusual in that. I thought you realized when I drew the blade."
Dakini chuckles, "Knowing a bit of legend, and knowing a person, are two entirely different things, sir githyanki."
Dryx says, "So it is."
Dakini looks curious, "So what is that blade? A psionic projection? I've not seen such before."
Dryx smiles again, "It's a part of my mind. It's a lot of things. It's the capacity for hurt pushed into the real world." He grins a bit ruefully. "I have a very great capacity, you see."
Dakini studies Dryx with sudden intensity... then says gently, "I'm sorry for you then."
Dryx tries to smile, but again it seems a strange contortion for him, and he turns away slightly, folding his arms. He laughs softly, eyes closed. "That's the first I've heard that."
Dakini murmurs softly, "Is this also the first you've not always been on combat alert?"
Dryx mms. "I haven't..." He pauses, trailing off. "For anyone else. For a long time. But this is the first time I've drawn my blade and then sent it away dry."
Dakini looks faintly puzzled, "Haven't what for anyone else?" She adds quietly, "Well then... I'd think that was a good first to have, ja?"
Dryx furrows his gently-forked brows. "I've not been on a mission for anyone's benefit but mine, in a very long time. As for the other.. yes. Under the circumstances, I've no wish to fight. Not you, at any rate."
Dakini smiles quietly, "Glad to hear you're not in the mood to fight... but... er... if I recall my legend bits correctly, shouldn't you be here on a mission with several other githyanki, for your monarch?" She looks thoughtful for a moment, then adds with genuine puzzlement, "Now... if githyanki never fight githyanki... why would you have to flee them?"
Dryx says, "I should be, yes, were I serving Her. But you're very close, though I'm not fleeing anyone."
Dakini studies Dryx puzzledly, opening her mouth to comment -- then changes her mind and says nothing, simply studying the enigmatic man standing quietly next to her for several seconds. Finally she says with quiet interest, "Perhaps you'd be interested... in Raido. Raido translates as journey... new ventures, new beginnings, as well as the mundane taking a trip somewhere. It may also point out the right, or best, path among a selection of alternates. There may well even be a sense of directed change." She smiles quietly, brushing one hand lightly across the directory... and the rune lights up.
Dryx inclines his head, studying the rune carefully for several long, quiet moments. "New ventures," he murmurs. "Yes. Perhaps a new venture is what's called for at that."
Dakini smiles, "If you like it, the room is available. All you have to do is claim it."
Dryx seems distracted for a time. "Yes," he says, "I think that I will." Dakini watches him curiously, wondering what distracts him. Dryx seems to be studying the rune, looking for something in the intersection of lines... though his head is cocked curiously to one side, as if listening to something caught on the air. "Dakini... Dammerung is not a mind, in the way that you and I possess minds, is it?"
Dakini shakes her head, "Not really, no. In some ways Dammerung is an extension of my will, weird though that sounds... but not created by me. I'm not that powerful... I just was fortunate enough that it bonded with me." She smiles, "But within your room Dammerung will listen to you as best it can... and shape the room accordingly to your desires... as long as you don't ask for excessive amounts of energy usage or terribly precise patterns or something similar."
Dryx muses softly, "You needn't explain extensions of the will to me... I understand. Though... I thought for a moment..." He shakes his head softly. "I can't feel the outside from here. But I thought... I heard something."
Dakini looks curious, "What did you think you heard?"
Dryx says, "It was... a vague impression. As if someone else's thought had slipped to your head, and was strange for being formed differently. Not quite a word. Assent? No... I can't tell." He shakes his head again, in his peculiar top-to-bottom way. "I think perhaps I'm not used to being around something like Dammerung."
Dakini smiles, "Talking to Dammerung can be... disorienting, ja. I've been told I also sound um... distracted when I'm talking to someone mentally, but not with Dammerung's help." She adds a bit ruefully, "I tend to send emotion more than words in those times."
Dryx says, "Then you have the sense as well. It's common to speak in concepts and not words... sometimes it's more efficient. But... I have to ask you, how keen is your sense?"
Dakini looks interestedly curious, "I'm not sure what you're asking... but then I wasn't raised in a generally psionic society. Define a bit better please?"
Dryx says, "How well can you feel others? What do you feel from me?"
Dakini looks a little taken aback, "I... don't tend to intrude on others. Where I come from invading someone's privacy is a social taboo." She looks suddenly rueful, "Well... all right, so I'm not very good at not asking nosy questions..." her grin is sheepish, "-sorry... but I don't usually 'look' -- I let Dammerung just sense for intent. If you don't mind my doing so I'd be happy to try it though." She ahs, adding quietly, "There is one rule everyone that lives in Dammerung must follow, however... no fighting, no attempts to incite fighting, in here."
Dryx says, "I think perhaps it's a good idea. And you don't need to concern yourself... my warrior career ended long ago."
Dakini nods quietly at the commentary about warrior career, then adds, "Er... what is a good idea, please?"
Dryx says, "I think it's a good idea for you to look at me. There is something I want to express to you that would be simpler that way." Dakini looks intensely curious... but simply nods, her gaze turning to meet Dryx'.
A long moment passes... then Dakini nods quietly and thoughtfully at Dryx' mental communication. She sighs quietly, shifting to speech so she can be precise again, "I... fear that while you and I may understand that... the governor does not. He does not see the long-term danger he puts us all into... he sees only short term personal gain." She tugs gently on a curl of hair in frustration, "I do not know what drives that man... sometimes I think he's just pure emotion -- not a rational thought in his head!" She scowls, then sighs, muttering under her breath, "...maybe if we left... started a colony elsewhere for the rational...?" She frowns, "No... it's a good idea of Keesha's, but... there's a certain throw-weight of warriors we'd need, that we don't have..." She sighs again, shaking her head sharply, "Well. Enough of that. Pardon my digression. So... would you like Raido then?"
Dryx closes his eyes. "I'm sorry, my mind speaks in Githyanki... I could not be more clear. What I wanted to show you is the force that goes behind the blade. The blade is a rare talent. But one thing it requires is force to push it into what's real. That's easy to feel... and if you feel it in someone else... you have to know that they will do you harm. You'll feel it in an illithid... that's how slayers feel them coming. And I can feel it in your governor. His drive... it looks like the neogi's, from afar. It's what makes him go." Dryx takes a deep breath. "But you knew all that... I just gave you something to look for in the future. Yes, please... I would like Raido."
Dakini raises an eyebrow, very slowly... then shakes her head, "I'm sorry... but while he may be driven, he has no focus whatsoever that I've ever seen. But thank you for the bit of mental training... I like learning." She nods at his comment, gesturing at the rune on the wall, "Very well... you must claim it for Dammerung to know you want it." She mutters, "Wouldn't disagree with you at all in regards to him thoughtlessly harming another though..."
Dryx turns to the directory. "Remember... the focus isn't necessary to do you harm. Just the drive. Greed or ambition or hate in sufficient amounts... you'll feel it. You're welcome, by the way... you have talent."
Dakini grins, "Danke, Dryx... but it's genetic, not any real um... wonderful doing on my part."
Dryx mms. "I don't consider what I do wonderful, either."
Dakini grins, teasing gently, "Traveling? Mmm... I would have to agree. Terribly hard on the feet..."
Dryx doesn't look up from the directory, "To say nothing of the sole." You aren't certain... but it sounds as if Dryx was making a joke!
Dakini blinks slowly... then laughs! "Too true!"
Dryx tries again to smile. It doesn't seem quite so uncomfortable this time. Or at the very least, not so garish. "I appreciate this."
Dakini smiles, watching the quiet man finally start to relax a little, "It is not a problem. As the old story goes, treat the stranger at the door with kindness... because someday it will be you." She grins, "Or the goddess. But I doubt you're one of the Choosers of the Slain." She grins again.
Dryx pauses, his hand on the "frame" of the door, looking at the room. "That's good advice." He pauses. "A goddess at your door. What an interesting idea. No... or at least, not in the sense that you're thinking."
Dakini smiles and shrugs slightly, "Perhaps deities are nothing more than people who've grown past this form and time. Either way, it does no harm to think kindly of them."
Dryx murmurs, "No, it does no harm. I wouldn't wish eternity on anyone."
Dakini smiles slowly, "Perhaps if there was no sense of time it would be easier." Her grin is almost mischievous for a moment... and then she nods quietly, her smile warmer, "Sleep well, Dryx. If you wish Dammerung can ward your room against any and all energy forms it's aware of... which makes for restful sleep, I've found."
Dryx says, "Thank you, Dakini... perhaps I'll do that."
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