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Why Am I Here? [Rhi!]

Started by Tally, May 13, 2012, 06:00:20 PM

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Tally

Ruben had shed first his coat and then his long tunic.  In only a thin white shirt now, he picked his way through choking vegetation—supposedly a path—on into deeper jungle.  The grasping branches and vines kept snagging his long hair, bound back though it was, and sweat poured down his back from the humid heat.  Somewhere around two hours into the trek he'd lost even the will to complain.

They emerged beside a swift stream and a break in the relentless foliage.  He called a halt here, their fourth, and his porters could shoot him all the disdainful looks they pleased.  They traipsed through this forsaken heat every day.  He was not built for this and he'd take as long as he needed getting to their destination.

His pack hit the ground and he slumped against a tree to catch his breath, too tired even to drink yet.

Rhindeer

Their presence did not go unnoticed.

It was a happy circumstance that Charik had been out of his palace and in the thick of the jungle that day, exploring his domain and searching for signs of the snake beast. It had not troubled his people for some weeks now, but rather than reassure him it only made Charik more nervous. This could only mean one thing: it was trying to throw him off by biding its time and making itself more unpredictable! That, or perhaps it knew that Charik was onto it and had gone into hiding, desperate to wait Charik out. Either way, time was of the essence! He had to find it before it claimed its next victim--or before it moved to a new hiding spot.

When a trail was hot, Charik often took some of his men along with him, but when the trail was cold he often went out alone, the better to be stealthy. Today was one of those "cold" days and so he was alone--or so he'd thought.

There were others in the jungle that day.

And as Charik grew closer, attracted to the sounds, it all made sense.

He'd been brought a new tribute! Oh, dear, looked like he'd spoiled his own surprise yet again! No matter, though. They looked tired, so he would relieve them of their duties early, as any good god-king should when his subjects looked weary. Now which one was it...?

Peering through the thick foliage at the group, he found her: a pale-skinned beauty with luscious black hair and exotic eyes. That was the one! It had to be!

She was his!

For a creature so large, he could move quickly when he chose, and he chose that moment to burst from the bushes, scoop her up bridal-style, and give a happy wave to her retainers. "We accept your tribute! Please, return home and rest and your village shall be blessed!"

He didn't wait for a response. He quickly slipped back into the jungle and was fast on his way.
Adamaris // Aderyn // Aki // Alexander // Angel // Axieva // Beatrid // Briar // Cadmus // Corryn // Einin/Owl // Emery // Fang // Faolán // Faris // Frost // Hayate // Ife // Jayari // Jirou // Juniper // Katxiel // Khaiya // Kota // Kyran // Liam // Makani // Max // Maya // Mei // Nakato // Naovi // Nasrin // Niaaki // Niamh // Noor // Pepper // Qiana // Qismat // Quinn // Raxta // Riyarin // Rook // Sachi // Sahar // Siobhan // Simonea // Sita // Song // Summer // Valor // Yasmin // Yiroa

Tally

Ruben screamed.  Outright, wordless, and loud.  Not a fearful scream either, but one full of anger.  Caught in the arms of some...some thing, he twisted about like an enraged cat and grabbed at every branch and vine that passed before him, trying to wrench himself out of the creature's grasp.

"Let me go!!"

Rhindeer

Charik heard shouts from the retainers, but that was nothing unusual. Shouts of joy, no doubt, for their offering being so well received!

He was used to that.

The jungle was no obstacle for Charik, who knew it all like the scales of his tail. He wound through the underbrush, powerful muscles working, and for a creature so large he was surprisingly swift and nimble--he just preferred not to be, most days.

"Calm down, fair one," he said, arms shifting to grip her more tightly as she struggled. "You'll hurt yourself. We understand you're overwhelmed and awestruck; it is only natural when first you face your god! But you'll not be harmed. Your new life will be one of luxury and decadence, as is only fitting for our harem."

Beaming down at her, he nuzzled her hair lightly. "You are blessed!"
Adamaris // Aderyn // Aki // Alexander // Angel // Axieva // Beatrid // Briar // Cadmus // Corryn // Einin/Owl // Emery // Fang // Faolán // Faris // Frost // Hayate // Ife // Jayari // Jirou // Juniper // Katxiel // Khaiya // Kota // Kyran // Liam // Makani // Max // Maya // Mei // Nakato // Naovi // Nasrin // Niaaki // Niamh // Noor // Pepper // Qiana // Qismat // Quinn // Raxta // Riyarin // Rook // Sachi // Sahar // Siobhan // Simonea // Sita // Song // Summer // Valor // Yasmin // Yiroa

Tally

Ruben heard the words, but didn't grasp them.  They were nonsense!  Gibberish!  The ravings of a creature gone mad!  It shifted him in its arms so that he couldn't reach the branches anymore, but then it was stupid enough to get its face within arms length.  Ruben clawed for its eyes.  If he could blind the thing he could get away!

Rhindeer

She got him. Her nails scratched his cheek and nose and Charik jerked his head back with an indignant yelp.

"Please, dear one, calm yourself!" he said, face stinging where she'd gotten him and an angry red welt rising. He hoped that wouldn't leave a mark! But it was understandable, sometimes they just couldn't control their spasms, so overwhelmed were they, like shamans and prophets in the throes of a divine experience. "You'll only hurt yourself!"

Fortunately, it wasn't much farther to the temple. Slipping through the foliage, the old ruins loomed before them, covered in vines and surrounded by lush flowering plants. Charik enjoyed natural beauty, and this temple had remained this way since long before his time. Hurrying, eager to deposit his struggling maiden, he made his way down the path leading into the temple without so much as a word to his servants.

They understood this was an urgent matter!
Adamaris // Aderyn // Aki // Alexander // Angel // Axieva // Beatrid // Briar // Cadmus // Corryn // Einin/Owl // Emery // Fang // Faolán // Faris // Frost // Hayate // Ife // Jayari // Jirou // Juniper // Katxiel // Khaiya // Kota // Kyran // Liam // Makani // Max // Maya // Mei // Nakato // Naovi // Nasrin // Niaaki // Niamh // Noor // Pepper // Qiana // Qismat // Quinn // Raxta // Riyarin // Rook // Sachi // Sahar // Siobhan // Simonea // Sita // Song // Summer // Valor // Yasmin // Yiroa

Tally

Ruben didn't let up the whole way.  He tried everything he could think of, grabbed at everything that came within reach, kicked, screamed, and clawed.  The thing was just so much bigger than he was!  He was in the process of trying to climb over its shoulder when they passed into the ruins of some structure.  A temple or shrine from the look of it.

A glimpse of faded carvings that looked like constellations drew his eye immediately.  He stilled and squinted at them as they rushed past, but they were moving too quickly for him to get a good look.

Rhindeer

Ah, finally! She'd begun to calm down. Charik breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps the mania had finally begun to ebb.

"That's it, darling. See? It's going to be alright," he murmured as he carried her into the temple. "You'll have a new life here. A better life. What could be better than serving your god--and being pampered and loved by him in turn?"

Though the outside of the temple looked ruined and crumbling and ancient, the inside was warm and lavish. Rugs made of animal skins carpeted the floor and rich paintings decorated the walls. It was cooler inside than out, as well, though they couldn't completely escape the jungle's humidity.

Charik wasted no time in making his way through the hall and to an room that had been recently vacated by the Snake Beast's latest victim. Finally it could be filled with life again! Even though there were many servants and his harem had many members, he could still feel the absence, a void waiting to be filled.

It was a lovely room, if Charik said so himself. A jaguar pelt covered the floor, along with an assortment of large cushions for sleeping on. Whisking the woman inside the room, Charik finally set her down onto the cushions. "Welcome home, lovely."
Adamaris // Aderyn // Aki // Alexander // Angel // Axieva // Beatrid // Briar // Cadmus // Corryn // Einin/Owl // Emery // Fang // Faolán // Faris // Frost // Hayate // Ife // Jayari // Jirou // Juniper // Katxiel // Khaiya // Kota // Kyran // Liam // Makani // Max // Maya // Mei // Nakato // Naovi // Nasrin // Niaaki // Niamh // Noor // Pepper // Qiana // Qismat // Quinn // Raxta // Riyarin // Rook // Sachi // Sahar // Siobhan // Simonea // Sita // Song // Summer // Valor // Yasmin // Yiroa

Tally

Whatever this thing was, it wasn't hurting him at the moment, just...carrying him.  Trying to fight against it was like shoving a wall, so he settled down and let it take him into a bed chamber with such garish decor Ruben nearly gagged at the sight of it all.

As soon as he was down, he picked up the nearest object—a tasseled pillow—and threw it at the creature.  "Why did you take me from there?!  Who are you?!"

Rhindeer

Whap! A pillow smacked him in the head and Charik let out a scandalized gasp, reaching up to rub his head, even though it hadn't hurt. Just surprised him! He blinked in confusion at the woman, coils shifting and curling so he wasn't taking up so much space in the room, and then he put on a smile. Patience. Any benevolent god needed to have patience, understanding, and empathy, for sometimes, people did foolish things in their presence--and that wasn't their fault. How overwhelming would it be to meet a god?

Well, Charik wouldn't know, all things considered, but he tried to imagine it! Tried to imagine himself as a mere mortal meeting himself. It hurt his head a little.

Reaching up to put his hair back into order, Charik picked up the pillow and set it aside. "We're your god, dear heart. You were our offering. Our sacrifice. Ah! Don't be afraid! It's not that kind of sacrifice," he said with a laugh and a wave of his hand.

"Earthly gods have more use of living sacrifices! It's an honor, darling. You should be overjoyed!" Only those gods who had ascended to a higher plane had use for sacrifices that ended in earthly death, for how else would their mortal consorts join them? But he could understand why someone might think the two were one and the same and be afraid. But Charik's people had long since crossed to the mortal plane to reign on earth.

Or so the old legends and paintings showed.
Adamaris // Aderyn // Aki // Alexander // Angel // Axieva // Beatrid // Briar // Cadmus // Corryn // Einin/Owl // Emery // Fang // Faolán // Faris // Frost // Hayate // Ife // Jayari // Jirou // Juniper // Katxiel // Khaiya // Kota // Kyran // Liam // Makani // Max // Maya // Mei // Nakato // Naovi // Nasrin // Niaaki // Niamh // Noor // Pepper // Qiana // Qismat // Quinn // Raxta // Riyarin // Rook // Sachi // Sahar // Siobhan // Simonea // Sita // Song // Summer // Valor // Yasmin // Yiroa

Tally

"I am not a sacrifice!"

Bloody lunatic naga didn't have a bed or even a chair in here Ruben could stand on.  He hated having to look straight up while he straightened this idiot out.

"I am no offering of any kind, and how dare you think you can just take me away from the expedition and my porters!  Do you have any idea how far you may have just set me back?  Any idea how long it will take me to find that route again?  The only reason I'm not making you carry me right back is because you may have inadvertently done some good in your madness.  Now you get back out there this instant and go find my black trunk and bring it back here.  Everything I need is in that trunk and it's your fault I don't have it so you're going to go get it for me."

Rhindeer

...Oh dear. She was so confused. It was tragic, really.

"Oh, darling," Charik said, voice soothing and sympathetic. "We understand this can be...a lot to take in. There are certain pressures and expectations and a lot of build up to this moment, and we understand that you have been viewed as a representative of your village, that you carry your peoples' honor on your shoulders, and that that can take a lot out of you! But rest assured, dear, that we are benevolent and non-judgmental, and your courage--ah, it's positively touching! To be taken from everything you know to serve a god..."

Charik pressed a hand to his chest and sighed. "Darling, it'll be okay. Everything you could positively need is here, now, and all the finest riches and pleasures shall be yours! You need only ask!"

Moving forward, he tilted his head curiously. "Now, what is it our lady desires?" he asked, reaching out to touch her cheek.
Adamaris // Aderyn // Aki // Alexander // Angel // Axieva // Beatrid // Briar // Cadmus // Corryn // Einin/Owl // Emery // Fang // Faolán // Faris // Frost // Hayate // Ife // Jayari // Jirou // Juniper // Katxiel // Khaiya // Kota // Kyran // Liam // Makani // Max // Maya // Mei // Nakato // Naovi // Nasrin // Niaaki // Niamh // Noor // Pepper // Qiana // Qismat // Quinn // Raxta // Riyarin // Rook // Sachi // Sahar // Siobhan // Simonea // Sita // Song // Summer // Valor // Yasmin // Yiroa

Tally

Ruben batted the naga's hand away from him.

"I want my trunk!  Which you left out there when you took me!"  He stabbed a finger at the door.

"Go get it."

Rhindeer

Charik followed the lady's finger to the door, and then glanced back at her face. Well, he supposed he had said "you need only ask". That wasn't quite a request but he could still work with it, if it would make this transition more comfortable for her. Of course she might want some trinket from home!

"Of course, sweetling. We shall have it brought here posthaste!"

Sliding toward the entrance, he reached up and tugged on a rope hanging down from the ceiling, and a bell chimed loudly in response. Not long after, a servant arrived and bowed deeply to him.

"We're afraid she has left her 'big black trunk' out in the jungle and she so desperately wants it back. If you would be so kind as to retrieve it for her? We are sure she will greatly appreciate that!" Now off you go!" he said, making a shooing motion with his hand. The servant stared at him with something bordering on exasperation and disbelief--that was all he got to go off of?!--but he schooled his face into one of quiet acceptance and bowed again before taking his leave.
Adamaris // Aderyn // Aki // Alexander // Angel // Axieva // Beatrid // Briar // Cadmus // Corryn // Einin/Owl // Emery // Fang // Faolán // Faris // Frost // Hayate // Ife // Jayari // Jirou // Juniper // Katxiel // Khaiya // Kota // Kyran // Liam // Makani // Max // Maya // Mei // Nakato // Naovi // Nasrin // Niaaki // Niamh // Noor // Pepper // Qiana // Qismat // Quinn // Raxta // Riyarin // Rook // Sachi // Sahar // Siobhan // Simonea // Sita // Song // Summer // Valor // Yasmin // Yiroa

Tally

Finally!  They were getting somewhere.  Ruben yelled after the servant.  "And tell the porters where I am!"

He brushed past the naga into the corridor beyond.  The place seemed huge—he didn't even remember where he'd seen the constellation carving, but where there was one there might be more.  He chose a direction and wandered that way, eyes on the marching array of carved stone.

Rhindeer

Ah, yes. She was very confused, indeed. Charik gave a long-suffering sigh. It had been a long day and he was feeling the weariness of it all, for while he could be swift when he needed to be, it expended a lot of energy. Now, he wanted nothing more than to curl up beneath one of the temple's many skylights, surrounded by food and servants, and bask after a hard day's work. However! Duty came before pleasure! He needed to see that this girl was properly settled; he couldn't just leave her to her distress!

Hauling himself after her, he followed, and the rest of his long body followed after.

"Where are you going, dear?" he asked. He knew where she was headed; if she kept going straight that way and took no other turns then eventually, at the end, she'd find the pool. And that could, potentially, be a little bad before he'd gotten a chance to properly warn the naiad. "Dear? Please stop. You don't know where you're going! And we don't yet know your name!"
Adamaris // Aderyn // Aki // Alexander // Angel // Axieva // Beatrid // Briar // Cadmus // Corryn // Einin/Owl // Emery // Fang // Faolán // Faris // Frost // Hayate // Ife // Jayari // Jirou // Juniper // Katxiel // Khaiya // Kota // Kyran // Liam // Makani // Max // Maya // Mei // Nakato // Naovi // Nasrin // Niaaki // Niamh // Noor // Pepper // Qiana // Qismat // Quinn // Raxta // Riyarin // Rook // Sachi // Sahar // Siobhan // Simonea // Sita // Song // Summer // Valor // Yasmin // Yiroa

Tally

"Ruben," he said, not pausing and not taking his eyes off the wall carvings.  He turned at random and didn't try to remember what path he'd taken.  He'd get the naga to lead him around wherever he needed to go.

"There!"  Ruben jerked to a halt and pointed at a cluster of carved stars halfway up the wall.  No mistaking it now that he had a good look—that was most definitely a constellation.  "Those!  I'll need to know where the rest are.  Any that look like that or similar.  Where is my—oh balls, that's right.  The trunk is still out there.  I need parchment!  And ink.  Tell me you have parchment and ink here!"

Rhindeer

"Ruben? Ah, what a beautiful name, dear!" Charik said with a smile as he followed after her, pausing when she did. She seemed a little confused and excitable and perhaps not all there, but it was good to see her taking to her new home so well, and he found himself happy that she liked the carvings. Odd thing to be so thrilled about; Charik hardly paid attention to them. But everyone had their eccentricities.

"Mm, those? Ah, yes, they're all over." Charik waved his hand absently. "They tell our story, you see. The story of the gods made flesh, the great bridge between worlds, between life and death. They tell the history of our people. Ah, but you were asking for ink! Yes, yes, we have ink."
Adamaris // Aderyn // Aki // Alexander // Angel // Axieva // Beatrid // Briar // Cadmus // Corryn // Einin/Owl // Emery // Fang // Faolán // Faris // Frost // Hayate // Ife // Jayari // Jirou // Juniper // Katxiel // Khaiya // Kota // Kyran // Liam // Makani // Max // Maya // Mei // Nakato // Naovi // Nasrin // Niaaki // Niamh // Noor // Pepper // Qiana // Qismat // Quinn // Raxta // Riyarin // Rook // Sachi // Sahar // Siobhan // Simonea // Sita // Song // Summer // Valor // Yasmin // Yiroa

Tally

"They illustrate the exact degree angles and transference equations.  That is what is impressive.  If not for that detail they'd be fairly unimpressive."

He waited for the naga to continue, then when no more words were forthcoming he put his hands on his hips.  "Well?  Don't just stand there staring into space.  Have it brought!  Don't forget the parchment."

Rhindeer

Charik had no idea what she was babbling about, but he smiled and nodded anyway and played along with her, because whatever it was, it seemed to have excited her and if a few paintings and carvings of stars were all it took to make her happy, he would arrange to have more added to the place! It could be a lovely surprise for her! Ah, he would have to meet with an artisan at once!

He smiled. "Darling, this is your home now," he said. "The servants here are at your beck and call. However, until you grow comfortable with that, we shall arrange to have it brought to you."

Sliding a little further into the hall, he reached up and tugged a cord, jingling a bell. A servant was quick to respond, kneeling before them. "Have writing materials brought at once, dear!" he said, and she scurried off, returning some moments later with a brush, pot of ink, and a roll of some soft cloth--which was the closest thing they had to parchment.
Adamaris // Aderyn // Aki // Alexander // Angel // Axieva // Beatrid // Briar // Cadmus // Corryn // Einin/Owl // Emery // Fang // Faolán // Faris // Frost // Hayate // Ife // Jayari // Jirou // Juniper // Katxiel // Khaiya // Kota // Kyran // Liam // Makani // Max // Maya // Mei // Nakato // Naovi // Nasrin // Niaaki // Niamh // Noor // Pepper // Qiana // Qismat // Quinn // Raxta // Riyarin // Rook // Sachi // Sahar // Siobhan // Simonea // Sita // Song // Summer // Valor // Yasmin // Yiroa