Passing the Mantle (Kuvarakh)

[Eridanus]

Day 21, Summer of 512 AV
Midday
Order of Transcendence Temporary Headquarters - Office

Unlike the previous night where Eridanus had trouble sleeping due to feelings of worry, he had found it easier to sleep when he talked things over with Nira'lia and settled their path last night. When he woke up he had realized that the guild would be kept quite leaderless, and it was not something he wished to see.

After careful consideration, he narrowed down the possible candidates to a single prospect, and had sent word out to let Kuvarakh know that he was waiting for the nuit in the building that served as temporary base for the guild.

It was in the office where he sat, on the desk facing the door, a hand rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he mentally went through the things he wanted to talk with Kuvarakh about.

[Kuvarakh]

"That was fast" Wanda agreed, a hint of a smile working its way across her face. "And your timing is very good, if not your work." she joked. "Someone dropped off a message for you. Something about reporting to the 'OTHQ'?" Clearly she was curious what the initials stood for.

Kuvarakh's reaction confirmed her guess that they were important. But she had no idea what they represented. She had only hired him a little over three weeks ago. She hoped he hadn't found a better position elsewhere. His reaction showed both intrigue and concern.

"Um, look, I've finished the brass and the canvas," he gestured absently to the room behind him, "and they didn't deliver the tar like they were supposed to, so if it's ok, I'd like to see what this is about. It may be important."

She waved away his concern. "Of course, go ahead. I was thinking of closing up before the next bell anyway. You've done more than enough for today." She tried to sound nonchalant, though a spike of worry stabbed her. Kuvarakh was by far the most receptive employee she had ever had to placing experimentation over commerce, and the thought of him finding work elsewhere felt like a giant leap backwards in progress.

'But he likes it here. There's no reason to worry.' she found herself saying to herself as she noticed him looking her in the eye, and she felt better.

"Don't worry, I'll be in tomorrow." he said with a wink and a wave, and left.

Normally enjoying the kaleidescopic landmark shifts in Alvadas, this time Kuvarakh tried not to be distracted beyond noting the background and architectural tendencies that allowed him to make his way around. Of course when a pit opened up in front of you, it needed to be respected, but it didn't change the over-all direction he knew he needed to go. Half a bell passed.

There was the building. Today, the few steps up, were steps down instead, but at least the building was no longer orange. Light blue was a distinct improvement.

He made his way to the back offices, figuring he would either be hailed by someone else, or that it was Eridanus that wished to see him. He saw by the pose taken by his superior (a title Eridanus himself would not acknowledge, but was largely accepted as fact among the rest of the order) that this was not a matter of experiment logistics or equipment acquisitions, there were no charts on easels or folders stacked on sideboards. This was just a talk, and one Eridanus looked to have had on his mind for some time now.

"Sir? You wished to see me?"

[Eridanus]

The door opened and Eridanus recognized the nuit shambling in, both by physical familiarity and by vague feeling of his presence. He generally made sure to recognize the auras of people he knew, especially nuits, since auras were an unchangeable core of a person while physical form can always be changed through various means.

"Good, you're here. Have a seat," He gestured to the chair in front of the desk.

When Kuvarakh greeted him, the vantha grimaced slightly, briefly considering mentioning an oft-repeated lecture. He usually extolled the concept of servant-leadership, where the guild's leaders were meant to serve the guild and its objectives, working co-operatively with its members in order to do so. This was an ideal highly different from the leadership in almost every other parts of the world.

However, he dismissed doing so for he did not call the nuit here for that, for there were more important fish to fry, as the saying went.

"Glad you can make it, Kuvarakh. There are certain things we have to discuss, so make yourself comfortable," Eridanus began, leaning back in his chair with his fingers steepled on the desk.

"Nira'lia and I have received... premonitions of a strange kind, and accordingly we will be venturing forth to Syliras to investigate this phenomenon. In the event that it's a false alarm, we will return immediately. However, in the event that there is something strange happening in the lands beyond the sea, we will adjust our plans appropriately. Though I hate to do this, this means that we might possibly be away for quite a while."

Pausing to let this sink in, he made eye contact with the nuit briefly, then continuing, "Out of the members we have who remain, I have the most faith in you, Kuvarakh, in temporarily taking on the administrative duties of leadership while we are absent. If you agree, we will go through the mundane, but necessary, details of the process. What say you?"

[Kuvarakh]

Kuvarakh sat in a daze for a moment. 'Premonitions'?...'Syliras'?...'Away for quite a while'? It was quite a sudden turn of events. He rubbed his fingers down across his forehead stopping to steeple them on the bridge of his nose. Then the situation settled in, he folded his hands in his lap, took a deep breath and gave a long, low whistle.

"Well, I will, of course, do whatever I can, but I have my job to consider. I've only been employed there for three weeks, I can't just abandon her. Is this something that would require my attendance here in this building 24 bells a day? Because, if not, I might be able to persuade her to allow me to adjust my work schedule. She is, of course, well aware I am Nuit, and therefore, am spared the need for sleep. So I can work abnormal bells.

"But she will certainly want our schedules to coincide for a FEW bells a day. We work well together. She has a far more varied scope of knowledge, where I have been 'cranking the rings' for a hundred years and get far greater acceleration much quicker. It is to both our benefits to work together as much as we can, and thus, it benefits the order as well.

"And on that matter, with so few alchemists in-house, I was wondering if she could be contracted for an occasional task. This is something I was going to ask one of these days anyway. I certainly do NOT mean to suggest this as an ultimatum for my acceptance of your request. Nor do I mean to offer her membership. She has her own lab, 'Alchemmia Alchea', and it is, frankly, better than what we have here. Truly, I doubt she would wish to give up any degree of sovereignty over its use. But an exchange of information would doubtless make her feel that my time spent here was benefitting her as much as my time there.

"In truth, sir, I like her. She has a true explorer's heart. She is driven far more by love of discovery than coin. I think if she understands what's at stake, she will be quite wiling to flex my schedule to accommodate this. I am entirely willing to step in, but I will wish to come clean with her about our work here. I have refrained thus far, but if I need to infringe on my obligation to her, I feel compelled to offer some degree of explanation. Is this alright?"

[Eridanus]

Eridanus was about to compose an answer, but Kuvarakh continued speaking, and so the vantha let the nuit finish his speech before answering.

"Do not worry regarding time commitments. As you are aware, all members of the guild are expected to be financially independent. That means having a respectable income and standard of living. The guild is generally expected to be the members' passions and hobby, rather than full-time job - we do not have the resources or funds to accommodate such an investment, unfortunately. I will review the administrative functions in detail, since I assume that you're accepting this offer, but rest assured that a normal person who require seven hours of sleep a day will be able to cope well even with a full-time job. And you, as an immortal construct, will be more than able to cope with the commitments we require from you."

"Administrative duties in the guild so far are pretty flexible, as we are more goal-oriented and result-oriented than about keeping strictly to timetables and schedules if there is no need for them. There are no major projects in the workings, due to our fledgeling status, so I suppose in a way that is an advantage for you as that means lesser complications."

"Regarding your work here, feel free to disclose as much as you wish within acceptable means. We are a transparent and accountable organization, by nature of our work and our dependency on the good-will of the Government and Population, and I believe that so far we have nothing to hide. Of course, you understand that things like private information of members should be kept confidential, and I expect you to utilize common sense in differentiating between what should be disclosed and what should not be disclosed."

Clearing his throat, he added, "Between you and me, we may have certain projects in the future that, for the public's best interests, kept confidential, but those will be clearly marked on a case-by-case basis. I trust that you, as usual, will utilize common sense in such cases."

"We do not have the funds to contract an external alchemists and do not encourage it for frivolous means. However, if such an opportunity was to occur during your watch, you are expected to meticulously conduct a cost-benefit analysis and proceed with the optimal path. Regarding such decisions, as with any actions made on the guild's behalf, I expect a report to be written regarding this. I will try my best to leave a visible trail should I have to depart from Syliras, so send me a letter if there are any major decisions to be made that you feel is too big for you to handle."

"Do you have any other concerns? It will be best if we resolve them immediately."

[Kuvarakh]

"I'm relieved to hear it, sir. I had not given any thought to how much of your time is taken up by The Order's concerns, being it's leader. I had assumed it a full time job. Obviously, I was worrying needlessly."

His relieved expression grew more serious as he continued. "As far as my employer goes, she possesses a great stock of items, base materials, reagents and such, so I'm assuming a modest degree of cooperation is allowable. Perhaps "contract" was a poor choice of words. As I said, she is not driven by profit, but It is only natural to expect reciprocation of value if she makes a contribution to some effort of ours. I will, of course, keep a record of proposed, and actual, expenditures.

"I currently lack the very experience I will be gaining, so I can only say that the good of The Order will be the primary basis for any decisions I make. If I should err, I will, at least, try to be sure it is on the side of caution. But yes, it would be helpful to know of some way to contact you in the event of a major problem."

He looked distant for a moment, "The only thing that immediately comes to mind are recruitment interviews. I trust you will still be wanting these to be expedited. So I guess my question is whether I will be doing them, if this is to be delegated differently, or if it is up to me on a case-by-case basis."

[Eridanus]

Eridanus nodded, satisfied with Kuvarakh's admission of his inexperience as well as his resultant solution.

"Yes, that is a good basis to use. Always remember our aims, what we stand for, and what we need to survive, and as long as you keep these in mind when making decisions you'll be fine. With regards to your employer, I think that you have the right mind in negotiating any possible future co-operative ventures. However, I will just remind you to clearly differentiate your two different personas when doing so - whether it is as an Employee or as an Interim Leader of the Guild. Make sure you know the difference when adopting personas, and make sure you affirm it strongly when negotiating as well."

He cleared his throat, reaching below the desk for the water pouch that he kept below and took a long swig of water for his throat was beginning to go dry from too much talking. Giving a relived sigh as he downed the ice cold liquid, he screwed the cap back on and replaced the pouch.

"Yes, as of now we have two current interviewees. A 'Sol Craven' and a 'Eadfrid'. A budding spiritist from a renowned Spiritist family in Alvadas, and a human reimancer. I think a good way for this would be for you to sit in on one of the interviews, and then I'd like for you to conduct the other. It should be practice enough for one as astute as you."

"Any other issues?"

[Kuvarakh]

Kuvarakh smiled and nodded, "I'm sure there will be issues, but nothing presents itself at this time, sir." He noticed a slight look of discomfort on Eridanus' face at the word. Convinced now that it had not been his imagination the other times, he corrected himself.

"Well...there is one. Every time I address you as 'sir', you wince. I understand your desire to downplay the entire "Leader vs. subordinate" relationship, and I can see good reasons for it. I would just like you to understand that, for me, it is simply a respectful courtesy I was raised to observe, not a misguided acceptance of some inherent inferiority on my part.

"This is something I will always do, s...sir" he shrugged, grinning slightly, "I guess you will have to learn to live with it. In the meantime, I guess we have interviews to see to."

[Eridanus]

"I-I understand," Eridanus replied, mentally smacking his forehead. He had forgotten that there were some mortal customs which used honorifics as terms of respect rather than authority. Had he been amongst primitive culture for too long to even forget that? Or perhaps had he been amongst mortals too besotted with power and authority?

"Alright, let us continue then, there is work awaiting us."

With that, he reached for one of the drawers to pull up files that kept the application forms of a few members that had indicated their interest in the guild. It was going to be a long day.

[Fallacy]

XP Award! Name:Eridanus XP Award: Rhetoric- 2 Lore: OoT Goals and Responsibilities OoT Temp. HQ Passing the Mantle Notes: Name:Kuvarakh XP Award: Rhetoric- 2 Lore: OoT Goals and Responsibilities OoT Temp. HQ Accepting the Responsibility of Leadership Notes: Nice little thread setting up for Eridanus' departure. Settles a lot of worries in Eri's absence. Any questions or concerns about the rewards gained please send a PM