Solo As It Should Be

[Suhka]

Day 14 of Summer, AV 514 Western Quarter Patrol

"I'm not saying that the people of Nyka are weak. Don't even suggest that. I'm just saying, they're not as strong as they could be. We protect them with out lives, for Xannos, but they should also be responsible for their own defense. You understand, what I'm saying, right?" Suhka spoke softly as she walked. Her head was engulfed by the large brown hood of her Monk Robe. Her figure, smaller than that of her two male companions, also monks of Xannos, was nearly entirely hidden by her traditional clothing. The robes, dirty, stained with blood, were practically a storybook of their own. Every inch had evidence of where she had walked. Every drop of blood was somebody's pain, and often times her own as well. She walked proudly down the Nykan streets. The small warhammer at her side bumping faintly in rhythm against her thigh with each step, the peaceful drumming against her leg was in place, everything was as it should be. Her simple brown gaze dances around the vicinity, watching as many people as she could possibly keep tabs on. Most people, mostly humans they were, practically leaped to the sides of the path just to allow the monks plenty of room to move. If you were smart, which you tended to be if you were raised here, you wouldn't waste a moment to clear the way for a monk. They didn't have patience, and they didn't believe in sharing the street. "Makes sense I guess, but it's not my place to judge. They people work hard, some just as hard as us, just in different ways." Suhka rolled her eyes at her companions opinion, but allowed him to speak regardless. "Besides, they fill a role we don't have time for. We keep them alive, they keep the city fed, the art beautiful, the money made, and are pleasing the Celestials. Besides, if we tossed everyone in the Aperture, every one of them would be eaten up or driven mad." Suhka bobbed her head faintly. Perhaps he was right. Still, she felt they should at least be able to defend themselves to some extent. There simply wasn't enough Monks to be everywhere, at every moment. Then, something caught Suhka's eye. She saw, in front of his own home she assumed, an old man sitting on the porch. In his hands he held a wooden carving, a beautiful sculpture in the works, and his hands expertly whittled and cut into the substance, slowly but surely making a wonderful piece of art. She was entranced for a moment, and her companions must have noticed her sudden shift because they too stopped, looked back into her eyes, and followed her frozen gaze to the source. One of those men grinned, and Suhka walked over to the old man. Normally, Suhka was harsh and mean to people. She was here to protect them, not befriend them, after all. Yet, she felt an awkward warmth come over her as she stood now, a mere two feet from the man, who was not paused in his work, staring up at the she-monk observing him. "Good day Priestess." It was all the old man said. He wasn't afraid, though many people would feel at least slightly anxious at the situation. A Monk could bash your head in with a rock and probably get away with it, within reason. If you were a citizen, it might be a bit more difficult, unless they claimed you were breaking the law. Yet, he just returned the gaze. "Hello. I... That's beautiful. I felt compelled to tell you that. Your hands do great work. Xannos would be proud of you. This is, just beautiful." The old craftsman gave a genuine smile. It was rare a monk was kind, let alone went out of her way to be so. Yet, to her, she saw one of the most sincere and gorgeous offerings to her Goddess she had ever seen. She just felt proud for him. She leaned over and gave the elder a gentle kiss on his forehead, smiled, and returned back to the sides of her companions. One was smiling, he understood. The other was preoccupied on something else. "You there! Come here!" His voice forced Suhka and the third monk to snap out of their religious stupor and dive into that mode where violence was very likely to follow. They instantly turned on guard, the third monk even drew his hammer to prepare himself to bash somebody's skull in if need be. Suhka saw the culprit. It was a man, possibly thirty years old. He looked shocked as he glanced over his shoulder at the monk that screamed at him. He was obviously scared, confused. "What did you see?" Suhka whispered to her accusing companion. He shook his head slowly, though never broke his gaze from the denizen. "Heard. Blasphemy. Slander against Xannos." If looks could kill, then Suhka's eyes would have turned that man into a boiling puddle of piss and blood within a moment's notice. She didn't know specifically what the man said, but she knew now that it was, in her opinion, one of the absolute heinous of crimes. To lie or talk shyke about the very Alvina that you owed your entire existence, unacceptable. And this trio would make him know just how big of a mistake he made.

[Suhka]

She probably should have kept her cool, but Suhka simply could not. She pushed past her cohorts as she stampeded towards her victim. The man stared at her, stunned and still trying to grasp the sudden shift in the situation he found himself in. Before he could, however, he had Suhka grabbing him by the shirt and dragging him across the street and slamming him violently into the wall. She was accompanied momentarily by her allies, the other two Monks of Xannos. "What did you say about my Goddess?" Suhka spat violently in the "criminal's" face, demanding answers in her own form of unprofessional interrogation. The man, now recovering and regaining his wits, responded. And what he said was probably the worst thing he could possibly have done in Suhka's presence. "Xannos and the other so called gods are pathetic children bickering over turf. You monks are puppets, their playthings, and their rule of Nyka is as hilarious as their followers." He chuckled. Was this man insane, or trying to stir up a fight intentionally? Regardless, he had one now, and he was on the handicapped team. Three monks against one unarmed, untrained man, no contest. Suhka felt her grip tighten on the front of his shirt as she pulled her right hand back. Then, flux happened. The surge of djed, flowing through her body like dozens of little threads, fueling energy into her muscles that she shouldn't normally be able to tap into. Despite her anger, she easily focused the power into her arm, her hand, and threw a nasty, ferocious punch right into the teeth of the man. Was he caught off guard? Probably not, but he couldn't do much, and by the time the fist busted his lips and knocked three of his teeth inwards, he gasped in pain, winced and instantly teared up. He probably now understood the error of his ways. But, he deserved worse punishment than this. Oh, Suhka would be damned if she allowed him to simply walk away with a few broken teeth for his crimes. With flux still pumping insane power into her arms, she lifted the man, dragging his body up the wall until her arms couldn't reach any further. His feet dangled loosely above the ground as his eyes remained closed. "You will renounce those words!" Demanding that the man ask for forgiveness and take back what he said, Suhka barked at the man. He didn't really have much of a choice. Repent, or suffer greater. And, foolishly, chose the latter. His head shook slowly, yet spoke loudly. He refused. Suhka looked over her shoulder towards one of the other monks behind her. He gave her a nod of approval. Carry out justice. She nodded in understanding. She lowered the man back to his feet. "What do you do? What's your trade?" After the man caught his breath, he grunted, and explained behind that busted mouth and broken teeth. "Sculptor." Suhka nodded sagely. "Well then, you'll need your hands to perform for Xannos." Then, without a warning, Suhka took a step back, pulled that hammer from her hip, and swiped it across the man's knee with one solid strike. Instantly the man cried out, grabbed his leg, and fell to the ground, nearly sobbing from his punishment. She placed the hammer back to her side, then crouched low, bringing her face close to man's destroyed mouth. She reached down, grabbing him under the chin, and forced his mouth open. "Renounce your words against Xannos. I'll not be gentle anymore." While still forcing the man's mouth wide open, Suhka opened her hand towards her companions. "Hand me a knife." And, as requested, Suhka received a knife from her allies. Casually, she took it and slid the blade into the man's mouth, resting the point of the knife on his tongue. "This is your final chance. You will renounce your words. You will work for Xannos. You will make offerings to your Goddess. You will show her love. You will give everything Nyka asks of you, to Nyka. Or, you will lose your tongue, you will never walk again, and I will leave you only with your hands so you may repent and offer your work. Make your choice wisely." The man nodded his head vigorously. "I 'ill. P'aise Xanno'. I so'y." Suhka sighed heavily, relief flowing over her as the man, probably out of desperation, gave in and asked for forgiveness and agreed to bring offerings. She pulled the knife from the man's tongue, leaving it uncut, save for a tiny little poke he got from trying to speak. That, however, would be the least of his worries, truly. She handed the blade back to her companion and stood up, leaving her criminal on the ground, cuddling his petched up knee. She turned, faced the other monks. Neither of them seemed to disagree with her. Hell, they would have done just about the same thing, certainly. They were all followers of Xannos. They all did the unthinkable to get where they were. They were fanatical, and you don't want to get on a maniacal zealot's bad side. "Again, it is as it should be."

[Suhka]

Hours passed, and Suhka separated from her two earlier companions, the two monks of Xannos. They had a decent day together. They punished one blasphemer, they scolded some children, they even assisted a pregnant woman by beating the hell out of her abusive brother, and ended their time together by carving sigils of protection on the doors of the western quarter. Evening was rolling through, and now Suhka was on her way to the Celestial Square. There were five candidates today that had made it passed the initial two stages of the journey towards Priesthood. Suhka volunteered to help lower of the candidates into the Aperture tonight, and she arrived just in time to do so. She, of course, was not the only one. She watched patiently as she heard the instructions to these potential monks. She had heard them all before, and back then, they were aimed at her. Tonight, she was merely a spectator, a silent observer, and soon, an escort to the bridge where they would lower one unlucky participant into the Aperture. After many moments, Suhka, and a Monk of Uphis, were given a young man, lightly bearded, and a rough look to him, yet he seemed hesitant. He had every right to be, but he was tough. Shyke, if Suhka could manage to do it, there was no reason why someone as sturdy and large as him couldn't fend for himself. Granted, it wasn't easy, but it was possible. Suhka shot a vicious glare towards the Monk of Uphis, who obliged in returning the favor. There was no love between monks of another faction, really. Respect, of course that was bountiful, but love, not a sliver. Still, they both had orders directly from their superiors of their own factions to lead this man to the bridge and lower him into the depths, then retrieve the ladder. So be it. Suhka would tolerate this Uphis fanatic for now. They pair of monks took the white-robbed man to his bridge with naught but a canteen of water. Suhka nodded, and the other monk tossed the end of the ladder into the abyss. Silence followed, and Suhka and her Uphis Monk acquaintance glanced up at the candidate. He was silent, still, making no moves to descend. Suhka was the first to speak. "It's time. Climb down." There was no room for confusion of her words. She was painfully clear, rigid, and didn't particularly radiate love. Still, he looked at her, hesitant. "What?" Suhka was about to explain it again when the other monk stood up and grabbed him by the arm and pushed him down to his knees. He brought his face in close, narrowing the distance between their eyes uncomfortably near. "Get your ass down there, or I'm throwing you off this bridge, and saying you slipped." Suhka gave a faint grin. She couldn't have said it better herself. To the candidate, he was risking his life. Yet, to Suhka and the other monk, he was showing incredible disrespect for the factions they stood for, the gods and goddesses they loved, the very meaning of their existence. He had no choice now. Nodding in defeat, he agreed. Slowly, he descended into the darkness of the Aperture. Suhka started to pull up the ladder once the weight of his body vanished from the ropes. He either fell, or hit the bottom, or both. Either way, he was stuck down there for three days, assuming he didn't miss his chance to climb back up. "You sure know how to get people moving. I'll give you that." It wasn't often that Suhka spoke casually to another Monk of another faction, yet she saw no harm in it. They were both doing just what they were commanded. Get the potential monk in the pit. She looked at him, he grinned as he watched the darkness below. No doubt he was remembering his few days down there. Suhka was, at least. "I just don't have patience for cowardice. I heard he's from your quarter. If he makes it through this, he's on you." He chuckled softly as he turned and walked towards the North Quarter of Nyka. Suhka watched him leave. It was possibly the first time she nearly had a conversation with another faction's monk that didn't start or end in a royally beating on either side. Was he right though? Was that coward trying to become one of her allies? She'd have to make sure he toughened up quick, if that came to be. Granted, if he survived the Aperture, he'd be braver, if not crazier, because of it. She smiled, knowing that anyone that climbs out of that pit would be worthy of being called her brother. She would just have to trust that it would all become as it should be.

[Keene Ward]

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