Closed Take A Stand

[Neologism]

x

87th of Spring, 515AV
Surya Plaza

Today was an exciting day. It was no special day that held any significance, but there was a buzz of anticipation shared between each Lhavitian on Zintia Peak. The event was simple, there was a new building being constructed in the Surya Plaza, added to the already crowded peak. But there is no city in Mizahar that can boast of Lhavit's architect. In between Dawn and Noon rest, the city had witnessed a series of magnificent flashes of light. If the sky was not so clear, one may think lightning was striking, absent of thunder. But to any of those who had witnessed the beautiful skyglass from Zintilla, they would realize it was simply nothing more than the sun's reflection on the moving skyglass.

A crowd had gathered around the four Akka, members of the Constellations, that were positioned in and around the new building's skeleton. Two fingers could be seen climbing, witch rope support, near the top of the soon-to-be domed building. Below them, two more of Zintila's blessed aided in the construction from below. It was a sight that anyone in Lhavit wanted to see. Two vendors had taken advantage of the small festival, and one busker. A low but cheerful tune sounded from the edge of the crowd, pleasing the ears of the viewers and builders alike, and strategically positioning their cat close to any open pocket. One vendor distributed cool drinks and iced tea for the sun, while another appealed to the fascinated children with colored candies and exotic fruits. Its not hard to imagine that mothers and fathers had voice quite a few 'no's to the begging children.

But one mother was not against a small treat for her children, during such an exciting show, and had left her two children on the edge of the crowd so that she could go purchase fruits and candy for them. During this time, the older sister, Ell and her younger brother, Thulli were content with watching the extravagant show of Akarni before them, they hardly had the attention span to notice the four figures that sauntered up behind them.

But, when Thulli became aware of the sudden presence behind him, he was frozen stiff. He had little reason to be, or so he thought, but the sudden presence of the muscular Isur had consumed the attention of the seven year old up nearly immediately. The child knew his mother was close by, and so no shriek of surprise called for help, but the child was not the least bit worried about closing his gaping mouth. His sister, on the other hand, was already admiring the foreigners. She was nearly twelve and Thulli was convinced she thought she was Talora herself. But his older, and more dumber (in his opinion) sister, had seen her brother's fear and was capitalizing on it. She enjoyed the strange race more than he did, their solemn expressions and statue-like resemblance. So she had less fear about approaching them

"Sir," Thulli's eyes widened at the shrill and mischievous voice of his sister.

"Hello little one." The foreign accent replied after a small pause. Thulli risked once towards his sister to face the men and woman with her.

"What are you?" Ashe asked simply to the man, eyes lingering on the metallic left arm that he held by his side. The Isur didn't need to guess what had caught the children's attention. With an Isur child, he would have leaned down to talk with them, but the humans were merely a few inches shorter than himself, so it was not necessary.

"Why, I am shocked you haven't heard of my people." His voice rumbled, which caught the attention of his acquaintances who had not realized the curious children were seeking their attention. He put on a mock hurt expression, which for some reason made Thulli and Ell feel a slight guilt for not knowing. "I am one of the great Isur, and you may call me Dathor." The man spoke afterwards, seemingly unfazed by adding 'great' before his race.

"Well, I am a great human, and you may call me Ell." She grinned at the man, straightening herself to his height and holding out her hand. She was already quite fond of his confident manor, unaware of his contempt for her race.

"Oh no, child, humans are not great." Dathor chuckled, and the woman Isur behind him grinned in an amused agreement. But Thulli could only frown at this comment.

"Well then why are you great and we are not?" The boy had found his voice, challenging the Isur's proclamation of his race. But Dathor only smiled at the boy. It was a kind smile, not a malicious one, but there were clear hints of self-superiority glinting in his grey eyes. He glanced at the woman behind him and she raised her eyebrows in a knowing look, as if she agreed with his contempt for the curious children, as if the answer was obvious.

"My child--" But the beginning of his words were cut off by the sudden presence of a human much taller than himself. Light cherry hair glinted in the sunlight, and the woman looked down to the Isur with nothing less than a frown dragging her features down. Not even the prideful Isur would say something to the mother, who looked as if she was daring the foreigner to tell her children they were not 'great'. Instead, the human woman grabbed each of her children's hands, and stalked off. Not saying one word the the rude Isur.

"What an ignorant bunch. It is no wonder the are controlled so easily by their Alvina." One of the other Isur muttered, glaring at the woman. Dathor only glanced at his companion.

"Peace, Aldman. They are no danger to us dumb, the mother couldn't even speak a word to us." The woman, Shari, chuckled as she spoke to the other Isur of the group. The three of them did not make an effort to lower their voices, or even pretend to care if they were overheard.

"By Izurdin's palm, the sooner we can leave this wretched sky-city, the sooner we can return to a civilized society." The last one, Elichard, who hadn't yet spoken groaned. Elichard was much younger than the rest, merely an apprentice to the older more experienced Isurs. Because of this, even though they agree with the complainer, they hardly acknowledged his words. For the next few chimes, the small huddle of Isur would continue their conversation, criticizing the citizens of Lhavit and the city themselves. And while the visitors made no attempt to conceal their rude words, only the small and frightened Thulli had yet challenged their views.

[Alses]

It was late Spring, tantalisingly close to the deep golden glory of Summer and all the joys that most congenial of seasons brought a Synaborn Ethaefal. True to form at this time of year, Alses’ progress towards the Radiant Tower and the work of the day was slow and stately; she was enjoying the waxing photon rain from Syna, the rising warmth and the explosion of foliage and flower that it brought to the starry city.

It was a natural cycle that the Ethaefal were gloriously in-tune with – the Synaborn, at any rate – waxing and waning with the life of the wider world, and Alses gloried in it, the sunlight sparkling off her fire-opal skin and dancing in her crown-of-horns. It was a far cry from winter, where she went robed and hooded and cloaked, layers of fabric clutched tight around her body and shoulders hunched against the icy world and the cold that settled into her bones at every opportunity.

Zintia Peak was something of a favoured haunt for the Ethaefal, Surya Plaza doubly so, always throbbing and thrumming with a thousand thousand different auras, a mixing and shifting melange, an unpredictable charivari of weltering impressions evoked from the crowds that washed through the central peak, gawping and buying and selling and arguing and kissing and talking and bursting with life in all its myriad forms. It was a vibrant and ever-changing sea that Alses threw herself into with abandon, slicing through the ephemeral waves and glittering filigree webs of the artist unseen with consummate ease and grace.

The skill had been hard-won, but to stand at the pinnacle of auristics and bathe in the feelings and emotions of the world was a true treasure. The city had a law, of course – no public magic – an unfair law that Alses happened to vehemently disagree with, at least in private, but at least it was recognized that aurists could no more turn off their powers than they could stop breathing.

Today, there was something a little unusual in the heady sea – it sparkled and glimmered and shimmered almost more than the flexing skyglass that signalled a construction in progress, a scintillating lightshow for an aurist in all the spectrum of excitement and glee.

Skyglass, under the influence of the glittering Constellation, grew fast; mere chimes, once the spark was struck by Zintila’s priesthood. Because of that, everything had to be just so before the arcano-divine process was begun in earnest, lest it result in expensive reconstruction and repositioning further down the line. Such precision took time. Watching the ‘glass grow, though, rising and glimmering and dancing to the tune of the Akka like the most spectacular snake ever, that was a spectacle worth watching, worth waiting for.

The crowds parted for her, natural as water sluicing round a rock as Alses moved closer to the Akka and their meticulous preparations. She cast a thought forward through time, to the impending lateness of her arrival to the Tower, and Mercadier’s eyebrow that would be raised in no uncertain terms.

Ah well. He could wait.

Her motion towards the front and a ringside seat on the unfolding arcano-technical marvel that would shortly occur was arrested in short order, though, jarring the Shinya who tended to accompany her, as the auristic atmosphere of the Plaza – or, to be more accurate, the shining strands and blooms of this particular section of it – was changed, twisted and altered by a tight whorl of less-than-pleasant emotions off to her right.

Alses changed course abruptly; curiosity – a skipping silver flash to her augmented senses, bright and glowing and with a susurrating echo underlying it – danced out from her, and from several others close by. Perhaps others would have been wary of approaching, but Alses had little in the way of shyness, and something of an official mandate when it came to oddities like this and the exploration of new – or simply troubling – things.

As she approached, she caught the tail-end, at least, of the Isurians’ conversation. A frown flickered across her perfect features for a moment before she regained control of her expressions. Politics had taught her that emotions were sometimes best hidden; wearing one’s heart on one’s sleeve was a surefire way of getting hurt, of being exploited. It was a balancing act, in many ways – open and approachable versus closed-off and invulnerable, and picking which was most appropriate for a given situation was something she was still learning.

Talora and Aysel both had it down to a fine art.

Golden strands of djed unfurled from Alses’ soul as she poured a little more magic into the engines of her auristics, driving them faster and deeper than their simple resting state, spinning a sparkling diaphanous webwork in mere ticks that settled, light as a feather, onto the tight thunderhead-whorl of emotions. A thought, a twist to the power saw them split and split and split again, drinking in every facet, every secret, every shiver and nuanced ripple of the auras that were generating the discordant note.

Alses worked with a master’s light touch, every erg of her own magic attuned and shaped so that it slipped like a minnow through the ambient currents of the world’s own djed. A welcome side-effect was that it made it hard for others, even trained others, to pinpoint the magic that was moving and working, and made it still more difficult to locate the source.

Necessary, for the moment.

She bent her mind to the task in hand, even as some small part of her kept one leg pacing in front of the other, closing the physical distance even as Alses leapt mentally over it, suckling greedily on the information that her auristics obediently – no, gleefully – fed back to her.

A small group, utterly alien to Lhavit, a condensed and closed-in feeling in contrast to the open diffusion that so characterised many citizens of the starry city. They were vibrant, colourful with the repressed – no, concentrated, compressed – energies of their souls, even if the emotions curling off them were less than uplifting. Alses tasted metal on her tongue, smelt stone-dust and the distinctive empty, musty tang of caverns and the dark spaces beneath the earth resonating with her memories.

She pulled a face – caves and Alses did not get along, not in the least. More interestingly, there was an elusive flicker, a shifting sprite of divinity running through each and every one of the alien auras she was perusing. Something she’d felt before, but rarely, something deeper and more innate than an imprinted gnosis mark, something related but most assuredly different to the ringing celestial shock of another Ethaefal and their multitudes of fading lives.

Almost at the last tick, Alses remembered to stop and use her physical senses. So immured in auristics was she that it sometimes took a little time to recall their use; people to her were more often recognized, expressed, remembered in terms of the radiation of their soul than their mundane physical characteristics; it took a little for her to remember that sometimes mundanity could be useful.

A momentary clamp-down on her magic cleared her sight, the endless regressionals, complex currents and impossible geometries of auristics receded to a faint glimmer as Alses ruthlessly starved that part of her of djed and took stock of her immediate focus.
The group she was interested in were short, strong-thewed and stocky, alien in their dress and manner. They seemed subtly on the defensive, prickling at the mere ambience of the city, every fibre of their beings standing foursquare against the bright character of Lhavit, a discordant bar thrumming defiantly against the natural flow of the city.

One moved, mouth shaping further words that bloomed into the storm-purple of scorn and frustration, arm glinting dully in the sunlight, and Alses suddenly had a word to put to the foreign feeling at the sight of it: Isur.

Like Aska Terras, the city’s premier blacksmith – but unlike her, these visitors – they could be nothing else – were unpolished, unsmoothed by long exposure to the city and her citizens, her way of life. They were a grating burr against the silk-smooth susurrus of the rest of the city, becoming all the more so with every word they spoke.

“By Izentor's palm, the sooner we can leave this wretched sky-city, the sooner we can return to a civilized society.”

Alses fought, again, to keep her displeasure from showing. By now she was close, close enough to speak and easily be heard, the little bubble of space around her almost meeting the berth that the citizens were giving the tight knot of Isur, two gaps in the press of people, almost the same size but for very different reasons.

At least, Alses hoped they were for different reasons.

“By Syna’s light,” she said, voice clear and carrying and consciously imitating the style of the last speaker, “I confess to curiosity: what about Lhavit so offends your sensibilities?” Alses tempered it with a gracious smile; there was no sense in adding any extra fuel to feed the fires.

[Kaik Leyr]

A young man walked in the crowds of people, just another forgettable face, yet he was far different than any normal citizen. Two small, wooden figures walked by his side donned in clothing masking their true nature. Their clothing were odd for the season, but that didn’t matter when they faded into the crowds. Nobody cared for another when they had a destination in mind. Kaik was no exception.

He had intended to look for work and hoped in doing so would clear his mind of what had happened. Still in the back of his mind he knew that he could not forget. After a chime he noticed another crowd growing around what appeared to be the construction of a new building. Curiosity begged him to investigate.

Two stalls were already set up for the event, though Kaik had no interest in what they sold. Oliver and Arya seemed to share in his disinterest, though Kaik expected nothing else. What he truly was interested in was blocked in view by the groups of people swarming to see the spectacle.

No chance of getting to see what seems to be catching everyone’s attention. Oh well, really should be focused on finding a job anyways.

Despite what he thought, the young Animator still remained near the area of the event. He had not noticed the quiet tune of the musician until then. For a moment he considered throwing a few jades toward the musician, but his eyes caught an odd sight.

Two children without their parents stood at the edge of the crowd. Kaik prefered to stay out of the business of others, yet he could keep his eyes off the two kids. He felt a sliver of anger toward their parents for leaving them alone even if they were under the eyes of the public. A memory of his mother flashed in his mind only to be pushed away by his emotions. Kaik decided to keep a watchful eye on the children despite knowing how ridiculous his concerns were.

After waiting for a few chimes a sight even odder than the last appeared before him. He moved closer toward the group of Isur hidden in the crowds who also took notice of the sight.

Never before had Kaik ever seen an Isur, but just like any other he at least knew of who they were. At first he was amused of the introduction the girl had with the Isur, how they both addressed themselves as great, but the fun soon disappeared as the groups rudeness and arrogance became evident. He felt both shame and pride when the young boy questioned the words of the Isurian. No other seemed to want to stand up to the Isur’s views and left it only to a child to question their words.

Kaik was glad the mother was there to take her children away for he felt it better for them not to hear what that Isur had to say.

The strength of the Isurian were clear to anybody who looked, but still Kaik thought everyone in the crowd would have said their words of anger, yet nobody said anything. Even with the children gone the voices of the Isurian group continued to criticize the city and its people. Though nobody did anything Kaik was sure he could feel the anger of the people around him. Kaik wanted to speak out, tired of the silence of the people toward the Isurs. Just when he picked up the courage to move forward into the empty space the people created around the strangers, another came to speak out.

Despite the different shades of her hair and horns he still recognized the women. Alses, the Councillor Radiant, responsible for all magic in Lhavit.

Such a powerful position to have. Can’t believe I actually had the chance to have met her. Well...it’s good she’s here, I don’t have to say anything now.

Satisfied with whom was to confront the Isurs Kaik watched in safety from the crowds making sure to take in every line that is said between the two opposing sides. There was a smile on the Councilors face as she asked her question, yet Kaik could not help but doubt how real her smile was. There have been many different smiles Kaik had seen and used, so he felt Alses smile was of the angry type. Of course he knew the counselor could have held a different emotion, but he was sure she was angry.

He thought the Councilor's emotions were obvious taking in account what her job would entail. Kaik felt certain Alses loved the city, since her job had to been demanding if she was in charge of taking care of magic in Lhavit.

What other reason would drive a person to just handle such a position? She even helped in that investigation a few seasons ago.

No matter what he felt, Kaik had to stay and watch the events unfold. He wanted to know if he was right in thinking Alses loved the city and he wanted to see what would happen to the Isur.

It seemed he would have to find another time to get a job.

Boxcode by Yra

[Bennar Witt]

Skyglass, the beauty of the glittering substance was only one of the many reasons Benji did not regret his move to the city. In the late Spring light it shone proudly around the city, old and new. The elegant architecture reinforced the Lhavitian belief that their city was the greatest in the world. Benji thought on that a moment. He had seen one more city than most people see, but there were far more cities that he had never even heard of. Gently nudging his way through the crowd to see the fabled construction methods of these Akka, he had a hard time disagreeing with the native people of Lhavit.

Syna graced them with a bright day, and though the Lhavit he was accustomed to was that under Leth, he could appreciate the wonderfully vibrant weather. Benji bumped a passerby on his way through the crowd and winced. It had been his right arm. He had not been hurt by the contact, but merely winced out of habit. For most of the season he had been gingerly nursing his arm back to health after a vicious overgiving bout. He slid fingers across the now smooth bump of one of the seven scars on his arm. It had been a hard spring for him, with limited mobility and a throbbing ache. The mental repercussions of the night had left a deep stress on him as well, affecting his sleep. He was pale and his eyes were a bit bloodshot from it.
But today was a different day, and he had recovered from that. Now he was blessed to witness one of the most wonderful processes of Lhavit!

After a few years in the city he found that he was far more happy than he had been in Alvadas, though that could arguably be more to do with who was in Alvadas rather than the perks of Lhavit. But he chose not to see it that way.

The crowd was fixated on the Akka’s project for the most part. He saw that some of the more ambitious and forward thinking vendors had set up along the edge of the crowd, ready to make an honest profit from them if opportunity favored them. Benji was making his way to a tea vendor who boasted some chilled tea. He had become quite smitten with Lhavitian tea in the past season. But as he was making his way over to the vendor he caught a glimpse of a familiar flash of blonde hair and horns. Alses!

Benji smiled at spotting what could only be the Councillor Radiant. She was facing and speaking to someone Benji could not see over the crowd. In that moment Benji forgot the tea vendor and turned instead to make his way over to Alses. It was a rare thing when he saw an acquaintance during the day, since he worked night shifts at the Club. And Alses was quite an acquaintance to see.

He slid between the Lhavitians around her and approached with a big smile, ready to greet her. But it slowly faded from his face as he caught a bit of what was being said and whom she was talking to. Benji had nudged his way into a small clearing of the crowd in which Alses faced three squat Isur. Their negativity hung in the air and rippled through the crowd around in their words’ wake.

Benji frowned and looked the three of them up and down. Squat but built, they carried the hardy body type that he had come to associate with his thoughts of Isur. Alses, for her part, seemed to be smiling at them, so he was not sure if this was what it seemed to be.

“Lady Alses! Good to see you again!” Benji decided to introduce himself to the situation, just in case he could be of aid to what he hoped was a friend. He stepped forward with a well practiced smile on hand and a glance at the Isur. “I see you are in conversation.” He glanced at the Isur again. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything?”

Benji clasped his hands at his waist and smiled congenially to the group. “Ah some foreign guests come to take part in some Lhavitian trade? You are lucky to be witness to this construction friends!” He let the smile fade for a moment as he glanced between the three.

[Lisana]

Lisana clutched her little sister's hand, and Saira cheerfully dragged her to the Surya Plaza. Liz had promised she'd bring her sister to see the new building being constructed on Zintia Peak, and was glad she could spend some time with Saira. They arrived to the Plaza, to see a small crowd that had appeared. "C'mon!" came an excited chirp from the small child, who continued to yank on Lisana's arm, bringing her to the front of the crowd, so as to get the best possible view. "Okay, calm down," Liz muttered to Saira, not seeing what the fuss was about. It was just another building. But even then, a grin adorned her face. It was rare that the animator could spend times like these with her sister, and Lisana wanted to make the most of it.

Her little sister, however, was predominantly interested in the creation of the building, and she sat down on the ground, watching it come together, piece by piece, fascinated.

Lisana glanced at the many street vendors, and a slight growl echoed from her stomach. "Come on, let's go get some food." Saira glanced up, shaking her head, mesmerized by the creation of a new architectural feat. Lisana understood, leaving to get some food for the two of them. The first vendor she found was selling starfruit, and she bought one for herself, along with a small bag of candy for Saira, from the other stall.

As she walked, she took a good glance around. Music played across the plaza, mixing in with the white noise of a plethora of voices, chattering away with the friendly, respectful manners of small talk. Skyglass glistened in Syna's light, brighter than ever, as it was nearly summer, and because it was being molded before her.

Liz began to make her way back to where her sister sat, but was quickly distracted by what seemed to be a group of people. They were seemingly normal people, excepting the fact that each had a strange, colored arm. There seemed to be the slightest bit of bickering, and as Lisana approached the group, she began to overhear what was being said. Their condescending words towards Kalea's diamond offended Lisana, and she almost intercepted, before an Ethaefal interrupted their discussion. As a result, the girl simply stood back, watching the woman oppose the foreigners' opinions.

Another man then approached the group, and Lisana almost immediately recognized him as a bartender at The Obsidian Club. He spoke to the ethaefal, calling her "Alses." It took the girl a moment, but Lisana finally realized she was a member of the Council of Radiance.

The bartender evidently didn't know what'd been going on, his cheerful lack of knowing entertaining. He'd figure it out soon enough.

Mesmerized by the discussion, two multicolored eyes watched the conversation. Lisana's thoughts of Saira and the food in her hand faded away, as she listened to the music being played, and what was going on before her.

Saira probably wouldn't even notice Liz was gone.

[Neologism]

x"By Syna’s light... I confess to curiosity: what about Lhavit so offends your sensibilities?" Shari, the female Isur, merely rolled her eyes as if the answer was obvious. The younger Isur gave her a knowing look, but Aldeman began to reply.

"This." A stone arm cut the air in front of him to motion towards the vendors that were clearly juicing the crowd for its worth. "That." He motioned towards an oncoming man with a peculiar doll by his side, the likes of which the Isur was not previously exposed to but to engrossed in Alses to thoroughly investigate. "You. Why should I need to explain it? Can't you see well enough or--" A glare from Dathor silenced him as his voice raised, attracting the attention of even more. For the few that approached, they found the Isur forming an almost defensive diamond together. The hot-headed Isur, Aldeman crossed his arms at Kaik's approach, raising his height to glare up at the man and down at his doll.

"I see you are in conversation. I hope I’m not interrupting anything?" Shira ground her teeth at the piper approach of Bennar. Patience. Patience and Industry. Patience. A rhythmic hum flowed in her thought as blue eyes glared down the human. But she made no move towards him. "Ah, some foreign guests come to take part in some Lhavitian trade? You are lucky to be witness to this construction friends!"

"Yes, 'Trade'." The woman huffed under her breathe, turning to see another citizen taking interest. The unease of the Isur was becoming obvious, although their confidence radiated from the group so thickly any nervousness was concealed just as easily.

"My dear, um..." Dathor waited for the woman to provide her name, using his authority to calm his companion's edge as he spoke, but making no such effort for the Lhavitians. "Yes, Alses." He smiled patronizingly, deliberately leaving out any titles she may be used to in being addressed. "You see, I can hardly expect you to understand how your society is so broken. It is truly fascinating how you humans survive in such chaos, and yet it is not surprising. Your kind does feed from chaos, does it not?" He words were slow and drawn out as the man held his eye contact with the Ethaefal. The words were mere velvet, procured with diplomatic care, but heavily laced in such a way to provoke the Councilor, if not her maybe one of her companions. Dathor brought his left hand up to stroke the wisps of a goatee that framed his sly grin, turning towards the approaching woman now, targeting her.

"Even now, a child leaves another to fend for herself, more interested in an Isur (although we are very interesting, I understand), than the safety of her companion. Even though your village," He let the word settle for a tick before continuing. "Is small... The simply fact that your own law enforcement has no connection to your justice system... well..." Dathor took a step towards Lisana, bringing his hand forward almost as if he was to stroke her hair, as if she was a dear child. "I would watch were you let her roam." The conceited patronizing filled his features again and he tilted his head as if to pity her lack of judgement.

Aldeman, released with the antagonizing confidence of his leader, stepped towards the animator now. His lack of knowledge of the thing by Kaik's side made Aldeman bristle and all the more ready to challenge him, but he still said nothing. Blue eyes burned with a challenge for the human to make the first move and release him from his self-control. "Very pitiful." He concluded in agreement to Dathor. Although the two words were meant to finish Dathor's take on Lisana, it was clear that he intended to offend Kaik.

oocVery sorry about the time it took me to get back to you guys, things should flow smoother now. Alright, this should be a rather short thread, so as long as we keep posting we should not run too far into the next season.

[Alses]

OOCApologies for the delay; exams

At Aldeman’s blunt and vitriol-filled reply, Alses blinked. She’d not been expecting quite such…forthrightness. Her gaze quickly turned speculative, eyes narrowing and obediently darting to everything that was apparently offensive about the city.

“No. No, I see the lifeblood of commerce thrumming through the Plaza, I see people relaxing, I see skilled priests about to perform a piece of difficult magic, and I see people increasingly wondering what all the fuss is about. I do not, however, see what you’re finding so appalling about a living city. We would not have asked you the question-” she added, a subtle little rebuke, “-if we already knew the answer.”

At that point, Bennar’s cheery greeting, irrepressible even under the withering fire of the stony-faced and flinty-eyed Isur, rolled across the little group, steadfastly refusing to be cowed. Alses, for her part, was glad of the interruption, and the chance to cool the fires that had been building inside her before she said something she’d regret.

“Ah, and pleasure to see you too, Mr. Witt.” A genuine smile flickered over her lips even as she gave him a short half-bow and gestured towards the merchant party that were the current focus of attention. “We enjoyed our conversation when last we met – although you must forgive me right now; these gentlemen-” and to Alses’ credit there was nary a pause nor a skip in her delivery, even though she felt, deep down inside, that the tight knot of Isur were anything but “-are finding it a little difficult to adjust to our city’s fair splendours.” Alses wove the subtle implication that their own home - wherever that might be - wasn’t quite up to par into her delivery, a near-subconscious thought that she aimed at the gathering crowd, a little something to soothe the listening Lhavitians.

There was tolerance, and then there was utter passivity, and whilst the citizens of the glittering city were tolerant, by and large, they wouldn’t simply lie down and allow others to trample over all that had been built. There was a streak of pride running through every Lhavitian – Alses included - that nothing would extinguish, and the prickling, unthinking arrogance of the Isur traders was beginning to grate. Alses could see it in the tarnishing of the auras all around, the unravelling of the finest filigree threads, and even without the benefit of auristics the Shinya close by were surely also sensing it too, a trouble spot growing in the otherwise-serene plaza.

Alses gave the impudent Isur a bright, broad and utterly superficial smile, letting the poisoned words – and the purposeful insult – wash over and through her, without leaving so much as a mark. Externally, at least; internally, she was fuming. “In point of fact, my kind – not humans - feeds directly from the solar bounty of Syna above,” she pointed out cheerfully. “Not chaos. So much more efficient than the whole messy business of eating and drinking.”

Alses listened with mounting dislike as Dathor turned his scorn on one of the other people who’d come to see what all the ruckus was about. ‘Not connected?’ she thought, indignation and a certain wryly patronising air warring for dominance in her head. ‘There are connections, all right! Here in our version of civilisation, you oaf, we don’t think it’s terribly wise to have a single guard, or even a group of them, serve as judge, jury and executioner. I might think there’s a special grey and boring afterlife circuit that Lhex reserves for lawyers and their ilk, but there are still times when I’m glad we have them.’

A slightly more fanged grin cut across her face at another thought, one darker and more filled with rage, as the leader of the Isur laid into yet another citizen. ‘In fact, just try something. Go on, do! I’ll bet you don’t make it five steps before someone gives your smug face a righteous pounding, or the Shinya haul you a hundred feet into the air and give you the three-tick tour of the city. Or both.’ Alses suppressed a mean-spirited little chuckle that was entirely unworthy of the Councillor Radiant at the thought of Dathor sailing helplessly through the sky overhead, stomach rebelling at every twist and turn. She’d been told most criminals ended up vomiting helplessly after a few ticks of that. ‘I wonder how strong your stomachs are.’

But no. She couldn’t rise to Dathor’s provocations – he knew what he was doing; he had to. She had to be diplomatic, to try and defuse the tension – Talora and Aysel would expect nothing less.

A pause. “Enlighten me, Dathor, was it? Our society is…’broken’. If one accepts that premise - how would you make it better, then? This is the Diamond of Kalea; we’re not averse to new ideas, new improvements.”

‘And if you say one more snide, arrogant and self-serving little homily, we won’t be held accountable,’ She added, feeling the anger strain against her own internal barriers.

He could say whatever he jolly well pleased about her, and she wouldn’t care – Dathor was not Alses, after all, and nor was he a citizen or friend of the city, and as such his opinions carried little weight.

What was not acceptable were disparaging remarks on the state of her city, or comments about her goddess.

[Kaik Leyr]

Kaik watched in the front of the crowds as a relatively young man walked into the empty circle that had surrounded Alses and the Isur. The young animator had resisted the urge of placing his head head into his arms.

How can one not notice how tense things are now? Yet he just barged into this so...untactfully. Argh! I just...feel like lecturing this guy. He should of just left it to the Councilor! Now they have another target.

In the middle of a thought Kaik noticed an Isur motioning at him.

Huh? Why is he pointing at me? I wasn’t listening.

Another Isur glared up at Kaik as if had done something to offend him. His gaze then focused on the dolls at his side. It was not as if the Isur’s gaze intimidated him, in fact Kaik thought his glare was lacking, but still Kaik felt somewhat nervous unsure of what or why the Isur had taken an interest in him. Without an answer to how he should respond, Kaik just looked right back at Aldeman. If it had been two seasons ago then Kaik would have faltered and cowered before the Isur’s glare, but that was not the case. Kaik tasted true pain and seen the look of people ready to die and kill. He just could not see the intent to kill in the Isur’s eyes, but still Kaik had only tasted pain and could not know what the Isur was willing to do.

The person Kaik thought to be the leader of the group began to speak of how broken Lhavit was. To Kaik it seemed his words were meant to antagonize the crowds, but were directed at the Councilor Radiant. Kaik himself held no great pride for Lhavit, but still he did not appreciate what the Isur were doing, he especially disliked what had happen with the children before.

Still not taking any action toward the Isur, Kaik followed the gaze of Dathor as it led him to a familiar face. He wanted to greet Lisana, but he decided the situation would not allow that. Instead he listened as the venomous words spilled from the Isur and Alses response. When the Isur brought his hands forward something pushed Kaik forward. He did not what it was that caused him to move, but whatever it was he felt certain it was what he wanted to do.

No matter if Dathor had not intended to touch Lisana Kaik still placed himself in front of his fellow Animator. His dolls in turn followed his lead, Oliver at the back right side of his Father while Arya stood at the back left of him. They had had maneuvered themselves unintentionally to form an arrow like formation where Lisana stood in the center. Slowly, Kaik spoke and emphasized each word said as he looked into the Isur’s eyes, “Don’t you dare touch her. Say no more to her...she, herself did nothing to you.”

Why’d I do that? I don’t know. I think..she’s a friend? Is she? I just...why did do that? It’s not he was actually going to touch her..but it just...irks me that he tried that.

The Isur from before, the one that glared at Kaik, approached him. Nothing was said between the two, yet Aldeman’s eyes said everything to Kaik. His words followed behind what Dathor had meant for Lissna but it was clear to the Doll Maker it was meant for him. He returned the words said with a glare filled with the exact same loathing Aldeman showed, “Yes...pitiful.”

What do these Isurs mean to accomplish? They just spouted insults where everyone could hear them, did they expect there wouldn’t be trouble? It’s ridiculous. Now this Isur wants to start a fight. I won’t give in to that.

The incident Kaik had at the Surya Plaza taught showed the consequences of having a public brawl. It was lucky a passerby got away with just an injury, but it still worried him what worse things could have happened to that passerby.

Kaik let out a quiet breath of air. He kept his eyes on Aldeman just waiting for him to try anything. It was true the young animator did not want to start a fight, but he would still welcome one despite his own lack of skills in combat.

Nothing will happen here. We’re just going to ‘talk’. They won’t do anything but talk. I have to do the same. Just gotta calm down and pay no attention to their words.

Boxcode by Yra

[Lisana]

The city's visitors were arrogant, and condescending. As the woman with the ethaefal horns continued to defend Lhavit, Lisana merely watched, intrigued. She agreed with the ethaefal, who was named Alses, according to the bartender.

These strangers continued to share condescending statements, and Lisana became more and more annoyed and aggravated. Who do they think they are? the Isur shouldn't have been drawing conclusions from an outsider's point of view. They clearly hadn't been in the city long, and couldn't have seen enough to realize its beauty.

When such statements were flung at Lisana, her annoyance and frustration towards these people was clear, and her brow furrowed in anger. But Liz didn't say anything, sure that these people would refuse to listen to reason. It took all her strength and self-control to keep from curling her hands into fists. She did her best to conceal her anger. But who did they think they were, talking like this about Kalea's diamond.

"She can take care of herself. And I can see her from here. She won't wander off." Lisana firmly believed Saira was reliable enough not to leave. The child was independent, and rational enough.

"K-Kaik!" As he stepped in front of Lisana, the girl was taken aback, surprised at the man suddenly defending her. Liz had assumed he was mad at her, or at least at the situation they'd gotten into. Although, she was glad that the word killer wasn't the first to reach her mind, after what had happened before.

Liz was thankful that he'd been nice enough to defend her, although she doubted that the Isur would hurt her. At least, not physically. The blow to her ego was prominent, and painful enough.

Lisana knew very little about the city's justice system, but doubted that what they'd said about it was true. Alses continued to defend Lhavit, soothing Lisana enough so that she was no longer angry. Alses would defend all of them.

Lisana's thoughts returned to Saira, and she glanced at where the child was sitting. Her sister was still staring at the construction, mesmerized. She would be fine, and Lisana's attention reverted back to the conversation at hand.

They're just words. It doesn't matter what these people think. Lisana knew Lhavit was great, even if these people thought otherwise.