[Cal] Discerning the shadows

Ellysandra goes to Cal to discuss the matter of a mystery immortal. (Think it's your imm Yasi, this happened shortly before your rp :P.)
Characters: Caliah, Elly

Study
This room is a comfortable looking refuge from the rest of the of the
Castle that appears to be frequently used and bears a slightly cluttered
look. The windows on the north, east and west sides of the room overlook
the extensive lands of Lorvalis in each direction. The south wall is
dominated by two bookshelves filled with old tomes and weathered scrolls.
Just in front of the northern windows is a huge desk covered with papers,
reports and writing instruments. Next to the desk is a large stand that
unrolls to reveal different maps of Seria, Alandis and the other lands of
M'Dhoria. The floor has been covered with a thin carpet made from neutral
colors that is obviously meant to be practical and not decorational.
Compared to the rest of the Castle it is much more simplistic in design and
furnishings. The door to the south leads to the East Wing.


[Exits: south]
(Humming) (tarnished) A fine black cloak with silver fringe lies here.
A large desk rests ostentatiously within the corner of the room.
A vault made from mithril stands in the corner.
Looking ready to strike, a shadow wolf stands silently just behind its master.
A small woman wearing a large, black hood is here.

You close the door to the south.

A small woman wearing a large, black hood pulls back a large, black hood, revealing her face.

Caliah settles back on the desk, nodding amiably at Ellysandra.

Ellysandra says to Caliah in common, cheerfully, 'Thank you for seeing me.'

Caliah says to Ellysandra in common, coolly, 'It's no trouble at all. I do wish I'd managed to address this sooner.'

Ellysandra coughs slightly and clears her throat.

Caliah's eye is caught by a stray bit of paper poking out from a recently sorted pile, and she pulls it out to have a quick look.

Caliah says to Ellysandra in common, glancing up, 'Might I first ask whether this has anything to do with the Enigma?'

Ellysandra says to Caliah in common, somewhat slowly, 'I am not certain. The entire encounter was rather... personal.'

Caliah says to Ellysandra in common, a slender eyebrow arching slightly, the papers seemingly forgotten, 'Personal in what respect...? The god evinced interest in yourself?'

Ellysandra shuffles about slightly, with an awkward shrug.

Ellysandra says to Caliah in common, nodding, 'It was strange to tell, but it happened more or less like this...'

Canting her head in mild inquiry, Caliah leans back, folding her arms and clasping her elbows as she regards Ellysandra quietly.

Ellysandra takes a deep breath.

Ellysandra says to Caliah in common, eyes half-closed, 'I was at the corthic man's place, attempting to lift his thick piece of cloth...'

Ellysandra says to Caliah in common, eyes half-closed, 'It was a failed attempt, and I woke him up. We began to tussle...'

Ellysandra says to Caliah in common, eyes half-closed, 'And in the midst of that fight, a voice in a soft hiss whispers to be that my god has abandoned me...'

Ellysandra says to Caliah in common, eyes half-closed, 'I was taken slightly aback at that, and I uttered a silent prayer, hoping for some answer... hoping that it was false...'

Ellysandra says to Caliah in common, eyes half-closed, 'But I heard nothing. Not long after that, I had subdued the corthic man, but I was now not paying any attention to him...'

Ellysandra says to Caliah in common, eyes half-closed, 'The voice continued to query me on my faith in a dead god, and that took me by surprise.'

Caliah's violet eyes narrow almost imperceptibly as Ellysandra continues with her narrative, the barest flicker of something unreadable in that level gaze.

Ellysandra says to Caliah in common, eyes half-closed, 'At that moment, I asked if the Enigma took Rhiane, and from nowhere, a pair of eyes gazes into mine, but I had no clue what it intended...'

Ellysandra sends you an OOC message saying 'i think it was trying to charm me... ^_^'
You send an OOC message to Ellysandra saying 'lol!'

Ellysandra says to Caliah in common, eyes half-closed, 'That gaze unsettled my instincts however, and I lashed out...'

Ellysandra says to Caliah in common, eyes half-closed, 'And that would possibly be the first time I did attempt to take out an immortal being. I was immediately humbled, of course...'

Ellysandra says to Caliah in common, eyes half-closed, 'But my mind was no longer thinking straight, and I resorted to my baser instincts, which was to run and place a slick, and all that stuff...'

Ellysandra says to Caliah in common, eyes half-closed, 'It was only on hindsight that I realised that the presence was toying with me, since I was only recently stunned, but suddenly had all the strength to run, strangely restored...'

Shifting with the faint creak of armour and leather, Caliah utters a soft exhalation akin to a snort, whether of disgust or irritation difficult to discern; she motions for Ellysandra to go on.

Ellysandra says to Caliah in common, eyes half-closed, 'The voice found me again, just a few paces from where I was struck down, and this time, with many a caress, asked me to pledge myself to it, to renounce my current faith in a dead god...'

Ellysandra sends you an OOC message saying 'i'm really having to work this out ICly. :P'

Ellysandra says to Caliah in common, eyes half-closed, 'I tried to gather what senses I still had, and sought to discover who exactly I was going to pledge to... but the voice remained just that.. a voice that had no discernable material being...'

Caliah says to Ellysandra in common, in a flat, level tone, 'So. A god seeks to gather the followers of those fallen at the Enigma's hands. Why am I not surprised. You are aware, Ellysandra, tbat the faith of followers gives many deities their strength? Or so they claim.'

Ellysandra says to Caliah in common, eyes half-closed, 'I did think it was something along those lines. Though that would also mean that I might have been faltering enough in my own faith to allow Rhiane's demise.'

Ellysandra opens her eyes fully.

Ellysandra says to Caliah in common, softly, 'But if this was so, why not reveal itself to me?'

Caliah opens her mouth to answer, only to close it with an audible snap, slanting a keen, thoughtful glance at Ellysandra.

Caliah says to Ellysandra in common, finally, 'I am tempted to say immortal whim, or some test they wished to put you through. Quite a few seem to be choosy in the manner of selecting their followers, if their priests aren't up to the task. Although, the Enigma is strong, Elly.'

Caliah says to Ellysandra in common, coolly, 'I wouldn't have put it to mere lack of faith that Rhiane fell.'

Ellysandra says to Caliah in common, nodding, 'I did try to gain more understanding, thinking that it was Sativa that was back to claim me from the last time I slipped the ethereal realm. So I mentioned Sativa's name, only to be called a whore, somewhat vehemently.'

Ellysandra says to Caliah in common, softly, 'But this time, there was no lashing out.'

Ellysandra says to Caliah in common, softly, 'The voice only hinted that I already know who it was, and that I'd get it in time.'

Ellysandra rubs her forehead gently.

Caliah says to Ellysandra in common, musing, her eyelids drifting half-shut, 'Why would Sativa's name be anathema to a god? Death is necessary for all things, save the gods themselves.'

Caliah says to Ellysandra in common, blandly, 'And time, though even that is a debatable point. '

Ellysandra says to Caliah in common, slowly, 'I think the reaction was mostly because I said 'I am yours, Sativa'... thinking it was so...'

Caliah says to Ellysandra in common, in the same even cadences of one deliberating a point at leisure, 'Not even the gods who account themselves light are always gentle with those they would have for followers...'

Caliah says to Ellysandra in common, coolly, 'But the fashion in which you were invited...or coaxed, made so doubt would be seeded in your heart...'

Ellysandra nods at you in agreement.

Caliah says to Ellysandra in common, her expression subtler now, near-inscrutable, 'Puts me in mind more of the dark lords.'

Caliah says to Ellysandra in common, wryly, 'Unless they wanted you to think them so, which could very well be the case.'

Ellysandra says to Caliah in common, frowning slightly, 'When I said I'd serve, the voice replied that it wanted more of a partner...'

Ellysandra shudders slightly.

You send an OOC message to Ellysandra saying 'omfg I know who it is.'
Ellysandra sends you an OOC message saying 'no kidding? lol...'
You send an OOC message to Ellysandra saying 'Yessss'

The selfsame flicker of thought fleets across Caliah's face like a ripple of light reflected across water, quickening into something akin to incredulity and realisation both. She holds Ellysandra in calm, intent scrutiny, her lips drawn in a thin line.

Ellysandra says to Caliah in common, softly, 'About the only other thing I could discern was a play of shadows... and then silence.'

Caliah says to Ellysandra in common, her voice soft, and yet cutting, 'Ellysandra. Which god do you know, according to ancient lore, was once numbered of your race?'

Ellysandra looks up sharply at you and tilts her head.

Ellysandra says to Caliah in common, somewhat slowly, 'I thought I did read something about a johgo's soul being involved with the Enigma... would that be it?'

Caliah says to Ellysandra in common, gesturing to forestall any more words that might come in reply, 'It is the first guess that sprang to mind, and as such may only remain that. A guess. Kyvorr was known to select partners of different race, but one deity's name occurred to me.'

Ellysandra says to Caliah in common, with some surprise, 'Kyvorr? But isn't that what the Pure's...'

Caliah says to Ellysandra in common, pausing, 'I am uncertain of his involvement with the Enigma, if it all...'

Ellysandra shakes her head.

Ellysandra says to Caliah in common, softly, 'I know next to nothing about Kyvorr, in truth.'

Caliah says to Ellysandra in common, shaking her head, 'Nay, not Kyvorr. He was merely an example of a god willing to overlook race, but what you told me thus far seems to point to another.'

Ellysandra says to Caliah in common, nodding now, 'This would not happen to be... Yeniel of Deception?'

Caliah says to Ellysandra in common, with a single, precise nod, 'None other. Does he not seem to be, at this point, the most fitting?'

Ellysandra says to Caliah in common, softly, 'It does make sense... the shadows, the race... the approach... maybe even some understanding why a person such as I would be counted as attractive.'

Ellysandra coughs.

Ellysandra says to Caliah in common, clearing her throat, 'Maybe attractive was the wrong word to use....'

Caliah says to Ellysandra in common, her mouth quirked, 'By your account it seems he thought so. You mustn't forget to consider that your abilities might have appealed to him as well, if you wish to be pragmatic.'

Ellysandra says to Caliah in common, a slight grin tugging at the corner of her lips, 'I was thinking foremost about my abilities. And also the fact that my lifestyle does suit those commonly understood to be followers of Yeniel.'

Ellysandra frowns slightly.

Ellysandra says to Caliah in common, softly, 'But if that be so, I may soon become more of a liability to Aschal, rather than a help.'

Caliah clears her throat mutedly, her gaze meandering momentarily past Ellysandra as if considering something unsaid.

Ellysandra strokes a shadow wolf absentmindedly.

Ellysandra says to Caliah in common, softly, 'I'm glad we had the chance to speak of this. I'd not link the chain of logic as you have even with the full tale told once before, to Jennet.'

Caliah says to Ellysandra in common, turning once more to her, 'It is true that Yeniel may have chosen you, but your own choice is another matter entirely. Whether your lot lies with us is yet another bridge; cross this one first.'

Caliah says to Ellysandra in common, loosely clasping her hands together, 'Don't pressure yourself on our account.'

Caliah says to Ellysandra in common, after a moment, 'Of course, it may not be him at all; he was said to have been slain by the Enigma, after all. But Kamaria herself is testament to the fact that the Enigma, although invincible, is not the perfect killer.'

Ellysandra sends you an OOC message saying 'in fact, now the more i think about it, the more it makes sense. especially with elly's whole manipulative RP of her execution and narcheska episode...'

You are made more skilled by the gods.

Ellysandra says to Caliah in common, nodding, 'So I've heard, about Kamaria. And so it may be with Yeniel. Who knows, I might just be yet another pawn in his game to return from whatever blow was dealt to him.'

Caliah says to Ellysandra in common, with a soft, humourless laugh, 'It's reassuring to know that most Aschal will look beyond what's offered to them on a plate.'

Ellysandra smiles, but it is flint rather than the glow of humour in her eyes.

Ellysandra says to Caliah in common, motioning for a shadow wolf to follow her, 'I think I've taken too much of your time, as it is.'

Ellysandra looks meaningfully over to the stack of papers on a table.

The door to the south opens.

Eson has arrived from the south.

Caliah says to Ellysandra in common, smoothing a slim hand over the pile, her lips curving wryly, 'I'm only too eager for distractions, I'm afraid. Opportunities to keep my mind sharp come less often than I'd like.'

Eson says in siri, with a high-pitched voice, 'Oops sorry didnt mean to barge in'

Ellysandra tips her head towards Eson in recognition.

Eson grins.

Caliah tilts a discerning eye at Eson, according him a slight nod of greeting.