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THE EDGE OF AEPHIX - YZZAYT'S PROMINENCE - DAWN
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Louma woke relatively well rested for the first time in days, though it still took an hour and some of washing and preening to reverse most of the matted look from her feathers. She doesn't change anything about her morning routine, only managing to put away more food a little faster than usual, and by the time the sun is brushing the ground, Louma is at the door to her abode, making a final adjustment to her feathers before lightly tapping at the door. She waits a few moments for a response from the other side before speaking. "Good morn. Is it too early to wander? I would like to speak... Ask to speak to Xeilzrus... The Whisperer."
Xeilzrus: "Good morning, Sister." The Sauropod guard at the door greets in response. He thinks for a moment in response to Louma's question, looking to his guard counterpart across from him briefly, "I can take you to The Whisperer. But whether he will see you. . .Not up to me." They reply. "Please, follow." The Sauropod sets off throughout Yzzayt's Prominence. He would take Louma back to where she first met Xeilzrus.
Louma bows her head in thanks, nodding to the remaining guard before she follows along. "Thank you." She keeps a demure attitude, though doesn't hesitate to bow and greet any who she's come to know along the way, without holding the guard up of course.
Narrator: The majority of the Saurs are kind enough to Louma as they pass. Some actively greet, others simply look and smile or wave. There are, however, a few who pointedly not look, or do look but in disgust. Soon enough, they are at the ornate amphitheatre where Xeilzrus' throne sits and where he spreads the will of Yzzayt.
Xeilzrus, at the moment, is occupied with a Megalosaurid. In the Saur's short arms, they hold a wooden box out to Xeilzrus, whom reaches down and plucks something from it between three talons. The object is palm-sized, white and transparent, save for thin strands of milky yet structured strands inside. As firelight passes through it, flickering, it shimmers radiant colours onto the stone walls around the amphitheatre. It's a diamond. And a pretty damn large one at that. "Yessss..!" Xeilzrus exclaims lowly. "Very good, child. The Keeper's efforts have produced their most impeccable work yet. This will bring great Glory to Yzzayt!" He exclaims. He clutches the diamond more closely now, holding it close to his chest. "Go, Child. Offer the rest to Yzzayt, with his blessing."
Louma does greet those friendly towards her in kind, but those who glare receive no less than the former, a gentle bow, a demure smile, and she moves on. When they arrive, she hangs back, observing the exchange without obviously staring at first, though her attention is drawn to the throne by specks of glimmering light and Xeilzrus' exclamations. Her expression falters for a moment before she turns her gaze from him again, waiting to see if an audience may be granted to her.
Xeilzrus leans back in his throne, bringing the diamond out once more to gaze upon it's beauty with a wry smile, before he notices Louma in the background. His gaze shifts to refocus onto her. "Hello, Sister Louma." Xeilzrus speaks, nicely enough, though pompous and self-important. "You have spent many days under Yzzayt's brilliance." Xeilzrus asks. "Please, come forth." While waiting for Louma, he moves his other hand holding his ornate wooden, diamond-studded staff forward, tilting it to such that the head of the staff is towards himself. The figurehead is a wonderful carving of what looks to be a terrifying sleek Saurian skull with many flared bone spikes, perhaps an artistic rendition of the skull Xeilzrus wears. Inside the mouth of the staff, he sockets the diamond into place. He levels the staff down to Louma, so that she may see it square on. "Behold, Yzzayt's visage, in all of his Luminous Glory." Xeilzrus speaks, pausing momentarily, though continuing before giving Louma a chance to properly respond. "I allow you to pledge yourself to him, Child. That is what you have come for, undoubtedly. Pledge to him, and be with us." He tilts the staff, swivelling the head towards Louma further.
Louma looks up when her name is spoken, glancing toward the guard. She'd expected to have a more formal order to things, but perhaps she isn't particularly surprised. She approaches as closely as she feels she can, bowing respectfully to Xeilzrus and waiting for him to finish speaking after he cuts her off. She pauses, mumbling, though without really trying to hide the words, "You allow?" She continues at a normal volume, in a reserved tone of voice. "I would hope Yzzayt will accept me, if that is his will. I have learned much while here, though perhaps I am still ignorant. Much more to learn, I think." She does look to the staff, though her gaze returns to Xeilzrus' chin after a few moments. "Yzzayt does have excellent taste in gifts, I see. I did not know that, for example."
Xeilzrus doesn't acknowledge Louma's opening mumbling question. "Yzzayt desires the best for all of his children." Xeilzrus replies, pulling the staff back slightly. "Though he will gladly use a firm hand if needed. There are those, like yourself, who require it." Xeilzrus pauses, "Yes. The very aspect of Yzzayt is sealed in these crystals. Long ago, his mischievous brother quite cruelly buried them away when he created. Re-uniting Yzzayt with them is our greatest pleasure. . .and he rewards us by allowing us to use some, so that we may wreathe ourselves in his tempest."
Louma hums, nodding after a moment. "Many people from the continents treasure shiny gemstones. Perhaps it's Yzzayt's will that they wear them, as well... Despite not being kin?" She shrugs, tilting her head slightly as her eyes flick to glints of Xeilzrus' own under the headpiece. "Or perhaps it's just greed." She doesn't leave much silence before continuing. "They can be retrieved from the ignorant ones, though."
Xeilzrus: "Is that so?" Xeilzrus questions. "If true, then it is certainly not Yzzayt's will for his gifts to be in the hands of others, though I suspect that if it were my fate to go beyond The Great Lands, Yzzayt will tell me. Perhaps, it means I will be long dead before such a thing occurs." Xeilzrus doesn't seem to hang on that for too long. "Or perhaps, he will see fit to tell me once The Great Lands have been reclaimed."
Louma nods. "I am a little worried he hasn't told you already. Or about his foresight in general. He didn't direct his people to destroy Respite before the wall was built. Perhaps Yzzayt doesn't believe you can guide the warriors to victory... Or perhaps Yzzayt hasn't spoken to you at all..."
Xeilzrus suddenly pulls back the staff, looking at Louma with a slight glare in direct response at her closing insinuation. "Few throughout our history have had the power and gift required to become a Whisperer. None remember the whisperer before I. Had I been conceived sooner, I am most certain I would have easily enacted Yzzayt's will. But the challenge is no obstacle we cannot overcome."
Louma shakes her head slightly. "Maybe... You can trick the others, a clever ruse with a good excuse. I've seen it, a leader using the legends and beliefs to steer their people to ruin, for their own glory."
Xeilzrus slams the tip of his staff against the ground as he stands up, towering over Louma's currently low and 'respectful' position. "You dare, Child?" Xeilzrus asks, his tone booming and commanding.
Narrator: This certainly gets the attention of the guards and citizenry nearby. Even those that were already following the conversation are startled by the response.
Louma is startled by the reaction, moving back slightly, but not bowing her head again. "I may. I do not apologize for offending you, because I want to know you are a reliable leader. I want to know Yzzayt's word comes through you, but I am cursed for I know that a false prophet is more common than a true one." She grimaces slightly as she forces her head into a slight bow. "Only to be useful to Yzzayt." The look in her eyes is defiant as they never drop from Xeilzrus' face.
Xeilzrus: "Like all Whisperers before me, through me Yzzayt has united our kind once more. Only Yzzayt himself has that power. Few are ignorant enough to question his Glory." Xeilzrus pauses, glaring down at Louma hard, the tension between them electric.
Louma raises her head again, returning a steady gaze in response to his glare, though keeping most of the emotion out of her expression. "I am sorry that my words are not clear, but I am not questioning Yzzayt's will. I am questioning your interpretation of that will."
Narrator: A few more citizens gather to witness what on Yzzayt is going on.
Xeilzrus: "Your words are clear, Child. But they come from a place of ignorance. Whisperers do not interpret Yzzayt. They ARE Yzzayt. He and I are one and the same. To question me is to question him." Xeilzrus' undertone of annoyance grows.
Louma scoffs at this, losing any pretense of respect at this. "Oh. You are Yzzayt? You, who have sent your children to die in a fruitless war? You are right, I was ignorant, but now I see. It isn't incompetence, it's malice."
Xeilzrus growls at this. "ENOUGH!" He booms, slamming his staff against the ground even harder this time, a thunderous crack echoing throughout the caves. The citizens are taken aback, mostly at Xeilzrus' mounting anger moreso than the noise itself. Xeilzrus' eyes scan the murmuring citizens in the moment. He needs to crush Louma now before this situation gets any further out of hand. "You WILL be made to see in time, Sister. And you will eventually thank me." Xeilzrus looks to his more elite guards in the room, nodding to them. They begin advancing on Louma.
Louma flinches at the movement of Xeilzrus' staff, glancing over her shoulder at the approaching guards. She doesn't resist when her arms are roughly seized, looking back to Xeilzrus. "Locking me away won't change the truth. You are no Red King, but you will likely see the same fate, Xeilzrus. Yzzayt will see to that."
Xeilzrus mostly ignores Louma's words, though under his vaguely veiled visage, he seems slightly troubled. "Sister Louma of Orela," He booms, though not to Louma herself but the guards currently trussing her up, "Is to be taken to Yzzayt's Abyss." The crowd gasps, then erupts into more murmuring. With that, Xeilzrus turns his back on Louma and the crowd, leaving the amphitheatre through the exit behind his throne.
Louma hesitates, finally tugging against the guards as she tries to catch Xeilzrus' attention. "What? Hey WHAT? The mines?! N-no I..." She doesn't get much chance to take any words back as she's jostled out of the courtyard, though her shouts of protest can be heard for a few moments before she's presumably convinced to quiet down with a little more blunt force.