The Dark Chronicler

IC: Eshai Eshai didn't respond, merely listening in silence. It was a good enough answer, it told everything that was needed to understand. But at the same time, it seemed almost hollow. There was pride inside the voice, but that didn't change the fact that walking at a heightened pace did nothing to uphold one's honor. There was something more to it, that she was certain of. But, that was enough from her. Eshai knew that asking that question itself was more than she should have. It just wasn't her place to ask questions of her betters. "Yes, I understand what you speak of. I once held similar goals within my own clan." Earlier Sanei had questioned her about her clan, and gotten the most evasive of answers. If Sanei was willing to talk about herself, even as little as she had, perhaps it would only be fair is she herself offered up something. "Earlier you spoke questions of my clan. Do you truly wish to know of it?"

IC: Mayixa It had been a delicious cup of cider, though he was slightly saddened that his company had needed to leave so quickly. he was certain that she was starting to see the Truth hidden behind the lies of the False Spirit. But now, he wasn't quite sure what to do. He could continue preaching to the village in hopes that someone would hear and understand, or he could try another village, and perhaps find a much better reception to the Great and Glorious One. Then he felt a slithering hiss echo through his mind, before a booming voice roared through his thoughts. "One more day. Then will be the time to leave." As quickly as it had appeared, the voice of the Holy Neroxidecost vanished from his mind. But he knew now that he must continue his preaching for another day. Walking up to the corner of a street, he began once again to preach the glories of Neroxidecost.

IC: Eshai Sanei's reaction made it very clear that there was something quite wrong. Sanei's reaction had been one of sheer rage earlier, but why would that cause her so much anger? It was intended to instill doubt and excess caution, but the outburst of fury was quite different than expected. Something inside her made her furious, angry that she could possibly lose to Eshai. But what exactly was it? Then her master changed to actually speaking, her mind seemed rather distant. Then just as suddenly, she returned to speaking with her mind. It had been enough to stop whatever she was going to say, but not enough to cover the fact that something was most certainly eating away at her. Sanei was always working so hard towards everything she did, putting in too much effort, maybe this had the same cause. She wondered for a moment if she should ask, but it really was not her place to question her employer. She decided to be careful, but take the question to Sanei all the same. She would just bring it around slowly. "You always put so much effort into everything. Why is that?"

OOC: A timeskip you say, Requiem? Sounds alright to me. My apologies for taking so long. IC: Theriss No rest. Not an hour, not a minute, not a second. It was another night in which her mind and thoughts challenged her desire to sleep. In the end, her thoughts had won out and held grasp of her weary mind deep into the night hours. Again the events of the previous day plagued her, lashing out at any hope she may have had of getting a peaceful sleep for the first night in a long while. The stress of leading this team and the constant work towards finding good deeds to perform in order to increase profits had already been enough, but the arguments that had started to arise were more than she wanted to deal with. Why couldn't this team hold together for more than a short period of time without someone doing something stupid? First it had been Geklan. Though he was not truly a part of the team, he often held a presence at their meetings and celebrations. He had long ago earned her respect as a businessman, with a silver tongue and great skill in the art of parting and individual and their money. Those traits were ones she believed that she too possessed, they were what had given her an edge in her business fr so many years. But the side of him that he had showed not long ago was one she had truly never expected to lie beneath his hauntingly cheerful exterior. Then had been the unexpected meltdown of Barthel, one that he had most certainly brought upon himself with his actions. If he was that afraid of being touched, then why hadn't he specifically asked them never to touch him? He could have solved all his problem with a single request, but instead he decided it better to suffer through his fears. That was something that made little sense to her, this team was created to halt something that caused her suffering. Why would he intentionally allow himself to deal with his fears when they could so easily be halted? Did he hold some sort of pride in acting as though his fears ere nothing? Was it something he never thought about except during times that it occurred? Was it that he wanted so greatly to forget that he held those fears in the first place? Alongside these thoughts was an aching sense of something important having been forgotten. But through all that was filling her mind, she could not recall just what it was that had been so important. She knew she would remember eventually, but the question of if it would be in time was the most important. Being late to something wasn't really her style, a late arrival could cost a person greatly. And then there was the money. Never before had she had any problems with quickly and efficiently counting her earnings. But the day earlier, she couldn't even keep the numbers straight in her mind. She had required assistance in something as easy as counting and dividing up the team's pay. That was a sign to her that something was very wrong at the moment. When she couldn't get her mind to focus on the most important part of this group, then it was very clear that the stress of everything was getting to her. It it hadn't been for LoJak... That was the important thing, the thing that she had forgotten. She had a dinner with LoJak. It was no doubt past the time they were supposed to meet, but there was always the slightest of chances that he may still be waiting there for her arrival. If that was the case, than perhaps a late arrival would be better than none at all. Pushing aside all the negative thoughts that haunted her mind, she decided that she was going to the restaurant anyway. If he wasn't there, then she would merely apologize in the morning. If he was, then she would merely explain her lateness. It took her only a short time to ready herself to head out into the night. Her armor was given a quick polish, to make it appear even more regal than it already did. She left behind her spetum, not expecting that a weapon was something she would need. But the brass knuckles, those she kept on her at all times. They were far more easily concealed and, with her mask's power, just as dangerous. When she was certain she was ready and as quickly as possible, she left her home and walked into the Koro's night air. It wasn't that far a walk to the restaurant, but it certainly seemed to stretch on far longer. When she reached the restaurant, she pushed aside her haunting thoughts as best she could, her face once again reverting into the calm expression that she almost always presented. Her mind at bay for the moment, she peered inside to see if LoJak was still there.

IC: Eshai She nodded in agreement with Sanei's mental comments, such as future fights and teamwork, but there was something else clinging to her mind. Her mental message had seemed to send Sanei into a small rage. That was nothing like the response she had been expecting. Eshai had thought she would react with hesitation or nervousness, but all it had seemed to have done was make Sanei all the more determined to defeat her. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing, or a sign of something quite troubling. "I do not know what we should do... but I must apologize for using my mental skills upon you in that battle."

IC: Theriss She carefully and calmly counted through the money, each coin moving carefully through her hand. She had a mind for numbers, you couldn't get far in her line of work if you lost track of money anywhere along the way. Far too many people were more than eager to attempt to swindle her, all it took was skill in math, and everything would run smoothly. That was why it came as such an unpleasant surprise to her that she had miscounted at least three times since she had begun. She found it much harder to think about the money laying before her than it should have been: she was only in this team for that money, after all. But it left a strange and sickening feeling, a mixture of her determination and something else. That something else was connected to Barthel's response, but anything more was far beyond the attention she was willing to allow it. If she started thinking about such, then it would grow in her mind. She couldn't allow herself to feel guilt over what had happened. It was all due to Barthel's own actions that he had suffered. Unless he managed to change, it would likely happen again and again with different people over time. He was the one who had said nothing until his explosive outburst, she had merely been the unintentional catalyst. She paused her counting, realizing that once again her counted number did not match the coins she had before her. Closing her eyes, she tried to calm her thoughts, to focus on what was most important. This money was what she needed, it was the only thing between her and the horrendous life she had once been forced to suffer through. Barthel was merely a piece in her money-making plan, and if it came right down to it he could easily be replaced with someone who had less... issues to deal with. She knew it was true, it was logically sound... but why didn't that make counting the money she had earned from their work any easier? She almost missed LoJak speaking to her, caught up in her own mind. Slowly, she turned her head to face him with her default expression of calmness. "I does indeed, he certainly seems to be far more afraid than I would have imagined. I wonder then, why it is that he never said anything before now, allowing it to merely build up inside him. If he was unhappy with the way he was treated, then it is up to him to speak up about it. But speaking of something and shouting it amid a pathetic rage are two very different things. A greater level of consideration does appear to be required, but it was his own actions that lead towards this occurrence."

IC: Eshai She paused for a moment, waiting to see if the fight was truly ended or if Sanei was trying to fight unfairly. When Sanei made no moves towards another attack, Eshai but away her sword and teleported over beside her employer. "If I did not, then of what use would I be as a bodyguard?" It wasn't really meant to be bragging, more of a serious question. "Your fighting is greatly skilled."

IC: Eshai The sidestep worked to evade the blow, but it didn't result in a successful hit as she had intended. Sanei was just too low for a quick back attack to end this battle. Eshai turned, once again standing on the defensive. She wasn't near as quick with her armor, letting the attacks come at her would probably be for the best right now.

IC: Eshai She readied herself for the oncoming warrior, preparing herself to sidestep around Sanei when she was within striking range to evade the attack. As soon as Sanei was off-balanced by the dodge, a blow to the back would quickly end the fight. Now, that plan would only work if things went exactly right. But she was certain she could pull it off.

IC: Eshai As Sanei charged towards Eshai, she put away her Kanabo before vanishing again. Then, she appeared behind Sanei by a few feet. It was in this moment that she drew her own sword. This fight was going nowhere. "It appears that neither of us can land a decisive blow. Perhaps we should cut back our powers in a duel of blades?"

IC: Mayixa "It's no problem at all, I understand having important things to do quite well. Have a nice day, madam." He had been through his own share of rushing off during conversations. That was quite a while ago, but he could still remember it and all the misery that it had caused him. Being a speaker, payed to talk about issues that sometimes went against his own thoughts. If it hadn't been for the accident... No, it was Neroxidecost that had freed him.

IC: Eshai A telekinetic punch was indeed enough to lock the swing of the Kanabo in place. The swing itself had enough Momentum to make changing direction it next to impossible, but that didn't make the blow to the gut any less annoying. The swing missed by only a slight margin. Eshai vanished. She appeared once more a distance away from Sanei, she had to think about a better strategy. Eshai kept avoiding everything when she could see it coming... but that push had certainly seemed to catch her off guard. What this would take was a single, quick, unexpected blow. She just had to wait for the right timing.

IC: Theriss ... ... ... Nothing, she just stared on blankly into the space where Barthel had been standing before his outburst. She didn't move, didn't speak. The look on her face was somewhere between her usual calm and utter shock. Her mind raced through the events to try to understand what had just happened, and tried several more times when it did not like the outcome. She knew that Barthel was afraid but she had never really grasped the extent of just how far his fear reached. Clearly it had been taking a very heavy toll upon him, even if she hadn't noticed. Since right before the team had formed, that had been her choice of ways to keep him under control. All it took to stop any incorrect action was a light touch, and he seemed to instantly stop. If all that it took to send him into a panic was a simple touch, how bad could it possibly have been when she had clutched his shoulder or gripped his arm? She had been tormenting him terribly, enough that it caused him to storm off. She had never expected such an outburst, especially not from Barthel, but it appeared he wasn't merely jokes and a rival to Voulge. That seemed uncomfortably familiar to the events of the night prior. Only, at that time she had been the one leaving to release her anger. But, would that mean that in this situation, she had played the part of Geklan in her own anger? No, it had to be wrong. She wasn't like Geklan, she didn't torment people just because she could. She hadn't known that Barthel would react in such a way, or she never would have done it. She was merely mistaken in her actions, Barthel had caused his own torment every time, despite the fact that he clearly was quite horrified by the result. He was the one that wouldn't learn, it was not her fault that the methods had been unintentionally too extreme. Why hadn't he said something earlier, made some sort of response that it was a punishment beyond the crime? If it had really bothered him so much, it was his own fault that he did nothing to stop it, and now he was dealing with the consequences. He had brought it upon himself, she was of no blame at all. That was the thought she tried to force through her mind, though it met much resistance of blame and hints of guilt. As she struggled her hardest to fight them off, Liano had left after Barthel. Should she do the same, apologize to him for what had come of his own actions? No, she had nothing to blame herself for... She walked over to the seat where Geklan had thrown the Sarsi's cut of their profits, before dumping the coins out onto the table. This was what she was here for, what the Toa Sarsi were made for. It wasn't about creating a true team, or making friends. It was about regaining what had been taken from her, reclaiming her power and wealth to return to the top. They were only around to help her earn her money, then she would be finished with them. This too, she kept repeating in her head, as she solemnly began counting the money.

IC: Mayixa "But of course. My name is Mayixa. It was a pleasure speaking to you." And he had done something wrong, she seemed quite eager to leave. Why was it that the Truth seemed to hard for people to understand without treating him as though he was mad?

IC: Eshai As she watched Sanei hit the ground, she lifted up her kanabo. So the best Sanei could do with her powers was a blast strong enough to knock someone over? Of maybe she was holding back, Eshai couldn't be certain, but she knew what was coming. It was time to finish this battle. With a downward swing, the Kanabo came down towards the fallen Sanei. Eshai was doing her best to keep the swing under control, trying for enough force to knock the wind out of her employer without going overboard.

IC: Eshai Breaking free and evading a moving Sanei would have been easy enough, but outrunning a force she didn't even see coming? Eshai hadn't been quite prepared for the powerful blast that struck her armored form. Instantly, her power's hold on Sanei's mind halted. If the thought held in place or faded, Eshai couldn't know. She had more important things to worry about for the moment. She hit the ground from the impact from the attack, stumbling back from the force as gravity had done the rest. It was a rather jarring impact for the large brute, her heavy armor ensuring a heavy collision. As she began to rise to her feet, she vanished from view. It that was how Sanei wanted to fight, then Eshai could respond quite easily in kind. She reappeared behind Sanei, holding her Kanabo with one hand near each end. And with a might motion, she attempted to bump the weapon virtually harmlessly into Sanei's back in an attempt to knock her over as well.

IC: Theriss As Geklan entered, Theriss became very quiet, not saying a single word. She merely watched as he threw the bag of money near her. She didn't have anything to say to him, he and his insufferable grin. He had sent her into a fury the night before, and now he decided to show up with a large grin upon his face, as if nothing at all had happened? It was almost as infuriating as the event itself, a sign of wretched smugness and his own thoughts of superiority. The fact that those had described herself not that long ago was something she tried to force from her thoughts. It was then that she noticed her grip had been steadily tightening on Barthel's shoulder as her anger had increased. No, even what he had done was nothing to the pain Geklan had instilled with a single action. All the insults Barthel could think up would not be able to match the sheer impact of having her own chair presented before her as a token of conquest. Barthel was merely a small annoyance to her temper, but she could easily do something to stop him, Geklan had no such weakness. So why then, did the anger she was feeling has this mixture of sadness somewhere inside it? Once, Geklan had been willing to help her, even supporting her a little on her original rise to wealth, but now he merely stood aside and mocked her with his presence. He had changed so much since then, becoming colder, more vicious in his scams. His whole attitude had seemed to shift as his wealth had increased. Had the money done the same to her? No, of course not. She was stronger than Geklan, the money had only made her better. Instead of stealing it from people, she had given it away as loans. She had been helping others, not harming them. She stopped, trying to calm herself as best she could, before slowly removing her hand from Barthel's shoulder. She looked down at the Toa of Iron with a face that was clearly on the edge of breaking out of its serene facade. But what direction would the emotions it held back go? "I hope this will have inspired in you some sort of respect for the other members of this team. Otherwise, I will have to do it again."

IC: Eshai As unorthodox tactic as it was, Sanei had found herself a rather excellent deflection. Her telekinetic powers didn't move the Kanabo much, but it was enough to do more than she likely expected. Eshai was too close to the shield to halt her assault, and the sudden slight upward tilt of her weapon meant that it hit the shield at an angle. The weapon glanced off of the shield with a brutal jolt, almost wrenching it free from her strong grip. It wasn't enough to stop her, but enough to seriously make her rethink her strategy. She vanished and appeared a distance from Sanei. She was going to try something different this time. Sanei had proven herself very good defensively, but how good was her offence? She stared at Sanei, letting loose her own power, Willhammer. Instead of trying to force a new emotion onto her foe, she attempted to fuel one that she felt was already there. She tried to play on Sanei's sense of self-doubt. Something she was almost certain that the obsessively overachieving warrior held somewhere inside her. She attempted to plant a single thought inside her foe. "Eshai is so far below you, and yet she has so far been able to match your blows. Why are you not defeating her easily?" She couldn't focus on forcing it through it for long, as she was certain she would need to be moving soon. But if the thought stuck...

IC: Theriss Barthel Deliresi. He was a part of her team, but that could very well change in an instant. He had done some things before that had angered her, but this right here was beyond unacceptable. His insulting of her was out of line: She had never done anything that infuriating to him, had she? Sure she had touched him just to bring out his phobias, but that was when his own actions had caused it. What had she done to deserve such terrible insults? Nothing, nothing at all. Barthel was merely pushing the boundaries of her temper, and right now she was already in a bad enough mood. He was going to suffer. Yes, he would suffer dearly. LoJak had attempted to calm the situation by trying to stop Barthel, but it was already too late for the screamer. But of course, revenge didn't necessarily mean violence, there were far more entertaining ways for her to punish Barthel's sheer rudeness to the leader of the Toa Sarsi. She had something that she could use to cause him endless misery. "That sounds quite acceptable to me, I know the place you speak of. I've been there quite a few times before... but now it's a little too far outside of my price range." She remained calm all throughout, though her eyes never moved from Barthel. If he didn't have a cold chill going up his spine already, the slight smile forming on her face would certainly cause it. She calmly rose from her chair and walked over behind Barthel's. She placed a hand gently down upon his shoulder, fully expecting the Toa of Metal to go into his unmoving panicked state. Then she turned towards Liano, a cold smirk on her face. "Liano, how many women do you think you could convince to come in here and place a hand on our friend Barthel?"

IC: Eshai Sanei's reflexes were better than Eshai had expected, as she felt her weapon forced up just enough for Sanei to pass by it unharmed. It was quite a quick deflection too, very impressive use of her mental powers. Eshai could have grinned, having an opponent after quite a long time that was not trying to kill her. It meant she could try things that might otherwise get her killed. The blade passed within inches of her legs. That was one advantage of being taller, a longer reach. A longer weapon didn't hurt much either. But the attack was still far too close for comfort, and likely could have caused some real damage to her legs. She clutched her Kanabo tightly, and went towards Sanei with a quick charge using the blunt end of the tool. If it hit, it probably wouldn't do any serious damage. It would hurt though. It would hurt very badly.

IC: Mayixa "On occasion he speaks to me. He never says much, though he always knows exactly what to do. There are many questions that I still wish to ask him, such as if he is actually a he, for I can only call him such based upon his voice. But that voice is not like any one I have ever heard." Mayixa knew that if things seemed troubling, Neroxidecost would always be there to give him guidance. But otherwise, his Majestic Holiness seemed to prefer to remain silent. Every time he spoke, Mayixa felt slightly dizzy, so perhaps it was that his great voice would tear apart the mind of mortals if exposed for too long or too often.

IC: Eshai At the very moment that Sanei began her lunge, Eshai raised her Kanabo and vanished. She had barely moved in time to avoid the kinetic blast, only because she had already prepared her first attack. If she had had to think any more about her placement, it surely would have struck. She appeared right to the side of Sanei, revealing why she had raised her very long weapon. It was now only a small distance from having Sanei crash into it face first.

IC: Mayixa Following Kiara in, he joined her in taking a seat. It was time, time to tell her of the Great and Glorious One, he of endless eyes and limbs. The singer of songs so holy that they are beyond comprehension. It was time to use all those speaking skills from his time before the accident. " I suppose I should begin at the start. I had a vision not long ago, meeting with a power far greater than any other. I saw endless pupil-less eyes, each one forever blinking but never closing, rising out of endless mouths that rose from the inky surface of its skin. Endless limbs spread out from its enormous form, each one branching into a thousand branch-like offshoots. These offshoots each ended in another mouth, which sang out in glory of his holy and unspeakable name. I could feel the darkness in my own soul trying to rend itself from my body in his presence, his sheer majesty causing it to writhe in agony. Then amid his center, a single massive opening appeared, the inside lined with burning quills. From this came a booming voice, that left my mind unable to focus upon anything else, as all of my sense faded. It said in words that were not our own, but my mind could through his power understand. ‘Mayixa, son of the people of the false spirit. I am the glorious one who is called -‘ what he said could not be translated, for no word of ours could ever explain it. I can’t even repeat it for I have not the power to speak it. ‘You see before you the truth beyond what you have been told. Mata Nui and Makuta are but mere specks of dust in my presence, their power is nothing. You must guide your fellow children of the false spirit back towards my path.’ I managed to ask a single question of his endless greatness. ‘I can not speak your name… what is it that I may call you to those I must lead?’ The booming voice responded with a name, and then I awoke. He said that I may call him ‘Neroxidecost’."

What can I say, Hubert? We all have really short attention spans and - hey look, violence! Oh wait, I'm not joining in... nevermind. Reminds me of a time long ago where Grochi The Otter and me had characters on both sides of a battle he caused. We ended up bringing in most of Onu-Koro into that madness. Oddly, I think I wanted to escape it. XD

IC: Eshai She followed along behind Sanei, watching the respect that her employer received. She had once been subject to the same: on a lesser scale perhaps, but the feeling of power was nonetheless the same. She couldn't help but feel a hint of jealousy at the life of Sanei, born into a powerful clan that would be going nowhere. Her power would last for a very long time. When they reached the training ground, Eshai walked around Sanei to take her place in opposition. She was taller and more muscular than her opponent, but that wouldn't mean much once the battle got underway. She drew her Kanabo from her back. She would be careful with the powerful weapon, she didn't want to hurt Sanei too badly with it. It was built for smashing armor and crushing bone, not for training battles. With a nod towards Sanei, she responded. "I am ready."