Revenge is a dish best served hot (IC)

[RobRX]

The heart of the Delaztri Empire, Za'akis Habitations

Over two thousand years ago…

 

The Delaztri empire certainly prized itself as civilized. Or at least it would be a reasonable assumption from outsiders but this was no ordinary habitation block. It has been carefully cut off from outside contacts, barring from authorized personnel and dignitaries. While the people lodge there were part of the Empire, for now, it had been deemed wise to keep them off to the side whenever possible, until they had been properly educated in the ways of the empire. They weren't prisoners, of course...in fact keeping them prisoners would be foolish, as it would only end in a senseless massacre.

 

Guttural screams and chanting could be heard from outside, creating quite the racket. Outside the buildings, banners had been planted, displaying all manners of symbols and colors. Most prominent amongst them was a symbol in gold; the symbol of their God-King.

 

"I hope you will recognise the great honor I am giving you in allowing us to join us tonight." declared Kharag to Dragonid, his guest. "As my people's leader and their supreme representative in the empire, as it rightfully should be of course, I, Kharag, am required to fill in many diplomatic tasks. Many of which are below me." His contempt was palpable, no doubt all these bureaucratic things bored him beyond belief. Too much talking, too much measuring words, not enough action.

 

"The other Praetorians would not have the fortitude for such an evening, as they are soft in their ways. You however are not."

Edited November 1, 2014 by RobRX

[ca_lazerdwarf]

Dragonid nodded as Kharag talked. He might have laughed at the massive ego of the man, if he had not seen first hand that he had the prowess to back it up. Kharag was a good man to call an ally, a brother, because he would be a terrible threat as an enemy.

"Yes, I am honored to have met your standards as warrior to come with you. We will impress your people with what mighty allies you have made for them." If Kharag spoke true his people were nearly as dangerous as he was. The excitement burned in Dragonid's blood, but he knew that the empire needed them to remain under a measure of control.

[RobRX]

"I would hope so." he said, perhaps a bit more grim than the usual. No doubt them joining the empire had it's set of prices and consequences on the Za'akis people. Joining an empire comprised of several space flight-era species must have been quite the experience to a race that had just mastered the creation of gunpowder.

 

"A word of advice from the King himself; show no shame in yourself and your accomplishments. If challenged, take the fight head on, yet be merciful. We are not savages, we don't kill over every single slight; althought we certainly break bones." Kharag hoped that would be enough to avoid any diplomatic faux-pas. Of course diplomacy was everything BUT his strong point, even if he'd never fully admit it.

[RobRX]

GM

 

The inside of the buildings had once been the standard one would expect in the Delaztri architecture, but it's new occupants had taken to do some redecoration to suit their needs; the lights had been slightly dimmed, perhaps to adjust it to the level of luminosity the species found most suitable. Likewise, the habitat's internal temperature had also been recalibrated, but it was unclear if the Za'akis had done it themselves or asked for it. One would assume it was the latter.

 

Animal skins and skulls decorated the inside, trophies from hunts no doubt. Primitive weapons adorned the walls in a decorative manner; they were no longer needed, as they had found newer and better instruments of war. Perhaps the Za'akis were more sentimental than one would expect of them. Chanting and shouting in a gutteral and alien language assailed Dragonid's ears (or whatever he had that passed for ears), hinting at a currently festive event. Chained to a wall by the neck and all four limbs was a large reptilian beast, quadrupedal with a long neck and a large snapping jaw. Upon seeing Dragonid, it hissed and tried to snap at him, only to be held back by the chains.

 

As the duo went deeper into the structure, past the guards at the entrance, armed with modernized versions of ceremonial weapons, they finally arrived to a large mess hall where more aliens, similar to Kharag in appearance, were sitting, eating and drinking lightly, more busy chanting, screaming, arguing and toasting.

[ca_lazerdwarf]

"I will not flinch from such a challenge." agreed Dragonid, "but I hope I do not have to break many bones. The first should be enough." This was also the way among his people. Usually. Honor bouts were not designed to be to the death. But it was differet with the judged. Once he was judged guilty, his challengers had one goal in mind.

 

Dragonid stared at the reptilian beast for a moment. "We have beasts like this at home. Some of the radicals among the scientists suggest that we are descended from them. I always dismissed such a thought, but much of what I always knew was wrong. I hope your people do not dwell on such similarities." He looked the beast right in the eyes and responded to its hiss with his mightiest roar.

[RobRX]

The creature roared back at Dragonid, baring it's long sharp fangs and a long, slimy tongue. Specks of saliva landed on his face as the creature did so. The chains rattled in vain as it tried to lunge at him to rip off his face. It kept roaring, hissing and snarling and finally gave up.

 

"Kl’kran beasts." he explained to the visitor, giving him some context and a run down of what the creature was. "They are prized for their bright scales, which let them hide in the forests. They come in many sizes and colors, as do their many cousins. This is the first one to leave it's home soil; I intend to release it somewhere for a hunt."

[ca_lazerdwarf]

Dragonid snorted and wiped his face clean. "A spirited beast. It is a shame to see it chained so. I wish it well upon its release, good luck against its pursuers. I hope your hunters do not take offense that I see a difficult fight for them."

"Back to business, then. Do not want to keep your people waiting." he said and continued into the building, giving cursory glance to the ceremonial weapons on to the mess hall. He took some time observing, comparing these aliens to Kharag, looking for the differences that marked individuals in this race.

[RobRX]

GM

 

The crowd slowly began to lower it's volume at the approach of Kharag and his visitor and the feasting, chanting and laughter changed more and more to hushed discussions. As Dragonid observed the members of Kharag's race, a few details became apparent; the most obvious one being that most of the aliens there were scarred, their calloused skin marked by years of fighting, whereas Kharag was pristine. Secondly, the Za'akis were varied in their skin color, in all shades of green and blue and some rare near-purple. Third, there was variety in the shape of their ridges. As for the females of the species, the differences with the males were superfluous. Certainly less pronounced in difference than the Naram, Paradigm's species.

 

One of the warrior stood up, looked at his king and the visitor and asked. "I see you have brought someone new to our table tonight. What do we owe such a visit?" The other aliens didn't seem offended that he spoke up so bluntly to his King, so perhaps speaking so openly was allowed amongst them. Or perhaps the warrior in question had the rank to speak his mind. Kharag simply nodded at Dragonid, indicating that he wanted the saurian being to speak up.

 

 

 

 

[ca_lazerdwarf]

"I am Silvar Drash of Dragos. You can call me Dragonid. I have served beside your King Kharag, and proven to him my worth on the battlefield and my right to the title of Praetorian. Likewise he has shown me his superior skills as a warrior and leader. He offerred me this chance to meet with you, his people, and I jumped at the chance to learn what kind of people would give rise to such a king." The reptillian warrior said, puffing out plumes of smoke "And show you first hand what kind of warriors your king has allied himself with."

[RobRX]

GM

 

"I am Nekshar, ambassador of the Za'akis people." explained the alien who speak. He didn't look any different from the others, despite the ambassador title. Still as grizzled and intimidating as the rest and would be otherwise  be lost in the crowd if not for a certain ease with words. If Dragonid had known more, he would found out that this one in particular was once a storyteller.

 

"If the King has brought you to the table, then so be it; your place here tonight is assured. On the behalf of our people..." He glanced at Kharag, who nodded. "...and our King, I welcome you. But now!" He looked at the other aliens sitting at the tables. "ENOUGH WITH THE WORDS! BRING THE SLIME WINE!" At his words, the crowd cheered and raised their gobelets.

[ca_lazerdwarf]

"Well met, Nekshar." Dragonid said, "I am honored."

 

He looked to Kharag "Slime wine?" he asked, "What do you make that from?" He knew he would have to drink some for appearances. The thought made him nervous. He remembered the first time he had eaten when he first left his planet. It took time to get used to. And he had heard warnings about what the Za'akis called food.

[RobRX]

"From larvae." he simply state, as if it was obvious. "They are some of the few creatures we can truly keep tamed. Of course, they have to be killed and harvested before cocooning." Kharag didn't exactly precise WHAT these larvae were like or what kind of being they turned into as adults; it was, in all likelyhood, something better left unanswered for now. Probably some horrific insectoid monster, no doubt.

 

Soon after, Dragonid was offered a gobelet filled with a boiling green liquid.

[ca_lazerdwarf]

"I must admit", he told Kharag quiety, "Our foodstuffs were less dangerous. The challenge of the hunt was more one of speed, or sometimes your fellow hunters."

 

Dragonid accepted the goblet and sniffed at it, immediately snorting with disgust. He hoped the Za'akis did not recognize that reaction. "I see they have brought the good brew!" he said loudly to Kharag in a show of bravado, and took a drink from the goblet. Liquid leaked out of the sides of his mouth (his people were not neat eaters) as he choked the liquid down.

[RobRX]

GM

 

Maybe Dragonid should have...sipped it rather than chug it down. As the taste filled his mouth, he knew he had made a terrible, terrible mistake. It wasn't quite as horrible as he imagined, but it was clear the taste was extremely powerful as it completely overwhelmed him for a brief moment, causing a gag reflex from him. Ever so slightly, he felt the bref 'hit' him and hit hard. It tasted quite strong and sour. And it burned the inside of his mouth a bit. Finally, the sensation passed and the liquid continued on it's way without any side-effects for now. Further ingestion...might eventually cause some side effects.

 

Nekshar turned to Dragonid. "Powerful brew, I know. Especially for those unused to it." The alien leaned on the table. "So tell us, stranger! This table, no doubt, wish to hear your tale!" Soo, Dragonid found himself the center of attention. The Za'akis curiosity had been sparked.

[ca_lazerdwarf]

Dragonid set the goblet down and took a moment to let the feeling wash over him. He hoped his display was a suffient display of the strength of his stomach. "My tale begins on a planet with no contact to the stars," he begins, "We had no knowledge that life existed off our world. Like you my people highly value strong warriors, ranked them as the ruling class. We fought amongst ourselves, warlord versus warlord, struggling over control of each bit of land. We did not have a strong ruler like Kharag to unite us."

 

"I was born to a warrior family, my sire a great warlord's right hand. But I was flawed, deformed. I lacked the majestic wings of my people. A disgrace. My family disowned me, cast me down to be raised as a common laborer, but I knew my rightful place. Even without the wings of my race, I knew I had the strength, the will, the fire of a warrior." Smoke started to drift out of Dragonid's nostrils as he got worked up, caught in his story.

 

"I knew I deserved the status of warrior that was denied me. I knew my fire was hotter than any of my family. So I set out to take what was mine. One true warrior though, is no match for an army, and I was captured and sentenced to death by combat for treason." Dragonid was leaving parts out. He did not know how the Za'akis would react to the idea of a worker's revolt, and he preferred to keep secret the special skills he possessed that gave him an extra edge as a warrior.

 

"They had tried to kill me in the arena for days, when the people from the stars came." Dragonid gestured upward, "It was my great luck that they came first to visit with my warlord, who sought to impress them by throwing the grandest arena battle ever. The plan backfired on the warlord, though. I someone struggled through and survived and it was not him the visitors were impressed with, but me. It was me they took with them, when they left, and me they taught about the many people among the stars."

 

"I proved their choice was a good one, and earned a place alongside your King." he laughed, "I represent the people who would have me dead. May they burn in the Fires of the Fathers."

[RobRX]

GM

 

Surprisingly, the Za'akis seem to react rather well to the tale, although the expression of a few change at the mention of revolt, forming a small, but noticeable amount of unease at the tables, as those in questions try to look away from certain groups, or certain people and in a few cases, away from their King, who has remained silent for some time now. A few of the warriors eventually stand up and leave the table outright, much to the annoyance of others. There is a palpable sense of unease and tension in the air, something Dragonid would likely imagine is related to all manners of reasons and events he is not privy to.

 

Finally, in a last bid in restoring the mood, Nekshar stands up, smiling. "Is this not a great tale?" He asks the others, and some seem to agree. "The measure of one's worth goes beyond one's body, beyond the flaws of flesh! What survives a state of weakness can only come out stronger, after all...does the blind man not learn to fight without his eyes? Such tales are common. A wounded and maimed warrior, if he truly wish to continue fighting, learn to fight despite his handicap!" A somewhat surprising opinion, coming from a harsh and deadly warrior culture.

 

"In fact, my great uncle, lost his arms tending to the livestock! What did he do? Learn to use his legs and feet! One's worth only end when either they give up, or if no other option is left! Survival, as with everything, is key." He then turns to Dragonid, saying; "You do not need wings. That you are standing here, despite lacking them, is proof.

[ca_lazerdwarf]

Dragonid clenched his fist and raised it to his chest in a show of respect to the ambassador, "I thank you, Nekshar. I sometimes think too much of my flaws, but as you said, fighting on despite them has made me stronger. It troubles me that who left did not feel the same as you. I welcome them to try to prove it." He breated out a small stream of fire to punctuate his point.

 

He turned back to the King of the Za'akis, "But I have delayed business enough here with my speech, Kharag."

[RobRX]

"There is little to no delay." Kharag said, waving his hand. He had remained quiet during the whole speech, listening but otherwise never speaking up as Nekshar did and, arguably, rambled on. "The ambassador and storyteller has spoken, I wouldn't have expected any less from him." Kharag nodded to the ambassador as he resumed drinking. "Impressive tale nonetheless." The Za'akis refrained from adding any further comment on the matter.

 

"Have you ever considered coming back to them, greater than ever? A conqueror, armed with the greatest weapons and armors the stars have to offer? You could put an end to whatever struggle or ills your people suffer."

Edited November 16, 2014 by RobRX

[ca_lazerdwarf]

"I have sometimes thought of it." said Dragonid, "but while I could beat their greatest champion in a challenge, several at once even, one warrior does not beat an army."

 

He shook his head, "I prefer it among the stars. Greater and stranger threats to face beyond my homeworld. They will remain there, probably unchanged, in case I ever change my mind."

[RobRX]

GM

 

As Dragonid and Kharag spoke, the food plates arrived; some of it looking delicious, some of it looking like things Dragonid could not even dare to imagine due to how hideously unnapetizing it looked. Half of it even looked poisonous, at a glance. As he looked around, he noticed something; One of the person bringing the plates was heading directly toward them, no doubt bringing the food directly to the king. However, the food did not arrive.

 

"Oh! Raw krodon liver!" Proclaimed an old, wrinkled warrior. "It is so filling, I want it!" He began reaching out for the plate originally intended for the king's table.

 

"It isn't for you." said the one carrying the plate as he began to pull it away from the elder's calloused hands.

 

The old man chuckled. "There are two more over there, give it to me! Youth, these days! No respect for their elders!" he shouted, as the others near him joined in their laughter, grabbing the plate from the young Za'akis hands. His eyes became wide as he began running away as the old warriors tore into the meat to rip out the juiciest bits.

 

Then Dragonid saw it, nestled within the meat. A black sphere, about the size of a large toe. Red lights flashing on it.

[ca_lazerdwarf]

Dragonid saw the blinking sphere in the slab of liver. He had seen a lot of strange foods being passed around this night, but none that blinked. He knew a bomb when he saw one.

 

"Bomb", he cried pointing at the old man, then breathed out a stream of fire, exerting his mental control over the flames to surround the slab of food and harden it to solid shell of frozen fire. He braced himself, hoping the shell would contain the explosion and prevent anyone from being harmed. "Someone stop that server, he knew what was in that meat".

[RobRX]

GM

 

Held by the solid fire, the bomb, an incendiary device, only fed Dragonid's flames, causing the shell to swell in size, before it's own heat and fire mingled with the alien's fire, putting it under his control, fortunately.

 

Meanwhile, the Za'akis at the table didn't take the assasination attempt very well as they all readied their weapons; an anachronistic mix as the older warriors held to their bone and steel weapons while the younger generations took out more advanced weapons. "Traitors! HONORLESS SCUMS!" shouted one of the warrior. A few of the warriors began to run after the server, sprinting and leaping across the tables, splattering the food all over and generally making a mess of the place. Noxious fumes filled the air as the slime wine splashed to the ground.

 

Then in the complete chaos that ensued, screams of surprise were heard, followed by hissing and growls as the reptilian beast, previously chained up, lept into the hall, crashing against a table, snarling at everyone around it.

[ca_lazerdwarf]

As the room erupted in to chaos, Dragonid struggled to follow the action. He didn't expect to walk in to an assassination attempt and didn't know how deep it went. Other than the server, he could not be sure who was involved in the plot, best to contain everyone until they could get answers.

 

But before he could act, the reptillian creature burst into the room. "Who let the beast loose?" asked Dragonid, smoke trailing from his mouth as he advanced to face the beast. "How many more traitors are behind this?"

[RobRX]

Kharag rose from his seat, barely counting his anger as the crowd gathered around Dragonid and the alien beast, forming a circle, perhaps in anticipation of a fight between the two. Perhaps they were eager to see the newcomer and the reptilian creature fight, eager to see who would win between the sentient lizard and the feral lizard.

 

Their King raised his hand. "Someone subdue the beast. There is no need for any pointless bloodshed; already, violence has been declared to be the order of the day, as a traitor lie in our midst, eager to take my life. Eager to defy my rule." He turned his gaze to Dragonid.

 

'The beast is a distraction. Do not let it waste your time.' he said, speaking with his mind so only Dragonid could hear. 'As we speak, no doubt the other assassins are preparing their next move; we only have a few moments to prepare ourselves and not enough time to delve into my people's minds.'

[RobRX]

GM

 

Dragonid didn't even get a chance to respond to Kharag when suddenly a powerful, blindingly bright beam erupted and sweeped across the room. The Za'akis warrior, taken by surprised, tried to duck to the ground in order to avoid it, but only a few of them managed to before getting vaporized. In the spark and smoke-covered room, two figure stood out.

 

At first, it seemed as if one of the two figures, Za'akis, had suddenly developped the ability to fire beams from their faces. How else could they have fired such beam, given their lack of weapon and the arc of fire? Answers soon followed. Their shape began to distort and blur, taking on a glowing metallic sheen, which covered their entire body. Then this sheen, this projected image, the hologram began to fade, revealing the nature of the attackers and what laid underneath such hologram.

 

"The bomb we had been instructed to use to remove you has failed because of this xeno-saurian's intervention." said one of the creature, glancing at it's compatriot with what passed for it's head. Long ago, it had a normal head but not anymore; the two of them had their cranium surgically and cybernetically altered, leaving their heads and necks a tangle of wires and a hodge-podge of cybernetic pieces, their faces nothing more a an array of lenses and cameras. Elsewhere on their bodies, synthetic replacement parts could also be seen, all of them with a metallic sheen and a little to no esthetic in how they blended with the organic. "I must say it is actually quite fortunate." said the second one.

 

With a whirring sound, their faces reconfigured themselves into what was obviously an array of deadly weapons mounted with telescoping eyestalks. "There is little to no thrill in a simple job. My semi-cybernetic brain itch. For you see...we have not removed this biofunction called the emotion of pleasure from ourselves." While lacking facial expression and much of a tone, it was clear the creature was enjoying itself, despite the clear lack of much of it's brain, replaced by technology.

Edited November 23, 2014 by RobRX