Post by Queen Beathag Aberdeen on Oct 27, 2010 11:55:06 GMT -6
Part II - Absolute Trust
continued from: Part I
*For the sake of continuity, the remainder of the story told will continue in this thread
Queen Beathag Aberdeen
Time passed, and when time passed questions went unanswered. Many things filled Beathag's day be it travels, family, friends, or the state of the realm for which she was responsible. Her thoughts were rarely idle. None could claim, either, that they were the thoughts of a simpleton. A quiet world was succumbing to autumn's change of color and cold, heavy rains. What an evening to be outt! A storm came from a night whisper quiet only to go pitch black with rows of thick clouds that opened up to unleash a downpour. The few scragglers out and about found inspiration to quicken their march, if not outright run in to establishment, home, or merely under a forgotten awning for shelter."M'lady, here. In here!" Her escort brought her to the comfort of a smaller, lesser known establishment. The perfect place for clandestine words to meet. What had become of the Egyptian with words to tell and things to seek? Was he only a figment of her imagination now, gone with the deepening of the season? In idle words she told her husband of things to see but what if there was nothing now to see? (d)
Ahmir Miros
The course of the past bit of time had indeed left Ahmir as little more than a ghost in the lives of many, save for a single individual. So many dealings and plans that were always in motion, not only his own, but the plans of many. Some plans had been disrupted by the Egyptian's skilled, and subtle touch as he'd left a small pile of bodies while helping to save a beautiful woman, that just happened to be a princess at the same time. She was currently in hiding, and taking a good portion of the Egyptian's time as he tried to help make things safe for the woman to continue on in her mission of diplomacy between Israel and Skye. Sadly, too much information was left unknown, which left the woman in danger, and off the grid for the time being. But even while busy, he had kept his ear to the ground, listening for news on any front. Unfortunately, there would be a bit of particular news that he had been expecting and not looking forward to. Word had finally come, demanding that his reports were sent...And that also told him that if he didn't respond soon, he'd be recieving another message in the form of Brother's from his Order, without friendly banter on their mind. It meant that it was now time to move his hand. He'd delayed and procrastinated as he tried to think more and more about this decision that he was going to have to face. This night would be the night that it would be forced. And what a night. It seemed the heavens had opened up and wept for the life changing choice that he was being forced to make. It wasn't just his life in the balance here though...which had caused him to be even more secretive. He had been following her since she left the castle, always from the shadows, always from the side and never in plain sight. Even from the rooftops when the need arose. When she finally found her refuge from the storm, he looked up to the sky just as a bolt of lightning flowed and splintered across the sky above him. He wished he knew the god's will...it would make things so much easier. Within minutes of the queen slipping into the establishment, Ahmir, his cloak covering his form and his body, a hood upon his head to hide his features from view, would slip into the building as well. A quick measure of the interior and those within it before he walked towards her, stopping when would be appropriate, before his voice would ring out. "My Lady...should you be free, I would request words." He pushed his hood and cloak back to reveal himself more fully, and offer a slight nod of his head towards her in deference. ~d~
Queen Beathag Aberdeen
If only mere men could look on paper to read the Gods' will blatent before plain, unmagic eyes for the rare magic of revelation. If only life were so simple - alas - it wasn't so they were forced to walk tight ropes with constant fear of falling in to the depths. Where were the ones to offer hands at the end of the day and who were they really? So many questions moved in her mind. Beathag couldn't afford questions. So many relied in her for the answers! The Egyptian had pieces that didn't fit well together against her own, grating edges as the agendas fought for dominance. Hard it was to answer the particular question of what the specific agenda was. With the seasons gone to cold, men would turn from war where rain would make mud, where snows would freeze the hands to the sword, slow the war machine. Was it then the season of others going forward or did spies no know rest? The Egyptian's shadow was the quarry for a roof-walker. A superior hand pulled him back, saying "No. We are to leave him alone. Unless we are told otherwise." Body glimmer in the weeks preceding garden interlude had been taken note of but the request to let him alone prevented them from haunting the world of cloak-and-dagger playing out like a show before unknowing eyes. Orders kept them blind while he had knowledge, yet he was blind. Beathag, too, was blind. Having no sense to full capacity was an irratant. Then as if a bit of light sliced lightning clouds he broke over to rumble the thunder. She inhaled, exhaled stiffly. "Ah have time." Guards hoods, still raised, disguised displeased faces. "Have the small room o'er there prepared for us, the candles lit n' the heat braziers as well. Ah will hold an audience." Gods, let something be known this night. Give her something to have faith in him (d)
Ahmir Miros
There were times that he truly did wish that his life might consist more often of the truth...and it felt as though this night would have to be full of it, or his time in Skye was over, and one of the few places in the world that he felt it possible to have a new life, would be lost. He would, of course be armed, but he was definitely not foolish enough to use them. His presence and request would be taken with the regard that was expected, in all honesty, as she was no doubt as tired as he of the slight of words and hidden agendas. He simply nodded his head and then moved in the direction that was mentioned. So it seemed she'd been expecting him...he thought he'd felt that tingling sensation of eyes upon him, even as his were upon her. Whoever it was, they were good. Which meant he would have to be better on his departure, as his destination afterwards was not a secret he would be revealing this night. He waited, not entering the room until Beathag would, and if she desired any of her guards, he would wait for them as well, before closing the door behing him. The rain heavy cloak he wore would be pulled off and hung to the side to dry slightly, before he turned to face her, a look in his eyes and upon his face that was unplaceable, yet showed just a slight peak beneath the professional mask he tended to wear. "Let truth be known between us from my lips at least this night, in hopes of a favorable consideration." ~d~
Queen Beathag Aberdeen
She hadn't been expecting him. To say she had would have made a prophet out of a mere woman with keen senses. While she didn't know when or where, let alone why, the feeling that he was about still pulled every which way on internal strings until a veritable braid was formed. New life was the reason for so many to venture to the island right beside the motherland of Scotland. In the course of things the little isle became more prominent than the larger one. History turned until it spilled all out to be picked up again by the strangest hands. A blended world was lit by the fires all around them in the small room. It could even be burned by the likes of the same contained in the fireplace of the neighborning commons. Tonight she was not alone; her brother wouldn't hear of his sister moving through a dark, wet world. Her secrets were confessed and the younger sibling, though not of her power, was still a trusted member in the fellowship of family. When the men pulled back their hoods his dark auburn hair stood in contrast to the golden main of his sister. To the left, the opposite guard was golden haired identical, and her nephew. The third, the senior of all of them was the Norwegian one known as Brom. "aye let it be know for no more can either think on it, Ah'd suppose, or wonder at it. It is somethin' Ah can nay afford tae dae, not after wot has been endured tae a house still sae young in my country's history My belief in wot e'ere it is ye seek tae dae must be superceded by the obviousness of if ye dun nay tell me, wot can there be? Ah'll let ye speak first. know tha' now more than e'er wot ye say depends on your freedom. If ye prove false tae me Ah will have nay choice but tae imprison ye, have ye questioned, n' decide upon your release upon my conditions if at all." Her eyes said she wished no reason not to trust him. He seemed honorbound to his ideals while at the same time pinned down by another, like an instrument too oft abused. "Please say tha' ye have found this place worth your truth." (d)
Ahmir Miros
He didn't seem to mind the fact that those guards were present as well. They had to be trusted to her, to be privy to her private conversations. When she spoke, he brought his fingers up to rub over the bridge of his nose and then over his eyes, rubbing them as to ease while she threatened that his words would end up meaning his freedom. He hated being threatened, especially when he was offering to speak the truth. First instincts when hearing such words came to be to remove himself, from the situation, from the land all together...save for the fact he had done nothing against them...still, even when finding them often enough, it was not one of his favorite speeches to hear. He waved his hand up in the air to let her know he understood. He'd been in these situations before, but not one that would be as big of a turning point in his life. It was a fork in his life, where his universe would shift and line up to flow with the outcomes of this particularly momentus decision. For one man at least, the image of the heavens being ripped open by lightning and pouring down that cold rain would fit perfectly for his evening. He reached down, though realizing he had three large guards there as well, he brought the other hand up and then shifted the one down slowly, showing them he was not going for a weapon, before he pulled a scroll case from his satchel. Opening it up, he would retrieve a scroll and unroll it before setting it down on the table. It would be written in Ancient Egyptian, as most of the country and lands spoke the common language of the religion, Ahmir's order remained rooted in many of the old ways, even to the worshipping of their gods, as well as the knowledge of heiroglyphics. "I have...which is why I wish you to know that I am placing the fate of not only myself, but my family, at your mercy. He moved over to sit down in one of the chairs before he motioned to the scroll. "This is a communication for me from my Order. I am what is considered, a Warrior of Anubis, in the Order of Timeless Sands. They have had a hand in most of our part of the world's dealings for centuries...And I have been their instrument...their tool, for many years now. I've been losing my faith that those who command my hand, have had the best interests of my homeland and our people in mind. This is their way of telling me to send the information on Skye that they sent me here for, or else. I've not sent them a communication since I've come here." He paused a second and then took another breath before he continued. "Before I tell you the information I have, I wish to tell you my reason for having to wait before this truth could be spilled. My family was attacked years ago, and only myself and two sisters live. Part of the 'gift' I recieved for my loyalty, was the protection of my sisters...who are guarded by other members of my Order...And at this time, I see that they are there more to ensure my loyalty and obedience...or else their guards quickly become their executioners. The threat to my family has always been my main reason for secrecy." He knew that she'd be checking in on all of his information that he was giving her...and thus far, every bit of it was truth. "They send me to scout...and Skye has become a land of great interest throughout the world. Your rise to power so quickly no doubt brings worry and concern as well. I've spent my time on Skye exploring, finding points of interest, landmarks, ambush points, strategicly important areas...things no doubt you all know here already, but not many outsiders would. Things that can't be found on a simple map of the land. Social structures, religious bias...Any form of possibly useful information, no matter it's appeared signifigance." It was information that would probably be more useful for infiltration on lesser levels, before larger attacks came...something no doubt a woman and men of their caliber would catch on to easilly and quickly enough. "All information that I am more than happy to hand over to you." After all, it was a death sentence for him now, just sitting in that room and revealing what he was. He leaned back within that chair and then looked to Beathag again. "And to make it easier to find information on myself, and my Order...I am known by the name Eclipse." A name that would no doubt be known to many through the clandestined community of spys assassins and the likes, some with words of praise for his work, while others who would spew venom at the very mention of his name. You could take on the mantel of hero, and villain in his line of work...and most tended to label one of his kind with that of villain. ~d~
Ahmir Miros
Three pairs of hard, cold eyes glared at him with unbidden bouts of suspicion. In fact, he was made to be distanced from her the width of the room by half, allowing them time to form a barrier before the Queen if he meant ill intention. He hadn't before, she'd told them, but that hardly mattered now. Life was too precious a thing to trust with foreign hands but here he was, doing it now. She shut her eyes by half. Not so wide nor disregarding him, instead they looked on the communique he offered. "If it were nay by m'axemen or noose, they would kill you then Ah see," she speculated, taking the papers she could not read. Here she relied on him for translation. The story was elaborate. Brom would offer "Will we have the Ebon look on it, your majesty?" In the question was veiled a thin command he would enact, her wish or no. It was his place, for the Lord Guardian had told him so. What would the man do now to hear such things? He, like Brom after him, was placed between the Queen' s foreward will and being her omniscience. While his place was at her side there were those willing to go where he couldn't, wouldn't. There were those who would do what no man of the one God would ever deem as scrupulous no matter the task. White hand lifted to silence him for a time, though her brother Caldean looked to the Norsemen in agreeance. A victim of the cloak-and-dagger world, it nearly took his life before he could find his sister again. He would have been a rotting corpse in a stone coffin, held alive until he died to match the dead around him.What would make this man so different - to learn of what he did only validated that fact. Scottish eyes could burn holes in the Egyptian hide, hot as the sun. Was his life swinging before his eyes? Long arm with long fingers grasped a tableside candle to bring it close to look on the pictures forming words in the language of a place older than old. "Ye have told me much, things tha' if but asked in a word would have been found for me n' your life paid forfeit all the sooner if they were o' a mind. But as ye say, yerself, n' yer kin now are at my mercy. My mercy is alongside m'sense, and my sense has long trusted ye. Ah'm glad it is proven a good instrument n' nay merely the fault o' a woman seekin more good in a world where sae much black reigns supreme. Now.." Lifting a hand she would bid the men to leave. Leave? Two would be made to leave with only one remaining, her nephew Bryce. Like his uncles he was not so trusting but like his aunt he knew the truth if it was before him. His ears and eyes would be her witness. It was a show of trust for the Egyptian. She knew that like any assasin or spy trained by an ancient Order he could best four men, so to be with only one for protection against a pit viper? "Ye hoped tae tell them somewot tae capture our men on route ,our parties on trade perhaps? Tae have us pit against those who might help in a world tae dangerous ah dun know, but ye are nay without the reasons as tae why. N' if I gave ye a report tae send tae them in a way tae give ye wot ye are runnin ' out o, time, would ye send it? If sae, will ye follow further my instructions?" Asked before they were given. She looked at him awaiting an answer. She, too, had struggled, scrimped, and bled for those she loved. Oft times it hadn't been to any avail but she was blessed it meant more in the last several years. "Ah want tae help you." (d)
Ahmir Miros
It would not be the three sets of eyes boring into him as though they would each like to take their blades and insert them into some point of his body...it was their job to feel that way about anyone, especially someone who had just admitted to being a spy, a thief, an assassin, all rolled up into one nice, neat little ball. Granted, he felt he could come out against the three men in the room with him...but no doubt all of them felt the same way, that should it come to mortal combat, they would be the victor. It was simply the mindset of a warrior. Don't ever think that you would fail or lose...it only opens the door to that very thing. He was more used to the use of speed and deception, quick kills...it would be how he would see his survival rate being the highest, especially considering the cramped quarters...though it could work in his favor as well, keeping them from getting to his back. Such were the thoughts towards the men in the room, though his attention remained upon the Queen, whom Ahmir was quite literally placing his life in the hands of. He simply gave a glance of those golden eyes to the man who spoke of the Ebon Hall. He had no doubts they would be looking into his story, whether she commanded it done right then or not. He paid close attention to her words when she spoke up once more, telling him that she had trusted him, and it seemed that she still would. It was much for him to place before her. He'd had several scenarios in his mind for that meeting, one of which would have her accepting his words, and everything working out, another where he was taken into custody for his revelation and being executed. There were many in her position...maybe most, that would have chosen to end his life...he'd expected to have to fight his way out and flee...so many possibilities...yet she was offering him another. He remained silent, even as she bid two of her men to leave, which would indeed show her own trust in him, as the odds for him succesfully being able to kill her had gone up astronomically. But, her trust was well placed, as he had no thoughts on the matter, and would only draw blade and blood in self defense in this particular environment. "Indeed...find the numers of militia, where they may gather, where the greater number might be. Guards, structures, landscape, offered strategy...as you say, even turn you against each other." When she asked him if he would send reports and such that she provided him with, he would nod his head. "I would need to copy the information so it is in my script, so less suspicion is placed upon it. But I would follow further instructions...I would only ask from you, sanctuary to myself and my sisters...and the tools to pull them from danger, to start a new life here." He wouldn't be concerned with the need of coin, as he'd spent his times returning home through the years, and veiled messages to his sisters, to gather certain things together for the day that a quick getaway and a new start would be needed. He hated the thought of pulling away from their homeland and the place they had grown up at...but if they were ever to feel safe, it would be needed. ~d~
Queen Beathag Aberdeen
"Ah will n' must place this before the King, m'husband, we are o' equal power but tae nay share such would be a blasphem o' our trust and his place upon the throne, sae anointed by the beyond." Popular discussion placed the Queen as a life-long hedonist of the worst sort, for having been baptized as all her siblings in the Church it was only for annual keeping sake. While she sat in Mass, while her children partook of communion such hardly graced her mouth. She was tolerant, educated of the faith, and could particpate in its benefits and argue its losses as could any other monarch in Europe, but she was not chritstian. The belief in the sacredness of their place however, transceded any one God to a belief in the other-place. As with her ancestors before her, and his, to their honor above all else. To themas through the Gods. "Ah will grant yer sisters safe passage n' place them among the court as guests, yet will reveal nay name. We will see wot e'er customs ye should place tae their keepin' n' person as tae their comfort when they arrive, and give arms for their protection. In daein sae..our belief in oneanother is assured?" She offered him one white hand, softened with the ministrations of handmaidens yet still marked by a life led before this. "If tha' is sae, let me tell ye wot ye are tae dae n' write before ye dae it or sit down tae parchment. Your worlds ways, the ways o' such tha' are clandestine..are nay unknown tae me but only for those who are my court's spies, and the order to which they established havin' come from others of the same. They would know better how tae fend fer ye, n' through them we may be counseled. Wot Ah will have ye dae is gae with me tae meet them, which means before this ye must present yerself at court, ye bein' such master o' these arts may come forward with claim. Be ye the servant o' a foreign master..a noble historian perhaps. Ye seen other such histories as might benfit yer cause." Was this all not history? Would it all not be history? "Then Ah will take ye tae my court's Spy Master..Ah believe within the Order here n' within another ye will find nay better whom might give ye the best. Both o' militant n' simpler ways. She, as another whom once stayed with her, were among the apprentices o' a Grandmaster, who I was told was one o' four tha' lived within Europe. Ye can nay venture tae dae this alone. Neither one o' us n' if we dae, more may perish for it." The thought of another war, a crusade in fact still tasted bitter on her tongue after swallowing so much of it, stuffed down her throat when the King sought free trade through the Gibraltar strait. If only they had quaralled with Spain! In this, no, it was a matter of desert peoples. Now that land so called Tamagzha where many counseled together..how did Egypt fare? If reclaiming the Holy Land failed than its lucrative trade never had, what would become of the North African Gateway to such a place, but a sea from Damascus? She would not have them called by Christendom to crusade on such land nor pray that christendom would crusade on Scotland to rid it of heathenists, idolators, and an heir with dark devil skin. Her hand still waited to be clasped, hoping in her he would believe as much as she began to trust him (d)
* to be continued
continued from: Part I
*For the sake of continuity, the remainder of the story told will continue in this thread
Queen Beathag Aberdeen
Time passed, and when time passed questions went unanswered. Many things filled Beathag's day be it travels, family, friends, or the state of the realm for which she was responsible. Her thoughts were rarely idle. None could claim, either, that they were the thoughts of a simpleton. A quiet world was succumbing to autumn's change of color and cold, heavy rains. What an evening to be outt! A storm came from a night whisper quiet only to go pitch black with rows of thick clouds that opened up to unleash a downpour. The few scragglers out and about found inspiration to quicken their march, if not outright run in to establishment, home, or merely under a forgotten awning for shelter."M'lady, here. In here!" Her escort brought her to the comfort of a smaller, lesser known establishment. The perfect place for clandestine words to meet. What had become of the Egyptian with words to tell and things to seek? Was he only a figment of her imagination now, gone with the deepening of the season? In idle words she told her husband of things to see but what if there was nothing now to see? (d)
Ahmir Miros
The course of the past bit of time had indeed left Ahmir as little more than a ghost in the lives of many, save for a single individual. So many dealings and plans that were always in motion, not only his own, but the plans of many. Some plans had been disrupted by the Egyptian's skilled, and subtle touch as he'd left a small pile of bodies while helping to save a beautiful woman, that just happened to be a princess at the same time. She was currently in hiding, and taking a good portion of the Egyptian's time as he tried to help make things safe for the woman to continue on in her mission of diplomacy between Israel and Skye. Sadly, too much information was left unknown, which left the woman in danger, and off the grid for the time being. But even while busy, he had kept his ear to the ground, listening for news on any front. Unfortunately, there would be a bit of particular news that he had been expecting and not looking forward to. Word had finally come, demanding that his reports were sent...And that also told him that if he didn't respond soon, he'd be recieving another message in the form of Brother's from his Order, without friendly banter on their mind. It meant that it was now time to move his hand. He'd delayed and procrastinated as he tried to think more and more about this decision that he was going to have to face. This night would be the night that it would be forced. And what a night. It seemed the heavens had opened up and wept for the life changing choice that he was being forced to make. It wasn't just his life in the balance here though...which had caused him to be even more secretive. He had been following her since she left the castle, always from the shadows, always from the side and never in plain sight. Even from the rooftops when the need arose. When she finally found her refuge from the storm, he looked up to the sky just as a bolt of lightning flowed and splintered across the sky above him. He wished he knew the god's will...it would make things so much easier. Within minutes of the queen slipping into the establishment, Ahmir, his cloak covering his form and his body, a hood upon his head to hide his features from view, would slip into the building as well. A quick measure of the interior and those within it before he walked towards her, stopping when would be appropriate, before his voice would ring out. "My Lady...should you be free, I would request words." He pushed his hood and cloak back to reveal himself more fully, and offer a slight nod of his head towards her in deference. ~d~
Queen Beathag Aberdeen
If only mere men could look on paper to read the Gods' will blatent before plain, unmagic eyes for the rare magic of revelation. If only life were so simple - alas - it wasn't so they were forced to walk tight ropes with constant fear of falling in to the depths. Where were the ones to offer hands at the end of the day and who were they really? So many questions moved in her mind. Beathag couldn't afford questions. So many relied in her for the answers! The Egyptian had pieces that didn't fit well together against her own, grating edges as the agendas fought for dominance. Hard it was to answer the particular question of what the specific agenda was. With the seasons gone to cold, men would turn from war where rain would make mud, where snows would freeze the hands to the sword, slow the war machine. Was it then the season of others going forward or did spies no know rest? The Egyptian's shadow was the quarry for a roof-walker. A superior hand pulled him back, saying "No. We are to leave him alone. Unless we are told otherwise." Body glimmer in the weeks preceding garden interlude had been taken note of but the request to let him alone prevented them from haunting the world of cloak-and-dagger playing out like a show before unknowing eyes. Orders kept them blind while he had knowledge, yet he was blind. Beathag, too, was blind. Having no sense to full capacity was an irratant. Then as if a bit of light sliced lightning clouds he broke over to rumble the thunder. She inhaled, exhaled stiffly. "Ah have time." Guards hoods, still raised, disguised displeased faces. "Have the small room o'er there prepared for us, the candles lit n' the heat braziers as well. Ah will hold an audience." Gods, let something be known this night. Give her something to have faith in him (d)
Ahmir Miros
There were times that he truly did wish that his life might consist more often of the truth...and it felt as though this night would have to be full of it, or his time in Skye was over, and one of the few places in the world that he felt it possible to have a new life, would be lost. He would, of course be armed, but he was definitely not foolish enough to use them. His presence and request would be taken with the regard that was expected, in all honesty, as she was no doubt as tired as he of the slight of words and hidden agendas. He simply nodded his head and then moved in the direction that was mentioned. So it seemed she'd been expecting him...he thought he'd felt that tingling sensation of eyes upon him, even as his were upon her. Whoever it was, they were good. Which meant he would have to be better on his departure, as his destination afterwards was not a secret he would be revealing this night. He waited, not entering the room until Beathag would, and if she desired any of her guards, he would wait for them as well, before closing the door behing him. The rain heavy cloak he wore would be pulled off and hung to the side to dry slightly, before he turned to face her, a look in his eyes and upon his face that was unplaceable, yet showed just a slight peak beneath the professional mask he tended to wear. "Let truth be known between us from my lips at least this night, in hopes of a favorable consideration." ~d~
Queen Beathag Aberdeen
She hadn't been expecting him. To say she had would have made a prophet out of a mere woman with keen senses. While she didn't know when or where, let alone why, the feeling that he was about still pulled every which way on internal strings until a veritable braid was formed. New life was the reason for so many to venture to the island right beside the motherland of Scotland. In the course of things the little isle became more prominent than the larger one. History turned until it spilled all out to be picked up again by the strangest hands. A blended world was lit by the fires all around them in the small room. It could even be burned by the likes of the same contained in the fireplace of the neighborning commons. Tonight she was not alone; her brother wouldn't hear of his sister moving through a dark, wet world. Her secrets were confessed and the younger sibling, though not of her power, was still a trusted member in the fellowship of family. When the men pulled back their hoods his dark auburn hair stood in contrast to the golden main of his sister. To the left, the opposite guard was golden haired identical, and her nephew. The third, the senior of all of them was the Norwegian one known as Brom. "aye let it be know for no more can either think on it, Ah'd suppose, or wonder at it. It is somethin' Ah can nay afford tae dae, not after wot has been endured tae a house still sae young in my country's history My belief in wot e'ere it is ye seek tae dae must be superceded by the obviousness of if ye dun nay tell me, wot can there be? Ah'll let ye speak first. know tha' now more than e'er wot ye say depends on your freedom. If ye prove false tae me Ah will have nay choice but tae imprison ye, have ye questioned, n' decide upon your release upon my conditions if at all." Her eyes said she wished no reason not to trust him. He seemed honorbound to his ideals while at the same time pinned down by another, like an instrument too oft abused. "Please say tha' ye have found this place worth your truth." (d)
Ahmir Miros
He didn't seem to mind the fact that those guards were present as well. They had to be trusted to her, to be privy to her private conversations. When she spoke, he brought his fingers up to rub over the bridge of his nose and then over his eyes, rubbing them as to ease while she threatened that his words would end up meaning his freedom. He hated being threatened, especially when he was offering to speak the truth. First instincts when hearing such words came to be to remove himself, from the situation, from the land all together...save for the fact he had done nothing against them...still, even when finding them often enough, it was not one of his favorite speeches to hear. He waved his hand up in the air to let her know he understood. He'd been in these situations before, but not one that would be as big of a turning point in his life. It was a fork in his life, where his universe would shift and line up to flow with the outcomes of this particularly momentus decision. For one man at least, the image of the heavens being ripped open by lightning and pouring down that cold rain would fit perfectly for his evening. He reached down, though realizing he had three large guards there as well, he brought the other hand up and then shifted the one down slowly, showing them he was not going for a weapon, before he pulled a scroll case from his satchel. Opening it up, he would retrieve a scroll and unroll it before setting it down on the table. It would be written in Ancient Egyptian, as most of the country and lands spoke the common language of the religion, Ahmir's order remained rooted in many of the old ways, even to the worshipping of their gods, as well as the knowledge of heiroglyphics. "I have...which is why I wish you to know that I am placing the fate of not only myself, but my family, at your mercy. He moved over to sit down in one of the chairs before he motioned to the scroll. "This is a communication for me from my Order. I am what is considered, a Warrior of Anubis, in the Order of Timeless Sands. They have had a hand in most of our part of the world's dealings for centuries...And I have been their instrument...their tool, for many years now. I've been losing my faith that those who command my hand, have had the best interests of my homeland and our people in mind. This is their way of telling me to send the information on Skye that they sent me here for, or else. I've not sent them a communication since I've come here." He paused a second and then took another breath before he continued. "Before I tell you the information I have, I wish to tell you my reason for having to wait before this truth could be spilled. My family was attacked years ago, and only myself and two sisters live. Part of the 'gift' I recieved for my loyalty, was the protection of my sisters...who are guarded by other members of my Order...And at this time, I see that they are there more to ensure my loyalty and obedience...or else their guards quickly become their executioners. The threat to my family has always been my main reason for secrecy." He knew that she'd be checking in on all of his information that he was giving her...and thus far, every bit of it was truth. "They send me to scout...and Skye has become a land of great interest throughout the world. Your rise to power so quickly no doubt brings worry and concern as well. I've spent my time on Skye exploring, finding points of interest, landmarks, ambush points, strategicly important areas...things no doubt you all know here already, but not many outsiders would. Things that can't be found on a simple map of the land. Social structures, religious bias...Any form of possibly useful information, no matter it's appeared signifigance." It was information that would probably be more useful for infiltration on lesser levels, before larger attacks came...something no doubt a woman and men of their caliber would catch on to easilly and quickly enough. "All information that I am more than happy to hand over to you." After all, it was a death sentence for him now, just sitting in that room and revealing what he was. He leaned back within that chair and then looked to Beathag again. "And to make it easier to find information on myself, and my Order...I am known by the name Eclipse." A name that would no doubt be known to many through the clandestined community of spys assassins and the likes, some with words of praise for his work, while others who would spew venom at the very mention of his name. You could take on the mantel of hero, and villain in his line of work...and most tended to label one of his kind with that of villain. ~d~
Ahmir Miros
Three pairs of hard, cold eyes glared at him with unbidden bouts of suspicion. In fact, he was made to be distanced from her the width of the room by half, allowing them time to form a barrier before the Queen if he meant ill intention. He hadn't before, she'd told them, but that hardly mattered now. Life was too precious a thing to trust with foreign hands but here he was, doing it now. She shut her eyes by half. Not so wide nor disregarding him, instead they looked on the communique he offered. "If it were nay by m'axemen or noose, they would kill you then Ah see," she speculated, taking the papers she could not read. Here she relied on him for translation. The story was elaborate. Brom would offer "Will we have the Ebon look on it, your majesty?" In the question was veiled a thin command he would enact, her wish or no. It was his place, for the Lord Guardian had told him so. What would the man do now to hear such things? He, like Brom after him, was placed between the Queen' s foreward will and being her omniscience. While his place was at her side there were those willing to go where he couldn't, wouldn't. There were those who would do what no man of the one God would ever deem as scrupulous no matter the task. White hand lifted to silence him for a time, though her brother Caldean looked to the Norsemen in agreeance. A victim of the cloak-and-dagger world, it nearly took his life before he could find his sister again. He would have been a rotting corpse in a stone coffin, held alive until he died to match the dead around him.What would make this man so different - to learn of what he did only validated that fact. Scottish eyes could burn holes in the Egyptian hide, hot as the sun. Was his life swinging before his eyes? Long arm with long fingers grasped a tableside candle to bring it close to look on the pictures forming words in the language of a place older than old. "Ye have told me much, things tha' if but asked in a word would have been found for me n' your life paid forfeit all the sooner if they were o' a mind. But as ye say, yerself, n' yer kin now are at my mercy. My mercy is alongside m'sense, and my sense has long trusted ye. Ah'm glad it is proven a good instrument n' nay merely the fault o' a woman seekin more good in a world where sae much black reigns supreme. Now.." Lifting a hand she would bid the men to leave. Leave? Two would be made to leave with only one remaining, her nephew Bryce. Like his uncles he was not so trusting but like his aunt he knew the truth if it was before him. His ears and eyes would be her witness. It was a show of trust for the Egyptian. She knew that like any assasin or spy trained by an ancient Order he could best four men, so to be with only one for protection against a pit viper? "Ye hoped tae tell them somewot tae capture our men on route ,our parties on trade perhaps? Tae have us pit against those who might help in a world tae dangerous ah dun know, but ye are nay without the reasons as tae why. N' if I gave ye a report tae send tae them in a way tae give ye wot ye are runnin ' out o, time, would ye send it? If sae, will ye follow further my instructions?" Asked before they were given. She looked at him awaiting an answer. She, too, had struggled, scrimped, and bled for those she loved. Oft times it hadn't been to any avail but she was blessed it meant more in the last several years. "Ah want tae help you." (d)
Ahmir Miros
It would not be the three sets of eyes boring into him as though they would each like to take their blades and insert them into some point of his body...it was their job to feel that way about anyone, especially someone who had just admitted to being a spy, a thief, an assassin, all rolled up into one nice, neat little ball. Granted, he felt he could come out against the three men in the room with him...but no doubt all of them felt the same way, that should it come to mortal combat, they would be the victor. It was simply the mindset of a warrior. Don't ever think that you would fail or lose...it only opens the door to that very thing. He was more used to the use of speed and deception, quick kills...it would be how he would see his survival rate being the highest, especially considering the cramped quarters...though it could work in his favor as well, keeping them from getting to his back. Such were the thoughts towards the men in the room, though his attention remained upon the Queen, whom Ahmir was quite literally placing his life in the hands of. He simply gave a glance of those golden eyes to the man who spoke of the Ebon Hall. He had no doubts they would be looking into his story, whether she commanded it done right then or not. He paid close attention to her words when she spoke up once more, telling him that she had trusted him, and it seemed that she still would. It was much for him to place before her. He'd had several scenarios in his mind for that meeting, one of which would have her accepting his words, and everything working out, another where he was taken into custody for his revelation and being executed. There were many in her position...maybe most, that would have chosen to end his life...he'd expected to have to fight his way out and flee...so many possibilities...yet she was offering him another. He remained silent, even as she bid two of her men to leave, which would indeed show her own trust in him, as the odds for him succesfully being able to kill her had gone up astronomically. But, her trust was well placed, as he had no thoughts on the matter, and would only draw blade and blood in self defense in this particular environment. "Indeed...find the numers of militia, where they may gather, where the greater number might be. Guards, structures, landscape, offered strategy...as you say, even turn you against each other." When she asked him if he would send reports and such that she provided him with, he would nod his head. "I would need to copy the information so it is in my script, so less suspicion is placed upon it. But I would follow further instructions...I would only ask from you, sanctuary to myself and my sisters...and the tools to pull them from danger, to start a new life here." He wouldn't be concerned with the need of coin, as he'd spent his times returning home through the years, and veiled messages to his sisters, to gather certain things together for the day that a quick getaway and a new start would be needed. He hated the thought of pulling away from their homeland and the place they had grown up at...but if they were ever to feel safe, it would be needed. ~d~
Queen Beathag Aberdeen
"Ah will n' must place this before the King, m'husband, we are o' equal power but tae nay share such would be a blasphem o' our trust and his place upon the throne, sae anointed by the beyond." Popular discussion placed the Queen as a life-long hedonist of the worst sort, for having been baptized as all her siblings in the Church it was only for annual keeping sake. While she sat in Mass, while her children partook of communion such hardly graced her mouth. She was tolerant, educated of the faith, and could particpate in its benefits and argue its losses as could any other monarch in Europe, but she was not chritstian. The belief in the sacredness of their place however, transceded any one God to a belief in the other-place. As with her ancestors before her, and his, to their honor above all else. To themas through the Gods. "Ah will grant yer sisters safe passage n' place them among the court as guests, yet will reveal nay name. We will see wot e'er customs ye should place tae their keepin' n' person as tae their comfort when they arrive, and give arms for their protection. In daein sae..our belief in oneanother is assured?" She offered him one white hand, softened with the ministrations of handmaidens yet still marked by a life led before this. "If tha' is sae, let me tell ye wot ye are tae dae n' write before ye dae it or sit down tae parchment. Your worlds ways, the ways o' such tha' are clandestine..are nay unknown tae me but only for those who are my court's spies, and the order to which they established havin' come from others of the same. They would know better how tae fend fer ye, n' through them we may be counseled. Wot Ah will have ye dae is gae with me tae meet them, which means before this ye must present yerself at court, ye bein' such master o' these arts may come forward with claim. Be ye the servant o' a foreign master..a noble historian perhaps. Ye seen other such histories as might benfit yer cause." Was this all not history? Would it all not be history? "Then Ah will take ye tae my court's Spy Master..Ah believe within the Order here n' within another ye will find nay better whom might give ye the best. Both o' militant n' simpler ways. She, as another whom once stayed with her, were among the apprentices o' a Grandmaster, who I was told was one o' four tha' lived within Europe. Ye can nay venture tae dae this alone. Neither one o' us n' if we dae, more may perish for it." The thought of another war, a crusade in fact still tasted bitter on her tongue after swallowing so much of it, stuffed down her throat when the King sought free trade through the Gibraltar strait. If only they had quaralled with Spain! In this, no, it was a matter of desert peoples. Now that land so called Tamagzha where many counseled together..how did Egypt fare? If reclaiming the Holy Land failed than its lucrative trade never had, what would become of the North African Gateway to such a place, but a sea from Damascus? She would not have them called by Christendom to crusade on such land nor pray that christendom would crusade on Scotland to rid it of heathenists, idolators, and an heir with dark devil skin. Her hand still waited to be clasped, hoping in her he would believe as much as she began to trust him (d)
* to be continued