Atonement

[Addled 62]

[OOC]

Decided to plan a little mini event of sorts for the Kharajyr. It will be a get-together with some sort of sacrifice as the center of the gathering. This post is basically an in-character meeting between Lorei and the rest of the kha as they discuss this idea. Please note that the ideas suggested or discussed in the thread will be taken seriously and might affect the way the event is brought into being. I want to make sure this is fun for all who might be attending as well as jump-start our forums again. 

 

 

 

It was still an early hour. 
 
The sun has just begun to hit the arch of the sky. It was a warm day, the warmth a harbinger of the heat that would come later on that day. The warmth was familiar but the memories it brought forth were bitter and allowed a surge of emotion to overwhelm her. 
 
Ja'Lorei exhaled, a wistful sigh passing her lips without her own accord. Her eyes flitted to the clear, bare sky and imagined it covered by thick branches with large, branching leaves. She imagined that the smooth, white towers were trees and the grass was overgrown, wild. Her eyes slid closed and she imagined the chattering of the birds of the jungle, the almost silent rustling of the animals in hunt or just passing by. 
 
The fantasy was beautiful and she let herself get taken away by it. She missed it deeply. She missed her home. 
 
"Gates!" A voice shouted, clear with a level of implied sophistication and self-importance that was so very High Elven. "Someone! Open the Gates!"
 
It was only said once but it was enough to break the illusion. The memory faded away back into the trim, foreign landscaping that she was now tolerated. 
 
She slumped in her seat as if the sudden loss drained her of energy. She was still, letting the reality settle before she reluctantly forced herself to her feet and moved to the railing of the Headquarters of the Kharajyr settlement (or Kha'mp as some jokingly call it). It was hung high above the land and attached to the rocky hill previously uninhabited. The top of said hill now occupied two cabins crammed to each of their respective capacities with beds, chests, bags and other belongings. The Headquarters and the cabins were in their style. They looked noticeable different than the architecture of the High Elve. It was a fact that she appreciated but also felt a bit of disdain about. 
 
Their settlement was undeniably small. They liked the space they had, don't get her wrong, but in comparison to the city that it was located in, it was relatively tiny. This, of course, made them stand out a bit more because they were a tiny, different thing located in a usually uniform race capital. All this, Lorei could understand, she wasn't upset about any of this. It was the fact that it made them look like an abnormality, a growth, an addition to a race.
 
Ever since they were forced away from their lands they became dependent on the good will of another group. They had to go to those whose alliances were shaky and brittle and ask for assistance, biting their tongue while they pushed back their pride. They acted the same, or at least  they tried to, but it was becoming increasingly obvious to Lorei that her people were beginning to doubt their strength as a race. 
 
This simply could not continue. 
 
The Kha, as a whole, were losing their identity along with the steadfast confidence that they lead themselves by. She would be lying if she said she didn't believe it was her fault. She allowed herself to be melancholy, to slack as her people wandered aimlessly. No longer.
 
Leaning a bit over the railing, she watched the people below. As she finally pushed away from the carved bars, she made a decision. Tonight, she would hold a meeting.
 
--- -- --- --- -- - - -

She waited, perched a bit on the edge of one of the ledges, her hands gripping the railing behind her as she watched the Kha climb down the ladder and find their place. It had been hours now since she had decided to take actions into her own hands and now, it was finally time for everything to come together. 
 
As movement began to slow, she started to speak. 
 
"We awr ae strawng pepawl, awr we nawt?" She paused, listening to the murmur of agreement that spotted across the crowd. "Yus, we awr. But et haws shawn tu Lorei's eyes thet we awr luseng awr strength."
 
She pointed to her head and tapped feverishly. Her voice rasping briefly. "Th'ys. We awr tha wuns thet awr maykeng awrsalves weak. We nu lawnger beleeve we awr strawng."
 
A few people in the crowd let out a few denials but she paid them no mind, ignoring them for now. 
 
"We nu lawnger beleeve we awr guud enouf fawr awr Muuna?"
 
This got a large reaction. Several voices broke out in the crowd, the voices mashing together in a single yapping shout. She let the noise drone for a while and when it began to raise, the crowd becoming increasingly irritated by her silence she rose her hands.
 
Her palms showing passively, she let them fall and asked, looking at them from the corner of her eye. "Nu?"
 
Several "No's" were echoed back at her.  
 
"Then," She started, bringing her hands together. "Let aus pruve et."
 
She smiled at the silence and took this as a sign to continue. "A sahcri'fyce. Awnd'ah ae wh'yle awfta tu be tugetha, yus? Wut du kha thenk?"
 
She waits then, stepping down and allowing herself to be lower so another can take the spotlight. 
 
-----
 

[Pum! 106]

Mayla stands near the front of the crowd, being one of the louder, obnoxious few. But, as Lorei spoke on, she become more quiet and nodded along at the very ending.

 

"Yus'sa, yus'sa.. ah sah'cry'fiyce'a fur Muuna!"

[Archbishop 1784]

Kreshal stands to the side, listening to the whole speach that Lorei has given. He speaks out to give his opinion.

"Yus, Yus thar kha need'ah sah'cry'fiyce fawr Muuna, thar lawst sah'cry'fiyce awff'a thar aype weeth'a fur deedawnt gu veray weel...."

[cj_scout 305]

Rameethar nods slowly, a devious yet ecstatic toothy smile reaching his face. He clears his throat, roaring out with enthusiasm and emotion alike, not only his opinion as he wades through the Kharajyr, but a speech, an affirmation of his faith.

 

"Militayree weaknawss, instawbilitee, lawck awf deesawplin, thawt cawn bee'a feexed. Feexed weeth trayneeng, recruiting, awnd tyme. Luseeng fayth, devoshawn, awnd respeawct foawr Metztli, Muuna awlmyghtee...Thawt ees whe'awn wee'a hawv aw problawm. Eet maykes Rameethar proudd'a tu see thawt thaw Kha' hawv nawt gawn da'own thawt dawrk pawth, foawr nawn wuuld retawrn frawm eet weethout sawmtheeng lawst. Le'awt thees sawcrifyce bee'a mayde, awnd leawt eet nawt bee'a thaw lawst. Eef spirituawl streength ees lostt'a...the'awr ees naw streength tu bee'a hawd. Remembawr thawt, Kharajyr."

 

He looks at those in the crowd, nodding approvingly, fully analyzing the strength, willpower, and potential of each and every one as a warrior browsing an arsenal, seeing the damage, the deeds he could do with each weapon, fully knowing that they could be used for bad as well, maybe against his will, maybe for it. He was proud of his kin, and had no doubt in his mind that what Lorei had said, that we are strong, that we can keep that strength, improve it, was true. He fades back into the crowd, lost in his own prideful yet foreboding thoughts.

[Kim 1328]

Ja'Jujan watched from the back of the crowd, balancing on one of the railings that lined the platform. She listened to her mentor speak with a growing smile, eagerness bubbling inside of her as the focus of the speech finally made itself clear. It'd be the first sacrifice she'd witness as a priest. Without speaking, she nodded her silent approval with a grin on her face.

[Guest]

Although Zaddha stands in the back of this crowd, he is one of the more noticeable characters due to his size. That same, massive Tigrasi tries his very hardest to contemplate and comprehend what he hears the Ja' shout. Alas, his attentive nature proved no avail. Zaddha could barely make out what was being shouted over the ruckus; much as he wish he did. Whatever he could hear, it seemed Zaddha always referred to the same question everytime, "Muuna ees ashaymed o' aws? Foawr whut reesawn? We'ah awr her perfawct peopawl, he'awr perfawct creaytiawn."

 

Zaddha couldn't understand what Lorei was trying to tell him and the others. "Awr we'ah nawt ah strawng peopawl?" The towering Kha' continued to ask himself. He looked down at the rest of his body, seeing his bulky legs and impressive torso before adverting his gaze back to Lorei and seeming confused. He proceeds to ask himself, "We'awr mayk'awng awrse'awlves week? Zaddha deed nawt know thawt. Eet'ah se'awms moawr lyk we juust dawn't hawve thah numbawrs tu'ah be strawng. . . Hrmmm, whut dus Zaddha know ah'bawt thut thoawgh?" Zaddha berates himself, truly understanding that he isn't the most literate and prestigious intellectual there. 

 

Of course, he continues to listen as best he can, making out that Lorei stated the Kharajyr are the ones making themselves weak. Zaddha mutters in his cold, rasped, and gravelly alto, "Zaddha ees nawt we'awk. He'ah haws ben'na chaynge'awng fawr Muuna seence we'ah gawt tu'ah thah Fringe. He'ah ees gett'awng weekawr, awnd'da he'ah deedawn't know eet?" The Tigrasi appears to be ashamed of himself in the moment, hanging his head low and letting his bulgy neck strain itself. He raises his head for a time, he asks himself as he hears Lorei, "Pruve eet? Hoaw?" Eventually, Zaddha seems to understand the gravity of the situation, "Hrrmmmm, yus. We'ah need'ah sacri'fyce foawr Muuna. Zaddha nevawr seen'ah wawn befawr. Eet wuuld'da be'ah guud fawr ou'awr relaytiawn'sheep weeth oawr Muuna."

 

The beast ponders for a long while after the decision had obviously been made between the Kharajyr. He wonders for what seems to be hours; his face straining itself as his veins seem to almost pop out of his head. The Do' sincerely cares for the denizens of the Fringe at this point in his life, and thinks deeply about the Apes he knows. "We'awl they'ya sacri'fyce awn Aype? We'awl they'ya sacri'fyce Zaddha's fre'awnds?" Subtle grunting emits from the 7"6 Tigrasi as he remembers, "Hrmmm, per'awps nawt. We'ah sacri'fyce Ape'Kha aus we'awl, yus?" Zaddha returns to a concerned state, thinking on an Ape'Kha who he tried to help once, though they wouldn't accept it. Suddenly shame clouds the Kharajyr's mind. Zaddha reminisces about that time when he was an oathed Lucienist, thinking that it was for Metztli. He was utterly incorrect however, as Zaddha recently learned that the Creator and Metztli are not one in the same. The Tigrasi looks around the area nervously, wondering if anyone else knows his secret. Zaddha understands that his actions could've very well get himself sacrificed at this time. Slowly, he nods to himself, as he finally comes to his own decision that whomever is to be sacrificed in this world, it is for the better of his people, their people, and the Goddess above.

 

He returned to the home complex of the Kharajyr. Indeed, it was relatively small compared to that of the peoples' near the Kharajyr, but he was content with it. Zaddha climbed into his bed and looked down at his kitten Soaji, smiling whilst she was napping peacefully. His brain started to feel a searing pain however, as Zaddha thinks to himself, "Ees Zaddha. .  . escayp'awng juus'tyce?" For the rest of the night, he lay awake, staring at the bed above him. Zaddha closes his eyes, though whenever he did, he only saw his inevitable death. Zaddha debated with himself, he had begun to realize that he was certainly being irresponsible. A patta shouldn't be irresponsible, he shouldn't be heretical at anytime. A patta should accept his fate when he makes impacting mistakes in his life. Many moons went by, but the thought remained with him through it all.

 

Zaddha sits up from his bed and continues to stare at his kitten. Soaji seemed so disconnected from the troubles of the world, so content and happy in her time. He knew that should something happen to him, she would be looked after and cared for beyond his belief. Zaddha was a good patta to her, and loved her more than he loved Metztli. He confessed to himself right then and there, he loved her more than he loved Metztli. This shouldn't be. Zaddha decides to go outside as to clear his head. He places his gigantic, straggly paws upon the railing there at the Kharajyr sanctuary. He closes his eyes and inhales deeply. What happened next was something Zaddha would've never anticipated.

 

Belting roared from the Kharajyr as he plead guilty. "Lorei! Eef yu'ah steel need'da persawn tu'ah sacri'fyce, eet ees Zaddha!" He said no more. Surely, someone heard Zaddha's plea. Without truly conversing with his conscience, Zaddha gave his body up for his people. And thusly, Zaddha wept. He wanted to live, but he knew that he couldn't. It was then that Zaddha prepared for his death. A death that was long overdue. . . 

 

((Lol if it's too late, just void this.))

[Bircalin 332]

Vartuul stands idle in the centre of the muffling crowd, whiskered voices whispering to one another wistfully over Lorei's words. With the sun's eventual setting he lifted his thick paw to the flimsy rim of his worn, leather hat, lifting it from his flickering ears to rest at his side. His muzzle twitches naturally as he listens, glancing down to think to himself before nodding shortly, muttering.
"Vawrtuul cawn'ah gawther thu awther heedhawnters fawr hawnting sacreefices'ah..."

He nods a second time in affirmation with himself, glancing about for Bahlo, Simboo and Qanar to beckon them for a quiet gathering.
The Headhunter would be ready to go to work once more.

[KUSHerZombie 222]

Rizren stands to the middle. She smiles, never had she seen a sacrifice. She quickly says "Rizren whew'l beh thur!", very excited.

[Birdwhisperer 1174]

Moved to the Great Library. It shall be sorted into appropriate category shortly.