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You see before you lavish castle of a building, adorned with angry looking guards that are overpaid for killing the innocent to prove a point... The Council of Elders is in charge. As of now, the only laws applied to the outside world are thus...

The Council of Elders rules over all of Etreus
Disobediance to their rule is punishable by death.
There is no leadership beyond the Council.
Back

hai -- entah (happy), 01:20:26 02/28/08 Thu
hentam sajalah

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Ph33r the Lavanians. XD! -- Ihan Ahisa and Sioveph, 19:52:18 08/14/03 Thu
Leaving Zoqui's massive craft well-hidden in the Southern Forests nearby, Ihan and Sioveph hop out of the PhiaShip. Ihan is completely camoflauged, dressed in a long-sleeved tunic and fitting trousers of various blurry dark hues. A hood of sorts conceals her fine white mane, and even a dark veil stretches across her short muzzle. Sioveph's natural coloration, on the other hand, lets the lupine 'taur blend in perfectly. In the Welphie's hand is the shoot-strike, hes preferred weapon that hse'd discovered when exploring the PhiaShip; Ihan has a pair of vaguely-Olashi-like handheld blasters, one with laser-shot and the other with actual bullets. The slender Olashi adjusts the comset embedded in her long, swept-back ear with one curving claw, and Sioveph resettles hes own version of the same 'headset' with a nod.

In absolute stealthy silence, the pair move out. Ihan, the more flexible of the two, slides into sight, while Sioveph creeps along the hedgerows. The two Tokathe guards are spotted and Ihan grins wickedly -- payback's a frante. Abruptly standing up (seemingly emerging from the still-scorched earth), the Olashi flares her powerful wings, the thin pieces of fabric that had concealed them while folded flapping with the movement. The two Tokathe immediately draw their weapons, but before one can fire, a snippet of laser takes off his hand; the other squeezes off one badly-aimed shot before Ihan puts a bullet in her head. Another laser shot, this time from Ihan, crackles into the first's chest. Black and brown fall noiselessly.

Olashi and Welphie streak forward, pausing at the entrance to the massive building in which the Etreusian government is housed. Pale blue and golden eyes meet, Ihan folding her wings again and adjusting the camoflauging flaps over them. What awaits them in the building is unknown, but as they slip into the entrance, both have only one thought -- revenge.

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Replies:
- And the Thaizians. -- Onaru, 19:59:44 08/14/03 Thu
  - And the other Lavanians -- Catas, Jimalas, 20:15:47 08/14/03 Thu
    - ... -- HQ, 10:47:52 08/23/03 Sat
      - Oh holy SYIT. -- Ihan and Sioveph, 13:02:41 08/23/03 Sat
- Short crappy post. Much plot-change. -- Zoqui || Onaru || Ihan and Sioveph, 20:47:04 09/30/03 Tue
  - Much growling. -- Catas, Jimalas, 16:20:05 10/04/03 Sat
    - Much vulgar cursing. -- Ihan and Sioveph, 16:13:27 10/14/03 Tue
      - Bloodlust burns out -- Jimalas, 19:37:49 10/14/03 Tue
        
        And we flee. -- Ihan and Sioveph [Zoqui], 12:39:06 10/15/03 Wed
Tracking, tracking, one two three tracking... -- Onaru and Cadoc, 10:57:04 07/19/03 Sat
Though Onaru was supposedly leading the way, it was Cadoc's extremely sensitive nose who pinpointed the location. The golden Aluben, half-hidden behind a hedgerow, switched to infrared vision to see past the thick leaves. The telltale signs of life glowed redly in the massive building nearby, but everything else was almost cold. Reluctantly, Onaru returned to normal vision and poked his muzzle through the foliage, risking being seen to see for himself.

The area was burnt and blackened, grass boiled into ash and the soil itself scorched. Tiny shreds of singed, silvery metal decorated a wide circular area, beyond which was a strip of grass and two bipedal guards near the entrance to the building. Onaru laid his long ears back and stifled a growl as he ducked back out of sight.

Cadoc sniffed the air carefully, her nose telling her as much and more than Onaru's eyes had. Surprisingly, the Kotak's brows fell and lips curled high in a silent snarl when the story became clear to her. In hopes that Tokathe hearing isn't good enough to pick her low whisper up, the Lavanian murmured, "There was blood spilt and lasers fired here. The metal smells of Olashi make, but the blood is Tokathe. I also caught scent of a few hairs and feathers of Olashi origin."

The Aluben crouched next to her swiveled his muzzle to look at her, eyes blazing. "Then this is where their ship was destroyed," he hissed quietly. His gaze moved to include the mercenary briefly, "I need to find out if they lived, but the explosion was a long time ago. My eyes cannot find an old trail as easily as scent can be tracked."

Cadoc nodded her lean muzzle, most hostility gone now that they had a common enemy. Snakish eyes closing, she sniffed again, flicking one equine ear before grinning slightly. "I don't smell enough of Welphie or Olashi blood to indicate they died here, and their scents aren't burned enough to have been killed by laser... though I smell traces of singed Olashi. It's highly likely, however, that if indeed those Tokathe are the ones who destroyed the ship, they might have taken the two captive and killed them elsewhere."

Onaru immediately shook his head, shifting his weight slightly to ease strained muscles. "I doubt it. Sioveph may be a pacifist but hse isn't one to let hemself and his partner get captured. If they didn't die here, they might've escaped." The golden Aluben looked to Jaedo when Cadoc failed to reply to that, cocking his raptorine head slightly. "What do you think?"

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Replies:
- Vulpine-ness comes in handy. -- Jaedo, 19:45:32 07/21/03 Mon
  - O,o ...wow. -- Onaru and Cadoc, 19:51:45 07/21/03 Mon
What a welcome...! -- Ihan Ahisa and Sioveph, 10:51:32 06/09/03 Mon
"Ihan, are you sure it's wise to land on a planet to which we've never been before?" Ihan traced the placid, reasonable voice back to its source, a wolfish face with one brow slightly raised in tacit question. She grinned. "Sure, Sio. Distress signal demands. Anyways, my superiors told me to explore... so that's what I'm doing." The Welphie muffled a sigh as hes Olashi partner flipped a switch on the control board. "Better strap in, Sio, it might be a bumpy descent. Distress signals are usually accompanied by a heightened defense system." The slender Olashi leaned forward, half out of her brand-new pilot's chair (until recently, Olashi pilots stood, not sat), in readiness to battle the orbital defenses as her Proud Tornado, a simple standard-issue fightership, neared the planet. But nothing happened.

Sioveph leaned up, scrambling on four sturdy, wolfish legs towards hes specialized 'couch', made for 'taur-forms such as hemself. Nimble, thumbless hands seemed to dance as they fastened the safety belts across hes long body, fur dark with browns and blacks ruffling at the feeling of being constricted. On hes belly now, hse propped hemself up on hes elbows, golden eyes avidly watching the pilot as she puzzled over the read-outs. "Perhaps the signal is a trap," Sioveph mused in a mellow tone, wolfish ears flicking, "or perhaps some disaster has already befallen the planet. This is dangerous, Ihan. I am not a fighter."

The white-maned Olashi threw a cheerful, saberfanged grin over her shoulder at her friend. "No worries, Sio! We're just gonna check in, see what's up, then slide outta there and report. My Simnohs doesn't trust me in a high-risk situation," she chuckled nastily, pale blue eyes glinting with a combination of pilot arrogance and youthful rebellion. Sioveph groaned under hes breath, rubbing hes short muzzle with one retractably-clawed hand as hse fidgeted in hes couch. "Perhaps, Ihan, the reason your superior does not trust you is--"

The slender pilot interrupted, eartips slicking back and tailtuft twitching in confusion, "Sio, I don't get it. The planet's defenses are in perfect working order by the scan I'm getting from them. This is the Tokathe home planet and we recognize their technology as friendly. But... Suns scorch! I wish I knew what was happening down there!" The Welphie angled hes head to observe the agitated Olashi. Despite her blazing words, her dainty hands were steady on the plasma-board controls, guiding the Proud Tornado closer and now among the satellites at a perfect descent angle. Sioveph grinned quietly, happy that a minor ambassador like hemself had been paired with an 'average' pilot such as Ihan Ahisa. She was one of the few Olashi who understood the Welphie's third sex, what most referred to as a double-gendered, which Sio was. Neither male nor female, but something of both.

Ihan rightly took Sio's silence for thoughtfulness and resisted the impulse to roll her eyes; the wolfish 'taur was often musing to hemself, and refused to share such thoughts even when asked. But the Olashi had more pressing concerns; white fur and pale grey feathers ruffled uneasily, she carefully navigated her small ship through the satellites, staying on the proper course for an easy descent. "Sioveph," she said softly, "I think we're going to land at what appears to be government headquarters. At least there we'll get some answers... probably good ones... and of all the planet it should be the safest place. Sound good, my friend?" The Welphie shifted on hes couch restlessly, shrugging small shoulders. "It sounds good, but it feels bad. I do not like the thought of landing anywhere right now."

"Oh c'mon, Sio, you can stay in the ship if you want." Ihan's pale eyes glittered as she tossed a teasing look at hem, "After all, we both know I'm such a wonderful diplomat that--" A thorough facepawing on Sio's part brought Ihan into laughter, easing the tension that had accumulated through the oddity of the 'silent planet'. The Welphie finally grinned as hse looked up again, whiskers and fur mussed. "I will go out with you, Ihan, if only to save you from yourself," hse retorted, amusement shining golden from a dark-furred mask. The Olashi returned the grin with considerably longer fangs and checked calibrations again. "We're going down nicely, Sio. Right on course." The 'taur nodded; hse'd expected no less.

Ihan leaned forward and pulled up a visual of their landing place... Sio saw and whistled appreciatively. "Extravagant," hse murmured as the Olashi scanned for a suitable set-down site, finding one rather quickly that was nearly in the mansion's front yard, but it still worked. "Hopefully they won't be too annoyed if we ruffle their roses, ai?" Ihan laughed under her breath, pausing as Sio made a noise in hes throat. "We should appear presentable, Ihan. And ready. If the government itself has already fallen..." The Olashi nodded, "I know, I know. And now the ship's on a locked course. Okay, I'll go... ahem... 'dress up.'" She snickered, catching Sioveph's rolled eyes and laughing louder. A slender white Olashi of average height, Ihan could clean up well, but only when she wanted to... which was practically never.

Sioveph unstrapped hemself and rolled off hes couch, landing easily on all sixes and meandering forward, rearing up to stand easily on four legs while hes hands swept over the plasma controls. A degree'd pilot, the lean, thickly-furred 'taur knew almost as much about ships as Ihan did. While hse rechecked her calculations, Ihan was in the sleeping room, running a soft brush through silky snow-white fur and her short, straight mane. Pale grey feathers were quickly preened into neatness and, remembering that Tokathe wear clothing, Ihan swung a silk, cerulean 'sash' about her hips, almost concealing her utility belt and holstered DB - the typical Olashi handheld laser-blaster. Checking her appearance in a holomirror, Ihan stuck her tongue out, pale blue eyes flashing amusement, and trotted back to the control room.

Sioveph eyed her critically before nodding, "Much better, Ihan. You look nice." The Olashi rolled her eyes but grinned anyways, adrenaline making her more cheerful than she usually was when forced to 'be pretty'. "We'll land in a few more minutes," the Welphie added, returning to hes couch and grooming self-consciously. The pilot muffled her laughter this time -Sio's a trained ambassador, hse knows hse'd better look good!- and took her chair. As an afterthought, she spoke. "Sio... grab your utility pack, okay? Just in case you're right and the whole planet's already down." The dark beast flinched, disliking any thoughts of widespread violence, but reached over one arm to snag the leather sac off its hook and strap it around hes lower back. The contents were much the same as on Ihan's belt, with the addition of a 'first-aid kit' and some spare parts for handheld comunits and the like.

"Then, if I take this, you should take your comset." Ihan blinked, but she nodded agreement, grabbing the headphone-like communications unit and slipping it on. The translucent wire disappeared under her white mane and the earpieces fit snugly into her long, pointed ears as they lay backwards against her head. In effect, one couldn't tell she had it on. "Too bad they haven't made one to fit a Welphie, ai?" she grinned at Sio, recovering her composure from thoughts of sudden danger and possible death ahead. Hse nodded to humor her, yawned once to show off ivory fangs, and stretched. "Hang on, Sio, we're landing. And still no comlink from the government... guh."

Landing took a few minutes, Ihan deftly avoiding any gardens or streets that her silvership might damage and setting down in a clear patch of grass, quite near the huge building that very nearly dwarfed her own ship. Sioveph eyed the hullcam read-outs and murmured, "People approach. I think there are ranking Tokathe among them. I hope to think that we were worried for nothing." Ihan nodded, scrambling up and putting the Proud Tornado in 'park' but not quite shutting it down. Sioveph stood and stretched again as Ihan opened a hatch facing away from the castle. "Let's go," she muttered, a bad feeling about this whole situation chasing chills up and down her spine, ruffling her feathers. But as she landed lightly on Etreusian soil and heard Sioveph drop down behind her, she put on her best diplomatic face and came into the sunlight, facing the Tokathe that had come out to greet her.

And nearly ran her muzzle into the point of a sword.

Sioveph heard the startled intake of breath and ducked back behind the ship before hse could be seen, eyes widening slightly. All hse could see was the agitated lashing of hes friend's long tail, the rest of her seemingly unmoving. Ihan, remembering non-Olashi expressions, flared her ears up and tried to assume a friendly expression... hard when being glared at by a tall beast on the other end of a sharp blade. "Greetings, Tokathe of Etreus," she managed before the one who they'd assumed to be of rank started barking questions about her person, ship, and purpose for being here. Sioveph debated on showing hemself and trying diplomacy, but by now hse was beginning to see the truth and had slipped an Olashi DB into hes right hand, flicking off the safety and letting the Crazouli crystal within warm up.

"My name is Ihan Ahisa, Olashi pilot of the Proud Tornado. I came in answer to a distress signal." The slender Olashi leaned back as the sword inched forward, trying not to slick her ears completely back in an Olashi expression of fearful apprehension. Sioveph mentally slapped hes forehead when she mentioned the signal, and hse turned out to be right: The ranking Tokathe sneered. "There is no distress signal, you sniveling little chit. We--" And quite suddenly, the robed black found himself staring at the slender barrel of a DB, held in an unwavering Olashi hand. Ears were down, eartips flattened.

"Which do you think is faster, sir, a sword or a laser?" Ihan said easily, rage burning in her pale blue eyes -- easily insulted, easily provoked. Her thin, hooked index-claw hovered above the embedded trigger as the Tokathe with the sword froze as quickly as though he'd been her target. The ranking Tokathe pulled himself up into a haughty scowl. "Your ship is ours now, Olashi fool. It will be destroyed as soon as you are." Ihan tensed, sensing danger even as a trigger was pulled and a stun-ray hit her between the shoulderblades, knocking her forward. Her DB clattered to the ground.

Sioveph's one shot removed the sniper's hand from his grey-furred wrist, sending the hidden Tokathe into a bout of howling agony. The Welphie shot forward, using four paws to accelerate quicker than most bipeds could while hes uppermost two arms snatched the light-weight Olashi from her position on the ground and clutched her to hes chest. Ears flat, hse leaned forward to streamline hes body, running as fast as hse could towards what looked like a forest. Concealment was all hse thought of, hes utility pack bouncing against hes back; distant Tokathian yells followed hem, but the one grey there, the only one capable of catching the speedy Welphie, was... preoccupied, to say the least.

Abandoning the Proud Tornado in favor of life, Sioveph and Ihan disappeared into the woods.

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~!@#$%^&*()_+ -- ???, 16:29:46 05/29/03 Thu
A twisted, ghostly noise shivers through the area nearby, silence discarded - for the time being. Like faint tongues of breeze in the sighing rain, threaded subtly with the ethereal heartbeats just distant of the physical sense of hearing... more making their black tracks over the mental soundplane. Slurring discreetly along, mingling with crowds that never see it, the Sentinel makes its winding path toward the rearing monolith known as the Council of Elders' headquarters. Somewhat blurred and skewed in the mental image of rain and dirty mist, it stands, gazing sightlessly in at the citadel with hidden eyes.

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