Eternal
The Empire might be dead, but chances are shadows probably still aren’t welcomed in these parts. You’re not afraid of a fight, but you aren’t sure just how much manpower and support this warlord has and there is no need to take unnecessary chances. Besides, some of the shadows traveling with you have actual families; if there is going to be growth in this organization then you can’t risk them.
“Okay everyone, we’re heading off road. I’m warning you now, we may have to drop baggage if need be, but until then, we’re continuing our journey to Delerg. I also want all of you Eternal shadows to cloak yourself and walk on our perimeter. If you see anything or anyone that might be hostile, don’t reveal yourself, but instead report to either me, Cyrus or Talia directly and take a position that will allow you to ambush any interlopers when the time comes.”
“Won’t we look like an easier target with less people visible? Shouldn’t we have a show of force instead?” Cyrus asks.
“We could, but we’d likely be attacked anyway since we’re probably going to be outnumbered here. This way at least we’ll have the drop on anyone who decides to attack. There’s no easy way to do this, better that we play to our strengths and use stealth. That’s why I want to avoid the roads altogether.”
“Very well Shadow Master.” Cyrus remarks.
As you continue your journey across the long stretch of uneven fields, Talia comes up to speak to you.
“I think you’ve made the right decision in traveling off road like this.”
“Hope so, we’re pretty open out here. I’d hate for some platoon of patrolling archers to start firing at us.”
“Well the cloaked scouts around us should give us a little warning at least. That was a good idea too. In fact I’m pretty excited about this whole journey. It’s a new chance to start over and I think it will do everyone some good…though I hope we will find a book or writings of the old ritual to open up the portal to Dendrin again.”
“Well, it’s a pretty old ruin and in swamp. I don’t think we can get our hopes up too much that anything like that survived, but that doesn’t matter right? I mean if people are going to follow Dendrin, then he’ll find a way to reach them surely.”
“I suppose you’re right, I just…well it’s silly I guess, but the new batch of eternal brothers and sisters never got properly indoctrinated by Dendrin and I think it would do them well to hear his words from his own voice.”
“I don’t think we need to worry about their loyalty or dedication at this point, you’ve probably trained and taught them better than anyone could’ve about the ways of the shadow save for Dendrin himself.”
“Yeah…maybe that’s what’s needed...”
Talia at this point gets very quiet. Her face shows a combination of fear and guilt. It’s obvious she wants to tell you more, but now she’s afraid to.
“Talia, let’s ride over there from the rest of the group for a moment.” You say.
Talia nods and rides off and you tell Cyrus to take oversee everything while you talk to Talia privately. When you ride over next to her she’s in the middle of crying.
“Talia, I don’t know what this is all about, but you know you can tell me and not be afraid about it.”
“I’m not afraid of you… (sob) I mean I know your feelings for me are so strong that you’d probably be willing to overlook almost any transgression and that’s partly what I’m afraid of, because (sob) I don’t want you to get in trouble because of my decisions.”
“Wha…? How am I going to get into trouble? What IS this all about and start from the beginning.”
After calming herself, Talia begins to tell you what exactly is troubling her and she starts from the beginning which apparently was three years ago. She tells you that she caught two of the male eternals raping one of the female ones in a storeroom and that she did nothing about it, because she wanted to see if they suffered from infertility like the old eternals did. Instead she let the two males off with a warning and convinced the victim that something like this would never happen again. She also tells you that of course the female never got pregnant so it would seem the infertility also exists in the new eternals as well.
“And you never thought to tell me this before?”
“You had other concerns on your mind and I had it under control, or at least I thought I did…”
“What? What happened?”
“While we were waiting out the snowstorm, remember how Brother Seminai broke his neck while coming back from look out duty? He slipped on some ice and fell down the stairs?”
“(Sigh) Let me guess, he was pushed?”
“Sister Grace did. It was apparently in retaliation when he had raped her two night before. She told me and begged me not to tell you since she didn’t want to be punished for harming another shadow…it isn’t her fault. Its mine, I should’ve taught them all better, I am their mother and they are my children and I’ve failed them.”
You shake your head at this point. You know Talia’s always had a maternal instinct towards the eternals, but you didn’t think it would go this far. You also have always known the newer eternals to be a bit more “wilder” but that only seemed to be in battle and you could easily rein them in. You never realized there was a deeper darkness within them and who knows how many harbor these undesirable traits.
“Okay, first question. This Brother Seminai and Sister Grace were they also the ones involved three years ago? I mean is this a repeat action?”
“No, those were three different eternals.”
“Wonderful, I was hoping to limit my worry. Anyway, I know we’re low on the women folk in our order, but I think you know we can’t tolerate wanton raping just because their horny and undisciplined.”
“I know and it was wrong of me to keep this from you in the first place…I just wanted our order to flourish with the blood of eternals…I mean yes I have hope that the shadows will at least grow, but we’re also eternals and we will eventually die out.”
“Well, if these new ones are displaying these types of traits, maybe it’s better that we do. I mean I don’t pretend to be a devout clergy man that does nothing but good deeds and I will always have a desire for battle, I think most Eternals do having it bred into them, but I’ve never committed cruelty for the sake of it.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m not sure yet, but my other question is why did you think I would get into trouble?”
“Because while you knew nothing about this, you would still be innocent in Dendrin’s eyes and because I know your love for me is such that no matter what you decide punishment won’t befall me even though it should. Dendrin I fear would not look favorably on you if you decide to do nothing to all those guilty after hearing what I’ve told you.”
It’s funny, but you’ve been keeping a bigger secret than Talia for decades. You almost feel like telling her that Dendrin isn’t going to give a shit what you decide especially since he hasn’t seen fit to even speak to you in years.
In any case, you probably need to do something, though you just aren’t sure it needs to be now. You’re in the middle of potentially hostile territory and settling an internal dispute might not be the best thing right now. Still the new eternals are going to have to be dealt with on some level and the sooner the better. As for Talia, she’s right in that you wouldn’t do anything to her, but it is somewhat surprising that she allowed this to happen. She might be a bit delusional, but you still love her. You give her an answer that should seem impartial though.
“Talia, I need to know the names of the brothers involved in the rape three years ago and I need to know of any other eternal who has displayed potential disruptive behavior within the shadow order. I will have to consult Dendrin on this and decide what should be done with them…and you.”
“I…I understand. I know you must be fair on this matter and I will accept any judgment that Dendrin sees fit to give.”
“Well, I will have to as well and despite you only just now telling me, I may still be in trouble as well. After all as Shadow Master I really should’ve been more aware of my own people, but don’t worry about me. I will beg Dendrin for his forgiveness and that of all involved in this. Perhaps he will show mercy.”
“We can only hope.” Talia replies and tells you the names as the two of you ride back to the group.
Later that night you continue to ponder whether or not to dispose of your more troublesome followers. Granted the two in question haven’t done anything in three years, but that potential is always there, and so are the ones that haven’t done anything yet, but show signs of it. You can only guess this is more due to their breeding not anything they’ve been taught since they still uphold the tenets of being a shadow without question and that’s a bigger problem.
If you kill them, is it going to stop there? All of them came out of those Derro tanks and who knows what the hell kind of magical concoction is coursing through their veins to make them behave in such an unstable manner and why is it becoming more of a problem lately?
It’s times like this you almost wish that you actually COULD call upon Dendrin for his help…
And why can’t you?
What could it hurt?
If you actually pray to him for help and he doesn’t listen, then nothing was lost and you’re back to what your plan was originally, which is dealing with the situation yourself in a violent manner.
Of course if he actually does listen, he might very well help, but with a “catch.” You’ve known Dendrin for too long to know that when he does help, he doesn’t often do it in anyway that could be considered generous.
“Okay everyone, we’re heading off road. I’m warning you now, we may have to drop baggage if need be, but until then, we’re continuing our journey to Delerg. I also want all of you Eternal shadows to cloak yourself and walk on our perimeter. If you see anything or anyone that might be hostile, don’t reveal yourself, but instead report to either me, Cyrus or Talia directly and take a position that will allow you to ambush any interlopers when the time comes.”
“Won’t we look like an easier target with less people visible? Shouldn’t we have a show of force instead?” Cyrus asks.
“We could, but we’d likely be attacked anyway since we’re probably going to be outnumbered here. This way at least we’ll have the drop on anyone who decides to attack. There’s no easy way to do this, better that we play to our strengths and use stealth. That’s why I want to avoid the roads altogether.”
“Very well Shadow Master.” Cyrus remarks.
As you continue your journey across the long stretch of uneven fields, Talia comes up to speak to you.
“I think you’ve made the right decision in traveling off road like this.”
“Hope so, we’re pretty open out here. I’d hate for some platoon of patrolling archers to start firing at us.”
“Well the cloaked scouts around us should give us a little warning at least. That was a good idea too. In fact I’m pretty excited about this whole journey. It’s a new chance to start over and I think it will do everyone some good…though I hope we will find a book or writings of the old ritual to open up the portal to Dendrin again.”
“Well, it’s a pretty old ruin and in swamp. I don’t think we can get our hopes up too much that anything like that survived, but that doesn’t matter right? I mean if people are going to follow Dendrin, then he’ll find a way to reach them surely.”
“I suppose you’re right, I just…well it’s silly I guess, but the new batch of eternal brothers and sisters never got properly indoctrinated by Dendrin and I think it would do them well to hear his words from his own voice.”
“I don’t think we need to worry about their loyalty or dedication at this point, you’ve probably trained and taught them better than anyone could’ve about the ways of the shadow save for Dendrin himself.”
“Yeah…maybe that’s what’s needed...”
Talia at this point gets very quiet. Her face shows a combination of fear and guilt. It’s obvious she wants to tell you more, but now she’s afraid to.
“Talia, let’s ride over there from the rest of the group for a moment.” You say.
Talia nods and rides off and you tell Cyrus to take oversee everything while you talk to Talia privately. When you ride over next to her she’s in the middle of crying.
“Talia, I don’t know what this is all about, but you know you can tell me and not be afraid about it.”
“I’m not afraid of you… (sob) I mean I know your feelings for me are so strong that you’d probably be willing to overlook almost any transgression and that’s partly what I’m afraid of, because (sob) I don’t want you to get in trouble because of my decisions.”
“Wha…? How am I going to get into trouble? What IS this all about and start from the beginning.”
After calming herself, Talia begins to tell you what exactly is troubling her and she starts from the beginning which apparently was three years ago. She tells you that she caught two of the male eternals raping one of the female ones in a storeroom and that she did nothing about it, because she wanted to see if they suffered from infertility like the old eternals did. Instead she let the two males off with a warning and convinced the victim that something like this would never happen again. She also tells you that of course the female never got pregnant so it would seem the infertility also exists in the new eternals as well.
“And you never thought to tell me this before?”
“You had other concerns on your mind and I had it under control, or at least I thought I did…”
“What? What happened?”
“While we were waiting out the snowstorm, remember how Brother Seminai broke his neck while coming back from look out duty? He slipped on some ice and fell down the stairs?”
“(Sigh) Let me guess, he was pushed?”
“Sister Grace did. It was apparently in retaliation when he had raped her two night before. She told me and begged me not to tell you since she didn’t want to be punished for harming another shadow…it isn’t her fault. Its mine, I should’ve taught them all better, I am their mother and they are my children and I’ve failed them.”
You shake your head at this point. You know Talia’s always had a maternal instinct towards the eternals, but you didn’t think it would go this far. You also have always known the newer eternals to be a bit more “wilder” but that only seemed to be in battle and you could easily rein them in. You never realized there was a deeper darkness within them and who knows how many harbor these undesirable traits.
“Okay, first question. This Brother Seminai and Sister Grace were they also the ones involved three years ago? I mean is this a repeat action?”
“No, those were three different eternals.”
“Wonderful, I was hoping to limit my worry. Anyway, I know we’re low on the women folk in our order, but I think you know we can’t tolerate wanton raping just because their horny and undisciplined.”
“I know and it was wrong of me to keep this from you in the first place…I just wanted our order to flourish with the blood of eternals…I mean yes I have hope that the shadows will at least grow, but we’re also eternals and we will eventually die out.”
“Well, if these new ones are displaying these types of traits, maybe it’s better that we do. I mean I don’t pretend to be a devout clergy man that does nothing but good deeds and I will always have a desire for battle, I think most Eternals do having it bred into them, but I’ve never committed cruelty for the sake of it.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m not sure yet, but my other question is why did you think I would get into trouble?”
“Because while you knew nothing about this, you would still be innocent in Dendrin’s eyes and because I know your love for me is such that no matter what you decide punishment won’t befall me even though it should. Dendrin I fear would not look favorably on you if you decide to do nothing to all those guilty after hearing what I’ve told you.”
It’s funny, but you’ve been keeping a bigger secret than Talia for decades. You almost feel like telling her that Dendrin isn’t going to give a shit what you decide especially since he hasn’t seen fit to even speak to you in years.
In any case, you probably need to do something, though you just aren’t sure it needs to be now. You’re in the middle of potentially hostile territory and settling an internal dispute might not be the best thing right now. Still the new eternals are going to have to be dealt with on some level and the sooner the better. As for Talia, she’s right in that you wouldn’t do anything to her, but it is somewhat surprising that she allowed this to happen. She might be a bit delusional, but you still love her. You give her an answer that should seem impartial though.
“Talia, I need to know the names of the brothers involved in the rape three years ago and I need to know of any other eternal who has displayed potential disruptive behavior within the shadow order. I will have to consult Dendrin on this and decide what should be done with them…and you.”
“I…I understand. I know you must be fair on this matter and I will accept any judgment that Dendrin sees fit to give.”
“Well, I will have to as well and despite you only just now telling me, I may still be in trouble as well. After all as Shadow Master I really should’ve been more aware of my own people, but don’t worry about me. I will beg Dendrin for his forgiveness and that of all involved in this. Perhaps he will show mercy.”
“We can only hope.” Talia replies and tells you the names as the two of you ride back to the group.
Later that night you continue to ponder whether or not to dispose of your more troublesome followers. Granted the two in question haven’t done anything in three years, but that potential is always there, and so are the ones that haven’t done anything yet, but show signs of it. You can only guess this is more due to their breeding not anything they’ve been taught since they still uphold the tenets of being a shadow without question and that’s a bigger problem.
If you kill them, is it going to stop there? All of them came out of those Derro tanks and who knows what the hell kind of magical concoction is coursing through their veins to make them behave in such an unstable manner and why is it becoming more of a problem lately?
It’s times like this you almost wish that you actually COULD call upon Dendrin for his help…
And why can’t you?
What could it hurt?
If you actually pray to him for help and he doesn’t listen, then nothing was lost and you’re back to what your plan was originally, which is dealing with the situation yourself in a violent manner.
Of course if he actually does listen, he might very well help, but with a “catch.” You’ve known Dendrin for too long to know that when he does help, he doesn’t often do it in anyway that could be considered generous.