Loose LEads, Loose ends. [Asisiak]

As Lagi entered his private quarters, he told all of his servant’s that were cleaning the room to leave. “Please give me some time alone, I need to be left to my thoughts. “The servants nodded and exited the room at a quickened pace as Lagi sat at his bedside. He then pulled out a small orb, it was the same item that was retrieved during the scuffle that he had with the brotherhood of ash. “Alright, patch me in with Asisiak The Destroyer, chieftain of the Imuchakk nation. “Lagi would figure that she would be within 200 meters of the city, that was a pretty wide  area of communication if she’s treated as an important diplomat. Relations between the Imuchakk and Kou seemed somewhat reasonable; maybe she would be in a high class area.

After the sphere would work, Lagi would start speaking. Asisiak, its Lagi el nagi. We need to talk.
I request an audience, meet me in the palace of kings

Abilities used

Spoiler:

295/300

*I should be 300 stamina right now*

Asisiak almost jumped at the sound of the King of Reim’s voice came to her. It was like he was standing right beside her, yet she was alone in her room as she dined. She looked around, just to make sure he was not using some type of magical devilry to infiltrate her room. When he asked for an audience, she frowned, still utterly confused as to how she was hearing his voice when he was nowhere to be found. Perhaps it was part of the demon-form he had showed in the throne room? She could not be sure, but he sounded like the matter was somewhat pressing, so she shrugged and donned more fitting attire before making her way to the palace. The walk was a short one, and when she arrived at the entrance, she gave the guard a nod.

“The King asked to speak with me.”

The guard nodded and let her through, making her frown at the lax security in the palace. Surely a king would be guarded more heavily. Her own guards always followed at no more than 50 feet behind her, ready to come to her aid at a moment’s notice. But such things were not her concern. A page showed up to lead her to the king and she followed quietly. What could the King possibly need to speak about now? More posturing on what he thought he should receive? Demands for lands in her region? She scoffed at the idea. Let him try and take land in Imuchakk for himself, she would laugh heartily as he was destroyed by her might warriors.

The page announced her before allowing her into the room and she marched in with her back stiff and her tone formal.

“You requested to see me, here I am. What is it you need?”

“I’ll be brief; there was an incident with the Fanalis corps during the incursion with the Kou forces. The leader of the Fanalis, Octavius… he was killed in the line of duty. However, there were some rumors and notable sightings of those that survived claiming that there was two Imuchakk accompanying him during that time. Now I’m not pointing any fingers, I was just wondering I you was aware of this? That and I wondered if you had any information about that incident during that time?“

Lagi was pretty straight to the point; he didn’t leave any inch of the subject untouched. This matter was serious to Lagi, he needed somewhat of a redeeming result in favor of having the Fanalis’s approval. If Lagi was going to restart the Fanalis corp in a new direction, he would have to cover up some old wounds. However, what would happen if she did have something to do about it?

Asisiak raised her eyebrow even further. This new king had some nerve, there was certainly a note of accusation in his voice.

“King El Nagi, I do hope you are not indicating that my people had anything to do with the death of the great General Octavius. If there were Imuchakk with him, I am sure they did their best to assist him. There was word of two gravely injured men that appeared to be of Imuchakk descent, but I have not yet had the opportunity to look into it. They did not come with me or my men. I know nothing of what happened to your Fanalis Corp, I know only what happened with the Brotherhood of Ash. You were there, you saw us fighting back the invasion. And yet you dare to indicate that my people may have been involved in any way. How dare you!”

Asisiak made no effort to hide her anger at the indication that her people may have been involved, it was a slight to their honor. After what he had done to obtain his throne, he had no right to point fingers anywhere.

“What do you know of what happened to them, King El Nagi? Everything I have heard is that the act was carried out by humans. Certainly you would know more than I would. After all, these are your people. I fought at your side and got you to the throne, which you then took for yourself and you dare imply that my people had anything to do with destroying the most honorable part of the Reim military? I respected General Flavius more than you would ever dream to. He was a good man, and a better soldier. So do not ever dare to even THINK that I would have anything to do with his demise.”

I didn’t say that you did, but someone did kill this man. I’m not indicating that you personally had anything to do with the death of Octavius, but there are situations that could happen unknowingly without your jurisdiction or orders. What I need right now is leads; I need a name, a face, anything I could get my hands on. You are taking this way too personally, I could have asked this question in another way that wouldn’t have hurt your feelings if that was the case, but I apologize if I lack the subtlety. Just take it how it is without the roundabout, I asked if you was aware of what happened and I asked if you had any information about it, that's all. Those two imuchakk might know of octavius’s killer. He’s a strong man, and Azix doesn’t know anything about this at all, so I’m guessing the council’s a dead end. I am just as clueless as you are, and I fought with you. I wasn’t trying to insult you.” Lagi wasn’t backing down, he wasn’t trying to make this about her, and all he wanted was some answers. “For the surviving members of the Fanalis corps, I need to bring them peace. What would happen to your soldiers if they lost you? They are strong and proud, but not without feelings, not without emotion. Anger, sadness, revenge, and the willingness of someone to step up and soothe that if you were indeed murdered. That’s what I’m trying to do…….”

Asisiak growled and rolled her eyes.

“I told you I knew nothing. And yet you press me for answers I do not have. Why can you not understand that the likeliness of the Fanalis Corp being taken out just as Kou invaded was not a coincidence? To invade a country, you take out their first line of defense. It is most likely the Kou invaders and the Brotherhood of Ash that were responsible. So will you be putting your new puppet masters on trial, King El Nagi? You agreed to rule under them, knowing what strife they caused in your country. It is a little late to pretend you care now. You will likely never regain the trust of the Fanalis. You think they do not draw connections? Kou invades and then you take the throne under Kou control. You will be lucky to gain the trust of the general populace, let alone the Fanalis in this country. I wish you luck in cleaning up the mess you created by not thinking the offer they made through a bit more.”

With those words, she would give him a moment to let her words absorb.

Lagi was actually quiet for the moment; Asisak’s words really did hit him close to the heart. Lagi couldn’t call this attempt an act of pretending, he didn’t really know why he cared as much as he did, and maybe the Fanalis corps wasn’t worth salvaging if they were going to turn into an eventual rebellion of super powered freaks. But they were still his people, he had to do something. “I wasn’t pretending when I asked that question concerning Octavius. It was out of impulsive obligation, you take into account the possible thoughts and concerns of your people. As a ruler yourself, you should know that. As a veteran of leading an entire race, you know the stakes are high when you make a mistake, do you speak to me in such a way that leads me to believe that you are without fault? Ever? My only concern was myself and my clan, now it’s more than that, now it’s my country and the people who live here. How I got to the throne doesn’t matter, because I have no regrets. Hosting any kind of regrets in your heart affects your ability to lead. I would have made the same choices and said the same things; I regret nothing, even the mistakes. That’s because these are the choices that I thought what was necessary, the choices that I thought what was best for the country. Even if these choices were the only ones that I had. Would I have chosen to die for a king who doesn’t even acknowledge my humanity? Does my sacrifices for power label me as a monster? But that is exactly what men fear….monsters.” Lagi took a deep breath; it seems that this was a dead end as well. Maybe he shouldn’t even give it forethought? Well, at least he tried. “Regardless of my mistakes, this entire conversation…..that was me trying to care. But I digress, the party is among us and the least we can do is keep up appearances. I’m sorry for bringing this up Asisak, I appreciate you showing up upon inconvenience and thanks for the good luck. “

Asisiak would simply nod before turning and leaving the room, feeling there was nothing left to say. She certainly wished the man well in his endeavors but she feared his lack of experience and impulsive nature would be nothing more than his downfall. But, she had her own country to worry about and that involved meeting with the man from Kou to see about organizing supplies for her people. Leaving the Palace of Kings, she and her guards would head for the stable to rent horses to take them to their next meeting.

[exit]