Closed Musing about a monster (zand)

[Ximal]

21st spring 513AV

Xi slumped over the desk in the lower of the hostel, the table there low and had a small meal on it, enough for him to eat happily and feel full. Still trying to garner his thoughts over the 17th though in his pockets sat two flat stones each one pretty light but Xi recalled a set of words. To use the arms, squeeze the stones. Xi sighed and picked at the food before him taking his time, he hadn't asked for a lot, just a bit of read and some fruit and he got just that, an apple and a hard heel of bread, with a mug of beer. Xi slumped a little more and sighed over his food. It was late and he couldn't go out and with the bandage still around his waist he wan't fully wiling to fight anyone especially not a full strength monk.

[Zandelia]

Rumors had been circulating recently, mostly little trifles that proved unfounded or possessed of an inability for her to use them effectively for much, however one involved one of her comrades – and that enticed her to search into it further. It was not overly difficult, truth be told, it wasn’t easy to stop tongues wagging about a foreigner who arrived mysteriously into the Great Infirmary under the supervision of a group of Monks. The events that were uncovered in the treating of Ximal’s injuries required nothing more than a few exchanged Laat, the fact it had been Monks dragging him in for treatment was picked up by loose tongues and a lack of sense. What had not been found, though, were the reasons behind his injuries.

In the evening before he was fine, whole and hearty. The morning after…damaged and receiving treatment. This a man who could easily win most standard fights. The inconsistencies are…glaring she told herself as she dressed.

Revy was out and about within the city, she could only guess as to what her lover was up to as she spent the Bells. She had awoken and found the woman gone, she often found herself alone under the covers of her cot – though very often Revy was found just downstairs and waiting for Zandelia to emerge, Their relationship had blossomed rapidly, she wondered often whether it would last. There were differences between the two women that would be hard to ignore in the long run but, for now, she merely enjoyed what she had – she had little enough in her life to be joyful over to destroy them with foolish musings. As it was she stepped down the stairs, wearing her blue dress this day, and took note that Vysia was at her desk as always.

“Where is he Vysia?” she asked simply, there was no need for explanation, she had asked Vysia to keep an eye open for Ximal as soon as she had heard of his predicament.

“Sitting over there Amelias, with his food, feeling sorry for himself” Vysia actually smiled at that. She sometimes made Zandelia wonder what side she actually stood for.

“Well, it’s not every day that a giant is felled by nothingness” she responded casually, resonding with her own wry smile as she swept past Vysia and towards the bench Ximal occupied – alone.

Good, it will give us some quiet to talk in she told herself, she had many questions after all.

“So Ximal, I hear someone must have knocked you about quite thoroughly,” she stated to him as she sat down opposite him, her own food brought to her by a hired hand, “why so glum? Don’t you like losing?” she barbed him with slightly – it was amusing to see an avatar of unarmed brought low enough to reconsider their abilities.

It was useful, after all. In her opinion the man opposite her could have used some knocking about. He was far too confident in himself for his own good – a dangerous weakness.

[Ximal]

Xi finally picked up the apple and took a deep resonating crunch. The dry powdery flesh evaporating to nothing but a sandy liquid within his mouth. He wasn't upset he was just a little sore, after all he'd been kicked by a brute with almost five times his own strength. Xi took a deep breath and then heard the musings of a familiar voice across the room, something never quite sat right about seeing zand in a dress. Though her figure suited it, it was still not natural. Xi finished crushing the apple and then tossed the core to the side of his plate. The heel of bread just simply hard and balanced in his fingers. Though as she sat down opposite him in her usual manner she asked in her usual tone, or rather stated that she'd heard he'd had his backside beaten. Xi just gave her a look with a lifted eyebrow. "I was beaten yes, but no i'm not glum nor am i sore, about losing. It just means he's better than me. Though if the bastard hadn't regenerated every single hit i landed i would have beaten him long ago. Still a loss is a loss and means i need to improve more." Xi toyed with the hunk of bread in his hand and smirked lightly. "So are you enjoying your nights with revy? I am still sorry for the accidental beating her up. Though that being said she did get me back fairly well I'd show you but it's under the bandage. And i still can't get the idea of you wearing a dress to sit quite right in my head. " Xi smirked and shielded himself a little with hsi arms playfully against her in-case she lashed out at him.

[Zandelia]

As Zandelia watched the man opposite her, perhaps she could go so far as to say he was a friend, it was interesting to note how what had previously seemed a morose and sulking Ximal transformed slowly into a seemingly self-assured and jesting one. She found herself wondering if he could ever learn that small thing dubbed humility, if he would even survive the world and its ravages if he couldn’t learn caution from battle. Still, it was not her concern overly much – he could do as he willed and she had long ago given up on trying to push him towards sense in that respect, his passions were immovable – it was his great strength…and his weakness. In a way it was comforting, knowing how he could be brought down – she liked to know how to exploit in case she was attacked.

An old habit, I suppose she noted to herself as she looked at her plate with disinterest.

It was usually a poor affair, though in the interest of balance Vysia had seen to it that Zandelia was given slight more than other patrons of the Safe Haven. Zandelia had realized all too quickly that a Monk who could kill you without opposition was a reasonable ally to attach one’s self to. She had helped out the other woman, built us a small amount of respectfulness between then over the last 18 days. In return she wasn’t dismissed with sharp tones, occasionally was granted conversation and – most importantly of all – had an extra rationing of fruits and meat. For a small price of effort it was more than worth it in her eye.

“A loss is a loss, perhaps you can learn from it?” she observed as an aside, placing a few morsel of sour grape into her mouth for their tang to pop open upon her tongue slowly.

He gets put in the damned infirmary and all he wants to do is make jokes? Honestly, one day I might have tos tab him just to see if he smiles back afterwards with that petching stupid little…wait..what?! her mind finally caught up to the man’s words, pushing aside her silent irritation for a few moments.

“Revy and I are fine actually, getting to know each other anew and so on,” she stated hastily before more poor jests could be bantered about, she needed information now and not frivolity, “and I’d always be wary of a woman in a dress Ximal, if I were you..” she finished, flexing her left wrist and watching as the tip of her spring blade almost caught the tip of his nose – she had taken to wearing it underneath her sleeves for protection recently – since Neilles had…

“Now, stop arseing about and tell me what in the name of the Night’s Mistress you mean by…regenerating” she asked him, almost an order perhaps.

Her curiosity had been most seriously piqued, if there were a magical lunatic about the city she’d need to know and bloody fast. She had people she needed to warn and information to sell if it were true.

[Ximal]

Xi watched zand turn thing over in her mind as he spoke at least until she pointed her spring blade at him almost catching his nose. "Could you please not do that, you remember what happened last time someone pointed a blade at me." Xi spoke honestly about the spring blade mostly because he didn't want to instinctively break her arm. Else he'd face revy and that was not something he wanted to do again. Though eventually she snapped her attention on to the key word he'd spoken " regenerating" Xi instead let the word linger in the air for a moment until he was certain she was listening. "Firstly; I'm not averse to losing i just have an up beat attitude when it's a normal person, when it's a monster which regenerates every single punch i threw at it i tend to have a bone of contention. Secondly: Now yor listening, i fought that behemoth in the aperture, i jumped in a couple of nights ago, and before you say I'm bullshyking you i have proof, though that i refuse to show for obvious reasons." Xi coughed lightly and chomped the bread as well as took a swig of the ale to make the bread more manageable to swallow. Then he let out a small cough to clear his throat. "Though, i can however zand, describe the giant that kicked my backside. And even gave me my proof."

[Zandelia]

Zandelia began to pull her hunk of crusty bread into smaller pieces as she listened, trying to keep the interest from her eyes. It was a hopeless task all told but then again Ximal was no threat so she had no overriding reason to disguise herself completely. He wove a strange tale, almost like a nightmare he had awoken to. If he hadn’t been in the Infirmary she would have brushed it off as a flight of fancy…still, there were the facts to consider. She was sure he told the truth – as he saw it at any rate – though she suspected there was something else at play. She placed a piece of the loaf into her mouth and chewed upon more than his words.

Jumping into the Aperture? No, I don’t believe that Ximal no matter what your wounds say. There is no way you could do that and live. I’m sure you think you did but… she let her thoughts tease out the details, trying to sift the fact from the belief.

“Sounds to me like you’ve had a bit too much ale lately, my friend,” she stated after she had swallowed and wet her tongue upon her wheat beer, “are you sure you didn’t just get kicked about by a bigger fighter?” she asked him casually as she partook of some dessicated apricot slices.

She watched him carefully with her green orb, there was no doubt that he sincerely believed what he was saying. The indignation of it seemed to emanate from him in waves of inter-locking anger and confusion. No, what he thought was true to him would be viewed as entirely different by another – herself, for instance. She needed details, however, as details were the life’s blood of fact. She mused upon what direction she could take the conversation in, there were many possibilities open to her. She could goad it all out of him, though she doubted it would be a wise choice considering his irritability. She finished her fruits and moved onto the salted meats as she accepted and refuted certain possibilities.

He’s a rampaging bull, wanting to charge. Why don’t we show him something red and see how far his legs carry him? she decided, it was better to let him exhaust himself with the tale before making anything resembling a conclusion.

“You know, when one spins a tale and then refuses to show the proof of the words spoken, it rather resembles someone who is either lying or has no idea what he is talking about,” she went right for the indignation gambit, seeking to draw the words out as a healer sucked the venom from a snake bite, “but very well, I shall…bite. Tell me of this giant. Was he twenty feet tall and did he have three eyes?” she smiled at him, a teasing smile designed to bait him.

As she spoke she could see the man opposite her getting incensed despite himself, he was not an easy man to rise to anger. It took real effort, though she was more than willing to put that in if it meant something unique for her efforts.

Let us see how much is your perception…and how much is fact

[Ximal]

Xi could understand the slight look of disbelief and the tone of mirrored feelings. It was true Xi reflected on it it seemed crazy but those two stones were his proof. Though he didn't want to use them no he didn't want to have to revel them. But it turned out as a matter of fat chat zand had somewhat held a slight air of belief. Xi sighed and then began to speak. "Alright miss funny ha ha, no he wasn't' a monster per say, he was taller than me though, twice as wide and muscled like a wall of chiselled marble. Purple veins coating his body pulsing with a dull purple glow. Stone covering on his hands, and his punched were powerful enough to make small craters in a solid stone floor. At my best guess I'd say granite. Still, i continue, blonde hair and he spoke in a strange language. The first two words i heard him say were "djas vasat" what ever in the blue petch that means. Two eyes and he seemed to follow the commands of a woman in a purple robe. I didn't see her face but to be honest she seemed some what like a cross between you and ana, in attitude at least, if not figure because i couldn't tell. However....She called me "Lucifer"...And to be honest the proof the giant gave me... was his gauntlets shrunken into two small stones, about the size of a flattened chicken egg." Xi puled one of which out from his pocket and showed her his hand still firmly wrapped around how he held it, but not squeezing lest it activate like the woman in purple had said. "Believe me now? I dove into the aperture, and i spent a long while down there, because i woke up in the infirmary a day and a half later. So you tell me. Am i bullshyking you ? Or dose my tail have a modicum of truth to it ?"

[Zandelia]

She grinned at him as the desired reaction was brought forth from him, he was delightfully easy to goad when it came to such things – despite his dogged past he still held self-respect locked deeply in a vault within him. The trick of getting to it, being able to use it, was to possess they key. As with most things it was simple enough to have access to it, all she had to do was be his friend. It was, perhaps, partially evil to know that little fact about him and use it but she was a practical creature and knew from their own word games he would never tell her everything he knew without a little push or two. She listened as she ate the last of her food, his descriptions were vague at best but were a start.

It shouldn’t be difficult to track down someone larger than Ximal is – few can accept the honor of such a title. Much less be able to beat him into injury. Still…this business about the Aperture is clearly nonsense she thought as he came to and ending in his speech.

“It possesses some truth, perhaps,” she told him as she thought it all through, “though I still don’t believe you actually jumped into the Aperture Ximal. You’d be dead if you did” she continued as her tone became musing, her mind trying to sift fact from imagination.

She recounted the tale he had woven for her inside her mind, it was a strange one to be sure. That he had fought a giant was not up for debate, the damage he had sustained was evidence enough for that to be true. The description he gave of his assailant, however, tickled something in the back of her memory that virtually screamed to be recognized but she was unable to pinpoint what, exactly, it was. Stone bracers were an oddity, none use those now – at least not since metal had been…invented. Recollection hit her with the force of a spear, the words Ximal said he had spoken stabbing into her mind and breaking the memory open.

Djas vasat…Nader-Canoch. No! It can’t be! she thought, her eye widening slightly as she fought for control of her eyebrows. She licked her lips, hiding the motion by placing another piece of salted meat into her mouth.

“Djas vasat…it is Ancient Tongue Ximal. Few know it, fewer understand it. This is…surprising. That is fact, you would not know it otherwise” she told him as she finished her meal and sat back to lean in her rude wooden chair.

No, I refuse to admit it. He died centuries ago, the damned Mirror of Tanroa was the only reason I even saw him. No, it must be someone else she told herself vehemently, deciding to steer the conversation in another direction – a more profitable one.

“This business about purple veins, it must have been a trick of the light. None possess such features whom are human. This woman…however…she is of interest. You didn’t see her face? Yet she called you a name you do not know…Lucifer. Why? Is it possible she thought you were someone else, someone whom she had a reason to attack?” she asked him, her intellect told her this woman – whomever she was – was the key to the mystery Ximal had presented her.

“Did you get a name from her? What did she say the reason for attacking you was? You said she controlled him…how? If he was able to punch you about there must be something else behind it, else she wouldn’t have control of him enough to cause him to fight you” she finished.

Think you damned ox! Information is power, it is knowledge and only you have that about these two miscreants! Tell me everything, even the parts you think are inconsequential she raged in her mind, not daring to say it outright – it would ruin the dynamic of what she was trying to do, put him on the defensive.

She needed him to be open.

[Ximal]

Well at least she was believing him now, her eye's betrayed that much, or rather her eye. She still didn't quite believe that he jumped into the aperture, however she'd conceded it held some truth but by the gods it was all true every word of it. However Xi let her mumble on in her own fashion until he saw that spark of realization in her eye's at the words. No matter how good she was at hiding her tells of when she was lying, she couldn't hidden that glint of curiosity or realization when she'd latched hold of something. then she spoke. Telling him what he'd already worked out, but he wanted to know what it was. Xi inturn cut her off there before she could go any further be spoke. "Well could you at least tell me what it means ? i'd learnt that it was ancient in a sort. but tell me what does it mean, he spoke two other sentences to me. "Djas vino kasatl zapat." And "Djas rozatlas?" Since your acquainted with the language would you do me the favour of translating it ?" A little ticked that he still didn't know what it meant he flicked a look at her. He wasn't dropping the subject as she tried to change it so he thoguth he'd bring it back around in a roundabout manner. "Purple glowing veins, blonde hair and well taller than me, the woman in purple called him "gregor", having said that, the woman in purple also called me "lucifer" so I'm guessing...That's my actual name. Seeing as this one which you and ana call me by isn't my real name just one i was given and kinda stuck to using. And the woman in purple unfortunately i didn't get a name of i was booted back to the surface before i could." Xi took a deep breath and sighed letting out the reason he was looking glum he was just annoyed that he knew so little about what was going on down there.

[Zandelia]

Zandelia mused over the questions that Ximal had asked her, wondering if it was really worth the price of revealing to him the extent of her abilities with the Ancient Tongue – not very extensive in the least. She had researched some of it in the aftermath of the Mirror of Tanroa and Gregor’s appearance to her. Yet…books upon the subject were scarce indeed she had learnt and an able tutor was something she had yet to uncover. She was left, as always, in a web of both secrecy and ignorance – something that chafed her internally, all the more so as she could do little about it. She scorned herself too for giving away her interest, however it was an acceptable slip for now – Ximal knew her well enough and if he hadn’t it was probable he wouldn’t have noticed it.

Still…a reminder to keep my guard up even amongst friends at times she told herself, the memories of Neilles’ verbal lashing still very much fresh in her mind. She decided to approach the subject with truth, he would find out eventually at any rate.

“I am no expert Ximal, there a few who are from what I hear. I’d imagine if you could get your hands on a Nuit you might get more than you dreamed of, however I can only help partially,” she told him, trying to translate as she spoke, “Djas Vasat means ‘I fight’…I think. The meanings vary based on context I have read”

“Djas Rozatlas means…’I am death’…or…’I am dead’? I cannot help you with the other phrase…I will ask some questions and see if I can’t get its meaning for you though, if you wish” she questioned herself then, she had yet to process the name of the giant she had been given.

As she thought, the name of Ximal’s opponents sinking into her psyche, there was eventually no avoiding it. Her fists bunched and she retreated into her memory as she sought to disprove the words the other man was telling her. The Mirror phased into view, the figure within matching the description Ximal had given her almost completely – he had had no purple veins after all. Still, if the dead were bloody walking who was she to even begin to understand what he would look like in the present. Gregor, the man mountain she had wished she could take into the present with her, was live and she began to wonder if she had wished for more than she could handle. His words flooded her, the references to a female all too clear.

Demon Queen…the woman in the Aperture? No…it can’t be! He said that they fought it bitterly! Why would she even be in Nyka and not seek to destroy? There is too much here…too much to understand. I need more time, more questions answered! she raged at herself, trying to figure a way in which she could obtain them.

She suspected there was only one way, however, and that was to visit the Mirror once more and hope that Tanroa smiled upon her. She saved that consideration for later as she licked her lips and wondered how much she should tell the man opposite her.

“Gregor…he is dead Ximal. What you fought was not living. He is a Protohuman…was a Protohuman. She would have died hundreds of years ago so whatever you fought was not alive. That much I can guarantee. This business about your true name though…how could she have known it? Are you sure you weren’t being misled?” she asked him, seriousness now in her eyes.

If there were unknown factors in Nyka she would have it that she found them first. She had found them first. This gave her an advantage, but only if she could fathom their mysteries properly – a difficult task indeed to set herself. Still, she would try her best as it would possibly lead to…possibilities.