Closed An Icy Inquisition (Syveris)

[Skerry]

e
Some had been marked by Zulrav, targets for his wrath should the search for the Despised fail. That did not mean that they were innocent. Even if the one that the god hunted was found, those who had aided him would not go unpunished. Information needed to be extracted from the tainted ones, a job that was not one for a god. Hathal Iceflank had arrived in Wind Reach, apparently a thrice marked man of the God of Winds. It was he that was conducting the interrogation of the helpers of the Despised and he seemed merciless in his methods.

Those who were to be interrogated were rounded up by War Hawks and escorted to the Valintar's office and left there. The man himself was within though he made an appearance every so often to call in his next victim. He had the appearance of a Svefra with his blue eyes and taller stature. He was fast approaching middle age it seemed with a permanent grave but patient expression on his face. Syveris was amongst those that waited and each time he emerged he failed to look at her, instead drawing another unfortunate into the room with him.

And they certainly seemed unfortunate. Each new interviewee emerged looking pale, stressed and one, a Yasi, came out in tears. It was after the Yasi that Hathal Iceflank finally came out to turn his gaze on the glassworker. His blue eyes held hers for close to a chime, his gaze cold, before he nodded in her direction and returned into the office to wait for her.

When she entered, as she must, she would find him behind the Valintar's desk. The surface would be bare, its normal paraphernalia cleared away to remove all distractions. The girl would be forced to sit across from him as his gaze remained upon her constantly. He sat curiously still, fingers steepled and his chin resting upon him. Even his eyes would seem still aside from the slow, rhythmic blinking. His demeanour would unnerve and unsettle anyone after awhile, his expression seeming to convey an infinite patience. Iceflank would not tire in the servant of his god.
e

[Syveris]

Earlier she had been approached by two Endal who took her to the Valintar office. Syveris knew this day would come, when she would be called to speak with that Priest of Zulrav, but the knowledge never made things easier to deal with. And then, she was left waiting together with the others accused by the God to be called and interrogated.

When Hathal Iceflank arrived in Wind Reach, the Avora had kept her distance. She wasn't guilty, and she knew it, but there really wasn't a way to prove it to someone else, since she hadn't found anything in the Deep Warrens.

Well, it was too late to do something now. The Avora sighed, biting her lip and trying to calm herself. Panicking wouldn't help, as it would only make her look guilty. But it was difficult to remain calm, watching as, one by one, the people entered the room and left, all pale and stressed.

And then she was called, it was after a crying Yasi had left the office. Syveris felt almost sick, knowing it wouldn't be easy to control herself not to cry like the young one had done. However, she had to get in, and so, she straightened herself up and followed Hathal inside.

Seeing him behind the Valintar desk, with all the stuff that was normally there cleared out, made her a little angry. It felt like the man had taken the place of the most respectable person in Wind Reach. Well, the Valintar was being somewhat annoying lately, but still, he was authority, and the desk was his. But she controlled herself, sitting down in the desk and facing the Priest.

The Avora tried to stay quiet for a moment, gathering her thoughts and trying to figure out how to convince him that she was innocent. But Syveris wasn't a good planner, and the ice eyes that were glaring at her was making her really uncomfortable. With a grunt, she looked down, sighed, and looked up again.

"Hello. I'm Syveris." it felt foolish to introduce herself, but it made talking easier, and she forced herself to keep speaking. "I don't know what I'm supposed to say, but just so you know, I don't have any idea of what's going on nor whom this Despised is." honesty. It was the only thing she had, although the Avora was almost sure the man wouldn't believe her.

She had to try, though.

[Skerry]

e
Blue eyes analysed the face of the young glassworker. A small amount of information had been compiled about each of those that he was supposed to interview but Iceflank had been disinterested in it. The information was likely to be biased in some way, the compilers only selecting data that would reinforce the negative view in which Zulrav held her. As a result, all that he had looked at was her name, the one believable thing in it. Her character and her extent of involvement with the Despised was something that the priest would judge for himself.

His silence prevailed as the man awaited her breaking of it. It was inevitable that when you stared at someone fixedly without speaking that they would try to fill the quiet. Some would babble nonsense, others would let slip some small bit of information without meaning to. Hathal knew that whatever the girl said would tell him a lot about her. When she spoke her tone was uncertain, nervous. If she'd been calm he would have taken her for an intimate helper of the Despised. She had associated with the fiend in some way, that was certain as Zulrav would not have been mistaken, but he did not know to what extent or whether it had been conscious or unconscious. If she'd been cool about it, he would have known that she was lying.

Syveris introduced herself, immediately denying involvement with the Despised and any knowledge of him. He didn't know what to make of that yet. He was here to find the truth, which meant that he had to look at everything in a fair way. He couldn't assume that anything she said was true or false without some investigation and so despite her words, he began to probe into the matter.

"Are you saying that my god is mistaken? Do you think that he laid a false accusation against you?" the priest asked, eyes boring into hers with some intensity. His voice had been soft, polite, a sound that would normally have put someone at ease but his tone couldn't mitigate the severity of his gaze. His stare gave the impression that he knew more than he was letting on and that he would spot a deception in a tick. Only the most despicable and deceitful individuals would be willing to try to lie to that man.

"Will you deny any involvement with him when you clearly carry his taint? Zulrav has seen it upon you and he cannot be fooled. What will you say for yourself, Syveris?"
e

[Syveris]

"I don't know what I can say for myself!" the Avora screamed, hands shaking. As soon as the words left her mouth, though, she realized her mistake, and her shoulders fell. Right now, this man had even more power than the Valintar in her eyes, and if he decided she was guilty, her life was as good as over. "I don't know what I can say for myself, because I don't know anything." she said, lower this time.

Syveris felt defeated, although she knew they had only started. The man had twisted her words, and now she was afraid that he wanted to find the guilty so badly that he wouldn't hesitate in pinning the guilt on her. She could only hope that wasn't the case. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm herself down. It wasn't easy, and his gaze was so cold, that not even his soothing voice could make her relax.

"I didn't say that Zulrav was mistaken." she said, weakly. "And I think that, if he said I was... tainted..." the word was hard to say, almost as if it sealed her sentence. Syveris wasn't enjoying the whole situation, but every time she said something, she felt like she was only making things worse. "I talked with a friend... She said I might have helped the Despised without knowing it. I don't... Well, I really don't know if I did."

The Avora felt like she wasn't going anywhere. Taking another deep breath, she tried to keep Azira's words in mind. She hadn't helped anyone on purpose.

"I want to help. I really do, I just don't know how." the memory of her fruitless search through the Deep Warrens returned to her mind. Maybe she could tell the Priest what she had found? Well, it hadn't been much, but it might help him. She hoped so.

The problem was, if she said it like that, without being asked, would it seem like she was trying to come up with some excuse to be found not guilty? Syveris sighed, trying to stop her hands from trembling, and not knowing what to do. She didn't know how to have that sort of conversation.

"I... I went to the Deep Warrens and found something..." she whispered, tentatively, testing to see if it was a good idea to bring that up. If it wasn't, though, she might as well just give up. Syveris gave off a nervous chuckle at that. As if she could just give up. No, that wasn't on her nature, and she wouldn't do it.

[Skerry]

e
A scream. One of frustration perhaps but it meant that she wasn't in control, she was panicking. It seemed to suggest guilt on her part, maybe that she knew something. The glassworker seemed to realise her mistake but it was already too late. Iceflank added it to a mental list and then waited as she tried to dig herself out of the hole that she saw herself in. The priest would only need to continue his silence and allow her to make her own mistakes, dropping secrets as she went. So he hoped at least. The girl tried to apologise, to make out that she hadn't suggested that his god was mistaken. She also seemed to disdain to refer to herself as tainted. A sense of pride? Superiority? He wasn't sure, it could just simply be that she didn't like what he was associating her with.

When she got around to mentioning the Despised, the priest's eyes brightened with interest, his features unfreezing slightly as if he anticipated a slip up from his quarry but she still seemed to deny her involvement. She didn't declare her innocence however as she obviously realised that he wouldn't believe her if she did. Good. The idea that she could have helped the one he sought without realising it intrigued him. That would require some input if he wished to get more from her but he would give her a chance to finish so that he could throw all his questions at her at once. She might successfully employ some manner of deceit if he asked her one at a time but he hoped to discombobulate her instead by overwhelming her with questions. He hoped to have many by the time she ran out of words.

Syveris attempted to put herself forward as the picture of helpfulness, letting the agent of Zulrav that she wanted to help him, well and truly but that she couldn't. The priest raised an eyebrow in question but said nothing on the matter, waiting for her to spill forth more information for him to use. Her next statement about the Deep Warrens seemed to suggest that she wanted to be questioned on that matter. Had she prepared some sort of answer in relation to this? Had she fabricated something to put her in a positive light? Hathal couldn't be sure but he knew what she expected so he chose to try to throw her off guard once more as it had been so successful for.

"You do not believe my god mistaken and therefore you admit that he is right. You do not deny your guilt but even suggest that the aiding of that one was something you could have done. Do you make a habit of helping those pursued by winds? Do you give out favours to absolute strangers without a thought?" he fired at her, pausing for just a moment to collect his thoughts more. "But you do share your guilt, discuss your guilt with another, someone who perhaps might know more than you yourself wish to reveal. Do you try to deceive me, Syveris with your desires of help while you give me nothing of use? These Deep Warrens, what significance do they have? Why would you find something relevant to this in that place and why must you be the one to find it? If it was some piece of information sitting ready for anyone to find then why were you the one to find it? Why not someone else? Fabricated, perhaps? Planted there? Answer."

His questions were fired in such quick succession that the girl was sure to break down trying to keep track of them all, while trying not to incriminate herself. If she tried to shout over him then he would know more than she wanted him to know. Hathal Iceflank wanted her to crack, to slip up. He wanted to get at the truth without any evasion and he hoped that this girl might be the key to finding the one that he hunted.
e

[Syveris]

Don't give up. Never this had been so hard. Hathal seemed to be twisting her words into things she hadn't meant, seeing hidden meanings in ways that she didn't even thought was possible. Syveris knew nothing about deception, she couldn't lie to her mentor, even less to a Priest of Zulrav, one that seemed to be so cold and uncaring.

His voice, his posture, and specially his eyes made her shiver with fear, and she was getting tired of it. The Avora was beginning to believe that yes, she was guilty. But even if she was, she hadn't helped anyone to commit murder, or whatever Zulrav had accused the Despised of doing. She wasn't a murderer, no, of that she was sure. And yet, the man before her didn't seem satisfied with any of her answers. She wanted to scream in frustration, just demand that he stopped twisting her words, but she also knew this was useless.

His words were frustrating, at best. They made her feel useless, afraid, and tired. The Avora looked down, biting her lips and grabbing her bryda with a mix of hate and fear. Yes, she hated the man. But he was her only hope. He was the only hope of Wind Reach finding the Despised, and she would need to help him. Even if all she wanted was to punch him in the face.

Not that she would do it. Hathal scared her.

"Help those pursued by the winds? Deceive you? Fabricated?" her voice was trembling, and tears began to fall from her eyes. It wasn't only his words. Syveris could take them. The problem was that this man held her fate in his hands, and he was frightening and cold. She raised her head, her hate visible in her eyes.

"If by favours you mean that I give information about where to find some place, or if I help them get up when they fall down, then yes, I give out favours to complete strangers. But I don't go around helping them murder people, or whatever this Despised is doing." her voice got slightly higher. "How the pet..." she bit her lips again, trembling with the effort of keeping her scream inside her. "How am I supposed to know who is being pursued by the winds? I know nothing about Zulrav, or any other God, and I know nothing about those who please or displease them."

"And deceive!" the Avora couldn't hold the hysterical chuckle that escaped her lips. "I can't even lie to my mentor, do you think I could deceive you? I thought you had more faith in your own abilities."

A sob escaped her lips, and she buried her face in her hands, angry at herself. It was only after a few chimes and various deep breaths that she could control once again the flow of tears. Syveris dried her face in her katinu sleeves, still looking down. What could she do, really? Offer him the truth. But if he didn't believe the truth, then she had nothing.

"No one found it before because no one goes to the Deep Warren." she mumbled, still trying to dry her face. "Everyone fears it. I just went down there because..." the Avora sighed, letting her arm fall on her side. "I heard the Despised was down there, and I wanted to find something. To help, to prove my..." innocence was not a good word, not anymore. Syveris shrugged. The man would understand correctly. Hopefully. "I found a... room... with a very strange statue. I don't know what it is, what it means, and I don't care. It was frightening. And... Someone is living down there, I'm sure of it."

Would he believe her? Syveris bit her lip yet again. Don't give up. She had to make him believe.

[Skerry]

e
Like the youth who Hathal had talked to just before Syveris, the girl didn’t seem to be able to deal with the pressure. He could see it in her eyes, the moisture gathering ready to fall and slide down her cheeks. Whether it was a consequence of her guilt or a sign that she felt remorse for his actions, the priest couldn’t know. His words had obviously had the right effect in that she was overwhelmed by his line of questioning. She was upset, afraid, her posture conveying her emotions to the quiet, observant man.

When her reply came, the trembling of her voice confirmed what he had already thought and her tone was one of bewilderment as well. His line of questioning had confused her, perhaps what she had suggested might be true, perhaps her aid provided to the Despised had been unintentional. She had also begun to cry as the Yasi before her had but Iceflank had no idea what to make of this behaviour yet. Her answers were necessary for him to see the whole picture while at the moment he was only seeing fragments.

Her eyes were filled with hate as she set about answering his questions and justifying her actions where strangers were concerned. The feeling that was visible in her orbs startled the priest, making his own eyes widen in response. The sentiment was unexpected from one in her position. Fear, frustration, maybe even anger were understandable, to be expected even but hatred? The priest was stunned. Leaning back, he stared back at her in surprise, a little uncertain about what her reaction would be. Every question that he had asked was being answered with vehemence.

He had a chance to recover his cool composure once more as she buried her face in her hands. The priest was able to smooth his features, to appear disinterested once more so that by the time she had recovered herself, he seemed as he had been when she had first entered. His demeanour changed again when she brought up the Deep Warrens, explaining her reason for going down there, suggesting that there was someone living down there. This was the most important thing to him. Ultimately, his mission wasn’t to judge and condemn those that had helped the Despised but rather to find information on the man whom he sought. The glassworker seemed to be giving him what could possibly be valuable information. It could easily be speculation as well as she did not seem to know for sure. Her involvement could possibly be overlooked if she was able to give up the hated one to him, it would be seen as an act of repentance.

”If these Deep Warrens are avoided as you say then they could provide a hiding place, yes? A place to go unnoticed, unobserved, hm? Are they easy to access? Is there a way that someone could gain sustenance down there?” he asked, an eager edge to his tone. He had to pause and think before he continued to make sure that he didn’t miss out on any detail that he might need to know. ”Why is this place feared? Is there good reason or is it just superstition? And how would such information reach your ears if no one goes down there?”
e

[Syveris]

Hathal seemed to be interested in the Deep Warrens, and Syveris wondered if there could truly be someone down there, and if this someone was the Despised. She hoped so. The sooner the man was found and executed, the sooner all this mess would end. She wanted to sleep normally again, and she wanted to relax. She wanted things to go back to the way they were, and yet, nothing seemed possible. But then, if Hathal believed her...

However, Syveris was only hopeful until Hathal began his questioning again. Most of the questions she didn't have an answer, although she truly wanted to believe. Syveris sighed, crossing her arms as if protecting herself from the cold. The Valintar office wasn't chilling, but she felt so hopeless that it made her feel colder.

"I... I don't really know." she whispered, as an answer to everything. However, she wouldn't just stop there and ignore the man. If she could help, even if just a little, she would. Frowning in thinking, she tried to elaborate. "I guess that yes, the Deep Warrens would be a very good place to hide, providing the person hiding didn't go crazy down there. But I don't know if someone could get something to eat and drink. I mean, I found some fungi but..." even the memory of the smell was enough to make her face twist into a scowl. "I doubt someone could eat it."

"And technically, they are easy to access, but almost impossible to navigate." Syveris twisted uncomfortably, scratching her tight covered by the bryda. "I had to use the fungi and pieces of my bryda to mark the way, otherwise I would have been lost." Hathal was clearly eager to get some information out of her experience, so she tried her best to answer him truthfully. She wasn't an expert, though. One trip to the Deep Warrens wasn't enough to make her know everything about the place. In truth, she knew very little.

"Everyone... Well, almost everyone that goes down there goes mad or disappears. I don't know why, but I know that it happens. It's... The place is oppressing, and I don't think I went that far into it..." the last question made Syveris blush a little. Thinking like that, she shouldn't have followed a rumor. But then, she wasn't thinking straight. "As I said, I heard two woman talking about it. It's a rumor. I don't even know if it's true, but... Well, I wanted to investigate." she finished, weakly.

[Skerry]

e
Although he schooled his expression, the priest was inwardly excited by the prospect of gaining a lead on the one whom he sought. If it was possible that he could be in these Deep Warrens then Hathal would be able to fulfil his task at last. He’d already spent too many years searching for this man, this Despised. It should have ended many years ago but hopefully it would be over at last thanks to the help of this girl. If he could find the one he’d long been searching for then he could truly please his god at long last. He listened eagerly to what Syveris had to say, hoping that she would provide the information that the priest needed.

”You said that you didn’t go too far into it so could there be additional food sources than this fungi that you saw? Presumably there is water down there and so it might be possible for someone to survive down there, correct?” the man queried, his expression one of deep thought. He regarded the glassworker in a calculating manner, seeing her in a new light. To him, she just seemed to be like a child, innocent, ignorant, perhaps not culpable for her actions. She seemed willing to help the priest, willing to repair the damage that she had caused, seemingly without knowing any better. She seemed sorry for something that she hadn’t known she’d done. Hathal just wasn’t sure if she was being sincere or if she was just very good at acting.

He managed a very faint smile before offering her a few words regarding the rumour she had heard. ”Sometimes a rumour contains a grain of truth. There is no guarantee that the Despised is down there but there is a chance that someone lives down there. One of your people most likely. Add that information to the current situation with the man I seek and that could be where your rumour came from. It may mean nothing to me at all. Your information may not be related to the Despised at all but I will investigate,” the man explained, nodding to himself and rising from his seat. He was hopeful that there would be more to it, that the information she’d provided would be helpful. He would not allow her to know just how much her information had excited him.

”Unless there is something else that you wish to add then I will allow you to leave. As far as I’m concerned this interview is concluded. Thank you for your time,” the priest murmured, gesturing in the direction of the exit. There was a finality to his words that suggested that he had nothing else to say to her. Hathal Iceflank was merely waiting for her to leave.
e