A Meeting Between Lord Azrael the fallen Falosini, and Celyse, the Zaodonai Uth

#1

“The Karovian Grasslands will be fields of green and gold,” whispered Lord Azrael’s grave voice, "But before then there will be fire, and death and blood. This season is not beautiful, but it is necessary. The Olgogs call this the season of Auf Tor, the season of Death’s Caretaker. Summer is the season of Auf Ka the Volcano Caretaker and it brought the flamewinds and much was destroyed. Now the Goblin Lands is as quiet as a tomb as Auf Tor reaps the last of the sick.
The tribes will rise as they do seasonally. They will spread out across these lands again.
Here in Karov they have been hiding in the canyons and hillside caves.
In Unen, many went out to sea.
North in Brez they have hidden in the basements of the Earther buildings in the ruins.
And Tla’loc’al was designed to be the perfect safe haven from the Der’na, the flamewinds.
Yet none of these places are a good safe haven without food and supplies which the tribes must gather during the other three months.

And the Church of One threatens that with their efforts here. However they still will serve a purpose in the long battle against the Quall N’drone and I cannot authorize my Uthvelor and Pelebor to wipe the hateful Earthers of Dunesphere away at this time.

I must travel away, to a dangerous place, hell dimensions which cannot and should never be experienced by the living. But I live half outside my own body so I may travel there for a limited time. I cannot explain more to the un-ascended."

Azrael seemed weary. His gaze fell upon his greatest triumph, the brilliant leader, the unequaled warrior, and the beautiful soul who was Celyse, highest Zaodonai in his service.

“Are you prepared to aid the Olgogs in their struggle for freedom?” asked Azrael, “What is your plan?”

#2

“Your silence is clear enough. I know you mourne your missing children and blame me for not giving you their location. I am sorry but the ascended beings have deemed such silence necessary and I agree with them,” Azrael said without bitterness.

The following season he returned with Yohai Horosha, kidnapping him from his camp with the child of Warmonger, for a night.

“The Karovian Grasslands are fields of mud right now” whispered Lord Azrael’s grave voice, “Cold to the touch the ground feels like dead flesh hours after the freezing rains. The Olgogs call this the season of Auf Kol, the season of the Bone Caretaker. Now the Goblin Lands are filled with cries of hungry bellies and children frozen stiff in the night. Auf Kol and his Ravenous Kolgul eat the dead each morning according to their myths. The tribes will build as they do seasonally. They will build mud brick dwellings, stone houses,and tent cities in these lands again. Yet none of these places are a good safe haven now that Unit 111 and the Warmonger Cult marches to war.”

Suddenly the rains started again and Yohai was frozen and wet to his core. The inner core cold set his teeth chattered but he did not move or seek any comfort. Azrael seemed to not have noticed the monsoon that drenched them both in ice cold water.

"It is these yearly storms that help the plants grow in this part of Refuge.
The bloom of Auf Maglal is planted here and now. And the dead things fertilized the ground and the mud overcomes them to allow it to happen.

Yohai Horosha, Akalus Ha’ku, you will discover much about the Tribe Of Rehsed on your quest. When you return you will see the corruption that rises in the heart of the Olgog nations.
At that time I ask you to take up twenty of my personal Ha’ku, all falsewyrm riders of the highest caliber and bring justice to the Uth raiders who defame my beloved tribes with their actions."

A small yellow crystal floated down to Yohai, and Azrael said, “When you are ready but speak your name into this crystal and your riders will arrive. But I have seen the future and i warn you not to call upon them until you have seen the face of the King of Rehsed or your own quest will never be fulfilled.”

#3

Yohai was awoken in the middle of the night. It was eerily quiet, and he did not understand what was happening. He was about to make an action against the one waking him up when he quickly saw the face of he was was waking him up. It was Lord Azrael. Yohai wasn’t sure whether he should be pleased or concerned. Lord Azrael did not often grace Yohai with his presence. In fact, the last time he saw Lord Azrael was at the last meeting of the council of Falos, when the death sentence on all K’ias was lifted. Yohai often thought of that day, over and over again. Sometimes, he wondered if he should have accepted death instead.

Yohai was taken to Karov, where the fields were muddied, the rains were cold, and Yohai yearned tragically for the ability to heat himself with Fire Leyas. He was, however, a soldier, and soldiers don’t let themselves be affected by their environment. It dulls your battle acumen. His teeth neared chattering, but Yohai did not allow them to chatter, lest they block out the noise around him. He heard every drop as it pounded the ground in a cacophony of sound that drowned the Karovan plains. He heard nothing else struggle against it’s might, so he knew that he and Lord Azrael were alone.

When you are ready but speak your name into this crystal and your riders will arrive. But I have seen the future and i warn you not to call upon them until you have seen the face of the King of Rehsed or your own quest will never be fulfilled. The words said by the Soverign Falosini and patron of the Uthvelor and Pelebor were not lost on him. The quest that had taken a life of its own, led him on a strange journey from a standard soldier in the army to lone wanderer of Refuge and the distant shores. Lord Azrael had not commented on it in a very long time, and Yohai would commit to memory this entire conversation, lest he lose its meaning if he did not do so.

“Yes, my Lord Azrael. It is my honor to fulfill your will. I am your humble servant and will seek the tribe of Rehsed and bring to justice those who would corrupt the Olgogs.” Yohai had the urge to ask more questions, but he knew that Lord Azrael would have already said anything that he would need to know. The last time he asked a question, his answer was so cryptic that it’s meaning would not be known to Yohai for years. Besides, the purpose of this part of his quest was to find answers from the King of Rehsed, not his Lord. So Yohai’s questions about Unit 111 and the growing influence of Warmonger were silenced. Questions about the Zaodonai Uth, the Scion, the Morgothian, the bearer of Daemonsbane, his other former companions, Ma’run’ga, and the Usurper Zar’cos were left unasked, lest they be too personal in nature and distract him from his current objective.

Instead, like the good soldier he was, he awaited orders or further instructions.

#4

Azrael continued, "The Olgogs even now meet with the long dead Sylvans seeking approval for a unified nation. The sylvan may guide them but it will not stop their greatest threat, intertribal warfare. This is what the Warmonger hopes for. That one tribe with resources such as the Rehsedians would use that to force others into senseless war for their own profit.
The Rehsedians have used their knowledge of metal working to suppress and oppress all the tribes northeast of Brez. Some wise investigators may wonder why so many Brezans joined the GNA in consolidating western Brez. It was the unspoken fear of the might of the Tribe of Rehsed. They hoped once the Earther threat was driven back Gul’al would lead them to freedom from the Rehsedian Olgogs as well.
You and your companions Ha’ku Yohai, must prevent the Rehsedians from joining themselves to the Kolgul Militia. If they do the Fate of the Uthvelor will be linked with the Fate of the Olgogs

#5

And the fate of both will be cut by the claws of Warmonger."

#6

Yohai bowed deeply. “I understand the gravity of the situation, my Lord. What I do not understand is how the Rehsedians profit from intertribal warfare. These olgogs do not use currency, and as far as I’m aware none of the major tribes trade with the Rehsedians. How do they use what many olgogs call “Trash” to further their goals?”

#7

"Slave labor is the greatest commodity in history between different species. Taking the fruits of anothers labor within the same species through coercion and threat of violence or through convoluted protection schemes is common enough throughout the length of history inhabited by Earthers but rarer among other species.
Most species that enslave other species do not enslave their own.
These Olgogs have learned this trait from Earthers but perfected it in their own Rehsedian way.

I cannot explain more at this time. I will return you to your camp with the son of Warmonger."

#8

(OOC, with the Narrator’s permission, and only with the narrator’s permission)

Yagogi’al knew the lands of Karov like the back of his hand, as he had traveled for many years and guided his tribe safely through the lands during rough times. There were the natural occurrences, the ebb and flow of air currents and movement of water from high to low and in different phases. There were also movements of animals, the way different herds grazed while other predatory animals followed the herds in silence waiting for the perfect opportunity. This was seemingly similar to one of those moments, as Yagogi’al left the comforts of his encampment to follow a great presence within the lands he knew so well. It was more like the predator stumbling into the ambush of another predator. This presence was almost like a disturbance of the normal flow of the lands and Yagogi’al went seeking answers. He crested the hill of the next dune to encounter an Uthvelor soldier and an unmistakable being.

Yagogi’al approached cautiously, and purposefully not hiding his presence. As he got closer, " Greetings, great one and his companion. I am Yagogi’al, the Gor’ab of the venerable tribe of the same name. What brings you to the lands that my tribe travels, and how might I be of service? I am sure that your presence here means something important is soon coming. "

#9

Yohai looked at the Olgog and then looked at Lord Azreal, deferring to him to answer.