RP:We're Not Gonna Take It

Part of the On Stranger Tides Arc

This is a Necromancer's Guild RP.

Summary:Bradyn and Khitti meet to discuss the issue known as Vasili, in the very area that Vasili has claimed as his own. There, Bradyn instructs her to hold her lessons for Quintessa (and likely Joan in the future?) in that very graveyard, in an act of rebellion against Vasili's claims. Before Khitti exits the city, she leaves a message on the large dragonheadstone, a monument in the graveyard: a charred handprint to say "We're here and we won't be intimidated."

Dragon Graveyard, Vailkrin

Bradyn Mahara had sent word to Khitti, requesting that they meet. While normally the vampire would pick places like the Black LIbrary, or even occasionally the Maharan manor, today he wants to meet in the Dragon Graveyard. While he knew that Khitti was a shrewd enough woman and could probably already guess why he wanted to meet, the note briefly explained that he wanted to discuss Vasili. Which is exactly why Bradyn Mahara picked this location -- this new vampire has decided to claim this space has part of his territory. Bradyn stands out in the open as he waits for Khitti. One might think that perhaps the necromancer has changed his manner of dress to account for a potential skirmish, but he has not. The mortician may very well not even own a single piece of armor, he's dressed in his usual attire. Less surprising is the fact that Bradyn stands in this space but still has not seen fit to arm himself with a weapon, though that may be for the best. He's a brilliant necromancer, yes, but probably shyte with a sword.

Khitti wasn’t entirely as surprised about the letter. What she was surprised about was Bradyn’s blatant attempt to go against Vasili’s claims. She almost hadn’t expected to find him there, and yet there he was. She’d passed through the Death Cult Temple, just as she had many times, and headed through the dragon’s graveyard until she found him standing there. Armorless. Weaponless. -That- was also unsurprising. And if Vasili should make himself known? Well, she’d have Tenbatsu Kaji and Embershard on her person. Sans the armor though. It was her usual style of dress as well. “Sometimes, you really confuse me, Bradyn Mahara,” she said cooly as she approached him, a smirk ever present. “This obvious show of anarchy is something more characteristic of me, rather than yourself. Bewilderment aside, I do approve of it.” Coming to a halt, some feet away from him--gotta keep that distance you know--she’d cross her arms and look about. “If you’re calling upon me now, I expect you’ve already spoken to some of the more civil Houses.”

Bradyn :: Ah, if only the Maharan was the sort who exactly displayed the emotions he was feeling, if he felt them at all. His reaction might actually be comical, but Khitti is already quite used to dealing with Bradyn by now. She is familiar with the monotone voice that he fairly consistently speaks in. "My confusing you seems to be the norm," Bradyn states, "When the subject matter suits me, I am more than capable of being openly defiant. And I am glad to hear you admit that of the two of us...? You are more prone to being openly defiant than I am. I am going to assume that means that you will have little objection to what it is I am going to present to you." Before giving Khitti a chance to object, as he already knows full well that her agreement really will hinge upon what his plan is. "Vasili is a name that you are familiar with, from what I understand. I have spoken to Quintessa and Kasyr about the Vailkrin stance, we're not keen on letting him make these wild claims. Kasyr seems to have formed the opinion that it is not just House Dragana that this face has an interest in, Kasyr seems to believe him a zealot who wants to see the destruction of all the vampire houses of Vailkrin. He seems to believe that Vasili will then attempt to secure himself a position as leader amidst the chaos. I have no interest in letting another Larewen gain a foothold in this city. But even more important to me, is how his claims will affect the Necromancer's Guild."

Khitti || “Perhaps ‘confusion’ isn’t quite the word I’m looking for. Nevertheless…” Khitti wasn’t going to outright say that maybe, just maybe, she admired his anarchist antics when it suited him to act as such, or that she found it highly amusing. At the very least, he’d likely assume the latter rather than the former. “I’m aware, yes. He’s left his egotistical claims in Kelay as well.” She paused, thinking on his words about Larewen, which soon led to Khitti shaking her head at him, “He’s worse than Larewen. Genocidal and maniacal tendencies aside, she at least had as equal of a shot as any other House leader here, if they fancied it. This Vasili, however, doesn’t have any of that. No House. No name that’s worth a damn. Just bitter words on tiny pieces of paper posted in buildings full of drunk people. It’s something akin to me trying to take the throne here.” Which, of course, was entirely silly. Because human. “Despite that… this city still has a pull on me I can’t escape and the guild just the same.” As if her rejoining hadn’t made that obvious. “What do you propose to do? Killing him may prove difficult. If the right people made the right decisions, it could turn him into a martyr. Which could make the chaos already happening in Vailkrin much worse.”

Bradyn heard Khitti's interpretation but did not comment on it, not because it was not valid but because it remains to be seen. They really still have very sparse information about this Vasili. "Yes, killing him will probably not be easy but that was not exactly what I was thinking. Even if we do decide that death is the most appropriate course of action, we'll still need to learn about him. We will need to determine strengths and weaknesses. And I think one of the best ways to do that is to continue to provoke him in the same way that I am trying to do now." Bradyn points to the very earth they are standing one. "Yes, this path is not the only way into the Death Cult Temple. Yes, those in the Guild could realistically enter from another direction, but I will not have our paths hindered either way. As such, I want you to remind him that this space is not his...I want you to conduct training sessions with both Joan and Quintessa." As far as Bradyn has been made aware, this was happening anyway. "In order for the three of you to be able to make the rank of Thanadule, you will all have to demonstrate that you can animate an undead being." The hand that was just pointing at the earth motions around the dragon graveyard, "I think this is the perfect setting to practice this skill." No, Bradyn has not forgotten that Khitti was able to do so in the past, he's just not sure if she is able to in the present. It is clear that he is assuming that she is at least capable of teaching this lesson to both Joan and Quintessa though. "If you encounter him in any of your lessons? Lovely, engage him."

Khitti tilted her head at the mention of Joan and Quintessa, but didn’t speak up just yet. “This is easily accomplishable. I’m well adept at ignoring the “laws” that's made known by others--I did it when Larewen banished me from Vailkrin after all,” she said with a smirk. She took quite a bit of pride in this, in fact. “As for teaching those two, Quintessa’s lessons have already begun. I offered to teach her several weeks ago, and she only just had her first lesson. She’s taken to the Black Tides quickly, just as I did, once I had the proper resources. Joan, on the other hand, I’ve not seen since our initial, brief encounter in the Library. I have no idea what she’s even done in the meantime. For someone that wanted to learn the Black Tides so much, you’d think she would’ve contacted the sole, full-time wielder of the art in the guild.” The redhead’s brow wrinkled somewhat with annoyance, “I’m assuming you’d agree when I say that I’m not her babysitter. That being said, I will train her when she comes to me, as she was told to. Quintessa still needs more practice with the Black Tides, but this will be done as she also teaches me how to wield natural elemental magic. It’s become necessary that I do so, unfortunately.” But, this was getting way off topic and she shook her head at the tangent she’d created, “Reanimation was never easy for me, but if Quintessa grasps the concept just as well as the ones I gave her for her first lesson, then I’m confident she will be able to do so. Perhaps not quite a full-size dragon, but...” Her words trailed off, her lips twitching somewhat into a frown.

Bradyn responds to much of what Khitti has to say with a simple gesture, a shrug. Mostly because the male ends up distracted by Khitti's commentary about Joan, though it quickly becomes clear he is not defending this woman. He still has not even met her. Prior to that, it is more challenging to interpret Bradyn's thoughts, "Of course I do not expect you to act as her babysitter. I am surprised to even hear you make this statement. If Joan is not an active participant in her own training, then there is really only so much that either of us can do for her." if Bradyn actually expressed emotion through tone of voice, his tone would be shifting from irritation to thoughtfulness. This is not Bradyn though, Khitti is going to have to navigate how to interpret Bradyn' statements with little to no emotional clues. "Yes, raising a full dragon is not the expectation. I guess I will reword my statements. Regardless of the subject matter of the training, I would like sessions to be held in Vasili's claimed area. Given where both you and Quintessa are in your studies, reanimation does need to be added to the list of subjects to practice. No babysitting required in any aspect, really."

Khitti had been around Bradyn for long enough to understand most of his mannerisms and the way he spoke--even if 99.99% of the time his words were aloof and monotone. It’s almost as if she related to this somewhat on some level. Not a very high level, but still. She took his words for what they were and nodded. “Done.” Whenever her own lessons were to occur for the Mage’s Guild, she’d make sure they were in the dragon graveyard for those too. Couldn’t hurt, anyway. Once the reworded order was given and acknowledged, Khitti looked elsewhere for a moment. She should -probably- tell Bradyn about her intentions on finding out how to wield the last two shadow elements, if she could even find the fourth one. After a time, she sighed, the focus of her attention finding Bradyn again, “In other news, now that I have you here for the moment, I’m furthering my research with the Black Tides. Once upon a time, I was able to conjure black lightning. I intend to fully gain the ability to use it at all times. As well as find the possibility of a fourth element. I expect it’s much like the natural elements, mirroring them. Much like with Quintessa and her toxin tome, I intend to put this information, in much more detail that we have now, within a tome of its own. Being connected to the Shadow Plane as I am, I might as well do something useful with it. The information will be, of course, given to the Necromancer’s Guild as well as the Mage’s, since I’ve joined to learn how to use the arcane version of these abilities. I will keep you aware of my progress once it finally begins.” Khitti wasn’t expecting some sort of excitement and congratulations when it came to this little quest of hers. He was her direct superior in the guild and he needed to be made aware, considering her use of the Black Library and other Necromancer’s Guild resources.

Bradyn and Khitti seemed to be covering a wide array of subjects, but out of all of the things discussed today the topic of books and research was Bradyn's favorite. "I have already spoken with Quintessa about the tome that she is planning on scribing. I was able to contribute to her research for her own tome, but as you are aware the Black Tides is not a subject that I have spent much of my own time dedicated to. You will be the one continuing to pioneer the way through this area, I think. That being said, when you do manage to get a draft of your book together...Do keep me apprised, I will extend the same offer to you that I did to Quintessa. Obviously the Guild is not in the business of publishing, but should you need the funds to take your book to a location that specializing in such, then the Guild will be more than willing to handle an expenses you might incur in the creation of this book. The same offer goes to any research expenses that you might encounter. Quintessa seemed to have a keen interest in having a copy on the shelves of the Black Library, your own publication would obviously be welcome on the shelf as well."

Khitti nodded slowly, in regards to Bradyn’s lack of knowledge on the subject of her particular choice in necromantic art. It was just as well, she supposed. While she was not -truly- alone in figuring this whole mission out, it still felt as if she was. It was akin to that whole vampirism cure nonsense: a serious undertaking that really only Khitti was able to deal with, if one was being realistic. “I would certainly appreciate it” is all that’s said to his offer of publishing and taking care of the expenses by way of the guild. “Speaking of the Black Library, I expect you’d like to return to your own reading now. If anything comes up with this Vasili, beyond what he’s done, then don’t hesitate to let me know. I’ve been doing my best to lurk about here in the city anyway.”

Bradyn : :Dear Khitti, you're not even allowed to think about your vampire cure in Bradyn's presence! Wow! The amount of offense caused...Alright, not really. Bradyn is blissfully unaware and he's also not going to lie to Khitti, there things that the Maharan does need to be tending to and they do indeed involve his books. With a nod to Khitti, Bradyn is consumed by shadows and the redhead is left to her own devices, whatever they might be.

Khitti || Once Bradyn had gone, Khitti still lingered. Should she stick around long enough for Vasili to show up and she personally introduce herself? No. That could take forever and Khitti no longer had the luxury of ‘forever’. The redhead would take a bit of a walk around, until she came to the giant headstone of whatever great dragon had decided to use this graveyard as their eternal resting place. She needed to leave something behind. A message. One that said that the denizens of Vailkrin and the mages of the Necromancer’s Guild wouldn’t be cowed into submission by some unknown individual that was no better than the elder vampiress he’d spit venom about in his little messages. Shadowflames alighted on Khitti’s hand, the appendage soon pressed against the middle of the headstone. Khitti’s handprint seared itself into the, the woman standing there for as long took to do so. Sorry, Vasili. It looks at though you’re going to have a bit of a tough time with your little crusade.