The Eye of Anubis: Book Eight

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"I'd rather cause none, if you do not mind," Lia demurrs with a polite gesture and a surprisingly even voice. "I just wanted to say that the likelihood of our group leaving before the 'dreaming lord' breaks free of his own sleep and shatters the walls between our reality and his nightmares is slim at best. There is a contractual impediment, for one thing, and the human sense of community spirit for another. Given that this is so, might there be some morsel of information you might be willing to volunteer to your gentle priest or some of the rest of our merry little band?"

[yalenusveler]

It was probably the use of the term gentle that got that particular look to Andre's face, in between vastly amused, and trying to decide if Lia had perhaps gone some strange form of temporarily insane.

"The main issue is that we believe this place has strong connections to Karman-Quse and the empire of Menetnashte. Since our eventual end goal is dealing with that, and we now know that a certain waste of life named Cavendish wants to apparently bring back that whole mess, but likely with himself in the driver's seat, knowledge of the connections would be splendid. As well as a clarification of your reference to this place as a Charnel House." Andre interjected, trying to keep his tone as polite as possible.

[NeoTiamat]

The Library, The Monastery of Stilled Nightmares, Sebua
July 17th, 761, 3:29 PM; Day 122 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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"I just wanted to say that the likelihood of our group leaving before the 'dreaming lord' breaks free of his own sleep and shatters the walls between our reality and his nightmares is slim at best. There is a contractual impediment, for one thing, and the human sense of community spirit for another. Given that this is so, might there be some morsel of information you might be willing to volunteer to your gentle priest or some of the rest of our merry little band?"

"So very certain... so very wrong..." The Lorelei said softly, shaking her head in sadness. Then a small, subtle smile crossed her lips. "If it is the contract that worries you so... I am sure I can arrange something with the Blood Thorn... a purchasing of your debt. As for the other... does it apply?"

"The main issue is that we believe this place has strong connections to Karman-Quse and the empire of Menetnashte. Since our eventual end goal is dealing with that, and we now know that a certain waste of life named Cavendish wants to apparently bring back that whole mess, but likely with himself in the driver's seat, knowledge of the connections would be splendid. As well as a clarification of your reference to this place as a Charnel House." Andre interjected, trying to keep his tone as polite as possible.

The Oracle of the Waters let her eyes rest on Andre for a moment, soft-brown and really very vulnerable-looking. After a long, silent moment, she let her gaze slip to Tomas, favoring him with a small, mysterious smile.

"Reasonable..." The Lorelei breathed. "Let no one say that the Oracle is stingy in her blessings. Now... where to begin a tale older than Phiraz..."

"Power attracts power. Know this. It accumulates, forms storms of will that last for decades.... for centuries... for eternity." The Oracle explained, watching the small bowl of water where Andre had conducted the ritual. As you watched, the lone drop of blood in the water began to rise in the churning bowl. It sped and twisted and twirled, gathering a narrow column of liquid about itself. A waterspout in miniature.

"Such power... attracts more power... and those who seek power. They come, the great ....and those who merely believe themselves great... to claim mastery over such places. Places where the wall between the worlds is... slender... where there is... resonance... where there is power for the taking." From behind one of the books, a small scarab beetle scuttled out. It was a pretty insect, the size of a small coin and possessed of a dark-blue carapace. Almost like a small jewel. It clambered over the edge of the bowl, holding on for dear-life as the bowl shuddered slightly at the miniature maelstrom within. The insect seemed hypnotized by the bright fountain of bloody water in the center. "You know some who sought such power... Cavendish... Cevdet Tarik... Night Terror... the Abbot... Menetnashte searched for them on a greater scale than any before or since."

The beetle took another step over the edge, leaning closer to the bright, brilliantly crimson drop of blood. Suddenly, the waterspout moved, twisted like a live thing to strike at the hapless insect. The scarab beetle fell into the water, where the waterspout of blood battered it into the bottom of the bowl, smashing it brutally against the unyielding surface till wings and legs and bits of carapace floated to the surface.

"Needless to say... there are some dangers involved."

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"So very certain... so very wrong..." The Lorelei said softly, shaking her head in sadness. Then a small, subtle smile crossed her lips. "If it is the contract that worries you so... I am sure I can arrange something with the Blood Thorn... a purchasing of your debt. As for the other... does it apply?"

"As to the former, I must regretfully decline," Lia says, still calm. "I made the deal upon my own honour. I would not shirk my duty in any way, lest I think worse of myself. To the latter ... Well. Is a person solely what they are born as, or are they also what they affiliate themselves with? And we have plenty of humans in our little group, and we still have some fellow feeling with them. If there is guilt by association, perhaps there is also filial feeling by association?"

The Wizard listens to the Oracle's following words with quiet interest, but does not comment.

[Nathan of the FoS]

"From all we know of him, he was a very ambitious fellow, this Menetnashte," Charles says, observing the travails and eventual demise of the beetle with a carefully guarded nonchalance. "Did you ever have the, ah, pleasure of meeting him personally, madame?"

[NeoTiamat]

The Library, The Monastery of Stilled Nightmares, Sebua
July 17th, 761, 3:37 PM; Day 122 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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"From all we know of him, he was a very ambitious fellow, this Menetnashte," Charles says, observing the travails and eventual demise of the beetle with a carefully guarded nonchalance. "Did you ever have the, ah, pleasure of meeting him personally, madame?"

"I fear that I have never had that... pleasure... no." The Lorelei said softly. She looked at Charles with dark-brown eyes, tapping her black-nailed fingers lightly against the cover of the book. Delicate, ephemeral looking nails. "But we may be said to have had some... friends... in common."

[Nathan of the FoS]

"Ah...mutual acquaintance...not surprising, I suppose. Tell me, madame, if you would be so kind, was he human?"

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"'Friends', you say," Lia muses. "Anyone whom you'd care to put a name to, lady oracle? Or would hearing such names drive us insane or leave us dead in our shoes, perhaps?"

Despite the implication in her words, Lia's tone of voice remains calm, even reasonably polite.

[NeoTiamat]

The Library, The Monastery of Stilled Nightmares, Sebua
July 17th, 761, 3:39 PM; Day 122 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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"'Friends', you say," Lia muses. "Anyone whom you'd care to put a name to, lady oracle? Or would hearing such names drive us insane or leave us dead in our shoes, perhaps?"

"Nothing so dramatic." The Lorelei said with a little laugh. "But it would be... impolite... to gossip."

"Ah...mutual acquaintance...not surprising, I suppose. Tell me, madame, if you would be so kind, was he human?"

"Yes..." The Lorelei said with the faintest hint of a smile. "And no."

"When one becomes powerful enough, humanity becomes a false distinction at best. Menetnashte is possessed of two arms and two legs, of a heart and lungs and stomach and brain. Does that make the Golden One human?"

[Rock of the Fraternity]

"Did he still have a human soul?" Lia asks. "A human heart? Did he still feel as a human and think of himself as a human? Did he accept the responsbilities and limitations inherent to the human condition, and the role of a member of human society?"

[Nathan of the FoS]

"When one becomes powerful enough, humanity becomes a false distinction at best. Menetnashte is possessed of two arms and two legs, of a heart and lungs and stomach and brain. Does that make the Golden One human?"

"I've no idea. I have such accoutrements, myself--presumably, I've never actually seen a few of them. I would suppose that you do as well, madame. And yet I am merely human, while you are nothing so commonplace. I understand your answer to mean that Menetnashte was, at one time, like us," Charles gestures at his companions, "but that he became...something else. Perhaps rather more like his ally Marchosias. Does that accurately reflect what you know of him, Madame Lorelei?"

[Kaitou Kage]

"If I may interrupt," Kuzan spoke up, quietly at first, but gaining confidence gradually, "Do you know anything about this, or about me, that you would tell?"

He held up his hand, displaying the pentagram, the Akiri script, and the Dikesha symbols. On his other hand, he absently clutched the bronze ball that hung from his neck.

[lostboy]

Khalil shifts slightly in his position sitting crosslegged on the floor a short distance from the gathered prayer circle. To outside appearances he looks disinterested as he pulls a knife forth and begins slowly sharpening it, yet the slight bob of his head as the conversation flows indicates he is listening intently.


[OOC: sorry not been around lately, that thing called work has been a right pain recently.]

[The Whistler]

Otto too remained silent--desire to stay deferent to a historically erratic water-goddess aside, he felt as if intruding on a prayer session was rather out of line for someone who wasn't sold on the whole "prayer" concept to begin with. The fact that the Lorelei was *right there*, and a convincing bit of empirical evidence to boot, hardly entered into his reasoning. Even if the process worked, after all, it still wasn't really his bailiwick; he'd probably come off as intrusive.

That wasn't to say that the philosophical discussion didn't interest him, particularly one that hit so close to home. "Humanity" as a semantic quality? If it's not a hard-and-fast physical category, then it's tough to know where to draw the line...and if humanity's only a matter of self-identification, then the term loses a lot of its meaning. And if you consider the folks over in Darkon, it only make things more complicated...

Other hand, *you* identify as human. People who live in glass houses, and all that...

[NeoTiamat]

The Library, The Monastery of Stilled Nightmares, Sebua
July 17th, 761, 3:39 PM; Day 122 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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"Did he still have a human soul?" Lia asks. "A human heart? Did he still feel as a human and think of himself as a human? Did he accept the responsbilities and limitations inherent to the human condition, and the role of a member of human society?"

"By your definition.... there are many who stroll down the halls of Dementlieu's University whos humanity is in doubt." The Lorelei responded with a small smile. "But Menetnashte's role in society was never in doubt. The Golden One ruled."

"I've no idea. I have such accoutrements, myself--presumably, I've never actually seen a few of them. I would suppose that you do as well, madame. And yet I am merely human, while you are nothing so commonplace. I understand your answer to mean that Menetnashte was, at one time, like us," Charles gestures at his companions, "but that he became...something else. Perhaps rather more like his ally Marchosias. Does that accurately reflect what you know of him, Madame Lorelei?"

"Reasonably." The Lorelei favored Charles with a dark-eyed gaze, nodding as though to a particularly bright student. "Though I will never believe that Charles Martel is merely anything."

"Humanity... is an arbitrary category." The Lorelei let her gaze slide past Charles to rest on Otto, then Tomas, and Lia, and Andre. "In the end... Menetnashte is as human as any of you."

"If I may interrupt," Kuzan spoke up, quietly at first, but gaining confidence gradually, "Do you know anything about this, or about me, that you would tell?"

"Certainly..." The Lorelei reached out, taking Kuzan's warm hand in her own cold one. The Lorelei looked like a human women, but her flesh was chill, as though freshly-risen from a stream. To Kuzan, there were unfortunate parallels with the late Professor Pelletier on the temperature of people. "Curious..."

The Lorelei traced a single, black fingernail along the the lines of Kuzan's hand, taking in each of the five sigils of the Dikesha in turn, and then the triple hieroglyphics of Menetnashte's Sin, Menetnashte's Curse, and Menetnashte's Fate.

"Curious indeed." The Lorelei said in her over-precise, breathy voice. It occurred to you that this might well be the first and only time you've seen the Oracle of the Waters evince even as minor a sign of surprise as she did now. Raising the question, of course, of what could surprise an oracle.

"An interesting answer carved into the soul... to a question unknown. The Fiend, the Tomb, the Key, the Stasis, the Passion." The Lorelei gave a small, demure laugh. "Tell me, Kuzan, how does it feel to be a living canvas?"

"Of course, the answer may be that the question is not worth asking." There was a tiny smile, almost a smirk, on the Lorelei's lips. "But what is life without risk?"