thefarshore | [video, 15th June, Nesir Aeser] Job seeking?

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[video, 15th June, Nesir Aeser] Job seeking?

[Nesir's still not really sure how these phones work but she's got the basics down. Not that she's tried talking on the message boards yet. It felt strange when she could just speak to them face to face without the trouble of pressing buttons and not accidentally pressing the wrong thing on the glass.

But she did admit it seemed a good way to reach multiple people at once and she can do it whilst being physically out of the way.

On a rooftop actually. It had seemed the safest place to spend the night, after waking up in a heap of rubble.]

My name is Nesir Aeser. I have been here about three weeks and was serving Noctis, the god Nox. He is gone now. [She sounds pretty matter of fact about that. She had been aware such things would happen, though it had not prepared her for the suddenness when it actually happened.]

Are there any gods in need of a shinki? I can fight with a variety of weapons, I turned into a dagger for Noctis though that might not mean anything going forwards. I'm decent at climbing. I probably have other skills I haven't figured out yet.

[That might be a lie, she's figured bits and pieces but she isn't about to announce them over this phone. She can explain further is she actually gets any gods interested in naming her.]

Please tell me if I should actually be letting the heavens know and being officially reassigned or something.

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Then I shall meet you in front of the Temple but do wait for me outside if for any reason I'm not there yet when you arrive.

[Attached are detailed directions on how to get to Iskandar's temple. With the district constantly shifting nature any coordinates would be less reliable if not downright nonsensical.]

Of course. I will see you there.

[She wouldn't enter anyone's home without them being there, not in this context anyways. She can think of many reasons she might enter someone's home without permission but none of them are constructive to find someone to work for.

She makes her way over the rooftops, jumping from one to another. It's easier to navigate like this, being able to see things from up high rather than getting lost in the streets.

Soon she was outside what she hoped was Iskander temple. Blocks of yellow stone, lamps at the gates. Every bit as imposing as Noctis' had not been. She stood near the entrance, examining one of the glass lamps, appreciating the art work.]

[Iskandar lifts his eyebrow as he notices the slender woman already there when he comes out. That was fast.]

Welcome.

[The Temple has been uncharacteristically calm today. It'd better stay that way.]

You must be Nesir. I'm Iskandar.

[He steps away from the entrance a little.]

Come, we can talk inside.

I am. [She gives a polite nod and smiles. Nerves are useless things and she pushes them away as she accepts his offer. Gina had said he was a good god and Ginia was one of the very few people she had had more than one conversation with, excluding Noctis. So she had little choice but to trust the girl didn't have it out for her for some reason.

She follows him, taking in the oddities of the temple.]

[The Temple is odd indeed. Right behind the entrance flanked by the lamps she examined earlier, there's a corridor so high its ceiling disappearing in the darkness. It all feels and looks ancient. Sandstone walls are covered with images of battles, feasts, victories, processions of offerings all carved into stone lit by the soft glow of lamps that light up when they approach and go out as soon as they passed them.
Only the sound of their footsteps and crackling of the sacred fire in the copper vase at the very end of the corridor breaks the silence. Shadows dance on the walls surrounding the fire as its flame flickers. The smell of incense gets stronger and stronger as they approach the vase.

But Iskandar doesn't stop there, he leads her past the fire and into another entrance almost invisible in the wall behind it. There is a short flight of stairs behind leading to a definitely more modern living quarters. They end in what looks like a living room complete with a couch, a large tv facing it and huge glass French windows spanning most of the wall overlooking a garden.]

Do sit down.

[Iskandar gestures towards the sofa before disappearing in the adjacent room which must be a kitchen as he returns just a moment later with two glasses and a bottle. He drops on the other side of the couch, fills both glasses with wine then slides one of them in Nesir's direction. Her choice if she wants to drink it or not.]

As I already mentioned, I'm always looking for skilled fighters. Right now I have one shinki, a soulless by the name of Ada. I sent her away for now but shall you accept a name from me, you'll have a chance to meet her.

[He takes a sip from his glass.]

I do not have expectations for my shinki much above the obvious: that they help me fulfil prayers of my followers, vanquish ayakashi if we encounter any and represent my house with dignity. Other than that you'd be free to do whatever you want. If you have interests you wish to pursue I shall not interfere as long as whatever is that you want to do won't put yourself, my house or my followers in danger, interfere with your work for me or bring shame to my name.

I shall provide you with food, whatever weapons that you may need, clothing and some extra money for your personal needs. You will get your own room here in the Temple. I may not have Ebisu level of wealth but I have a steady income. Shall you wish to get a job outside of it, I have nothing against it, as long as it does not interfere with your work for me.

There is however one thing I don't accept from any of my shinki. If you ever happen to Nora to another god we will not be able to work together any longer. I won't hold it against you if the other god named you without your consent but if you accept a name from them willingly, I will revoke mine.

[It's odd how his stance has nothing but hardened comparing to how he viewed things when he arrived. But a lot has happened since then. There are always edge case of course. Circumstances that he might probably take into account. Maybe. But that's something he would worry if and when he has to. As a general rule, it's just no. Plain and simple.]

I don't have anything against Nora as they are. I don't subscribe to the idiotic notion that Heavens have on them. I just don't want any of my shinki to be one. That's simply a question of trust and responsibility.

[He may have long discarded the idea of rebuilding his army here but he still needs people he can rely on.]

So these are my conditions. What are yours?

[She sits where instructed to and takes the wine with a polite nod. She has no idea if she likes it or not so of course she will try it. She sips it as he speaks, it is not an unpleasent taste.

Ginia had told her to stay a few days without being named, get to know him and see if they could work together. But Ginia, as competent and knowledgeable as she was, seemed to believe in friendship as much as Kairi did. Something about it sat wrong, but Nesir didn't have words or experience to figure out why. Clearly Ginia's way worked for Ginia, she served multiple gods and wielded a shinki of her own. But Nesir wouldn't even know what she was looking for, what would make her more likely to wish to serve?

This though. This she understood. Clear guidelines, clear expectations. Exactly what he expected and what he was prepared to give in exchange. She could work with that. Noctis had been the same, if a lot less formal about it.

She feels she can meet his expectations, fighting ayakashi was what they were here for after all. She certainly doesn't think she acts in a way that would bring dishonour or shame upon him.

His stance on Nora is interesting, compared to other people who she had met. But she had no problem with it. She can promise to serve only him, trying to serve more than one god sounded exhausting.

He asks her conditions and she thinks on them for a moment. He has already offered food, a room, weapons, clothes and money as well as the freedom to pursue her own interests (when she figured out what they were).]

Only that I get your word you will revoke your name if I ask it of you. In exchange I can promise I won't, unless I find it completely necessary.

[There's a lot she can handle, so she doubts she ever would need to. But she has only known him a matter of moments and once he names her the power is his. Keeping a route out open is probably a wise move.]

Edited (pfft brackets) 2019-07-09 18:04 (UTC)

Of course. I don't want to keep people who don't want to be here.

[It seemed so obvious to him that the thought to mention it never even crossed his mind.]

Only, that I'd like you to tell me the reason for your decision if it comes to that. It won't change anything, you'll still be free to leave, nor will I judge you on it. There are many perfectly valid reasons. I just prefer to know what it is.

[Like finding a better fit for example. The number of the new gods available is dwindling rapidly but still, he's not her only option.]

Similarly, I'd like to know if you ever disagree with my decision or have doubts about anything. I require loyalty but not absolute obedience. I'd prefer for my people to able to think on their own and exhibit a healthy amount of common sense.

[That's his main problem with soulless...and the notion that Gods are always right and can do no wrong. Because, sweet Hera Queen of the gods, he's seen too many times how wrong can they be.]

[She is glad when he agrees, not that she had believed he wouldn't. There wasn't much point in keeping someone against their will, not when you appreciated loyalty as he seemed to do.

Explaining her decision is a term she can agree with, as is expressing her opinon. Loyal but not blindly obedient sounds an obvious way for a shinki to be and she is glad that in this regard at least their opinions align.]

I can agree to that, it seems we will hopefully work well together.

[She can definitely think on her own and she would like to think she had common sense and he seems sensible, comfortable with the power he wields and not overbearing.]

Very well.

[Iskandar stands up.]

Now that we have a mutual agreement on the conditions of our cooperation I think it's an appropriate moment to make this official. Come. I have a better place for such a ceremony.

[He waits for her at the door. Then he remembers what Waver told him. This one is cautious. So he'd better ask just to make sure.]

Unless you'd prefer to stay in my Temple for a couple of days before making the final decision?

[Nesir stood as well, it did indeed seem like the only thing left to do was to make this official. Moving to a better place seemed fine as well, Nesir knew this didn't have to be done in any specific place. The words and the magic were what was important but Iskander, his temple, his baring they all told her that he was someone who appreciated a sense of ceremony.

His words make her pause. Ginia had given her that advice. But he's already promised to release her if she asks. She has no real reason to trust him, but she also has very little choice. She needs to be named by someone, she's too vulnerable without a god and if he doesn't keep his word... Well she can deal with that if it happens. A couple of days won't make a difference. If he's actually cruel then he is also cunning enough to have shown no sign of it so far, Ginia approved of him. If he were cunning enough for that then he would be patient enough to keep up the act for a few days.

It's a risk. But this is all a risk and at least if she has a name then she has borderlines. A weapon and defence. She shakes her head.]

Now is as good a time as any. [She walks over to the door to join him.]

[Iskandar nods. So be it. He even prefers it that way. It's cleaner, less confusion. Any moment either of them decides the arrangement stopped working they can separate.

He leads her to the sacred fire. There on the walls just above the fire clearly visible now that they are close are scenes of his most current history. Iskandar is would have to admit that the key to the selection which events of his dwelling on the Far Shore are important enough to get its own relief here is rather peculiar. But he would need to add that he's not the one choosing them. His Temple has a mind of its own and that's just one of the signs of that consciousness at work.
Both of his previous Namings are there as well. In a highly stylised form of Ancient Egyptian art so one not familiar with that culture may have a problem identifying what they are looking for. Both feature the bronze vase with the sacred fire so there's at least a clue to their meaning.

Iskandar looks into the flames for a while. Part of him still expects to see some kind of omen in them. There's none. Never was. He looks up at Nesir.

It's time.]

My name is Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Μέγας! Grasping thy true name, I bind thee here. With borrowed name, I dub thee my servant. The name answers, the vessel to sound. I call thee as my divine instrument. The name, Nesir. The vessel, Kage. Come, Kageki!

[The vast emptiness of the stone hall echoes with the sound of his words as Nesir's form dissolves into golden light only to reform as a long sword in his hand.]

She follows, eyes taking in the surroundings. Scenes on the wall show this god, soon to be her god, through the ages even if the details are hard to pick out, the art style is strange. But the place is heavy with ceremony and it's something Nesir appreciates. Not that she particularly likes fuss but... It seemed fitting that something like a naming would be done in a place such as this. It might be just a transaction between them, but she is still to serve him for as long as they both wish it. It's a solemn thing.

She glances into the fire and then back at him, meeting his eyes and nodding once.

He speaks the same words she had heard before, same words, different name. Kageki.

She disappears.

“Do no be going down a path I can no be following!” Nesir’s voice cracked with emotion; anger, pain, fear. She was facing another woman, whose face darkened in anger, she stepped forwards, eyes blazing.

“You are my warrior Culbu. You swore an oath. There should be no road that you cannot follow me down.”

Nesir shook her head, “What about our holy oaths? You swore an oath too, Inde. You can no just be...” The woman stepped forwards, hands coming up, beginning to glow slightly with magic.

A heavy knocking was heard, thumping on the outer door. Nesir span around, fear in her eyes before she closed them.

“Go.” Almost a whisper. She did not take her eyes off the door.

“Culbu...” A warning, Inde’s hands were still glowing, she was still frowning and yet Nesir did not turn.

Instead she spoke. “Every breath in my lungs is yours to take and may the gods will it that my last be in defence of you.” Her voice was resolute, her decision made.

“Nesir...” The voice was gentle now, her hands had stopped glowing. She reached out towards Nesir who turned and fell to one knee.

“Lotte...” Nesir took her hand, raised it to her lips. “I’ll hold them off.” Lotte nodded, looking completely shaken for a moment, frozen, eyes filled with pain as Nesir stood and turned back to the door, speaking over her shoulder. “Be going, before it do be being too late.”

Nesir faced down an older man, he was in chainmail and held a sword in his hand. Words are exchanged before his face twisted in anger.

“Move Culbu, I don’t want to fight you.”

“Yet you do be the one at my door with your sword drawn.” She drew her daggers, her balance shifted. The fight that followed was terrible in the way that fights between two people who clearly know each other and their fighting style very well will always be.

“Nesir, stop this. If you know. You know she’s a traitor.”

“I will no be letting you get to her.” Nesir spat, the fight intensified. Nesir twisted out of the way of the sword blows, darting in and out.

“Don’t stand with her Culbu, you will be held accountable.” His words were met with a bitter laugh as Nesir dived towards him once more. The fight raged on.

They skittered away from each other, both taking a moment to breathe. “Nesir. She betrayed us. She betrayed you.”

Nesir looked up at him, eyes sad as she shook her head. “If you were me Kant, wouldn’t you do the same.” A moment and Kant's face went blank, devoid of all emotion. Nesir's did the same and the fight continued.

Eventually Kant got the upper hand, dropping his sword and grappling her, taking her by surprise, throwing her. Nesir cursed as she crumpled into the wall. Kant was there in moments, his fist hit her face, snapping her head back and his knee was planted into her stomach.

“Give in, Nesir.” The emptiness faded from his face replaced from the sadness from earlier. “I don’t want to have to kill you, Little One.” His voice was almost a whisper.

As was Nesir’s as her arm moved, quickly, finding a way through his armour. “I do be having no such qualms.”

She wriggled out from under him, keeping the emptiness up for now. The outer door burst open and a wave of magic hit her, a woman baring down on her in rage.

“Halt!” A man’s voice, heavy with power. The attack stopped as both Nesir and the other woman seemed to freeze in place.

“That will be enough Priestess Elena. There will be time for vengeance later.” More words between the two as Nesir remained frozen in place. Elena rushed to Kant's side.

“Culbu Tiri speak words that only hold truth.” Nesir could move again, she pushed herself off the floor, into a crouch.

“Which god do you serve?”

“The lord of shadows.” It was clear Nesir had no control of the words.

“So you remain loyal. Who is it that Inde serves?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is she loyal to us?”

“No.” Nesir's eyes blaze anger as she glares at the priest.

“Then why do you protect her Culbu? You know where your duty lies.”

“I do. She is my priestess. I serve my god.” Pain that is not physical runs over her features, she glances to where Elena is knelt over Kant, she clenches her jaw.

The man strides over to her and she pushes her way to her feet, to stand facing him. Her jaw set. “Thank you for your loyalty Culbu..”

Elena had stood and strode towards them, eyes blazing. Azari looked at her, a look that seemed to hold meaning Nesir did not understand.

“Nesir Aeser dies this day.”

Pain hits her, from both of them. Something seems to be reaching into her, tearing at her very soul and she screams as pain and loss fill her, blazing white.

And reappears a second later as a sword, her consciousness above him surveying the room. "A sword this time. It suits you."

Better than a dagger would have, honestly. She wondered how much a vessel form was based on the shinki and how much on the god.

[Pain. Sacrifice. Conflicting loyalties. One life is thrown away so that another life can be spared.

There is infinite sadness in her story. A tragic end, beautiful in its melancholy. Iskandar can see all that. What he sees, he understands. The choices one makes are never entirely one's own. Yet it falls to us to decide what action to take. Which side to choose. Because, ultimately, you must make that choice. In the end, all will be judged on the virtue of their character and the strength of their conviction.
The one that became a sword for him has both. That makes him glad.

He would remember all this for her now that she, herself, can't. His offer, though given out of nothing else than principle, feels preordained. As if Fate has guided his hand. They might be a better fit than either of them suspected.]

Return, Nesir.

[He waits for her to reappear fully in her human form.]

Welcome to my Temple. If you have anything to bring here from your previous home, we can go now to fetch it. You're free to take any room that's not already occupied.

[Four already look like somebody lives there but the Temple is big so there's plenty of others to chose from.]

I believe we should have a meal waiting for us when we come back.

[And a chance for Nesir to meet Iskandar's other shinki. She's the one spoiling her god with good food. Just like the woman she got named after.]

[A moment later she was herself again, at her side. She doesn't feel any different but now there is a name and she had a god once more. She smiled at his welcome, offering a nod in return.]

Everything disappeared when the temple did. [Was that normal? She hadn't seen anything left at the site, nothing but rubble.]

I believe it did anyways, though I didn't do a thorough search.

[A meal sounded good though, she's hungry, a constant state it seemed.]

[Actually... not so unusual. Sometimes personal possessions of shinki stayed on the empty lot even if the Temple vanished. Sometimes there was nothing left. The empty space where Zelda's Temple once was is still vivid in his memory. He has never tried looking for traces of others. It would be a folly. Hardly probable he would find anything.]

Alright. Then we stay here. We can go back to the living room and wait there. Ada should be back soon.

[He looks at Nesir. It's easier to concentrate on practicalities now. Whatever Noctis provided her vanished with his Temple and now she has nothing.]

We can go tomorrow to buy you some clothes for change and anything else that you may need.

Thank you, that is appreciated. [Part of her dislikes the idea of being in debt to any other person, for any reason. But on the other hand this isn't quite like that. This is part of their agreement, that he will provide for her and she will work for him. He is not just giving her things, he is providing for her so that she can fight for him.

And it really is appreciated.]

Ada is even sooner than Iskandar expected. Sometimes he wonders if bending spacetime is not actually her skill. The Temple looks cleaner than it ever did when it was just him and Waver here. Not the everything-aligned-in-perfect-harmony style that was prevalent when Symmetra was living with them. More...homely.
He introduces ladies to each other. He can only hope they'll get along.

Ada may look like she's just an old lady with a sweet if a little vacant smile and grey hair in a tight bun. The kind that looks completely innocent and harmless. but give the impression she will kill you in your sleep if you cross her. Ada harbours no murderous tendencies of her own. Unless she perceives someone a threat to her god. She's completely devoted to her god. One of the myriad ways she shows it is cooking. The other would be assassinating his enemies should she met any. She can be surprisingly agile for an old lady.

She bows to Iskandar than smiles to Nesir.

"Sit, dear, the dinner would be in a minute."

She would kindly refuse any offer of help. Kitchen is her territory.

She is very similar to Noctis' souless shinki. Not in look or age but in mannerisms. The very idea of a person with no soul strikes a deep unease in Nesir but Ada seems friendly enough, if a little vacant.

Nesir got the feeling that help wouldn't be allowed, Ada seemed to rule the kitchen and any ways all the equipment confused Nesir. She had a feeling cooking wasn't an unknown skill of hers. So she sat, with a grateful smile.

"Thank you. I look forward to it."

It's been a while since she ate. She sat quietly, it's hard to know what to say to someone you have just agreed to serve. She wants to know more about him but isn't sure on how forward she should be.

In the end she decides to speak, "How long have you been a god for?"

If she ever shared her opinion on the soulless with him she will find that Iskandar has a very similar one. He definitely hasn't thought it through before but not only Ada's presence causes him almost constant distress.
He did the most stupid thing he could giving her name after his adopted mother. Queen of Caria. A woman who was as much a strategist and a military commanded as she was a lady of noble birth.

He thought it would ease things. Instead, it just made everything worse. Somehow, he knew not how, Ada, or rather the soulless namesake of her, picked up little details about her original counterpart. Iskandar has no idea how because they never spoke about his mother. Ever. Yet, somehow his soulless knew for example that one thing that his Carian mother loved to do was to shower him with gifts, exquisite food especially. Her cooks could put the ones in Babylon to shame so the food was truly superb.
At one point he had to directly reprimand her for the excess because she was really going overboard.

To have a soulless do the same now...

It's difficult.

The question comes as a relief because for that too, there is no simple answer.

"Hm. Depending on how do you count." Iskandar takes a deep breath. "If you take into account the fact that I'm a son of Zeus, that makes me half-divine from the start. Then there's Egypt where I was officially recognized as pharaoh and thus a living god. On that count, that would be a little over two thousand years."

He pauses. How long is he here? Not even a full year yet. It certainly feels longer.

"But if you count only my time here than I'd say closer to eight months."

Two thousand years. That was pretty impressive. Eight months was impressive enough when she considered she had no knowledge of anything past a couple of weeks ago.

But more importantly he had spoken of before he was in the heavens and yet. "You were a god before you came here?"

From what she had understood many of the new gods were just ordinary people before they were brought to this place and made to take the place of gods.

“Yes” Iskandar smiles. That requires explanation because none of it was as straightforward as it is on The Far Shore.

“Though that was different than here. Not so clearly defined. I wasn’t hearing prayers and I couldn’t teleport to places. I was a mortal man with divine parentage. Some believed in my divinity, some didn’t.”

Those who were able to understand what he did and why what would have been impossible to any other man was a child’s play for him. Those had no doubts.

“But I had temples and people made offerings in my name.”

He was a child of gods? Born as a mortal? That was almost even more impressive than being brought to this shore as a god. After all this was some... strange happening. Being born to gods was a different thing. It's hard for her to even get her head around that, difficult to even understand the concept.

"People worshipped you even as you walked among them?"

Gods walking the earth at all strike her as strange, though the ones here can do so perfectly well. Nothing comes to mind about any gods of her own world, missing memories are difficult.

"Some did. Some were very opposed to the very idea and even questioned my lineage. I never met my godly father but there were many signs to those that chose to believe them. Those that didn't I would not try to convince. I had no need for people that can be swayed by skilled orators. If it is not their own decision to heed my words than I would not be able to count on their loyalty later."

He's been almost too late for the age of the gods. Sometimes he thought they really left. Zeus had many children. Their stories passed into legend either heroic or tragic or both. But none in his time. Sometimes he thought he's the last one.

It was so different then than here.

"That's true enough, forced loyalty is very rarely true." She says, as if she has any experience or knowledge. At least the remembrance of any. But she still feels he was right, if people could not be convinced then they would be no use to him.

"I guess there is no doubt now, no one will deny that you are indeed a god."

As he was here in heaven. A god with a temple, prayers to hear and shinki to serve him. He must have followers who prayed, people who believed in him and trusted him to help them.

[Iskandar laughs.]

Yes, they rather won't.

[Even if being acknowledged as divine was never his top priority. He knew who he was. It didn't matter if others chose to believe it or not. He loves his followers as much as he always loved his people and yet ... There's something he will not tell her. Something he would never utter in presence of any shinki. Ever. That he would much prefer to be human, mortal and alive, than a god whom people don't see unless he makes a great effort for them to notice him. It is this disconnect that causes him the most pain.

Fortunately, it is time for Ada to emerge from the kitchen carrying a tray full of food.]

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disregardeddagger - 2019-08-14 18:13 (UTC) - Expand

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