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May 2023 It's been hectic this last year, but we are alive and celebrating our fifth year of adventure and tales. A lot has been worked on to help make the Monoverse one that everyone can enjoy and explore their story while becoming a part of the greater cosmos. All of you, new and long time players, stay safe, and see you in the Sea of Stars!
the things that you might like don't grow inside of me
Heavy boots would sound against metal, echoing down the long corridor as Rau carried himself down it at a brisk stride. Beside and behind him were brothers, those equally sworn to the defense and service of the homeworld - in direct contrast to himself, however, their armor was of a deep blue hue, that of unproven Minors. Many of them had been present aboard the Plentiful Tithe for mere months at most, none of them veterans who had seen service and proven themselves in combat. That honor fell only to Rau himself, clad in the distinctive pearlescent white of an Evocatus, and the two Obedientaries to either side of him. Ira 'Lotan, the Tithe's Shipmaster, and Asze 'Vadam - a scholar of sorts, and the closest thing they had to a diplomat so far from Sanghelios. While Ira had been a close confidant for decades and someone Rau had served alongside for almost the entirety of the Kromus War, Asze was a new name to Rau... and someone he found difficult to blindly trust even if circumstances almost necessitated it.
"Then am I to assume any form of technology will be an affront to them?" Rau said, something close to sarcasm bleeding into his voice as he addressed Asze.
"No. They're not savages, they achieved spaceflight well before Galaxy Railways made first contact. But local prohibitions seem to include anything they consider 'thinking machines'. Advanced computers, AI, anything able to compute and determine an answer to a posed question by my understanding. Recording devices and the like should not offend." Asze answered, evidently choosing to overlook the tone in Rau's voice... to which the larger Sangheili could only respond with an annoyed huff. As it stood the Evocatus already had little patience for the politics and games of his homeworld's Councilors and rulers, and certain traditions - while valuable - often served little purpose once they began to get in the way of getting work done. The concerns and customs of outsiders were given even less regard when they seemed to exist merely out of superstition - while Rau had briefed himself on the findings of Galaxy Railways and now by speaking to Asze he still found it difficult to wrap his mind around many of the self imposed laws of this Corrino Empire and the Houses affiliated with it.
How they had ever managed to build an empire without the use of such technology boggled the mind.
Regardless. They had put out a contract through Galaxy Railways, and despite it being an open posting - the sort of job his people normally ignored - the offered price and payment was enough to catch the attention of his superiors in Triangulum. While originally for something called "spice" they had managed to renegotiate for raw metals and other resources, materials badly needed back within Sangheili space, and sent the Tithe to earn said payment. All of which Rau would normally have been delighted by as playing diplomat on the Citadel did not appeal to him... bar the fact that the region's Emperor had requested a meeting before they would be allowed to formally accept the job posted.
Pointless. A word that Rau nearly allowed to slip free of his mandibles as he and the Sangheili alongside him reached the end of the corridor, the automated door sensing their approach and opening to reveal the heavy corvette's hanger. While the space was relatively modest when compared to the likes of their battlecruisers and even larger carriers the kilometer long vessel still offered enough room to accommodate several Seraph fighters, hung in storage racks along the ceiling, and still more Banshees stored out of sight. Of concern to Rau, however, was the Phantom dropship in the center of the hanger - already powered up and awaiting him and his escorts. A sideways glance to the shield holding in the hanger's atmosphere would reveal their destination, a blue and tan world with touches of green, a ring of dust and debris around it. Kaitain, supposedly the Empire's capitol.
Not missing a step and turning his attention back to the Phantom, Rau would quickly cross the distance between himself and the ship, stepping up the ramp with the handful of other Sangheili - only Ira remaining behind, a closed fist coming up across his chest in salute as the dropship closed and took off to leave the hanger with two Seraph fighters dropping free to follow, one to either side.
Post by Paul the Uplifted Squid on Oct 31, 2021 22:32:26 GMT
As the dropship and its entourage of blade-pointed Seraph began to enter the atmosphere, they received a missive over their comms, primitive by their standards, a binaric string that when translated would read, 'Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV's palatial estate is awaiting you honored guests, encoded are instructions for landing, disregard any brusque comments by the Sardaukar Faithful who guard entrance to his Grace's home, they are known for savagery and know no manners.-Jubal Irat Mentat Archthinker'
The massive amount binary sent after seemingly was composed of instructions to head two kilometers east wise from their current location, along with what seemed like multiple entries on etiquette, scholarly articles on history of the Great Houses, and the most massive part, large amounts of information of a planet called Arrakis. The etiquette described ranged from simplicities such as "draw no weapons in the Emperor's presence unless bidden" to the oddly specific "presence of CHOAM Managerial Staffing within the estate may only be allowed when internal revenue ie under suspicion of corruption, hidden loss, or tax evasion".
Though the sheer size of the massive estate was visible as a ziggurat-like fortress with brutalist octogonal ships constantly moving up into the atmosphere, engines glowing a bright red-orange, likely heading to the odd hollow ships in orbit. A noticeable thing might also be that, there were no houses, no fields of farmland, no endless cityscapes, as one might think of a planet called the "Throneworld". It was only the home of Shaddam that stood on this world.
Sidling up to the Sangheili's landing party were four black and gold aircraft, each in the stylized shape of an eagle, propelled by six wings that beat like an arthropods in the clear air as they flew. An Imperial escort it seemed, perhaps arranged by this "Jubal Irate".
The green plains and blue lakes below them were punctuated by massive herds of dark brown bison, hundreds of thousands moving to browse or drink, alongside many other beasts such as large rhinos, fleeting thin shapes reminiscent of gazelle or pronghorns, and the occasional flash of low-slung canine forms trailing the massive constant of moving herbivorous life.
the things that you might like don't grow inside of me
Much of the flight down would be defined by relative silence. There was little talk - those that inhabited the Phantom's troop bay had no need of it. They knew why they were there, and so far as they were concerned this was not a combat deployment. Their weapons, while cleaned, checked and ready for use were likely to serve the same purpose as their own presence - a show of force and little more. Perhaps a deterrent to those who might have let curiosity get the better of them and a desire to inspect the Phantom itself in closer detail.
At least until a transmission from the planet's surface was made known to them, the dropship's pilot tilting his head slightly as if to recoil from the audiopiece in his helmet. It was an unusual behavior to be sure, and one that attracted Rau's attention from his position just behind the ship's cockpit. Stepping forward and ducking down to lean into the space over the pilot's shoulder the white armored Sangheili would pause as the pilot looked back at the movement.
"Is there a problem?"
"No, Evocatus. I don't believe so. I would suggest you apply translation to it, though." The pilot responded, a hand reaching for a control on the console before him. As he did so Rau would follow the other Sangheili's instructions... and immediately be glad that he did so. While the translation software did its job much as it had back in Triang and in most of Federation space it did not hide the source audio - it merely spoke over it, leaving the Phantom interior to be filled with the disgusting, cacophonic discord of what sounded like a binary code transmission and the annoyed grumbles and grunts of the warriors behind Rau. Laughably primitive by almost any civilized standard, and it did not do wonders for the white armored Sangheili's opinion of the people they were about to see regardless of how well worded and well mannered the translated speech itself was.
"Record it. Send the translated text and speech to the Tithe, and the first half to me. And spare us the binary." Rau said, stepping back to leave the pilot to his work. The ship's internal speakers would fall silent and the warriors themselves a few moments later as Rau settled back into the place he'd been previously, arms folding as he took advantage of the quiet flight to focus on the words being fed into his helmet.
Minutes later Rau would be shaken out of his reverie and back to the present, a shouted warning from the Phantom's pilot - a moment later, mechanical hissing and whirring as the Phantom's side doors lowered open, the Sangheili inside taking hold of the racks and railings above to steady themselves against the roaring wind. To either side their escorting Seraphs could be seen maybe two or three dozen meters off, flying in close formation... and beyond and beside them, local aircraft of a fairly unique design. Not one that Rau had seen anywhere else, and the Evocatus found himself leaning forward where he was sitting to get a better look in spite of his earlier misgivings.
It certainly wasn't a practical design with so many points of potential failure, but it brought forth images of predatory arthropods, the kind seen on many of the human worlds he'd visited. Reaching up to grab hold of a railing and pulling himself to a standing position, Rau would offer only a cursory glance to the odd cityscape below as the Phantom began to descend, approaching what was likely their designated landing location from the earlier transmission.
Post by Paul the Uplifted Squid on Nov 1, 2021 0:52:38 GMT
Below them their landing site was lit by gold and green lights, other ships similar to the wing beating craft that had escorted them were lifting off or touching down, though there were a few traditional designs, six winged fighters that were much more menacing in form, and designed for high-speed atmospheric travel, with several missile and kinetic gun batteries attached to hardpoints set into the frame of the black fighter craft.
The hard gun-metal grey surface of the landing site was alive with hundreds and hundreds of people, many dressed in gold and blue colored uniforms reminiscent of high ranking UNSC officer attire, though there was some diversity with others wearing black robes, black combat armor, or even a few that seemed to float off the ground while trailing long extravagant clothing that constantly fluttered in the ever-moving air.
Seemingly, there was a rather large group awaiting them, and a special spot seemingly reserved just for their arrival, clear of any but the winged craft that escorted them to the massive "city" palace that this Shaddam called home that were touching down on the edges of the reserved space, allowing them plenty of room as their pilots left their odd aerial vehicles, a crew of four leaving each and standing in front of the craft.
With these people, were a group of around two hundred humans who wore white armor, with black swords at their hips. A constant with these people, all of them seemed to have a short sword or a dagger or some sort of bladed weapon no longer than an arm at their waist or back, though these armored humans seemed to not wear helmets, those at their sides as they stood in formation outside the landing zone.
Beyond them, the massive gold and green ziggurat rose, the seat of the Emperors power and from what it seemed a source for the constant stream of people either going into the wider estate, or going back in.
QNQJSHXBDDJFN JABBOON ALL MAY QUESTION, BUT NONE MAY ANSWER!
the things that you might like don't grow inside of me
So they were human.
Slitted reptilian eyes would narrow as the dropship rotated during its descent, giving Rau and the other occupants within a clear view of the surrounding space and the other aircraft present... and, eventually, the locals that awaited them. A number of them were dressed in attire reminiscent of Earth centuries past, while others notably did not. The basic body plan and tones of flesh were unmistakable, though, and between their presence here and the equally unlikely population within the Triangulum galaxy he and his warriors had just departed...
The San'Shyuum had not been held in high regard among his people within living memory to be sure, but to think that they had once believed such a genocide possible? They'd been beyond foolish, ignorant in the extreme, to think themselves capable of eliminating a population so widespread. Even if they'd thought those within Sol to be the root of it all, to know from the beginning that humans had been chosen as Reclaimers by the very gods the very gods the San'Shyuum worshipped? This population had proven themselves maddeningly primitive by comparison but it was that knowledge alone, their cousins two galaxies away, that allowed Rau to hold his tongue and grant them some modicum of respect that normally would've been earned.
Within another few moments the Phantom would finish rotating to display the vessel's port side to the gathered delegation, engines loud but producing no gusts of wind or air as the ship came to settle a handful of feet over the solid surface serving as a landing pad for other aircraft - just low enough for the lowered side ramps to stop a handful of feet above the ground. Enough to be an uncomfortable jump for the humans present, a short hop or large step for the Sangheili gathered aboard. Without a word Rau would move towards the edge of the craft's interior before disembarking, armored feet meeting the new world beneath him as the other warriors moved to follow. Blue armored Sangheili would exit, arranging themselves in a formation that doubled as an honor guard and perimeter around the Phantom with rifles held at ease as the crimson armored Asze dropped to the ground to fall in behind Rau as he started to stride towards the gathered humans - his gait one of practiced confidence.
While Rau would eye the weapons of the individuals gathered, particularly those in white armor whose stances would suggest military much more than the clean uniforms of the officers present, none of them gave him any reason for pause or concern. If anything it would be the ziggurat that would draw his attention as Rau and Asze came to a halt only a handful of meters before the uniformed humans.
"Evocatus Rau and Obentientary Asze of Clan 'Vadam. We are here to answer the Emperor's request for an audience." Asze would speak from beside Rau, the white Sangheili remaining notably silent. Better to leave the initial introductions to the one versed in such matters - until he was addressed directly or they were questioned on matters military in nature he would keep his silence.
Post by Paul the Uplifted Squid on Nov 1, 2021 3:51:43 GMT
The people before them were an assortment of interesting figures. Some most definite the basic human, others seemed… different in ways, the way they moved and walked and looked at them. There were several women wearing black robes, each stylized to a degree, mainly swirls in the fabrics coloring, who simply felt… off, off to be around and near. There were the humans who wore grey and blue jumpsuits and did not seem normal, not from their rather oddly large eyes and barely visible sharpened teeth. And then there the odd man, the one who occasionally looked upwards and his eyes became as grey as the dead.
The men in the white armor all shared several key contiguous constants. They each had several tattoos over their left eye. Some had a single dot, others had many bands, others had only a few bands or dots or any number of shapes, yet there were elders who seemed at least as if they had so many that the side of their face was blackened with tattoos from the sheer amount of them. And possessed a large thumb print from a bloodied finger on their forehead.
As they approached, before Rau and Asze was the odd pale round faced elderly man with a full white beard, his lips were deep crimson red-stained with a small black mark on the center of the lower lips, his uniform was rather personalized compared to the standardized looking ones many of the younger men and women in their entourage.
At his hip was a sword of blackened metal, short, thin, with a sharp angular tip to it, a weapon of sharp practicality.
He bowed slightly, closing his eyes before standing straight up
"Evocatus Rau, Obentientary Asze, in the name of Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV, I bid welcome on behalf of his Grace, I am Archthinker of the Mentat Training Schools Jubal Irate. Come," the man turned and gestured, and his entourage began to walk away to enter the ziggurat,"I will take you to the White Lion Throne."
He stood and waited for the Sangheili to follow, not willing to leave without them in tow.
QNQJSHXBDDJFN JABBOON ALL MAY QUESTION, BUT NONE MAY ANSWER!
the things that you might like don't grow inside of me
While they by no means made him feel uneasy... curiosity was another matter entirely, and the first time Rau had actually felt such a thing in a long while. The civilians failed to hold his attention for a number of reasons, first and foremost being that the Evocatus always held some degree of difficulty in telling them apart from one another by their dress, at least in regards to most of the human civilizations in the Spur. For the most part they were simply irrelevant to Rau so far as his assigned tasks and duties were concerned, thus not something he had learned to pay attention to or to identify by their role. Military was a different matter, though. While the majority of the conflicts in his life had involved either Sangheili or Kromus Rau had spent enough time around and fighting alongside the humans in the Confederation to identify them by their uniform, rank and role by necessity... and while these were not the same people he'd come to identify as brothers in arms there were enough similarities. Warriors held themselves a certain way, regardless of culture... and even beyond that the presence of blades at the hip of nearly every uniformed human, armor or otherwise, intrigued him in a way that their aircraft and technology - or rather, lack thereof - didn't.
Blades, swords in particular, held a special place within Sangheili culture and their martial traditions in a way that was rarely seen in other cultures within the Spur these days, and to see such weapons feature so prominently here was...
Well, Rau couldn't call it pleasant as he found himself unsure as to whether it was due to their prohibitions against certain technologies or the state of their other weapons, but a curiosity all the same. And much as he wondered after the weapons Rau found himself considering those holding them in a way he hadn't before, slitted reptilian eyes settling on the soldiers standing to attention as the dignitary who'd introduced himself as an Archthinker continued to speak.
With Asze lightly bowing his head in response to Irate's introductions and moving to follow after the human as the man made it clear he was expecting as much, Rau would tear his gaze from the white armored soldiers to move after the pair, gaze now focused on the ziggurat ahead.
Post by Paul the Uplifted Squid on Nov 13, 2021 17:38:06 GMT
Behind them the white armored soldiers began marching into the wide opening of the Emperor's ziggurat that served as its expansive entrance. The interior of the massive fortress-palace was decorated with winding circular patterns across the walls, while the floor was covered in what seemed to be bronze or perhaps a bronze alloy of some sort.
At regular intervals were small holographic projectors and small microphones inset into the walls on both sides, many in use as what seemed to be many others with red-stained and marked lips similar to the Archthinker were speaking into them and adjusting different holographic layouts of what seemed to be images and videos of plants, animals, planets, ship designs, of which all seemed to carry a very similar brutalist aesthetic with each other, far and away removed from the pageantry of the Emperors home and its collection of vehicles and ships. There were holograms of humans engaged in rigorous bladed combat, what seemed to be some sort of elongated piscine-like beings with bright blue eyes and orange skin, as well as others that showed massive worm-like beings swimming across dunes of sand. Peculiarly, the people at these projectors eyes would often turn completely white for a brief moment before they would speak into the recorder in a string of what sounded like some sort of language based off of clicking rapidly in differing intervals.
The many humans with the Archthinker had began splitting off and going down the many different black and green colored corridors interspersed, though the soldiers continued their march in formation behind them. Just as well, this Jubal Irate seemed to be a rather jovial person, as a smile was always on his bearded face as he began to attempt small talk with both Rau and Asze.
"It is truly a pleasure to meet you both, you are the first xenological sapient life-forms to ever set foot on Kaitain, and one of the first in the entirety of the Imperiums history, aside from our first initial discovery by the Galactic Railways."
the things that you might like don't grow inside of me
Rau remained silent as the white armored humans fell into position behind them - aware, certainly, but not exactly threatened by the lot. A slight glance over his shoulder and the Sangheili knew what amounted to what other species would've referred to as a "parade" formation, one intended for either formal occasions or as a show of force. Pageantry was all it was, and it was something that soon left his attention as they and those around them began to approach and enter the ziggurat that appeared to function as a palace for their emperor.
Much of Rau's earlier impressions would be broken on seeing the building's interior, however. What appeared to be a martial structure built on a foundation of pragmatism and durability did not hold true once inside, and had he not known better the white armored saurian would have called this place a museum. Many of the individuals present were not of the same build as the warriors that had greeted them, and instead seemed to take after the dignitary that had introduced himself as an "arch thinker". All seemed preoccupied with their tasks at each given station or display, whichever of the two they were seated at- with one in particular catching Rau's attention.
The images of the sand dunes, the desert world, and the worm like creature cutting through them. Things he had seen in the briefing on the way down to the world, what the human empire here seemed to refer to as the source of their power. Arrakis, it had been called. But where they seemed to see strength... Rau saw only weakness. Vulnerability, a thing they had come to depend on rather than their own strengths and ability, the very things that had made humanity such desirable allies in his home galaxy. As individuals began to split off Rau's attention would again shift, only somewhat paying attention to what their guide was saying as the man began to speak.
"Such meetings are rare, it is true. Much of that time has long since passed within our home galaxy, and it isn't often we've been given cause to travel this far ourselves. It's unfortunate, in fact. Were the distances not so extreme the Arbiter himself may have been able to be here in our place." Asze responded, picking up the slack to respond to Irate's attempted small talk rather than letting simple boot steps fill the silence.
Post by Paul the Uplifted Squid on Jan 18, 2022 6:51:44 GMT
It is a momentous occasion, one which will likely be spoken of for eons amongst hum- ah, I should say Imperium, for we have found humanity has spread across numerous galaxies… humanities which surpass us sadly."
Archthinker Irate seemed to deflate a bit, his demeanor going from jolly to melancholy. He fingered the hilt of his sword as he sighed, his right hand fidgeting with his white beard as his eyes briefly clouded and then returned to their normal color.
"We have regressed in our branch, though few want to admit it. The Guilds monopoly is now threatened, along with the corporate holdings of the CHOAM, exodus occurs regularly as our people flock to new galaxies, infact I imagine you'll see many of our people in your home galaxy, many flock to the 'BirthWorld', thought myth and legend for eons."
He briefly gestured to the white warriors behind them, marching ever continuously.
"Even the Holy Sardaukar now want to adapt to a changing present, constantly buying exo-galactic products and attempting to procure weapons, with no luck of course. And yet… we will endure, as we always have, even if we must change, Shaddam wills it. Stagnancy, breeds extinction."
The decor changed as they walked, going from the rather scholarly and subdued atmosphere to one with individuals of varying appearance, from rather odd styles and haircuts, to many possessing aquiline carved features as if set in stone. Corridors had groups of extravagantly clothed people whispering, the occasional groups of what could be assumed to be some female religious order, and open rooms with young men and women being rigourously and loudly berated while trained by dangerous looking men with red dots at their foreheads.
Especially noticeable was a younger man with thick black curls and a darker complexion who stood not far off from them as they approached. He carried himself as if he had seen combat, likely in the internecine House wars with a sharp ready look to his green eyes. He seemed to be speaking with a black cloaked and hooded woman with a worried expression on his face as an older man with similar features approached the young man, if much older from the flecks of grey and white in his beard, as well as the protruding gut. Perhaps a great bull once, but no longer
He looked in their direction, directly looking at both Asze and the white armored Rau, widening eyes following for a moment before returning to normal, before he gave a slight smile at them and nodded, all the while down the corridor a massive green and black door with a massive lions face emblazoned on its front loomed.
Noticeably, perhaps more to Asze as he was conversing with the Archthinker, Jubal glanced in the boys direction with an almost worried and pitied look before resuming to the discussion at hand.
"Ah, we're nearly to the White Lion Throne, soon we'll be able to meet with the Emperor."
the things that you might like don't grow inside of me
It took some degree of effort to suppress the chuckle that Rau felt following Irate's comment, specifically that regarding "other humanities". As impressive as the "heighliners" orbiting this world were.... they were not warships. Glorified transports for other, smaller vessels, and even given the disparity between the Systems Alliance within the closest neighboring galaxy and the Confederation back in Sol-Daiban... Irate was not incorrect, although Rau's amusement mostly stemmed from the fact that it was almost entirely self inflicted. He'd read enough of the briefing on the way down from the Tithe to be well aware of their purges, this Empire's restrictive and dogmatic doctrines. Many of which all but mirrored that which the Covenant had held, if only to even further extremes. They hadn't merely outlawed research into artificial intelligence, but any technology capable of mathematics or automation - or enough of them to effectively be a blanket ban, punishable by death.
Pure, blind dogma. All to leave something as vague as the "human soul" pure. Spiritualism was nothing new to the Sangheili and they'd maintained a good deal of focus on it in the aftermath of the Covenant Empire's collapse, merely redefining it for what it was as opposed to unthinking devotion to religion... but never once had they mistaken man for machine or vice versa, nor felt themselves at risk of one replacing the other. Their fears had been borne out of historical record, of the tale of Mendicant Bias and his betrayal of his creators... similar, yes, but that fear had faded with time, all the more so with the discovery of the Flood and the part it had played in Mendicant's corruption, and even beyond that the creation of Offensive Bias in response.
And never once had his people tied their existence so closely to a single world that was not their own, an addictive substance as a replacement for tools perfectly capable of achieving their assigned tasks and obtaining the desired results.
Irate seemed to be dismayed by his peoples' position relative to their contemporaries. Rau merely wondered how long it would be until he and those he pledged his allegiance to realized why... and if it would bring his empire a revolution or a collapse.
The comment made of "exodus", however....
"Is there not concern over incidents involving those leaving your empire? 'Thinking machines', as you call them... they are quite common elsewhere. The act of securing ties with your kin in those regions will be difficult should they foist those views on others or should violence occur." Rau said, deep voice echoing through the hallways as he finally spoke for the first time. A slight glance from Asze beside him, but the red armored Sangheili said nothing about the question posed - likely because the same thought had occurred to the Obedientary and he couldn't fault Rau for asking after it. Such individuals would likely not be of much risk to his people even on the Joint Occupation Zone worlds, but the same could not be said for Earth. Unlike Sanghelios they tended to be quite a bit more free with immigrants, and to be rushed with so many at once and all potentially holding fairly extremist religious views... it was all but inevitable that incidents would occur somewhere down the line.
With Irate's comment regarding "stagnancy", however, Rau would once again suppress a less than polite reaction, far more easily done with waiting on an answer to the one and only question he'd posed thus far.
Whether or not Irate chose to reply to Rau, neither Sangheili would speak again as the continued down the hallway, reptilian eyes passing over the humans present in only the most cursory inspection. The vast majority did not appear to be warriors in the same sense that the aforementioned Sardaukar had been, and although a handful wore weapons and had likely seen military service in the past... they most definitely had moved beyond that life, advancing into roles of politics. A sight that once again reaffirmed Rau's belief that he'd made the correct decision in actively resisting such a transition back on his own homeworld, as was typically custom for accomplished Evocati.
A boy, younger than almost every other human Rau had seen there by his estimation - and despite the widening eyes, Rau would return the nod with a small, subtle one of his own, although movement in the corner of the white armored Elite's peripheral vision would not go unnoticed. Nor, for that matter, the look that would pass over Irate's face as he glanced in the other human's direction. Without context it was something that quickly set Rau on edge, although an impulse he forced himself to control as the Archthinker spoke again and they approached a massive set of jade and onyx doors with beasts embossed upon their surface.
Post by Paul the Uplifted Squid on Mar 13, 2022 7:38:01 GMT
The Archthinker would touch a small jewel on his chest fatigues, causing the colossal stone doors to float slightly off the floor, before sliding inward rapidly. Before the Archthinker, Evocatus Rau, and Obdientary Asze was a room bedecked not in gold, or steel, but one of the purest white marble, streaks and shot through with lightning veins of jade and onyx. The ceiling had the most delicate and elaborate red and yellow ruby filigree, carved into the ceiling so as to mirror the bottom's lightning strikes of striking green and black against white. Opulence, and power, at its most greedy and influential. At the farthest end of the throne room, easily large enough to fit nearly three banshees, was a 5 meter tall throne of quartz chiseled, in striking difference to the opulence of the room, into a more brutality and utilitarian form with what seemed only to be holy scripture written upon it.
Sitting upon its unyielding square chiselled seat, was a man in what appeared to be regalia similar to the Archthinker, though pure white, with more esoteric symbols across its surface in black and green writing. His hair was close cropped, once black, now edged much closer to grey. Wrinkles had begun to form on a face that seemed to have almost no laugh lines, several age spots had the barest beginnings across his face. But most distinctive were his eyes. Grey, but with electric bright flecks of blue in his eyes.
At the right side of the seated man was a woman in black, nearly completely covered save for her face, a face almost far too perfect for a human, and dark almost black eyes that seemed to be… off-putting in general.
The Archthinker walked up and took a stance to the right of the seated figure before clearing his throat and speaking.
"Presenting to His Exalted Lord of the Imperium of Man, Padishah Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV, esteemed Royal Guests Evocatus Rau, and Obdientary Asze."
the things that you might like don't grow inside of me
No further words were spoken from either party, although Rau's slitted reptilian eyes would bore holes into the back of the Archthinker's head when it became clear that the human wasn't about to respond - and despite the nervous glance from the red armored Obedientary beside him suggesting otherwise the Evocatus kept it at that. Politics had always been something he'd found tiresome and wasteful in light of action when it could be taken, but Rau had been forced to play the game long enough to understand what the silence meant. Either the Archthinker had no answer to the question... or it was one he didn't want to address. Neither possibility was one that Rau found all too welcoming. While religious freedom was something of a core tenant within the Sol-Daiban galaxy - within both Sangheili space and that of the Galactic Federation - it wasn't to say that new religions were welcome. Or, more accurately put, those looking to actively spread those beliefs. It was one thing for individuals to find something of value within such beliefs, but it was another entirely for them to be forced upon people.
The scars left by the Covenant had been slow to heal, and while not particularly defined as religion in the traditional sense the efforts of the Machine Empire in attempting to instill its values upon the region by force had not been forgotten, either. Crusades of any sort were something that the region had little patience left for.
After a few more moments, however, the Archthinker would bring the procession to a halt before a massive set of doors which would slowly swing open, revealing an enormous hall beyond. Seemingly carved from polished stone with veins of precious metals snaking through the rock, at the far end of the room there would be two lone humans. One seated on the equally large throne, the object dwarfing him, clad in pure white mirroring Rau's own attire and clearly their Emperor... and beside him what appeared to be a female human, although at that Rau could only guess. Most of the features matched up and he'd be the first to admit that he'd only spent a relatively small amount of time among the species, most clad head to toe in uniforms that made distinguishing individuals by physical features difficult enough... but what set this one apart were traits that Rau hadn't seen on any other human within his memory.
As the Archthinker started moving forward again, however, Rau cleared that thought from his mind. On approaching the Emperor the Archthinker would continue forward until he was standing beside the seated human opposite the black clad one, although Rau himself would stop as Asze did - leaving both of them standing a respectable distance away from and before the Emperor as they were announced. While Asze did not kneel - as that custom was reserved solely for the Arbiter and other individuals of similar esteem among their own people - the Obedientary would dip his head in response as a gesture of respect, right hand forming a fist and brought to the left side of his breastplate. Doing the same himself, Rau would again keep his silence as Asze began to speak following their introduction from the Archthinker.
"An honor. We were informed you might have use for our services, but a formal introduction was not expected much less a direct audience."
Post by Paul the Uplifted Squid on Apr 6, 2022 6:27:14 GMT
The Emperor would stand from his throne and step forward before giving a short bow to the two, the Archthinker's eyes widening a bit at the Emperor's behavior, it would seem. He held himself straight and proud, though his shoulders slumped slightly, perhaps a sign of aging, or hidden worries within him that he did his best to hide from others "I wished to meet with you both, Evocatus Rau, and Obdientary Asze. You are the first of your kind to ever set foot in this throne room. An event that will be set down in stone in our history, and I fully intended for such a monumental event to be during my tenure upon what some are calling 'The Revelation'."
He would gesture to the woman at the side of his throne. She would step forward at his signal and bow slightly before standing similarly straight, though without any sort of body language to give off any sort of indicators of her minds state, indeed, she seemed still as statue when she did not wall or bow. Here dark eyes were proven to indeed to be black, but with a slight ring of white around them, most definitely a color not seen in normal humans the two Sangheili might have met. "I am Empress Anirul Sadow-Tonkin nee Corrino, and on behalf of the Bene Gesserit, you are welcomed to our home."
A disturbing fact may have been noticed as she spoke. Her teeth, solid grey and shining… they were solid iron, each one.
"You are here for business though, I understand," Emperor Corrino spoke,"the matter at hand is a rather heavy subject."
He would take a small device from a pocket on the front of his lapel. Seemingly a small, archaic, holograph emitter, as suddenly a flickering star system appeared above it. Then it would zoom in on a reddish brown planet, most of its surface was covered in dunes, save for a large ring of mountains at the equator and poles.
"You are here, for Arrakis, and it's upstarts who are currently impeding the production of our most important resource."
The holographic emitter would shut off quickly as he slipped it back into his pocket.
"You are here, to discuss payment proper for your services to the Imperium."
the things that you might like don't grow inside of me
Despite their lowered gazes neither Sangheili missed the Emperor's response, be it him standing up or the short bow that was offered - much less the shock that seemed to cross over the Archthinker's face in response. While the following statement was somewhat painfully obvious in the sense that neither of them would likely had been permitted to stand within the current chamber much less set foot on the planet without the Emperor's express permission, the words after that were somewhat new and at the very least caught Rau's attention. It echoed much of what the Archthinker had said before, only this time putting a name to the new development and perspective through which to frame the impact it would hold on their culture... and once again, it rang somewhat uncomfortably of his own peoples' past, when years and generations were defined by Ages of the Covenant, the last of which had been the Ninth Age of Reclamation.
Ill tidings so far as Rau was concerned, although he kept his thoughts to himself - although they would only compound as Corrino gestured to the woman that had been standing beside his throne who would introduce herself as Empress... and Bene Gesserit. In reading the political briefs forwarded to them prior to landing the organization had caught Rau's eye in more ways than one, and despite his priority being to familiarize himself with the desert world and its related files he could not help but dig... only to find disconcertingly little. The Bene Gesserit were a known organization and political force, but for all the power they wielded disproportionately little seemed to be known of them. Omnipresent but seemingly never at the forefront of political machinations in the region, feared and respected yet not outwardly spoken of... something that, once more, drew uncomfortable parallels to the old Covenant Empire of generations past, and its own hierarchy and machinations.
Shaddam Corrino may have been the one seated upon the throne and outwardly dictating events, but the fact that the woman shared the title of Empress and held connections to an organization beyond Corrino's control told Rau all he needed to know about the power dynamic between them.
As the Emperor began to speak again, however, Asze would be the one to take the lead once more as he - his head still lowered in respect - nodded in acknowledgement of the man's words.
"Yes, the Freman as I believe they are called. On being directed to land we were generously provided a multitude of documents and have made efforts to familiarize ourselves with their contents before arrival." Asze said, allowing his head to rise so as first to direct a nod to the Archthinker before allowing his gaze to drift towards the Emperor before continuing.
"'Spice', it was called. The files also made mention of a House Harkonnen currently in control of the world and responsible for its stewardship, tasked both with the local collection operations as well as protecting them from the local raiding parties."