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Sādhanā inclines her head slightly, keeping the formatilty. "She is my partner." she says simply, granting a gravity to the word as she answers the question. "A pleasure to see that this location is well guarded. Rise sister. I have a need to speak with your leadership"
"If you've come on the behalf of the nymph, I'm afraid Allira won't be too eager to listen, even if you are a Bladebearer," the Anizari says, getting to her feet.
Ylrhea remains silent, trying to not create any problems for her beloved.
"I haven't actually. I have an ally in need of aid. And I'm ascertaining the status of each enclave as I encounter them and if they have any pressing needs so my purpose is really twofold." Sādhanā responds.
The Anizari gets a curious look on her face. "Helping the other enclaves? Why?"
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"Becasue they are Anizari."
The Anizari shakes her head. "We seek freedom from the oppression of the other enclaves...by helping them, you hinder us."
"I'm very much against that same opression. Perhaps the other enclaves could learn from you rather than the other way around. Change is a necessary part of survival."
"Then speak to Allira," the Anizari says, leading Sādhanā and Ylrhea deeper into the cave. "Perhaps her own council might be of help to you."
"Thank you," Sādhanā says smiling for the first time in the exchange.
The Anizari stops as you reach a large chamber. Instead of individual living spaces, the Anizari of this cave dwell in one room together. You see a fierce woman in an elaborate headdress sitting at the head of a long table, other Anizari move about serving food and drink.
The Anizari who led you here clears her throat. "Allira...a Bladebearer and her partner have come to speak to you. It is not on the nymph's behalf."
The fierce woman looks up from her plate and smiles, a gesture that seems to have both joy and anger in it. "I thought I smelled Jarrah's handiwork among us."
She stands from the table and approaches Sādhanā. "Well met, Bladebearer. I will not kneel before you as I am this enclave's Wiyanga, their mother or chief, if you will. You are new among us...at least, your soul in that body is. My name is Allira, my family name matters not anymore and I am sure you will learn why by the time our meeting has finished."
Allira turns to the others. "Finish your meal, the Bladebearer and I must speak at the fire. Unless you have not eaten yet, Bladebearer, then I shall not turn you away from my table."
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"We welcome your hospitality Wiyanga Allira. I am Sādhanā, my companion is Ylrhea. A seat at your table would be most welcome." Sādhanā says in a formal but friendly tone.
Allira nods at two Anizari next to the head of the table. As they get up to move, she gestures to the now-empty seats. "Please, eat your fill. We can save the conversation until you have eaten."
Ylrhea takes a seat. "Thank you, Allira."
"Thank, it is an honor." Sādhanā says taking the other seat.
Allira smiles, this one devoid of anger. You can see the curiosity twinkling in her eyes. "You are welcome, Ylrhea."
The dinner consists of fish, fresh fruits and a honeyed mead. It is filling but you don't feel overly stuffed after partaking. Once you and Allira finish, she leads you to a small chamber apart from the main area. In a recessed pit, firewood in neatly piled. On the far wall, you see a statue of Aroden standing with his arms outstretched as if he was offering something.
Allira gestures to some stone benches arranged in a small circle around the fire. She then lights the fire and casts a few herbs into the flames. You instantly feel a magic working its way through the room.
Sādhanā bows her head slightly at the sight of the statue of Aroden, taking in the room and studying Allira's actions.
She takes a seat on one of the benches, noting the circular arrangement and it's significance.
Sādhanā recognizes the spell as Zone of Truth. Allira bows her head. "It's for your benefit as well as mine. This is the room where we come to pray to Aroden and also where we discuss matters of import. So, shall we begin? Why have you come to me, if not for the nymph?"
"The foremost reason is a friend of mine who suffered damage to his mind while battling a daemon. I seek to aid him and hoped to see if there was anything you would be able to do to help him. He is a Summoner, joined in the fight to cleanse Zahvroma." Sādhanā speaks plainly.
"How did your enclave manage to separate itself from the others?"
"We are not an enclave in the strictest sense of the word," Allira says. "After the Anizari were driven underground, my mothers fled north away from Jarrah and her ilk. They were not interested in holy war, justified or not. It was many years before Jarrah struck back against them and I grew up in the wilds, alone. However, Aroden guided me to others who were also lost. I took them as my own sisters and daughters and led them here, where Jarrah cannot see us. We are a family but one not bound by blood or oath, we stay together of our own free will."
Her face softens for a moment. "So, indulge me, why a gnome?"
Ylrhea looks at Allira, her mouth open to say something. She then shakes her head and looks at Sādhanā.
Resisting the knee jerk reaction to be angry at the audacity of the question, Sādhanā looks at Ylrhea and answers the question in the spirit in which it was asked.
"Because her soul completes my own. Because she knows me better than anyone...beter than I know myself. Because she has stood by me in the darkest of moments, and would give her life to keep me safe, as I would give mine for her. Because knowing she is with me helps me fall asleep at night, and waking up knowing she is tier makes the day easier to face."
Allira nods and smiles. "It is rare that the Anizari find love outside of their own. I meant no offense, truly. Do you hope to start a family someday?"
Smiling, Sādhanā shares a look with Ylrhea. "The fact that it's a possibility has come up."
"Then there is something I can do for you to help," Allira says, taking an ivory necklace out of one of the pockets of her robes. She puts the necklace around Ylrhea's neck. "This is a symbol known to all Anizari, to show that she is yours and that wherever you go she goes to. It also possess a helpful charm for when the last day of the year comes around."
Ylrhea touches the necklace gently. "Err...thank you again, Allira."
"So you came for help with your Summoner friend or was there something else?" Allira asks.
"Well helping Drago was my main motivation for the moment, but I find it refreshing that your group operates the way it does, and it gives me hope. The bladebearers do not really stand with the shall we say archaic thinking behind the standing Anizari base. I believe they've lost thier way, and finding you all reinforces my belief." she says choosing her words carefully.
The Wiyanga is silent for a moment. "Do you mean to challenge Jarrah?"
"I mean to see what Aroden had in mind for us, and Zahvroma restored, rather than secrets and manipulation. And I mean to do whatever is in the best ineterest of the Anizari, to live with the freedom to choose rather than to be controlled. Whaterver may be required to make that happen." Sādhanā says thoughtfully.
"What do you know of Aroden's death?"
"I know what my mothers told me and their mothers before them. Malfeliax, before his imprisonment, was a greater dragon than any that dwelled in Zahvroma or even Vesaria. His power was so great that he required more than flesh to survive. He needed the very essences of living things to be satiated. It was no secret that Malfeliax desperately wanted to be a god and our god went forth to put an end to the misery the great dragon brought. But Malfeliax, fueled by the power of thousands of souls, proved too strong for Aroden. And the dragon consumed him like he had so many others. Yet, in imprisoning Aroden, Malfeliax did not become a god."
She leans back thinking upon the magus' earlier answer. "Many of us would like to leave Zahvroma. It has been a land of heartbreak and sorrow for a number of us. I don't know what the purpose of the Anizari is beyond restoring the land...a purpose attainable by only the three Bladebearers."
" I mean to see the land restored and the darkness fought back. A task not requiring only the bladebearers but any who would fight the darkness. My friends and I, family really have already put down four of the necromancers that ruled here, and created a haven to which refugees from other lands are flocking. Vencious is our next target. I believe that if those with the will unite we can rebuild Zahvroma, make it better, free of those who corrupted it."
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"A noble goal, I'll admit," Allira says. "There is one thing I must share with you...Aroden's secret. There are those who would seek to manipulate you or your Summoner friend and perhaps this may help you stay on your guard.
'Three blades sit under five houses surrounded by a circle of green.
The green calls to the eastern shore, the houses call to the south and the blades sing to the west.
Then, on northern shore, the temple of godliness shall appear and the passage to the divine shall be revealed.'
This is Aroden's prophecy...to find the Starstone, I believe. Yet, I am not sure what it means in its entirety."
Sienna yawns. "Hope they'll be back soon. I hate not knowing where they are."
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Having finally come back inside, Arista nods as she indicates the already made up beds, "I already have the blankets and everything made up on the beds if you're done eating and want to lay down."
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"I don't like not knowing either....but I know they'll take good care of each other. I can stay up and watch Drago if the two of you want to head to bed."
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Sienna shakes her head. "I'll wait for Ylrhea and Sādhanā."
Nodding she busies herself tidying things up as she looks at Sienna, "Oh ok then, I was just letting you know I had things set up for whenever you were ready for them."
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