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"I am certain you would have made it back fine with her help though. In some ways she is limited. In others she is much stronger then you would expect." There was a note of pride as he turned to look at the meditating woman. "Shall I call her over so that you may meet her?"

Such a vulnerability in a cleric was laughable really but Ardonis wasn't done speaking. "I also have reason to believe the necromancer is still in the tomb... and if he managed to find some of those buried you'll be fighting undead beyond the typical. Some of Atlantis' older... heroes were buried there."

The priest nodded in the direction of the young merfolk woman who still appeared to be in deep concentration. She had moved several inches from where she had last been simply by way of letting the water move her. "She'll be undertaking a dangerous mission in service to Atlantis. We've gotten strange reports at one of our crypts of undead. The military is currently to occupied dealing with sahaugin raiders to look into it so they asked us..."

"Unfortunately my apprentice, while capable, does have certain... limitations with her blessings. So I'm looking for others to join her just in case the situation is worse then it is. You were seen coming into the city with that weapon and while it could be true that you're simply a man with a blade, you move a bit too well for me to assume that. What do you say? I'm offering five hundred gold up front for accepting and another five hundred for getting her back safe."

"I wish I could ask you some questions but I imagine you might be uncomfortable near our church. Mira, keep practicing." Ardonis said over his shoulder before gesturing for Azeban to join him a little ways away from the church. "I'm glad you find Atlantis pleasant. Tell me, do you have plans to find work, or do you seek to simply stay for a little while before moving on? I mentioned in my letter I might be able to assist with the former."

Then Ardonis's expression turned serious again. "The wait was a blessing in disguise. We have learned that though capable physically, my apprentice cannot harm others with the divine magic given to her. She has a different gift... One that benefits others even more then herself."

"I am seeking individuals of unique skills too assist her in clearing out a tomb that has been invaded by a necromancer. The undead and the necromancer himself are to be slain and if information can be found as to where he learned his magic I will be rewarding those that join her further."

Ardonis stepped over to his desk and opened a drawer, revealing several bags, "I do not know if you have much use for gold or trinkets, but if you were to help my apprentice I would also be more then happy to use my own pull in the courts to assist your own efforts of learning of our culture. I can help you speak to scholars and professors and even access our great library, a rare opportunity for someone who is not a citizen."

"What say you Ssekhith? Will you aid both my apprentice and Atlantis?"

The sea elf moved back to them with the bowl, setting it down so that Jawshsh could eat at his leisure, and then looked back up to Ssekhith. As far as 'high priests' go Ardonis seemed to be a rather lax one. The shaman of his tribe would have commanded respect. Indeed, the shamans of other tribes he knew would do the same more often then not. Ardonis though seemed to break that mold... Assuming he was to fill the same role that is.

"I admit that my hope for learning is mutual. Despite our many advancements, Atlantis still knows so little of the sea beyond our borders, or even the more wild areas within it. I fear this lack of knowledge could prove dangerous in time. Only our most skilled rangers dare even venture into places like the Kelp Forest or the Depths." Ardonis sighed, but then shrugged away the concern, "Heavy stuff for a first meeting and unfortunately not why I called you here today. I have a favor to ask of you and your friend."

He stood from the chair he had rested on, another strange piece of furniture, and moved away from the desk carrying the many items underwater writing made necessary. Despite his casual surroundings Ardonis was wearing heavy armor that looked fit to his form. "I was hoping to get a chance to talk to you after you helped our scout party against Sahaugin hunting party they had encountered."

The man was quick to offer a hand to shake. His grip was firm but with no attempt to try and overpower or out squeeze the sturdier looking Lizardfolk. "You have my thanks for helping our warriors. I admit I called you here for more then that, but before I bring up my own interests, is there anything you'd like to discuss?" He released Ssekhith's hand and gestured toward a small bowl with a sealed cover, "Some food, perhaps? I did drag you out rather earlier today."

He pauses to greet another of the people currently entering into the church and then turns his attention back to Azeban. "He's fairly informal about meetings, particularly when he sends out invites, so you're welcome to go and see him right now if you'd like."

Moving away from the crowd and rounding the corner, Azeban is greeted with a strange sight. It's not often that people even register too his extraordinary senses but all three of the creatures around the corner have an aura of good about them. The first two, a Merwoman with unusual silver scales and a tiny creature, both have moderately powerful aura's probably akin to the strength of his and Liegei's aura.

The last one though, a heavily armored sea elf man with greenish grey scales, has a strong aura of good, one that's as powerful or more then the other two combined. Altogether the aura's seem to meld together as if they came from the same being, creating a brief moment where Azeban saw both the people and a cloud of silvery light in the same space. As his mind adjusted he was able to push away the aura's with little trouble, as none of them were overwhelming in power.

The merfolk woman seems to be deep in thought, her eyes closed and her hands clasped before her in an expression of prayer. The armored sea elf was watching her but almost as easily as Azeban was able to spot them he seems to become aware of the Kua Toa. He rises from his spot on the ground and moves around the apparent Novice to greet them.

"Hello there. I am guessing you are the new comer I heard of. Welcome to the Church of Prismire. I am Ardonis, it's high priest. It is a pleasure to meet you." Despite his apparent status the man bows, immediately showing a difference between himself and a Kua Toa priest. No priest of Bliibaal would ever bow to another save the emperor or a higher ranking priest.

True to his word the priest almost immediately heads off as if to seek the knowledge he spoke of, leaving Ssekhith too go inside for the original purpose for which he had come here. Following along behind is his companion who the priest makes no move to stop as they enter.

The inside of the church is nearly as grand as the outside. The roof of the building, which provides shelter from both animals and harsher currents, seemed unnecessarily high. It made for a lot of swimming space but was fairly ostentatious by tribal standards. In particular the amount of worked stone and corral used to support the structure from within must have seemed almost wasteful to someone whose tribe needed natural caves just to get something this sturdy.

There was something peaceful to the water inside though. The constant tug of the water, the motion caused by so many people living so close, the currents above and below and even the many sounds all seemed muted inside this church. The door too the far left wasn't open but it wasn't hard to miss either. It did mean swimming by or over a great many 'benches', more furniture that seemed to have little point to it.

Prismire's church was simpler. At least in comparison. At the end of a long row of benches for the masses to attend whatever sort of religious meetings that took place here stood an elf man in heavy armor. Unlike the one outside he was yet to show his age. He also seemed to be praying. At the sound of the door closing behind Valauthiel, the man stood up and turned to look at who had arrived.

"Ah, Lady Brightsong. Thank you for agreeing to meet with me." He bowed forward in a polite manner, one that wasn't exactly appropriate for a high priest too be following. He didn't seem to care much about that as he straightened. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything today. I am aware that it is your day off but, alas, you are a hard person to get a meeting with."

Valauthiel is lead on quite a swim. While the church of Aroden and even Poseidon reside deep within the cities center, the 'cult' of Prismire did not seem to merit a building so close to the central hub of culture and wealth.

Despite that the architecture of the place seems very ingrained in the older style that one can see the closer one gets to the center of the capital. A large sprawling building with grand windows of stained glass each depicting a different act of divinity, made from carved and shaped stone rather then clay or coral. It's far more impressive then a mere cult should be able to get.

Each image on the windows seems to have a common theme. At the base there are some people either being attacked or facing danger. The side that seems less dangerous often has a gentle silver light shining down on it. And above each scene is a silver shape, though only a small part of it happens to be in each image. It isn't until one follows the image all the way from the back of the church to the front that one sees what it's displaying.

Prismire, the massive silver beast, with a reptilian like head filled with teeth. And the silver light seems to be light reflecting off of her scales onto those she protects and watches over.

As Valauthiel she can see that the church, despite it's very noble looking structure, appears to be nearly empty at this time. There's no bustle of movement or sound coming from within and only one person is even nearby. The person is flashy enough in her own right to merit a second glance though.

For a moment she almost looked like a Merfolk statue forged of platinum. The second glance revealed a story that was close to the first impression save for a few key differences. A Merfolk woman with scales prominent through out her form that gleamed in the early afternoon light. They were definitely silver or platinum in color, much like the revered beast in the glass images, wearing armor and wielding an impressively large shield.

She wasn't alone either as Valauthiel learned upon getting closer to the church. Around the bend was Sea Elf male, one who actually showed a bit of age, moving closer toward the woman with a blade in hand. He lunged at the same time the merfolk woman raised her shield, deflecting the blow by the narrowest of margins. A moment later light flared to life between them, dividing the battle. The sea elf, undettered, swam up and over, preparing another charge.

Each image seems to have a common theme. At the base there are some people either being attacked or facing danger. The side that seems less dangerous often has a gentle silver light shining down on it. And above each scene is a silver shape, though only a small part of it happens to be in each image. It isn't until one follows the image all the way from the back of the church to the front that one sees what it's displaying.

Prismire, the massive silver beast, with a reptilian like head filled with teeth. And the silver light seems to be light reflecting off of her scales onto those she protects and watches over.

There appear to be some people entering the church at this time. Ten elves and two merfolk moving through the doorway, with a single sea elf standing at the door in simple robes. Azeban and Ligeia would be hard pressed not to recognize a priest when they saw one, though the color of his clothing is strange, being a pale grey rather then the usual blood red they were used too.

He read the letter quickly and with it and the question the young man seemed to actually brighten a bit. "The serpent that flows below? Hrrrm..." He lowered his head and thought, going so far as to start rubbing his chin. "I think I recall reading about such a god. Worshiped by several tribes of lizardfolk, the pale white serpent is less of a guide and more of an ancestor."[/b]

The sea elf looks up as he consider Ssekhith and his eyes widen a bit as he notices the white scales. "Ah, I see. I suppose that depends. Many scholars didn't even believe Prismire was a god until recently but I hardly look to them for a reasonable discussion. I do know of a few scholars that have different ideas of such primal gods. Some say... that the one who flows below, with pale white scales, is a servant or perhaps even avatar of Hades."

"I personally think that's less likely since Hades himself has appeared in the time since Atlantis' founding in other forms. A harbinger perhaps, but then it is hard to ignore the similarities between Prismire and the one who flows below. There aren't any tails that I know of linking them together but... perhaps comparing some of their older sightings might give us an idea..."

The priest, who had been friendly but nervous originally, seems to have lost any nervousness he had. He speaks now with a confidence that shows he is definitely a learned man with an acute interesting in such things. He also gives no indication of stopping, so this pause was Ssekhith's chance to interject before the man continued.

Each image seems to have a common theme. At the base there are some people either being attacked or facing danger. The side that seems less dangerous often has a gentle silver light shining down on it. And above each scene is a silver shape, though only a small part of it happens to be in each image. It isn't until one follows the image all the way from the back of the church to the front that one sees what it's displaying.

Prismire, the massive silver beast, with a reptilian like head filled with teeth. And the silver light seems to be light reflecting off of her scales onto those she protects and watches over.

There are, surprisingly, about a dozen people coming out as Ssekhith arrives, all talking about a 'sermon' that had been held. Ssekhith gets some strange looks from the merfolk and sea elves leaving but a sea elf in robes drifts over to him, gliding through the water with a casual grace, and bows his head. "Greetings. Can I be of some assistance?"

Often it's mere presence far above or the shimmering silver or sometimes adamantine scales will scare away those that do harm. Sometimes even just the holy symbol attributed to her will have that effect on evil. These are just stories of course but it's Valauthiel can still get a sense of what sort of goddess she is supposed to be.

For the Ventes family, Valauthiel has to rely on some more current sources of information. She recalls reading the name once before and after only a little bit of searching is able to find where. In the after action reports that she receives as the last existing wielder of a Black Blade. Most describe his father, one of the Generals of Atlantis' military forces. The man is old in years but continues to serve loyally long past the age at which he could retire.

These days it's more rank and file things that he does, since there hasn't been a war for Atlantis for hundreds of years, but he seems to have a sense of diligence that serves him well. Each report is filed by him, first off, rather then a secretary he could easily hire to do it for him.

There's some on Ardonis' siblings to. Each one seems to have found a field or position of power and the reports detail skill on their part. The eldest, a female, is one of Atlantis' rangers. The next in line for the noble house is an engineer. Then Ardonis, the youngest, who is also listed in some of reports of, has dealt with a lot of local issues.

Since becoming high priest there have been fewer in number but it seems he now has an apprentice or two beneath his wing, as he has begun filing reports for their activities. Mostly simple things such as dealing with accidents or injuries but one of the apprentices has managed to successfully deal with a fledgling vampire within the city.

The letter is neatly bound and opening it reveals equally careful handwriting.

Ssekhith the White

From the High Priest of the Church of Prismire, Ardonis Ventes

With the startled sound of the courier it seems that more of the soldiers in the squad have begun awakening. Ssekhith would notice them stretching and preparing for another day of civil duty, mostly with jokes. In his corner of the room he has a bit more room to stretch, as he doesn't sleep there alone, but soon this barrack will be busy and bustling.

Not sure if you meant the specific elves of the church or elves in general, but Aroden is still very much the god of Atlantis. This world also allows for Polytheism so people paying respect to Aroden, the god of Atlantis, while being a disciple of Prismire aren't necessarily even giving up their faith so much as expanding it. Think the greek pantheon. Also no worries on the delay. Before my post there wasn't a campaign thread to dot so that's probably why it failed.

Out in the hallway Azeban would be greeted by a few other new comers. This place was good and cheap for those who were looking for more then a single nights stay. Some were travelers taking a break before their caravan left again. Others were new comers to the city like Azeban himself. It was easy to tell them apart because the former showed a familiarity with the staff that was almost familial to a Kua Toa's sensibilities.

The food was... Lacking in some ways though. There wasn't nearly as much meat and spice for a native of the culture Azeban came from. However it might make up for it in other ways. Today it seemed like it might have a chance, with fish being served having been cooked by one of the heat vents that probably kept this inn warm in the cooler months. The common room could ruin it, though nothing said Azeban couldn't take the food back too his shared room with Ligeia.

For her part, Ligeia got some strange and wondering looks at first, but if she chose to greet anyone she would get surprised and mostly friendly responses. The innkeeper and her staff were the ones that seemed the most accepting of an intelligent creature such as Ligeia, barely batting an eye when the pair had come in the day before.

First, this letter is a welcome for you. The city of Atlantis accepts all who wish to find a place of peace. Secondly I wish to extend an invitation to you to come and visit the church of Prismire. I am aware that your race might make it difficult for you to find a home. Though Atlantis prides itself on acceptance and knowledge there are some who succumb to baser fears. If you ever have any concerns, questions or are even in need of work the Church of Prismire will always be willing to offer a hand.'

It's hard to say for certain but it is rare that a high priest of any church, even one as small as a former cult such as Prismire, would be personally greeting new comers with a letter. Before Azeban has a chance to explain what he read though a second knock came and this one was much less hesitant. "Breakfast will be served shortly." A somewhat feminine voice said through the door. "Grub comes with the room if you want some." And then more retreating footsteps, though it was followed shortly by another knock a few doors down.

From the High Priest of the Church of Prismire, Ardonis Ventes, Son of the Ventes line.

Though not as formal as it could have been the letter was clearly written with the normal respects paid. It is telling that before respects to her line, Ardonis paid respect to her new position as the wielder of the last remaining Black Blade. Such priorities are often seen in more military minded folk then a noble. The letter itself is of quality and it seems like Valauthiel may take her time in replying.

The professionals at least, the innkeeper and the merchants, seem to care little about race when gold is in play. Liegeia in particular, despite her abnormalities, actually finds that a few people are even more receptive to her then her guardian. You awake in the shelter you stayed in, as much for privacy as anything else, and find that someone is knocking on your door.

After only one try though the knocking stops, a note is slid under the door, and the person can be heard departing rather quickly. Not all want to meet the new arrival it seems. The letter has an unusual seal on it.

The custom of standing around wooden pieces of furniture while eating ones share is strange but the sea elves seemed to hold to it, finding the camaraderie that is often shared at such 'tables'. Other then as a fixture though they don't seem to hold much in the way of usefulness in this weightless environment.

Today the light from above the waves greets Ssekhith through a 'window', another oddity in the Sea Elven structure, before the sounds of awaking can ring through the barracks. At his feet, standing a bit more warily then the elves Ssekhith has come to know, is a small little fellow, likely a child of the elven people, with a satchel around his waist.

When he notices that Ssekhith is awakening he startles back even further, dropping a letter with a strange seal holding it closed.

Her home is not as opulent as some of the nobles of today but it is one of the oldest homes in Atlantis, one of those close to the center and the seat of power that is the council. Her families service too the people of this city has also earned such things that other noble families might even lack. Servants move about the halls with daily tasks, seeing to the minutia of keeping such a storied home clean and intact.

As is common though the early day shows that not all will go as planned. A simple letter as been slipped beneath the door of her home, the parchment carefully bound by an official looking seal. Not of the council, but still opulent enough to draw the eye.

Since then the church has been given certain rights and responsibilities. One of those is assisting in over seeing the protection of local affairs near Atlantis.