Soban
Convention Veteran
- RP Date
- YE 46.2
- RP Location
- 42 Starmount drive, Tanis, Yamatai
42 Starmount drive was a lovely quadplex nestled in the suburbs of Tania. A small wall allowed for privacy and quiet despite the noisy street nearby. Sacre didn’t notice the blue Separa’Shan who slid up the sidewalk. His scales were a vibrant blue with light grey streaks. His skin was coppery, with straight black hair tied back in a ponytail and dark eyes. He wore only a loincloth, revealing his well muscled frame and perfect proportions. He clutched the address in a piece of paper, crushing it in his grip. As he reached the door to the house, he looked at the address again, took a steadying breath and knocked on the door.
“I’ll see what idiot is at the door.” Sacre put down the knife she was sharpening and went to the door and opened it.
The nervous man looked around at the floor then at Sacre. He waved weakly, then put his hand on his neck. “Hi?”
Sacre was stunned, she didn’t even say anything, just turned around and left, heading into her room to bury herself in a pillowfort hide.
The man glanced around what he could see of the front of the house, and his shoulders slumped defeated. He turned, slinking back away from the house towards the road.
Aliset had been walking with Marigold, allowing herself and the young Helashio to unmask, and the pair to be the chaotic dumbasses that lay deep down to enjoy life. At least until she saw what happened at the front door, and tilted her head, offering Adonis a look of confusion, one that Sacre had used to ask for an explanation before.
"Mari, could you go ask your mom why there's a… I mean, he's leaving… Let's check on Sacre."
Sacre was in the room that Aliset and she shared, under a pile of pillows from which limbs occasionally emerged to rearrange a pillow into something better resembling a fort.
Marigold knelt by the pile of pillows snake-mom had burrowed in there, her golden curls bouncing. “Everything ok in there?” Concern lacing her voice.
“I just can’t right now.” Sacre replied, the pillows muffling her voice.
Marigold stood, looking at Aliset and shrugged. “I think she’s ok, just needs some time to herself.”
"Okay. I'll get started on dinner and look up what I saw, there." Offering a soft smile, she shrugged, considering the issue and submitting the image she managed to get to any databases she had access to for facial recognition. "I've never seen her respond like this… Honey, you want me to bring the drakes in here?"
Just as fast as her implants had sent off the file, she got a hit, though she thought it might be mistaken, as the recorded weight was lower than what she had seen. "Come help me out, Mari? I know she's not as food motivated as either of us, but… I'm gonna leave an offering of that tea she likes."
“Sure.” Maigold replied, and headed to the kitchen with Aliset, setting a golden kettle of tea boiling. The two drakes nosed their way into the room and under the pillow fort with Sacre.
"So before she's ready to come out, here's what I found," Aliset dug in the cupboards to find her pan. "Is that… My grandmother foisted the kettle on you, didn't she? Anyway. Never a more fitting name for that man, he's actually in a similar program as you. Freed, in vocational classes. Still doesn't tell me what she went through, and why she's responding like that. Pretty sure he's not a threat, but… I still gotta check it out."
She set the pan and started her work, considering the situation. "Trauma response?"
Marigold considered for a moment, rewatching the footage from the security cameras. “Perhaps? But I don’t think he’s the one responsible for it. She would have stabbed him if he was. He also doesn’t seem very threatening, despite his well muscled bulk. I wonder if he’s single.” Marigold said, considering.
"He is pretty. Like really pretty. Almost as good looking as your mom," she shrugged. "But as baby bi, I can't quite tell. If he's from her past, it's clear he cares. Especially if Sacre's response was internal. I'll ask her about it. Doubtful she'll tell me. I'll take a look for him in the morning."
“Take it from someone who’s like ninety percent straight, that man is godly. Like someone decided to bring a perfect marble statue to life.” Marigold said, dunking a ball of tea leaves into the pot.
"Not gonna disagree with you! Hot damn."
The kitchen fell silent as they waited for the tea and cooked. Aliset began to sing softly in Shuristan.
“Mano sparnai yra iš volframo, mano kūnas - iš stiklo ir plieno.
Aš esu namai džiaugsmas dėl mano turimos galios.
Kartą gyvenime aš numiriau pionieriumi;
Dabar aš dainuoju erdvėlaivio širdyje. Ar kas nors girdi?”
“What’s that?” Marigold asked.
“A very old lullaby about hope reborn.” Aliset replied, starting on the second verse.
Marigold delivered the tea to Sacre with some Essian Plums on a tray. Dinner was ready by the time that Sacre finally came out of her room. The golden teapot was empty and all that remained of the plums was their pits. “Is he gone?” She asked quietly.
Marigold nodded, “Yhea, he didn’t stick around very long.”
"Dinner's almost ready. You… Are you okay? Who is that? Not some cousin or something you didn't tell me about? Cause he doesn't look related."
Sacre let out a long breath, she knew the question was coming, but it still didn’t feel good. “ Someone from my past. I... I don't think I'm ready to deal with him, with what happened, right now, maybe ever.”
Marigold turned that over in her head, “Ok, just know that we’re here to help and support you.”
"I'll admit, more than a bit curious. But I won't push you for it. At your pace. No faster." Aliset offered a soft smile as she assembled plates. "Probably not hungry, but I figured you'd prefer food over hard conversation."
“Let’s eat.” Sacre replied.
The next afternoon, Aliset managed to track down the Separa’Shan man as he left the training facility, appearing before him in a simple cardigan and leggings, headphones in her hands as though about to use the gym when she almost literally bumped into him.
"Oh! Sorry! Oh, hey, you were at my house yesterday… what were you looking for, if I may ask?"
Adonis turned to her, his wide shoulders drooping a bit at the near collision. “Sorry,”He said. “I … uh… was looking for someone, but they didn’t want to talk to me. I’m sorry for bothering you, it won’t happen again.” He said, cowering away from her which was a weird sight for someone who looked so muscular to be scared of Aliset.
"My fiance. She… She wouldn't tell me. So… Maybe we can hit a coffee shop or something, whatever makes you comfortable." She offered a smile, folding her arms behind her back to make herself seem smaller and less threatening. "I know that fear," she offered in Essian.
He seemed to relax slowly, taking note of how she was dressed. “We could workout together, since that looks like what you are going to do. I’ve been learning about Senti Kinesiology and diet, perhaps I can help you with perhaps an exercise or supplement recommendation.” He replied in Essian, clearly more comfortable in his native tongue.
"Apologies when I speak poorly," Aliset offered a soft smile, thinking that her Trade was better than her Essian. Hell, her binary was better than her Essian.. "Kinda figured the workout thing would make a bit of causal. I know, dumb as thick of ass. Sacre's okay. Let's inside?"
He opened the door for her, “It is ok. So what is it that you are working on with your workouts? I’m studying to be a personal trainer.” He asked as they checked in.
"Endurance, right now. My body is plenty strong," she she pulled the pin holding her cardigan closed, then folded the top to sit neatly on a bench. "Personal trainer? A rare skill in this age. But no less wonderful."
“Ok, so let’s go for lighter weights, something we’ll be able to keep up for a while.” He said, moving down the weight rack to pick up a pair of weights. “What do you want to know?”
"What happened," Aliset helped set up the weights. "I will offer myself. An experiment to learn from. Your tale will help me help Sacre. And it may help to get it off your chest. More than life. I want Sacre happy."
“Yourself?” He said with a laugh. “I’m sorry, your not my type, I’m gay.”
"Not that way!" Aliset's face lit as she squeaked out the words, backing up as her face darkened to a royal blue. "I meant as… our daughter will be disappointed… I meant for…"
Finally, she sat down, shaking her head. "Sorry. For your studies, I mean. Exercise, training plans, things like that! You are not my type, either… sorta… Point is, you wouldn't have found her if you didn't care. So I want to learn, teacher."
“I don’t care about her. Well, more precisely, I care about her about as much as I do any stranger which isn’t nothing because I’m not a jerk. I’m looking for our children.” Adonis explained.
"I never knew she had children. Just a lot of… I want to have children with her, you know. She always avoids the talk. We have Mari… But Sacre's gay." Aliset's confusion grew as she considered his words. "What happened? When?"
Adonis stopped lifting the weights for a second, taking a rest while he thought about it. “I wanted to see Jaspis, back in the early days of space on Essia. I was young and eager to see the galaxy. On the way back, I was attacked by pirates who sold me. Separa’Shan were still incredibly rare at that point. My master used me as a breeder, to produce more Separa’Shan. Often with the slaves of others. If I failed to ‘preform’ or it didn’t take, I was beaten. Sacre was one of the people I was paired with. We spent three days together. We didn’t talk much, I didn’t even know her name until last week. I wasn’t beaten, so I have to assume it took. That somewhere out there are our children. I hope she knows more than I do about it.” Adonis stopped lifting the weights for a second, taking a rest while he thought about it. “It was back around thirty-two according to Yamatai’s calendar. So they would be about twelve or thirteen.”
"And that hope that you would see them, or know… that helped you through. And now you help people." She laid back on the bench, reaching behind her to idly grab onto a pair of dumbbells and bring them in front of her chest, elbows locked, until the weights met above her head. "I wish I could help you. Or if I knew. They… knowing Sacre's scars, I would assume she was separated from them. Knowing her, she would never stop hunting. But thirteen would be… From my reading, just before Ascension, right?"
“Just about, it varies depending on the individual. I’d like to find them before then. A lot of Separa’Shan parents aren’t heavily involved with their children until they Ascend. So if I’ve been gone… it’s ok because I’m here now that they are adults.” He gave Aliset a tight smile that said it really wasn’t ok, but it was the best he could do.
"If it helps, if you find even one, let us know, okay? I was an only child. My bride and my daughter are both Freed. And if they are Sacre's as well… I know how precious children are. To both our peoples." Repeating the motion, Aliset lowered the weights to the floor, relaxing her shoulders before clenching her chest and core, lifting the weights to the front again. "I am sorry I could not help more. But if there's any chance, then there's hope. My name is Aliset. What's yours?"
“Adonis Foxii” Adonis replied. “I’ve found some of my other children, through genetics and such. Most of them I haven’t found yet. None of them have been mine and Sacre’s yet. But I hope in Naga’Shun that we will all be reunited one day, if not in this life, in the next.”
"As do I. Many wouldn't search so hard. You are a good man. And your children have a father who tries his best. You will know when and what I find out." She looked up from the bench, watching him as she repeated her lift again, skin beginning to shine as she worked up a sweat. "I promise under Listia's oaths. And I will swear it to Naga'Shun."
“Thank you. If I find any of Sacre’s other children, I’ll let you know.” Adonis said.
~~~
When Aliset came home, the first sad smile she offered Marigold was followed by two words to break hearts. "He's gay."
Marigold slumped a little. “Such a waste… well, not a waste, his boyfriend probably loves it. I’m still half tempted to turn into a guy to try him. Those arms…” Marigold let out a sigh that was her hopes of getting close to a really hot guy go. “Other than that, what did you find out?”
"While I'm sure that can be arranged, not worth it, there are just as hot straight guys. Have you met Sutes's husband? What I found out from him is part of the reason… Part of me is glad so much of your memory, especially from your time in is gone. He was looking for something." She wasn't sure how to put a voice to what she thought, or that she had intentionally lied to that man to save him some level of dignity. "Something terrible happened to Sacre and Adonis. And I think I know how it ended, but I can't confirm it yet. Please don't ask her about it. Not till she's done a lot of healing, okay?"
"Ok, I won't, but it's exciting, like a mysterious stranger showing up in the middle of an engagement who seems to have a connection with one of them. Like if this was a romance novel, I'm pretty sure he'd be lying about being gay so he could continue his secret rendezvous. Or he's actually gay, but is blackmailing… for some reason. Anyway, I won't talk to mom about it. I want her to be happy, and nothing about this seems like it does."
"Well, I mean, she's gay, too, plus he was looking for the kids they were forced to have which are most likely dead because Sacre would have never stopped looking and I've seen no evidence of her searching for them, so she knows what happened to them and I'm not gonna tell him or ask her about it. Cause in the novels asking about it usually ends in a huge fight that sends one of us on a sector hopping journey to save our engagement, and protect my only daughter from the dashing pirate captain hunting my fiance for his own nefarious purposes and my daughter for his twisted romance and redemption arc because the author lost control of her book six volumes ago and stopped caring three, I think?"
"Which probably means I'm due to be kidnapped any day now. But like I'm weirdly ok with that. Not because you, Sacre, or my granddads would be coming for me, but because I have this gut sense I can handle it. Have handled it before even. Sometimes, I get these feelings. I wish I knew what happened to me before you found me. Like I get the sense I was doing something, something important, and if I died, that's just the price one pays for it. But then I'll interrogate that sense and it doesn't lead anywhere. Like … like reading a book where every word has been painted over, so it's blank but you can still see the spaces between the words." Marigold shook her head. "Sorry, this whole thing has me thinking too much."
Ali started the old kettle on the stove before offering an understanding nod. "You know, this tea pot has existed in its current form for eight hundred years. Reforged twice in that time. Always the same metal. Always a piece of the original in the new. Always a teapot. You'll find yourself. Whether in a shadow or a dream. I struggle with muscle memory right now. So I get it. Sorta. Ish. You clearly don't struggle with muscle memory. So look at your shadow. And when you do, know that Sacre and I couldn't have asked for a better first. I thought I would have to wait forty more years. Then you show up out of the black and I've never seen her get so protective and so maternal towards anyone. Immediately, good idea after good idea, logic and reason to keep the stress down. When we're ready, your siblings will probably be some of the most level headed chaotes I know. Long as she knows she's a good mom."
Giving a soft sigh, Aliset planted her hands on the stove top, pursing her lips. "She won't let me in there, you know. Not that I blame her. Specially with what's coming together in my head. I wouldn't let her in somewhere I wasn't willing to go. And explains why she's so defensive about the thought of kids."
—
/I’ll be home when I’m home./ Sacre texted Aliset as she finally finished her work at the hospital. She got on the train as she usually did, but kept riding it long after the stop for her home. A lot of emotions boiled inside of her, shame, fear, the fact that the secret she had kept from almost everyone unraveling in front of her. She didn’t have to ask Aliset if she would track down Adonis, she knew Ali would. Probably, already had.
Adonis… she hadn’t known his name, hadn’t wanted to know his name. However, his picture on their security cameras had let her find him. She wondered what he would tell Ali about their three days together. Aliset was smart enough to put the pieces together. The sordid little secret she had hidden deep inside her heart.
She finally got off the train at Neta, the rainforest reminding her of her childhood. She wasn’t sure how she felt about it now, everything was jumbled together. Adonis, their children. Hope. Despair.
Other Separa’Shan liked Neta, and so they didn’t pay much mind to another one walking towards the jungle. As darkness fell, Sacre found a cleft in a rock big enough for her to fit in near a Lissragyd tree. The ground around it was well kept with a circle of benches. Sacre considered it, according to the old legends, the ones she didn’t believe anymore, those who slept under it would receive wisdom. She considered it a load of hogwash, but the cleft was a good sized one. It was a bit cozy, Sacre’s bulk sometimes made hides like this difficult to find. She poked her head out, looking up at the stars. There weren’t many due to the light pollution, but they were still there, still beautiful. Somewhere deep in her heart she still yearned for them.
Sacre didn’t feel comfortable, hard oddly shaped rock was a far cry from the nest she had at home. However, the discomfort was comforting in it’s own way. She took out Kusanagi, her knife, and lay it at the door like a ward against evil. She felt safe as it was possible to be. Hidden, alone, surrounded by rock and a knife ready at the only entrance. It was very primal, but spoke to the part of Sacre that grew up in the harsh unforgiving environment of Essia before Yamatai.
She let herself sleep, and she began to dream.
–
Sacre lay in a drug induced haze, nothing was clear. Nothing except the maleness pressing against her. She pushed against it, twisting, trying to get away. Then suddenly, she was standing beside herself, watching as her sixth master grappled with his uncooperative slave. He took the cattle prod and jammed it into her side, electricity jolting through her. Sacre remembered this scene, it was the last time she had seen him. She realized that Aliset was beside her this time. Her silvery hand, taking the dream Sacre’s. She opened her mouth and began to sing, her voice covering the words Sacre’s sixth master had said.
Then the dream transitioned, Sacre’s arms were stretched out into a Y shape and her tail tied down. An angry Posidon was yelling at her. Sacre struggled, trying to get free, then a lash fell across her back. She wanted to cry out, but forced herself not to. Then suddenly Aliset was there in front of her, reaching out and cupping Sacre’s face. “Aš esu namai džiaugsmas dėl mano turimos galios.” She sang, and the pain and humiliation faded as she looked into Aliset’s eyes.
Still looking into Aliset’s eyes, she was in a tiny room. The room where she and Adonis had known each other from. The room was spare with cameras in the corners to monitor everything. However, rather than Adonis, Aliset lay before her. Sacre leaned against Aliset, her warmth flowing into the Separa’Shan. Ali sang the lullaby, “Kartą gyvenime aš numiriau pionieriumi;” And rather than feeling dirty, Sacre felt loved.
Then Sacre stood in her living room, Aliset and Adonis sat on the couch, looking at Sacre who was standing. Sacre opened her mouth, but no words came out. Then in the strange way that dreams do, Aliset was behind her, a warm hand resting lightly on Sacre’s back as she spoke, the lyrics of the lullaby coming out of her. “Dabar aš dainuoju erdvėlaivio širdyje. Ar kas nors girdi?”
–
Sacre awoke with the sun, feeling surprisingly rested and the dream burned into her mind. She took a breath, resheathing Kusanagi. Then she climbed to the top of the rock where there was a nice flat space. She felt the sun bring warmth and energy to her bones. She still didn’t know what to do, but she felt better. She mulled over her dream, over what it meant about her psychology. Aliset was going to be there for her. So… she could face this.
She didn’t want to face this. Forget everyone else, she wasn’t sure how admitting everything was going to do to her. It was the deep dark secret about herself she had buried beneath layers and layers of coldness and refusing to let anyone else know. Now, now, the secret was out. She considered who she wanted to tell, Aliset obviously, Adonis, because he needed to know. Marigold…
Sacre knew she had to tell Marigold. She couldn’t put a finger on why. They had rescued the Helashio and adopted, protected, supported her. Snake-mom was just a joke right? No, it wasn’t not anymore. Marigold had to know because they were her older siblings.
Taking a breath as the sun rose higher in the sky, she felt energized. She sent a message to the three of them, and started back home.
–
Adonis knocked on the door, and Marigold opened it. The Helashio smiled at Adonis. “Come on in, I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced, I’m Marigold.”
“Adonis, is Sacre here yet? She said to come here so we could talk.” The blue Separa’Shan asked.
Marigold shook her head, “She said she wanted to talk with Aliset and me too, so I don’t think she’ll be too much longer.”
"Breakfast?" The pair could hear Aliset call from the kitchen as Aliset emerged with a plate of toast, bacon, and fruit, and a carafe of coffee and surprised she was wearing pants this early in the morning. Certainly hadn't brushed her hair. "Adonis? This… Aah, shit. Sacre sent you a message?"
The muscular Separa’shan hid from Aliset’s potential anger behind Marigold. Marigold wasn’t a very good hiding place, but perhaps better than nothing. “Yes, she said she was on her way here and wanted to talk to me.” He said, offering his commlink as proof.
"Welp. Any negativity isn't directed at you, Adonis… sorry if I scare… why would I be scary? Anyway. I have a feeling that I know what Sacre's coming in to tell us. This is not going to be a fun conversation, but whatever she says, it's not gonna be easy." Aliset shook her head, setting the tray on the table. "And what's this hiding behind my daughter, dude, you're like three times her size. I don't bite."
She switched to Essian for a moment, "You are safe, here. I promise. We will not hurt you."
Adonis looked down, embarrassed, he slid from behind Marigold. “I know.”
There wasn’t time for more because Sacre came up behind him and through the door. She looked at the three of them. “You're all here, good.” She looked around, trying to decide where they should sit, at the table or the couch. “Let’s get this over with before I break down again.” She said, heading to the tv in front of the couch.
Marigold followed Sacre, taking a seat in the recliner. Adonis took one side of the couch, and Aliset the other. "Want us to tell you what we already know, and you can fill in the gaps?"
Sacre took a breath, “That might be easier.”
Adonis led with, “I’m fairly certain that… our time together resulted in children.” Then looked around, that was really all he had.
“You don’t eat eggs, which isn’t incredibly strange for Separa’Shan, but the strength of the aversion is.” Marigold added.
"Found that one out our first date. Also. Knowing you as I do, as prickly as you are and as strong willed, as hard as you search for any sign of Gravity, you never would have stopped looking for your children. Too important. Bit of a stretch, but… That tells me you saw something. Something you had no control over and is not, nor ever will be your fault. Just another reason for people like Poseidon to not be allowed existence. You know what happened to your children."
“It wasn’t just seeing something, I grew up near Apollo. For most Separa’Shan, life starts when your egg hatches. However, the priests near there believed that it started when your egg was laid. So our law and culture against eating eggs is particularly strong. To be an egg-eater is to be worse than a murderer, because even if you murder someone you might have understandable reasons for doing it. Eating an egg was harming an innocent who had done nothing to you.”
Sacre suddenly sat on the floor, her tail coiled around her defensively. “I was a very willful slave, I had seven masters, the last of whom was Posidon. Six of them had failed to break me, selling me off to a more brutal master each time. Poseidon was the last. He tried everything all the others had, but it didn’t work. He tried a few more things before putting me with Adonis. When I realized that I was pregnant, the moment was bitter-sweet. I loved my eggs. I knew they would have lives of suffering as slaves, but… at the very least I would love them. It’s a strange emotion, one that’s hard to put into words.”
Adonis nodded sadly, also understanding the moment.
“Then I laid my eggs, they were perfect, all fifteen of them. We don’t have the same protective instincts that other species do, but that doesn’t mean we don’t love our children. Then he pulled me out of my cage and bound me. I didn’t want to, but he beat me and forced them down. I tried throwing them up, but he just returned it to my mouth and forced my jaw closed, crushing it. Some things are hazy, I don’t remember all of it. I lost a lot of blood and he hit me on the head so I blacked out a few times. But I remember waking up in the pool of blood and there were no eggs left. That’s the moment I broke. His will was stronger than mine.” Sacre explained, her coils so tight around herself it was a surprise she wasn’t asphyxiating.
Slowly, cautiously, Aliset stood, feeling her breath hiss across her tongue before she let herself breathe deep, and release what she didn't know she had been holding as she stepped towards Sacre. This revelation had shaken her, certainly. But at the same time, she could see now why she felt Sacre needed more support than she allowed herself. And why she had closed off so tight. "You were… I'm so, so sorry, Sacre. I didn't know."
She took a knee in front of her fiance, placing a hand on Sacre's tail and looking her in the eye. "This was not your fault. There was nothing you could have done. Let yourself feel it, I'll be here to help as much as I can. You were the weapon. Not the killer. Remember that, okay? I love you. I got you, okay?"
Marigold knelt beside Sacre. “I love you too, this isn’t your fault.”
Sacre loosened her tail and pulled Aliset and Marigold in. Her tail and arm wrapping around the small family unit. “I know. It just… doesn’t feel that way.”
“I know, sweetheart. I know. I’m the one who asked, remember?”
Adonis sat on the couch, watching the little drama. He could feel Sacre’s horror and he mourned for his children that were murdered by Posidon. He prayed quietly to Naga’Shun for Sacre, for himself, for everyone. Then he realized there was an important question he needed to ask. “Sacre, do you specifically remember every egg?”
Sacre looked at him, confused by the question. “No, I was out for part of it. Especially near the end.”
Adonis nodded, “Then I’ll have hope that perhaps one survived.”
Sacre wondered how crazy Adonis was. “There weren’t any eggs left. It doesn’t make any sense to have hope, not in the face of Posidon’s cruelty.”
Adonis nodded, “I hope not because I know it happened, I hope because it’s what I choose to believe in.”
“That… Means I have to talk to Ven again… I’m not gonna be able to just stab her the way I want to, am I?” Aliset gave a soft sigh. “Sacre, I love you, but your sister’s a fucking psycho.”
“Yes, but she’s the NDC’s psycho. Who pretty much never surfaces close enough for us to see. I don’t understand her hatred of me, like I get it on one level, but it seems soo… extreme.” Sacre replied.
“From what you’ve described, she wasn’t as lucky. All your memories, your traumas, twisted in an ST to form a weaponized version of you. I read of something similar happening to a mercenary researcher, one Thorn Ironhart. Apparently, the NDC has a bioweapon rehabilitation program. I’ll talk to Sergeant Pine, I heard she was the one who started that.” Shaking her head, Aliset stood, offering Adonis a hand. “Would you like to help me make some tea? I think we have a lot of work to do. But I do have one question. I need to know who gave you Sacre's name to track down. How you found us. It could be important..”
Adonis nodded as he followed Aliset into the kitchen. He pulled out a piece of paper, it was a short pamphlet about a career in the Star Army. He opened it to show a picture of a group of Separa’Shan with a few non-Separa’Shan officers. Three faces instantly leaped out at Aliset the first was Sacre’s, the next was Taisho Fletcher’s despite the different rank, the last was Tiger Aparallactus who was governor of Essia. Given the uniforms and ribbons, it was clearly taken before the end of the second Misshuvythar war.
OOC: with @HarperMadi
“I’ll see what idiot is at the door.” Sacre put down the knife she was sharpening and went to the door and opened it.
The nervous man looked around at the floor then at Sacre. He waved weakly, then put his hand on his neck. “Hi?”
Sacre was stunned, she didn’t even say anything, just turned around and left, heading into her room to bury herself in a pillowfort hide.
The man glanced around what he could see of the front of the house, and his shoulders slumped defeated. He turned, slinking back away from the house towards the road.
Aliset had been walking with Marigold, allowing herself and the young Helashio to unmask, and the pair to be the chaotic dumbasses that lay deep down to enjoy life. At least until she saw what happened at the front door, and tilted her head, offering Adonis a look of confusion, one that Sacre had used to ask for an explanation before.
"Mari, could you go ask your mom why there's a… I mean, he's leaving… Let's check on Sacre."
Sacre was in the room that Aliset and she shared, under a pile of pillows from which limbs occasionally emerged to rearrange a pillow into something better resembling a fort.
Marigold knelt by the pile of pillows snake-mom had burrowed in there, her golden curls bouncing. “Everything ok in there?” Concern lacing her voice.
“I just can’t right now.” Sacre replied, the pillows muffling her voice.
Marigold stood, looking at Aliset and shrugged. “I think she’s ok, just needs some time to herself.”
"Okay. I'll get started on dinner and look up what I saw, there." Offering a soft smile, she shrugged, considering the issue and submitting the image she managed to get to any databases she had access to for facial recognition. "I've never seen her respond like this… Honey, you want me to bring the drakes in here?"
Just as fast as her implants had sent off the file, she got a hit, though she thought it might be mistaken, as the recorded weight was lower than what she had seen. "Come help me out, Mari? I know she's not as food motivated as either of us, but… I'm gonna leave an offering of that tea she likes."
“Sure.” Maigold replied, and headed to the kitchen with Aliset, setting a golden kettle of tea boiling. The two drakes nosed their way into the room and under the pillow fort with Sacre.
"So before she's ready to come out, here's what I found," Aliset dug in the cupboards to find her pan. "Is that… My grandmother foisted the kettle on you, didn't she? Anyway. Never a more fitting name for that man, he's actually in a similar program as you. Freed, in vocational classes. Still doesn't tell me what she went through, and why she's responding like that. Pretty sure he's not a threat, but… I still gotta check it out."
She set the pan and started her work, considering the situation. "Trauma response?"
Marigold considered for a moment, rewatching the footage from the security cameras. “Perhaps? But I don’t think he’s the one responsible for it. She would have stabbed him if he was. He also doesn’t seem very threatening, despite his well muscled bulk. I wonder if he’s single.” Marigold said, considering.
"He is pretty. Like really pretty. Almost as good looking as your mom," she shrugged. "But as baby bi, I can't quite tell. If he's from her past, it's clear he cares. Especially if Sacre's response was internal. I'll ask her about it. Doubtful she'll tell me. I'll take a look for him in the morning."
“Take it from someone who’s like ninety percent straight, that man is godly. Like someone decided to bring a perfect marble statue to life.” Marigold said, dunking a ball of tea leaves into the pot.
"Not gonna disagree with you! Hot damn."
The kitchen fell silent as they waited for the tea and cooked. Aliset began to sing softly in Shuristan.
“Mano sparnai yra iš volframo, mano kūnas - iš stiklo ir plieno.
Aš esu namai džiaugsmas dėl mano turimos galios.
Kartą gyvenime aš numiriau pionieriumi;
Dabar aš dainuoju erdvėlaivio širdyje. Ar kas nors girdi?”
“What’s that?” Marigold asked.
“A very old lullaby about hope reborn.” Aliset replied, starting on the second verse.
Marigold delivered the tea to Sacre with some Essian Plums on a tray. Dinner was ready by the time that Sacre finally came out of her room. The golden teapot was empty and all that remained of the plums was their pits. “Is he gone?” She asked quietly.
Marigold nodded, “Yhea, he didn’t stick around very long.”
"Dinner's almost ready. You… Are you okay? Who is that? Not some cousin or something you didn't tell me about? Cause he doesn't look related."
Sacre let out a long breath, she knew the question was coming, but it still didn’t feel good. “ Someone from my past. I... I don't think I'm ready to deal with him, with what happened, right now, maybe ever.”
Marigold turned that over in her head, “Ok, just know that we’re here to help and support you.”
"I'll admit, more than a bit curious. But I won't push you for it. At your pace. No faster." Aliset offered a soft smile as she assembled plates. "Probably not hungry, but I figured you'd prefer food over hard conversation."
“Let’s eat.” Sacre replied.
The next afternoon, Aliset managed to track down the Separa’Shan man as he left the training facility, appearing before him in a simple cardigan and leggings, headphones in her hands as though about to use the gym when she almost literally bumped into him.
"Oh! Sorry! Oh, hey, you were at my house yesterday… what were you looking for, if I may ask?"
Adonis turned to her, his wide shoulders drooping a bit at the near collision. “Sorry,”He said. “I … uh… was looking for someone, but they didn’t want to talk to me. I’m sorry for bothering you, it won’t happen again.” He said, cowering away from her which was a weird sight for someone who looked so muscular to be scared of Aliset.
"My fiance. She… She wouldn't tell me. So… Maybe we can hit a coffee shop or something, whatever makes you comfortable." She offered a smile, folding her arms behind her back to make herself seem smaller and less threatening. "I know that fear," she offered in Essian.
He seemed to relax slowly, taking note of how she was dressed. “We could workout together, since that looks like what you are going to do. I’ve been learning about Senti Kinesiology and diet, perhaps I can help you with perhaps an exercise or supplement recommendation.” He replied in Essian, clearly more comfortable in his native tongue.
"Apologies when I speak poorly," Aliset offered a soft smile, thinking that her Trade was better than her Essian. Hell, her binary was better than her Essian.. "Kinda figured the workout thing would make a bit of causal. I know, dumb as thick of ass. Sacre's okay. Let's inside?"
He opened the door for her, “It is ok. So what is it that you are working on with your workouts? I’m studying to be a personal trainer.” He asked as they checked in.
"Endurance, right now. My body is plenty strong," she she pulled the pin holding her cardigan closed, then folded the top to sit neatly on a bench. "Personal trainer? A rare skill in this age. But no less wonderful."
“Ok, so let’s go for lighter weights, something we’ll be able to keep up for a while.” He said, moving down the weight rack to pick up a pair of weights. “What do you want to know?”
"What happened," Aliset helped set up the weights. "I will offer myself. An experiment to learn from. Your tale will help me help Sacre. And it may help to get it off your chest. More than life. I want Sacre happy."
“Yourself?” He said with a laugh. “I’m sorry, your not my type, I’m gay.”
"Not that way!" Aliset's face lit as she squeaked out the words, backing up as her face darkened to a royal blue. "I meant as… our daughter will be disappointed… I meant for…"
Finally, she sat down, shaking her head. "Sorry. For your studies, I mean. Exercise, training plans, things like that! You are not my type, either… sorta… Point is, you wouldn't have found her if you didn't care. So I want to learn, teacher."
“I don’t care about her. Well, more precisely, I care about her about as much as I do any stranger which isn’t nothing because I’m not a jerk. I’m looking for our children.” Adonis explained.
"I never knew she had children. Just a lot of… I want to have children with her, you know. She always avoids the talk. We have Mari… But Sacre's gay." Aliset's confusion grew as she considered his words. "What happened? When?"
Adonis stopped lifting the weights for a second, taking a rest while he thought about it. “I wanted to see Jaspis, back in the early days of space on Essia. I was young and eager to see the galaxy. On the way back, I was attacked by pirates who sold me. Separa’Shan were still incredibly rare at that point. My master used me as a breeder, to produce more Separa’Shan. Often with the slaves of others. If I failed to ‘preform’ or it didn’t take, I was beaten. Sacre was one of the people I was paired with. We spent three days together. We didn’t talk much, I didn’t even know her name until last week. I wasn’t beaten, so I have to assume it took. That somewhere out there are our children. I hope she knows more than I do about it.” Adonis stopped lifting the weights for a second, taking a rest while he thought about it. “It was back around thirty-two according to Yamatai’s calendar. So they would be about twelve or thirteen.”
"And that hope that you would see them, or know… that helped you through. And now you help people." She laid back on the bench, reaching behind her to idly grab onto a pair of dumbbells and bring them in front of her chest, elbows locked, until the weights met above her head. "I wish I could help you. Or if I knew. They… knowing Sacre's scars, I would assume she was separated from them. Knowing her, she would never stop hunting. But thirteen would be… From my reading, just before Ascension, right?"
“Just about, it varies depending on the individual. I’d like to find them before then. A lot of Separa’Shan parents aren’t heavily involved with their children until they Ascend. So if I’ve been gone… it’s ok because I’m here now that they are adults.” He gave Aliset a tight smile that said it really wasn’t ok, but it was the best he could do.
"If it helps, if you find even one, let us know, okay? I was an only child. My bride and my daughter are both Freed. And if they are Sacre's as well… I know how precious children are. To both our peoples." Repeating the motion, Aliset lowered the weights to the floor, relaxing her shoulders before clenching her chest and core, lifting the weights to the front again. "I am sorry I could not help more. But if there's any chance, then there's hope. My name is Aliset. What's yours?"
“Adonis Foxii” Adonis replied. “I’ve found some of my other children, through genetics and such. Most of them I haven’t found yet. None of them have been mine and Sacre’s yet. But I hope in Naga’Shun that we will all be reunited one day, if not in this life, in the next.”
"As do I. Many wouldn't search so hard. You are a good man. And your children have a father who tries his best. You will know when and what I find out." She looked up from the bench, watching him as she repeated her lift again, skin beginning to shine as she worked up a sweat. "I promise under Listia's oaths. And I will swear it to Naga'Shun."
“Thank you. If I find any of Sacre’s other children, I’ll let you know.” Adonis said.
~~~
When Aliset came home, the first sad smile she offered Marigold was followed by two words to break hearts. "He's gay."
Marigold slumped a little. “Such a waste… well, not a waste, his boyfriend probably loves it. I’m still half tempted to turn into a guy to try him. Those arms…” Marigold let out a sigh that was her hopes of getting close to a really hot guy go. “Other than that, what did you find out?”
"While I'm sure that can be arranged, not worth it, there are just as hot straight guys. Have you met Sutes's husband? What I found out from him is part of the reason… Part of me is glad so much of your memory, especially from your time in is gone. He was looking for something." She wasn't sure how to put a voice to what she thought, or that she had intentionally lied to that man to save him some level of dignity. "Something terrible happened to Sacre and Adonis. And I think I know how it ended, but I can't confirm it yet. Please don't ask her about it. Not till she's done a lot of healing, okay?"
"Ok, I won't, but it's exciting, like a mysterious stranger showing up in the middle of an engagement who seems to have a connection with one of them. Like if this was a romance novel, I'm pretty sure he'd be lying about being gay so he could continue his secret rendezvous. Or he's actually gay, but is blackmailing… for some reason. Anyway, I won't talk to mom about it. I want her to be happy, and nothing about this seems like it does."
"Well, I mean, she's gay, too, plus he was looking for the kids they were forced to have which are most likely dead because Sacre would have never stopped looking and I've seen no evidence of her searching for them, so she knows what happened to them and I'm not gonna tell him or ask her about it. Cause in the novels asking about it usually ends in a huge fight that sends one of us on a sector hopping journey to save our engagement, and protect my only daughter from the dashing pirate captain hunting my fiance for his own nefarious purposes and my daughter for his twisted romance and redemption arc because the author lost control of her book six volumes ago and stopped caring three, I think?"
"Which probably means I'm due to be kidnapped any day now. But like I'm weirdly ok with that. Not because you, Sacre, or my granddads would be coming for me, but because I have this gut sense I can handle it. Have handled it before even. Sometimes, I get these feelings. I wish I knew what happened to me before you found me. Like I get the sense I was doing something, something important, and if I died, that's just the price one pays for it. But then I'll interrogate that sense and it doesn't lead anywhere. Like … like reading a book where every word has been painted over, so it's blank but you can still see the spaces between the words." Marigold shook her head. "Sorry, this whole thing has me thinking too much."
Ali started the old kettle on the stove before offering an understanding nod. "You know, this tea pot has existed in its current form for eight hundred years. Reforged twice in that time. Always the same metal. Always a piece of the original in the new. Always a teapot. You'll find yourself. Whether in a shadow or a dream. I struggle with muscle memory right now. So I get it. Sorta. Ish. You clearly don't struggle with muscle memory. So look at your shadow. And when you do, know that Sacre and I couldn't have asked for a better first. I thought I would have to wait forty more years. Then you show up out of the black and I've never seen her get so protective and so maternal towards anyone. Immediately, good idea after good idea, logic and reason to keep the stress down. When we're ready, your siblings will probably be some of the most level headed chaotes I know. Long as she knows she's a good mom."
Giving a soft sigh, Aliset planted her hands on the stove top, pursing her lips. "She won't let me in there, you know. Not that I blame her. Specially with what's coming together in my head. I wouldn't let her in somewhere I wasn't willing to go. And explains why she's so defensive about the thought of kids."
—
/I’ll be home when I’m home./ Sacre texted Aliset as she finally finished her work at the hospital. She got on the train as she usually did, but kept riding it long after the stop for her home. A lot of emotions boiled inside of her, shame, fear, the fact that the secret she had kept from almost everyone unraveling in front of her. She didn’t have to ask Aliset if she would track down Adonis, she knew Ali would. Probably, already had.
Adonis… she hadn’t known his name, hadn’t wanted to know his name. However, his picture on their security cameras had let her find him. She wondered what he would tell Ali about their three days together. Aliset was smart enough to put the pieces together. The sordid little secret she had hidden deep inside her heart.
She finally got off the train at Neta, the rainforest reminding her of her childhood. She wasn’t sure how she felt about it now, everything was jumbled together. Adonis, their children. Hope. Despair.
Other Separa’Shan liked Neta, and so they didn’t pay much mind to another one walking towards the jungle. As darkness fell, Sacre found a cleft in a rock big enough for her to fit in near a Lissragyd tree. The ground around it was well kept with a circle of benches. Sacre considered it, according to the old legends, the ones she didn’t believe anymore, those who slept under it would receive wisdom. She considered it a load of hogwash, but the cleft was a good sized one. It was a bit cozy, Sacre’s bulk sometimes made hides like this difficult to find. She poked her head out, looking up at the stars. There weren’t many due to the light pollution, but they were still there, still beautiful. Somewhere deep in her heart she still yearned for them.
Sacre didn’t feel comfortable, hard oddly shaped rock was a far cry from the nest she had at home. However, the discomfort was comforting in it’s own way. She took out Kusanagi, her knife, and lay it at the door like a ward against evil. She felt safe as it was possible to be. Hidden, alone, surrounded by rock and a knife ready at the only entrance. It was very primal, but spoke to the part of Sacre that grew up in the harsh unforgiving environment of Essia before Yamatai.
She let herself sleep, and she began to dream.
–
Sacre lay in a drug induced haze, nothing was clear. Nothing except the maleness pressing against her. She pushed against it, twisting, trying to get away. Then suddenly, she was standing beside herself, watching as her sixth master grappled with his uncooperative slave. He took the cattle prod and jammed it into her side, electricity jolting through her. Sacre remembered this scene, it was the last time she had seen him. She realized that Aliset was beside her this time. Her silvery hand, taking the dream Sacre’s. She opened her mouth and began to sing, her voice covering the words Sacre’s sixth master had said.
Then the dream transitioned, Sacre’s arms were stretched out into a Y shape and her tail tied down. An angry Posidon was yelling at her. Sacre struggled, trying to get free, then a lash fell across her back. She wanted to cry out, but forced herself not to. Then suddenly Aliset was there in front of her, reaching out and cupping Sacre’s face. “Aš esu namai džiaugsmas dėl mano turimos galios.” She sang, and the pain and humiliation faded as she looked into Aliset’s eyes.
Still looking into Aliset’s eyes, she was in a tiny room. The room where she and Adonis had known each other from. The room was spare with cameras in the corners to monitor everything. However, rather than Adonis, Aliset lay before her. Sacre leaned against Aliset, her warmth flowing into the Separa’Shan. Ali sang the lullaby, “Kartą gyvenime aš numiriau pionieriumi;” And rather than feeling dirty, Sacre felt loved.
Then Sacre stood in her living room, Aliset and Adonis sat on the couch, looking at Sacre who was standing. Sacre opened her mouth, but no words came out. Then in the strange way that dreams do, Aliset was behind her, a warm hand resting lightly on Sacre’s back as she spoke, the lyrics of the lullaby coming out of her. “Dabar aš dainuoju erdvėlaivio širdyje. Ar kas nors girdi?”
–
Sacre awoke with the sun, feeling surprisingly rested and the dream burned into her mind. She took a breath, resheathing Kusanagi. Then she climbed to the top of the rock where there was a nice flat space. She felt the sun bring warmth and energy to her bones. She still didn’t know what to do, but she felt better. She mulled over her dream, over what it meant about her psychology. Aliset was going to be there for her. So… she could face this.
She didn’t want to face this. Forget everyone else, she wasn’t sure how admitting everything was going to do to her. It was the deep dark secret about herself she had buried beneath layers and layers of coldness and refusing to let anyone else know. Now, now, the secret was out. She considered who she wanted to tell, Aliset obviously, Adonis, because he needed to know. Marigold…
Sacre knew she had to tell Marigold. She couldn’t put a finger on why. They had rescued the Helashio and adopted, protected, supported her. Snake-mom was just a joke right? No, it wasn’t not anymore. Marigold had to know because they were her older siblings.
Taking a breath as the sun rose higher in the sky, she felt energized. She sent a message to the three of them, and started back home.
–
Adonis knocked on the door, and Marigold opened it. The Helashio smiled at Adonis. “Come on in, I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced, I’m Marigold.”
“Adonis, is Sacre here yet? She said to come here so we could talk.” The blue Separa’Shan asked.
Marigold shook her head, “She said she wanted to talk with Aliset and me too, so I don’t think she’ll be too much longer.”
"Breakfast?" The pair could hear Aliset call from the kitchen as Aliset emerged with a plate of toast, bacon, and fruit, and a carafe of coffee and surprised she was wearing pants this early in the morning. Certainly hadn't brushed her hair. "Adonis? This… Aah, shit. Sacre sent you a message?"
The muscular Separa’shan hid from Aliset’s potential anger behind Marigold. Marigold wasn’t a very good hiding place, but perhaps better than nothing. “Yes, she said she was on her way here and wanted to talk to me.” He said, offering his commlink as proof.
"Welp. Any negativity isn't directed at you, Adonis… sorry if I scare… why would I be scary? Anyway. I have a feeling that I know what Sacre's coming in to tell us. This is not going to be a fun conversation, but whatever she says, it's not gonna be easy." Aliset shook her head, setting the tray on the table. "And what's this hiding behind my daughter, dude, you're like three times her size. I don't bite."
She switched to Essian for a moment, "You are safe, here. I promise. We will not hurt you."
Adonis looked down, embarrassed, he slid from behind Marigold. “I know.”
There wasn’t time for more because Sacre came up behind him and through the door. She looked at the three of them. “You're all here, good.” She looked around, trying to decide where they should sit, at the table or the couch. “Let’s get this over with before I break down again.” She said, heading to the tv in front of the couch.
Marigold followed Sacre, taking a seat in the recliner. Adonis took one side of the couch, and Aliset the other. "Want us to tell you what we already know, and you can fill in the gaps?"
Sacre took a breath, “That might be easier.”
Adonis led with, “I’m fairly certain that… our time together resulted in children.” Then looked around, that was really all he had.
“You don’t eat eggs, which isn’t incredibly strange for Separa’Shan, but the strength of the aversion is.” Marigold added.
"Found that one out our first date. Also. Knowing you as I do, as prickly as you are and as strong willed, as hard as you search for any sign of Gravity, you never would have stopped looking for your children. Too important. Bit of a stretch, but… That tells me you saw something. Something you had no control over and is not, nor ever will be your fault. Just another reason for people like Poseidon to not be allowed existence. You know what happened to your children."
“It wasn’t just seeing something, I grew up near Apollo. For most Separa’Shan, life starts when your egg hatches. However, the priests near there believed that it started when your egg was laid. So our law and culture against eating eggs is particularly strong. To be an egg-eater is to be worse than a murderer, because even if you murder someone you might have understandable reasons for doing it. Eating an egg was harming an innocent who had done nothing to you.”
Sacre suddenly sat on the floor, her tail coiled around her defensively. “I was a very willful slave, I had seven masters, the last of whom was Posidon. Six of them had failed to break me, selling me off to a more brutal master each time. Poseidon was the last. He tried everything all the others had, but it didn’t work. He tried a few more things before putting me with Adonis. When I realized that I was pregnant, the moment was bitter-sweet. I loved my eggs. I knew they would have lives of suffering as slaves, but… at the very least I would love them. It’s a strange emotion, one that’s hard to put into words.”
Adonis nodded sadly, also understanding the moment.
“Then I laid my eggs, they were perfect, all fifteen of them. We don’t have the same protective instincts that other species do, but that doesn’t mean we don’t love our children. Then he pulled me out of my cage and bound me. I didn’t want to, but he beat me and forced them down. I tried throwing them up, but he just returned it to my mouth and forced my jaw closed, crushing it. Some things are hazy, I don’t remember all of it. I lost a lot of blood and he hit me on the head so I blacked out a few times. But I remember waking up in the pool of blood and there were no eggs left. That’s the moment I broke. His will was stronger than mine.” Sacre explained, her coils so tight around herself it was a surprise she wasn’t asphyxiating.
Slowly, cautiously, Aliset stood, feeling her breath hiss across her tongue before she let herself breathe deep, and release what she didn't know she had been holding as she stepped towards Sacre. This revelation had shaken her, certainly. But at the same time, she could see now why she felt Sacre needed more support than she allowed herself. And why she had closed off so tight. "You were… I'm so, so sorry, Sacre. I didn't know."
She took a knee in front of her fiance, placing a hand on Sacre's tail and looking her in the eye. "This was not your fault. There was nothing you could have done. Let yourself feel it, I'll be here to help as much as I can. You were the weapon. Not the killer. Remember that, okay? I love you. I got you, okay?"
Marigold knelt beside Sacre. “I love you too, this isn’t your fault.”
Sacre loosened her tail and pulled Aliset and Marigold in. Her tail and arm wrapping around the small family unit. “I know. It just… doesn’t feel that way.”
“I know, sweetheart. I know. I’m the one who asked, remember?”
Adonis sat on the couch, watching the little drama. He could feel Sacre’s horror and he mourned for his children that were murdered by Posidon. He prayed quietly to Naga’Shun for Sacre, for himself, for everyone. Then he realized there was an important question he needed to ask. “Sacre, do you specifically remember every egg?”
Sacre looked at him, confused by the question. “No, I was out for part of it. Especially near the end.”
Adonis nodded, “Then I’ll have hope that perhaps one survived.”
Sacre wondered how crazy Adonis was. “There weren’t any eggs left. It doesn’t make any sense to have hope, not in the face of Posidon’s cruelty.”
Adonis nodded, “I hope not because I know it happened, I hope because it’s what I choose to believe in.”
“That… Means I have to talk to Ven again… I’m not gonna be able to just stab her the way I want to, am I?” Aliset gave a soft sigh. “Sacre, I love you, but your sister’s a fucking psycho.”
“Yes, but she’s the NDC’s psycho. Who pretty much never surfaces close enough for us to see. I don’t understand her hatred of me, like I get it on one level, but it seems soo… extreme.” Sacre replied.
“From what you’ve described, she wasn’t as lucky. All your memories, your traumas, twisted in an ST to form a weaponized version of you. I read of something similar happening to a mercenary researcher, one Thorn Ironhart. Apparently, the NDC has a bioweapon rehabilitation program. I’ll talk to Sergeant Pine, I heard she was the one who started that.” Shaking her head, Aliset stood, offering Adonis a hand. “Would you like to help me make some tea? I think we have a lot of work to do. But I do have one question. I need to know who gave you Sacre's name to track down. How you found us. It could be important..”
Adonis nodded as he followed Aliset into the kitchen. He pulled out a piece of paper, it was a short pamphlet about a career in the Star Army. He opened it to show a picture of a group of Separa’Shan with a few non-Separa’Shan officers. Three faces instantly leaped out at Aliset the first was Sacre’s, the next was Taisho Fletcher’s despite the different rank, the last was Tiger Aparallactus who was governor of Essia. Given the uniforms and ribbons, it was clearly taken before the end of the second Misshuvythar war.
OOC: with @HarperMadi
