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Edited by Moot:
6/20/2016 3:13:04 PM
1
Her breaths seemed to cut off pause for a moment, as if she had just frozen still.
"... The angels died a long time ago - human!"
Without the slightest of warnings, the warlock sprung to life and pressed her feet against the black templar's chest plate, pushing herself off with a synergy of grace and unfounded strength, leaping straight out of his reach. Her figure seemed to almost glide towards the floor a fair few metres before the templar, her runic robes writhing in a flurry of black and white. She unsheathed her witchblade and held it before herself in a defensive position, its arcane blade sparking and shimmering blue at the touch of her hands against the hilt.
"Who in Isha's name are you?! Where is this, what is this place, why am I here?! Tell me!"
Her voice was angry and seemed to echo within the templar's ears, like she was shouting at him through a spinning fan; a classic trait of Eldar vocals.
English
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The Templar skids back a little bit as the woman uses his chest as a launch pad, an annoyed groan coming from him. He, for some strange reason, wasn't aiming his gun at her, even though he probably should be. Instead, the metal death machine hung limply at his side. "Names Skatai Neotar. Black Templar. I have no fücking clue where you are or how you got here. Nor do I know what this place is. I kinda just woke up. Maybe around... Half an hour to an hour ago." He let his Bolter go, it now just dangling on a chain, leading form the bottom of the grip to his fist. "Found you passed out on the ground by the way, so if I wanted to cause any harm, I would've done it then and there."
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At first, the seer was doubtful. She had no clue where she was, nor why she was there, and she was now facing off with an alien of whom she had been taught were nothing but misguided, naïve, and violent all her life. The scent of chaos filled the air like a stench; an all-too-familiar disgust to a member of Ulthwé. But, after collecting her thoughts for a brief moment, she began to calm. This man, while a total stranger to her and easily the most dangerous thing to be near right now, was also confused and lost much like her. She could see it stained on his soul; the confusion, the hatred for heresy, the lust to please his higher power, and the truth of his most recent words. Huh. He had a soul. Well, perhaps he's capable of reasoning after all then. The warlock lowered her witchblade, but kept it unsheathed just in case one of the more deadly potential futures she just witness came to be. "... Black templar, huh? A fellow nomad at least, and one who appears capable of self defense. Intriguing..."
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Edited by CPU Purple-Heart: 6/20/2016 4:01:58 PMThe man jerks his right hand up, the sudden movement yanking the chain and his Bolter up. He then catched the Bolter's grip, tightly holding it in his right hand, though he kept it pointed at the ground, with his finger off the trigger. "So... If you don't mind sharing... who are you?" He asked with a curious undertone as he peered to where the woman's eyes would be while his left hand emitted a series of short clicks, the hand itself, once again, folding back into the arm, swiftly getting getting replaced by a slowly spinning Chainsword. A Chainsword whose teeth were covered in a thin layer of blood.
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Edited by Moot: 6/20/2016 4:07:20 PMThe woman didn't seem phased by Skatai's new display of power or danger. If she was expressing anything, it was firmly hidden beneath her helmet. Nonetheless, the warlock's grip on her witchblade tightened. [i]let's see, now what do we do here? No, I die if I do that... maybe, he'll die if I do that... hmm, we both die there. A fair trade, but one I'm not willing to commit so early on... c'mon there has to be some alternatives... perhaps... ugh, just say it. It'll at lest give you 20 more second of assured life before another skein gaze is needed.[/i] "Kolandra. My name is Kolandra, Eldar of Ulthwé, as you no doubt have already recognised" For a fleeting moment she almost seemed to giggle straight after.
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The stare wasn't really a display of power or danger, but more one if curiosity. And how he grabbed his Bolter was just a mere act of safety, same goes for his left arm turning into a Chainsword. Imagine if they were attacked while he was practically unarmed. Although I guess Space Marines are never truly unarmed; they'll still have their fists. "Kolandra, eh? Interesting name... I like it. Rolls off the tongue very nicely... Kolandrrrrraaa..." He experimentally extends the 'R', much like a purr. It was in no way meant to offend; he even seemed to be rather innocent.
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Kolandra wasn't particular impressed at the templar's response, but what did she expect? Regardless, it only added to her confusion. "Please don't do that, I'm sure both of us are teetering on the edge of snapping with each other already and I'd rather not get anymore disturbed than I already--" Kolandra's ears pricked. She could hear something. Some [i]things[/i], more like. They sounded like... voices. No. Screams. Wailing. Shouting. Mad cries. So very distant and quiet, yet haunting as the devil herself. "... what is this place? At first I would have perceived it to be the black library. But, you're here, so definitely not the black library then"
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"I presume it to be a very large ship, and considering the amount of bad stuff is in here... I'm gonna go a wild guess... Bloodwrath? Maybe... Either way, this place is rather bad, especially here, with those screams in the distance. We should get moving. Maybe we can find some sort of civilization, and continue our conversation in moderate safety." The man turned away from the Eldar, his weapons still at his sides. He patiently waited for what the Eldar woman would do; either go her own rout, or join him. He secretly hoped that it was the latter since he enjoyed her company.
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Peering over her shoulder down the haunting hallway behind her, Kolandra pondered her options for a moment before finally submitting and deciding to stick near Skatai. If he was going to attack her, he at least didn't seem utterly intent on it. [i]just... stay calm, and stay collected. You know how to fend for yourself, you've trained for it, down two entirely different paths even. And stop being soo paranoid... no, actually, be paranoid. Be as paranoid as you can be. You have no idea what else is on board thi-- wait, did he say 'Bloodwrath'?[/i] "The Bloodwrath is a myth, nothing more than a story to scare disobedient children at night. No nation would truly be foolish enough to allow such a vessel to become the plaything of the chaos gods, and sit idly by while they use their new prize to wreak havoc upon us mortals. Impossible" [i]the Bloodwrath isn't a myth, you're just in denial because you know how much danger you're in if you truly are on board. I said be paranoid, but don't let it could your senses.[/i]
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"Sure, sure. I'm just going by instinct. I don't know for sure.." [i]Of course I do. What other ship would be this fücking bad? Besides, I'm pretty sure I've seen the walls move. Ugh. Who knows, maybe I'm just going insane? I mean, who wouldn't go insane in a situation like this? ME. Fück insanity. I'm a damn Black Templar.[/i] "Although, if I'm not wrong... Yeah.. Bad things will happen. Now, let's get going before we're killed or something, yes? Chop chop." The man starts walking forwards, resuming his trek through the dark hallways, albeit slowly; his new... Acquaintance hadn't joined him at his side yet, after all.
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Kolandra thought it best to just walk along behind at this point, keeping the distance between them the same. He had the front, she had the back. Him with his bolter, her with her witchblade. Rather than speak, she just listened. Listened to anything she could; the clang of metal against metal, the distant voices that could be heard, the faint hum of what could be engines, the creaking of ancient struts and supports, the jingling of her runes against spirit stones and robes, the silent flapping of the templar's marks and sigils before her. Anything really. It was all rather peaceful, in an odd contradictory way.
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The very faint growling of his Chainsword was a part of the symphony of noise, the teeth slowly spinning along the blade. "So... I've been a bit curious since I ran into you... What kind of culture do the Eldar have?" The man silently asked, genuinely curious sounding, his pace speeding up a bit now that he was certain that the Eldar was following him.
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Kolandra's eyes narrowed under her helmet. She was admittedly a bit taken aback by the question; it wasn't at all like a black templar to ponder for such knowledge; only inquisitors asked such things. Admittedly she'd never encountered a black templar before now, but he had encountered enough other chapters to know that all space marines ever usually thought about was how to purge heresy or die trying. "For what purpose exaclty? Do you plan to use such knowledge against us once you escape? Or am I supposed to believe that you're simply 'intrigued'?"
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"Truthfully, I'm actually curious for once. This is probably the longest... Casual conversation I've had in a while, so why not try new things like amassing knowledge?" The man said honestly and fairly casually, though he did understand her suspicion. It's not every day that you see a Space Marine wanting to amass knowledge. [spoiler]Yes. I'm a Heretic, I know. [/spoiler]
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While still cautious, Kolandra couldn't help but feel her younger inquisitive self bubble up inside. Even as an Eldar herself, her own society and all its stories it had to tell fascinated her greatly, and she always found a sense of joy from sharing it's eon-old wisdom to younger minds. "Very well, I suppose there isn't much else to do anyway... I'm afraid the answer to your question isn't as simple as you'd probably like; there are many avenues I could talk about. History, lifestyle, ambitions, technology, you name it... what specifically interests you?"
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"Out of all possible choices, I must choose a truly fascinating one; history."
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Edited by Moot: 6/20/2016 6:53:23 PM"wise choice... as the inquisitors know, the Eldar once ruled over an empire that spanned the full length of the galaxy and all it had to offer. The richest of society could have entire star systems forged in their name and valour. It was truly a time of prosperity and miracles, a time where Humanity had barely learned to walk on less than all fours, a time where the gods we sing of today were still alive and well. But, like all great things, it did not last." "The Eldar of this empire thrived on a lifestyle in which every individual attempted to experience as many pleasures as they possibly could in a lifetime. What grew from this was a society in which sadistic and selfish ambition were praised. It was barbaric, yet our race was blind to what we were becoming... well, most of our race. Some Eldar came to realise that our rich society birthed nothing but hatred and a complete lack of love and unity towards one another: every Eldar only lived to satisfy themselves and no one else, not even family." "These Eldar who saw the error of our ways decided to abandon society and go live more peaceful lives upon the maiden worlds that dot the edges of the galaxy. Due to their wisdom and wise choice of leaving society behind, many of those Eldar still live today. They were clever enough to see what we would give rise to..." "Eventually, the cumulative hubris and selfishness of our empire caused a new chaos god to be born within the hellfires of the Warp: Slaanesh, she who thirsts. Her birth caused a monstrous shockwave to ripple through the entire galaxy. It killed billions within a matter of perilous seconds, and ultimately caused our once mighty empire to crumble. The Eldar's collective hate and blindness had ultimately doomed our race. We were responsible for the fall, and the shockwave's might birthed it's own horror: the Eye of Terror." "Of course, some of our race: the Farseers of old, had predicted the birth of Slaanesh long before it truly occurred. These Eldar constructed the many craftworlds within which remnants of our species survived and outran Slaanesh's birthing wrath. My home craftworld of Ulthwé however became caught in the eye of terror as it came into being... now, the craftworld is forever trapped, strong enough to resist falling entirely into the Warp, but not strong enough to truly escape it's fires. As a result, my people battle the invading forces of chaos day and night, for what may be an eternity..."
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The man stays silent as the Eldar tells the tale of her people's history, listening with great interest and curiousity. Once she finished, he took a deep breath, and said, "That was extremely interesting... I'm glad that I ran into you, honestly. Even if you backstab me later down the line; this history lesson was worth it."
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"well, thank you for the interest... and don't worry, I'm not prone to backstabbing unless you're either a Necron or unless I sense you harbouring similarly traitorous thoughts... is there anything else you want to know? It's been quite some time since I was last allowed to speak freely to someone actually willing to listen"
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The very faint sound of joyous voices was heard in the distance, like there were people, having a good time. Or, well, a generally okay time. "Oh? Hear that? Civilization.. Well, suppose we still have time for another question.. No need to thank me for being interested, by the way.. Tell me about your beliefs, if you wouldn't mind."
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Edited by Moot: 6/20/2016 8:12:11 PM"our beliefs? Well, I suppose they're fairly similar to the religious beliefs of other races... the Eldar believe in several gods, nearly all of which however were slain by Slaanesh during the war of heaven, shortly after her birth. The only gods of ours to survive to this day are Cegorach, Isha, and Khaine." "Isha is the goddess of the harvest. She is the mother of our race, being the Goddess who physically created our very first ancestors. Craftworld Ulthwé's worship of her is greater than that of any other Crafyworld, for we see our creation into this realm as our greatest gift. Many eons ago, when our gods walked freely among our people, Isha's daughter, Lileath, dreamt that one day the Eldar would rise up against and defeat Khaine, the god of war. Khaine took this as a foresight into the inevitable future, and so he attempted to prevent his demise by waging war upon the Eldar to wipe us out. This act of genocide caused Isha to beg to Asuryan, king of the gods, to stop Khaine's slaughter. In response, Asuryan created a barrier that forever separated mortals from gods... and while this worked in halting Khaine's rampage, it meant that Isha would never be able to see her children again; us... she wept and wept, and from her tears came the spirit stones: arguably the most vital piece of technology the Eldar possess." "Cegorach is the laughing god. He was a trickster and an artist among our pantheon of gods. When Slaanesh was born, Cegorach fled from her into the Webway, where he currently resides today. The Eldar harlequins are worshipers of him, and they have the greatest of privileges to speak directly to him. Having survived Slaanesh's wrath, Cegorach is the only God of our pantheon to still possess his original form." "Khaine, as stated before, is the god of war and murder. When Slaanesh was born, it was Khaine who rose up to fight her. The two deities waged a war within the fires of the Warp that raged and raged... But, powered by our fallen empire's selfishness and sadistic ways, Slaanesh eventually defeated Khaine. However, she was not strong enough to kill him. Instead, Slaanesh shattered Khaine's body into a million fragments that flew out of the Warp and took root into the cores of every craftworld that lives today." "When the Eldar summon an avatar of Khaine into battle, it is a literal fragment of our once mighty God of war; plucked straight from the core of our craftworld; a walking shard of his boundless wrath... there are far more stories to tell of our transcendent pantheon, but those can wait..."
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The man, once again, had listened in silence, loving the feeling of his questions being answered so well; his curiousity being sated. He adored it. His feelings of joy and other... Happy stuff were pushed back down when he went around a corner, and exited a darkway into a very light area, it almost being blinding. There were makeshift houses, tents, and other things. Actually, I don't know what there was because it was never described to me. People wandered around the area, some talking to each other, others meditating or performing maintenance on their equipment. Point is, there was civilization! People! The man stopped, his eyes adjusting to the change in lighting as he spoke, "And here we are..."
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Kolandra stopped besides Skatai, her mind instantly drawing attention to the scene before them. "what the-- how did this-- ok... [i]this[/i], is unexpected"
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"I... I don't know what I expected, honestly, but it sure as hell wasn't a boy scouts camp." The man chuckles, looking over the 'boy scouts camp' with some mild curiosity. "Looks... okay, I guess. Perimeter being patrolled, as far as I can see.. And with all of these folks, we're.. Damn. I wouldn't be surprised if every Imperial on this ship is here, honestly."
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Kolandra gulped. One space marine on board a ship she had no way off was almost too much already, but an entire camp of xenophobic imperial humans? "... Oh dear"
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"I could keep you safe, probably. Somehow. Doubt anyone would assault an accomplice of a Black Templar. But then again, you are still a Xeno. My favourite Xeno but still a Xeno..." The Space Marine turned his head to look at the woman next to him, and spoke softly, "I'll do my best to keep you safe."
