The Conquerors (Open RP in Carhein)

[Kael]

Davian sneered as he looked at the oath breaking wetlands shying away from him in the streets of Carhien. His hand itched to return lift his veil, his mind playing the wish of his spear plunging into the hearts of these tree killers playing over and over in his mind. His hand twitched to stroke the scar running over his eye, now painted a dark black, but he rolled it into a fist to keep it steady. He did not wish to give off any sign of his agitation. His spears were strapped under his buckler on his back, away from his hands though he didn’t need spears to kill one of these weaklings. But Davian would follow the Car’a’carn, and that meant leaving the wetlanders to their own wishes, more to regain the Seia Doon’s honor at having the betrayer come from his society than anything else.

 

Besides his portion of the fifth had already been given to him, what more could he want of these tree killers. But the lust, the need for the kill that had been growing inside Davian told him otherwise. He saw easy prey around him and he itched to pounce and strike.

 

Davian lips curled into a snarl as one wetlander in particular looked at him and began to tremble, before turning and running in the opposite direction. This land was putting him on edge. It was to wet, he felt like he was drowning in this air and he had already lost one Seia Doon when he had waded into a river convinced it could go no deeper that his waist, but the man had been swept away and drowned. He had lost.

 

An interesting side effect of the battle, Davian had been raised to Society Leader of the Seia Doon when the old one had taken a spear to the chest and told his second Davian would become the new leader. That had proved to make a small amount of enmity between the two of them, but so far it had not come to anything than dark looks. Moving in a small bubble through the streets of Carhein, Davain looked around slowly, hand itching to go to his veil as he waded through a sea of wetlanders.

 

 

Davian

[Myth]

Cor strode through the city streets lost in thought. He still couldn’t believe how much water these aptly named wetlands held. Who’d have ever thought a river could exist. So much water in one place! He had made numerous trips to see it since the battle with the Shaido. And he had heard oceans were even bigger! Lost in his thoughts after his most recent visit, the young Aiel warrior took no notice of the strange mixture of reactions he and his lion companion, Nei’din, were creating as they walked through the treekillers’ city.

 

The Cairheinin, for the most part, simply stayed out of the duo’s path, averting their eyes and hurrying off on their own business. Others, however, cast hateful glares after the Aiel warrior had passed, certain of a lack of retaliation. Equally as many scurried away fearfully at the sight of one of their Aiel “saviorsâ€. Even a rare handful stared with adoration at one of the legendary desert warriors come to life. A truly observant person would have noticed a large number of women looking at the young Aiel appreciatively.

 

Cor, though, took no notice of the wetlanders. Thoughts of the changes the Wheel had spun out for the Aiel had been on his mind a lot lately. The Wise Ones threatened that his head held too many ideas for a Stone Dog and that one day he would be sent to Rhuidean, but even that ritual was uncertain now after the Car’a’carn had revealed the Aiel’s history. That had been in his head, too.

 

Looking down at the spears in his hands, Cor couldn’t grasp the idea that once the Aiel had been like the Lost Ones, those the wetlanders called the Traveling People, and had abhorred violence, living their whole life while never touching a weapon. Cor knew that what was precious had to be fought for, that had always been the way of things, but he was fascinated by such a strange philosophy. He imagined that there would be a lot less Traveling People if the Aiel and Borderlanders didn’t exterminate so many of the Shadow-twisted creatures from the Blight on a regular basis.

 

Hearing Nei’din growl, Cor snapped out of his reverie, immediately taking notice of his surroundings. Scanning the nearby windows, rooftops, doors, and alleyways, he assured himself of no obvious threat. Turning to follow Nei’din’s gaze, he saw a group of treekillers following an Aiel just a few paces ahead of him on the other side of the street. Looking at the Aiel more closely, Cor noticed he was a Seia Doon by the cut of his cadin’sor, and that he was repeatedly clenching and unclenching his fists, as if angry about something. He seemed to be completely unaware of the men behind him, and now Cor finally noticed what had angered Nei’din.

 

Several of the men were carrying drawn weapons covered by their cloaks!

 

Cor had noticed in the past how in times of stress things seemed to happen in slow motion even if they happened simultaneously. This was like that. As Cor raised his veil and shouted a warning, he realized the Aiel was Davian. At the same moment, the treekillers threw away their cloaks and attacked. Oddly, the foremost thought in Cor’s mind as he sprinted toward the dance of spears was the beauty of the river.

[Kael]

Davian's viel was already raised as the cry of alarm finished itslef. He spun qucikly his spear appearing in his hand faster than most eyes could follow. A young stone dog, the lion by his side proclaiming him as one named Cor, was coming forth to aid him but that was only a side thought.

 

Davian's spear hovered before the neck of the first wetlander a suprised look on his eye, as well as a large amound of fear. For a few moments Davian let the spear hang in the air, before tightening his eyes in a predatory glare and thrust the blade through the mans throat.

 

A small smiled tugged at Davian's lips, but they remained at the stony line they always were. His blood covered spear came out of the man's throat easily as his buckler reflected a blow from an oncoming wetlander. Davain sneered at the sword the man was wielding, as well as the pathetic fighting ability of the man. Davian cut foreward with his spear, thrusting at the man's sword arm. As the man moved to block Davian dropped his buckler and moved to grab the man's shoulder. The wetlander hadn't expected for Davian to fight with arms while wielding a spear.

 

A small glance behind him from the man caught in his grip was all the warning Davian had that someone was behind him. He turned his gaze and kciked with his right foot, his heel connecting with the man's nose with a sickening crunch that fountained blood. Davian turned the man in his arm and threw him at his companion, the man rammed into his broken nosed companion with a wet noise. Broken noses knife was in his ribs as he fell.

 

Broken nose turned to flee in the now deserted street, but only made it two steps before Davian's spear was sticking from between his shoulder blades. Davian walked slowly towards the dying man as Cor and his pet chased off a survivor.

 

The man was groaning softly as Davian jerked his spear from the man's back and rolled him onto his back. A small line of blood flowed from the man's mouth as he looked up at Davian with tears in his eyes. "Beast!" Defient to the last breath.

 

Davian smiled beneath his viel as the ground beneath him was slowly coated with blood. He watched cruely as the life in the man's eyes faded, taking a sadistic enjoyment at the man's suffering. As the last of the man's streangh fled and his life blood had finally been spent Davian turned and walked back to the carnage.

 

Of the men that had attacked him only one was still moving. Cor was walking back to him and Davian put his spearpoint against the apple of the suffering man's throat. He would survive, his wounds were not that bad. "Do you think the Car'a'carn would consider it murder if we ended this pathetic man's life?" Davian could not help the small hopeful tone to his voice, hoping that he could kill him but still, he did not want to die for this small amount of enjoyment. Maybe it should have feared him that the fear in the man's eyes only increased the pleasure Davian was taking from this encounter. "It was a rather dull fight."

 

 

Davian

[Myth]

Davian’s swift reaction to Cor’s warning was all that saved him from the unsuspected attack. As the Seia Doon began the dance with the treekillers, Cor sped across the intervening space as if the Light had given his feet wings. Nei’din leapt alongside of him, and let out a defiant roar. The unexpected sound froze the wetlanders in their tracks, as they looked over their shoulders in fear, and their hesitation cost them dearly.

 

Cor rolled over the would-be-assassins with the force of an avalanche. His spear awakened two treekillers from their worthless dreams before they even realized they were under a new attack, his arm striking and recoiling with the deadly swiftness of a desert viper. In amongst the group, Cor struck with his knees, feet and elbows as much as with his spear, finding ample targets for all as the Cairheinin tried to create enough distance to use their swords. The Aiel warrior never gave them the chance, and the close quarters made the unwieldy swords useless as their life blood flowed onto the dusty street.

 

Cor’s third spear thrust went up through the throat and into the skull of a bulky man, followed by a kick to another man’s groin. Ignoring the now bent over and gagging wetlander, Cor parried a badly aimed sword thrust, spinning back along the swordsman’s arm and stomping on the back of his ankle with a sickening crunch. The man’s scream was quickly silenced as Cor adroitly stepped out of the path of another treekiller’s overhand sword chop which firmly wedged itself into his companion’s neck and shoulder.

 

With his sword lodged in his fellow, the Cairheinin could do nothing but stare in horror as Cor’s spear pierced his chest. Turning back to the bent over man clutching his groin, Cor lifted a knee to his face, spreading his nose across his face with a shower of blood. The man fell in a heap. The last treekiller abandoned his cohorts and the lost cause and dashed off down the street. Cor sped after him, but hadn’t taken ten strides before Nei’din finished the battle with a deadly pounce. The huge young lion didn’t even have to unsheathe his claws; the force of his attack had broken the man’s spine.

 

The snap of breaking bones, the gurgle of blood from spear slit throats, and the screams of the dying were suddenly over. The silence was deafening. Only the buzzing of a fly disturbed the eerily quiet city street.

 

Walking back toward Davian, Cor noticed that aside from themselves, the busy street had emptied faster than a oos’quai skin at a Stone Dog initiation. As he neared his spearbrother, Davian placed his spearpoint at the throat of the prostrate treekiller, who was moaning softly now through a face bloodied and broken by Cor’s knee and clutching desperately at his groin.

 

"Do you think the Car'a'carn would consider it murder if we ended this pathetic man's life?" Davian asked. Cor detected a note of hopefulness in his voice that made him think Davian wanted to wake this wetlander from his dream as well. The look of fear in the treekiller’s eyes filled Cor with disgust. How weak these wetlanders were! Davian continued as Cor looked back at him, "It was a rather dull fight."

 

Smiling, Cor replied, “Yes, I am sorry you didn’t have more of a challenge.†Cor added with a wry smile, teasing the older man, “Perhaps I should have let them dance with you unannounced and uninvited… but I don’t think they would have known those dance steps either.†Pausing thoughtfully and looking back down at the cowering figure in the dust, he added, “I don’t think the Car’a’carn would like us spilling any unnecessary blood, even if it does settle the dust in the street. I think we should turn him over to the Red Shields and let them decide his fate, but I care little what happens to him.â€

 

Shrugging noncommittally, Cor grounded his spears in the street and looked interestedly at Davian as Nei’din stretched out and lay down in the sun as if there weren’t a pile of dead just paces away.

[Kael]

Davian pressed the point of his spear down on the man's neck until a small bead of red began to fall down the side of his throat. The man closed his eyes, whimpering with his lips moving in what looked to be a prayer. It was perhaps a good thing for him that Davian had his viel hiding most of his face so the man couldn't see his expression.

 

“Yes, I am sorry you didn’t have more of a challenge. Perhaps I should have let them dance with you unannounced and uninvited… but I don’t think they would have known those dance steps either.†Davian silently wished he had to, though he knew it would have been a harder fight and one he likely would not have survived. It would have ment more blood spilt, and Davian would have enjoyed it all, even watching his blood spill. The dream ended for everyone eventually, and Davian would enjoy his end that he knew.

 

“I don’t think the Car’a’carn would like us spilling any unnecessary blood, even if it does settle the dust in the street. I think we should turn him over to the Red Shields and let them decide his fate, but I care little what happens to him.†Davian sighed and took the spear point away, lowering his viel in the same motion.

 

Silently Davian urged the man to run as he began to rise, hoping he knew that by lowering his viel Davian wasn't going to kill him. On the contrary, Davian wanted the man to run so he could kill him. A spear to the back, while perhaps not the most honorable of things, would still kill him all the same and that was Davian's wish.

 

He sighed, "To the Red Arms it is." Davian stood for as long as he dare before pointing with his spear for the man to go. Davian took his place behind the man as they walked, still urging the man to run. To just try and escape. He was a dead man anyways, or likely. A wetlander would never survive being Gaishan, or he could be taken across the Waste and sold to the Sharans.

 

"I'll never understand wetlanders." Davian shook his head and twirled his spear in his hand. He swung his buckler over his shoulder again and began the journey back to the tents, the bodies of the men forgotten. The only rememberance from Davian was the feeling as he stole the life from them.

 

 

Davian

[Myth]

"To the Red Arms it is," Davian said after a brief pause. "I'll never understand wetlanders."

 

A rueful grin appeared on Cor’s face as he lowered his veil and replied, “Who can understand them? You might as well try to understand the sun. Or women. Ha!†The small joke did little to lighten the mood of his companion, but it briefly shook Cor out of his recent moodiness.

 

Walking alongside his spear brother, Cor couldn’t help but notice the tension that Davian was dealing with. Not knowing what the older Aiel was thinking, and unwilling to openly bring it up lest he offend, Cor sank again into his own dreary thoughts as they followed the fearful wetlander to the nearest station of Red Shields.

 

“This place reeks of old fear,†thought the young warrior as he scanned the city they walked through. “I don’t know what the Car’a’carn is planning, but I wish he would make his decision swiftly. I hate it here.â€

 

Sitting around watching the treekillers had long since lost what little enjoyment it ever held. The Shaido had long since run away and no further dancing of the spears was likely in the near future. Even going down to the river could only take up so much of the young Aiel’s time, and he refused to lose himself in oos’quai like a few others had done. The day’s bloodshed had been the most recent example of the considerable animosity felt between the Aiel and the despised treekillers, and Cor hoped that soon his people would be leaving. Almost anywhere would be preferable to continuing to stagnate here for no understandable reason.

 

“Maybe I can find the clan chief and see if there is any need for me to go elsewhere,†thought Cor. “Perhaps… no, it is unlikely that we would be returning to the Threefold Land so soon. But if not, then let us be about subduing the rest of these wetlander nations in order for the Car’a’carn to deal with his enemies. It’s just a matter of time before we wash the spears again, and I’d just as soon get on with it. Otherwise, all this sitting around is going to make me too fat to run and then one of the Maidens may catch me.â€

 

Chuckling to himself, Cor continued alongside Davian. With Nei’din padding along on his other side, he walked hoping for a change.

[Kael]

Davian chuckled lightly with Cor. The young right. They ran and ran from the maidens theyes emed to fear so much but not long after they find they are no longer the runs running away, but running towards. "If you get fat I'm sure that these maidens won't be running towards you but away from you then. Besides, I doubt it would be to bad to have a maiden catch me. I have always wanted a son of my own." Though Davian doubted he would find a woman that he could live with, or would want to live with him. Late at night his tastes ran pain and pleasure as one, and there were few who mirrored that.

 

Davian sneered and kicked the wetlander hard in the ribs as he stumbled, weeping and pleading. Weak, even a simple cut to the leg and he was suddenly unable to walk. Davian snarled and threw the man over his shoulder, with one hand he grabbed his hands hanging behind him, bringing them past the man's legs which he held with his other. Bent over double the man's joints strained and the wetlander quivered and wimpered in pain. Davian's sneer changed to a smile and he continued talking amiable, his usual mute tounge loosened by the pain he was causing the man.

 

"All this water has made the wetlanders weak, fear and terror is all they know in the face of the spears." Davian's smile faded as he watched the wetlanders beginign to return to the street with a predatory gleam in his eye. He tugged at both the man's legs and arms, pulling him farther accompanied by a shout of pain.

 

"And you talk of subduing these lands. I say clense them. Any man unfit in the eyes of the Aiel should be destroyed, no longer allowed to taint this land by their prescence. Only those that live on the edge of the blight and dance with Sightblinder should be allowed to live under the Car'a'carn's rule." And then only because we can have wetlanders to kill if we feel like. It would be a shame to kill them all in one go."

 

 

Davian

[Myth]

With a start, Cor realized he must have been thinking out loud, and the older warrior’s thoughts were similarly dissatisfied with the Aiel’s current situation. However, Cor didn’t understand the bitterness in Davian’s voice. Glancing out of the corner of his eye at the Seia Doon, Cor noticed the pleasure he was taking in giving pain to the treekiller. Such an attitude was not all that unusual Cor admitted to himself. In fact, it was far more likely that Cor’s own attitude toward giving out pain was bizarre for an Aiel. He didn’t mind administering death when necessary, but torturing for the fun of it held no amusement for him. “Oh well,†he thought, “It’s just a treekiller, so let Davian have his fun.â€

 

Aloud, Cor said, “I think the Car’a’carn has plans we don’t even suspect. And you know as well as I do, that the Last Battle is coming. There will be more than enough dancing then for all the Aiel, even you Davian, and I think we will appreciate having a few worthy dance partners when Sightblinder’s hordes come.â€

 

Pausing briefly, Cor added, “I think we should head back to the tents. We can drop off the treekiller on the way.

 

“I, for one, need to do something, and babysitting wetlanders is like rubbing sand in my eyes. Maybe we can find the clan chief and see if he has something a bit more entertaining for us to do. We might even find some other warriors who are also tired of wallowing in this wetlander cesspool. Maybe we could go raid the Shaido or some other nation who has opposed the Car’a’carn.â€

 

Scratching Nei’din behind the ears as they walked, Cor waited for Davian to respond. The older warrior obviously had a lot on his mind, but Cor knew he would share his troubled thoughts in time if he wished them known. Meanwhile, the young Aiel needed to get away from this blasted city!