Co-authored by: Ray of Meep (GM), CadetNewb, TheCountryWarrior, Wallflower
Solaris Lihana, Planet Lihana
Continent of Goedwig, Lake Obdurate's Solace
One day after the Aos Si's venture into Cloud Watch city
The invader Li Shi Cheng was once again waiting on the beaches of the lake in the little tent set up for him. The many footprints around, and the lack of a usable arm, betrayed the fact that he didn't set it up himself. As always, the invaders were many, and perhaps cunning. Or stupid. It was hard to tell.
He was sitting on a foldable chair, reading something on his datapad, those rectangular bricks that seemed to have replaced books in human society, for the most part. The stump that was his left arm was visibly longer, still hidden by his jacket though, since their first meeting a moon ago. Upon seeing the Aos Si emerge from the woods. His head lifted and smiled politely, then stood up.
"You caused quite the uproar on social media that night." Shi Cheng announced to the natives. "Talks of aliens in our city and where our patrol were, and whether they're coming back or not." He referenced them in the third person. "Both the mayor and I had some explaining to do." He snorted. "Politics. Did you get the information you wanted?"
"We did, however," Amisra began, brushing off the length of her simple dress. " - it will take some time for the leaders of our village to convene and determine their next course of action," the redheaded ranger pointed out. "And more importantly, they are waiting for one additional piece of information." The redead was always gently smiling like she always was, seemingly always in on a joke or spiel that others were not. "What role do you wish us to play politically? It is very clear that you are in need of a certain and specific set of criteria with our return, and it is apparenly not to simply receed into nothing as your forefathers wished."
Sai had visibly approached from a different direction, not having arrived with the other two elves. While it could be inferred before, it was increasingly obvious that the connection between her and the duo were much weaker than they had initially tried to pass off. Sai arrived looking as she had before, dressed in her standard, brush colored clothes and leathers that hid and defended her body. Her face was plainly visible, as was the near-permanent look of frustration. Though it was a distant thought at best, even now none of those present had ever seen her smile.
She came empty handed, for the most part. Like always anything she brought would be hidden on her body in some satchel or compartment, no doubt hiding at least a few knives. Though she moved to speak at the question of the Parasite, she glared at Amisra before resigning to silence, deciding it far too early to start bickering among another again. Besides, it seemed the duo could fill such a silence by themselves.
"You are one man." Sai suddenly spoke, imbalanced eyes staring at Shi Cheng. "And your city speaks volumes of your people. Scarcely united under roughly agreed upon principles, nothing more. A collective history without a collective. There those among you who sleep without shelter, yet you turn to us. You've said it yourself that it's been quite difficult to even convince your leaders to open communications with us, and yet you persisted in that. I am curious as to this, why does your fascination draw towards us once more, despite the bloodied history? I find it difficult to believe that your kind have enough that they're willing to share, regardless of how much they have. Before we pursue such relations forward, I want to understand you and your kind." She paused, glancing to the others. "I would not trust that which cannot be understood, as the old ways teach."
Gwaed had arrived with Amisra, of course, tied to her in some horrific way he barely understood, and now stood before their Parasite contact. Gah, Parasite. After last night's excursion, he wasn't sure the term applied to humanity anymore. The Parasite's were gone, yet their children were left behind, the offspring of Parasites that still drained the world of it's lifeblood. They were still Parasites then, but less aggresive ones perhaps. "I would be interested in that answer as well. If it's such a bother to contact us for your Parasitic government, why do you insist on doing so regardless? What do you hope to gain from us?" His eyes narrowed, and he leaned forward, speaking with a growl. "Additionally, do not call us aliens. I will not be regarded as an outsider on my own planet."
Shi Cheng nodded slowly at the onslaught of questions. He didn't seem fazed by Gwaed's aggresion. "Acknowledged, you will be called Aos Si, your proper names. However," He spoke more forcefully. "If we are work on this project together, respect is a two way street. We would prefer not to be regarded as parasites. Despite our predecessors' failings... we still put in the work to call this place home, rebuild it from the ashes. The same constructs who nearly wiped your culture almost wiped out ours. Surely you know that by now. Can we at least agree to that?"
He dodged the far more important question, and Gwaed noticed. This only made him angrier. "You will earn my respect when I choose to give it, Second Generation Parasite. Your forefathers may be to blame for our genocide, but you still take residence in the city built on the ruins of my home. Answer the question. Why bother meeting with us? What aim do you seek?"
Shi Cheng frowned. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that insult for the sake of peace." He then sighed. "You're looking at me like I'm trying to hide something from you. Admittedly the political reasons are more complex and muddied beyond my full comprehension. The way I see it, you are to be, shall I say, used as a way to show my nation's ability to unite a people of all walks of life, to transcend cultural, socioeconomic, and in your case, specieal barriers. Your success under our institutions will be part of a greater effort to show to the rest of the human community that the Heaven Forged Republic is functional. You've seen our history. Even now the three states of the HFR barely get along with each other."
He paused. "That's the reason I was given anyways. I'm sure my superiors would rather not have you know the nation's predicaments, but this is the reality you need to understand. There perhaps are more motivations I am not privy to. I cannot comment on those."
"Now, my personal reasons are much simpler. I am a scientist, I am curious by trade, and I have studied your species for two decades now, gathering what data was left after my predecessors were wiped out. This is one of the best oppurunities for me to understand your kind, and even as we speak---" The invader certainly couldn't help it, but his face visibly brightened and his eyes lit up. "---my knowledge of your kind grows leaps and bounds."
"Then you'll understand the following." Sai spoke, her arm shifting across her body as if she was to cross her arms. "It's been a generation since our culture has thrived as a form of government, and such is no secret. Our disolution into factions is a recent occurance, but before, we operated far more homogenous. Though we are the youngest generation, we still recall much of how it functioned." She paused, glancing to her companions. "However we functioned together, as a whole. There was no under, there were simply parts to the whole."
"What I'm getting at is that we can see the fractures in your society. We see where your own fall through, even from a passing glance. The fact that such factions exist within your kind is a warning sign more than anything. Like a nation on verge of collapsing under its own weight, rot too critical in the foundation for anything built on top to sustain. Such flaw isn't something policy alone can fix, as the old ways described such rot is a symptom, not the disease itself. Without greater connection it's bound to shudder." Sai was, despite her rough exterior, clearly versed in some form of literature.
"It's unreasonable to think that putting resources into us to raise us higher will solve enough, when there's intrinsic problems that must be solved first. Obviously our kind is... Biased, but do you think showing your downtrodden how much effort you put into us instead of them will go over well? You'll fracture more than you'll patch." She gave an odd hand symbol that she tapped against her chest. "I will warn you now, we will not accept subservience, as that is not our way. We are not a conquered tribe whose methods can simply be wiped. If what we have to offer is not valued in the same way as what is being given, then no deal can be made. As is the old scripts." Though she spoke in an intelligent and reasonable way, it was clear that there was much she wasn't saying.
"Oh my," Amisra spoke, finally breaking her own silence. With one arm held horizontally under her bosom, hand cupping the elbow of the other, she had soon rested her cheek upon her palm as they all talked. Head tilted ever so slightly, the redheaded maiden had very clearly made it known that she was displeased with Cheng's initial evasion of a question so forward. But, her faint smile somehow only grew more and more smug as they all talked back and forward. "If you sought to hide these politics from us, then you are truly in the dark regarding our culture," she smiled with amusement.
Solaris Lihana, Planet Lihana
Continent of Goedwig, Lake Obdurate's Solace
One day after the Aos Si's venture into Cloud Watch city
The invader Li Shi Cheng was once again waiting on the beaches of the lake in the little tent set up for him. The many footprints around, and the lack of a usable arm, betrayed the fact that he didn't set it up himself. As always, the invaders were many, and perhaps cunning. Or stupid. It was hard to tell.
He was sitting on a foldable chair, reading something on his datapad, those rectangular bricks that seemed to have replaced books in human society, for the most part. The stump that was his left arm was visibly longer, still hidden by his jacket though, since their first meeting a moon ago. Upon seeing the Aos Si emerge from the woods. His head lifted and smiled politely, then stood up.
"You caused quite the uproar on social media that night." Shi Cheng announced to the natives. "Talks of aliens in our city and where our patrol were, and whether they're coming back or not." He referenced them in the third person. "Both the mayor and I had some explaining to do." He snorted. "Politics. Did you get the information you wanted?"
"We did, however," Amisra began, brushing off the length of her simple dress. " - it will take some time for the leaders of our village to convene and determine their next course of action," the redheaded ranger pointed out. "And more importantly, they are waiting for one additional piece of information." The redead was always gently smiling like she always was, seemingly always in on a joke or spiel that others were not. "What role do you wish us to play politically? It is very clear that you are in need of a certain and specific set of criteria with our return, and it is apparenly not to simply receed into nothing as your forefathers wished."
Sai had visibly approached from a different direction, not having arrived with the other two elves. While it could be inferred before, it was increasingly obvious that the connection between her and the duo were much weaker than they had initially tried to pass off. Sai arrived looking as she had before, dressed in her standard, brush colored clothes and leathers that hid and defended her body. Her face was plainly visible, as was the near-permanent look of frustration. Though it was a distant thought at best, even now none of those present had ever seen her smile.
She came empty handed, for the most part. Like always anything she brought would be hidden on her body in some satchel or compartment, no doubt hiding at least a few knives. Though she moved to speak at the question of the Parasite, she glared at Amisra before resigning to silence, deciding it far too early to start bickering among another again. Besides, it seemed the duo could fill such a silence by themselves.
"You are one man." Sai suddenly spoke, imbalanced eyes staring at Shi Cheng. "And your city speaks volumes of your people. Scarcely united under roughly agreed upon principles, nothing more. A collective history without a collective. There those among you who sleep without shelter, yet you turn to us. You've said it yourself that it's been quite difficult to even convince your leaders to open communications with us, and yet you persisted in that. I am curious as to this, why does your fascination draw towards us once more, despite the bloodied history? I find it difficult to believe that your kind have enough that they're willing to share, regardless of how much they have. Before we pursue such relations forward, I want to understand you and your kind." She paused, glancing to the others. "I would not trust that which cannot be understood, as the old ways teach."
Gwaed had arrived with Amisra, of course, tied to her in some horrific way he barely understood, and now stood before their Parasite contact. Gah, Parasite. After last night's excursion, he wasn't sure the term applied to humanity anymore. The Parasite's were gone, yet their children were left behind, the offspring of Parasites that still drained the world of it's lifeblood. They were still Parasites then, but less aggresive ones perhaps. "I would be interested in that answer as well. If it's such a bother to contact us for your Parasitic government, why do you insist on doing so regardless? What do you hope to gain from us?" His eyes narrowed, and he leaned forward, speaking with a growl. "Additionally, do not call us aliens. I will not be regarded as an outsider on my own planet."
Shi Cheng nodded slowly at the onslaught of questions. He didn't seem fazed by Gwaed's aggresion. "Acknowledged, you will be called Aos Si, your proper names. However," He spoke more forcefully. "If we are work on this project together, respect is a two way street. We would prefer not to be regarded as parasites. Despite our predecessors' failings... we still put in the work to call this place home, rebuild it from the ashes. The same constructs who nearly wiped your culture almost wiped out ours. Surely you know that by now. Can we at least agree to that?"
He dodged the far more important question, and Gwaed noticed. This only made him angrier. "You will earn my respect when I choose to give it, Second Generation Parasite. Your forefathers may be to blame for our genocide, but you still take residence in the city built on the ruins of my home. Answer the question. Why bother meeting with us? What aim do you seek?"
Shi Cheng frowned. "I'll pretend I didn't hear that insult for the sake of peace." He then sighed. "You're looking at me like I'm trying to hide something from you. Admittedly the political reasons are more complex and muddied beyond my full comprehension. The way I see it, you are to be, shall I say, used as a way to show my nation's ability to unite a people of all walks of life, to transcend cultural, socioeconomic, and in your case, specieal barriers. Your success under our institutions will be part of a greater effort to show to the rest of the human community that the Heaven Forged Republic is functional. You've seen our history. Even now the three states of the HFR barely get along with each other."
He paused. "That's the reason I was given anyways. I'm sure my superiors would rather not have you know the nation's predicaments, but this is the reality you need to understand. There perhaps are more motivations I am not privy to. I cannot comment on those."
"Now, my personal reasons are much simpler. I am a scientist, I am curious by trade, and I have studied your species for two decades now, gathering what data was left after my predecessors were wiped out. This is one of the best oppurunities for me to understand your kind, and even as we speak---" The invader certainly couldn't help it, but his face visibly brightened and his eyes lit up. "---my knowledge of your kind grows leaps and bounds."
"Then you'll understand the following." Sai spoke, her arm shifting across her body as if she was to cross her arms. "It's been a generation since our culture has thrived as a form of government, and such is no secret. Our disolution into factions is a recent occurance, but before, we operated far more homogenous. Though we are the youngest generation, we still recall much of how it functioned." She paused, glancing to her companions. "However we functioned together, as a whole. There was no under, there were simply parts to the whole."
"What I'm getting at is that we can see the fractures in your society. We see where your own fall through, even from a passing glance. The fact that such factions exist within your kind is a warning sign more than anything. Like a nation on verge of collapsing under its own weight, rot too critical in the foundation for anything built on top to sustain. Such flaw isn't something policy alone can fix, as the old ways described such rot is a symptom, not the disease itself. Without greater connection it's bound to shudder." Sai was, despite her rough exterior, clearly versed in some form of literature.
"It's unreasonable to think that putting resources into us to raise us higher will solve enough, when there's intrinsic problems that must be solved first. Obviously our kind is... Biased, but do you think showing your downtrodden how much effort you put into us instead of them will go over well? You'll fracture more than you'll patch." She gave an odd hand symbol that she tapped against her chest. "I will warn you now, we will not accept subservience, as that is not our way. We are not a conquered tribe whose methods can simply be wiped. If what we have to offer is not valued in the same way as what is being given, then no deal can be made. As is the old scripts." Though she spoke in an intelligent and reasonable way, it was clear that there was much she wasn't saying.
"Oh my," Amisra spoke, finally breaking her own silence. With one arm held horizontally under her bosom, hand cupping the elbow of the other, she had soon rested her cheek upon her palm as they all talked. Head tilted ever so slightly, the redheaded maiden had very clearly made it known that she was displeased with Cheng's initial evasion of a question so forward. But, her faint smile somehow only grew more and more smug as they all talked back and forward. "If you sought to hide these politics from us, then you are truly in the dark regarding our culture," she smiled with amusement.