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Story Hour
Bitterness Overcome: (Now A Completed Story!)
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<blockquote data-quote="Nonlethal Force" data-source="post: 3146210" data-attributes="member: 35788"><p>In truth, only a few seconds slipped by while the Provenience stared back at Semeion and Rhema. Semeion watched as the expression upon the Provenience’s face turned from surprise to confusion to anger. It was a change that he remembered all to well from the first meeting that he had with Charis.</p><p></p><p>A slow spiteful smile spread across the lips of the Provenience. As Semeion and Rhema prepared for some type of heated parley, the Provenience narrowed her eyes. In a sudden spurt of action the young woman before them sucked in a quick breath and immediately exhaled. Flames spouted from her mouth, breathing a similar type of fire as one might have expected to come from the great red wyrm to which she had mated.</p><p></p><p>Both Semeion and Rhema sprang out of the way of the dangerous flames, limiting the damage caused to a few minor singes along their legs. Semeion rolled over his shoulder and up onto his knees. From that position he quickly rose to his feet and spoke, extending an open palm towards the Provenience. <span style="color: Plum">“Listen to me! We do not come here to kill you or even threaten you. We came here to free you and reunite you with your true father.”</span></p><p></p><p>The Provenience laughed as Semeion spoke and Rhema brought herself up to her own feet. <span style="color: Red">“Reunite me with him? I am to be the mother of the race that replaces them!”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema sucked in a huge breath of her own as she began to get a feeling for the severity of brainwashing that the dragon father had been able to accomplish in the months that he had his Drakontos mate isolated in the chamber. Without using any of her mental powers she spoke calmly. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“Listen to yourself. Do you care nothing for those people?”</span></p><p></p><p>The Provenience saw what had happened in the brief moment that her attack had failed. Rhema had jumped in a position such that to attack her would likely ignite her straw bed in fire. Semeion had jumped far enough in the other direction so that to attack him would imply turning her back onto Rhema. Rather than spew forth another lethal amount of flame the Provenience decided to speak. <span style="color: Red">“Care for them?</span> she hissed as she reacted to Rhema’s words. <span style="color: Red">“Do you not see how they have offended my dragon father? They do not care for him! Why should we care for them? Why should they live on when they so blatantly show disrespect to the one being that is powerful enough to protect them all from the forces in this world?”</span></p><p></p><p>Semeion took another step to his right, broadening the gap between himself and his associate. <span style="color: Plum">“Protect them? Is that what you call how the dragon father treats the people who live below? Do you not see how he works them to the brink of death?”</span> Suddenly Semeion’s eyes glinted with an idea.</p><p></p><p>Rhema noticed the sparkle in Semeion’s eyes, but had no clue as to what the sparkle could have meant. She decided to add to Semeion’s words and at the very least force the Provenience to turn and focus on Rhema for a short time. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“No master worth serving treats their vassals in such a manner!</span></p><p></p><p>The Provenience hissed her verbal venom back at the attacks against her dragon father. <span style="color: Red">“No master should respect anyone who treats their own father with the contempt that they have treated our dragon father!”</span></p><p></p><p>Semeion smiled. <span style="color: Plum">“You mean like the contempt that you treat your own father?”</span></p><p></p><p>The Provenience was spurred into attack by the blatant verbal assault. She sucked a deep breath in and exhaled. This time, Semeion was waiting for it. He tucked into a roll and easily avoided the flame in spite of the fact that the Provenience turned as she followed his movement. Flames constantly licked at his heels, but he managed to stay one step ahead of her breath for as long as she had air to expend. Her attack had allowed him to move to where he wanted to be without making it obvious.</p><p></p><p>Semeion took two steps back. The Provenience instinctively stepped forward. She felt as though Semeion was retreating out of the range of her breath. What she assumed was weakness was actually part of Semeion’s plan. He had positioned himself before the opening that led out onto the dragon’s perch. As he crept backwards he could feel the cooler winds of this elevation swirling around him. He was slowly leading her out onto the open platform on the side of the mountain.</p><p></p><p>Rhema still wasn’t sure what Semeion was up to, but she was smart enough to know that Semeion could only retreat so far. He had to be up to something, but she wasn’t quite sure what it could be. She could easily see that he had captivated her attention. The Provenience had given Rhema her back, and Rhema had a clear shot should she need to take it. But the agreement was that the Provenience wouldn’t need to be killed. That couldn’t be the opening that Semeion was hoping to exploit. In any case, Rhema was certain that the Provenience had forgotten that she was a part of this confrontation.</p><p></p><p>Semeion continued his slow retreat, occasionally shuffling slightly back to his left. The Provenience matched his every move. As Semeion continued his slow retreat he lured her into a slow pursuit. The Provenience could see that he was quickly running out of room and she need not step forward quickly He couldn’t stay out of range forever; and he was quickly narrowing his ability to dodge out of the way of her fiery breath.</p><p></p><p>Semeion shook his head. <span style="color: Plum">“Do you believe that the power to dominate is absolute power, Provenience?”</span></p><p></p><p>His mind darted back to several months prior. He had the same conversation with Charis. It was an important step in breaking her spirit. It was a painful step to make, but it was the crux on which her deprogramming began. The pain this line of questioning had caused Charis gave Semeion many restless nights in conversation with Rhema’s father.</p><p></p><p>The Provenience stopped moving. She had stopped pursuing her prey to think for a moment. <span style="color: Red">“Power is being able to assert your will upon others. Power is the ability to make the agenda, not have it dictated to you.”</span></p><p></p><p>Her answer was fair, especially for the preconceptions she brought to her understanding of the world. It was what she knew; it was what the father dragon had taught the villagers through his leadership. He smiled softly as he felt the pain of the response hit home. Charis had responded so similarly once.</p><p></p><p>Semeion stepped slightly back, hoping to reinforce that she should pursue him. The increasing howl of the wind told him that he was only a matter of a few feet from the edge now. <span style="color: Plum">“Then control is the ultimate source of power for you?”</span></p><p></p><p>The Provenience matched his movement step for step. She was now within striking distance, but she was not ready to strike. He had intrigued her, and she would hear Semeion’s point. <span style="color: Red">“Get to your point, thief. You know how I would respond.”</span></p><p></p><p>She didn’t see that Rhema had followed her out onto the ledge. Rhema was careful to stay precisely at her back. She stepped softly upon the worn stone of the dragon’s perch. She was still trying to guess Semeion’s plan and knew Semeion was running out of both room and time.</p><p></p><p>Semeion smiled. <span style="color: Plum">“If the ability to control is absolute, then I would assert that your father dragon is powerless.”</span></p><p></p><p>The Provenience’s eyes grew wide at the verbal assault. <span style="color: Red">“Silence your tongue!”</span> The Provenience’s skin began to take on a red hue as her blood coursed through her body in response to the emotion of anger.</p><p></p><p>Semeion only smiled more broadly. He shuffled his feet back once more. His heels felt the ground grow softer. The edge was only inches away. The wind howled at his back. <span style="color: Plum">“You have put your faith in the wrong power, Provenience. You serve a weak father.”</span></p><p></p><p>The Provenience paused for a moment. <span style="color: Red">“What is your game, irr’Drakontos Packkan?”</span> Semeion’s mind quickly translated the draconic insult. It roughly translated to <em>‘non-Drakontos dog.’</em></p><p></p><p>Semeion shuffled back the last few inches. His heels now hung over the edge of the perch. He could feel the wind directly at his back now. The pressure to suck him down the mountain face increased. Semeion spread his arms wide in a gesture of emptiness. <span style="color: Plum">“Your dragon father’s kingdom is dust!”</span> A chuckle passed through his lips before he continued. <span style="color: Plum">“If the power to control is absolute then the fact that your dragon father controls nothing means that he is powerless!”</span> His smile grew wide into a grand toothy grin as he continued to chuckle.</p><p></p><p>Rhema noticed that Semeion’s voice took on a uniquely strange tone. He was enjoying this. Semeion was toying with the Provenience. He perched precariously at the brink of death without a single place to turn and he was tempting her to finish him. She stepped forward once more. This movement was more out of curiosity to discover Semeion’s game than to keep pace with the Provenience.</p><p></p><p>The Provenience had heard enough. <span style="color: Red">“I do not understand your game, but I have had enough of it! Escape my wrath no more!”</span> She sucked down a deep breath. As she did so, her eyes blinked shut for a split second. Semeion’s glance darted to Rhema, whom he could see just over the Provenience’s shoulder. His eyes seemed to be transferring the game to her. He seemed to be giving her control, almost as if he was saying goodbye.</p><p></p><p>The Provenience exhaled. Red and yellow flames burst forth out of her mouth. The flame surged forward over the ledge where Semeion stood. The flames burned for several seconds before the Provenience risked running out of breath. When she stopped breathing the flames died down. Semeion was no longer there. He was nowhere on the dragon’s perch at all.</p><p></p><p>The Provenience surged to the lip of the perch to find Semeion. As she moved, Rhema understood. Semeion had lured her out her to the ledge for only one reason. Semeion’s game was now hers to play. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“Look down upon the village, Provenience.”</span> Rhema’s voice was now full of her mental power geared towards mind control. She would take no chances now. Semeion had sacrificed his life for this moment to occur.</p><p></p><p>Rhema’s voice gripped the Provenience hard and without thinking twice the Provenience looked upon the empty village. <span style="color: Red">“It’s … it’s … empty.”</span> Her voice faded into disbelief.</p><p></p><p>Rhema smiled as she felt the Provenience slip under her suggestive control. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“Empty indeed. So what of your dragon father’s power now? As Semeion said, if your dragon father cannot even control them and keep them to stay to do the work at hand, how powerful can he really be?”</span></p><p></p><p>The Provenience spun to face Rhema. <span style="color: Red">“No. That cannot be. But, how?”</span> Her hand reached up to rub over her mouth for a second.</p><p></p><p>Rhema mustered as friendly an expression as she could bring to her face. She noticed the empty ledge behind the Provenience and her mind screamed at her to run for Semeion. Yet this work was too important. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“We gave them freedom. We allowed them to break free of control so that they could control their own actions from now on.”</span></p><p></p><p>The Provenience’s face went expressionless. The words were foreign to her. The concept was foreign to her. <span style="color: Red">“Nobody controls the villagers?”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema smiled. Semeion’s gamble had paid off.</p><p></p><p>[Sblock=Color-Free Speech Section]</p><p>In truth, only a few seconds slipped by while the Provenience stared back at Semeion and Rhema. Semeion watched as the expression upon the Provenience’s face turned from surprise to confusion to anger. It was a change that he remembered all to well from the first meeting that he had with Charis.</p><p></p><p>A slow spiteful smile spread across the lips of the Provenience. As Semeion and Rhema prepared for some type of heated parley, the Provenience narrowed her eyes. In a sudden spurt of action the young woman before them sucked in a quick breath and immediately exhaled. Flames spouted from her mouth, breathing a similar type of fire as one might have expected to come from the great red wyrm to which she had mated.</p><p></p><p>Both Semeion and Rhema sprang out of the way of the dangerous flames, limiting the damage caused to a few minor singes along their legs. Semeion rolled over his shoulder and up onto his knees. From that position he quickly rose to his feet and spoke, extending an open palm towards the Provenience. “Listen to me! We do not come here to kill you or even threaten you. We came here to free you and reunite you with your true father.”</p><p></p><p>The Provenience laughed as Semeion spoke and Rhema brought herself up to her own feet. “Reunite me with him? I am to be the mother of the race that replaces them!”</p><p></p><p>Rhema sucked in a huge breath of her own as she began to get a feeling for the severity of brainwashing that the dragon father had been able to accomplish in the months that he had his Drakontos mate isolated in the chamber. Without using any of her mental powers she spoke calmly. “Listen to yourself. Do you care nothing for those people?”</p><p></p><p>The Provenience saw what had happened in the brief moment that her attack had failed. Rhema had jumped in a position such that to attack her would likely ignite her straw bed in fire. Semeion had jumped far enough in the other direction so that to attack him would imply turning her back onto Rhema. Rather than spew forth another lethal amount of flame the Provenience decided to speak. “Care for them? she hissed as she reacted to Rhema’s words. “Do you not see how they have offended my dragon father? They do not care for him! Why should we care for them? Why should they live on when they so blatantly show disrespect to the one being that is powerful enough to protect them all from the forces in this world?”</p><p></p><p>Semeion took another step to his right, broadening the gap between himself and his associate. “Protect them? Is that what you call how the dragon father treats the people who live below? Do you not see how he works them to the brink of death?” Suddenly Semeion’s eyes glinted with an idea.</p><p></p><p>Rhema noticed the sparkle in Semeion’s eyes, but had no clue as to what the sparkle could have meant. She decided to add to Semeion’s words and at the very least force the Provenience to turn and focus on Rhema for a short time. “No master worth serving treats their vassals in such a manner!</p><p></p><p>The Provenience hissed her verbal venom back at the attacks against her dragon father. “No master should respect anyone who treats their own father with the contempt that they have treated our dragon father!”</p><p></p><p>Semeion smiled. “You mean like the contempt that you treat your own father?”</p><p></p><p>The Provenience was spurred into attack by the blatant verbal assault. She sucked a deep breath in and exhaled. This time, Semeion was waiting for it. He tucked into a roll and easily avoided the flame in spite of the fact that the Provenience turned as she followed his movement. Flames constantly licked at his heels, but he managed to stay one step ahead of her breath for as long as she had air to expend. Her attack had allowed him to move to where he wanted to be without making it obvious.</p><p></p><p>Semeion took two steps back. The Provenience instinctively stepped forward. She felt as though Semeion was retreating out of the range of her breath. What she assumed was weakness was actually part of Semeion’s plan. He had positioned himself before the opening that led out onto the dragon’s perch. As he crept backwards he could feel the cooler winds of this elevation swirling around him. He was slowly leading her out onto the open platform on the side of the mountain.</p><p></p><p>Rhema still wasn’t sure what Semeion was up to, but she was smart enough to know that Semeion could only retreat so far. He had to be up to something, but she wasn’t quite sure what it could be. She could easily see that he had captivated her attention. The Provenience had given Rhema her back, and Rhema had a clear shot should she need to take it. But the agreement was that the Provenience wouldn’t need to be killed. That couldn’t be the opening that Semeion was hoping to exploit. In any case, Rhema was certain that the Provenience had forgotten that she was a part of this confrontation.</p><p></p><p>Semeion continued his slow retreat, occasionally shuffling slightly back to his left. The Provenience matched his every move. As Semeion continued his slow retreat he lured her into a slow pursuit. The Provenience could see that he was quickly running out of room and she need not step forward quickly He couldn’t stay out of range forever; and he was quickly narrowing his ability to dodge out of the way of her fiery breath.</p><p></p><p>Semeion shook his head. “Do you believe that the power to dominate is absolute power, Provenience?”</p><p></p><p>His mind darted back to several months prior. He had the same conversation with Charis. It was an important step in breaking her spirit. It was a painful step to make, but it was the crux on which her deprogramming began. The pain this line of questioning had caused Charis gave Semeion many restless nights in conversation with Rhema’s father.</p><p></p><p>The Provenience stopped moving. She had stopped pursuing her prey to think for a moment. “Power is being able to assert your will upon others. Power is the ability to make the agenda, not have it dictated to you.”</p><p></p><p>Her answer was fair, especially for the preconceptions she brought to her understanding of the world. It was what she knew; it was what the father dragon had taught the villagers through his leadership. He smiled softly as he felt the pain of the response hit home. Charis had responded so similarly once.</p><p></p><p>Semeion stepped slightly back, hoping to reinforce that she should pursue him. The increasing howl of the wind told him that he was only a matter of a few feet from the edge now. “Then control is the ultimate source of power for you?”</p><p></p><p>The Provenience matched his movement step for step. She was now within striking distance, but she was not ready to strike. He had intrigued her, and she would hear Semeion’s point. “Get to your point, thief. You know how I would respond.”</p><p></p><p>She didn’t see that Rhema had followed her out onto the ledge. Rhema was careful to stay precisely at her back. She stepped softly upon the worn stone of the dragon’s perch. She was still trying to guess Semeion’s plan and knew Semeion was running out of both room and time.</p><p></p><p>Semeion smiled. “If the ability to control is absolute, then I would assert that your father dragon is powerless.”</p><p></p><p>The Provenience’s eyes grew wide at the verbal assault. “Silence your tongue!” The Provenience’s skin began to take on a red hue as her blood coursed through her body in response to the emotion of anger.</p><p></p><p>Semeion only smiled more broadly. He shuffled his feet back once more. His heels felt the ground grow softer. The edge was only inches away. The wind howled at his back. “You have put your faith in the wrong power, Provenience. You serve a weak father.”</p><p></p><p>The Provenience paused for a moment. “What is your game, irr’Drakontos Packkan?” Semeion’s mind quickly translated the draconic insult. It roughly translated to ‘non-Drakontos dog.’</p><p></p><p>Semeion shuffled back the last few inches. His heels now hung over the edge of the perch. He could feel the wind directly at his back now. The pressure to suck him down the mountain face increased. Semeion spread his arms wide in a gesture of emptiness. “Your dragon father’s kingdom is dust!” A chuckle passed through his lips before he continued. “If the power to control is absolute then the fact that your dragon father controls nothing means that he is powerless!” His smile grew wide into a grand toothy grin as he continued to chuckle.</p><p></p><p>Rhema noticed that Semeion’s voice took on a uniquely strange tone. He was enjoying this. Semeion was toying with the Provenience. He perched precariously at the brink of death without a single place to turn and he was tempting her to finish him. She stepped forward once more. This movement was more out of curiosity to discover Semeion’s game than to keep pace with the Provenience.</p><p></p><p>The Provenience had heard enough. “I do not understand your game, but I have had enough of it! Escape my wrath no more!” She sucked down a deep breath. As she did so, her eyes blinked shut for a split second. Semeion’s glance darted to Rhema, whom he could see just over the Provenience’s shoulder. His eyes seemed to be transferring the game to her. He seemed to be giving her control, almost as if he was saying goodbye.</p><p></p><p>The Provenience exhaled. Red and yellow flames burst forth out of her mouth. The flame surged forward over the ledge where Semeion stood. The flames burned for several seconds before the Provenience risked running out of breath. When she stopped breathing the flames died down. Semeion was no longer there. He was nowhere on the dragon’s perch at all.</p><p></p><p>The Provenience surged to the lip of the perch to find Semeion. As she moved, Rhema understood. Semeion had lured her out her to the ledge for only one reason. Semeion’s game was now hers to play. “Look down upon the village, Provenience.” Rhema’s voice was now full of her mental power geared towards mind control. She would take no chances now. Semeion had sacrificed his life for this moment to occur.</p><p></p><p>Rhema’s voice gripped the Provenience hard and without thinking twice the Provenience looked upon the empty village. “It’s … it’s … empty.” Her voice faded into disbelief.</p><p></p><p>Rhema smiled as she felt the Provenience slip under her suggestive control. “Empty indeed. So what of your dragon father’s power now? As Semeion said, if your dragon father cannot even control them and keep them to stay to do the work at hand, how powerful can he really be?”</p><p></p><p>The Provenience spun to face Rhema. “No. That cannot be. But, how?” Her hand reached up to rub over her mouth for a second.</p><p></p><p>Rhema mustered as friendly an expression as she could bring to her face. She noticed the empty ledge behind the Provenience and her mind screamed at her to run for Semeion. Yet this work was too important. “We gave them freedom. We allowed them to break free of control so that they could control their own actions from now on.”</p><p></p><p>The Provenience’s face went expressionless. The words were foreign to her. The concept was foreign to her. “Nobody controls the villagers?”</p><p></p><p>Rhema smiled. Semeion’s gamble had paid off.</p><p>[/Sblock]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nonlethal Force, post: 3146210, member: 35788"] In truth, only a few seconds slipped by while the Provenience stared back at Semeion and Rhema. Semeion watched as the expression upon the Provenience’s face turned from surprise to confusion to anger. It was a change that he remembered all to well from the first meeting that he had with Charis. A slow spiteful smile spread across the lips of the Provenience. As Semeion and Rhema prepared for some type of heated parley, the Provenience narrowed her eyes. In a sudden spurt of action the young woman before them sucked in a quick breath and immediately exhaled. Flames spouted from her mouth, breathing a similar type of fire as one might have expected to come from the great red wyrm to which she had mated. Both Semeion and Rhema sprang out of the way of the dangerous flames, limiting the damage caused to a few minor singes along their legs. Semeion rolled over his shoulder and up onto his knees. From that position he quickly rose to his feet and spoke, extending an open palm towards the Provenience. [Color=Plum]“Listen to me! We do not come here to kill you or even threaten you. We came here to free you and reunite you with your true father.”[/Color] The Provenience laughed as Semeion spoke and Rhema brought herself up to her own feet. [Color=Red]“Reunite me with him? I am to be the mother of the race that replaces them!”[/Color] Rhema sucked in a huge breath of her own as she began to get a feeling for the severity of brainwashing that the dragon father had been able to accomplish in the months that he had his Drakontos mate isolated in the chamber. Without using any of her mental powers she spoke calmly. [Color=PaleGreen]“Listen to yourself. Do you care nothing for those people?”[/Color] The Provenience saw what had happened in the brief moment that her attack had failed. Rhema had jumped in a position such that to attack her would likely ignite her straw bed in fire. Semeion had jumped far enough in the other direction so that to attack him would imply turning her back onto Rhema. Rather than spew forth another lethal amount of flame the Provenience decided to speak. [Color=Red]“Care for them?[/Color] she hissed as she reacted to Rhema’s words. [Color=Red]“Do you not see how they have offended my dragon father? They do not care for him! Why should we care for them? Why should they live on when they so blatantly show disrespect to the one being that is powerful enough to protect them all from the forces in this world?”[/Color] Semeion took another step to his right, broadening the gap between himself and his associate. [Color=Plum]“Protect them? Is that what you call how the dragon father treats the people who live below? Do you not see how he works them to the brink of death?”[/Color] Suddenly Semeion’s eyes glinted with an idea. Rhema noticed the sparkle in Semeion’s eyes, but had no clue as to what the sparkle could have meant. She decided to add to Semeion’s words and at the very least force the Provenience to turn and focus on Rhema for a short time. [Color=PaleGreen]“No master worth serving treats their vassals in such a manner![/Color] The Provenience hissed her verbal venom back at the attacks against her dragon father. [Color=Red]“No master should respect anyone who treats their own father with the contempt that they have treated our dragon father!”[/Color] Semeion smiled. [Color=Plum]“You mean like the contempt that you treat your own father?”[/Color] The Provenience was spurred into attack by the blatant verbal assault. She sucked a deep breath in and exhaled. This time, Semeion was waiting for it. He tucked into a roll and easily avoided the flame in spite of the fact that the Provenience turned as she followed his movement. Flames constantly licked at his heels, but he managed to stay one step ahead of her breath for as long as she had air to expend. Her attack had allowed him to move to where he wanted to be without making it obvious. Semeion took two steps back. The Provenience instinctively stepped forward. She felt as though Semeion was retreating out of the range of her breath. What she assumed was weakness was actually part of Semeion’s plan. He had positioned himself before the opening that led out onto the dragon’s perch. As he crept backwards he could feel the cooler winds of this elevation swirling around him. He was slowly leading her out onto the open platform on the side of the mountain. Rhema still wasn’t sure what Semeion was up to, but she was smart enough to know that Semeion could only retreat so far. He had to be up to something, but she wasn’t quite sure what it could be. She could easily see that he had captivated her attention. The Provenience had given Rhema her back, and Rhema had a clear shot should she need to take it. But the agreement was that the Provenience wouldn’t need to be killed. That couldn’t be the opening that Semeion was hoping to exploit. In any case, Rhema was certain that the Provenience had forgotten that she was a part of this confrontation. Semeion continued his slow retreat, occasionally shuffling slightly back to his left. The Provenience matched his every move. As Semeion continued his slow retreat he lured her into a slow pursuit. The Provenience could see that he was quickly running out of room and she need not step forward quickly He couldn’t stay out of range forever; and he was quickly narrowing his ability to dodge out of the way of her fiery breath. Semeion shook his head. [Color=Plum]“Do you believe that the power to dominate is absolute power, Provenience?”[/Color] His mind darted back to several months prior. He had the same conversation with Charis. It was an important step in breaking her spirit. It was a painful step to make, but it was the crux on which her deprogramming began. The pain this line of questioning had caused Charis gave Semeion many restless nights in conversation with Rhema’s father. The Provenience stopped moving. She had stopped pursuing her prey to think for a moment. [Color=Red]“Power is being able to assert your will upon others. Power is the ability to make the agenda, not have it dictated to you.”[/Color] Her answer was fair, especially for the preconceptions she brought to her understanding of the world. It was what she knew; it was what the father dragon had taught the villagers through his leadership. He smiled softly as he felt the pain of the response hit home. Charis had responded so similarly once. Semeion stepped slightly back, hoping to reinforce that she should pursue him. The increasing howl of the wind told him that he was only a matter of a few feet from the edge now. [Color=Plum]“Then control is the ultimate source of power for you?”[/Color] The Provenience matched his movement step for step. She was now within striking distance, but she was not ready to strike. He had intrigued her, and she would hear Semeion’s point. [Color=Red]“Get to your point, thief. You know how I would respond.”[/Color] She didn’t see that Rhema had followed her out onto the ledge. Rhema was careful to stay precisely at her back. She stepped softly upon the worn stone of the dragon’s perch. She was still trying to guess Semeion’s plan and knew Semeion was running out of both room and time. Semeion smiled. [Color=Plum]“If the ability to control is absolute, then I would assert that your father dragon is powerless.”[/Color] The Provenience’s eyes grew wide at the verbal assault. [Color=Red]“Silence your tongue!”[/Color] The Provenience’s skin began to take on a red hue as her blood coursed through her body in response to the emotion of anger. Semeion only smiled more broadly. He shuffled his feet back once more. His heels felt the ground grow softer. The edge was only inches away. The wind howled at his back. [Color=Plum]“You have put your faith in the wrong power, Provenience. You serve a weak father.”[/Color] The Provenience paused for a moment. [Color=Red]“What is your game, irr’Drakontos Packkan?”[/Color] Semeion’s mind quickly translated the draconic insult. It roughly translated to [I]‘non-Drakontos dog.’[/I] Semeion shuffled back the last few inches. His heels now hung over the edge of the perch. He could feel the wind directly at his back now. The pressure to suck him down the mountain face increased. Semeion spread his arms wide in a gesture of emptiness. [Color=Plum]“Your dragon father’s kingdom is dust!”[/Color] A chuckle passed through his lips before he continued. [Color=Plum]“If the power to control is absolute then the fact that your dragon father controls nothing means that he is powerless!”[/Color] His smile grew wide into a grand toothy grin as he continued to chuckle. Rhema noticed that Semeion’s voice took on a uniquely strange tone. He was enjoying this. Semeion was toying with the Provenience. He perched precariously at the brink of death without a single place to turn and he was tempting her to finish him. She stepped forward once more. This movement was more out of curiosity to discover Semeion’s game than to keep pace with the Provenience. The Provenience had heard enough. [Color=Red]“I do not understand your game, but I have had enough of it! Escape my wrath no more!”[/Color] She sucked down a deep breath. As she did so, her eyes blinked shut for a split second. Semeion’s glance darted to Rhema, whom he could see just over the Provenience’s shoulder. His eyes seemed to be transferring the game to her. He seemed to be giving her control, almost as if he was saying goodbye. The Provenience exhaled. Red and yellow flames burst forth out of her mouth. The flame surged forward over the ledge where Semeion stood. The flames burned for several seconds before the Provenience risked running out of breath. When she stopped breathing the flames died down. Semeion was no longer there. He was nowhere on the dragon’s perch at all. The Provenience surged to the lip of the perch to find Semeion. As she moved, Rhema understood. Semeion had lured her out her to the ledge for only one reason. Semeion’s game was now hers to play. [Color=PaleGreen]“Look down upon the village, Provenience.”[/Color] Rhema’s voice was now full of her mental power geared towards mind control. She would take no chances now. Semeion had sacrificed his life for this moment to occur. Rhema’s voice gripped the Provenience hard and without thinking twice the Provenience looked upon the empty village. [Color=Red]“It’s … it’s … empty.”[/Color] Her voice faded into disbelief. Rhema smiled as she felt the Provenience slip under her suggestive control. [Color=PaleGreen]“Empty indeed. So what of your dragon father’s power now? As Semeion said, if your dragon father cannot even control them and keep them to stay to do the work at hand, how powerful can he really be?”[/Color] The Provenience spun to face Rhema. [Color=Red]“No. That cannot be. But, how?”[/Color] Her hand reached up to rub over her mouth for a second. Rhema mustered as friendly an expression as she could bring to her face. She noticed the empty ledge behind the Provenience and her mind screamed at her to run for Semeion. Yet this work was too important. [Color=PaleGreen]“We gave them freedom. We allowed them to break free of control so that they could control their own actions from now on.”[/Color] The Provenience’s face went expressionless. The words were foreign to her. The concept was foreign to her. [Color=Red]“Nobody controls the villagers?”[/Color] Rhema smiled. Semeion’s gamble had paid off. [Sblock=Color-Free Speech Section] In truth, only a few seconds slipped by while the Provenience stared back at Semeion and Rhema. Semeion watched as the expression upon the Provenience’s face turned from surprise to confusion to anger. It was a change that he remembered all to well from the first meeting that he had with Charis. A slow spiteful smile spread across the lips of the Provenience. As Semeion and Rhema prepared for some type of heated parley, the Provenience narrowed her eyes. In a sudden spurt of action the young woman before them sucked in a quick breath and immediately exhaled. Flames spouted from her mouth, breathing a similar type of fire as one might have expected to come from the great red wyrm to which she had mated. Both Semeion and Rhema sprang out of the way of the dangerous flames, limiting the damage caused to a few minor singes along their legs. Semeion rolled over his shoulder and up onto his knees. From that position he quickly rose to his feet and spoke, extending an open palm towards the Provenience. “Listen to me! We do not come here to kill you or even threaten you. We came here to free you and reunite you with your true father.” The Provenience laughed as Semeion spoke and Rhema brought herself up to her own feet. “Reunite me with him? I am to be the mother of the race that replaces them!” Rhema sucked in a huge breath of her own as she began to get a feeling for the severity of brainwashing that the dragon father had been able to accomplish in the months that he had his Drakontos mate isolated in the chamber. Without using any of her mental powers she spoke calmly. “Listen to yourself. Do you care nothing for those people?” The Provenience saw what had happened in the brief moment that her attack had failed. Rhema had jumped in a position such that to attack her would likely ignite her straw bed in fire. Semeion had jumped far enough in the other direction so that to attack him would imply turning her back onto Rhema. Rather than spew forth another lethal amount of flame the Provenience decided to speak. “Care for them? she hissed as she reacted to Rhema’s words. “Do you not see how they have offended my dragon father? They do not care for him! Why should we care for them? Why should they live on when they so blatantly show disrespect to the one being that is powerful enough to protect them all from the forces in this world?” Semeion took another step to his right, broadening the gap between himself and his associate. “Protect them? Is that what you call how the dragon father treats the people who live below? Do you not see how he works them to the brink of death?” Suddenly Semeion’s eyes glinted with an idea. Rhema noticed the sparkle in Semeion’s eyes, but had no clue as to what the sparkle could have meant. She decided to add to Semeion’s words and at the very least force the Provenience to turn and focus on Rhema for a short time. “No master worth serving treats their vassals in such a manner! The Provenience hissed her verbal venom back at the attacks against her dragon father. “No master should respect anyone who treats their own father with the contempt that they have treated our dragon father!” Semeion smiled. “You mean like the contempt that you treat your own father?” The Provenience was spurred into attack by the blatant verbal assault. She sucked a deep breath in and exhaled. This time, Semeion was waiting for it. He tucked into a roll and easily avoided the flame in spite of the fact that the Provenience turned as she followed his movement. Flames constantly licked at his heels, but he managed to stay one step ahead of her breath for as long as she had air to expend. Her attack had allowed him to move to where he wanted to be without making it obvious. Semeion took two steps back. The Provenience instinctively stepped forward. She felt as though Semeion was retreating out of the range of her breath. What she assumed was weakness was actually part of Semeion’s plan. He had positioned himself before the opening that led out onto the dragon’s perch. As he crept backwards he could feel the cooler winds of this elevation swirling around him. He was slowly leading her out onto the open platform on the side of the mountain. Rhema still wasn’t sure what Semeion was up to, but she was smart enough to know that Semeion could only retreat so far. He had to be up to something, but she wasn’t quite sure what it could be. She could easily see that he had captivated her attention. The Provenience had given Rhema her back, and Rhema had a clear shot should she need to take it. But the agreement was that the Provenience wouldn’t need to be killed. That couldn’t be the opening that Semeion was hoping to exploit. In any case, Rhema was certain that the Provenience had forgotten that she was a part of this confrontation. Semeion continued his slow retreat, occasionally shuffling slightly back to his left. The Provenience matched his every move. As Semeion continued his slow retreat he lured her into a slow pursuit. The Provenience could see that he was quickly running out of room and she need not step forward quickly He couldn’t stay out of range forever; and he was quickly narrowing his ability to dodge out of the way of her fiery breath. Semeion shook his head. “Do you believe that the power to dominate is absolute power, Provenience?” His mind darted back to several months prior. He had the same conversation with Charis. It was an important step in breaking her spirit. It was a painful step to make, but it was the crux on which her deprogramming began. The pain this line of questioning had caused Charis gave Semeion many restless nights in conversation with Rhema’s father. The Provenience stopped moving. She had stopped pursuing her prey to think for a moment. “Power is being able to assert your will upon others. Power is the ability to make the agenda, not have it dictated to you.” Her answer was fair, especially for the preconceptions she brought to her understanding of the world. It was what she knew; it was what the father dragon had taught the villagers through his leadership. He smiled softly as he felt the pain of the response hit home. Charis had responded so similarly once. Semeion stepped slightly back, hoping to reinforce that she should pursue him. The increasing howl of the wind told him that he was only a matter of a few feet from the edge now. “Then control is the ultimate source of power for you?” The Provenience matched his movement step for step. She was now within striking distance, but she was not ready to strike. He had intrigued her, and she would hear Semeion’s point. “Get to your point, thief. You know how I would respond.” She didn’t see that Rhema had followed her out onto the ledge. Rhema was careful to stay precisely at her back. She stepped softly upon the worn stone of the dragon’s perch. She was still trying to guess Semeion’s plan and knew Semeion was running out of both room and time. Semeion smiled. “If the ability to control is absolute, then I would assert that your father dragon is powerless.” The Provenience’s eyes grew wide at the verbal assault. “Silence your tongue!” The Provenience’s skin began to take on a red hue as her blood coursed through her body in response to the emotion of anger. Semeion only smiled more broadly. He shuffled his feet back once more. His heels felt the ground grow softer. The edge was only inches away. The wind howled at his back. “You have put your faith in the wrong power, Provenience. You serve a weak father.” The Provenience paused for a moment. “What is your game, irr’Drakontos Packkan?” Semeion’s mind quickly translated the draconic insult. It roughly translated to ‘non-Drakontos dog.’ Semeion shuffled back the last few inches. His heels now hung over the edge of the perch. He could feel the wind directly at his back now. The pressure to suck him down the mountain face increased. Semeion spread his arms wide in a gesture of emptiness. “Your dragon father’s kingdom is dust!” A chuckle passed through his lips before he continued. “If the power to control is absolute then the fact that your dragon father controls nothing means that he is powerless!” His smile grew wide into a grand toothy grin as he continued to chuckle. Rhema noticed that Semeion’s voice took on a uniquely strange tone. He was enjoying this. Semeion was toying with the Provenience. He perched precariously at the brink of death without a single place to turn and he was tempting her to finish him. She stepped forward once more. This movement was more out of curiosity to discover Semeion’s game than to keep pace with the Provenience. The Provenience had heard enough. “I do not understand your game, but I have had enough of it! Escape my wrath no more!” She sucked down a deep breath. As she did so, her eyes blinked shut for a split second. Semeion’s glance darted to Rhema, whom he could see just over the Provenience’s shoulder. His eyes seemed to be transferring the game to her. He seemed to be giving her control, almost as if he was saying goodbye. The Provenience exhaled. Red and yellow flames burst forth out of her mouth. The flame surged forward over the ledge where Semeion stood. The flames burned for several seconds before the Provenience risked running out of breath. When she stopped breathing the flames died down. Semeion was no longer there. He was nowhere on the dragon’s perch at all. The Provenience surged to the lip of the perch to find Semeion. As she moved, Rhema understood. Semeion had lured her out her to the ledge for only one reason. Semeion’s game was now hers to play. “Look down upon the village, Provenience.” Rhema’s voice was now full of her mental power geared towards mind control. She would take no chances now. Semeion had sacrificed his life for this moment to occur. Rhema’s voice gripped the Provenience hard and without thinking twice the Provenience looked upon the empty village. “It’s … it’s … empty.” Her voice faded into disbelief. Rhema smiled as she felt the Provenience slip under her suggestive control. “Empty indeed. So what of your dragon father’s power now? As Semeion said, if your dragon father cannot even control them and keep them to stay to do the work at hand, how powerful can he really be?” The Provenience spun to face Rhema. “No. That cannot be. But, how?” Her hand reached up to rub over her mouth for a second. Rhema mustered as friendly an expression as she could bring to her face. She noticed the empty ledge behind the Provenience and her mind screamed at her to run for Semeion. Yet this work was too important. “We gave them freedom. We allowed them to break free of control so that they could control their own actions from now on.” The Provenience’s face went expressionless. The words were foreign to her. The concept was foreign to her. “Nobody controls the villagers?” Rhema smiled. Semeion’s gamble had paid off. [/Sblock] [/QUOTE]
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