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The Slave and Her Sovereign
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<blockquote data-quote="Nephis" data-source="post: 9279639" data-attributes="member: 20459"><p><em>“Merchant,” I asked the slight man, not much larger than myself, “what troubles Pa’avu about this place? Why do we pass by here day after day, but always Pa’avu leads us back away from the arena?”</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>The Wardenguard were far enough out of earshot that I expected he would speak freely, and he did not fail to oblige. The man is very clever, and, though I do not read his true motives, he makes a very compelling case when he wishes to. I do believe I have much to learn from him, if only to recognize the guileful ways of those who might try to control me in the future.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>He addressed me by my title and reminded me that, as Empress, it is my right to demand whatever I wish to know of my subjects, even those not born of Empire. But that I exhibit remarkable restraint in not overplaying that hand. Nevertheless, there is an important lesson in the reticence of the Half-giant, that each person is Emperor of their own inner life, even the humble slave, and the wise ruler learns to respect the secrets of those close to her. At least when they concern the inner life, matters of pride and respect. To seek circumventing that Imperial Self by asking indirectly of another is a breach of trust. The wisest rulers, he says, learn to place their trust in their friends, their advisors, their people, and, ultimately, themselves, as well, for to do without trust is to take on all the responsibilities of the world upon oneself, and that leads to madness and grand egotism.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Thus, Chanvati urged me to approach Pa’avu directly, to make my inquiry but respect her secrecy if she so requested. And I did. Pa’avu told me that she had important, unfinished business in helping one of her own people, my Gladiator Champion, Gae’al, who once commanded my arena for the people and will once again. That she had put this business on hold while serving as my tutor. But that she would very much like to speak with Gae’al at the earliest possible opportunity.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>I think I learned the Merchant’s lesson well, for I told the Half-Giant that she should speak with Gae’al and that I would respect her need for privacy in this matter. The ways of the Goliaths are beyond me, anyway.</em></p><p></p><p>[HR][/HR]</p><p></p><p>* Chanvati makes a Primary Skill Diplomacy check to persuade the Empress that her wishes can be indulged but that Pa’avu’s needs also must be taken into consideration, her privacy respected, r10+16=26 vs 22 Moderate DC. Success.</p><p></p><p>[HR][/HR]</p><p></p><p><em>When we all arrived in the entrance hall of The Congress of Savagery, I gave Pa'avu an encouraging smile before sitting in the chair prepared for me. I was hoping to receive one back from her (or a facsimile of one - since she rarely shows any extreme emotion), but she merely nodded solemnly to me, to Chanvati, and to the barrister, then patted her Hound on the head and gave a nod in my direction. When Hazard had circled me a couple of times before settling on the floor, head resting heavily but comfortingly on my feet, she turned and walked up the three steps leading to my Champion's office (such as it is). The Merchant sat beside me, alert, and the Legate's sister leaned against the wall, arms folded across her chest. The Wardenguard elected to wait out of doors, should there be any trouble.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>At first I could hear only a murmur of the voices of both Half-Giants, back and forth. Then voices began to rise a bit. I looked at my two companions to see their reactions: they remained alert and watchful, but not overly concerned. The Hound raised his head off my feet but otherwise did not move: he is trained well. Petting his soft but massive head, I strained to listen, but any word I could catch was undoubtedly giantish. I heard something that sounded like "vanch"* several times, always spoken by the voice I recognized to be Pa'avu's, followed by an answering murmur. Each "vanch" sounded more and more frustrated. </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>Finally Pa'avu's patience had obviously reached its limit. I know she has great respect for my Champion and considers her a mentor or "muhk'lin." She has taught me two giantish words: 'muhk'lin" (which she says means a combination of teacher, mentor, and big sister) and "t'lehb'ka" (which she says means one who has much to learn ... or student). I think I could now hear her voice using both of these words with some urgency and anger in her deep gravelly voice. Initially, Gae'al's voice seemed similarly urgent and angry, but gradually her voice became softer and softer, until all I could hear from her were short murmuring grunts which I think were affirmative: "hmmh, hmmh, hmmh" following each angry sentence from Pa'avu. </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>I looked over at the Merchant, and his eyebrows were raised in mild surprise. He shared a glance with my former Advisor, and she gave him a kind of shrug as if to say "who can know with Half-Giants?" At least, that is my interpretation of their silent exchange. </em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>A very short time later, Pa'avu came back out to us. After kneeling beside Hazard and burying her face in his fur for a long time, she looked up at her ... "gosb'tar" ... and said, "She has agreed. It shall be done."</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>* I later asked Pa'avu what "vanch" means in giantish, and - after waiting a long time (in silence, as usual), she finally answered me, first correcting my pronunciation ("g'van'ch"), then - again pausing a moment - said that it means (more or less) "trusting in community" or "being part of community" or "all are one in stone." She doesn't say much, but her definitions of ideas seem to float meaning about the actual words said. Very curious.</em></p><p></p><p>[HR][/HR]</p><p>* We will be usibg 1 Advantage to refresh Pa'avu's Intimidate Skill Training Bonus, and then</p><p></p><p>* Pa'avu makes a Primary Skill Intimidate check to forcefully show Gae'al that her actions in allowing the curse to continue are dangerous and that Pa'avu must now take on the role of "alpha" or "mentor" to make Gae'al do what she must for the sake of goliaths: r12+13=25 vs. 22 Moderate DC. Success</p><p></p><p>From here we hope to bring in K'Goren (the blind seer of the Iron Gorgon Tribe) to enact a ritual wherein Chanvati, Pa'avu, and Gae'al will enter the Chronotope to challenge and defeat Gormandt and Grimtail and revise the continuity of our timeline with Gae'al as victor, thus erasing her desperate measures resulting from her shame and resulting in subsequent curse.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nephis, post: 9279639, member: 20459"] [I]“Merchant,” I asked the slight man, not much larger than myself, “what troubles Pa’avu about this place? Why do we pass by here day after day, but always Pa’avu leads us back away from the arena?” The Wardenguard were far enough out of earshot that I expected he would speak freely, and he did not fail to oblige. The man is very clever, and, though I do not read his true motives, he makes a very compelling case when he wishes to. I do believe I have much to learn from him, if only to recognize the guileful ways of those who might try to control me in the future. He addressed me by my title and reminded me that, as Empress, it is my right to demand whatever I wish to know of my subjects, even those not born of Empire. But that I exhibit remarkable restraint in not overplaying that hand. Nevertheless, there is an important lesson in the reticence of the Half-giant, that each person is Emperor of their own inner life, even the humble slave, and the wise ruler learns to respect the secrets of those close to her. At least when they concern the inner life, matters of pride and respect. To seek circumventing that Imperial Self by asking indirectly of another is a breach of trust. The wisest rulers, he says, learn to place their trust in their friends, their advisors, their people, and, ultimately, themselves, as well, for to do without trust is to take on all the responsibilities of the world upon oneself, and that leads to madness and grand egotism. Thus, Chanvati urged me to approach Pa’avu directly, to make my inquiry but respect her secrecy if she so requested. And I did. Pa’avu told me that she had important, unfinished business in helping one of her own people, my Gladiator Champion, Gae’al, who once commanded my arena for the people and will once again. That she had put this business on hold while serving as my tutor. But that she would very much like to speak with Gae’al at the earliest possible opportunity. I think I learned the Merchant’s lesson well, for I told the Half-Giant that she should speak with Gae’al and that I would respect her need for privacy in this matter. The ways of the Goliaths are beyond me, anyway.[/I] [HR][/HR] * Chanvati makes a Primary Skill Diplomacy check to persuade the Empress that her wishes can be indulged but that Pa’avu’s needs also must be taken into consideration, her privacy respected, r10+16=26 vs 22 Moderate DC. Success. [HR][/HR] [I]When we all arrived in the entrance hall of The Congress of Savagery, I gave Pa'avu an encouraging smile before sitting in the chair prepared for me. I was hoping to receive one back from her (or a facsimile of one - since she rarely shows any extreme emotion), but she merely nodded solemnly to me, to Chanvati, and to the barrister, then patted her Hound on the head and gave a nod in my direction. When Hazard had circled me a couple of times before settling on the floor, head resting heavily but comfortingly on my feet, she turned and walked up the three steps leading to my Champion's office (such as it is). The Merchant sat beside me, alert, and the Legate's sister leaned against the wall, arms folded across her chest. The Wardenguard elected to wait out of doors, should there be any trouble. At first I could hear only a murmur of the voices of both Half-Giants, back and forth. Then voices began to rise a bit. I looked at my two companions to see their reactions: they remained alert and watchful, but not overly concerned. The Hound raised his head off my feet but otherwise did not move: he is trained well. Petting his soft but massive head, I strained to listen, but any word I could catch was undoubtedly giantish. I heard something that sounded like "vanch"* several times, always spoken by the voice I recognized to be Pa'avu's, followed by an answering murmur. Each "vanch" sounded more and more frustrated. Finally Pa'avu's patience had obviously reached its limit. I know she has great respect for my Champion and considers her a mentor or "muhk'lin." She has taught me two giantish words: 'muhk'lin" (which she says means a combination of teacher, mentor, and big sister) and "t'lehb'ka" (which she says means one who has much to learn ... or student). I think I could now hear her voice using both of these words with some urgency and anger in her deep gravelly voice. Initially, Gae'al's voice seemed similarly urgent and angry, but gradually her voice became softer and softer, until all I could hear from her were short murmuring grunts which I think were affirmative: "hmmh, hmmh, hmmh" following each angry sentence from Pa'avu. I looked over at the Merchant, and his eyebrows were raised in mild surprise. He shared a glance with my former Advisor, and she gave him a kind of shrug as if to say "who can know with Half-Giants?" At least, that is my interpretation of their silent exchange. A very short time later, Pa'avu came back out to us. After kneeling beside Hazard and burying her face in his fur for a long time, she looked up at her ... "gosb'tar" ... and said, "She has agreed. It shall be done." * I later asked Pa'avu what "vanch" means in giantish, and - after waiting a long time (in silence, as usual), she finally answered me, first correcting my pronunciation ("g'van'ch"), then - again pausing a moment - said that it means (more or less) "trusting in community" or "being part of community" or "all are one in stone." She doesn't say much, but her definitions of ideas seem to float meaning about the actual words said. Very curious.[/I] [HR][/HR] * We will be usibg 1 Advantage to refresh Pa'avu's Intimidate Skill Training Bonus, and then * Pa'avu makes a Primary Skill Intimidate check to forcefully show Gae'al that her actions in allowing the curse to continue are dangerous and that Pa'avu must now take on the role of "alpha" or "mentor" to make Gae'al do what she must for the sake of goliaths: r12+13=25 vs. 22 Moderate DC. Success From here we hope to bring in K'Goren (the blind seer of the Iron Gorgon Tribe) to enact a ritual wherein Chanvati, Pa'avu, and Gae'al will enter the Chronotope to challenge and defeat Gormandt and Grimtail and revise the continuity of our timeline with Gae'al as victor, thus erasing her desperate measures resulting from her shame and resulting in subsequent curse. [/QUOTE]
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