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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Nonlethal Force" data-source="post: 3101816" data-attributes="member: 35788">Chapter Eleven: PARTY DUBIETYA middle aged man stepped to the front of the group gathered in Xando’s home and prepared to sternly speak his mind.  As he did, he glared deep into Charis’ eyes with hatred.  “And what of my daughter?”  He extended a finger towards Charis and stepped forward menacingly.  Ischarus instinctively placed his hand on the hilt of his long sword and drew it an inch out of its scabbard.  Druff held up a weak hand for Ischarus to stop.  His raspy voice continued out of his mouth, “Let the man speak, Ischarus.”The angry man continued, “You were supposed to be the Provenience.  Your gifts would have made our lives better.  My daughter had to take your place while you ran.  She now lives in that cave, impregnated by the seed of our father.  What will she do when we all leave?  The dragon father will likely slaughter her out of his rage against us!”Ischarus breathed deeply and replied before Charis could properly respond.  “Do you not know what fate rests for any provenience of an evil dragon, especially of a red?”  A thick silence hung in the air.  The gathering waited to see if Ischarus would finish what he started.  “Your daughter will be bred until her body can take no more seed.  Then in a great sacrifice that you have all been brainwashed into honoring, she will likely be consumed by fire and most likely eaten.  Is that what you want for your daughter?  Would you have her consumed while you idly go about you and your people’s tormented lives?”Several of the men gasped at the straightforward approach that Ischarus took.  He had been bold and proclaimed the truth of the event while treading upon the whole sacred symbolism and exaltation that would come to the Provenience.  In their minds, she was to be praised for being the one to nourish the dragon father since he had provided his biological seed.  Ischarus had stripped the glory of the ritual down and removed the symbolic greatness that supposedly existed in the celebration.  The middle-aged man locked eyes with Ischarus and they began to stare one another down.  Both men refused to break their gaze.Charis stepped forward, but kept herself slightly behind Ischarus’ right shoulder.  “I know what you are saying and I would have preferred it to have been me to take her place.  But things cannot be that way again.  My friends have come along and shown me the better path.  Now we have all come back to show you all a better path.  We have come to show you a path in which your talents are appreciated rather than abused.  If you stay here, there is only death waiting for you.  You are being worked to the bone and slowly dying.  You will die prematurely under the strict labor that our dragon father has for you.  Is that the life you would wish on anyone?  Is it really worth the assumed glory that the celebration brings?  Or is it perhaps that you wish she had not been selected in the first place?  If you could, would you desire her to be stripped from her position even now?”The man broke his gaze with Ischarus and shot a hurt glance at Charis.  “What would you know of it?  You were unable to complete what had been asked of you.”Ischarus began to speak again but Druff silenced him with another hand gesture.  Ischarus could see in Druff’s face that this was not a time to get involved.  This battle was to be fought between the Provenience who was taken and the man whose daughter was forced to take her place.Charis replied, “I was strapped to the stone and scorched under the sun until my skin burned and I was delirious.  I offered myself completely and wholly on that day.  You and I both know that if our dragon father was not so greedy in demanding a display of suffering that I would have been long gone before my new friends arrived and took me kicking and screaming from that altar.  If our dragon father had an ounce of mercy in his bones he would have accepted the offering without forcing me – and your daughter – to suffer.  That is simply evil at its worst.  I cannot in good conscience begin to support it or even pretend it doesn’t exist.  That is all it is, pure and simple.  It is pure evil.”Semeion added, “And it is an evil that we can save you from.”The man whose daughter carried the unborn draconic children of the father dragon cast a menacing glance to Semeion.  Druff cast a silencing glance to Semeion, but Rhema would not be silenced so easily as her male counterparts.  She smiled as she focused her mind on the man.  “Would you be appeased if I promised to bring her safely from his lair?”A murmur shot through those in attendance.  Even Charis and Ischarus were amazed to here Rhema make such a statement.  Ischarus was able to detect the tone Rhema was using.  It was the tone that meant she was trying to charm the man and calm down his emotions.  Yet the claim still seemed to be outrageous.It was enough to dislodge the man from his anger.  “You can make such a promise?” he stammered.  He had clearly been caught off-guard by the radical assertion.Ischarus also turned around and looked to Rhema.  “Rhema, the new Provenience is going to be enthralled by the draconic presence.  There’s no way that you can overcome that.  Plus, the father dragon will pursue us only harder if we take both his future generals in addition to the villagers.  By taking the Provenience and all the villagers we take his ability to breed completely away.  He’ll know that hunting us down will be easier than starting completely over from scratch.  You can’t possibly think that such a plan is possible!”Rhema merely smiled as Ischarus spoke and focused back on the man.  “Not only will I make such a promise, but I will die trying to fulfill it if necessary.  If you promise to be there when I bring her to you so that you can restrain her, I promise to bring her.  She’ll not want to come willingly.  I think you know that.”A smile passed over Charis lips as Rhema spoke.  She glanced to Semeion as her mind drifted back in memory.  “She’ll be more resistant than I was.  I was brainwashed and delirious from the sun.  She’ll not only be enthralled but also be carrying her future away from its place of glory every step of the way.The man who had challenged Charis caught her eyes and for a second they shared a sympathetic look.  “What you speak is madness!” he exclaimed.A thin raspy voice broke through the commotion.  As everyone heard Druff try to speak, they were immediately silenced.  “It is not impossible.  How many of you thought we would again see the Provenience who was stolen from us?  Yet here she is.  How many of you thought we would taste freedom once our dragon father gathered us in from our hiding?  Yet here we are.  How many of you have ever thought that those outside of our clan would risk their own livelihood for our sake?  Yet they have risked their lives so that I might taste a few minutes of standing outside my cage.”  Druff’s breathing grew considerably shallow as he spoke and got himself excited.  This was the longest he’d been on his feet for almost two months now.  In spite of his difficulty, it was important to bring his speech to a positive conclusion.  “Yet here I stand in freedom.  If they can come into the territory of our dragon father and bring this small morsel of freedom to me, I believe it is a sign that they can bring freedom to us all.  And that includes the new Provenience.”Druff stopped speaking and lightly collapsed onto Xando’s elbow.  Xando had noticed that Druff was growing weaker with each assertion and prepared himself to catch the proud and once strong defender of the village.  As Druff collapsed into Xando’s right arm, the gathered leaders all focused silently upon him.  Even the foursome who had come from Tongra found themselves caught up in the power of Druff’s demonstration.After a few seconds of watching Druff, Ischarus turned back to Rhema.  His lips formed the sentence, “You’d better be right.”  Yet in spite of the movement of his lips no sound came out of his mouth.  Rhema turned to Semeion and caught his eye, nodding to him.  She looked back to Ischarus.  Without sound, her lips mouthed the words, “I am.”[Sblock=Color-Free Speech Section]Chapter Eleven: PARTY DUBIETYA middle aged man stepped to the front of the group gathered in Xando’s home and prepared to sternly speak his mind. As he did, he glared deep into Charis’ eyes with hatred. “And what of my daughter?” He extended a finger towards Charis and stepped forward menacingly. Ischarus instinctively placed his hand on the hilt of his long sword and drew it an inch out of its scabbard. Druff held up a weak hand for Ischarus to stop. His raspy voice continued out of his mouth, “Let the man speak, Ischarus.”The angry man continued, “You were supposed to be the Provenience. Your gifts would have made our lives better. My daughter had to take your place while you ran. She now lives in that cave, impregnated by the seed of our father. What will she do when we all leave? The dragon father will likely slaughter her out of his rage against us!”Ischarus breathed deeply and replied before Charis could properly respond. “Do you not know what fate rests for any provenience of an evil dragon, especially of a red?” A thick silence hung in the air. The gathering waited to see if Ischarus would finish what he started. “Your daughter will be bred until her body can take no more seed. Then in a great sacrifice that you have all been brainwashed into honoring, she will likely be consumed by fire and most likely eaten. Is that what you want for your daughter? Would you have her consumed while you idly go about you and your people’s tormented lives?”Several of the men gasped at the straightforward approach that Ischarus took. He had been bold and proclaimed the truth of the event while treading upon the whole sacred symbolism and exaltation that would come to the Provenience. In their minds, she was to be praised for being the one to nourish the dragon father since he had provided his biological seed. Ischarus had stripped the glory of the ritual down and removed the symbolic greatness that supposedly existed in the celebration. The middle-aged man locked eyes with Ischarus and they began to stare one another down. Both men refused to break their gaze.Charis stepped forward, but kept herself slightly behind Ischarus’ right shoulder. “I know what you are saying and I would have preferred it to have been me to take her place. But things cannot be that way again. My friends have come along and shown me the better path. Now we have all come back to show you all a better path. We have come to show you a path in which your talents are appreciated rather than abused. If you stay here, there is only death waiting for you. You are being worked to the bone and slowly dying. You will die prematurely under the strict labor that our dragon father has for you. Is that the life you would wish on anyone? Is it really worth the assumed glory that the celebration brings? Or is it perhaps that you wish she had not been selected in the first place? If you could, would you desire her to be stripped from her position even now?”The man broke his gaze with Ischarus and shot a hurt glance at Charis. “What would you know of it? You were unable to complete what had been asked of you.”Ischarus began to speak again but Druff silenced him with another hand gesture. Ischarus could see in Druff’s face that this was not a time to get involved. This battle was to be fought between the Provenience who was taken and the man whose daughter was forced to take her place.Charis replied, “I was strapped to the stone and scorched under the sun until my skin burned and I was delirious. I offered myself completely and wholly on that day. You and I both know that if our dragon father was not so greedy in demanding a display of suffering that I would have been long gone before my new friends arrived and took me kicking and screaming from that altar. If our dragon father had an ounce of mercy in his bones he would have accepted the offering without forcing me – and your daughter – to suffer. That is simply evil at its worst. I cannot in good conscience begin to support it or even pretend it doesn’t exist. That is all it is, pure and simple. It is pure evil.”Semeion added, “And it is an evil that we can save you from.”The man whose daughter carried the unborn draconic children of the father dragon cast a menacing glance to Semeion. Druff cast a silencing glance to Semeion, but Rhema would not be silenced so easily as her male counterparts. She smiled as she focused her mind on the man. “Would you be appeased if I promised to bring her safely from his lair?”A murmur shot through those in attendance. Even Charis and Ischarus were amazed to here Rhema make such a statement. Ischarus was able to detect the tone Rhema was using. It was the tone that meant she was trying to charm the man and calm down his emotions. Yet the claim still seemed to be outrageous.It was enough to dislodge the man from his anger. “You can make such a promise?” he stammered. He had clearly been caught off-guard by the radical assertion.Ischarus also turned around and looked to Rhema. “Rhema, the new Provenience is going to be enthralled by the draconic presence. There’s no way that you can overcome that. Plus, the father dragon will pursue us only harder if we take both his future generals in addition to the villagers. By taking the Provenience and all the villagers we take his ability to breed completely away. He’ll know that hunting us down will be easier than starting completely over from scratch. You can’t possibly think that such a plan is possible!”Rhema merely smiled as Ischarus spoke and focused back on the man. “Not only will I make such a promise, but I will die trying to fulfill it if necessary. If you promise to be there when I bring her to you so that you can restrain her, I promise to bring her. She’ll not want to come willingly. I think you know that.”A smile passed over Charis lips as Rhema spoke. She glanced to Semeion as her mind drifted back in memory. “She’ll be more resistant than I was. I was brainwashed and delirious from the sun. She’ll not only be enthralled but also be carrying her future away from its place of glory every step of the way.The man who had challenged Charis caught her eyes and for a second they shared a sympathetic look. “What you speak is madness!” he exclaimed.A thin raspy voice broke through the commotion. As everyone heard Druff try to speak, they were immediately silenced. “It is not impossible. How many of you thought we would again see the Provenience who was stolen from us? Yet here she is. How many of you thought we would taste freedom once our dragon father gathered us in from our hiding? Yet here we are. How many of you have ever thought that those outside of our clan would risk their own livelihood for our sake? Yet they have risked their lives so that I might taste a few minutes of standing outside my cage.” Druff’s breathing grew considerably shallow as he spoke and got himself excited. This was the longest he’d been on his feet for almost two months now. In spite of his difficulty, it was important to bring his speech to a positive conclusion. “Yet here I stand in freedom. If they can come into the territory of our dragon father and bring this small morsel of freedom to me, I believe it is a sign that they can bring freedom to us all. And that includes the new Provenience.”Druff stopped speaking and lightly collapsed onto Xando’s elbow. Xando had noticed that Druff was growing weaker with each assertion and prepared himself to catch the proud and once strong defender of the village. As Druff collapsed into Xando’s right arm, the gathered leaders all focused silently upon him. Even the foursome who had come from Tongra found themselves caught up in the power of Druff’s demonstration.After a few seconds of watching Druff, Ischarus turned back to Rhema. His lips formed the sentence, “You’d better be right.” Yet in spite of the movement of his lips no sound came out of his mouth. Rhema turned to Semeion and caught his eye, nodding to him. She looked back to Ischarus. Without sound, her lips mouthed the words, “I am.”[/Sblock]</blockquote>

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