06-25-2014, 04:04 PM
War is coming regardless. Fact. And yet Tehya was loathe to help ignite the catalyst. Her conscience would crumble.
She nodded, finally reconciling her concerns with the necessity. The picture Aria painted. It felt right. For the briefest of moments she wondered if Aria were using her ability; if she had pressed upon Tehya's emotions to guide a reaction, but the suspicion only fluttered once and was gone. Her Dustu would approve of this, she was sure; he would be proud. Together they would arm the Atharim with the means to buffer against the prophetic war, a war her hopeful heart still wished they could avoid, delay, even minimise. Whether her brothers and sisters accepted it or not, in order to survive this - in order to protect the world that had given bloody oaths to protect - they needed to evolve. Sacrifice by any means.
"A balance,"
she agreed, gripping the word like a mantra. The veneer of control was still an issue; if they were discovered, their plans would be quashed before they even started, their lives likely forfeit. The control, its pretence, would offer a thin protection, at least, if worse came to worst. "These gods you have encountered. Would any of them be suitable?"
Then. "There was something else. An Ijiraq. I hunt one. It spoke to someone, someone who perhaps might be useful to us, and I need to find it. Father Stone said you killed one. How did you do it?"
She nodded, finally reconciling her concerns with the necessity. The picture Aria painted. It felt right. For the briefest of moments she wondered if Aria were using her ability; if she had pressed upon Tehya's emotions to guide a reaction, but the suspicion only fluttered once and was gone. Her Dustu would approve of this, she was sure; he would be proud. Together they would arm the Atharim with the means to buffer against the prophetic war, a war her hopeful heart still wished they could avoid, delay, even minimise. Whether her brothers and sisters accepted it or not, in order to survive this - in order to protect the world that had given bloody oaths to protect - they needed to evolve. Sacrifice by any means.
"A balance,"
she agreed, gripping the word like a mantra. The veneer of control was still an issue; if they were discovered, their plans would be quashed before they even started, their lives likely forfeit. The control, its pretence, would offer a thin protection, at least, if worse came to worst. "These gods you have encountered. Would any of them be suitable?"
Then. "There was something else. An Ijiraq. I hunt one. It spoke to someone, someone who perhaps might be useful to us, and I need to find it. Father Stone said you killed one. How did you do it?"