A Venture Amongst Katta (Ravaska, Wanderer)

[Parreyon Syndicus]

Parreyon had heard from Ravaska that Rath held a desire to meet him. From what Ravaska had told Parreyon of Rath, he too had a desire to meet the unique katta. It would seem the two might have something to discuss with business possibilities and potential monies to be made to benefit both parties.

Parreyon had asked Ravaska to set up the meeting in the Cat's Pyjama so that they could stay under the protective shell of the katta of Arakmat and away from prying ears. A Katta of power in a dorin nation must have enemies who would love to eavesdrop whenever possible.

Parreyon sat at a table in the corner of the main room with a bottle of well aged Zerdagian Brandy and a bottle of milk for the three of them. In the center of the table was an assortment of cheeses, crackers, dried meats, and jam to hold their appetite. Until running into Rav and some of these other katta, Parreyon had not really cared for milk though agreed it tasted divine. He still preferred the tast of brandy and how it struck the taste buds upon his tongue like an invading army. He also carried two rolled cigars in the event the katta enjoyed a smoke. Parreyon enjoyed the aroma from time to time but had not indulged in the weed like the humans tended to.

Parreyon held a court document in his hands which he read while waiting for his guest to arrive. He expected Rav and Rath to arrive at any moment but loved to use idols times such as this to keep up on his studies pertaining to his job. He was in a white silk shirt with ruffled collar and wrists. He also had on a maroon vest followed by black trousers. He kept the vest completely unbuttoned and the top notch of his collar undone as well. He wanted to show he was aristocratic yet casual in his dealings.

When the two arrived, he rolled up the document and slid it back into the carrying leather case then rose and extended his hand to meet the katta named Rath. Parreyon's scent, as always, displayed his enjoyment of Ravaska being in his presence. He knew she would understand that better than any simple words he spoke.

"Good brightening to you. I am Parreyon Syndicus. It is a pleasure to meet you."

[Wanderer]

Rath would arrive in a long black cloak and equally dark trousers - an outfit that offsetted his blindingly white mane. The wilderkatta appeared to be looking around the establishment for someone and when he found Parreyon the Leopardi raised his hand in a greeting gesture to the noble Pantheri.

"The pleasure is mine," Rath said, a firm hand gripping Parreyon's in a friendly handshake. "Always glad to meet another katta, and from what my sources tell me you were a justicar, was it?"

This Pantheri impressed Rath, a cultured Pantheri, definitely a first in his book and while he respected all wilderkatta it was ever so rarely that he met one so like-minded to him. Apparently, if his information was right aside from being intelligent this katta was also dangerous, and somehow despite his friendly demeanor Parryeon would see the feral glint of excitement behind the Leopardi's slitter eyes. Perhaps he could spar with Parreyon sometime, perhaps if he was lucky he could spar with Parreyon after the purpose of this brightening's meeting was concluded.

[Parreyon Syndicus]

Parreyon took a moment to size up Rath taking in the clothing worn and demeanor he presented. The Leopardi was an intelligent katta; there was no doubt of that given his position and wealth within the Arakmat katta community. Parreyon felt strength in his hand grip as well and a warrior's posture from his movements. This katta had the know how and the will to do the things he did. Parreyon liked initiative.

The katta also had a connected network of information as well. Parreyon was not fooled for a moment by the lack of proper title given by the white furred friend. It was a test to show trust. If Parreyon simply said 'something like that' then it told Rath he did not trust him. There was no one in a political arena that did not know the names of the current Ministry or Consuls. It almost made Parreyon laugh.

"In truth, I never served as a Justicar. In Arkamat I would have been known as one of the Prefects in Imperia. In the Empire I would be known as Imperial Judicator, Minister of Law under Regent Milo L'Evienne. But something tells me you have a better network than you let on. Admirable to say the least." Parreyon said offering a friendly smile.

"Ravaska has told me so much about you, I felt the need to meet you. Friends are nice, allies are better. I never turn away either." Parreyon would never be able to understand why male katta felt the need to do so, but Parreyon hoped the two would take to combat in the near future. It seemed the more he became attuned to his wilderkatta nature, the more he seemed to want to fight.

[Wanderer]

"Oh, she has?" Rath said with mild surprise. "I'm intrigued, exactly what has she told you about me?" Rath was leaning in slightly closer, ears twitching in anticipation to find out just how much Parreyon knew about him and more importantly what he didn't know.

"Oh yes, Ravaska has mentioned something to me that piqued my interest, something about you wanting to start a pride here?" the Leopardi grinned at this prospect, there were only the older prides left standing and it had been awhile, decades actually since anyone tried to establish a new pride in Arakmat. "As you can see I'm a katta without a pride, and the reasons are simple. I don't take much stock in older traditions and I'm someone who only acts on his own whims, not other people's orders so you can imagine how much older katta see me as."

"I've a proposal for you, though it will take a lot of manpower to accomplish - perhaps the reason why I haven't touched upom the subject for ages. Are you interested?"

[Parreyon Syndicus]

Parreyon laughed, his katta voice making it sound more like a playful growl. He too would have liked to know what Ravaska had said about him to Rath, but he knew her well enough to know that she was utterly honest ... too honest ... to telling anything but the truth. She knew nothing of lies or at least never spoke them.

As for Rath, Parreyon knew very little. Ravaska had not spoken a lot about him only that he 'intrigued' her. Parreyon understood that to mean that his customs were not typical katta customs much like his own. It made the two of them quite similar though they had each chosen different paths in their lives. Rath was an entrapanuer while Parreyon focused on law. Both of them stayed up in their combat skills. That was the blunt of it.

"She has told me that you have varying smoothskin traits much like myself, and that we were similar in regards to not only knowing but living by some of Imperial Customs versus sticking with traditions.

Ravaska understands that I am a good Pride Leader, but I am not sure she understands my ultimate goal of unifying the katta nation to fit within this Imperial society instead of holding to some of the old ways. In that I am am sure I will not be too welcome amongst the elders of our kind either.

I cannot stand to see how the Dorin Alliance holds all Dorin together and yet we Katta remain tribalistic with Prides even warring amongst themselves. We need to bond in a way not seen since the brightenings of old when Kyathis was strong and an active member of the Empire. I do not know how, but that is my ultimate goal. The Pride I form is the beginning of that vision for our kind."

Parreyon poured himself a snifter of Brandy and then handed it to Rath, then pouring a second for himself. he took a drink and could not help but think the dwarves knew well the tastes of alcohol such as this. His ears flicked at the thought of a proposal but was cautious to accept anything.

"I would hear your proposal before accepting. Interest is all I have for the moment. Holding the position I do, I am always cautious to accept anything until I know it is of good, sound judgement. I have been asked, unsuccessfully, to join in on ventures not completely legitimate which would have ruined my honor and status in the Empire. Let's begin with my interest and your propsal; we'll move forward from there."

[Ravaska]

Ravaska arrived late... as usual, bolting into the Cat's Pajamas and leaping over a stray chair left out into the battle. She'd been undertaking some rather unusual tasks as of late, and on one of her errands had spotted a cobra's den. It wasn't much of an impressive snake, by grassland standards, but she was still a hunter and couldn't resist tackling it. Cobra meat was sweeter than most, and the snake had been a good sized one. It hadn't taken much to subdue the creature, one needing only superior speed and the quick agility of a hunter. Ravaska had both in full measure, and rather than launch into a huge explanation of why she'd been detained (she could have after all left the cobra contentedly sunbasking as she raced by... but that option had no fun involved whatsoever....) she instead simply laid the dead snake, minus its head, upon the great oak table and grinned as if it was an offering that each could fight over.

She took a seat on the end of the table... no... taking wasn't exactly the word for it. The Cheetari draped herself sensuously across it... making it her own and rather than sitting in it she simply possessed it and laid siege to its wooden frame, forcing its compliance to her support by threatening comfort elsewhere. She did this all in a heartbeat, managing to take up all the room on the gentle curving bench at her end of the table. This way she could thump Rath's thigh with her tail in a playful manner... after all, he had seduced her friendship with iced milk and weapons training...

And at the same time, a hand snaked out, draped itself across Parreyon's black clad knee as she smiled at the waitress ad ordered milk. She was wearing the briefest of outfits... a forest green bra top that carefully housed her modesty while revealing her entire flesh from her neck to her navel where the spotted fur disappeared into the briefest of pants. She topped the outfit with a clear cropped vest... and a translucent set of harem pants. In fact, the whole look made her look rather like an exotic harem girl, especially since her hair was braided in tight rows that fell around her face like miniature lengths of rope. Each small braid was ended with a bead, so the Cheetari chimed sightly as she moved her head.

She let the men enjoy their brandy as she lapped at her milk and perfected the art of oozing female sensuality. Soon... Parreyon would have to be dealing with things soon in that regard, or someone else undoubtedly would... Rath, Shaz... a complete stranger.

The Cheetari started to purr and ordered a large platter of rare meats for all of them to share.

[Wanderer]

"Unifying the Katta Prides under one banner? You're more ambitious than I thought. Nevertheless I do find your idea romantic... I'll help you if its within my abilities Parreyon," Rath's expression turned serious now and suddenly he was leaning in closer, the volume of his voice dropping down a few octaves as he continued the discussion. "though I imagine you'd have to found a brand new city or something close to that if you're ever going to convince a lot of katta to join your cause. As a people we katta have no home, if we had a place we could call our own I'm sure you'd be able to unify the Katta tribes and herein lies my proposal."

Rath produced an ancient scroll from withing his cloak and with expert care he unrolled it careful not to tear the already weak paper in the process. "You wanted to start a pride but have you found yourself a location perfect for your purposes? Here's my proposal," Rath traced a clawed finger to one point of the map, it wasn't too far off from the city of Arakmat, perhaps it was even barely two candlemarks away on foot. "You seem well-versed in our history so I'll be blunt here. During the time I spent in this city I came upon old documents regarding what was an ancient Clawknight temple that existed in the region ages ago, and yes, I did more than just read upon the subject. I sought out this temple and was rewarded when I found an old fortress, surprisingly intact though to my dismay it had long since been looted long before my arrival barely outside the boundaries of the city of Arakmat."

"I've long since wanted to restore the temple but there's simply no way I can entrust such a discovery to the humans, the temple you see is beautiful, its pillars are sculpted statues holding up a ceiling which has thousands upon thousands of tablets with text concerning our ancient traditions written into stone. The whole fortress is a heritage site for katta and I've been looking for associates who might be interested in such a monumental task as restoring a place the size of a town."

"This will cost a lot of time and money, and probably at the moment even our combined wealth wouldn't be enough, I just felt that it was high time that I didn't keep such a secret to myself, here." he offered Parreyon the scroll, his face and expression cold and serious. "You can keep this, I've already made myself a copy."

And then suddenly, Rath's serious mood was instantly shattered with Ravaska's arrival. He almost grinned at the katta though he stopped himself in time just so that he wouldn't offend Parreyon who seemed to have claims on the beautiful cheetari. "Your companion has finally arrived it seems."

[Parreyon Syndicus]

OOC: Ravaska retired so lets assume she didn't show

The mention of the ClawKnight fortress had Parreyon instantly day dreaming. This was information so valuable, that few knew of it and Rath chose to not only tell Parreyon of it's discovery, he wanted them to form a joint venture in re-establishing it. The smile was so big on the pantheri's face, there would be no way to hide it.

First Parr knew he was the only pantheri on record to bond with a great panther outside of Kyathis. He knew his katta history well and thus knew that the dorins removed the pantheri clawknights forever and that this carried over to this very brightening by the omnicat rule in the katta city. Thus by bonding with Praaal, Parreyon may very well be the only known ClawKnight in existance. The mere thought of bringing back the ancient pantheri ways and re-establishing the ClawKnights held a lifelong dream for him. Once again Kaimelea opened the doors of his dreams and made them realities. His Mistress was ever faithful.

"You cannot fathom the true joy your words and desires bring to me. My facial expression is but a pinch of how I feel to be at the head of such a momentuous task. The possibilities that bringing back the fortress would have on our people could go beyonf profound. You have my word as a katta and a ClawKnight that I will work this task to my death bed if needs be."

Parreyon accepted the map Rath handed him. "The dorins who founded the sultanate before the nairu took control took the fortress into their possession and never returned it to the katta because they had disbanded the ClawKnights as well. They feared the ClawKnights might try to lead a revolt against them. With the new thane a Nairu who has the heart o fthe people as his best interest, do you think he would be willing to return in to their rightful people? Or do you know of the location of the true deed of the fortress in order to reclaim it by Aelyrian Standard?"

[Parreyon Syndicus]

*gentle bump*

[Parreyon Syndicus]

*Bump Number 2 - it's been over a month and a half*

[Masamune]

Rath leaned back in his seat, a gentle, playful grin coaxing its way across his expression. "That does seem to be the crux of the matter, doesn't it?" he asked, a playful note in his voice. "As with just about every deed in the smoothskin empire, the true copies are all held at the Aedile's office...but if you're talking about the owner's copies...I have it on good word it's kept somewhere in the palace with the rest of the Sultan's official documents." He took a deep breath, the mirth slipping away from his face as he grew deadly serious once more.

"Here's the problem. Only a handful away from the government know this little tidbit, but my network got it's hands on it for a pretty little price: The Dorin were right to fear. According to the texts I've been able to dig up on this temple, The ClawKnights were in fact planning a revolt...they'd already founded a resistance. Officially the temple was seized on account of a law that had been passed that claimed that the Katta weren't free to have their own temples. That law lasted all of a handful of cycles before being repealed quietly, but only after the temple was already in their possession. Unofficially, they took it because they knew that the ClawKnights were spearheading both the revolt and the resistance from that temple, and they needed legitimate means to storm it and claim it." Rath leaned in, his expression growing more concentrated and intense. Whatever it was, it was something very important to the leopardi.

"Regaining the temple will be hard work through legitimate means in the name of the Katta, because there are those in the Arakmatan government who fear that if the Katta regain this temple, the texts will bring up old wounds that might cause the katta to unite and rally around, and use it as the head of the proverbial ballista bolt to start a social revolution...one that Arakmat the city, Arakmat the provice, and the Empire as a whole doesn't need right now." he sighed, clearly frustrated and shook his head slowly, a low growl slipping from deep in his throat.

"You and I both know what a load of crap that is, Parreyon, but given your experience, I suspect you know what lengths paranoid government officials will go to for the sake of their personal beliefs, false or otherwise." Rath's head teetered from side to side as he took a slow sip of his brandy.

"There is, however, one thing that I don't quite understand. I'm told it's unique to this single temple, that none of the others display it nearly as prominently..." He seemed to hesitate in his willingness to share the details, but in the interest of full disclosure for their cooperation, he decided to say it all after a brief pause.

"For some reason, there is a lot of 'eye' symbolism in this temple. At first I thought it was in reference to the vigilance of the ClawKnights as a whole, or maybe even just to those who manned this particular outpost, but it seemed to be off. Then I considered that perhaps it was something akin to a unit designation, not unlike Legion names for the Empire, but that wasn't coming up either...I've been at a loss as to why it's been so everpresent when it's not nearly as important in all the other documentation I've read about the ClawKnights." He sighed and leaned back again, his intensity vanishing as he sucked on the brandy a bit, thinking idly on everything he'd just disclosed.

"I can't help but think that for some reason...in some way...that temple served a second purpose. I'll be damned if I can't figure out what, though..."

[Parreyon Syndicus]

Parreyon listened to the words Rath spoke regarding the Temple, its function, and the fear of such a historic place making it's way into public eye. Parreyon knew that revolts and uprisings were caused by far less than ancient temples and artifacts. Though he agreed with Rath that the fear of such a thing was rubble, he could not put it past the simplicity of the mindset of 'the public'. One person sometimes thought more clearly and logically than a hornet's nest of epople who followed for the sake of following only thinking of the stupidity of their actions AFTER the events unfolded. He would not let this get out.

"Am I to assume that the Temple is located within say, a few hundred acres of the ClawKnight Tower?" It only made sense that a Temple for The ClawKnights would reside by their Tower; the ancient tower of the fabled knights which was also in the hands of the Sultan. Parreyon had made a deal with the sultan to try and 'earn' back the Tower. He wondered if this sultan had knowledge of the temple? Were the vaults the old vaults of the insane dorin sultan who ruled before this Nauri Human had taken over? THe new sultan seemed like a good man, but he would not test that character by speaking on this issue. It must remain a secret.

Still, Parreyon would put his Pride to the task of restoring this ancient place. Then Rath spoke something that verbally smacked Parreyon square in the forehead. There was no other group or function or organization in all the land that used the Symbol of The Eye. Even if one did not want to believe in Kaimelea, they still feared an eternity of nightmares and restless sleep. Parreyon's heart began pumping as if he were in combat; adrenaline flowing in such a way as to make him appear restless. Rath had been an honorable katta, and so Parreyon took a moment of trust. He removed his shield and showed it to Rath. In the center of the Shield was The Eye of Kaimelea.

"Was this the eye you are refering to?" In what way were the ClawKnights affiliated with Kaimelea? Was it even possible? If so then he knew even more why his fate, the Hand of Kaimelea, had drawn him on the destiny that he'd been walking. Oh Blessed Kaimelea, could it be so!

[Masamune]

At Parreyon's question Rath nodded absent-mindedly, shrugging.

"The Tower, by my estimation, was never meant to be the single emplacement. It was meant to be a Watchtower of sorts, an advance perimeter scout for the Temple itself. There were probably more towers surrounding it, but only this one is left standing, according to records. In fact, the Temple was never meant to be the sole location, I think, but an auxiliary to a larger ClawKnight complex, though if it was never finished or never started, I'm not sure. All I know is that it was never completed and the Temple became their de facto base along with the Towers." He sipped on the brandy more, sighing. The entire mystery surround the ClawKnight base was confusing as all getout.

When Parreyon presented the shield, however, Rath sat bot upright, his attention riveted.

"Where did you get this?" he asked in a tense, hushed tone, "Did you steal this from the Temple? I had no idea there was one in this good of condition..." Rath looked around the locale secretively, clearly nervous at the symbol in the open as much as it was. As he flipped the shield, something was found on the back that Parreyon had never noticed before. Across the back, in what at first looked simply like roughly worked and textured metal, was actually an engraving that encompassed the back of the entire shield.

"Oh, Jorelspit," he muttered in a hushed tone, his hands running over the runes, "The inscription...it's perfectly intact..." He glanced up at Parreyon then the rest of the bar quickly before locking his eyes back on the shield hungrily. He reached into a pouch and pulled out a small scroll and a self-inked metal pen as he scrambled to copy down the foreign writing on the back.

"This will take a few cycles to decipher, even working at top speed...I've never found one in tact before...but it looks identical to the damaged ones I found in the Temple. I could only translate rough patches of sounds. Something about the moons, a prophecy, and the falling of one of the suns. This one has been getting to me especially," he commented, pointing to one of the symbol clusters, "this one was the weirdest. They chose what seems to have been archaic even for them, and the problem is it seemed to have two meanings, 'champion' and 'dreamer' and I've yet to figure out which one they're indicating, if either, but it's used quite frequently throughout. There might even be a third unkwown meaning..." He sighed and looked back up at Parreyon, giving him a reassuring smile.

"You'll have a translated copy of this as soon as I finish, don't worry...I can't explain it, but I think it's important." He looked back down and began scribbling furiously, trying to make sure he copied it speedily, but accurately.

[Parreyon Syndicus]

So the tower and even this temple were never meant to be the stronghold of the ClawKnights. There was a plan to create a megaplex that served as a temple and stronghold, a focal point, the foundation of the ClawKnight traditions. It made him wonder if the ClawKnights had been followers of Nir'Keirron from the beginning or had grew into this role, if they did truly worship the goddess fo the moon.

"What you hold, Rath, is not a relic or religious artifact of old. It was gifted to me only a few months ago by She Who opens the Eye, the moon goddess, Nir'Keirron. I am a servant of Hers. how I precisely came about this is of no consequence only that it is blessed by Nir'Keirron Herself. This might help your translators understand the symbols better, for the Eye is the symbol of Nir'Keirron whom the elves call Kaimelea. Use all of the elven dialects to aid in revealing the meaning of these inscriptions.

One of the suns has already fallen, and the moon might be a reference to Nir'Keirron since she is the moon goddess. But where I am curious is the mention of a prophesy. What do you know of it or deciphered from it thus far? please tell me." Parreyon could not help but wonder if this prophesy spoke of the coming of the Darkness King Auron had told them of, or if it was something more specific to the katta race.

Given everything that had taken place thus far in the New Covenant between Milo and King Auron of the ancient Aelyrians which was meant as a unity of light between their peoples to face the coming of the Darkness, this prophesy had deeper meaning to Parreyon than he would have felt a few months earlier. Add that to the fact that he wore a medallion around his neck that said 'Unitas' meaning unity in the ancient aelyrian tongue which symbolized his role in the Ne covenant, and things kept getting stranger and stranger with each moment that he gained new understanding of the events unfolding around him.

How was he 'Unitas' in this New Covenant and what precisely did that mean? Would the prophesy reveal more wisdom to him or place him further into not understanding. By Kaimelea please reveal a new clue to him. The Kingdom was about to enter true Darkness, and Parreyon wanted to do the right thing for both The Katta Race and Milo. This was but one more pull on the strings of fate that were held in the hands of Nir'Keirron as she led him to his destiny.

[Masamune]

Rath finished his copying, which he was focusing intently on, before responding to Parreyon. Only as he finished did the other katta's words seem to sink in.

"You recieved a shield from a goddess?" He sighed shaking his head with a soft chuckle, sucking down his brandy before pouring another full glass, draining half of it, and finally taking another breath before speaking once more.

"I gotta say, sounds a bit far-fetched, but then again, with all the crazy things that seem to be revolving around both you and the ClawKnights, I've given up all hopes of rational logic already," he muttered with a grin. He made a mental note to check elven dialects as well--that might well be the missing character set--even as he considered Parreyon's request.

"I don't have a lot that's concrete, but thusfar--and this is with both what I have directly translated with with some conjecture of my own--it seems to say this:

"Through darkness's haze and fractured 'Gem,
One sun falls, reclaimed by them.
She shall rise and become known,
seeds of dreams then shall be sown.

"Prophets' claims shall come to pass,
Champion rise; let faith stand fast.
Brothers of Moons' Knights he leads,
Waver not lest your soul bleed.

"Like blade untested but forged strong,
You shall not break when you belong
To She who treats you with good care,
Though it might cost all hide and hair.

"Many trials you must face,
In the end you'll know your place.
Should you succeed where others fall
Dreamer's Champion known by one and all.

"Should you fail and lose your way,
Or darker hand guide you astray
Remember well your love for her,
Or all is lost; all will burn."

Rath fidgeted with his glass for a second, picking it up and finishing off the second half in one gulp before refilling it yet aga