(Imperial Consulate ~ Private, Duncan) Mysterious mysteries...

[Mekare Taryn]

...of strange mystery.

It was not every brightening that former members of the Council of the Crown simply swept in and announced themselves returned... and though the now not-so-young Tigroness had not recognized Duncan by practical experience, the mere mention of his prior involvement in the Imperial Government (if not the somewhat unnerving aura he exuded that was not dissimilar to that of the immortal) was enough to send the striped female nodding and scurrying across slick marble and through a set of double doors at the far end of the atrium.

Make no mistake, it was not that Sereika herself was very much intimidated by the all-too-powerful mage -- she worked for Mekare, after all -- it was, quite simply, that she knew her employer and knew full well that the Lady would not look kindly upon a former acquaintance, let alone a former Minister, to be kept waiting. These, and many more, were the idiosyncrasies of working for perhaps one of the most eccentric women in the Empire...

Left to his own devices within that atrium, silence reigned but for that fountain which lay at its center... its singular sort of babbling could bring only comfort to even the most troubled of souls, and Duncan dressed so plainly was bathed in the many colors of a filtered sun as he listened. Almost too soon did the furred assistant return, azure eyes filled with the sort of curious puzzlement only the truly perceptive might understand.

"The Lady Consul will see you now, Lord Sythe."

With that, she turned upon her heel and led the way through these doors and several other corridors, and finally, to the private offices of the Consul herself.

This last entrance was flung open somewhat haphazardly, the strength of the furred secretary perhaps far more potent than any yet realized... but once done, the human would find himself within the confines of an office that had been decorated as much for beauty as for simplicity. The walls were painted in that same cornflower hue as was reflected in the Enamorian coat of arms, though perhaps more akin to the darkening sky at sunsset for the Lady than any reflection of her homeland. A desk of polished maple lay within one corner of the room, though the comfortable leather armchair behind it was -- by all appearances -- empty.

Instead, the lithe and lissome form of the porcelain beauty known as Mekare Taryn could be found perched at the edge of a magnificently carved chaise lounge. Cream brocade dominated the area that had been designated as a small parlor, partitioned as it was by rugs woven in the richest shades of ivy and baby blue, while a lowlying table at its center bore a large basket, one filled with the heartier strains of flora suited to a cold winter.

Shelves upon shelves of books could be found on any wall, some ancient tomes that were outlived only by the Lady herself... and it was lost within the pages of one of these that the Consul for the Southern Coasts had been found.

"Lord Duncan Sythe to see you, Your Imperial Excellency."

These were the words which would break the deafening silence in the room, though the angel of Stillwater Keep -- as a beloved friend had once named her -- did not seem startled in any wise. Instead, senescent eyes had shifted their gaze to meet that of the newest guest to be welcomed to the Consulate. One Duncan Sythe, that one creature she had never been capable of understanding despite immortal intelligence, had drifted into her life once more. He had not changed... at least so it appeared.

"Serale, and good brightening to you, Lord Sythe. How may I help you?"

[Duncan Sythe]

First glances had Duncan looking at an empty chair, then at the Katta. He then followed the gaze of the speaking secretary to the lounge.

Ah.

Discovering the location of the person he had intended to meet Duncan inclined his head to her and made his way closer.

“To begin with.” He offered with a polite, dry smile at the Lordship that he had not really known he'd possessed but yet still seemed endowed with post-politics. “You may dispense with titles and merely call me by name to save your breath dear lady.”

He offered to her, hands still in pockets and looking decidedly relaxed, but then he had no real awareness of the age of the person he spoke to and, in his way, knew even less about Mekare than she did about him. After all to him this was another semi-political meeting of former acquaintances, nothing more or less.

“After that it is entirely up to you as to how much help you think you can be.” He stopped a few steps away from her. “Having presently returned and doing my best to find a place in a world with a Regent and a crumbling state I'm seeking opinions and advice, would you happen to possess either?”

Duncan inquired simply.

[Mekare Taryn]

“To begin with, you may dispense with titles and merely call me by name to save your breath dear lady.”

No... judging by that singular statement, Duncan had indeed not changed at all.

Were she to think on it further (or otherwise at some later point), perhaps Mekare might conclude that she should have expected as much before ever she saw his face again... only three eras had passed since that half-empty table in Arconis, after all. Still had the notion that these mortal children were forever capricious managed to beset an immortal mind... no, they did not age nearly as fast is it might seem, but they did age, if only in spirit. The undeniable fact that they learned so swiftly had as much to do with the misconception that they lived and loved at lightning pace as any ill-informed opinion on her part. In any case, he could not be completely immutable... not as she was. He would not be the same Duncan that she had first met, nigh eight eras ago. An ancient beauty drifted toward the inimitable Mage, stone features ever serene as she granted his wish.

"Very well, then. Come, sit with me Duncan... is there any thing I might offer you? Something to eat or drink, perhaps... ?"

One slender white hand gestured toward that parlor near the fireplace, the same that she had been found in scant heartbeats prior. He was as at ease within her presence as any had ever been... that much was already clear. Good. A demeanor such as his could only mean that he had not yet found any reason for distress... and for this, the Lady was eternally grateful. Though he might never be what either of them considered a close friend, the Mystic likewise might never know what a comfort it was to be seen without fear. Indeed, such blessings as these had even brought a smile to flawless alabaster...

Ah, but what a loaded question he had managed to ask in the meantime!

“I'm seeking opinions and advice, would you happen to possess either?”

A single auburn brow lurched ever upward.

"Opinions and advice I have aplenty, my dear, though whether or not they shall be of any use to you remains yet to be seen. A Regent and a crumbling state, you say? Perhaps, then, we should begin... at the beginning. What information and advice is it you seek from me that you have not already garnered elsewhere?"

[Duncan Sythe]

Finding his seat Duncan decided in this case to get straight to the point. Mekare he had known better than Alexis and except for Milo, better than almost all other of the Imperial officials he'd met as of late...and besides there was something about their past relationship that suggested honesty with her would not be judged, simply accepted and commented upon appropriately.

“Paxia, Zerdargia and Narim are in ruins.”

He said initial, doing nothing in his tone to deny the fact he was stating the obvious for her benefit in lieu of knowledge of what he knew or did not know.

“The Legions are incapable of dealing with the threats they are presented with; Ire is an unknown, Malice possibly on the verge of returning to the fray and Arium in general a persistantly...troubling quantity when Vortex and the Arium government in Nexus are put together.”

Clasping his hands together Duncan went onward.

“The poisoning of one Minister for War, the unknown vanishing of Arabella and the sketchy, unknown future of the Emperor or Empress to come are all both symptoms and causes of the problems the Empire faces Mekare. On the one hand we seem organized, on the other we are disparate and in some areas, Jaedexia for example, the Imperial presence is merely tolerated rather than accepted, the very secession attempt suggests that the faith of the people in the Empire has been waning for a while now.”

And more.

“Then we have the Mages themselves. The cause of the destruction and the cause of the Legions inability. The academies meanwhile are in respect to Mages the question mark, for we do not know what they will do if we attempt to assert any kind of Imperial call to arms in order to bolster magical defenses.”

Duncan spread his hands and then regrouped them, his expression frank but sternly businesslike.

“What I seek from you is perhaps another perspective, another answer that I have yet to achieve. Milo himself seems torn and far too busy, Alexis is trying to regain control of a military force that has no faith in itself and the Minister for Justice is simply trying to get to grips with his Ministry, the Imperial State seems to have no authority over the Imperial people and the Imperial people are all screaming... all in all I'm a little lost.”

He offered with a small, dry smile that suggested quite to the contrary perhaps Duncan Sythe was not lost at all and merely wanted to hear what she thought of all the facts, albeit colourfully described as they had been and in some cases exaggerated to make a point. What would she agree or disagree on? What else would she add? Opinions and Advice, both lay therein the answers to those questions.

[Mekare Taryn]

Thus had the offer of hospitality been apparently denied. In the wake of seeming urgency, perhaps it had been necessarily forsaken... such civilities as these served no obvious purpose to the point of conversation, after all, and moreover could be considered nigh inappropriate to the cause at hand. Whatever the case, she could not have argued the point even had she borne any desire to... Duncan had been right to do it. That he had done so without a second thought for himself had, in the end, belied more of an arguably selfless nature than he might have otherwise intended... yet of any of it, Mekare said nothing. He had been (absolutely) correct in his assessment of the Lady. She would not pass judgment on any creature within this plane.

To do so was to condemn herself.

Instead, she would forever keep it safe, hidden with all else that had been entrusted to her within this endless lifetime. It was the least she could do for a fellow conundrum... and in the meantime, a singular acquaintance had chosen to cut away at the excess to derive his point. Perhaps it was his privilege this time. Once more did the immortal return to her own place before the fire, there to hear but the beginnings of all that he might say.

“Paxia, Zerdargia and Narim are in ruins.”

This much was certain and true, known to all those with any capacity to read the Herald. That he should choose to begin the conversation by stating that which was well known was surprising at the least, and more than a little puzzling at worst. Still she said nothing. To state the obvious was perhaps the easiest means to avoid divulging what one knew, yet the pale Consul would not press for any more unless the Mage himself wished it. A living dichotomy she was, now and evermore... she would not ask for what was not offered freely. So had one enigma come face to face with a creature born to duality.

He went on.

Ire, Malice, Arium... Vortex ...ah, how much more she hated the last of these than any other! All were boils on the backside of this existence, still they stood. That they remained whilst the aforementioned three cities were nothing more than ruins was a slap to the face of the Balance, and she -- for one -- could not abide it. Yet what could they do? Once more, Duncan was right... the Legions were incapable, if not inept, and the mages ran amok. There was little faith in an Empire that failed too much. What, indeed, could they do?

“...all in all I'm a little lost.”

A thin and altogether dry smile was returned by another arch of a single auburn brow... he had known Mekare better than perhaps anyone else in the Imperial Forum, had trusted her enough to be at least somewhat honest, and yet had managed somehow to behave as if he were without some notions of his own as to how to proceed. A test, then? Some strange measure of her character that he was seeking for his own benefit? There was a time when the vampire's consort might have been so manipulative, yet for reasons unknown even to the Lady, she could not imagine that Duncan might be so cruel where she was concerned...

After several moments' pause did she begin.

"There was once a time, now so very long ago, when the people of the Empire were united, even if the cities were not... Port Alyxandrya had seceded, yes, and so the Empire was not whole, but the City of Queens was not without its sympathizers rallying to its side. You see, we had a common enemy... Thalia, daughter to the Empress Chrysinaria, had poisoned her mother that she might take power -- illegally, mind you -- as Intendant, and had formed an unholy alliance with the Archexetanian beasts to the West that she might keep it. So were we all in danger... mage and mundane, noble and beggar, all were sentenced to doom if we could not be one and whole."

A history lesson he had perhaps not expected... nonetheless, Mekare went on.

"Medonia was overtaken by those monstrous creatures, Duncan... yet in the end, she was won back. It was -- by no means -- an easy battle, and many lives were lost. Still, she was won back... by the will of our people was she brought back into the fold."

The pale flower of Enamoria could still remember the sight of that flying warship that had led her into this Empire, could still remember the journey into Port Alyxandrya and the news that those hideous beasts had taken the capitol of the Sovereignty. In those brightenings, she had not been as capable of affecting such events as she was now... and those feelings of helplessness she would never forget.

"That time has long since passed... and so has the glory of the Empire. We are torn from within, and there is little more we can do but wait for the next atrocity to take place, that we might lend aid to those who suffer for it. A call to arms, I fear, can only end in disaster so long as we have no common enemy to unite the people once more..."

The Lady sighed.

"It is unfortunate that we have come to this point. Milo does the best he is able, but I am afraid that what any of us do may not be enough..."

[Duncan Sythe]

That there was more beneath Mekare's pause than met the eye, that much Duncan knew. Which told him immediately that earlier suggestions that there were depths unknown within Mekare Taryn were correct. What those were and the reality that lay behind this woman put Duncan, ironically, more on guard than before. That was not to say his impressions of Mekare changed dramatically but an awareness of her depth did make his interest in her reply to his somewhat loaded questioning a little sharper.

So when her reply came he listened with surprising keenness which would most likely not be lost on Mekare, where rumours of him or even recent encounters in social surroundings would lead her to believe he was for the most part growing more remote and mysterious by the brightening there was a sharp edge of intelligent awareness to his manner. That was to say he was paying attention like a student listening to his most avid, fascinating professor.

Was she the professor of history after all or something more? There were disturbing tones to her familiarity with the subject matter and ever had Mekare been a mysterious individual. But such things were not for him to question in present surroundings as he took her lessons as fact and took note.

“Your summary.” He said after his own pause when she had concluded. “Is far more accurate than mine.” Duncan's voice calm and somewhat accepting of the truth as she had put it. “We lack a common enemy. Your lesson in history is important for many reasons but that is the most central.”

Slowly folding one leg over the other Duncan sat back thoughtfully.

“Without something that we can say; once destroyed, will end this mix of rebellion and random violence we cannot call anyone to arms towards anything, it's like mustering an army to fight a fire against someone who sets fire to buildings occasionally once every Era.”

He shook his head.

“By the time the troops are assembled the fire is out, they wait around and he simply strikes again once the fire is out. This is what we face. I have no ill will for Milo, but what you said last remains.”

None the less Duncan's mouth now twisted in cruel irony. He closed his eyes and tilted his head sharply away, taking a deeper breath. Here he was again speaking of things because he could not find anything to do that would make any sense.

“Always the same question.” He said harshly – to himself, eyes opening slowly as he looked back up at Mekare.

“What to do. The enemy began as a Necromancer who attacks cities and now it threatens to become the Empire itself.”