Hidden evils (LEA)

OoC: Shabam. I thought of something. Premise has been shared. First portion of this is basically a run-up to getting to the actual place of the story. I figure that Tarhedron's existance in all things BA seems a little off, so this can be considered his "way in," even though I've done plenty of things with him already... screw timeline issues with whatever character you may have. I care not.

Note: The 2nd section is kinda cheesy, overall... but it works. If you'd like me to expound upon the last portion, just ask. AIM is but a click away.

IC:

A serene day was dawning: clear skies, a light breeze, no signs of natural storm. The workings of sentient beings, however, would soon end that. The Great Enemy, Chaos, had manifested itself on this world, and its presence here threatened nearby Eldar holdings, so the Biel-Tann dispatched the Swordwind Host commanded by Farseer Tarhedron. Immediately upon arrival, the Farseer could feel the taint in the very air; the Chaos here was strong. The Farseer had delegated the task of preparing his legion for battle to his Warlock lieutenants, so as to cast the runes, and see if anything had changed in events since last he checked, in orbit several hours before.

What he saw was strange. There was a very strong probability of something happening to him, though what exactly, he could not forsee. This in itself was troublesome, but he otherwise found the best course of action for directing his troops.

It was not two hours after the warhost had arrived on-planet that first contact with the enemy was made. A squad of rangers, scouting a nearby city that once belonged to the humans, had encountered a number of chaos forces, and the skirmish had rapidly escalated as both sides sent more reinforcements.

Farseer Tarhedron inspected the battle reports given to him, some 40 kilometers from the site of the battle, and said to his aide, "Warlock. Prepare the main division. Today, we go to battle."

The Warlock bowed, "Yes my lord." The warlock hesitated, and at a gesture from Tarhedron said, "If I may ask sir... this is but a small scouting force..."

"The runes show that this planet will be won or lost, this day, at that site." Tarhedron said quietly. "Whoever wins there, will eventually rid this planet of the other." The warlock bowed again, and was gone.

Several minutes later, Tarhedron and his command retinue boarded a hover transport, and the force quickly arrived at the town in question, where there was a very obviously dogged battle raging in the city. The Farseer commanded the transports to over-fly the city, and offload his forces behind the enemies already within the city.

The battle in this city raged on for several hours. Though the initial chaos forces within were dispatched quickly, reinforcements arrived almost constantly. After nearly five hours of constant combat, the enemy general, an apparently demonic human, arrived in the city, and not long passed before the command retinues of both armies clashed. The chaos leaders fought hard, and a number of Warlocks fell, though the Biel Tann were slowly taking the upper hand. Tarhedron enaged in single combat with the enemy general for quite some time, before taking him down. Tarhedron pointed his pistol at the wounded beast, and just before he fired, the demonic general suddenly had a satisfied smile.

****

Hidden away elsewhere, in another time, another reality, a powerful lord of magic was finishing an incantation which he hoped would make him the most powerful man in existance. This incantation, once completed, would seriously damage reality itself, likely creating connections to other worlds. He already had at his command an innumerable amount of demonic creatures, both corporeal and incorporeal--capable of possessing people, and carrying out his will. With this latest development, those who could possibly oppose him would eventually be forced into other planes of existence, so that they could never again bother him.

A slight miscalculation, however, caused things and beings from other places and realities to be pulled onto the planet which the lord was on.

****

Farseer Tarhedron discounted this smile as the insanity of chaos, and fired several rounds from his shuriken pistol into the face of his enemy. Strangely, as the first shot hit, the world around him suddenly seemed to fade away, and before he understood what was happening, he blasted six shots into the empty ground in front of him.

Shocked, he held his pistol in his right hand, and retrieved his staff, generating a bright glow. Around him he saw a fairly barren room, with a wooden floor (now containing a noticeable hole where he shot), some human-looking furniture, and... a sentient. He faced this being, and made a demand, which was obviously lost on this being. He then tried again in a different language. It took three languages before his words were understood. "Who are you, and where is this?"

OoC: Whoo. This is going to be much fun.

IC:

Liya Karonan, professional assassin, yawned as she stepped gingerly from the bathroom of her room here at the Spring Blossom Inn. She was all ready for bed in more ways than one. Today had proved to be particularly taxing on her, what with chasing after some cheeky thief for several hours. She shook her head; he hadn’t even had that large of a bounty on him, and yet her conscience had dictated that she take him out. Thieves just got on her nerves, and in her opinion, they all needed to be eradicated.

Another yawn escaped her lips, and she moved to slip under the covers of the bed that sat tucked in the upper right corner of the smallish room. The accommodations here at the Spring Blossom weren’t bad, but they weren’t the most luxurious in the world. Liya was quickly reminded of this when, upon getting into bed, several places on her body suddenly became close friends with the hardened lumps sporadically spread out in the mattress. Growling in mild irritation, the assassin closed her eyes in an attempt to enter some sort of restful state.

Liya…Liya, I hope you aren’t asleep yet…

Well, I was about to be, Kryanak, but of course, your needs are always more important than mine. What is it?

Liya’s falcon familiar ruffled her feathers, demonstrating her obvious dislike for her friend’s sarcastic tone. The magnificent bird shifted her weight back and forth from one leg to the other as she sat perched on top of one of the posts of Liya’s not-as-comfortable-as-it-looks bed.

Well, I have a bad feeling. I can’t stop thinking that something’s about to happen.

Like what?

I don’t know, but I’d feel a lot better if you were prepared for the worst.

Liya groaned and forsook telepathic speech. “Fine. But if nothing out of the ordinary has happened in an hour, I’m putting my PJs back on and going back to bed.”

After dressing herself and making sure all her knives were present and accounted for inside her clothes, Liya leaned against the wall next to her bed so as to keep herself from accidentally nodding off. Her rapier was also close at hand.

The hour was nearly up, and Liya was just about to give up, when something flashed into view right in the middle of her room and blew a hole in the floor. Whipping out a couple knives and hiding them behind her, she tried to figure out just what this sudden intruder was.

Liya, what is that?

Beats me. Let’s just hope he’s not hostile. I’d hate to have to deal with that weapon of his.

He spoke to her, and she understood none of it. He must have understood that from the quizzical expression on her face because he made a second attempt, which she also failed to comprehend. Finally, he said something she could understand.

“Who are you, and where is this?”

The assassin emitted a little cough, clearly taken aback by his forwardness. “Don’t like to beat around the bush, do ya? Well, that’s fine. As for me, my name’s Liya Karonan. As for where this is, you’re currently standing in the middle of my room in the Spring Blossom Inn.”

Tarhedron frowned, though that was not evident, as he was still wearing his full battle armor. A mon'keigh, he thought, slightly disappointed. A quick mental inspection made it evident that it was not her actions that brought him here, nor did she have any knowledge of who did.

It was also clear that she didn't want to fight him. Her mind, obviously trained for combat, was focused on Tarhedron's shuriken pistol, which had been trained upon her. For the sake of simpler interaction, he made the decision to drop his pistol into its holster, though he kept his staff in his left hand. It is not an obvious weapon, though it does suit his appearance.

This analysis took about 3 seconds, after which he said (in the mon'keigh language), "I have little time for pleasantries, human. Now, tell me where this is. 'Spring Blossom Inn' means nothing to me." He paused a moment, then expanded his question: "What is this city, and this world?" After a split-second consideration, he added "and time. Tell me what the year is."

OoC: Feel free to not actually specify the city, or even the specific year. I just felt that that is what he should ask at this point. Gotta have the pleasant introductions out of the way, before anything real exciting can happen.

When the strange new presence in her room ceased training his weapon in her direction and placed it back in its holster, Liya relaxed visibly, although she did keep half a wary eye on the staff in his hand. For a brief moment, she felt something different inside her head, but the feeling was gone before she could even grasp it. Kryanak, however, had taken notice of it.

There's something strange about him. I don't know what he just did, but I know he did something.

You're probably right. I wonder if he's even noticed you, yet?

Well, I'll try to go unnoticed for as long as possible and try to use that to our advantage in case he does decide to get violent.

Liya's full attention was drawn back to the intruder when he asked her a question. It took her a second to register what he had said and formulate an answer to his borderline demanded query. "You know, you like to ask a lot of questions without giving any answers back. How about you answer a few of my questions? Let's start with what's your name, and how in Hades you just randomly appear in my room when I'm trying to get my beauty sleep, shall we?"

Tarhedron caught wind of a telepathic conversation, but chose to ignore it for the time being.

The human's response to his questioning annoyed him. It did, however, mean that she was a brave one, so he decided to play along. Speaking deliberately, he said, "Very well. I am Farseer Tarhedron of the Biel Tann." He didn't actually specify, or really make clear at all, that "Farseer" is his title. "As for what I am doing here, I do not actually know, yet. I suspect the machinations of The Great Devourer," though there is little sense in that, he did not add.

There was silence a second or so, then Tarhedron knocked the floor with his staff, it suddenly glowing and lighting the room. Perhaps oddly, looking at the staff did not force one to squint, despite the apparent brightness of it. With the previously dark room now well lit, Tarhedron glanced around the room a moment, and his gaze settled on a bird, perched by the bed.

He said nothing of the bird, turned to Liya, and intoned, "I have answered your questions. Now, answer mine."

Liya felt the irritation of Kryanak the second the room was illuminated, and she tried her best to keep that same irritation from obviously showing on her face.

Liya, he's seen me. He knows I'm here.

Well, I figured, since it is somewhat hard to miss you, especially when you're not even five yards from him and in a brightly lit room.

...You really need to cut back on the sarcasm.

Resisting the very strong urge to roll her eyes, the assassin eyed this Farseer Tarhedron up and down. Interesting name, Farseer Tarhedron. She'd never heard the likes of it before, and she briefly wondered if he'd be worth anything if she managed to bring him in for some sort of bounty. For some reason, though, she immediately discarded that idea. She had the sinking feeling that her knives and rapier would be pretty useless against all that strange armor of his.

Taking a moment to collect her thoughts, Liya decided it would be best to just give him the answers he wanted. "The name of this town is Bale. The name of this world...um...well, it's Earth."

At the word "Earth," Tarhedron's eyebrows rose, though the human did not know that. "Earth?" he asks. "The air is too clean to be Earth. You humans destroy the balance of planets. I can detect the damage in the air, but it is still too pure." He paused, then said quietly, "Unless..." He looked directly at the human, glowing red eyepieces boring into her eyes with their pupilless stare. "Tell me the year." The question was obviously an odd one; he himself would be taken aback if someone asked the question to him. Given the circumstances, though, it must be known.

In the moment before the girl responded, he turned his head toward the bird, which had shifted slightly, inspecting it with his helmet's visual sensors, as well as his mind...and he concluded very quickly that the bird was not simply a pet. Fascinating...A familiar with intelligence.

Blinking, Liya took a moment to register Tarhedron's question. What year was it? What sort of a question was that? Unless...this guy was from a different time than the present. That would prove to be interesting. Kryanak interrupted her thoughts for what seemed like the hundreth time, and Liya forcefully supressed that urge to roll her eyes again.

Liya, I think he suspects something about me. I think he knows that I'm not just a random falcon.

Quit worrying about it so much, Kryanak. It's no big deal. Just calm down, okay? Since when did you become so skittish?

Since a strange creature appeared in our room and tore a hole in our floor.

The assassin couldn't stop a small chuckle from escaping her lips, but she swiftly silenced it when she saw Tarhedron's eyes on her. "Right, what year is it, you ask? Well, according to the current calendar here, it's the year 2033. Although, I'm not really sure what good you expect that information to do you."

OoC: *tosses hat back on hat rack* There ya go. I love being random.

Tarhedron considered the year a moment, as it was a vastly lower number than he expected. If he remembered the humans' dating system well enough... that meant that he was some 38,000 years in the past! His first reaction was to switch on his emergency beacon, which would send a signal to the nearest Eldar... which at this point in history would be forces from the Eldar Empire, who would probably arrive and cause some major troubles for the humans.

The destruction of the humans before they could spread through the galaxy initially seemed like a good idea, but on further consideration (of about a second), he decided that destroying all of history was probably not the best course of action. It wouldn't stop the fall of the Eldar, anyway... he went too far back to affect that by much. So, just as his beacon was about to transmit, he switched it off again.

The outward effects of turning his beacon on and off again (which was done simply with his mind) was that the gems affixed to his helm had started to glow, and then faded out again.

Tarhedron made a sound similar to a "hmph," and said to Liya, "Tell me, human... what do you do in this world that would require you to have that many knives?" he gestured toward her hands, still hidden behind her.

Cursing silently to herself, Liya decided the charade was better off dropped and brought her hands out from behind her back, the knives held in them glinting dully in the ethereal light generated by Tarhedron's staff. So much for the element of surprise. This guy seemed to know everything she planned on doing before she even did it. Twirling one of her knives in one hand effortlessly, Liya emitted a small sigh laced with mild traces of irritation.

"What do I do that requires my knives? Well, I'm a free-lance assassin, if you really want to know." She shrugged. "It's what I know how to do best and what keeps me fed and sheltered most of the time."

This statement was met with silence, during which Liya further contemplated the situation. Nothing seemed to really be going anywhere, and she began to wonder just how long this guy intended to stand in her bedroom. She hadn't failed to notice the strange lights that had appeared and quickly disappeared on his helmet, and she used the period of silence to try to figure out what those lights had meant.

Deciding that information wasn't important at the moment, Liya very slowly and deliberately concealed the few exposed knives she had back inside her clothing before attempting to make conversation once again. "So...what are you, exactly?"

Tarhedron appraised the human a moment, then said, "I am of the Eldar, an 'alien,' as you might put it, and I shouldn't be here... but something pulled me to this place, and I must determine what that is." He looked around the room a second, and then suddenly faces the bed, which lifts up, and tips against the wall, creating a much larger open space. "It will be easier for the both of us if you do not try to interrupt me. For me, because I can keep my concentration, and for you because you can keep your life."

He proceded to ignore the human assassin, and started pacing around in the open space, pulling little objects that looked similar to ancient runes out of his robes, and placing them in the air, where they floated. He also let go of his staff, which drifted along next to him as he moved.

Once there were a noticable number of runes suspended around him, he removed his helmet, and allowed it to float above him. It revealed a gaunt face with slender features, elven appearing ears, bright green eyes, and totally white hair, which was about shoulder length, and remained behind his head, pulled tight by something. He began chanting something quietly in an indecipherable language, and he too began to float slightly, his heavy robes drifting up a bit, and rippling around. He remained as such for a noticable time period.

OoC: Sorry for the delay there, I was feeling disenchanted. Feel free to have Liya talk through that, he'll just ignore her.

Snorting quietly at Tarhedron's last comment, Liya kept silent and observed what he was doing. None of it made sense to her in the least, but she hoped that whatever was going on would help determine what he was going to do next. As long as he chose not to attack her, she'd be satisfied.

An alien, eh? Or an extraterrestrial, as I've also heard them called. I always thought they were just things out of wild fantasy tales, but apparently, they really do exist. I wonder if there're more nearby...

Liya, don't get crazy ideas in your head of actually trying to find more aliens! I think we've got enough to handle with just the one.

Ah, don't worry your little feathered head about it, Kryanak. I'm just interested to see what this guy's going to do next.

With that, she focused her full attention back on Tarhedron, still in that almost meditative position of his. She raised an eyebrow when she noticed he wasn't even touching the ground but otherwise kept any reactions to herself.

OoC: Sorry about my delay and the obviously poor quality of this post. I'm just not in a very good mood right now, but I figured I shouldn't keep you waiting.