Jadmai meets Ulder (early tradetide 24th)

[Jadmai]

It didn't take much to ascertain the domicile of Ulder. He was a well known man in the Citadel, and most folks Jadmai asked were happy to point out the quaint manor near the Dort Embassy.

It was true, that Jadmai was uninivited, but he was sure that Claire made his intentions known to meet the man, so Jadmai didn't feel any hesitiation.

Clad in his usual garb, black leather britches and a fancy silver tunic. A cloak blown open in the wind, revealed the sheathes on Jadmai's outter thigh, and the ones surrounding his waist. He didn't come armed for any reason, besides the fact, that the gifts of the blades were more of a status symbol.

Approaching the manor, nothing really passed through Jadmai's mind, he would wait to see how Ulder reacted to his prescence, and with that, he searched for a doorknocker, and if none could be found, then he would simply knock.

[Ulder]

Ulder had been spending time out with their horses Boot, Elsbeth and Guider in the stables. Boot and Elsbeth had been a wedding gift from the Baron Marcada and the Lady Lo Russo and even though it was fairly early in the day, the Baron's men had delivered the horses with prompt care and attention.

Boot was a black charger with one white foot, and Elsbeth, whom Elaine immediately nicknamed 'Velvet' because of her smooth coat, was a chestnut palfrey, specifically chosen by Baron Marcada for her smooth and easy temperament as well. The horses were a bit nervous in meeting with Guider, who seemed to have taken well to her new surroundings and wanted to run and play a bit with her new stable mates. Ulder allowed them to sniff and bump each other as newly introduced horses often liked to do. Boot wanted to kick when he first arrived, but being in the presence of two females, he quickly settled in as king of the stable. Ulder watched them closely, they would need to be kept separated for a short time, but they all seemed to get along well enough at this point.

Watching the horses so intently, he very nearly missed Jadmai's approach. He stepped away from the horses, giving them a bit of space and began to try and catch the man. As Jadmai was ready to knock, Ulder called to him from a few paces away from the green grass.

"Excuse me sir. Can I help you?"

Another dark Adhiel... I thought Raevyn was a strange enough sight, but here's another of their kind...

[Jadmai]

Jadmai looked over at the man, quickly trying to guage if this was the man he was looking for, or just a stable hand. Either way, he showed respect and Jadmai would treat him cordially.

Turning to the man, "I should hope so, I'm looking for who resides in the manor; Ulder, former Captain of the Purple Guard. He's not expecting me in the least, but he does now that I have requested a meeting with him."

"My name is Jadmai Av'Zathrak, former amabassdor of Amun Rah to Terra Incognita, in the charge of Rafao Ionis." He offered his hand to the man.

"Captain Ulder had been informed by a third party that I would like to meet with him, and I decided to do away with formalities and just make a house visit. I hope that I haven't dropped by at an inconvient time. I can always come back, I would hate to intrude."

[Ulder]

It was not an easy name to forget. When Claire had told him there would be a man looking for him, she either forgot to say anything about him being a dark Adhiel, or it had slipped Ulder's mind. Either way, the name stood out in Ulder's memory as much as Jadmai stuck out in a crowd.

"I am Ulder sir. Indeed you are correct, I was told you were looking to speak with me."

Ulder turned his head quickly back to check on the horses.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to speak with you out here for a little bit. We, my wife and I, just got a pair of new horses, and one seems to be kicking a little. I just want to keep an eye on them to be sure he doesn't try to hurt the others. I'll pull him out of the main paddock and we can go inside afterwards, I just want to give them an opportunity to get accustomed to one another."

He gestured silently towards the stables, hoping the man would understand.

[Jadmai]

"That's not a problem...I haven't been around horses for awhile--three months, and never before that, so I'm sorry that I would little help."

Jadmai eyed the stables a little weary, "I have heard of your recent marriage, but I bear no gifts, just a congratulations, and may your yahren together be blessed...by the diety of your choice." He said with a smirk.

Walking with Ulder he thought of how to breech the subject he came here for, "I'm not much of Citadel news, truth be told, I never thought I would be here--even after I surfaced. But, I have heard the Purple Guard has been disbanded, and I was wondering what's next for you. What's the forture hold for former Captain. I assume, you won't be joining the new guard, based upon the fact that you haven't done so already. From what I hear the Empire is at a loss without a swordarm of your skill. Do you have plans to put that back appendage of yours back into play?"

[Ulder]

Ulder smiled his thanks and began to lead the man back out to the fenced enclosure.

"Nothing to worry about. I am quite familiar with them. I appreciate the sentiment. They just need time to get to know one another and become familiar. Horses can be temperamental when they meet others that are strange to them. Sometimes they get along famously right off the start. Sometimes it takes a while for them to warm to each other. They are just like people in that regard."

Ulder waved away thoughts of a gift. "Gifts are not expected, we have only just met."

It was the man's next words that had Ulder at somewhat of a loss. He assumed that Jadmai had heard from his time here of that news. He watched the horses as he spoke.

"I'm still weighing my options sir. The Imperial Guard are adequate enough without me. I appreciate the kind words, but really, I was just one soldier in an outfit of many. No doubt any exploits you've heard were greatly exaggerated. What we did as unit together, is far more important than any achievement of one man. I'm sorry that they were disbanded, and I think the Empire is a less fortunate place because of it. I'm sure before long, they will be sorely missed."

He looked over at Jadmai.

"But that topic is certainly not why you are here. Tell me, what can I do for you?"

[Jadmai]

"Modesty aside, Ulder, when I first arrived here, when I asked to see a great swordsmen, it was only your name that kept popping up. It seems appreication service is quite abundant."

Jadmai paused and watched the horses while listening to Ulder, "Well, that is one thing I can understand about that apsect of horses." He said in reguard to one horse being different.

"Well, now, to cut to the chase. I have a business oppurnity I would like to explore with you. A blade school or weapson school really. Offering lessons and the such to the people of the Citadel. I thought it might be a way for your to give back. I've already approached Raevyn D'Altamoorina to be one of the instructors, I hear you are familiar with too and her qualifications. As for my own qualifications, I'd have to saw I've had few lessons in small blades, but I honed my craft as I could. These blades," He said opening up his cloak, "are a gift the Rafao, pertaining to my prowess with the smaller blade. I assure you, Ulder, you will hard pressed to find one better with one of these in their hands than I."

"Many things can come of this, but you are essential to the business plan. A promient Citadel citizen that is loved, and has the skill."

Jadmai let up his pipe as they were still outside, and began to take small puffs on it, "If you better ventures in mind, then I'm sorry if I have wasted your time. Though if you have better ventures in mind, my pointy ears are all yours."

[Ulder]

"I assure you my words ring true. If there are those that appreciate what we did, then that made the doing them worth it."

He listened to the opportunity that the stranger had in mind carefully, and looked closely as the man flashed the daggers that he claimed were a gift from the Rafao. They were fine blades to be sure, but Ulder was a soldier at heart, and too pragmatic to assume that a stranger's words were truth. Any man could boast of receiving such blades as a gift and the sight of them only put him on guard and made him more cautious. That he knew Raevyn came as a mild surprise, but he found himself unsure of the dark Adhiel's numbers, and therefore he was unsure of the odds of them knowing one another.

It took Ulder all of three flickers to make his decision regarding Jadmai's offer.

"Well sir, I can appreciate your generous offer and your kind words a great deal and I will admit that there is a certain attractiveness to it, but I'm afraid I must decline. I'm not in the habit of having others profit from my name or from the exploits and reputation of the Purple Guard. What we did, we did honorably and for the well being of all, not so that we or others could make coin from it later. I do not wish to insult you sir, but that's exactly what you're asking me to do."

He checked the progress of the horses and returned his attention to Jadmai, both to continue the conversation and to be sure that the man was not overly upset by his reply.

"There is no reason to apologize for you have nothing to apologize for. My time has not been wasted."

He leaned against the fence, and studied the other man.

"I'm hoping that since we are having a pleasant conversation you will allow me to ask you something in return, and please understand, I'm merely curious. For what purpose are you seeking to open such a school here? Raevyn has a great deal of prowess with weapons, and I have no reason to doubt that you do as well. That suggests to me that you and your people are more than capable of defending themselves. The Empire and the Citadel created one of the most elite fighting units, on the surface anyway, with the Purple Guard so its obvious we know how to protect ourselves as well. So what else could it be? Is the lure of the coin that powerful, or are you seeking something else?"

[Jadmai]

"That is unfortunate." Was all Jadmai said at first to Ulder's dismissing of the idea, but after a short pause, he felt the need to further explain himself, "I do want you to know, that I did not wish to exploit your name, and the Purple Guards for a few crowns. The idea was to offer to feeling of calm with the idea of the school. That the purpose would have been to simply create a place where self-defense could readily be learned, and safely."

Again the Dark Adhiel paused, this time taking a drag out of his pipe, and exhaling through his nose. His eyes followed the horses movement, but they seemed to stare through them by a thousand paces.

"Yes, I was seeking other things..." he finally said. Still distant, he went on to pose a question, "Let me start by asking you a question, Ulder. What were you doing during the war? Let me tell you where I was. I was...stationed...at Amun Rah for a good part of it, and for the rest of it I was in Terra Incoginta, as Ambassador. No part of me ever extended myself to helping with that war in any way I could. Even when the fighting reached Aveas--Pan's Isle, and touched near to home. For that I hold regret. The deepest regret."

"But I could not fight. I had those above me, whom reminded me of my position, and there was no armed force I could join. Furthermore, I believe there should have been. In a war of religious persecution, the Seven Isles, and there pantheon, all of whom would have been considered pagans in another land. Many of those dying were the children of these isles--the isles are perhaps the greatest source of pagans as the war mongers would have us believe. I could have fought. I should have fought. But I had no means."

Jadmai looked at Ulder finally, "The school would have ulitimately attracted those would did want to fight these sort of injustices. A legion they could count that if the higher moral ground was needed to be defended people knew that they had a place and people to fight with. Not for the coin, nor the glory, but for the cause."

Jadmai bowed his head, as if ashamed, "They may sound overly ambitious, it may sound like treason, or just plain ambition--in any way I can understand if it does not sound right, or moral to you."

The lithe, odd, hybrid of solider and politician, leaned against the fence as well, and gave a sidelong glance to Ulder, "So, I must ask again. Where were you, when Pan's Isle became Aveas, and as a solider, where did you want to be?"

Jadmai shook his head, and then looked at the horses, "Beautiful animals...perhaps someday I shall learn to properly ride."

He nodded to Ulder, in thanks of his time, rather sure that Ulder had no more time for him.

[Ulder]

The answer to his question was something of a surprise. Ulder's first thought was the man was interested in creating his own private army. That part seemed correct, but it was the reason why that he found interesting. His own reply to the return query was something deeply personal, and at first, he thought to keep it to himself, but something in him would not allow him to remain silent.

"During the battle of Aveas, I was here in the Citadel. There had been riots in the streets, and my comrades in the Purple Guard and I were in the midst of a struggle the likes of which this city had never seen before. There was a demon here, a prince among them if such a foul creature can have such a noble title. My comrades, some former members of the Guard, some mere citizens that came together for a common cause, united in an effort to kill the beast."

Ulder glanced down at his boots, still feeling the loss of those who had given their lives for the effort to rescue Elaine.

"We were fighting here as the battle was waged there. Ultimately, it was how man and woman, Adhiel and Human, soldier and student all united to bring down the thing. Together we stood against it. Together we destroyed it."

He looked over at Jadmai once more. "I was proud to stand near them, and I would do it all over again if I had to, to be in the honor of their company. That was where I wanted to be, and furthermore, where I was meant to be. That is what I was doing in while the battle of Aveas was waged."

There was a hint of defiance in his tone for that last sentence, almost defying the dark Adhiel to make some sort of light of it. But much as the conversation ebbed and flowed, so too did Ulder's tone and intent.

"But in thinking about Aveas and injustice, I want to tell you a story since you have broached the topic. I want to tell you a story about two young men. These men were simple folk, raised in quiet places and into a simple life and told all their lives that the God they worshiped was as strong and powerful as any other God, but not more important than any other God. Then came the battle at Aveas."

"When news of the battle of Aveas broke, they said their goodbyes to their loved ones, and rode off away from their simple lives to fight. They were young men, hardy of heart and strong of limb, so they felt compelled to do something where others could only stand and watch."

"When they reached their appointed commander, they were selected for a unit that was hunting troops of the Prodesse and the Purificatio and waging war directly against them. Their royalist units engaged the Prodesse, and they were killed in the heavy fighting on the island."

"These two men died in a battle because their beliefs clashed with the beliefs of the Prodesse and the One Church were different. The Legions of the Mouth waged a war to impose their beliefs and their power on others for the cause of religious and moral supremacy. The ironic part was that these two men were both faithful and loyal adherents to the One Church, and devout worshipers of Dominicus themselves, yet their resistance to the ideas and beliefs of the Prodesse was so strong, they volunteered to go stand against the very leaders of their own faith. They were called heathen and pagan, and cast out by the Church. They were brutally killed by the Inquisitors, by their very own confessors just for believing that others should be allowed to worship other Gods in their own fashion."

"I tell you this sad story because of it's closeness to me. Those two young men that went off to fight, were my older brothers. I learned of this tragedy in speaking with my parents last yahren when I went home to have them meet my betrothed. Recently, they came to visit for the wedding, and this time they had more detail from talking to those that served with them and survived. I spoke with my father at great length about what happened to his sons, my brothers, and about Pax Balthasar where people not of the same faith have been treated poorly and imprisoned for their beliefs. My father has a strong hatred for the Prodesse and World's Mouth. Aveas cost him two strong sons and me my brothers."

"One of the things Elaine has taught me is that there are times when the Gods order our steps, and there are times when we decide our own fate. I never used to believe in portents and omens and yet here you are, a stranger, speaking of things that I have been long contemplating since I heard of my brother's deaths."

"I can appreciate your candor, and your cause, perhaps more than you will ever know, but with the King now dead in the West, and with the Prodesse roaming free and unchecked, the time to make such a stand is now and cannot wait. If you regret not standing against them then, do not make the same mistake twice. You are an Ambassador and have the power to enact change. Let them hear your voice. Use your influence and your station. Make yourself be heard. If you find the cost and consequences are too great in your current post, then resign and join us. Elaine and I have already made preparations. We leave the day after tomorrow for Pax. What the Prodesse has done there and across the entire Western Kingdom cannot stand."

[Jadmai]

"I did not mean to apply that you sat on your hands as the battle for Aveas went on, merely, that if circumstances be different then, by your repsonse it sounds like you wish you could have been there--but I emphasize only if events of the Citadel hadn't have taken place."

Jadmai stood in silence for second, reguarding the words of Ulder's brothers'. He wasn't the best at sympathy, and he highly doubted Ulder was looking for any. Jadmai kept it simple, "I am sorry for your losses. I lost thousands of brethren in a battle which was a precursor to the war, but I could never comprehend losing my own brothers...or sisters as it were."

Jadmai quickly changed the subject, "I have given up my role as ambassador. But, the parting was amicable I am still in good favor with his highness Ionis. I shall use my station to ask for aid from his highness. In different forms--you wouldn't mind fighting along side Amunic Soliders, would you? Of course, it wouldn't be in an offical capacity." Jadmai said rasing the corner of his lips. "My requests will be modest, but his highness is generous." Jadmai nodded to himself, content on the direction this was heading, "Any special provision you would like put into the letter? I shall explain all that is said here in the letter, and if you have details to add; meeting places and the like, then please let me know."

Jadmai scratched his chin, "I will throw all my faculities into this, I give you my mind and body on this venture."

[Ulder]

"I completely understand you weren't implying anything."

Ulder replied casually, certain that there was a bit of surprise registering in the man at the fact that Ulder had been quite busy while the battle raged. He had left out all of the reasons why that battle had been fought in the first place, as there was little need to go into that much detail with someone he had only just met.

"Had things been different, yes, I probably would have gone over and done my part. This is true."

Jadmai's careful, measured response to the story was unexpected, as if the full implications of what Ulder was saying was not completely understood. Here in his backyard, he had stated quite clearly that he was journeying to Pax to fight the One Church and stand against their religious tyranny, and instead the man focused on the loss of his brothers, and the blood of his own compatriots. It was an interesting response to say the least.

Yet, despite that subdued and stoic reaction, it seemed that Ulder's words had struck home with the dark Adhiel. He was already speaking of Amunic soldiers and seeking aid from the Rafao. Seeking logistical information for where and when those soldiers were to meet. And indeed, his last words were simple, yet effective. This stranger, whom he had only met mere burns ago, was in all the way.

Another man might have been arrogant enough to assume that his own words had swayed the dark Adhiel into joining his cause, but Ulder was a pragmatic sort, who just assumed the cause swayed the man far more than his own words ever could have.

"We are leaving from these very grounds at tradetide. Which will get us into Pax while the day is still young."

Ulder's respect for the portals to whisk them there in such a short time was obvious.

"All I ask, is that if anyone is willing to come, that they do so voluntarily, and of their own free will and volition. It is likely to be a long campaign, and I cannot lead any sort of contingent when their hearts and minds are on coin and compensation. This is an ideological struggle as much as a physical one sir. We cannot win if our own forces aren't dedicated to the cause."

"The only other thing is the West is a vast area. The lands there aren't like this tiny island. I'm not sure what sway you have or had with the Rafao, and it's probably too much to ask for, but the more mounts we have, the better off we'll be. Mobility will be essential to our plans."

Ulder took stock of Jadmai and reached out a hand, extending his to shake.

"I'm glad to hear you are committed to this sir. It was my hope to gain as many allies in this as possible, and you have been a genuine surprise with what you can offer. I sincerely thank you."

[Jadmai]

"I shall make sure your requirements are met, sir. If soliders should come they will most lilely be fighting with Uphuron in mind--I should hope that will be alright, I should think so, as our goal would still be common. I cannot promise aid, only a little hope for my sword arms. And the point of horses, a great many ride camels, but many ride horses. It is a must in the desert, walking any distance in desert on font is akin to walking into the nether and aspecting to come back out alive. I am sure they will be good horsemen."

"As for myself, I will go to a scribe, and get my request out to the Rafao immediately, as we have little time to waste leaving the day after tomorrow. As for the twenty-sixth, I shall arrive early in hopes to be briefed on your stratedgy. It seems as though you have Pax as a starting point...I couldn't agree more, on stratedgy and people who are need of freedom...though all of course deserve it."

Jadmai gathered his cloak about him, anything but desert air seemed frigid to him now, "It seems I have business to attend to--we all do." Jadmai looked at the horses, somewhat intimadating creatures, "Perhaps a short riding lesson sometime before we arrive in the west? I can very well save those from religious persecution if am hanging halfway out of the saddle, head being dragged on the ground."

Jadmai took Ulders hand in a firm grasp, "To future ventures, friend, and where ever they may lead us."

[Ulder]

"I don't mind which God they pray to, or what beliefs they hold as long as they understand that this about giving others the freedom to choose. The people in Pax have been outlawed in every other part of the Kingdom because of their beliefs. That is what this struggle is going to be about. Not raising any one God up, or tearing any one God down."

Ulder gave a slight nod as Jadmai spoke about making his request and the time they had remaining.

"This is something that has been brewing for quite some time in me and my wife. I know that its short notice for you, so I appreciate your urgency."

Ulder smiled at the mention of riding lessons.

"Riding is nearly as easy as falling off. It takes just a bit of practice and the help of someone who knows of horses. If we do not get a chance before we depart, we will certainly have the opportunity after we arrive there. As you know, the West is full of open spaces, and it's very likely you won't be the only one that could use a few pointers. Believe me, before long, you will curse me for being in the saddle so much."

Ulder spoke from experience. His first ride had been excruciating.

He shook the man's hand firmly.

"To wherever they may lead us."

He returned his attention to the horses after watching Jadmai retreat and go about his business.

[Ulder]

~ Fin

[Morg]

Skilled and archived.