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“I-I’m sorry? But what?” Gage stammered out as his mind went blank. He struggled to process what he was seeing for a moment. Floating next to the Son of Sand was an archon, that was most definitely not Ma’tuk. It wasn’t just the coloration difference as Gage knew the orb could change colors, but the feeling, the demeanor of the archon.
The Son of Sand raised a brow and looked slightly amused. Slightly. “Ra’xar.” Was all he said.
The deep purple archon moved to hover between them in the center of the table. “Lord Kin,” The archon’s voice was very similar to Ma’tuk’s. Though it came across drier and more feminine. “You have the honor of sitting in the presence of the Son of Sand, the Jewel of Aridity, my Lord Xarax.”
Gage went to open his mouth to speak when Ra’xar cut him off and continued. “The most gracious Lord Xarax has offered his hospitality to you, Lord Kin.”
Gage began to offer thanks when once again Ra’xar cut him off. “The benevolent Lord Xarax invited you to speak today on the topic of sovereignty. It has come to Lord Xarax’s attention that you have gained influence among the… populace.”
Gage waited a moment this time, before opening his mouth. He barely cracked his lips before Ra’xar began speaking once more. “Lord Xarax is willing,” Gage kept his face calm, but he could feel annoyance building up in him. “To converse openly with you about this topic. While the context of this meeting will, of course, be kept within the sands of ambiguity, the joining of Lord Kin and Lord Xarax will be known to all.”
Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Gage began to speak. “Furthermore,” Ra’xar began again.
This time Gage felt his power flare inside him, “Enough.” The rumble in his voice shocked even himself. The force behind it actually pushed the archon back a few feet and made the awning ripple. In an effort to calm himself, Gage closed his eyes and just focused on his breathing for a moment. As he felt his blood stop boiling, he opened his eyes and looked across the table.
Gage ran a hand through his hair and then righted the cup he had dropped, then smiled. “Um, right. So, my name is Gage with the honorific of ‘kin. So Gage’kin. Now I thank you for inviting me here, letting me see your… home? The food was delicious by the way, thank you.”
“I don’t know what is going on here, per say. I got a bit of a gist of it, but the big thing that stuck out was it sounds like you came to a decision about this conversation already.” Gage looked past the archon to the Son of Sand, Xarax. “So, as a, no, as the Cleric of Kin, what is the actual topic of this conversation?”
There were a few moments of silence as Ra’xar slowly deepened in color. Its voice was strained as it began to speak. “Lord Xarax-”
“Can speak for himself, thank you. If he wanted to have you do this conversation for him, then Xarax,” Gage purposefully did not use ‘Lord’ as Xarax had also done for Kin earlier. His frustration was getting the better of him. “Should have sent you out to speak to me.”
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“It would do you well to rememb-,”
“That will do, Ra’xar.” Xarax’s voice was as hot as Gage remembered from the public speech. “The Cleric is not wrong.” The Son of Sand gave a slight nod of his head. “It is appreciated that you accepted my invitation to speak.” Gage grunted in reply, but Xarax continued. “You address yourself as Cleric. I am curious, why lessen yourself like this?”
Gage pursed his lips before responding. “I don’t see myself as being lessened in any way. What was that bit about us joining together?”
“You are rather… direct, are you not?” Xarax lounged back, “No presentation? No pomp or circumstance?”
“Have you met my teacher?” Gage chuckled, “Very much no nonsense.”
Xarax chuckled dryly. His face was still flat and uninterested as he went on, “Very well then. I would like to propose a ruling of sovereignty over the settlement.”
“Would that not be between you and the Respected? Isn’t she in charge of everything?” Gage frowned, thinking carefully.
Ra’xar slowly floated back over to Xarax’s shoulder. The elf shook his head, “No. I do not mean the mortal rulings of the masses. I mean the divine. I propose a pantheon between us, in which I rule, of course, and you are subservient.”
Gage blinked. Then he stared at the elf. “Not much of a discussion, is it? I was correct in assuming your mind has already been made up, then.”
Xarax’s eyes locked with Gage’s. “That is correct.”
“I have not had the discussion of pantheons, as of yet. I am not sure what that entail.” Gage didn’t bother actually phrasing it as a question. A cold pit sat in his stomach.
“A formal founding of a pantheon should help ensure… preservation of peace among those that follow Xarax and Kin.” Xarax took a long, slow sip of his water. “The subservient aspect would mean little in light of that, would it not?”
Why does this feel like it is a scene from a movie being played out? Gage mentally shook his head. The cold pit in his stomach seemed to drop. If it is, then this is an ultimatum. Well… that is not good. Keeping the locked gaze, “As you can understand, I am sure, I will need to speak with the archon of Kin before accepting such an offer. To do so without it being present would be… distasteful.”
The silence lengthened. The wind blew gently around the spire, the awning flapped gently. The tension broke as Xarax nodded. “Very well. Inform your archon. Ra’xar will begin preparations on my behalf.”
“Thank you, Xarax.” Gage stood and gave a slight bow. With that he turned to leave. As he walked towards the stairs he could feel the eyes of the Son of Sands burning into his back. Gage forced himself to walk steadily until he was out of sight. Once he was down the stairs and around the corner, he picked up his pace and fled the spire.
It was clear to Gage that Xarax was very much in a ‘you are with me or against me’ mind set. Not to mention that superiority complex. That guy lived to show off how wealthy he is. Gage paused as he was about halfway down the tower, then quickly resumed his pace. The kumdahari hadn’t had currency before. Most needs were met by the tribe as a whole. So why does he care about it so much?
There were two things of which Gage was sure as he exited the spire and crossed the open sands to the settlement. He was not going to bind himself into subservience to a… god. Oh shit. I’m saying no to a god in… his own home. Gage slipped into an alcove and gripped his face between his hands, before sliding them back over his head and through his hair as he silently cursed to himself. This is where he tries to ‘off’ me, isn’t it?
Gage was not interested in getting in a fight over territory or worship or whatever could pop up over this. Nor was he keen on dying. There was only one other choice he could think of. Gage was going to have to talk to the tent and let them know he was leaving the settlement. Then he would have to go talk with Hye-jun. The sooner he left, the better.