Solitary Refinement
Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2021 5:22 am
56th of Frost, 120
"Well..." Asmodei started with a pull to his lips. "I don't hate it," he confessed to Fayeth's dismay.
"Asmodei..." The Cardinal began with a growl.
"What? He's got a point," the Velsign declared with a nod. "Honor doesn't win wars, it just gets people killed. If we can break the country from the inside, without throwing thousands of sympathetic souls to the slaughter, shouldn't we at least consider it?"
Arkash couldn't help but smile at Asmodei's thoughts; he knew the false knight would side with him. Asmodei had always been a man of logic and reason, even if his wife wasn't. "So it's settled?" Arkash asked with a perk to his brow.
Asmodei shook his head at that, then looked between Fayeth and the humanoid-shaped Rathor. "I'm sorry, it's so strange hearing your voice come from a human's lips," the Velsign smiled.
Arkash rolled his eyes. "What's th' problem?" he begged with a furrow to his brow. "Like, why can't we go ahead with it?"
"Well, you said we need a solid plan, right?"
"Right."
"And what is your plan?"
Arkash paused and thought for a moment with pursed lips. He looked off to the side, then looked between Fayeth and Asmodei, who both watched him expectantly. "I dun't have one," he confessed.
"Exactly," returned the Velsign. "If we're going to do this, we need to plan properly; we can't just throw you to the nearest Baron with a bag full of blood money and bribe them to naturalize you. Naturally, they're gonna have questions. Everyone's going to have questions on the new human in outer Nivenhain." Asmodei went on and began to pace while he thought, Arkash and Fayeth both watched him with anticipation. "You'll need a new name; 'Arkash' is the name of a revolutionary and a murderer, damned by the public. You'll also need a different story, something people won't hate. Your clothes? You'll need something better. You don't know the first thing about human grooming and hygiene. Your posture's off, and your accent needs some tuning... Half of higher society is being graded on how you present yourself, after all."
Arkash straightened his back a little, then breathed into his cupped hand to smell his breath, which stank of raw meat and venom. So, Asmodei had a few points. "Why though?" He asked and crossed his arms. "Why so many hoops? Can't we just figure it out after?"
"No," the Velsign returned. "Lorien's a country where everyone knows everything about everyone. Odds are, the kindred are going to set their sights on you the moment you approach whoever we bribe, so we need a really good, solid story that won't leave any room for suspicion."
Asmodei was right, of course, but it was a lot of work. Though he supposed if he wanted to deceive a nation with spies on every wall, he had to be perfect, seamless. "Alright, well.. What'chya suggest?" The rathor returned with a shrug.
"Well, you were born in Lorien, that's the same. You'll need a rien name to reflect that. As for how you amassed your wealth...?" Asmodei sighed at that and licked his teeth while he thought. "...You moved to Tyrclaid to pick up mercenary work, saved up your coin, then returned to your favored country, Lorien, to join the ranks of the citizens and contribute in any way you can. You were really good at your job, so you've only been gone for a year, and you missed all this revolution stuff completely. Only thing is, you don't quite have the face of a practiced mercenary..."
Arkash furrowed his brow at that, then lifted one hand to pinch at his cheeks. It was true, he looked very young. "We could just fuck up my face a bit," he offered with a turn of his hand in the dim light of the dilapidated train cart.
"What?" Fayeth asked with an obvious look of shock and horror.
"You know liek..." he continued to feel over his features, then held his nose. "Break m'nose, cut m'cheek or sumfin', just gimme some scars, liek."
"No," they both answered in unison.
"We're not doing that," Fayeth declared with a stern shake of her head.
"I agree; there's no need. If anything, people will find you more likable as you are." Asmodei crossed his arms.
"...Whatchya mean?" Arkash asked with a squint. Fayeth and Asmodei exchanged a look, then shrugged.
"Well," the cardinal began. "You might not think so, but as far as humans go, you're quite attractive-."
"-What?!" he called in surprise.
"That can work to your advantage, Arkash. People are more likely to treat you nicely if you look good; another reason we need to brush you up on grooming, dressing, and speaking properly." Asmodei smiled a little with his explanation but kept his arms crossed while he looked down at the young disguised rathor.
The fully realized rath continued to touch and pull at his features. Was he attractive? He couldn't tell. He didn't often find humans to be attractive, and often just stayed out of their way. Was it really possible that he was blessed with naturally-good looks?
"Of course, we'll need to cut your hair a bit and clean you up, but you have the potential to make it far," Fayeth offered with a turn of her hand.
"Well..." Asmodei added with a squint and looked solely at the 'guised rathor. "If we work on your charm a touch, that is..."
Arkash stared unimpressed with his mismatched eyes. Was he being evaluated? Graded? A shake of his head threw the locks of his hair in waves. "Okay, that doesn' 'elp me now though," he spoke in mild irritation.
"Your accent falters when you're angry," Asmodei continued, then began his slow walk around the rathor. "You'll need a better handle on your emotions if you're planning to infiltrate higher society. Stand up straight," the Velsign ordered, and the false human obliged. The reptilian slouch to his neck and shoulders withdrew, and his back clicked and popped in three places. Asmodei brought his hands to the rathor's shoulders, and pulled them back a little from their forward position. "Hold them here," he instructed, then continued his walk around the rathor.
"I haet this," Arkash spoke with mild strain as his chest tightened under his back.
"Well get used to it, 'cause you'll have to do this for multiple hours every day." Arkash breathed deeply through his nose, then sighed. "What's phase one of the plan, then, Rien Citizen?" The Velsign asked then, then again, lifted Arkash's chin to keep his head straight when his posture began to falter.
"I wanna assume control of a bunch of 'ollows," he declared.
"Hollows," Fayeth corrected. "And how do you suppose you do that?"
"...Well, sum o' th'Lorianum mines under house Baringer is in revolt against th' nobility. I figure we can seize control o' them with the revolution, and I can work my way into becoming an overseer for some o' th' more loyal mines," he explained with a turn of his hand, only to pause as Asmodei again straightened his back and fixed his slouch.
"So step one is infiltrating the knighthood?" Asked the Velsign with a tilt of their head. "You know that means marrying an existing knight, right? As well as working around hollows?"
Arkash shook his head at that, then straightened his back again before Asmodei could straighten it for him. There, he made the conscious resolve to keep it straight. "Step one is t' pick up and learn Artificing, help build th' hollows," he explained. "Step two is t' then learn t' control 'em through the knighthood."
"Stop there," spoke Fayeth with a shake of her head. "It's 'To' and 'The'. You keep dropping the words short," she explained sternly. Arkash scoffed, and parroted 'To' and 'The' to the best of his ability.
"That could take a while, you know," Asmodei told with a forced frown.
"I'm a fast learna'," Arkash returned with a smile on his squishy human lips.
"Learn-ER" Fayeth called.
They really weren't allowing him to fall lax in any field. His posture had to be right, his speech had to be perfect. What was next, his mannerisms? "Don't roll your eyes," Asmodei warned. "You need to be polite when dealing with others, even if they're annoying you."
Arkash loosed a groan of despair then and threw his arms up as he let his shoulders fall lax. "It's so much!" He cried to the rusty iron ceiling of the caboose. Again, Asmodei brought his back in line with a forceful press of his gauntlet-wrapped hands.
The velsign chuckled a little and shook his head before he continued. "You'll get used to it. Fayeth and I will continue to mentor you until you go to bribe a baron. Make sure you ask to be elevated to the Lustrian caste so that you can immediately begin work on hollows in that case. In the meantime, we'll need to work on your general charm and powers of seduction for when you need to make a move on a Knight." Arkash hung his head at that, then promptly straightened it with an eyeful of despair.
"Unless, of course, you think all this is too much?" Fayeth offered with a smile. "There's no shame in doing this the right way, Arkash," she offered, smug.
Arkash furrowed his human brow. The right way involved amassing hundreds of thousands of peasants to rally and die for their cause in her eyes. She wanted a violent, bloody revolt against the crown, an honorable path that didn't involve lies or subterfuge. He shook his head and straightened his back again and pulled his shoulders into place. "THE" he called firmly. "TO" he followed. In truth, the idea that Fayeth thought he couldn't pursue such a path helped encourage him to do better. Even if it was just out of spite, he'd work hard.
Fayeth crossed her arms at that, Asmodei laughed a breath, and for a few more hours of the day, they continued to refine Arkash's etiquette.
