A Dinner for All (Open)

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Solarlight and Darksky ran around the Twilight Palace, quickly getting things ready. They'd sent invites throughout the various kingdoms. It was simple. They wanted to try and just meet people from all the regions at once, and food just happened to be an excellent way to encourage people to show up. The pair looked around, sliding to a halt to avoid smashing into a cheif.

"Sorry Twister."

"Perfectly fine, my Rulers." The chief continued as the twins sighed.

"Note to selves. Remember that one of us need to keep our eyes forward."

"Yeah. If we don't we just get turned around, tangled, and run into walls." The both chuckled a little before walking into the room that would serve as the banquet room. This would be interesting.

With his ears perked to glean information from the conversation on his approach, Nihik'la mentally catalogues names and titles- The ominous-looking one is a Xoyan general named Oculus, the handsom-... er, ornate blue one is named Cassius, the blueish-green one is named Jinjuri, and those two are siblings and also both heirs to the Vuarian throne, and Nihik'la is making a very big mistake by approaching this group but it's much too late to back out now so he just has to insert himself in the conversation and hope he doesn't offend the Xoyan, or any of them, but especially the Xoyan.  Forcing all these thoughts out of his overactive mind, he returns the quick smile from Cassius with a similar expression and a slight nod before padding up to the group, right into the spot Cassius had offered.  As soon as he walks into proper view, his demeanor shifts entirely, his traitorous thoughts entirely discarded and replaced with what could almost be described as an entirely different dragon.

"Ah, Cassius Azriel the Fourth!  I am quite relieved to see you here," He chirps happily, already turning his head away from Cass and Oculus to reach over into his scroll-bag.  "Your writings are truly incredible- but I'm sure you hear such things quite often, hah!  Though our supply of your work within the Kra'vos is sadly limited, we do still have a clawful, and one of your older scrolls has piqued my interest-" He stops, then turns and bows deeply to them.  "Oh dear, where are my manners?  I am Kal'izi Nihik'la of the Ki'shan, here with permission from Kael Nibiru himself to accompany our glorious Kuz'a, Asherna Ky'aelri, to this event in hopes of meeting you!"  He stands up again, smiling brightly at Cass.  "In my current branch of study, I've run across an obstacle that I believe... er..."  

He trails off as his gaze slides to Cassius, then he bows again to the two.  "Ah, my deepest apologies!  I was so caught up in my curiosity, I completely failed to realize you were with another dragon!  My apologies, again.  I do hope I have not interrupted anything important..."

The poor dragon hardly seemed able to compose himself.  It was all very quite amusing to Oculus how just his mere presence was causing such a rough time for the prince.  His smirk remained on his maw as he watched the poor prince struggle, shifting from trying to attempt manners to talking about fates and kiwi.  Oh the poor soul, he did not really know who he was or what he does, did he?  Oculus just slightly chuckled to himself, deciding to keep that tidbit of information to himself, for now at least.  "Oh, the great general, hrm?  Do you know so much about me to know what I am the general of?" he asked with a slightly raised brow, swishing his tail back to the table to gently tip the tray back where it was, minus the two missing fruit slices.  He gave a slight nod to JinJuri, not bothering to introduce since Cassius had done that already.  "Your brother sure does love to dissect things, does he not?"  Looking back at Cassius, still leaning against them he almost purred as he spoke in his thick Xoyan accent as they tried to shift him off, eventually allowing it as they ate the fruit.  "Well, of course, you could be allergic to the fruit, and eating it could be considered a risk.  Just like accepting fruit from a stranger, no?  They could have preplanned which fruit to offer the two heirs of a tribe that had been poisoned or have a fine powdery poison on the tail that activates when it contacts citric acid.  Definitely not impossible, but improbable right?" He just gave a slight smile, one that would most probably be menacing to a poor stressed-out dragon. "

    Fate?" he half asked, turning towards the princess as Cassius scooted a bit to make room for a Kishan to join their oh-so joyous circle.  "Your brother sure does love to overthink things, doesn't he?" Shifting to slightly face the group more instead of favoring any of the three, although potentially leaning just slightly closer to Cassius.  He would remain silent, watching the Kishan dragon inch over to their group before practically gushing over the Vuari prince.  "Wouldn't fate be the exact opposite of what you just said?  Fate implies the outcome is already decided, no matter your choices.  And what sort of obstacle have you encountered, dear scholar?" he asked in a nice and pleasant manner, making sure to make and maintain eye contact with the Kishan as he grinned nicely, potentially displaying all his sharp teeth as his tail swished back and forth in a totally not menacing way.

"That must be one doozy of a list of catalogues you must keep. Considering since those dragons are living in all the other continents. That is. How does one keep track of everything? Your people that is. I am very much as intrigued as I am confused." Thar said gently. Eyes dotting over towards the other group. Where a familiar looking drake has joined now. His eye focused towards Oculus for just a few seconds, giving him a look. One that asked him politely, but firmly. Like a friend, to be a little easy on his children. Should Oculus look back at him, had he even noticed him during that few seconds. Tharasis would simply give him a gentle smile.

Tharasis went back to his own circle, the moment the Queen of the Kisha had spoke. Looking back and listening. Humming at her words about the Storm callers numbers. Giving her a soft nod. "I guess so. That is what the twins said." As she then moved to the prospects and thought of the excavation of the earth to pave way towards expansion, Tharasis went back to thought. A chuckle leaving him, "Perhaps we can help you in your efforts of expansion. We ourselves are quite versed in the methods of moving the earth to give way towards expanse." He said to the twins. A somewhat gentle nudge to a possible treaty, should they ever really want to start such a project.

"I do hope the tribe of the sea may join us, despite being the fact they are going to attend to a place so hot and dry." Tharasis said to himself, ah he had been waiting ever since he and his family had arrived here for them to come too.

Solar would nod a little at both Tharasis and Asherna before he spoke up. “There definitely are a lot of us. Maybe not as many as other tribes, but there are a lot. As far as tunneling, sadly that’s not really an option. There are old ruins under the palace, dangerous enough that they’re their own security system. The entrance is kept guarded as well so please don’t get any ideas. My and Darksky have seen enough people hurt trying.” At the same time, with the mention of knowledge and information, Sky seemed to really perk up, and would soon speak, somewhat quietly.

“Of course! We are always looking for information to gather. I have to admit there is information that we’ve been trying find for more personal reason, but it’s rare enough to be difficult.”

Jinjuri casually observed the general before her and his definitely very strange and... Open mannerisms. If he was a general, shouldn't he be more professional? He acted as if nothing could happen and maybe hurt him or anyone else in here; he was definitely a lot scarier the more she thought of why he could be this way in such a high position in a foreign land.

Jin gave a small bow of her head to Oculus, out of respect for his ranking. "It's a pleasure to meet someone of your reputation, General. And, well, Cassius was always the more curious of us!", She spoke with practiced lines, not missing a beat, despite her nervousness around the general. She looked down to the fruit she had in her claw, and raised it to her face as she listened to Oculus go on about the potentials for allergy, and as he got into the bit about poison in the fruit, she couldn't help but stop herself, her breath caught in her throat as she snapped her mouth shut and lowered the fruit a small bit, obviously very disturbed by the possibility that her food could have just been used to kill her, and heavens forbid Cassius!

She couldn't just sit there and stay quiet about it, she had to speak up about it, but she just couldn't... Especially not to someone who just got infinitely more terrifying by that sentence alone. Instead she leaned up against Cass, nudging his side and lifting her snout to his ear. "I uh... I think I could go for that book right about now, Cass... Ya know... Together..?"

Well... This certainly wasn't the night Cassius was envisioning. Veiled threats (if that could even COUNT as veiled), enigmatic strangers coming to the rescue- Cassius was TRYING to keep his cool, but that was VERY difficult when someone is literally threatening to k i l l you. "Well my dear General," Cassius reply after half a beat of silence, "Would your notoriously secretive tribe be doing its job if I knew precisely what you did? And please, you wound me with such harsh words." Cassius drawled, putting a paw to his forehead dramatically.

"Despite not knowing the details of your duties, I do know of your.. unique reputation. Only a fool would attempt to poison the heirs of a tribe as powerful as the Vuari, at a social gathering as large as this, and in the presence of numerous tribe leaders." It was a bit of a gamble here, but Cassius wanted to make an impression- er, or rather prove that the impression that he had made wasn't his true impression- but the impression that he wanted to make wasn't truly him either- wHATEVER the wording, Cassius wanted to at least prove that- though he was terrified out of his mind a bit nervous- he could and would hold himself together through sheer force of will. With that in mind, "And if I know anything about you, General Oculus, you are no fool."

Cassius's poor heart was already beating fast thanks to Oculus's threatening presence, but it sped up even more once the handsome- er, intriguing Ki'shan stepped forwards, and skipped a beat like a broken record when Nih addressed him by name. "To meet- me? Moons, I hadn't realized my studies had traveled that far across Nuira-" His eyes lit up as the proffered mention of an "obstacle" clicked his problem-solving brain into gear, social protocols nearly forgotten, at least until Nihik'la brought his attention back to the situation at hand.

"Oh nothing too important I'd say," Cassius said reassuringly, looking back to Oculus, "And in answer to your question General, I prefer to think of fate as- a tapestry. More like a web, a series of intersecting roadways, or better yet, a system of rivers, if you will. The 'current' of time is forcing you downstream, from point A towards point B, but you can choose the route you take to get there! And sometimes, your river intersects with someone else's, often for a purpose."

Jinjuri's nudging soon snapped Cassius back into focus, however, and the desire to take a breather from all of- that- All the political nonsense they'd gotten involved in almost IMMEDIATELY upon entering- Suddenly going out onto one of the balconies was sounding very appealing. "Ah, apologies, I'm afraid my sister is feeling a bit overwhelmed by the atmosphere in here and needs a spot of fresh air- If you'll excuse us General-?" Cassius was doing his best not to look at Nihik'la during his ramblings about fate, but he was enthralled by everything about this Ki'shan stranger, and his rising curiosity soon threatened to get the better of him. So, as casually as this poor, overwhelmed man could, Cassius turned to "Nihik'la, perhaps you would be kind enough to join us for a moment? Just long enough to sort out your obstacle, of course, I wouldn't want to take up too much of your time."


[This part's short but shhhhhh]

Asherna's head perked up at the mention of whatever this "information" may be, "Oh? And what may this knowledge be, if I could be so blunt as to ask?" Her mind was already rapidly flicking through everything she'd learned in her studies, hoping to have chanced across whatever it was, or to perhaps have been shown it by one of her Archivists for some reason or another. "Information of an arcane nature, or something more- practical?"

As Cassian and Jinjuri attempted to get themselves out of talking to the Xoya general. A set of heavy footsteps and a low growl would be heard behind them. If they turned they would see who Oculus would have surely already noticed by now. An old, scarred wyvern who had seemed to have seen better days, particularly given the scar on his neck. And right now this old wyvern was stared right at the Xoya. He would then look at the two younger dragons, and slowly gestured with his wings and two fingers.

Are you three ok?




Meanwhile, the twins looked at Asherna, with Solar sighing before giving an answer. "More... species related. There isn't much information on our species as a who, so honestly any information would probably be new." It was an honest answer at least.

The poor Ki'shan cowers slightly when he locks eyes with Oculus.  "I-... er..."

His frantic mental hunt for an answer is quickly halted by Cassius's words, bringing a rush of relief.  Turning to the gorgeous- er, well-dressed royal, he smiles.  "Ah...  Yes, I would be happy to accompany you!  It will be much easier to describe my current predicament in a more comfortable environment."  He looks back over at Oculus with a sheepish, apologetic smile, taking on a more oblivious façade.  "My apologies, General.  Perhaps we could meet another time to discuss my work, if you are still interested, that is.  It would be my pleasure to share my theories with you!"
"...At least, it would be, if the question was asked out of genuine interest, and not simply to see me squirm like a pinned animal.  But, of course, I will simply assume that you did indeed intend to inquire in good faith!  Feel free to seek me out later- I am not a difficult dragon to find!"  ^w^

With Oculus successfully accidentally insulted and Nihik'la's life successfully put in possible danger, he turns back to Cassius, already shifting mental gears from social-event mode to problem-solving.  "So, my work primarily hinges on the concept of what I call "Recursive Interactive Self-Sustaining Enchantment Casting", or "RISEC" for short- in an eggshell, it is the process of making an enchanted tool that absorbs energy from either its user or its surroundings, and uses that energy to both sustain its own enchantment, and to either cast a spell directly, or to imbue an object with its own RISEC enchantment.  These enchantments can also interact with each other, which infinitely expands its possible utility, since it allows these tools to react differently to different situations!  In theory, it could even be used to create intelligent beings without the usual cost that golems or elementals demand!"
"...Of course, that is far more advanced than what I have developed so far, so it is not quite possible to do such a thing quite yet.  Currently, my research is focused mostly on..."  He coughs into a balled-up claw.  "...Military purposes.  Far from what I intend my work to be used for, but it is by and large the most efficient way to obtain supplies, support, and funding from Kael Niribu and the rest of the Ki'shan governing body..."  

He trails off as he spots the massive dragon looming over them, and likely over Nihik'la most of all, due to his rather diminutive stature compared to most other dragons his age.  He does his best to look unbothered, but considering the also massive and incredibly dangerous dragon behind him as well, he's finding it very difficult to keep his heart from leaping out of his chest.

This was all quite amusing to Oculus, the poor poor Vuari heirs scrambling to maintain political politeness. He could care less of political correctness, and just found the entire situation entertaining. At the prince's response, he could not help but let out a loud chuckle, his eyes twinkling as his lips curled into a smile. Oh dear Prince of the Vuari, I am indeed no fool. And just something to keep in mind, the dead hardly reveal who their attacker is, and in such a large gathering? Would not this make it the most opportune time to take out someone and pin the blame on the host for poison, hrm?" He let that sink in for a moment, before letting out another chuckle, as he knew pushing it tooooo far would lead to a nice, long lecture about proper etiquette by Azreyus. "I jest of course, but would not the best cover be in plain sight?" At the stomping of the overly angry wyvern approaching, he would just roll his eyes and smile. The old grump could stare all the daggers they wanted into his back as much as they wanted.

When the little Kishan responded, still practically gushing don't he Vuari prince, he just raised an eye and stared down at them. "Oh dear lil scholar, why would I make someone squirm? Especially one that approached, unless that is what you sought? And what sort of military purpose would this new... RISEC be, hrm?" he asked, raising a brow and slightly tilting his head to the side. All the while, he made a show of blatantly ignoring the grumpy guard. "Dear Cassius, it seems your sister needs some fresh air.
Should you not delay and help escort the lady to the balcony, or shall I have to?~ (smol post is smol)

Tharasis at the twins words about finding a certain information regarding species. Made the drake hum in thought, he remembered the Vuarian libraries held a lot of books about dragon races, especially the old temple. And that in their efforts to rapidly catch up the other tribes in terms of power and knowledge after their unification. They had sent, possibly thousands of dragons to find books. Any books of worth all across Nuria. To be brought back and taken into their archives. To be copied and eventually, to be distributed in their own libraries.

Tharasis pondered at the thought if the information the twins seek lies within the Vuarian vault of books. It might... But then again, the stormcallers were known for their vast wealth of knowledge in their libraries. If the twins couldn't find their book here, would they honestly find it in the Vuarian libraries? Well, it was probably worth a shot at least.

"Mayhaps the Vuari vault of knowledge holds the book you seek. We have have sent many dragons to find books all across Nuria, to bring them back to us so that they may kept safe and copied. We made great strides in trying to find books of the sciences. There might be a chance you'd find it." He said to them with a soft eager voice. It would be nice to show the rulers around the Vuari tribe. Since Tharasis and his family had visited here before. It might also help to further strengthen their relations by helping the twins too.

Jinjuri, having whirling feelings of distress pushed against her brother gently, so as to get the point across 'Come on! Let's GO!'. She certainly wasn't about to be in the presence of a top deck assassin.. she had read a couple books on rumors of the Skyggers, and needless to say, she had first hand experience now on how terrifying they can be.

Jin pushed just a bit harder on her stubborn brother, a small hiss escaping from her teeth, "Come ON, Cassius, I wanna READ!", Jin urged, hoping he'd finally get the message; her scales were crawling with what felt like hundreds of tiny spiders, and in a room filled with dragons, and a single very VERY A SCARY one right beside them, she'd rather be in a dirt hole flooding in the rain!