Though Kilani Sorune is surrounded daily by the dust and toil of Five Coils, boxed in by earthen and adamant walls, forced into subservience by the Peace Force and the collar she cannot refuse, her sleep brings her her one liberation.

She dreams of the sky.

Not just any dreams, either. None of this speculation that the Sky-Seekers often entertain one another with, from (mostly restricted, and in that case 'borrowed') paintings and texts that describe or depict the heavens. Her sky is not an approximation pieced together from myths and romantic fiction of dubious quality. It is a true memory, passed down to her through the Shard that Exalted her -- and, out of no fault of its own, consigned her to a life of slavery.

The sky she dreams of is always of varying hue and color. At times it is a clear midday, an azure so expansive she feels she can lose herself in it. Other times dusky, the clouds flared up in a rousing conflagration of rosy-orange hues. But more often than not, it is the night sky her dream-memories bring to life: that velvet darkness shimmering with stars, the many-shifting faces of the moon. One star in particular draws her attention, and it is a bright, strong red in hue. It calls to her, "don't forget..."

It calls to her, "Wake up..."
"Kilani, wake up now. It's time to get ready."

The sound of that voice wasn't a dream at all, but the voice of Winglord Sesus Raves Jedevra. Her owner, for lack of a better word. The collar around Kilani's neck projects the older woman's voice right into Kilani's mind from a distance, and she stirs awake with a cold jolt. She is seated in a chair in a medical examination room; several patients, all in Peace Force uniforms, are fast asleep. Kilani's memories sift to the surface from the haze of somnolence -- she must have dozed after healing them, and now the Winglord is coming!

The girl jerked a bit, resisting the call to waking, but it was ultimately a useless thing. The sky would still be there, later... Her brown eyes fluttered open, and she rubbed them, head throbbing with groggy exhaustion. She was still weary from the hours of dedicate dwork, her essence just slowly beginning to replenish from the tending to the patients, but she could sense that access was still present at least for the purpose of artifact usage. At least her clothes wouldn't suddenly unattune as they had done in the past. That was a particularly humiliating memory...


Pulling herself to he rfeet, the girl tugged her hair down, then tossed it back up into its ponytail, rushing to straighten the red kimono she wore, and then make final rounds to ascertain the condition of all patients, in varying states of waking and resting. Those awake received gentle smiles and short, optimistic updates about their condition. but she was always mindful of the door -- Jedevra was on her way, she could sense that much... She just hoped it would be a good visit...

((OOC: I'm assuming she burned her essence to the limit tending to them, and managed maybe a restful  hour of sleep,so she's got 8 motes on her at the moment, thereabouts. She always overdoes it, so to speak, especially when she has a large number of patients in critical need of emergency treatment.))

The patients seem to be in good condition. From the freshness of their bandages Kilani imagines she's been asleep an hour or so. Whether Jedevra had simply allowed her to sleep out of kindness, or to give her something to punish Kilani about is questionable, though Kilani has never known Jedevra to be as unnecessarily harsh as some owners.

On the other hand she is not quite loving either. Distant is more like it. Though Jedevra may not subject her to torture for sport, the way more her more zealous peers might, she still basically views Kilani as a tool for victory. Patients healed by Kilani are more relaxed and recover faster; some are even vaguely more comfortable with her than collared Celestials of other types, though still recognize her as a slave. The dark-haired Winglord prizes efficiency above all, and Kilani, despite all her fears and 'soft' demeanor, has largely provided that with her healing arts.

Soon Kilani can hear her owner's hard, booted footsteps approaching from the corridor outside. Jedevra does not stop to announce herself, but simply barges open the door. She is a tall, physically fit woman with jet black hair cut chin length and eyes the color of dark smoke. Her skin is fair as a base, but with a sheen of red as if she were illuminated by flames -- not a solid red. Wearing the dark crimson uniform of a Peace Force Fire District officer over the paler red of her jade dragon armor, she strikes an imposing figure.

"Kilani, that's enough," she says sternly, seeing Kilani still watching over the patients. The words have the crack of a command, and Kilani feels her body clench up until she steps back from the wounded. "These ones are well enough. I will need you to save your strength. Remember, we have been assigned to the Peace Force dispatch being sent down to the City of Pasiap's Resolve. Unrest has been reported there and our unit must bring it under control and assess damages. We leave in 2 hours so you must come with me now."

---

OOC: Well, you can have that little Essence if you like... we can just fudge the hours between now and when you reach the rioting to at least give you *some* Essence back.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:07, Thu 25 June 2009.

Kilani had learned well. There wasn't much she'd be able to do to stay with her charges when Jedevra wanted her elsewhere.  But that never stopped her from trying to convince the Dragonblood to let her stay. The fear she held of going deeper down, where all the reports of dangerous unrest and murderous freed Anathema had been coming from lent her a measure of strength. She really didn't want to go into a warzone. At the same time, her nature of gentle kindness lent her the desire to stay. But even so, the force of the collar was undeniable.  and she jerked back from the patients, biting her lip as she listened to the briefing.

"I... I understand. But please, they're still  hurt and in pain, if only a little..." she frowned. It would be useless... "They need someone with them..." The protest was indirect and meek, less a challenge than a reminder. Jedevra would be used to it; She would give Kilani an order that required her to do something more than nurture, and Kilani would try to talk her out of it. It never worked.

"In..  two hours...?" she prompted, then cast a quick eye to her patients. They would still have light wounds by that time... And she felt the power of the collar choking her Essence, even worse.  The resignation in her eyes was clear, and her head lowered as she bowed slightly to her owner. The moment of silence, and processing just what she was being asked to do had been enough. "I-I understand..." She stopped struggling to remain in place, and put down her tools, rinsing her hands clean and then turning to accompany Jedevra from the ward.

As the two started down the hall, she lifted her gaze up to her. "Is it the other Anathema...?" she asked anxiously. She looked as melancholic as usual when forced away from what she did gladly... but this time it was tempered with an apparent, jittery anxiety. The prospect of  walking into a dangerous place with the soldiers wasn't a new one, but she never had to actually do it before.

"I do not know for sure they will be there," Jedevra says of the other Anathema, escorting Kilani from the medical room (forcibly, if she hesitates). "However, we strongly suspect the unrest is related to them, and there is a concern the people will get too violent for the civilian guard to handle. That is why we are needed."

"We will be helping a great many people there. It will be scary, but many more hurt people are in the City, and you will be able to help them. People more hurt than the ones you have just helped. There may be Anathema, but as long as you stay close to the Peace Forces, you will be safe." The last is said almost indulgently -- but with a kindness one would show a pet, rather than a person.

"Before we leave I must introduce you to the Forces we will be accompanying. This way." Jedevra leads the younger woman through the corridors of Headquarters, not even pausing for an instant, her steps sure as she navigates the sprawling complex. They pass several major intersections, doorways to rooms Kilani has never been in, down a long flight of stairs, and onward. Through the entire walk many uniformed men and women salute Winglord Jedevra as she passes by.

Finally they stop at a ready room with double doors, with theater seating facing a long whiteboard next to a projection screen. A detailed map is currently displayed on screen from an Atlas of the Enlightened General (renamed slightly, note, due to the association with the UCS), likely indicating their destination, the location of major buildings, defensible positions and so on. There are about three hundred people in the room and every one of them stands up to salute Sesus Jedevra as she crosses to the front of the room. "The Collared is named Kilani Sorune. She will be accompanying us as part of the medical team. Her... abilities are crucial to the operation, so be careful with her."

"Yes ma'am!" The chorus is almost too loud for the meek Kilani.

[Private to Kilani Sorune: Let me know if I'm dragging you along too much without letting you interact... of course that's kind of unavoidable given your current status as a slave. But I don't want it to be un-fun.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:05, Thu 23 July 2009.

The girl staggered along, able to keep up, though unbalanced with the grasp on her arm. She had resisted leaving the room, but only until she was sure she wasn't going to be able to stay with her patients.

"You're right... I can manage. I'll be safe there, your forces will be there..." she spoke softly. "You, too..." She clasped her hands in front of her anxiously. "I've... been practicing with the bow you gave me. I can shoot targets very well, even the moving ones.. but.." she hesitated...

No, Jedevara could see it in her posture, hear it in her voice. She didn't have what it would take to let an arrow fly with the intent to hit someone. Possibly not even something "I mean... I know... they're trying to hurt us all, but...  I might be able to use Fowling Arrows..." she argued with herself. They were hurting many people... And there were probably going to be people dying down there.

There was no conviction behind the meek attempts, but Jaedevra could see it again from her: she was trying to make herself be more useful.

She was awed as they entered the war room, eyes wide as she stared at the place. Fortunately, though, she was used to its' acoustics. What she was not used two was the two hundred voices shouting in unison to the closest thing she ever got to a welcome amongst soldier-groups. The noise almost made her reel physically, as her ears complained.

Her eyes turned to the map, and moved over it with ease, taking in the area, and everything so displayed. She was a smart girl, and familiar with military strategy by nature and through a limited extent of training. She could make good sense of anything displayed, possibly even come up with important insights that could keep people safe.

[Private to GM: A little more talking with Jedevra would be nice, I enjoy chatting up NPCs XD. That said... Intelligence+War

11:16, Today: Kilani Sorune rolled 5 successes using 7d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 6,8,9,8,10,4,6. Glean Info off the Map.

Also, a Reminder!

She can be made to use Training Mandate of Auspicious Battle in your unit's favor. It costs 10m, 1 WP and is committed for a week. It takes a scene-long Dramatic Action to enact, and provides -1 Target Number to Mass Combat Rolls relevant to up to (My Essence) Battles-Caste Abilities. Good for making those War Rolls or Melee Rolls easier. She'd need to oversee a training session to grant the benefit. One caveat, the Magnitude of the Unit can't exceed my Essence, which is 3.]
This message was last edited by the player at 15:57, Thu 25 June 2009.