Ruse nods at charles, pockets the gun, and says,

"Yes, I will accomodate all of your requests. You can also visit here again in the future as my guest, under the condition that you never again coerce me or my people, especially with mentalism. One day, I will show you what a true enlightened realm is like. Perhaps you'll even wish to settle here and be a part of it."

He he noticed Charles' panicked look, and wondered if whatever being approached was to blame. He knew that he could contact charles at any time, from any place in the universe, so he didn't waste time to ask why. Snapping his fingers, Ruse opened up a portal to where he wanted to go, and sent him through, and closed it promptly.

Ruse then began to head toward the other divinity...
This message was last edited by the player at 18:20, Thu 03 Sept 2009.

"I'm sure I will, one day."

Charles smiled, thanked Ruse again, and threw himself out through the Gate. With a snap, a pop, and a burst of light he was gone.

--

One of the Mistella looks at Aesin.

"Pardon me, sir? Can I assist you?"

Aesin repeated himself politely to the citizen. "Im looking for the lord of this realm. I must speak with him."

Ruse senses for divinity, just to be sure that there is not more than one divinity in his realm. He then heads for that presence.

Ruse finds the presence of a Divine, yes.. but also of another stranger.

--

"I believe you can find him at the Glen," replied the Mistella to Aesin.

"Thank you. Point me in the direction, if you will."

Ruse swiftly heads for the closest presence then.

Ruse stumbles upon the stranger first: tall, wide-eyed, wild-haired, bearing the Seal of Odin. Ruse gathered that he was a Conclave emissary. When the guest saw Ruse, he smiled, waved, and greeted the God warmly.

"Hi there. My name's Veld. I'm from the Conclave. I'm here to figure out oath-details and the like?"

Ruse notes a tall, dark God dressed in gold and silver approach from across the river - the stranger who spooked Charles. He wore the Seal of Odin also.

--

Aesin is given directions and soon finds himself heading towards the Glen; before he can make it, however, he spots Ruse speaking to a tall Shage on the opposite side of the river.

Ruse ignores Aesin for now, noting that he is also from the conclave and thus is not (most likely) an enemy, or at least an invader. He approaches the shage and nods his head politely, and replies,

"Ah yes, I have been expecting you. I am Ruse, the lord of this realm. You have come to discuss the associateship details, yes? So, what is involved...I was told something about a badge, a swrod, and something else I think?"

"That's essentially it. I'll also be confirming the details of your mission structure, and telling you what to expect. Now, would you prefer the unbreakable oath of the Callisti, or the simpler, freer oath-sword?"

Ruse ponders, and then replies,

"What is the difference between the two? What are the pros and cons to both?"

"The Oath of the Callisti is completely voluntary, but must be taken if you ever choose to become a Low Lord of the Conclave. It is unbreakable - if you attempt to break the oath you will die, and the oath cannot be erased. It carries with reincarnations. If you take it, though, you'll advance up the ranks of the Conclave much quicker because they know you can be completely trusted. It's standard procedure to offer."

He nods. Slowly, he pulled out a tiny, glittering silver knife.

"If you don't take the sphere-oath you have to carry an oath-sword on your person at all times. It will regulate your intentions, and if you do anything that the Conclave deems goes against it's wishes it will report back and possibly take action."

Ruse wasn't quite ready for something like an unbreakable oath quite yet. He knew so little about the conclave after all, plus he had other reasons to remain cautious. So he'd consider the sword for now.

"Hmmm...the sphere oath is interesting to me, but I think I'd like to see how the conclave works and operates a bit more before considering something like permanent oaths. Perhaps I'll even ascend the status ranks on my own merit alone, and not with a crutch like the sphere oath. Yes, I think I'd like to gain higher status by producing good results and gaining the conclave's trust naturally, npt through some binding oath."

ruse then looked at the sword, and continued,

"So tell me about this sword. What exactly is it, and how does it work? Is it sturdy enough to be used in combat? How does it regulate my actions - I'll not allow some external being to toy with my mind, or other such antics, although an external regulation is fair enough, like if the sword is semi-sentient or something and witnesses someone breaking a law or something. Also, once I equip the sword, can I remove it easily or is it some unbreakable thing like the sphere oath?"

Ruse sighed a bit, and quickly added,

"I apologize for the many questions...it just goes to show you how seriously i'm taking this, and how sincere I am."

The emissary raises his hands in peace.

"No problem, no problem," he said. "The Oath of the Callisti, at the moment, is entirely voluntary. The oath-sword is made of neutralized living metal, attuned to the Conclave seers. It has been trained to instinctively read your emotions and instincts, and to report back to the seers. If one of them deems you to be antagonistic, they'll activate the psychic qualities of the knife, and it will combust violently, killing you.

"It's sturdy enough to be used in combat, and if your honest intention is to kill an enemy of the Conclave it will take control and destroy the individual. It also has several self-defense protocols. You may take the sword off, but it is preferred that you have it on at all times, and you will  be screened each time you return."

Ruse looked at the sword with some interest, and then looked back to the Sharge and replied,

"Well that's an interesting little critter, that there sword. I guess as long as it doesn't try to force its way into my head or something, it'll be fine. As the god of mist, I'm highly resistant to such hostile tactics, but on the plus side that means the conclave's enemies cannot manipulate me supernaturally, so its secrets will remain protected."

Ruse ponders for a moment, and says,

"And if I allow the sword to take control of my body in combat against the conclave's enemies, how easy is it for me (or anyone for that matter) to regain control? I'm guessing your sword has never left you stuck in battle mode...right?"

"Never. It's easy enough to take control; gather your senses, and mentally take command. It'll stop, but most don't bother - the sword does a better job at fighting then they can hope. I understand your reservations, but it's really a minor oath at best. Here's yours, anyway - and your seal."

He passes Ruse both the Seal of Odin - ten silver towers inside a golden sun - and a silver, sheathed knife and knife-belt.

Ruse accepts both graciously. He equips his badge and puts the belt and sword around his waist. Using his various means of psychic defense, he makes sure the sword can only ever sense the thoughts and feelings of his that he wants it to - and never anything that would indicate acting against the conclave. Those sorts of thoughts he always masked with thoughts and feelings of complete contentment and loyalty to the conclave...it was a ruse, fitting for the god of the same name. Thankfully though, besides concealing stuff about charles (he suspected the other presence in his realm spooked him away if the sharge did not), Ruse really did honestly not want to betray anything, including the conclave.

"Thank you very much. I will utilize this sword and badge for both my benefit, as well as that of the conclave as a whole. I sincerely hope that both parties can work to one anothers' mutual benefit. Speaking of additional parties, can you tell me about missions, assignments, and the like? I applied to work with a god named Max on some higher-profile cases, although I can work solo as needed as well."

"Absolutely. Soon you'll receive work from the Conclave. You've been assigned a double with Max. You'll know when you get the word."

(OOC: making you a 'missions' thread now is what that means ;))

"Thank you very much for your assistance. I look forward to hearing the mission details soon. I know how to contact Max too, if that was of concern. If you need to speak with me again, you can look for me either here or in the divine valley. It seems that you are not the only conclave visitor I have today, though." Ruse said as he eyed Aesin critically, before turning back to the sharge.

"Oh, and by the way is the hall of the sun the place to go for all conclave business, like if I need to speak with officials, get assistance, report a crime, go to help defend you guys from an attack, etc?"

"You will be given an official messaging channel. You may use that to report and to glean information and make requests to the Conclave. Under the unlikely circumstance of an attack, you will receive instructions on where to report via this channel."

Aesin waits patiently for the two to finish their business.

Ruse nodded, and replied,

"Ah yes, understood. I already received the mission debreifing - very expedient I must say. I'm impressed, quite frankly. By the way, what can you tell me about Telleratus and chalybis?"

"Chalybis? Sorry, but I don't recognise the name. I'm a Recruitment Officer. You might want to inquire within your channel."

((Is the channel he refers to the mission thread?))

"Ah." Ruse replied. "I see. Well, thank you for your time then. I don't want to keep you from your other tasks. Again, thank you for coming to see me and for answering my questions. I need to go and address the god over there who "dropped in." I'm not one to favor visitors just wandering around, after all."

With a polite bow of the head, Ruse glided away gracefully from the sharge, and briskly walked toward Aesin, in what could only be described as a beautiful walking dance. When he got close to Aesin, Ruse stopped, and said,

"You there, stranger...what brings you to this place? I am the god of this realm, and I thank you for waiting for me to conclude my business with the sharge. Please, state your business. Ah, I see you're also with the conclave, yes?"
This message was last edited by the player at 06:58, Tue 08 Sept 2009.

The Officer went off on his way.

(OOC: Yes, that's right.)