"And I'm sure Dawning Blade can vouch for Sabre's tuition in weapons if you are turning over a new leaf. I know I can."

Sun Snake gave a small bow to Sabre Fox, whom he had sparred with on occasion back in ther monaserty.

Alyne nodded enthusiastically at Sun Snake's words and said, her tone now more upbeat:

"Yes, Sabre has been training me one on one with the sword - he's really quite good, and I could feel I was improving as we sparred."

She smiled and nodded in the Kai Lord's direction, recognizing his skill.

Her face flushed embarassed as she looked over at Sun Fox.

"I'll have you know that I am not lazy... it-it just takes time to learn to focus that much mental power... you know, Swift would beg to differ... I-I'd go running with her after I was finished with my psychic training for the day!"

"As far as Nexus, I did not sit around... I tried to do it but I barely have any strength to try it... you know how Peacock runs his favorites into the ground to teach them his techniques... I simply needed a quick nap to recover a bit of strength, that's all..."

At the mention of Sabre's skill with weapons, she blushes again.

"You know, he taught me a few new things with a spear last night..." she says before turning back around, face flaming as she kept looking forward.

Maaaaybe your private thread with Sabre should stay private when the game has finished...

Anyway, just inmagine Sun Snake has given a long, sad look at the mentikon of Peacock's tuition, grabbed a drink from his waterskin, and then does a spit take and starts quietly chocking in the background.

We were waiting for Sabre to weigh in before, now we're DEFINITELY waiting for Sabre to weigh in :D

"Why do all the compliments come at once?" Fox said with a grin. "I could tell you all my training secrets, but thier is such a thing as Master and Student confidentuality you know" He smirks

Sun Snake seemed glad that Sabre Fox was still quipping, but for respect of Rain Feather's blushes turned back to Alyne. "Do you have tales of your time with the acolytes to share?" he asked quietly, still keeping one eye and his senses pointed forwards.

Alyne seemed surprised by the question, but after a moment answered, a bit hesitant:

"I... I grew up among them... I'm not sure if... if the others would care to... to hear about that."

Sun Snake looked with a raised eyebrow to the rest before looking to Alyne again. "We have a long way still to walk, and those people...still as much your people as we are...are at the end of it. If these last few days have not shown us the value of learning all we can about those we think we know, I am not sure what lesson ever could."

Sun Snake then looked at Alyne with an unaccustomed stern look, the closest to a teacher face. "Besides, to grow you need to know yourself. To forget your past is to impede your future. If you did not still have a link and loyalty to that past, I would not trust your loyalty to us now. If you cannot reconcile these different aspects, uniquely positioned as your are, then what hope do we all have of achieving such reconciliations in the future?"

Sun Snake's words clearly impressed Alyne for she noded and then started to explain, her voice slow but determined:

"Well... the Acolytes are... they're not a cohesive group... they're a bit like the Kai Order, I think... at least, if I understood it right. They... they came from everywhere... with every kind of background... but all have something in common: they're all people with no land, no home, no hope. Oppressed."

Her fist tightened at those words, and she continued, her tone stronger:

"They were all weak people, ones who had been persecuted by the strong, the ones who had power over their lives and abused it: oppressors. Stornlands' mercenaries, Durenor's nobles, Sommerlund's magicians, Shadaki's pirates, Drakkar raiders... they come from everywhere, wears many face and have different reasons for their hate, but deep within, they're all equal, all use their power to oppress those who can't defend themselves. Hatred, that's what all of us Acolytes share - the one we were the target of, and the one that fills us, that we bear toward our oppressors."

The follow up pause was filled with tension, but then Alyne seemed to realize something, shook her head and said, her voice lowering back again.

"I'm sorry, I just... I let myself get carried on... but, you see? That's the bind that ties the Acolytes together; and... and I think it's just as stronger as what binds all of us. We share a gift that makes us similar... and the Acolytes share a curse, which makes their ties just as strong. They... even I did... believe that Vashna will compensate those who woke him up... that he will raise them up so they can be compensated for the pain they suffered, and will punish the oppressors for them."

She let out a long breath, and then continued, a bit hesitant:

"It... it's hard to explain... but living among the Acolytes, it's... it's like having a big, wide family, one that understands you completely. And then, there is the fact that each Acolyte is working together with the others to change the world, to make things better for everybody... it's... a really intense feeling."

Alyne smiled softly, mostly to herself, as she concluded, in a whisper:

"Being part of something so big, and that feeling of really being able to create a better world... it's a powerful emotion... and we were all thaught that, to help each other complete such a geat work, it was worth even to die, so that our brethen could carry on our goal for us... it gives a sense of fulfillment, to know for certain that your legacy will never be forgotten."

She let out a long, pained breath, and didn't added anything else, clearly thinking over what she's just relayed to the group.

"You've nothing to be sad about Alyne" Fox said. "For a family that you have known since just after you were born, its only right to feel such a way. In a way, the Kai are the Acolytes are the same in that respect, and in a way, every race on the world. After all, we all band together as one family for common goals and needs"

"He's got a point.  That's what friends and family do."

She kept her eyes focused forward as they kept moving.

"We support each other, push each other to make ourselves the best that we possibly can. We each have our own things we're good at, and we share that knowledge with others to make ourselves that much stronger."

"Hey im living proof of that" Fox said indicating his scar. "If I hadnt took a chance all those years ago, many more lives would be lost. As much as I love Sparrow, I dont really think he got over me getting this scar for him. Because in the eyes of everyone else, he was the commander, and it was his responsibility and glory for the outpost victory. To see me like this when it was essentially for him............  I do think it weighs on his mind sometimes"

"The Acolytes are a powerful group. The Kai would not consider them a threat if they were not powerful. And the Kai would not consider them a threat were they not seeking to restore Vashna. All this time the Kai have sought to remove the threat of the acolytes seeing the only way to reduce it was to reduce the Acolyte's power by opposing and removing them. It is why you need to let us see their complexity, Dawning Blade. If the Acolytes are not driven by a blinded love for Vashna, as we have always believed, and a blinded need to rule, then there is hope."

Sun Snake looked around briefly. "Hatred is a shackle, a power you give to the person you hate, power over you. It sounds as if many who find the acolytes have endured much, and deserve better than to still be shackled when they should be free. And having such power for changing the world, and using it to free Vashna..." Sun Snake shook his head sadly. "A creature whose own spawned children he created heedlessly without end, building a monument to his own glory on their corpses by the millions, and sending more out millions in waves to slaughter anything human in Magnamund...does this sound like a saviour, or another oppressor?"

Sun Snake looked forwards again. "Perhaps one day the Acolytes can truly be free and powerful in a way that is not seen as a threat. And whether you work inside with them, or outside to help them, you will always be connected to them as you are to us, Dawning Blade. You need to find ways to make peace with that and believe in yourself enough to be the bridge that stops the cylces of violence we find ourselves pulled in to."

Even as Sun Snake spoke, occasionally his eyes were drawn back to Sabre Fox, as if contemplating the insight in to Golden Sparrow and Sabre's own past.

"Maybe Sparrow just needs to understand how lucky he was to have you there. Personal glory isn't worth sacrificing the lives of others.  He should have been happy that more people were going to return alive instead of having more bodies to bring back. After all, I may not know a lot about military tactics, but completing your objective and keeping your people alive- that's supposed to be a good thing, is it not?"

"He didnt think it was a good thing at the time" Fox chuckled. "He was probabally ready to come and beat the hell out of me after I go back"

Fox thought back to that moment. A pivotal one in his friendship with Sparrow

"But then he saw my scar....... fresh from the battlefield...... and he knew the reason why it was there. For him. And he didnt do anything. Just sat with me in silence until I was ready to talk"

Alyne nodded to Sun Snake's words and said, in a thoughtful tone:

"I... I will try to follow your suggestion, Master... to find a way to bring peace to the Acolytes."

Her tone was stronger at the end, with the determination of one who had found something she really wanted to do.
Then, she turned to Sabre Fox, listening in to his tale, and then said, in a curious tone:

"I remember you saying something in Toran about how your indipendent action had helped save a lot of people even if it got you killed... and then you say that he stopped berating you when he saw your sacr. Doesn't that means that your friend real worry was not because you disobeyed him, but rather becaue you almost died because of it?"

Fox chucked momentarily.

"If I had come back without a scratch Sparrow would have no doubt told me to throw down with him and duke it out. He's just that stubborn when he thinks he is right, even in that instance when he wasnt"

Fox thought back for a moment on the memory and her question

"Probabally both at times" Fox replied. "Yes he was pissed off that i disobeyed orders. He probabally put it down to me just charging in without a plan and going for glory. But at the second he saw my scar, he knew.......... i could just tell that he knew, that it wasnt anything to do with that. He knew I just wanted to get the job done without costing more lives"

Fox smiled again for a moment as he spoke about his friend

"I think thats the first time that he realised that I had put myself directly in danger for him. From that day on despite me charging straight in, he always trusts my judgement when it comes down to it, for he knows that I look out for him like a brother"

Alyne nodded along, clearly thinking his words over, and then asked, her tone curious:

"What about you following him along? I mean, surely, if you work together, there must have been times when you not doing as he said was the wrong thing? Are you willing to let him correct your mistakes when they happen?"

"That usually ends up with him smacking me up the side of my head!" Fox sniggered. "I dont mind it when im wrong, and there has been plenty of times that I have been and he always calls me on it........ but there are times when pure tactics dont work....... thats what im there for, when his logic maybe sound, he sometimes needs someone to ground him and act on instinct"

"So in battle, he's the exact opposite of me.  I guess that's why he needs me around- you know, I stun them, he tears them into little pieces... I kind of want to learn the 'in little pieces' thing, myself.  I need to start balancing out all the mental techniques I have with more physical ones... and no, I'm not going to be lazy and watch you do them first..." The last sentence was directed at Sun Fox, but there was a grin on her face.

Sun Fox chuckled at Rain Feather's words and answered, smiling:

"Well, that's good to hear. But, really, you shouldn't try to become me or Sabre, Rain - that'll never work out. You shall just try to be yourself, you know? You're pretty exceptional as it is, and beside, everybody needs to have someone watching their backs; and if I had to choose, I'd never want that to be anybody else but you, really."

"She's right you know" Fox echoed. "Everyone has things they are good at. You should play to your strengths. After all, where would we be now if you hadn't fried this Gourgaz's brains in the caves earlier?"

"I'd prefer not to think about that, honestly.  I might look into seeing if Psi-Screen can hold back nightmares- that Agarashi is going to be with me for a long, long time.  But at the same time, I do have to make myself more well-rounded.  For example, take a small fishing boat that's loaded with the daily catch.  It's important to distribute the catch evenly- if you put too much on one side, you risk tipping the boat over and losing everything.  I guess you could use the same argument about a Kai, too."

She took a few steps forward and continued.

"If one focuses too far towards physical disciplines, one leaves themselves open to attack by psychic or magical power.  If one focuses upon psychic and magical power, then they may not be able to stand up to a physical opponent.  For example, I couldn't stand up to one of those Gourgaz, while you or Sun Fox over there could easily go face-to-fangs with one or more of them. But at the same time, if you were faced with something that might take mental power to drive off, that might be something that I could do, freeing up you to go after something you could more easily take down."

Sun Snake's footsteps became unconsciously silent, and he blended in to the background as he listened. Unlike normal, he was not lost in his own thoughts, but was instead floating along on Sabre's words.

Where once he might have weighed in quickly with his own careful opinion of Golden Sparrow, he instead listened to Sabre speak of the man. After all, Sun Snake knew his own opinion and knew what he had heard. For once, perhaps he should actually hear a view never normally seen.

Only once Sabre's full thoughts had tailed off did Sun Snake comment. "In the order Golden Sparrow has developed a reputation for...being headstrong. Perhaps someone who sees glory in certain acts, by default therefore thinks those acts are not ones others would usually do. And by extension, there is a pressure to act if you think others will not. Perhaps his reputation comes from feeling forced to act all the time as he fears no one else could. Perhaps that day you showed that someone else could also act, and that's why he values you."

Sun Snake seemed to be asking as a genuine question rather than pontificating, for once. Although clearly his question also seemed to be looking for some insight in to the general perception of Golden Sparrow as well.

Double posted with Rain!

Sun Snake looked across with sympathy at Rain, clearly recalling too the horror of the Agarashi. "Psi-screen does not need to be only a shell, as I said to Dawning Blade. Perhaps you can create pathways in your mind to trap and confuse the memories of the Agarashi, so they circle around rather than block it out. Perhaps you can use those feelings to fuel your Psi-surge as needed, burning off their power as you need."

Regarding a balanced set of disciplines, Sun Snake nodded, as clearly it was in line with his own thoughts. "A sword with thickness and heft is preferable to a long, thin spike that can break the moment it is applied. However, you still want that sword to have a sharp point. A group can balance out the strengths and weaknesses of an individual. There is a balance to be struck, but it is good to have exceptional people in different ways than a group of mediocre people who have mastered a little of everything. We may not have defeated Haxadrom as a group of average fighters and psychics. Instead it was our exception strengths in mental and physical abilities combining that saw him fall." Sun Snake did not seem quite as satisfied as before regarding that defeat, though he did look down to his hand with the cuts.

Sun Snake withdrew his sword, and for a moment regarding it before offering it to Rain Feather. "Once I used to think that this blade was the order's. However, the truth is that the jewels in the blade are magical, and have aligned themselves to myself and my mind a long time ago. You have shared my mind, and you have powerful magical and psychic abilities. You may be able to use them all to connect to the blade in a small way. Weaponmastery is as much about becoming one with the blade as it is mastering martial skills. Perhaps if you practice with it, your mind can find ways to read it and learn some tricks quickly."