Chapter 101:

Chapter 101: First Impressions are important


At the beginning of time the galaxy lived in abundance under the stewardship of the Ancients in an existence where the wicked were punished and the valorous prospered. And then Reality was torn asunder by the voraciousness of the Yngir and their slaves.

So great was their hunger and so wicked their minds that the Ancients could not stop them and so they gave a chosen few the chance to rise above what they once were and become the swords that would vanquish the Darkness and Taint from beyond Reality.

"I Reveal your Ignorance, from Death comes Wisdom, for your Duty is to Murder the Unworthy Together as One, to Be Industrious as you bask in the Love of Life and you Reveal the Secrets of your foes and Learn to Hunt the unworthy and the wicked wherever they may Hide!" Proclaimed our new parents in a single breath that remade us anew.

And the children of the stars rejoiced for their new parents have given them purpose and gods to guide them into a Life of Joy and Sorrow.

This is what the priests say was the way the War in Heaven started in their archaic way of viewing the world. Many mock them for the simplistic way they describe a complex issue, but none would dare do that to the face of the Elder Priests of the Pantheon, not if they wished to live.

"Matriarch?" Cute little Fiochar asked.

And I very much wished to live, both myself and preferably my clan and of the two I am willing to negotiate on the former.

She noticed the strange shifts in my Song, even if her husband-to-be did not.

"A short prayer young one. It is done in the strange way of the priests as some say the gods hear them more clearly. I've decided I'd rather see if they were right and in a merciful mood." I explained.

We were in the docks now and heading towards the Siren Song of the priest that sang of sweet lullabies and friendly meetings. If the other two songs near him weren't of deep gnawing hunger and a bitter mix of fear and Duty it would have said great things for the upcoming meeting but as it was it did nothing to assuage my worries.

I came with the two children because Fiochar was my descendant with the most knowledge of the priest and I would not deny her beloved the chance to be with his beloved. A pity her mother could not come as too many people might be misconstrued as a bad thing and she can't not think of the priest as a threat.

'Why does she want to eat us?' Fiochar sang.

I was very glad the young man could not sense the gnawing hunger of the otherwise unremarkable woman. I doubt he would be able to not react to it, but Fiochar was meant to be an infiltrator, she can pretend well enough to not feeling what she does.

'Priests perception of others in partially based on how others perceive both them and those they look at. Priests hunt the Unpious as if they are prey and because we are believed by many on this station to be Unpious she feels the same as a predator would feel when they look upon prey presenting themselves into their mouths. Ignore it, the fact she can't hide it means she has not been a priestess for long or is still an apprentice. The man is far more dangerous, he feels the same thing as her and probably at a much greater intensity and yet none of it shows.' I instructed.

The explanation wouldn't tell her all that she needs to know, but I don't have the time to ensure she understands things right, especially when her previous education should have covered it. Partial knowledge was still better than wrong knowledge and it'll have to do.

Shadow Blade's daughter and my distant descendant was braver than most but that bravery needs to be tempered by experience and knowledge. I'll have to see how to redress her ignorance when I have the time. My descendants will have a proper education even if it kills me.

She sent her assent and the three of us continued walking, albeit it is better said two and a half.

I am not there with them, but back in the docks as my avatar comes to walk with them in it's armored glory. I could hear some of the snickers of others looking with jeers at the a millimeter thick armor, but their laughs were primarily reserved for the cowardly bunch wearing armor three times that thick somewhere close.

In comparison my and the children's armor looked downright heroic as opposed to their villainous cowardice.

'He is not wearing armor, is this a good thing?' Young Camaus asked.

I noticed too, the answer was it very much depended, but the no was more unlikely than the yes.

'Yes, if the apprentice and her guard wear armor that means little for they are there to learn and protect respectively, it is the master that will determine the tempo of our discussion.' I replied softly.

The young man is still half-deaf, but his inability to hear all that happened only made his appetite for learning more voracious.

"Young Camaus! You look quite dashing for a man whose funeral I officiated! How has married life treated you?" The priest greeted.

The young man in question looked perplexed but with a quick assurance I bid him to return the greeting.

This was strange and made me review everything I know of how priests operate. He knows perfectly well that I am the leader of this little group, hard not to with how defferential the song of the two children is to mine.

"Why does everyone congratulate me on my marriage before it happened? Is there nobody in the local span that doesn't know I'm married?" The man replied with a roguish smile.

"I wouldn't know, I haven't met any yet that when I asked didn't know of it. You should inform your old friends of the fact you yet live, the man who called you 'like a brother' sang quite the eulogy as he decried the death of a great and generous man." The other man said with a smile that matched his.

Their conversation was one of hundreds that happened in the general area and thus we were ignored but what couldn't be ignored was the implications of this conversation.

The man started with the common point of interest between us which is not their standard mode of operation, they start with assessing the area and hierarchy between themselves and the one they speak with which could mean too many things to make a choice as to how to proceed. It might mean that he has been caught off-guard and is trying to regain his balance, which is unlikely or that we caught him in a good mood or that this is just a cordial meeting.

He's not wearing a helmet or a full body armor, which would imply cordiality but I can't assume that yet.

'At least the man is handsome.' I thought to myself.

An ugly or fearsome priest means bad things, but handsome is sometimes good news.

"That bastard still owes me money, but I will do so holy one." The young man acquiesced with a laugh.

He was more worried than anything but knew well to hide it.

"Good and make sure to give a gift to the nice stewardess with the fearsome husband for she is lovely woman. She was the one to help me receive an audience with prince Eagganm Neamhis." The priest continued.

I wonder if the prince has considered suicide, it is probably more pleasant than having a senior priest say your name in a conversation not related to you at all. Only thing worse is putting your hand on them, for the gods do not appreciate someone touching their property without their approval and if you wanted their approval you had to earn it and they are perfectly happy to let you do so after the fact. In fact they were ecstatic to see you try.

"I will do so." Young Camaus said.

He did not extend his hand in greeting or anything such a 'deal' would require which meant he remembered to follow my list o instructions as how to deal with priests.

The priest laughed then turned to me.

"Good man. Lady Abrisea Amada I would assume?" He said and started to look up.

His face twitched in disapproval for a single heartbeat as he saw my hair.

'Of all the things he could have to disapprove it's my top-knot? Black hair in a long top-knot and tail that almost touched the floor was the height of fashion!' I thought indignantly.

"Yes holy one." I replied smoothly even if my song was anything but smooth.

My song changed to indignation at his lack of fashion sense and his mirrored it for he did not agree with me.

The temerity of the man! He wouldn't know fashion if it kicked him in the face and if he continues like this it just might!

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The bar was exquisitely made as all Eldar bars are and I have been in non-eldar bars to know the difference between what we would consider exquisite and what other races would and while other races would look at this and consider it the upper end of luxury, for Eldar this was a quaint little thing with few customers. The otherwise calm and collected atmosphere of the bar was however taken over by the bickering of the two scariest beings in the local span of space.

One was an elder priest of the Pantheon, an ancient being of wisdom and might whose mind could bring the downfall of nations and whose hidden knowledge and plots reshapes the very stars and the other was the Matriarch of a ship-eldar clan that could scour worlds of life and controlled a fleet of hundreds of ships that could cow frontier princes and princesses with ease. Each has the power to change the course of many civilizations forever and conversation between them could alter the destinies of trillions and such a conversation was happening in a quaint little bar on a station in the middle of nowhere.

It is incredibly amusing that the conversation happening between my older brother and the clan leader of the two individuals in front of me wasn't about some galaxy changing subject, no the two madmen were talking about whether hair ornaments counted as accessories or clothes.

"And I am telling you woman, hair ornament are accessories, they are meant to serve a purpose!"

"They are vestments! They are meant to look good, your idea that they should be a bonesinger's instrument is atrocious as everyone knows that accessories are meant to be functional and clothing decorative! The ornaments help mold my hair and keep it off the floor, they are vestments! What's next you're going to say shoes are decorative?" The woman screeched indignantly.

"Shoes can be both, but they are vestments more often than not, but don't try to change the subject! You don't need hair ornaments to protect your hair from anything, it's you that is all to willing to keep a long hair and not braid it properly. That top-knot has as much need to be there as tattoos. You going to claim you need that too?" My brother shouted indignantly at the clan Matriarch.

That did not make her relent in the slightest and the two continued to bicker over whether or not hair ornaments count as accessories or not.

You could be excused for thinking these two are some siblings arguing over nonsense and not two of the most dangerous beings in local space. At least they had their own table to argue at while we were allowed to mingle at our own.

"They are going to be at this for some time." The only man at the table for three said.

We would have been four, but my new bodyguard decided she can do her job better by standing as opposed to sitting even when I offered her to sit and drink something, because the though of something happening that the two most dangerous individuals on this station couldn't handle was laughable. But if she wants to develop good habits who am I to stop her? She doesn't even have any interest in talking to us as she's too busy staring in stupefaction at Bessar's shenanigans.

Poor woman.

"Yes, which is good that we were given our own table or it would have been quite awkward." I replied.

The two eldar in front of me which were married in all but deed smiled and my heart melted at how cute the metal flaming eye fit on the shadow shark. They looked so menacing together they were adorable. The eye was supposed to be larger than the shark, but the two compromised and are preparing to make the shark bigger to compensate.

To my side the wingless white snake continued its dance with the flaming sword-fish as neither would give an inch to their fashion argument, because apparently that's the most useful use of their time because Ancient beings that can destroy worlds are weird like that.

"So, in the interest of making this meeting productive, would you be open to telling us what is this whole mess all about?" The flaming eye of curiosity asked of the rainbow scaled feathered serpent.

I hummed and took a sip of the juice in front of me, for I did not like alcohol and unlike the two in front of me did not like losing even more control over my limbs. I've already forgotten how it feels like to need to put one foot in front of the other despite doing so daily, I did not need less control in my life.

"The gods sent us signs that there's something wrong with you, the ship-eldar, something about familial bonds and we were hoping to observe your civilization to find out what the problem is and how to fix it." I admitted.

I had no reason to play around the facts, we were here on a divine mission and we would accomplish it. I could feel the shadow shark did not fully believe a part of my words from her song from it's discordance. She believed we were on a mission, but not that it was one given to us from the Divine.

The shark could hear, but could not use her ears properly, and the eye couldn't hear the songs and yet believed my words without question. How peculiarly amusing.

I could feel my face twist into a slight smile despite the fact that I was getting tired of the fact that people did not believe me when I told them the gods were a meddlesome lot.

"How did they do that? I don't understand how do the gods even do their duties when they can't interact with us." The shiny shark asked.

That's not something easily shared, especially to one that will not trust the easiest to give answers.

"My love, you don't speak of divine intervention, for when it is the Divine that come to guide you it is best that Asuryan does not learn of it lest he punish them." Her eye cautioned as his hand covered hers.

I nodded at that piece of frontier wisdom, it was one of the few I have found here that were useful. I approved of his words and smiled thinly at them.

"Your husband-to-be's fiery eye is correct little shark, some things are better left unsaid." I replied.

The two fools looked at me strangely and I realized that I forgot that these individuals are not used to priestly 'eccentricities'.

"Ah, I apologize, I forgot not everyone is used to my eccentricities, please do ask the questions gnawing at you. If the answer is one that is more likely than not to not be useful to you I will warn you before giving it." I continued.

The adorable couple sang to one another as they decided what to ask and in what order and I took another sip of the fruit juice. I miss taste, I can still smell if only with my tongue but my sense of taste has disappeared as my body increasingly becomes something I only direct and not actually control.

I confronted Bessar a few days after I noticed it and he told me the first sense to go is the one you least care for. For him it was smell and for me taste. The worst part is that the sense is still there, my body continues to feel it, I feel the emotions associated with it and yet the me that is my soul and my mind interprets it as raw data and not the normal taste I had gotten used to.

He told me my father's study or being in the presence of royalty were the only methods he knew that would return his full senses to him and that the more Momentum he gathers the more he loses of his control over himself until his own body is but a puppet he receives raw data inputs from similar to reading about a book character's emotions and not actually experiencing them.

I am not there yet and I might not reach it, especially if I only involve myself in the Cult of Strife only and keep my Narrative Momentum limited. I will not gain his powers, but I will retain a greater ability to enjoy life and remain useful which is all that matters.

"What do you mean by shark and fiery eye?" The man, Camaus, asked.

That's an easy question to answer.

"I see the world differently than you and albeit I can switch between the methods I can See with ease I prefer the one that tells me more of those I look at." I replied with a smile.

"What do you see about us?" The other woman asked.

I had to think a bit about how to start it.

"What is your name? It is easier if I use names, mine is Laciena Fiora." I asked.

The man did not like the question, he was warned about priests and names but his lover was undeterred.

"Fiochar." The other woman replied fiercely.

No moniker which could mean that her clan does not let their 'children' use them or she does not trust me enough to share it. How strange it is that to use a half name back home can be considered a sign of trust while here it is the opposite.

Beyond us the two monsters continue to argue over hair ornaments and how the material is somehow relevant after Bessar managed to corner Brisea Amada over the fact that hair ornaments can be accessories. I don't understand how, but the more they speak my hunger lessens, as if them talking reduces my appetite and the songbirds which are also fish become less tasty looking.

How curious.

"Your story is written in your song young shark, for you are a creature of shadows Fiochar, a being that loves being in the darkness and draws strength from being present near others yet not being seen, but you did not care for a long for what you saw and only reported it because your family needed to know and so you went through the monotony of repeating your experiences to others until for the first time your eye came to you as you swam across the endless dark. He saw the world for you and for the first time made you see and appreciate its beauty, and as you learned to love the world the same as him, your started to look over the world and appreciate it more so you can share it with him and make him feel the same as you and did so until one day you decided that the eye belongs to you and you will do all that you must to make sure you will never be unable to appreciate the beauty he taught you to see." I explained what I saw in her Narrative Momentum and Song both.

The woman paled more and more with each word and was as pale as a star by the time I finished speaking. What did she expect me to say?

Her song was shifting and it took me some heartbeats to parse it. Ah, she was not fully aware of what she was feeling herself in regards to her husband-to-be and why, she knew part of it as she loved him, but the part about her just not caring about things before he taught her how was not something she was fully cognizant of. How adorable.

"Would you like me to read your life story so far as well Camaus Silverblade? I'm sorry but I can't read into possible futures if you're interested in that too." I asked as I turned to him.

The knuckles of the woman were bone white as she held her lover for dear life as she realized the warnings of her elders and matriarch were real and not merely superstition.

Skepticism burns, the more steeped in ignorance it is the more it turns from the warmth of a bath towards that of the burning of acid and hers was while not as acidic as many I've seen, was undoubtedly born out of ignorance and derision towards superstition and its importance. Just because something is superstition does not mean it's wrong.

It simply means people can't give an answer as to why it's correct that makes sense to those that have not experienced it.

"That won't be necessary." He answered evenly.

I could easily see that his focus was towards calming his lover who did not like to be fully seen by anyone but her clan, as is normal for those born in the shadows. She will need to get used to it though as she won't always be able to avoid being seen.

"Would you mind telling me a bit why is your clan so scared then? We have done nothing to my knowledge to cause all of you so much fear that you have tried to keep us away for two years." I asked.

Unsaid was the that they were far more successful than they should have been normally. We only needed a single breakthrough to get to them but the sheer time it took us to get it was staggering. This should have been completed in months at most once we had a general location for them, not years.

I might as well do what Bessar most likely expects of me as he keeps the Matriarch busy and ask the inexperienced children things that their Matriarch is unlikely to divulge as easily. It's unlikely to mean much right now as this is just a friendly meeting to set the stage for future talks but every bit helps.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What are victory and defeat? Victory does not necessarily mean to win a bout despite what some might think. No, victory is merely the act of accomplishing one's objectives when in competition with another, while defeat is failure to do so.

One can win a bout but not achieve victory, for they had additional goals compared to merely winning and another could have turned a loss into victory and it is entirely possible for both sides to lose and yet achieve Victory.

In the situation I find myself in, both of us have attained victory, even if only one of us won our argument, even if the woman across me won't accept it. However with my latest argument she has no way to hit back for now.

"If hair ornaments are vestments then what do they cover and what does removing them reveal? Clothes are meant to cover something and hair ornaments do not." I asked.

That ceased our argument and granted me victory for she could not find another argument against it. I have little doubt she could probably find another way to continue this argument but it served it's purpose so neither of us could be bothered.

The children are relaxed, my own mind and perception managed to triumph over the psychic impression created by people believing her to be a corsair princess as opposed to a clan mother of a clan which is from a distinct eldar culture and both of us got the other's measure because there's no better way to do that than with a petty argument.

Not like my victory gave me anything but the right to ask the first question anyway, for bickering over petty things will only give petty rewards.

"I still do not agree with your interpretation, but I can't be bothered to continue this poor excuse of an argument priest." She said as she accepted defeat and moved from her part of the table to mine.

"Do your thing." She said as she removed the horrible thing keeping her hair up into the air.

I proceeded to do as the lady wished and braided the wild mane of silver hair into something approaching decency as the woman placed the weird cylinder keeping her hair up on the table. First step see what I was dealing with.

"Sure, any preferences?." I asked and thus used my question.

Hair softer than silk and longer than the woman which wore it, very well taken care of, no split ends, recently removed or fixed with biomancy. She did not care for what I did to her hair as long as I did a good job with it. She tried this look on a whim and is not attached to it. This entire body might as well have been a doll.

"I'll leave my hair in your hands." She grumbled good naturedly.

Diplomacy is the art of the friendly conversation. Putting someone in an unfavorable position might win you points in a debate but in a conversation between equals not subject to any constraint and circumstances but their own will one needs to do the exact opposite to putting the one before you in a bad spot.

You need to make them comfortable, willing to interact and to cooperate, and for that you must sometimes accept some minor indignities.

A little session of hair care is a small price to pay to getting her and her clan members to relax, not that they will hear what we speak of from now on. Both of us have created a shadow barrier to prevent sound from escaping and making people stop being able to see what we are doing with clarity.

"What do you want from us priest?" She asked with resignation.

'Hmm, a crown braid, would fit her best.'

"What is going on here? The gods are far too active in the area, first the people actually have superstitions and traditions and sayings in regards to divine intervention and this is not normal. Then they send me here to investigate something relating to you and families and I find out you might have a connection with my father. Do you know what caused this?" I asked.

One of those would have been alarming, but all of them? Now whatever happens in this region of space is enough to start scaring me. The gods are better at hiding their meddling than this and if they're so open then it means that whatever the emergency is, it's severe enough to require immediate attention.

Or it's a trap. I sincerely hope it's a trap because I am in no way shape or form equipped to handle whatever emergency brought me here that necessitated this sort of action on their behalf.

"I was hoping you could answer that, all I know is that Cegorach is far too involved, he's made my children understand wrong and now I need to redo their education and find a new territory to prey on to pay for medicine to save their lives when they attempt to become adults." She answered.

I hummed at that and continued my work to make her hair look like a crown. I'll need to shorten it, but that's easy enough to do.

The situation is even worse if Cegorach is so open with his activity that she can notice it.

"The gods are far too active." I grumbled and repeated my previous point.

Nothing good ever comes from the gods acting openly.

"That they are." She agreed.

"What medication do you need? I can make Khaine aligned ones for dealing with outside contaminants to the soul and cutting off infected parts. I am willing to part with plenty and give you instructions to make more. No payment required on that front, making sure your culture continues being active is part of my priorities" I offered.

That generosity surprised her slightly, especially as it was the kind that came with no strings attached as I have revealed that them continuing to do what they are doing helps me already.

"We need soul nourishing ones that help with putting the soul back in one piece after a failed attempt at merging with a Wraithbone Core. We can handle the separation, but can't remake the Mind right" She replied.

I nearly hissed at that. That's not something I can do. I needed Matons to help put me back together when I was learning and the type of healers that can do that are not the type that are likely to survive the Birth of the New Divine or the early days of the Fall as the Daemons will start hunting them down to prevent their goddess from being cleansed from existence by their powers of purification and nurturing.

"I don't have access to such healing and it will become incredibly difficult to even find in the next centuries." I revealed

"Why?" She asked.

A single word, and a question I can't fully answer.

"The wars will escalate far beyond what the Empire can contain." Was all I could say.

She considered her words as I considered her hair. A pity I can't use any accessories for it as it would have allowed me to keep it longer, unfortunately giving her accessories to use would have been far too much to give for the occasion. This is a friendly conversation, not a negotiation, or the type of meeting that one provides important gifts in.

She considered my words with annoyance and worry. She knew of the New Divine, she has lived in the Empire's Song Worlds in her past lives and knows what the fools in the New Divine's priesthood are trying.

The priesthood of Slaanesh tries desperately to make themselves all powerful by creating a Divine whose throne she can leave or be overthrown from, thus allowing priests to vie for Divinity and abandon it when they wish to try something more.

From the start the idiots wished to give birth to a goddess they could overthrow for their own ambition and take the entire eldar species as their families as they replace all of the Divines with themselves, a Divine that can be anything, do anything and even succeed and fail at everything.

This level of stupidity is one of the reasons why the Speakers of Apocalypse were allowed to survive throughout the ages and was actively kept alive and in good standing. We are used to dealing with eldar with 'special needs' which is a polite way of saying we are very good at humbling morons and teaching them that they are morons.

Their motivation is so shallow and easy to read that the only reason they even got so far that sabotaging them is so easy is because them getting this far was useful for far more meaningful plans than giving every eldar the ability to become a divine and abandoning it when they no longer felt like doing it.

"A new War in Heaven." She all but hissed the last word.

I nodded, and my song carried my intent.

"That is likely, yes. Your lifestyle will become either far bloodier or untenable. I have a possible solution but it requires you having to deal with Royalty." I continued.

She considered that.

"I am not going back into the Empire, life here is easier and more fulfilling." She replied.

That was a strange thing to say, but to scrap species this was often the case.

"You won't have to. The current crop of miscreants and morons on the Periphery is downright pathetic. The pirates can't even reattach their own limbs, the morons in the craftworlds can't think right, the near-barbarians in the tunnels can barely think right and will soon stop being able to even hold on to civilization without Khaine babying them and the Exodites are too insular to bother with. We've managed to conceive a new Royal Bloodline and her holder now rests in the Shattered Labyrinth and provides a safe haven for the families of priests that will sacrifice themselves to form evacuation corridors. The new Queen agreed to serve as a back-up plan in case the failures are too incapable of correcting their deficiencies."

"The priest's families, including yours?" She asked derisively.

Many of the priests are cowards at heart. When it comes to sacrificing they will happily give up their lives for what little that is worth but we won't as a rule sacrifice either our ambition or our families which will serve as our Legacies and ways to empower us in our next ones.

Our personal sacrifice means little as we do not care for our own lives most of the time and I don't care much for it either and a priest dying is the punchline to a joke that stopped being funny a long time ago.

"I would imagine so, considering that the new Queen is my wife." I admitted.

Pity came easily to her and it replaced her previous derision faster than one could blink.

"You are married to royalty." She observed.

"She forged her crown by marrying me." I replied with a thin smile.

He hair is almost done and her crown looks absolutely lovely.

The pity quickly turned into fear before it turned into annoyance.

"I do not wish to be stuck into one life and one role, especially not to be near royalty who could change it on a whim. I feel sorry for the fact you won't be able to escape that fate but I would rather not put myself or my family in it." She declared.

I could accept that, but there was a slight issue, as they might not have a choice. When entering the court of Royalty your role becomes fixed and no longer under your control as the song of royalty both protects and restricts and under their power nothing else was allowed but their will, for all things bow to their will. My wives love me, this I know for sure, but to carry the combined might of the psychic might of all the Eldar that acknowledge your rule as true carries consequences, consequences that those that know of them seek to avoid.

"It's either that or a fate worse than Cessation. The Creature will be able to absorb and Corrupt souls into Madness and Chaos, with the only chance at Salvation being Reforging. Certain parts of the Empire have gone to sleep to avoid such a fate and allow those that would have been caught in it otherwise to return, but you do not have access to such infrastructure. Would it truly be so bad? You would join early in her reign and your clan would be welcomed into power, prominence and safety." I asked

"Only priests and morons care for that nonsense. What good is power and prominence if you can't enjoy life?" She asked back.

I smiled, she was incorrect in her assumption, for priests knew the answer to that question and the answer was that a life that you can't enjoy is only as good as what it lets you achieve that you care for. The purpose of an Eldar's life is to be pleasant or useful, as we don't care for power. We have more than we know what to do with it or care for and the people outside of the Empire and most morons of our species don't understand this and continue caring for things the people that have lived in the Empire long enough don't care for anymore. Most people call it decadence, but even assuming they are true, then that only means that our Empire has been decadent for millions of years and we can continue to be so for as long as we please, and the time for that is quickly coming to an end.

"It is useless, but it is an option that would help you with your issues and besides, the Queen is young and not that wealthy yet. If done appropriately you can negotiate a deal with autonomy and distance and allow yourselves to enjoy the lifestyle you prefer. Also please tell me if you like what I have done to your hair, I think it came out lovely."

She sang Wraithbone into the shape of a mirror and used it to look over my work.

"Acceptable." She said with a smile.

She liked it.

"I'm glad to hear it my lady." I replied to the vain avatar of a ship.

Said Avatar was pretending to caring about the way she looks while it's true mind was busy considering what I offered her.

"I am going to need to see how it fits with the rest of my wardrobe."

I nodded at that, so she'll need time to think about my proposal.

"Fair enough, it's been a pleasure." I replied.

It was, speaking with someone that understands is always a pleasure, and the petty argument was fun.

"The pleasure was all mine and if you want I would be welcome to talk more in a more personal environment. Even if I don't agree to swearing allegiance to your queen, I would like to hear more before I make a decision and hopefully I can also find a way to help you with your official duties." She continued coyly.

Well, that's good news if I've ever heard any.

"My crew was promised two days of rest, once this has passed I am perfectly willing to have a more in-depth talk in an environment you would find more suiting." I replied with a smile.

That made her song grumble about men always supporting each other which was quite confusing. I haven't had time to plot pranks on her with the other men and I'm wondering where this is coming from.

My sight turned towards the four souls both of us chaperoned as they enjoyed themselves. My younger Sister and her descendant's beloved seemed to be getting along, even if her descendant and my sister's bodyguard seemed to have mostly tapped out of the conversation. How utterly adorable.

A pleasant conversation and seeing children enjoying themselves is always a balm on the soul.

"Does it ever stop being as pleasant to look after them?" I asked as we both looked at the adorable little crazy creatures we both looked after as they went through life.

"I have been doing it for Aeons and it hasn't. I hope it never does." She replied with a smile.

I hoped the same too.

AN: Shadow Blade is the ship-eldar that exfiltrated Camaus and Fiochar's mother. I realized I don't have a name for her in my notes which is strange as she's been in a few POV's.