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Black Pearl	The Immaculate temple is a work of art, as any major temple in the city would be. Devoted to the Five Elemental Dragons, there are six main chambers: one for each of the elements, and one for all of them combined. Monks chant, some bearing thuribles, others with prayer wheels, making sure that the Dragons have their due devotion. Today, Cynis Salara makes her appearance, dressed in silks as usual, black, but with gold and silver lines running through it to make wisps of patterns not quite seen, not quite able to be made out. She comes in soberly, somberly, far different from her decadant joy within her chateau.
Amilar Ereyo	Unlike the Immaculate Order's doctrine, Lookshyan's Immaculate Faith doesn't prohibit icons of the Dragons. This is one of their temples, certainly one of the largest in Great Forks - where adherents of Immaculacy are not exactly loved. The largest of the chambers, to which all other five are connected, houses an impressive wall painting of the six Dragons, spanning five of the room's six walls. All are depicted during one of their heroic deeds: Danaa'd swimming back to the surface from the ocean's depths after sealing the dread Anathema within; Mela teaching the Immaculate Forms to a score of monks; Pasiap overseeing the construction of a great manse, and so on. Amilar Ereyo kneels on one of the cushions in front of the dias on the center of the room, where a large prayer wheel slowly turns. Her attention is focused on the wheel, reciting the sutras displayed thereon in a soft voice, as to not disturb the monks. She has brought neither uniform nor weapon to this holy place, only a simple robe of blue linen, with the mons of Gens Amilar stitched right over her heart.
Black Pearl	Seeing a familiar face, Salara makes her way into the central chamber and flows with grace onto one of the cushions, and after a moment starts to pick up the chant. A bit hesitant here and there, but better than most acolytes. Some acolytes. When they come to a pause, she starts to speak, "I have not seen you in some time, and I wondered if anything were amiss. That you are here...You lok like you come seeking solace. Or, perhaps...certainty?"
Amilar Ereyo	The look Salara receives is one of confusion at first, which then turns to surprise... and finally, elation. A slow smile spreads across Ereyo's face. She looks decidedly worse for wear since her last visit to the Chateau. Particularly noticeable are the dark circles below her eyes, and her worn-out expression. Still, the smile she gives the other Dragon doesn't lack warmth. In a low voice, to not disturb the prayer of the monks in the chamber, she replies: "Yes, I know... I should have visited sooner. Please forgive me. I have not been feeling well lately." After a slight bow of her head, her smile fades, leaving behind sorrow, and worry. But instead of answering Salara's question, she asks right back: "Do you come here often?"
Black Pearl	"Not as often as they would like, I am sure," Salara says quietly, but wih an almost impish grin. "I am not the most pious here, though I hope never to be impious. I do have a small shrine to meditate at when I need to, instead." The smile fades, "What about you? Do you come here often? And does it help?
Amilar Ereyo	Ereyo turns her head away from the Water aspect, focusing the looming portrait of Mela, wreathed in protective winds that shelter both her and the people she is teaching from an encroaching storm of demonic fire. "I... can hardly be called a pious figure, but I used to visit a temple once a week. Not necessarily this one, you know?" She looks at Salara again, a half smile tugging at her lips. "I feel like I need their help and wisdom now, more than ever. But... I think my spirit is turmoil." The Lookshyan swallows, hard. "So I come here to beg for forgiveness, and enlightenment."
Black Pearl	Black Pearl thinks a moment, "What has you in turmoil? Have you done anything that needs forgiveness? For if you haven't, then the guilt will just keep you in more turmoil. As for enlightenment..." She smiles lsightly, "They say that Elightenment is found when Confusion ends. Perhaps I can help you find the end of Confusion."
Amilar Ereyo	Visibly confused, Ereyo blinks at the woman she has come to know as Black Pearl, master of the Chateau of Resplendent Delights. A tender breeze tugs at the strands of her hair as she dips her head to one side, frowning slightly. "You are not wrong about the guilt. It seems only logical to assume that I am my own worst enemy at the moment", she acknowledges. "Why do you believe you can help me?" She hesitates for a bit, then adds with a small, short-lived grin: "I don't think debauchery is going to help."
Black Pearl	"You would be amazed at the secrets I hear, at the reasons people come to my establishment. For many, it is to find solace, to be listened to. Understood. To have compassion on them. And so I learned long ago to listen. And to ask questions. And when others try to help me understand, they come to understand themselves, yes?" She returns the grin. "Celebration can come afterwards."
Amilar Ereyo	"Hmm. Yes, I can see why that would help, and I appreciate the offer..." Yet, Ereyo trails off without continuing. She stars at the prayer wheel for a good while in silence while the venerable contraption creaks from one sutra to the next, kept in constant motion by some unseen mechanism deep in the temple's bowls. The constant drone of prayer throughout the temple is beautiful, in a way. Soothing. "You know, I've been visiting a healer. She has gone above and beyond to help me cope. Her efforts have soothed my nightmare somewhat, but she also said something - about the Immaculate Texts. I don't want to speak ill of her... you know how the monks feel about laypeople interpreting the Texts for themselves..."
Black Pearl	"I didn't know you had nightmares, but that is a story for another time," Black Pearl says. "You are soothed, but this Healer's opinion of the texts troubles you. What is her opinion? Why should it trouble you? Why should you care what this healer thinks?" A slight smile. "I will listen, and not speak."
Amilar Ereyo	Ereyo's hands, left with nothing to do, have been darting about while they were talking, tucking strands of hair behind her ears, plucking at the seams of her robe, or digging into the cushion. Now, deciding that she's had enough of fidgeting, she tucks them both firmly under her buttocks before turning to address Pearl again. The pose might be undignified for a Dragon-Blooded, but Ereyo doesn't seem to care much, if at all. "Thank you", she says simply, then explains: "The healer - who is called Rishi, an Exigent of a god of water and healing - told me of a section of the Texts I've never been able to see myself, which leaves me wondering if she might have been talking about someone else's interpretation, or maybe the writings of one of the many different sects out there." After a sigh, the Lookshyan cuts herself off. "But I'm rambling. Anyway... she spoke of a theory of the Lunar and Solar Anathema not being interpretated as demons who have stolen the power of the sun and moon, but as Exalted of the very same deities who oversee those celestial bodies. Even if that is true, I fail to see how that would change the sacred duty of the Wyld Hunt. Still, it opens up a plethora of questions, to which I have been unable to find satisfying answers."
Black Pearl	"I have heard of her, of course--and she has been asked to be a healer at the tournament. And of course, texts you have not seen?" She smiles and shakes her head slightly. "If I were auditing financial accounts, I would want to know the provenance of the records, and check them against what I could to see how they correspond to what actually is. As for the other..." She trails off and thinks for a long while, "I suppose the question is, is someone deemed a threat simply because of who they are, or what they do. The Raksha certainly are threats from the Wyld, and it is right and proper that the Wyld Hunt hunt them to make sure they are not a threat to Creation. As for the anathema...could you kill someone simply because they are a potential threat? Could you have them killed?" A bit of a longer pause, "It is different from execution. From battle. From defending against a clear and present ddanger. Few are those who can. Fewer are those who have." Soft, almost a whisper, "I am one who has."
Amilar Ereyo	At first, the sorcerer-engineer listens with a slight frown - one that signals contemplation, rather than disapproval. Those last words, however, cause her eyes to go wide. She stares at Pearl with a mixture of disbelief and profound respect. "You fought and killed one of them...?" Ereyo leans in a bit - she speaks very softly now, too. "I didn't know that." Then, tentatively, after a long pause. "What was it like? If you want to talk about it, that is. I certainly don't want to stir up ~your~ nightmares."
Black Pearl	"I do not fight. It is...something I ought to learn how to do. But I didn't say fight. I said kill. Because this is not about glory. It is about threats. Protecting yourself. Your loves. Family. Lookshy for you--the Realm for me. Creation itself. It's a bargain you make, spending your soul rather than your money, to kill. With the only justification that it must be done, and you choose to do it. And you either are at peace with it...or you turn from that path to a different one instead."
Amilar Ereyo	Ereyo's eyes widen even more, and a swirl of grayish blue momentarily passes through her violet irises before fading away. Still, she gives a nod of understanding. "This is how it aught to be done, right? Kill them before they have a chance to strike back. Don't take unnecessary risks... for your sake, and for the sake of innocents who might be harmed in an open fight." She presses her lips together so tightly that all color drains out of them. "As a soldier of the Seventh Legion, I have been taught to adhere to the code of the Righteous Warrior. It's certainly not easy, but I try my best. Don't get me wrong, I have killed... more than once... but it was always in battle, either to defend myself or my fellow soldiers. Intentionally seeking someone out to kill them by any means necessary is an entirely different matter." A sudden gust ruffles her hair, and she offers a sad, sympathetic smile to Black Pearl. "I can't even begin to imagine what that must have done to you."
Black Pearl	Black Pearl shakes her head and smiles sadly, even as the air starts to become damp with mist around them. "Do you /wish/ to be a murderer? I do not. So far, you are not--a fighter, a soldier, yes! /Not/ a murderer. And if you have the Hunt seek out those who are not threats, who only might one day become threats, then you would have /them/ be murderers." She looks a long time at the mural of the five dragons, then turns back to look at Ereyo. "And having murderers as icons of virtue....twists them, and twists a society that venerates them." A slight smile. "As for what it has done to me?" She shakes her head. "That is something personal, to share with a lover, or one as close as that."
Amilar Ereyo	Ereyo doesn't try to mask her shock. She glances up at the mural herself, then quickly fixes Black Pearl with her gaze. Her eyes are clouded again, this time in anger. "Do you realize what you're saying...?", the Lookshyan hisses. She still doesn't raise her voice. "The Immaculate Dragons are not murderers! They banished horrible demons from the world... they are shining ideals of enlightenment, not ruthless killers." In her outburst, her hands slip free, and she puts them on the cold floor in front of her to balance herself as she leans forward, eyes narrowed, towards the other Dragon. "And I don't think you are correct about the Wyld Hunt either. Their cause is a righteous one. Even if that rumor Rishi told me were true - if the anathema are ~Exalts~, people uplifted with the power of gods - they cannot possibly contain this power. Their souls simply are not equipped to handle that kind of stress. It doesn't surprise me that their minds unravel in time, that they become true monsters - and the longer you let them live, the harder they are to kill." She pauses for a bit to take a shaky breath, then continues in a more level voice: "I'm by no means a stratega, but even I know that a battle is best won before armies clash. Finding a weakness and exploiting it - that's how you achieve victory. Not in glorious combat, as much as all the heroic tales would have us believe." Her eyes have fully darkened now, and the smell of lightning mingles with the watery scent of Black Pearl's mist. "In the end, we are all killers. Killing to avert a disaster, or to protect someone else, isn't murder."
Black Pearl	Black Pearl shakes her head. "That is not what I am saying. They acted to remove tyrants and threats. The acted to protect us and Creation all. So murderers they are not. And who are we to judge what the dragons do? Isn't what they do right? Isn't what the gods do right? Isn't that why we worship them?" Pearl shakes her head, then shrugs slightly. "Of course, the gods include all the minor ones throughout creation, as well as the great ones in the heavens. Including the Sun, Moon, and Stars. Shall we judge their actions as well? I at least can't. Perhaps those wiser than I can. Perhaps no mortal can. I don't know." With the wind and lightning, Pearl's hair ripples slightly, as though the surface of the water were wind-blown. "Murder is a type of killing. Wrong. Unjustifiably wrong, right? So what is justified is not murder But the more justifications you tell yourself, the less...connection you have with humanity yourself. The easier it is to see people as things, objects to destroy. I have seen this among the unExalted. Among Dragon-blooded. Among god-chosen. All must watch out for it, lest they turn into beasts without mercy who must themselves be put down. After all, isn't that what the anathema did so long ago? They were tyrants and killers, concerned only about their powers and desires? And is that not why they were overthrown? So...should we not try to avoid their same mistakes? To be /better/ than they were?"
Amilar Ereyo	The anger in Ereyo's eyes fades a bit, and she sits up straight, but the tension in the room is still palpable. Wisely, the mortal monk acolytes in the far corner decide to continue their studies of assorted sutras elsewhere. Biting her lower lip in frustration, the sorcerer-engineer sifts through her unruly hair with both hands, fingers splayed wide. "What are you trying to tell me, Black Pearl? That we should leave the anathema alone? That we should wait and see what becomes of them? How can you justify that to yourself...? When the world suffered under the rule of twisted anathema demons - when we, the Chosen of the Elemental Dragons rose up to defeat them - what would have become of Creation, hadn't we intervened? Do you really think it would go differently this time? That our predecessors were wrong?" She shakes her head, and her hair crackles softly with static. "The world is too fragile to leave anything to chance, ~especially~ now. Some things need killing. This is the way of the world." She says this with a heavy heart, sadness visibly in every line of her face.
Black Pearl	Black Pearl shakes her head. "Honestly? I don't know. I'm trying to strengthen my family's connections here, and have a good time while I'm doing so. I don't...I don't want to delve in to this. I don't /enjoy/ being heartless. I'm tired of it. Tired of being alone. I would rather be comforted and comforter both. Maybe that makes me too soft, that I do not like picking up a naked blade that hurts its wielder as well as her foe. I want to bring joy. Peace. Jubilation. And I'm sorry I could not help you be setteled. I apologise, and ask your forgiveness. Please."
Amilar Ereyo	Ereyo studies the other woman's face while Black Pearl talks about her own feelings. Gradually, the Lookshyan's features soften, sympathy banishing the stern frown. It takes a bit longer for her eyes to return to their natural color as her gaze drifts over to the depiction of Mela. She unfolds her legs, switching to a cross-legged position on the cushion. For a long while, she seems deeply lost in thought. Then, slowly she turns her head to look at the other Dragon, smiling tentatively. "No. I mean... yes. I should be the one to ask for forgiveness. I got carried away, letting my passions get the best of me... again." She huffs in frustration. "My parents used to joke that I should have Exalted as a Fire aspect, with all the heat burning inside of me. Let's stop." After a brief chuckle, Ereyo becomes solemn again. She looks Black Pearl over a few times before asking sheepishly: "Do you... uhm... need a hug, or something?"
Black Pearl	Black Pearl laughs. It's a watery laugh, but the smile is genuine. "I would not say no to one, if we are still friends, you and I." The smile gets warmer, "Fortnately, we need not agree on everything to be friends, yes?" She reaches out a hand, "And it is very good to be passionate about things. To be true to yourself, and change the world to be the way you want it to be."
Amilar Ereyo	Amilar Ereyo says, "One cannot hope to change the world without overcoming challenges. And wouldn't it be terribly boring if we had the same opinion on everything?" Ereyo winks. Her wide smile is the blue sky after the passing of a heavy thunderstorm. She takes Pearl's hand firmly in hers and gives a light tug. "Come here." Leaning forward, she holds out her arms to embrace Pearl in a slightly awkward hug, if the Water aspect is willing. The scent of ozone still clings to Ereyo, but with her in a better mood, it's very faint now, not harsh enough to sting."
Black Pearl	Black Pearl returns the embrace, with a smile on her face as she revels in the touch for just a moment. "I would be glad to talk again. Of serious, deep subjects. Or of nothings. And I can try to help with nightmares if you like, but that would be another time. I am very glad I saw you again today."