Among the Rubble (Caelyn)

[Quetzal]

Ri'Shei had made it to Carvahall and yet still didn't know what to do with herself. The Empire was over but despite not trusting the Varden to maintain such a level of order she did nothing to counter them. They would find out for themselves when crime rose and chaos ensued. Perhaps that might prompt them to change their ways, and their regime would be comfortable after all. She didn't really care any more. She had her freedom, none of her actions deemed worthy of punishment with so many other Empire members to get through, even though her joining had been voluntary. There was no way she could change the way anything worked, so she let it lie. It was too minor a detail to bother taking up arms against the entire rest of the nation. Instead she had been a hired sword, defending caravans of goods on the road or important people. It was dull work for the most part, but at least not too lonely and always with room and board alongside it. She hoped something more exciting would come up. Life in the desert had not been so interesting, but all the activity of the war made everything else dull in comparison.

No longer did she fight alongside and against Riders, elves, and sorcerers. Now she was as the ordinary commoner, finding each sighting an event of note. Elves were more common these days with their societies being entangled during the war. Stronger connections to previously isolated communities was at least one good thing to come out of the war. Riders and dragons were still a rare sight, when a few months ago she wouldn't have batted an eyelid at them. Some of her friends were Riders - where were they now? She often wondered what had become of all her friends in the Empire. She ought to seek them out.

Yes, perhaps that was a good goal. Searching for her lost friends, seeing what they were doing, perhaps joining their efforts, be they similar guard work to her own or something more political. Some familiar names were rising to power or taking up lordships. Surely they would need advisers, guards, enforcers. A smile played across her lips. She was intelligent, and an excellent guard for her intimidating appearance. Few people of the desert were seen even now. She drew stares as much as the elves did. A spartan; tall as a Kull, gold eyes contrasting with her very dark skin, features somewhere between elf, dwarf, and human, strange desert robes, light twin swords at her waist. She towered over the tallest humans. That could be quite useful, particularly with proud big men. Many people, particularly the more narrow-minded ones, were more comfortable hiring her than an urgal or kull to defend their property.

The village of Carvahall was very much damaged and small. Buildings were replacing those that had burned down, everything either rubble or rough buildings thrown together by old residents. All the good builders had gone to repair the cities, especially Uru'baen. Not a lot was going on here. She had arrived with a caravan bringing building supplies, the prices of which had shot up with the recent need for them. The Council had haggled them down, but not been strict enough with its merchants. In her eyes, to make them affordable for the people who desperately needed places to live, they should have demanded their being sold as cheaply as possible. After all, the profit margins didn't have to be big to get by when they were dealing them out to so many.

Little of interest went on here and Ri'Shei was looking to leave. Finding old friends was a good idea and she thought to make a start on that when an interesting individual caught her eye. The red hair hair and eyes and the air of power were immediately recognisable to one of the Empire's former generals. The Empire had two Shades under their command. No one of any rank would fail to recognise one when they saw them. She strode over to the Shade with a wary frown. "Excuse me, but may I ask what brings you to this village?" she asked in as non-threatening a tone as she could. Shades rarely meant good news.

[xX_NOT_OKAY_Xx]

Caelyn was rather bored. The war was over, and she no longer needed to serve Nasuada. In fact, she wanted to take the throne. She could kill Nasuada quite easily if she wanted, but her former oaths wouldn't allow it. Helping cause the downfall of two empires in one lifetime did seem rather hard, but at least Nasuada didn't control a horde of Eldunari. Of course, she was trying to be subtle. Right now she was helping rebuild Carvahall. There wasn't much else she could do. A frowning woman approached her and asked what brought her to the village. Caelyn smiled and replied, "This is where I spend my time. The war is over, after all." The women who had asked her was rather tall, dwarfing her. Her golden eyes stood out from her dark skin, easily classifying her as a Spartan. Spartans were rare around here. She was clearly new to Carvahall, as most people in the area fought alongside her in the war. Curious, she asked, "Who are you? You have the bearing of a soldier, and yet, I don't recognize you. I know everyone else around here from the war."

[Quetzal]

A vague answer. Ri'Shei didn't pry any further. The woman's business was her own. Perhaps even Shades needed a place to call home. She wasn't really sure, having steered clear of the formidable and volatile figures in the ranks of the Empire. They had all been higher up than she, far stronger than she could hope to threaten. They all had to go somewhere. She was surprised she did not recognise this one, for there were incredibly few in the world and most seemed to have helped the Empire during the war. That wasn't to say she thought they were on her side. Little though she knew about Shades, she knew they were on no one's side but their own. Their minds were a puzzle best left alone.

This one seemed interested rather than aggressive, thankfully. "My name is Ri'Shei. You're right, I am a soldier. Or was, I suppose. I never went here during the war, I stayed mostly in Dras-Leona, Belatona and Uru'baen." The big cities, switching between them as the Varden prepared their assaults. The highest and most valuable had always resided in Uru'baen, those of officer rank largely moving with their men between threatened settlements. After each defeat Ri'Shei had been sent to the city most likely to be next on the Varden's list. Preparations against attack always began as soon as possible. Never soon enough, it would seem.

"I'm surprised I don't know you, either. You look like a Shade, right? There are not many of you around, and I thought I had seen all of them in the Empire's ranks. I never got close to any, but I recognise them all the same. Did you stay out of the war?" She still had seen no indicators of Caelyn's true alliance, assuming she had been with the Empire if at all.

[xX_NOT_OKAY_Xx]

The Empire. That clarified few things. As much as Caelyn despised the Empire, she didn't want any unnecessary hostilities. Perhaps this Spartan would be a valuable ally. "Yes, I am a shade. During the war, I fought alongside the Varden. I had a personal grudge against Galbatorix, so I worked against the Empire." Ri'Shei didn't need to know that she was born in an encampment, or how Galbatorix's Urgals killed her parents. Sometimes she almost missed living like that, worrying only about who she was to marry. Most humans longed for that kind of life, but she no longer did. Simple magicians would never have power like hers.

"I'm just wondering, but what do you think of Nasuada? I would honestly rather have a ruler who could hold her ground in a battle without dragon riders doing all of the work. " Caelyn wished to dig a little deeper on the subject of politics, even if it meant openly insulting the Queen.

[Quetzal]

There was no doubting she was a Shade now, but Ri'Shei didn't feel afraid. It would be foolish not to be wary of her, and of course she was on high alert, but she did not feel threatened so maintained her relaxed stance. No use creating tension where there was none. That would be just as dangerous as if the Shade did intend to hurt her. "I didn't know the Varden had any Shades on their side. That's interesting, there must still be a lot we don't know about people," she said, intrigued. Here was an interesting person beyond just the magic and spirits.

It seemed politics was the order of the day. That was no issue to Ri'Shei; you couldn't be a general without being involved in some kind of politics, nor could you fight because you truly believed in a cause without having some opinions. Most of the people she worked with or for were so simple their conversation was dull. The deepest she had probed into politics lately was "nice there aren't corrupt guard threatening innocents", and that had been a stretch. "Very forward, I like it," she said, not liking people who talked around the point for ages when it was clear what they were alluding to. "I don't think a ruler should have to hold their ground in battle. No, quite the opposite. A lot of the time, brawn lacks brains. A ruler must be intelligent and cunning, that will help them solve tricky problems far better than being good at hitting things." She totally disagreed with that point. "That's not to say I'm in support of Nasuada, as you might guess by my having chosen the Empire. I think she simply isn't strict enough to maintain order. Giving people more freedom is all well and good, but without regulations and careful observation things could evolve into barbaric behaviour and chaos. People could lose sight of what respect means."

[xX_NOT_OKAY_Xx]

Caelyn nodded, pleased with the answer. Ri'Shei seemed smart and formidable, everything Caelyn would want in an ally. Perhaps she also wished for a new ruler. "I despised Galbatorix, but I'm afraid I have to agree that he had a more secure grip on the people. What's to prevent someone from marching right into Uru'baen and killing everyone?'" Other than oaths, of course. She wished that she could just forget about the oaths. There were, however, some loopholes she left. Her oaths mainly included not betraying the Varden to Galbatorix and not hurting/killing Nasuada. She never said that she wouldn't destroy the remnant of the Varden, but that was more of a last resort. When making the oaths, Caelyn didn't exactly plan for the future. Right now she wanted to get on the Queen's good side, and maybe advancing higher up in the government would help that.

"Sorry if it seems like an interrogation, but what exactly brings you to Carvahall?"

[Quetzal]

So the Shade might not have liked Galbatorix, but she wasn't too keen on Nasuada, either. Ri'Shei gave a smirk. They were on the same page then if what she said was anything to go by. Of course, she doubted anyone would go into Uru'baen and kill everyone, and disagreed there in some respects. There was nothing stopping people from openly forming groups and becoming so un-unified under the Varden they sought their own protection, but should anyone actually march into Uru'baen they'd find themselves faced with the better force of Nasuada's military force. Enough people were loyal to rally up for her at short notice. She kept guards around the cities as anyone would, but they allowed people too much freedom. "I don't doubt her military strength. Nasuada is extremely intelligent, any sign of trouble and she could counter cleverly or send Riders and spellcasters down at the culprit." She paused for a moment. "But you have a point. Everyone is so unruly these days, anyone could sneak around and steal or murder. It's only a matter of time. And the guards won't be ruthless enough to find them, or will come up with some sorry excuse like 'oh, well the thief was probably hungry'," she said with disgust.

There was no harm in answering the question. Ri'Shei didn't like giving away too much information but saw no trap here. "Nothing in particular. If I'm honest I haven't had a real goal in a while. I came here as a hired sword protecting a caravan, and until I find something better I'll carry on as a hired sword," she shrugged.

[xX_NOT_OKAY_Xx]

Caelyn smirked at the Spartan's assumption about Nasuada's guards. She was probably correct on that matter, since a few of probably began as farmers in this very town. The guards that weren't farmers were likely so merciful that they'd let any human pass the gates. She both loved and hated that kind of mercy. It made even the strongest of soldiers easy to manipulate. She would threaten them with the loss of another's life, and they crumble beneath her feet. It almost got boring at times.

 So it seemed that this Spartan was a hired sword. Caelyn almost viewed it as a waste of talent. She wasn't exactly all for helping people, though. Remembering why she was in Carvahall in the first place, she said, "I have to leave now, but it was a very nice chat.  Perhaps we will meet again someday." And with that, she set off to occupy herself with clearing some of the rubble.