Welcome to Gaia! ::

{Yah. Totally worth the wait. That was EPIC. :3}

Though the appearance of Myrkul had sent shivers down her spine, probably visible, the Wyrm caused thoughts of death to wildly whirl through her mind. Foremost among them was the assertion that she was not prepared to die. She was frightened of death because of her own, self-proclaimed heresy against the Spider Queen. If she were to die, what would happen to her soul? She would not serve her Goddess in the afterlife if she were unfaithful. The thought of a different end than the one she had expected for most of her life terrified her -- not in the sense that she would be dead, but in the sense that her blasphemy would be obvious and the repercussions painful.

Either way, Val'atar's terms were set. Now all she had to do was make the decision. Surrender or fight? Live or die?

The Dark Wyrm caused her to think once again. What was twenty men out of five thousand, anyway? Those who she would be content to sacrifice would probably be the weakest of her forces. They would die even if she chose to fight...and the dragon itself would kill just as many men as a regiment of fighters from the city. It made their numbers almost equal.

Also, if she chose not to face the combined forces of Au Shinduago, the members of Izaran's army would be used to bolster the city's defenses...as had been his original intent. Now that was the sort of irony that made her glad. When Val'atar spoke of scrying, though, he only spoke of it for the purpose of detecting plans against the city. And it would only be done once. Chalthara presumed that if she required the services of Izaran's soldiers, they would still hold some sort of loyalty to her. She couldn't quite think of an instance in which it would be necessary to call upon them...but it pleased her to imagine that the option existed.

Her lips quirked upwards into a tiny smile, but she did not give any reason as to why. If she said anything flippant to Val'atar, he would probably not be so "kind" in his dealings. She thought the terms generally fair and did not want to upset things.

There was only one problem. She rather liked this newfound power. She had an army that would do anything she told them, no matter how stupid.

But was that worth her life? Eternal damnation? Perhaps not.

"My Master did not desire a war, Patron Druu'giir. If I am permitted to choose the twenty that shall be given to the Wyrm, there shall be no battle here."

Obviously, she would choose the weakest of the soldiers and those that were somewhat...on edge about her leadership. It was the sensible thing to do.

'Fed to the wyrm?', he repeated in his mind. "What a wasteful use of perfectly good meat." He said aloud. "But it is not my place, please excuse my comment." 'This is what I get for waiting for him to make the terms?! Those bodies...those souls...so much more could of come of them!', his angry thoughts seemed to scream. He did well to hide these thoughts from appearing on his face, not wanting anyone to read things they didn't need to. The portrait he had painted, that of the sly bookworm and the loyal a** kisser, were useful to him for now. At least this way...he didn't look to be a menace of any sort. Only one here seemed to find him anything less than some overly friendly nerd...Kal. He turned to glace at her, knowing that within time, she would become a problem. When a beast shows it's teeth, it means to use them, and he knew that well.

Maybe all was not lost, he was an intelligent drow, he could think of something. Right now, his best bet was to let Val'atar have his way in this matter. After all, who could expect to have much vote in the matters of war so soon after moving into the city. And the enemy is not the only form of fresh meat around here. In the drow society, murder and missing persons was a daily event...nobody would miss a few commoners...

"Well Val'atar, your words truly show us the way, as I'm sure they always do. Only taking twenty? A leader of mercy, a kind offer indeed." He didn't mind what the others thought of him, so long as his goals were still on track. It's better to be seen a fool than a threat.

She couldn't believe it. She could not ******** believe it. She asked for a dragon, and she'd got a dragon. Admittedly, the Shadow drake wasn't her Tanith, but he'd do. He'd do very nicely indeed. She shared Valthier's look of a kid in a candy store, looking over at Val'atar with wide lavender eyes and a teeny, cut off squeal of excitement. "Ohmigodadragonyousummonedadragon." If she hadn't insulted Val'atar's dignity enough in one day she probably would have hugged him on the spot. It wouldn't be until later that she realized she'd probably been speaking far too fast for any of the non-native common speakers to understand. Val'atar was now stuck with her as an ally for he could pull dragons out of his a**. She'd been far too spoiled while she worked for the surface dragon lord to not miss the creatures.

She hadn't missed Llmryn's comment however, as his high pitch whiny nasally voice (to her ears anyway) could interject even her biggest happy moment in months. However, she didn't care. She didn't know who that faerie thought he was kidding. She knew his type. It was the male spider kissers that also kissed a** that were the most dangerous. They were the sneaking, backstabbing, bastards, the eeriest ones. They were the ones that scared her the most. The intelligent, smug men within Lolth's ranks that beat the priestesses at their own game.

An involuntary shudder went down her spine before she could literally hear that vampire behind her re-boot with glee. She turned around and gave him an ear point-to-ear point wolfish grin. "And to think you people have any doubt in this guy." She tilted her head toward Val'atar before letting her gaze travel back along the dragon in awe.

{I'ma wait for Vala to post a response to Chalthy's twist on his terms. xDD But two funny things arise here. One; I know who Chalthy's going to pick for the first piece of dragon-lunch (try and take a guess). She's such a jerk.
And two; the drow equivalent of a redneck? Hahha. I dunno if it's true, but it's funny...:3}

[Rotfl, everyone is like OMG xD ]

{Roflwaffles. That's a disturbing notion.}

-The effort of summoning the mighty dragon had cost him greatly and he knew it, but Val'atar swallowed down the pain and weakness, straightening himself as he looked down on the female drow commander. A thin smile spread across his lips, exposing sharp teeth that had no place in the mouth of a Drow. His ears had caught the words of those around him, as his mind had absorbed their frantic thoughts. His gaze momentarily drifts to Valthier while Chalthara thinks the terms over, then flicks back as she responds. He was nearly impressed as she attempted to subtly turn the situation in her favor. He admired that.. she was still fighting despite knowing she was lost. Val'atar had a moment of enjoyment from the situation before his fiendish nature slammed shut the door to the emotion and the smile that had only a moment ago graced his features, vanished like a fish beneath the calm cold pond of his icy exterior. His cruel red eyes lower to settle on her face as he steps closer to her, leaning down ever so slightly as he sniffs the air..-

"You will be allowed to pick from the leaders of each division.. these are the ones who will be fed to the Shadow Wyrm. I am sure you have more than twenty, with so many soldiers to command.. so in a way you are getting your request. Do not tempt me to change my mind again commander."

-He turns to look at his companions.. his face emotionless-

"House Derahel will also deliver twenty soldiers to feed the Wyrm.. for their part in this event. As well they will not receive any part of the troops divided up from this army.

I will not suffer a Matron who deals away her city for the chance to grasp at power."

-Turning back to regard Chalthara once again.. Val'atar allows himself the opportunity to slide his eyes over the female in a more personal light, undressing her for a moment as wicked and cruel thoughts raced through his head. After several long and silent moments, his haughty smile returns and he motions towards the city with one hand-

"You will order those men who are not to be sacrificed to line up two by two to enter the city. They will surrender their arms and equipment until such things can be searched and scryed. They will then be broken up into squads and sent to the city defense barracks to await orders. For now your men will be housed in the open with tents. I will see to their safety and care. After you have separated those to die, they will remain outside the gates without their weapons. You will then be brought to the ramparts to watch their death from above, so you will have no doubt as to the cost of your actions."

valthier only rolled his eyes at reivan, though still smirking. this day was getting better and better with each demand that Val'atar made. it almost made it worth his more permanant position in Au'Shinduago! not that he didn't miss the freedom of roving so dearly.... he had after all had to temporarily close all his businesses in Union City due to the lack of business time and inability to pay for taxes and trade writs. his once full coffers were now on budget, and he was made more and more irritable each day. he was NOT looking forward to dreary war business for the protection of a city he didn't want to consider his official home, though he knew that with the Temple of Bones inside he hadn't much of a choice. Who knew he could have so much fun playing a city government role!? teh laughter in his mind was a calm sort of manic, and the blood rushed through his long-dead veins, bringing just a hint of colour to his cold features. his eyes now held an impatient warmth, and he licked his lips, while examining the gracefull and magestic form of the reptilian behemoth, with it's smooth, dark glistening scales, that stood not far from him.

such a beautifull creature... dragons realy were as amazing as the stories told. a wave of terrorr had passed valthier and coursed trhough him in a passing shudder at first sight of it but that terror was ineffective next to the High Priest's sheer admiration. even now he could barely move closer to the great lizard, his respect for it bordering on exalted reverence.