Private Matters of Council || Obsidian Council

[Kyyrk]

A S S E S S
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The Council Chamber of Arx Obsida was filled once again for a matter most important. Word had been left not to disturb the council except in dire circumstances. Such was the secrecy of their gathering, that only the Vicelord himself could have entered without Voph's express permission. What the Council had gathered to discuss? The matter of one Ashelia Solidor , a member of the Solanaceae. To date, none of their number had held position among the council. And in this individual, Voph saw the promise for change.

The Council was not assembled in its entirety, but that was of little concern to Voph. They had been informed of what was at stake here. Their absence meant the forfeit of their vote. When the council was gathered, Voph spoke without standing. "Tonight, we gather to discuss the fate of Ashelia Solidor, and her future within our ranks. You will all be given time to ask whatever questions you may have of her, and to administer any tests you wish. When you have gathered what information you need, her fate shall be put to a vote. To join the Council, or to remain at her current position. If we are not unanimous, she shall not earn her place at our table."

Voph turned his attention to the door, and lifted an armored gauntlet to wave the door open. The guards, in turn, ushered Ashelia within the room, pulling the doors shut behind them. Voph waited as she approached the table, gesturing to an empty chair opposite the rest of the Council. "Knight Solidor. You stand before the Obsidian Council. It is our intent to assess your skill and your knowledge. If you fulfill our expectations, then you will be granted a seat upon this council, and granted equal voice. To you, members of the Council, look well upon this hopeful with a discerning eye. Today, it shall be decided if she possesses the ability and the fortitude to call herself a true Obsidian. Ask your questions well, Council. Whomever wishes to begin, the floor is yours."

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Gerwald Lechner
Vytal Noctura
Rylan Kordel
Kurenai Yumi
Taramaz Arcturus
Asaraa Vaashe
Rayne Centaris
Ashelia Solidor

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[Ashelia Solidor]

Beneath her gauntlets, Ashelia could feel her hand was shaking. Out of pure instinct, she clenched her fingers into a fist, while the elzeri’s mind swung an invisible fist and relentlessly whipped herself with what her family would have to say about this matter. Her father wasn’t exactly displeased, he wanted this to her, to have his little errand girl in the very heart of the Confederacy, for he was ambitious, and as much as Iedolas Solidor hide his intentions deep inside his black heart, Ashelia knew it wasn’t her home planet's crown he wanted to fortify, Iedolas wanted the Primarch’s throne and ascend House Solidor to Valythor’s throne, to rule over all the elzeri for reasons yet unknown to her. As for Daedalos and Vayne, all they had to say was how much they were both pleased seeing how far she got in what they referred to as ‘her new life’, they weren’t wrong and Ashelia herself liked to think that this was her chance of atonement, for all the horrible things she had done in the past in the name of honor. Curiously for her, it was with her sister, Lunafreya, that she actually wanted to speak with, after the events that occurred on Bastion, Ashelia heard nothing regarding her sister, Lunafreya went back to her domain on JanFathal and didn’t leave ever since, not even to join the imperials on their own meetings, her father told her that Lunafreya was just being sulky, but Ashelia feared for something much worse.

Clad in her shining elvish armor, the elzeri sighted, pushing those thoughts away from her mind. This wasn’t about family, at least not the Solidors and their petty-intrigues, this was about her and how she would rise, to take a seat on one of the prestigious orders in all the galaxy. They weren’t trapped by the dogmatic views of the Jedi, nor by the chaotic doctrines of the Sith, they were free thinkers, rushing others to discover things forgotten in the empty stars and learning of blank spaces on the map to fill them up with knowledge and beauty.

“The Council is ready for you, lady Solidor.”, her eyes jumped up and down as she heard the guard informing out loud, as he walked towards the gigantic doors in front of her, escorting Ashelia towards them. On herself she carried nothing more than her sword, strapped elegantly around the belt on her waist, even Ashelia knew that bringing something as large as her spear would be a little too much of a show. Although, Ashelia had the ring, and if given the opportunity to recite the enchantment, she could summon her old friend from the veil-beyond. Raising her hand, clad in metal and leather, towards her face, closing her two violet eyes, Ashelia took this chance to touch her own forehead and mutter a silent blessing to her gods. As the doors opened, her expression had changed, assuming an earnest frown of staid, for in front of her laid the unknown future. Calm was the way she walked inside the room, her head moved neither left nor right, she didn’t want to lose her grip trying to analyze the expressions on their faces, her violet eyes were set on Voph’s form, both tall and mighty. The body hardly noticed when she reached the center of the chamber, instinctively her legs stopped, her ears jumped up and down listening to the Commander’s words, and once he was done, her voice made itself heard, calm and honest.
“I put myself in the hands of this Council, to prove my valor and to weigh my soul.”

 

[Rylan Kordel]

Sitting there quietly, Rylan listened to Voph's words very attentively, a new member of the council? To his knowledge, the last time a member had been appointed was when he was granted a position on it. Knowing what little he did about the woman that was about to be presented to them, he began to ponder on what tests or questions he could ask, there were so many options. In all honesty, he wasn't sure he needed to ask anything, if she was being brought forward for this, then she must have earned this meeting, so wouldn't that mean she's already passed those tests and questions?

Lifting one booted foot and resting it over his knee, he sat back, drumming his fingers along the tops of the arms of the chair, brow furrowed still as he sat in contemplation, waiting. Hearing the doors swing open, he looked over to watch the young woman come forward, he appraised her armor and weapon, her form, tried to get a read on her mindset and emotional state, and most of all wanted to see how she'd react to the council members assembled before her. When the woman spoke, Rylan lofted a brow quizzically for a moment, a slightly amused smile creeping along his lips.

"Knight Solidor, you know why you stand before this council, but tell me, if you would," he started after a moment of pause amongst all the gathered members, "What makes you believe that you belong on this council? What things have you done that would make you a good fit?" Rylan appraised her in silence, debating what other things he could say, but decided to wait on the woman's own words to help him make a choice.

Kyyrk | Ashelia Solidor

 

[Vytal Noctura]

"Valor," the Nightmother intoned softly in the wake of Rylan's pointed questions, "is as light as a feather."

With the fall and rise of her black-lined eyelids, the Witch's gaze had turned toward Ashelia. "Shall I ask the spirits to weigh your soul?"

She would save the great depth of inquisition for after the woman had a chance to respond chiefly to Rylan, mindful that bombarding a candidate was only good at proving one or two things. Neither of which Vytal found pressing in the moment. Once she had that opportunity, and given how she responded to one or both of them, Vytal would know the direction this should take.

After all, she'd seen the woman around here or there several times. Even one of the first of her time among their number. The Nightmother would not claim to be an expert regarding the motivations that drove Ashelia, but she knew there was more than selfish ambition. In truth, the Witch was a bit concerned at the lack of interaction given her interest in scholarly pursuits; perhaps a matter that Vytal might brooch. To gauge what it was the woman sought as a member of this council.

Tag: Kyyrk | Ashelia Solidor | Rylan Kordel

 

[Ashelia Solidor]

F O C U S | Kyyrk , Rylan Kordel , Vytal Noctura ​

Listening to the Nightmother speaking, brought a gentle smile on the far side of Ashelia’s lips. Especially, after listening to Rylan’s question regarding her intentions on assuming a seat among the greatest force adepts in the known galaxy, a question that caused her to feel the chilling breeze of goosebumps running beneath the armor, bristling the hair on her milky skin. Her mind was still used to asking herself what would her siblings do if they found themselves in such a position, Iedolas would have some honeyed lie on the tip of his tongue, Daedalos would joke, and Lunafreya would not cower of showing her claws, but this was her challenge, and hers was the heart that was to be measured by the scales of existence. Raising her head high, Ashelia spoke with the most crystalline voice that any of those present could hear, for her people could modulate their tones to please those that heard her voice.

“When I was little, my mother used to tell me stories regarding the Valmar, the deities of my faith, and when I reached maturity, my father took me to the deepest part of my people’s home planet and introduced me to the Eneagon of Infinity, only a year after my own mother perished. When touching its surface to be placed under trial under the sight of my gods, I asked its Seer only a single question: What binds this existence? With such chaos, so much darkness, and hatred. What is it that still binds everything together?”, slowly did her hand came and touched above her chest. “In all his wisdom, it answered me: ‘Ashelia B'nargin Solidor, fairest of all the daughters born in unholy ground, know that the resolution to thy question is: emptiness. For light and darkness exist in perpetual balance, the collective consciousness of a million centillion souls from behind the existence of time and space, beyond all existence, for the ultimate wish of any life, is to exist for all eternity. Yet termination is destined. They eventually vanish, your mother’s death came to be as her fate determined, but fear not, heiress, for the gods will always smile on the brave women.’, she took a moment to breathe, speaking of the past was such as letting go of all that you carried up so far, and time, or at least its perception, was much slower for one of her kind. She raised her face to look directly upon the face of the male that asked her the question, kindness was the stream that ran inside the round violet pools that formed her eyes.

“From the day I decided to take my first breathe when coming to being, and every step I took ever since led me here, for Destiny is All. Such as the embodiment of the soul’s desire to grow, to achieve the ineffable, for mine is the will of the fates, whose deeds made me run this galaxy as a criminal, outcast, witch, smuggler, and soldier. Now, I follow my heart’s desire to give back and repair a little of all the evil that has been done, for my actions, I lost kin, friends, allies, and allowed innocent people to die in the past, but for my actions, I also fought much evil and stopped the scales of the cosmos to go unbalanced, for some believe that only great power can hold what can be defined as “evil” in check, but that wasn’t what I found. I have learned that it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the chaos at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.”, her eyes fell back to the floor, as her big pointy ears jumped, up and down. Many people believed in the existence of Destiny, such as herself, a mysterious force that binds certain people together, determining their fates. According to believers and Ashelia considered herself as one of them, one can either follow the path of Destiny of one's free will or try to resist it, although the latter can bring grim consequences. On the other hand, some feel that Destiny is not everything. These people say that something more is needed in order to bind two lives together, even if the rules of fate decide otherwise. Her answer was given.

 

[Kurenai Yumi]

Kyyrk Ashelia Solidor Rylan Kordel Vytal Noctura

Another day another meeting of the council, this time to once more welcome someone to their ranks as an equal. She didn't say much as the newcomer walked in, allowing the night mother and her fellow lord to ask their questions. From what little she could gather about the women in front of her Kurenai could feel she was rather 'spiritual'.

Though not a bad thing in her mind, the concept of fate and letting ethereal being guide your way through life and such always felt a little wrong, like you were never really in control of what you did. Still that was just personal views, one could never really know how the force worked down to the letter and having someone with such views on the council would help diversity their abilities to respond to certain threats and issues.

Asheilas's speech about righting the wrongs and dealing with Evil while a noble goal was also, in Kurenai's eyes, somewhat flawed. After all who's responsibility was it to define evil? "Knight Solidor, you state you wish to repay evil and keep it in check, though how would you define evil? By your own views? the laws of the land? What the force tells you is right"?

"If so what happens if you were required to do something you found to be evil? Be it necessary to complete a mission or something you did not have a choice in"? As a Obsidian Lord such an occurrence would fall to them in one way or another, and if so Soldior would need to be able to make such decisions with a level head.

 

[Ashelia Solidor]

F O C U S | Kyyrk , Rylan Kordel Vytal Noctura , Kurenai Yumi ​

Her head moved slowly towards Kurenai’s direction, although Ashelia couldn’t say for sure that she was actually familiar with the person itself. Still, the elzeri female thought that she had a very good point, along with beautiful dark hair.

“I apologize. The explanation of this concept was something I learned with humans and ended up incorporating into my own beliefs. I believe that all existence is measured with balance, and for all the evil that I had done in my life, and may do it in the future...“ Her voice was low and reasonable. “An equal amount of what could be defined as good will be done by me. For all in our hearts, no matter who we are, or from where we came, we know what doing a good deed really is, but I believe in the Confederacy, it’s ideal and it’s light, and I believe in enforcing its law, for no matter the price, this elysium must be sustained, and our decisions must be accounted for and held to respect the law. Our law.”

She emphasized the last word and held an outstanding smile on her lean lips. For the Solidor believed in this land, where peace was held, at least… for a price. In her heart, she could the resolution to help sustain this peace, with the strength of her arms and the might of her sword.

 

[Vytal Noctura]

"Each of us believes certain things are 'right,' or 'just.' Some simply except them as 'necessary' whether they be for good or ill," the Nightmother remarked in the wake of Solidor's responses. "The Jedi believe it is expected of sentients to provide stability and balance so that people may find peace or purpose in this life. The Sith believe it is necessary to stoke the flames of battle or conquest in order to grow stronger or provide order to a chaotic existence. Whether either is 'right' is a matter of perspective."

"If your desire is to maintain the Law of the Confederacy it would seem your place in this Council is not misplaced." Indeed, given Voph's interest in pursuing corruption or discord from within such a person was quite suited to the duties of an Obsidian Lord. "But do not forget Lord Yumi's words. You are not always afforded perfect choices in life. Guard your own sense of self and righteousness closely for it is the only thing that may save you from damnation." If one did not know what they believed or why they fought then they could be led far astray. Not so far as to be lost, but the road back would be as difficult (perhaps more so) than venturing off the path in the first place. Some could be consumed with zeal toward upholding a certain portion of the Law to such a degree as to forget the rest of it, or its spirit. It was always good to remind members of the council of this. From time to time.

As for her... new found optimism in small deeds and affection, Vytal had a doubt. By far not enough to call her out on it, however. Perhaps something worth discussing in private. How else did one learn except to engage others especially those that differed in opinion? A woman of Dathomir, however, did not believe darkness was held back by matters the likes of which Solidor spoke of. They were important to keep a soul from being consumed by darkness, but that did not necessitate vanquishing 'evil.' Entire worlds had been lost despite the greatest of deeds over the centuries. Power alone was vacuous, but it had its place.

Tag: Ashelia Solidor | Kurenai Yumi | Kyyrk | Rylan Kordel