Private Way of the Mandalore

[Darius Mereel]

Darius had been to Adumar, and seen the forgotten treasures of his father's life. Some of them he bore with him on his person. Others had been given to Valery Noble for safekeeping and studying. Cultural relics though. Those, he brought back to the Resa and the Mandokarla. particularly Runi Kuryida and her Shamans. This time around he differed much from the other. Bathed, shaved, and freshly dressed in dark blues and brown spacers leather, Darius cut a spitting image of his father in all aspects but the red-tinted brown hair, a gift from his mother.

He was armed with the Shacklebolt rifle he had taken from his dying sire, a mythosaur bone dagger, and a par of Mandalorian gauntlets that were clearly designed for field medicine because he was and would always remain a physician. But this time a construction-like droid followed him, pulling a tram full of boxes. All of them full of trinkets, weapons, relics and more. As well as a datacon starmap he held, with locations to a dozen or more boltholes, and data to access the Protector's stronghold of Vametaye, the Temple-Keep of his father himself. Within too had been secured the armor of his father, placed in stasis after a bit of derring-do to recover it from the Hutt he had narrowly escaped. But thoughts of that quest wee squashed to keep focus on the matter at hand.

Passing the guar, this time there was no challenge as he shifted the red wardens cloak. He had fashioned covers over the Clan Mereel sigils of his father, feeling that legacy one best to keep silent yet, but still... Others seemed to know what he was about, even if he walked straighter now.

Approaching the head-jerked destination of the guard, Darius called out, fingers drumming along the body of the rifle on it's point sling at his right side.

"Runi? I've returned... To talk..."

 

[Runi Kuryida]

A man dressed in tanned leathers and a woman in black stood before the Speaker of the Mandokarla. Their eyes found Darius as he drew nearer, sharp and questioning why he seemed to be headed straight for them. The young man's call caused Runi to turn her head slightly and regard the presence that'd distracted a high Shaman and Pathfinder. "That will be all." The dismissal had both parties bow their heads and turn to leave Runi to her new visitor. No doubt they had questions why she accepted such a sudden intrusion so readily, but the Speaker always had her reasons.

Casually, Runi turned around to face Darious and his droid pulling a tram. Not a common sight to be seen here. She raised a hand to indicate a room off to the side of the Main Hall. "Come."

It was a large room with several pillows set about in a half-circle. Kneeling and pillow seats were common here for those that came to learn. Some rooms had chairs and tables, of course, for those that would find the surroundings a cultural shock -- until they could be acclimated to the ways of the Mandokarla.

"I'm pleased to see you've returned, Darius," Runi said at last once they were alone. A small smile graced her lips. "You look hale. Ready." Some time had passed, and it seemed not for the worse.

Darius Mereel

 

[Darius Mereel]

The droid was left outside, and Darius followed Runi inside. He shrugged off the spacer's leather coat and sat with only a trace of awkwardness on the cushions. Though they had only been together a few weeks before agents of the Cartel caught up to them and killed his father, he had grown used to the man's habits. This being one of them.

In truth, he didn't know what to expect of this meeting, but he started out as if it were just a friendly visit.

"Much of my father's vault on Adumar was personal relics, though I recovered no small amount of cultural oddities. And a few crates worth of datacrons and notebooks on forging, weaponry, his own philosophy on the Mandalorian way, and more. I've read the last one a few times in the transit back and... It's different than I expected... It's why I came back to you."

Runi Kuryida

 

[Runi Kuryida]

Runi turned to face the man before she settled in before him. Her hazel eyes regarded him levelly as he spoke; the calm demeanor broken by subdued laughter. "No small amount? It seemed he spent every moment not hunting amassing cultural treasures." A soft throaty sound accompanied the response. "I may have led him to a few, myself." How many artifacts were still out there? The passage of time was cruel to many things. Just because artifacts were forgotten did not mean they survived planets cracking in two or the unyielding wash of wind and water.

"Ijaat did spend quite some time assembling that philosophy, and the history of the Mandalorian people. It could not have been a light read." Runi gave a small smile and settled in to hear what Darius had discovered or what thoughts the reading had given rise. There was much Runi hadn't even told Ijaat. Not because he was unworthy, of course, but there were things best left unspoken. The mystery gave rise to opportunity for later generations.

Darius Mereel