shellphones | video

Entry tags:

video

Type: Video
Sender ID: deepstar ( Khalid )
To: General
Subject: Just Wyvern Problems
Warnings: NA

[ The feed starts out a little dark, honestly. But one can definitely hear the heavy breathing of some sort of creature. ]

Come on, girl, you have to let me out sometime.

[ Light suddenly shines through and one can see Claude's hand pushing up a large wing and exposing the vast expanse of white scale. ]

Apparently she thinks that I also need to stay in her nest. You'd think we've gone back in time where she had just been a baby and me a kid spending nights in the aery together. That's not what this is about though.

[ The camera pans to Khalid, who gives a little wave before pointing back to his wyvern. A white wyvern in a nest, wrapped around two eggs. Claude is still holding a wing up so that he can catch sight of his best friend. The wyvern just releases a little groan and a huff. ]

She had them just the other day. Chances are if you don't see me for a while it's because of these little guys. I'd hunt down anyone who cursed me with this luck, but how can I be upset seeing at how pleased she is? What a proud mother.

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How lovely. Will you be taming the hatchlings as well?

More than likely. I don't think I'll bond with them like I did their mother though. Not sure she'd take too kindly to that, even if they are her hatchlings.

No? One would have thought the mother would trust you above all others. Or is it jealousy that is the issue?

Jealousy. When I was out of the country, I had to use a different wyvern. Azita was not happy about it and let me know it later.

[ A chuckle from him. ]

Ahh, but to envy her own children? Goodness me. A mother's love is frightening.

[ He props his cheek against a hand, still smiling wryly. ]

So you'll tame them and then give the children away? Let them bond with others?

If I were back home, the bonding process would start once the egg has a viable hatchling can be confirmed. You'd put your hands on the egg and cover it with your scent. The more time you spend with the egg, you know?

[ So really anyone who thinks to want one of the hatchlings really should talk to Khalid soon. Might not be able to take the egg with them, but they can hold and hug on it.

As long as Khalid is there to facilitate. ]

It's a commitment though. Wyverns don't grow to full size in a couple of months, you know?

[ He nods. ]

Of course, of course. I do wonder though: why offer them for bondage? Why not let them fly with their native brethren?

Oh I haven't made a final decision yet. I think it'll depend on who they take more after.

[ Because if they are more like the native dragons, then sure. Why not let them fly free? But if they resemble their mother more? Eh... ]

Wyverns have a huge cultural significance to my people. They're regarded with respect and treated well. White wyverns are especially rare.

Do white wyverns have some peculiar trait which sets them apart from their kin, besides the colour of their hide?

[ Albinism is a curious evolutionary trait he has sometimes observed over the centuries. He wonders if there's any more to it than a quirk of colour (he had more important things to do than study fauna). ]

From my experience? Not really. It's just when you're from a culture of warriors where the saying "an axe to grind" can be taken literally?

[ Something he is slowly going to... Redirect. Khalid respects his father's culture where things can be settled with a fight. But fighting senseless battles to just prove their worth? Eh... ]

Let's say that it's easier to pick out a rider on a white wyvern than it is on a brown one.

Ah, so they target you and her simply because she is most visible? How crude. So much for respect.

Yeah well. That's what having your siblings as foes does. There won't be any respect afforded, you know?

Ah, they're your siblings. Well, that was a losing battle from the start.

[ Emet-Selch sometimes wonders what it would have been like to have a sibling. ]

More importantly, did you win?

It didn't have to be.

[ Azita gives a huff at that. Then Khalid just gives her a pat to soothe her. ]

Anyway, yes, I did. Some of them were able to at least come to the negotiating table. Others... They required a little bit more of a forceful hand.

[ Like dumb Shahid... ]

Don't you have people that just want to see your downfall for no other reason but for the fact that they can?

Mm, no, there was always ample reason to want my head, in some form or another, [ he remarks cryptically. ] In my experience, men rarely act out for no reason. Your siblings are probably jealous of your wyveryn and wish to...'knock you down a peg', so to speak.

Yeah? What sort of reason would someone want your head?

[ Because wow. Yeah. That's sure something to lead with. ]

I mean it's absolutely jealousy since I'm my father's favorite child.

[ A short laugh. ]

Well, there you go then.

[ And hey, the man asked...! Although, Emet-Selch isn't sure he necessarily wants to horrify someone who has thus far been amiable towards him. ]

...As for why someone would want my head, let's say that I made a deliberate enemy of a great many people in my home world. I had my reasons.

Oh that was never in question, believe me.

[ Because his mother is a foreigner. A foreigner that married a king and became a queen when others could not. Other women had tried to captivate Khalid's father and only ended up with a child and no real title of their own. Then the King favors Khalid for succession. That's enough for all of his half siblings to come for his life.

But the guy seems to have a story. One he's not disclosing. Oh that makes him curious. Makes Khalid want to ask a bunch of questions. Discover the answers. ]

I'm sure you did. Most people have their reasons. It's just whether or not people understand or agree with those reasons.

Mm, well, the majority of them disagreed. They weren't happy to be regarded as lesser things, even though that's what they are.

[ He shrugs as nonchalantly as he can, trying to shift the conversation away. ]

I don't enjoy fanning their hatred. I would like for the peoples of the star to get along harmoniously.

[ Welp. That's definitely a notch against the man. That's not a philosophy that Khalid can say he supports. ]

People said that about me all my life because I'm a child of two races. Just so you know.

[ Not that he's showing hostility. More like... Realize that the thought isn't really appreciated. And why Khalid would likely share the same opinion on anyone being "lesser things." Not even people. Wow. ]

Thoughts like that don't really promote harmony. So wanting that while also thinking that they're lesser than you seems a little hypocritical and counterproductive.

[ Shrug! ]

But hey. What do I know... I only helped to unite an entire country and am working towards an alliance with multiple more. So my opinion might not mean much.

[ He rolls his eyes to the heavens and crosses his arms, continuing to glare upwards as he retorts. ]

Oh, I'm sorry. I neglected to mention that every single living creature resulted from a cataclysmic event that tore their souls apart and jettisoned them across thirteen metaphysical reflections of my star. So yes, they are quite literally less capable than me individually. By several magnitudes. When you're faced with a ripped up piece of paper, you don't proceed to call the scraps 'pages', do you?

In fact they are more than capable of impressive feats if they cooperate - but they rarely do. I know this because I have walked with them every step of their known history. Their memories are short, their lives shorter, and no amount of peace can slake their greedy bellies. But give them a common foe and suddenly nothing can stand in their way.

[ He lowers his gaze and flashes a bitter, sarcastic smile. ]

Oh, but what would I know? I'm simply an old mage who has helmed a myriad of empires as well as whispered in the ears of kings and despots and revolutionaries for thousands of years. What could I possibly know of Man's failings or His potential?

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