un: deimar | video

[jatharin]

( Ah, but did you miss King Deimar's jovial face? He appears well acquainted with a cup of wine, sunning as he speaks.)

Greetings! Your king speaks. Deimar. And how are you? You all look so much more resplendent than I remember you — which is to say, no longer drenched in my people's blood.

Master Strange, I'll beg you to refrain from ruining these ancestral halls. Yelena, I could yet do with a guard. ( More cutting: ) As for those of you who... witnessed my brother's... heroic sacrifice, as ever, I appreciate your discretion in this time of my people's mourning.

( But perky, once more: ) Now! As it happens, mistress Hermione returned from her jungle pilgrimage, intoxicated but bearing the wishes of a... runaway divine serpent. Sceptics might question the wisdom of heeding a hallucinating girl and an invisible snake, but she has retrieved some of the venom my uncles require for my coronation, so we object no further.

In exchange for his venom, Kharil-asuk has demanded the purity of the citadel's new residents. Delightful! It seems that, after bearing with child traffickers and nearby human sacrifices for centuries, the snake god has lost his appetite for blood. A troubling thing, since I find myself short-supplied of people who have not touched sword and bloodshed after years of siege. To cut things short: the new holy watering stations posted at Unkharil's entrances are here to stay. Bask in the brilliance of your new innocence. Do get more water! And don't unsheathe a sword where a snake can see you.

I remain grateful for any other anointment venom you procure from Kharil-asuk. He of questionable existence, but indubitable control of my fate.

( ooc: from this point onward, characters may find members of the Unkharil city watch randomly dumping buckets of holy water from the golden stream on them, near the citadel's entrance points. Bathe well and thank Hermione! )

Comments

un: headless ragdoll | video

[matermali]

[ Not everyone here is looking resplendent, but she is walking on two legs at the moment. ]

How good it is to hear from you, Your Majesty.

Only, is this...purification a request or a demand?

[jatharin]

...ha! ( He's laughing, he is. ) You make it seem as if a king ever requests.

[matermali]

Of course, how silly of me.

[ Well, there's only one way to find out if the holy water variant in this world can do anything to her. Thank you, Hermione. ]

[jatharin]

How wise of the all-knowing snake.

un: man's greatest treasure; audio

[reparo]

[Great, awesome, now everyone's going to absolutely hate her. THANKS.]

It must be a royal right to be so scathing when you are also grateful, Your Highness.

[jatharin]

Yes. ( A beat. ) Was that... a question?

[reparo]

I would not dare question you.

[jatharin]

You would. You're simply not armed enough to do it now.

[reparo]

Alright, fine, I'd dare it even without weapons on me - I just have high hopes for what you're aiming to achieve here, Your Highness, and would not want you to go down the same path as some of your kin.

un: qishan | audio

[silverneedles]

Perhaps it demands purity because it knows you would be hard-pressed to provide. Your holy waters at the entrances, do they just purify the body and the spirit, or do they provide or benefits?

[jatharin]

Luck! They say. How exciting, surely.

They might find you a patron or a spouse.

[silverneedles]

I will pass on both. And the purification, unless it is a demand.

[jatharin]

Now, what do you think?

un: abwhorent / audio

[wifedup]

( You'd need a lot more water to purify this fucker. )

Ah, the bloodshed. Is it only that which worries the snake-god?

[jatharin]

It would seem so. But I regret my fluency in snake is lacking. Perhaps mistress Hermione may advise further.

[wifedup]

( Cheerfully. )

Oh, I already asked her. Lady Hermoine could be no more forthcoming. It's a very specific sin, I merely wondered if the rest would be so judged. But I thank you for your time.

[jatharin]

It's a snake. I think the nuances of pettier crime don't strike it. What's theft to a reptile?

un: strange

[rehandle]

What a pleasure to be reacquainted, your Majesty. I'll do my best.

[jatharin]

Why do I sense a faint whiff of resignation in the general direction of my gates?

[rehandle]

I haven't the slightest idea.

[ He has, instead, the Largest. Such is life. ]

[jatharin]

But we're understood, aren't we? No matter your lack of ideas.

video | un: wooden sword

[vdovy]

So you want me to keep watch while you trip on snake venom. [ A shrug. ] Okay.

[jatharin]

I didn't say that. ( Chipper: ) But I would like that.

[vdovy]

You didn't have to say it. I can connect two dots.

Is the amount of water supposed to be proportionate to the bloodshed?

[jatharin]

Afraid you'll drown? Don't worry. I'll teach you how to swim.