The Silver Sphinx

 

“The primes have an entire plane to themselves.

Do they need to hang around in our city, too?”

Cirily, Sectol of the Planarists

 

 

 

First Clerk Day of Savorus, 126 HR

Amariel fastened the last buckles of her armor, which she had put on because her duty was about to begin. In her mind, she was once again on the mission on the Plane of Fire. She had been a little excited, but also very proud that her factol had put her in command of such an important task, one that he could easily have chosen a tribune or even a prefect for. She had put together her own squad, for which she had also sent for a few former comrades from Arcadia - all people she had served with for a long time, whose skills she knew well and whom she trusted. And the mission had been successful. They had freed the prisoners, destroyed the stabilization crystals and successfully planned everything so that they had made it through the portal back to Sigil in time. Sarin had taken note of her report with clear approval - and promoted her to second-rank decuria. But not having disappointed her factol, having carried out a delicate mission to his complete satisfaction had meant more to her than this honoring. His recognition was extremely important to her, and she was aware that this desire went beyond the usual zeal of an exemplary officer. She was also aware that her feelings were both pointless and inappropriate. But she had not chosen them. And she had never told anyone about it. It was something she had to work out with herself. How though, she didn't know yet. At the moment, she was simply trying hard not to disappoint Sarin as his adjutant and was pleased that she could at least be close to him in this way. Time would take care of everything else. Perhaps. Hopefully. She was interrupted in her thoughts by a knock on the door. When she opened it, Kiyoshi was standing there - and probably, she assumed, he had a few questions for her again. That was fine, Sarin had asked her to help the young prime to settle in better in the City of Doors. Besides, she liked Kiyoshi, whom she had taken to her heart over the last three months despite his often withdrawn nature. So she opened the door and invited him in.

"Kiyoshi, I greet you," she said kindly. "I congratulate you on completing your basic training. How can I help you?"

Kiyoshi bowed to her while holding his hands folded in front of his chest. "Konninchi'wa, honorable decuria Amariel-sensei. Indeed, I have successfully completed the basic training, and moreover, I can now proudly and happily say that the honorable factol Sarin-gensui is now my only lord and prince. This is one of the reasons why I am here again. I know almost nothing about my new lord and would like to ask you to dispel my ignorance with your enlightening words, so that I may know exactly who my new lord and prince is."

Amariel looked at him in astonishment, a little incredulously and with a hint of confusion. "Your lord and prince? Well, Kiyoshi, that's ..." She whistled softly. " Lord and prince , not bad, really. And I thought my devotion to our factol was distinct."

She laughed a little and beckoned Kiyoshi to sit down. He complied and took a seat at the table, then sat - as always - very upright and somewhat stiffly in his chair. At the same time, Amariel could see a certain confusion on his face.

"Forgive my ignorance," he said, "but I don't quite understand. What did you mean when you said you thought your devotion was distinct? The honorable factol acquired me quite regularly from my previous lord, the venerable daimyo of Kamigawa, and so I am now his servant and property. Is that not customary here?"

At these words, Amariel almost choked on the water she had just taken a sip of. She raised her fine, blond brows and scrutinized Kiyoshi with a doubtful expression. "No, that's not customary here in Sigil or in the Harmonium," she explained with a frown. "Because what you just described is what we usually call slavery. There are slaves in Sigil, but it is a punishment, usually for those who incur debts and cannot repay them. It is also temporary until you have worked off your debts. Then of course there are the slaves that are brought in from outside, usually - but not exclusively - by inhabitants of the Lower Planes or drow, illithids and so on. That's another thing, because it's not directly related to Sigil. In other words, you may bring slaves into the city if you have acquired them legally beforehand in accordance with the laws of your own realm. However, you are not allowed to resell them here or engage in any other form of slave trade outside the laws of Sigil. And then there is the special case of Arborea, the only Upper Plane where ..." She interrupted herself. "I'm sorry, this is getting too far off topic. So, back to your question: No, that's not customary. You are a soldier of the Harmonium. Sarin is your factol, which means you are of course obliged to obey him in official matters. Private decisions are up to you, as long as they do not conflict with your duties. But you are neither Sarin's servant nor his property, and I very much doubt that he sees it that way. That would go against everything he believes in."

Kiyoshi looked at her with wide eyes. When he replied, she actually noticed that his tone sounded a little hurt. "But I'm not a slave. I am his ashigaru. It was a great honor to be accepted into the daimyo's army as a hyakusho. Since then, I have proven my skills in many a battle and was therefore kept in the daimyo’s service. But the venerable factol has ransomed me from my former lord, so that there are no longer any bonds of duty and loyalty, and so I am the faithful servant of my new lord and prince. If he commands it, I will lay down my life for him, as it behoves. And thus I would like to learn more about him."

Amariel had gotten used to Kiyoshi's stiff, reserved manner by now. She therefore realized that it must have been a real emotional outburst to see his emotions as clearly as at that moment. "I'm sorry, Kiyoshi," she said apologetically. "I didn't mean to belittle you. It's just ... You said you were his property and that is usually associated with slavery here. But I may have misunderstood, please forgive me." She scrutinized him, but he seemed to have regained control of himself and just nodded matter-of-factly. "And as for my comment ..." She smiled again. "I'm really devoted to our factol. I admire him greatly and would follow him to Baator and into the Abyss. I would die for him, I really would. It just never occurred to me to call him my lord and prince before. It was a bit surprising for me and sounds unfamiliar. On the other hand ..." She thought for a moment. "Considering that every culture has different customs and a different way of putting reality into words, perhaps your interpretation of things is not so far removed from reality. Sarin may actually be something like our lord and prince, only we call him factol. That probably applies to all the factols of Sigil in some way. They're certainly more powerful than most lords in the planes. Yes, I think your interpretation is not so far-fetched." She poured herself some water. "So you want to know more about who Sarin is? Well, where do I start? You already know that Sarin is a prime from Ortho, but has lived in Sigil for over twenty years. He's a paladin of the goddess Iomedae, I'm sure you know that too. Also that he is married? Who his wife and children are?"

"I know of his children, honorable decuria Amariel-sensei," Kiyoshi replied seriously. "And since he has children and is an honorable man, he must also have a wife. I haven't met her yet, though."

Amariel smirked a little at his remark. "His wife's name is Faith. She and Sarin have been married for almost twenty years. He met her shortly after he left Ortho, on Arcadia, in Iomedae's realm. Faith is a priestess of the same goddess that Sarin worships, high priestess by now. She is our faction's leading authority on spiritual matters. A very beautiful woman, clever and a very powerful cleric. Faith and Sarin have nine children together. The first-born daughter is called Marinda, she is seventeen years old, a member of the Harmonium and will soon take her exam to be promoted to the rank of triaria. Sirian is the eldest son. He is fifteen and has recently joined the Harmonium. The third eldest is Sanya, thirteen years old, and she has inherited her mother's wonderful singing voice. Next in line is Iridias, he is ... oh my goodness, I have to think ... eleven years old." Amariel gave a short laugh. "Sarin and Faith have too many children, I sometimes have trouble remembering everyone's age, even though I deal with them quite often. Then there's eight-year-old Harika and six-year-old Amarys. The third youngest is Beleno, who is three years old, and then there are the twins, Daria and Felian. They are about eighteen months old. Of course, Sarin and Faith are very busy with their respective positions and don't have the opportunity to look after their children all day. They therefore have a fostress, two nannies and two tutors. The children, from Harika upwards, visit one of the official Harmonium schools, but in the afternoons they also have private tutors to help them with their tasks. I think it sometimes pains Sarin and Faith that they don't have more time for their children." In fact, she was sure of it. Since she had been the factol's aide, he had been more open towards her and sometimes accessible on a private level. He had recently mentioned that he would like to have more time for his family. "The quarters of the Factol and his family are just behind his office," Amariel then continued. "Sarin's children are often out and about in the Barracks, so don't be surprised if you see one or more of them in the corridors or one of the mess halls. They're often in the inner courtyard, though - the younger ones to play and the older ones to practice their fighting skills. Faith is often in the temple of Iomedae, which is in the Temple District, but you will also meet her here in the Barracks on a regular basis. Sarin has made it a habit to spend every second and fourth Void Day of the month with his family. On these days, he is only available to the faction if there is something exceptionally urgent. As he otherwise only sees his children in the mornings and evenings - and sometimes not even then - these days are very important to him."

Kiyoshi nodded. "Am I right in assuming, honorable decuria Amariel-sensei, that our lord and prince, the venerable factol, does not wish to be disturbed on such days?"

"You are right," replied Amariel. "Only in very important, exceptional cases should you do so. If you are ever unsure whether something is that important, you are welcome to ask me or Lady Diana. Well, while we're on the subject of family and children, perhaps this would be a good opportunity to tell you about Yaëlla. Or do you already know about that?"

When Kiyoshi's face was expressionless under normal circumstances, it now became as blank as an empty piece of paper. It seemed as if all the muscles in his face had frozen as he replied: "Forgive my ignorance, honorable decuria Amariel-sensei, but that term means nothing to me."

The half-elf suppressed a grin at Kiyoshi's response. Whatever the young man might be thinking now, it was probably more serious than the actual story. She nodded. "Given the close relationship you have with our factol, you should know the full facts of the matter." Amariel leaned back and fell silent for a moment before continuing. "Her name is Yaëlla, but here in the Barracks she is sometimes called Sarin's tiefling daughter . He doesn't like hearing that, although it's actually quite an apt description. Actually - officially - Yaëlla is Sarin's slave. Yes, I know how that sounds, because I just mentioned that Sarin objects to slavery. It's a longer story how it came about." She rose and fetched a carafe, not filled with water, but with a clear liquid interspersed with many sparkling, colorful bubbles. Then she poured Kiyoshi and herself a glass before he could do so. "This story began about eight years ago," Amariel then explained. "Back then, Sarin was a prefect under Factol Delazar. Yaëlla was eight years old and a slave to a cambion prince who had some influence in the Abyss as a favorite of the demon prince Graz'zt. The cambion had business here in Sigil and brought a few of his slaves with him, including Yaëlla. The tiefling girl used her stay in the city to escape. But unfortunately she was recaptured, by a decurion under Sarin's command. You see, runaway slaves are usually punished with death in the Abyss, and whether they are children or not is of little concern to demons. Sarin, of course, could not reconcile with his conscience that a child should die as a result of one of his officers fulfilling his duty. So he did the only thing he could do to save the child: he bought Yaëlla - outside Sigil, as slaves brought here are not allowed to be resold in the city. As the cambion no longer had much interest in the rebellious child anyway and the sum offered by Sarin clearly exceeded the girl's value in the Abyss, the demon agreed. Sarin wanted to set Yaëlla free afterwards, but the laws of our city do not allow this without further ado - so as not to encourage the large-scale ransoming of slaves and bringing them to Sigil. A period of at least ten years must elapse before a slave acquired outside the Cage can be freed in Sigil. Yes, and that explains why Sarin owns a slave." Amariel took a sip of glimmer water. "Officially, she's the nanny for Sarin's younger children. And unofficially, she's his and Faith’s adopted daughter. He has raised her together with his own children, she has the same tutors and is involved in all family activities. In just two years' time, when the time limit has passed, he will release her and adopt her. But as I said, this is unofficial and not even in our faction is this known in such detail to the rank and file soldiers or lower officers - although many suspect it. So please don't let it be known to the outside world, because Sarin is really only following the law very formally in this matter."

Amariel leaned back. She had nothing to add on the subject of Yaëlla, but waited to see if Kiyoshi had any questions. The young man seemed to be processing this information for now and looked down at the table seriously.

After a pause that seemed relatively long to Amariel, the Kamigawan finally nodded and replied in his own unemotional way. "I believe I understand, honorable decuria Amariel-sensei. Yaëlla would thus take the rank of his second-born daughter. Forgive my ignorance, but is it also the case here in Sigil that a man's estates always pass to his first-born son, or are daughters also considered in the line of succession? If the latter is the case, wouldn't that further remove the honorable son of our lord and prince, Sirian, from his inheritance, as well as the other children?"

Amariel could not hide her surprise at this question. "In Sigil, gender makes no difference when it comes to succession. Both sons and daughters are entitled to inherit, and men and women have exactly the same rights and duties. It's been like this for thousands of years and I'm not sure whether it has ever been any different. I don't think so. Incidentally, in most realms of the Outer and Inner Planes there are no such differences. And cultures that discriminate against either women or men are considered ..." She hesitated briefly, but then spoke out. "... considered being behind the times. Forgive me. In Sigil, by the way, it's not just the first-born child who inherits, all children inherit something. In the case of realty, it is usually inherited by one child, but not necessarily by the first-born. However, the others then receive corresponding sums of money. I wouldn't even know what Sarin and Faith own ... Does Sarin still own anything on Ortho? Hm, good question, he left it quite young. Faith has some property on Arcadia, I suppose. But you can bet that aspect didn't play a role when Sarin took Yaëlla in. He's a paladin, he couldn't help it."

Kiyoshi nodded curtly and seemed to have no further questions or comments.

"Well, I think I've told you the essentials about Sarin's family," Amariel therefore continued. "I've given you some facts about Factol Sarin, but perhaps I should also tell you something about his character without sticking my neck out too much. At least that's how I understood your original question. There is one thing you must never forget about our factol: Sarin is a paladin. He serves a lawful good goddess and is therefore also lawful good himself. And there are situations in which there can be a conflict between what is lawful and what is good. All good members of our faction know this conflict, paladins often suffer from it in particular. If there's one thing I can tell you for sure about Sarin, it's that he will often choose good over lawful in these situations. But this is not as publicly known in Sigil as I am saying it now. And it suits Sarin because it makes him appear tougher and more uncompromising to the outside world, as others are less tempted to put him under pressure in this regard. As factol of the Harmonium, Sarin is a lot like a general, he has to be. But in his heart he is more of a paladin and knight than a military commander. He dislikes evil in general, but especially in our faction. And when he can, he clears it out. Many a factol has had this tendency, but few as strong as Sarin. He's still doing it discreetly, because he knows that otherwise there will be complications with Ortho. But I don't know what the future will bring. That's something you should definitely know if you want to judge our factol's character."

With a slight nod, the young soldier indicated that he had understood her words. "I will take your advice to heart, honorable decuria Amariel-sensei. Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

She smiled. "Well, your question was quite general, so I could go on and on. Some things you must and will soon find out for yourself, others you can ask me if you realize you need advice. There are a few things I can tell you briefly and concisely that I am quite sure of. For example, who is very close to him personally: his wife Faith, his nine children, Yaëlla, his two sisters on Ortho, Killeen Caine, Tonat Shar, Lady Juliana. Which factols he appreciates and respects: Lady Erin, Ambar Vergrove, Rhys, Hashkar, Mallin and Terrance - but concerning Terrance no one should know. Which factols he considers dangerous or detests: Skall, Pentar, Rowan Darkwood. Which he is relatively neutral towards: Darius, Lhar and, interestingly, Karan. Which organizations he is close to or trusts: the Church of Iomedae, the Order of the Planes-Militant, the Archonites. Which organizations he particularly dislikes or distrusts: the Planar Trade Consortium, the Temple of the Abyss, many of the Golden Lords of Sigil. What our factol likes: Arborean wine, the poetry of Gorallia Dasca, the Elysium, temperatures above 75 degrees and Tharpuresian architecture. What Sarin doesn't like: mephits, tardiness, the fat little lapdogs of Sigil's upper class, the Ysgardian opera, people with poor table manners and when you don't close doors behind you." She smiled. "I don't know how much this answers your original question. But those are a few things that I thought worth mentioning about your new lord and prince, as you call him."

Kiyoshi bowed briefly in thanks, then looked her in the eye and lowered his head to think. Finally, he asked a question that probably preyed on his mind, but it had nothing to do with the factol. "I would be very pleased, honorable decuria Amariel-sensei, if you could tell me what opinion the people here in Sigil have of the so-called dragon-blooded."

"Of the dragon-blooded?" She was momentarily surprised by the sudden change of subject. "Well, no different from the rest of the inhabitants of our city. There are quite a few dragon-blooded people living in Sigil, but they are no more or less respected for their heritage than, say, an ogre shaman or a tabaxi huntress. While it is generally assumed that the descendants of chromatic dragons tend to be more aggressive than the descendants of metal dragons, there are many exceptions. Not every gold dragon-blooded is an ideal image of noble and good, and not every black dragon-blooded is evil or deceitful. And in a city where you meet fiends or undead in the streets, nobody takes offense at a dragon-blooded person."

"That's good." Kiyoshi nodded seriously. "As always, your explanations were extremely helpful. Thank you so much for your enlightening words and shared insights. I am sure that your information will help me to better serve the venerable Harmonium, honorable decuria Amariel-sensei. Now, if you will excuse me, I am to report for duty. May the kami be with you, with the exception of those who must not be worshipped." He rose and pounded his fist against his breastplate, lowering his head.

"Lady's Grace, Kiyoshi," Amariel replied kindly. "Should you need any more information, you know where to find me. I'll be in Melodia on Arcadia next week, but after that you can meet me back at the Barracks as usual."

With a slight shake of her head, she looked after him as he left her quarters and closed the door behind him. An unusual new member, this Kiyoshi.

 

______________________________

from the forum role-play with Kiyoshi's player