Desert Nomads [Invite]

Thread's PL: 5,000
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It hadn't been long for Nilen since he had left his tribe. It had been a day or two at most, and in that time the vulpine fellow had made his way further and further away from the center of the desert where his kin usually roamed. There were a number of oasis that his tribe knew about scattered all across the dunes, and this particular oasis was one that they frequented in times of great peril because it was often left untouched by most travelers due to its distance from the nearest city. It was at this very Oasis that he had come to rest under one of the lone trees that popped up at the water's edge. Much to his surprise, he found himself no longer alone at this oasis. The company he had, however, was the truly curious part. Nilen had never met an Arcosian before, and the small bit he'd ever heard about the race's existence could fit in a thimble with plenty of room to grow.

It was only really Earthlings that his kind were familiar with, and even among those there weren't that many. The part about this all that had him feeling slightly uneasy was the raw strength of the being in question. His eyes traced up and down the silhouette of the Arcosian Emperor from across the pond, With his back leaned against the tree, he had to glance out of the corner of his eye to see the other fellow, but his gaze was certainly fixed on Azoth.

He did not forget his manners, however, and decided to speak up. Staring quietly was incredibly rude, after all. "What brings you to such a place as this? Even the small amount I've heard about your kind makes me curious why you'd choose one of the hottest places on the planet to find a place to rest. Even the waters are warm around here. No less refreshing, though...at least in my opinion." It was idle conversation and little more, but he had to gauge how the powerful warrior would react.

"You may call me Nilen." Again, introductions were part of good manners. The elders were quite clear that showing good manners was important when conversing with outsiders. They seemed to value formalities like this quite a lot. Normally niceties were only for close friends in his tribe, so this was a little confusing to him. The fact that his potential conversation partner could fold his clothes while he was wearing them was certainly a factor in trying to be polite, though.

It surprised Nilen that an outsider would hold such respect as to apologize for venturing into the desert. He waved a hand dismissively and smiled out of gratitude for such respect. "The desert, itself, is sacred to my people. However... it is not such that we are arrogant enough to believe we own the desert or hold any right to its jurisdiction."

The fluffy eared fellow got to his feet and stepped from the tree over to the water's edge. He looked down into the water, then over to Azoth. To the Arcosian it probably looked like he had seen something in the water and then attributed it to Azoth. That wasn't far from the truth, but it wasn't as ominous as it likely appeared to be. "An Oasis is a place for weary travelers to find succor. Whether that be from the harshness of the dunes and the sun or from something else."

He paused as Azoth explained where he was from. "I have lived in this desert my whole life up to this point, so I can't say I know a great deal about anything outside of it. I have heard of the Arcosian people only in tales from scarce travelers that happened to bump into my tribe as we passed by an oasis. And by old tales from previous generations who ventured out in search of something to benefit our tribe. Arcose is a far off planet, is it not? Do you have deserts there?"

A spark of curiosity peeked through his otherwise casual demeanor. He pulled the cloth covering his head back to let his ears free and uncovered his face as well so the Arcosian could see it clearly. "I doubt I can help you find points of interest on Earth. There are a couple within the desert itself, but reaching them is no simple task...and in one case it would take a great deal of digging depending on how the dunes have fallen these past few weeks."

The fox fellow shook his head at Azoth's mention of not knowing his name. "I cannot say I've heard it before, but you would say the same of my name." Nilen took pause again as he considered whether or not he should ask this next question or not. There was a moment of anxiousness within him, and then it faded as he opened his mouth to add, "Would you be opposed to some company on your travels across this planet? I wish to know more of my home world, as I have only know the dunes until today, and you seem keen to learn more about it as well. It would seem to me that we are kindred spirits of sorts."

There was a parallel between the way he described Arcose and the way Nilen would describe his own home. They are harsh, normally inhospitable places. One is blazing hot while the other is freezing cold. The foxy fellow thought on that link between the two of them for a moment. Judging from the Arcosian's strength, however, Nilen wondered if the place he called home was even close to as harsh as the one Azoth came from. While cold and heat were two very different kinds of unpleasant climates when taken to extremes, it was highly likely that if the entire planet was one big glacier as Azoth seemed to imply, that the cold there was dozens of times more bitter than the scorching heat of his own desert dunes.

The way the Emperor worded his explanation that he must reveal something important before he could let Nilen travel with him as 'playing a card' made the fox tribe member wonder if card games were some kind of custom among Arcosians. The words seemed to carry a lot of weight, though. Perhaps gambling with cards was a way of doing business?

"You do not need to prove to me that your intentions here are good, Emperor of Arcose. Your careful choice of words and genuine demeanor have made that much clear to me. Despite being the ruler of an entire planet you speak with me as if we were equal. I am... at a loss for what to say in the face of that kind of humility. I've never met any rulers outside of my own tribe's council of elders, so I can hardly say I have experience to go off of in dealing with such high-standing titles as 'ruler of a planet.' If it should happen that I say or do something that offends you, I apologize."

He stepped around the water's edge until he came to a position directly in front of the Arcosian. "The fact that you are willing to offer me such a warning about being your traveling companion is enough to convince me to come along. Whether that was your intention or not, I appreciate it. I will do my best not to hold you back. I doubt my level of abilities will be very helpful to someone such as yourself. The disparity between us humbles me."

Nilen was not sure how to respond to Azoth's words. On one hand, he was grateful that the Emperor seemed to think he had more to offer other than simple companionship. On the other hand, Nilen's magic might be able to come in handy now and then depending on what kinds of technology or resources Azoth had access to. In a pinch, his magic could really be a lifesaver. That's the majority of the reason why his tribe practiced it so intently. It was taught to every member of the tribe in some capacity.

"Seeing as I have officially left my tribe to explore and learn, I do not have a place to stay of my own. I'll gladly take you up on your offer to stay on your ship with you. How long do you intend to stay on Earth? How much longer, I should say. You have already been here for some time judging from how you seem to understand and give friendly disposition to an Earthling you met out in the desert. I do not think those unacquainted with Earthlings would be so personable to one out of the blue."

He smiled lightly, but gasped and brought both hands up to a defensive posture when the robot suddenly erupted from the water in a seemingly triumphant manner. When Azoth did not react poorly to its presence, Nilen gave a sigh of relief and relaxed his stance. "This metallic fellow is with you, then? Is he one of those... little robots that you mentioned tending to the ship?"

This was all strange to Nilen. His curiosity and the Emperor's peaceful demeanor kept him at ease enough to not be offput by the oddities of the situation. The longer he stood and chatted with Azoth, the more he was interested in the Arcosian and just what he endeavored to do in his travels. If things truly had stabilized back on his home planet as he said, then he must have multiple reasons for traveling around. Although Nilen was not versed in politics or interstellar travel, he was reasonable enough to understand that an Emperor of an entire planet could not rashly make moves or travel to other worlds without proper precautions. No one can lead without having some manner of opposition or enemies. It's impossible to please everyone all the time, so disagreements and squabbles will be inevitable.

"Perhaps when we are in a more hospitable location, we can discuss your plans for the immediate future and how I may be of some aid. Although these dunes have long been my home, it is likely for the best that we do not tarry here for too long. Before we make leave of this place, however..."

The fox man stepped over in front of the Mini-Paladion and looked at what he assumed was its face. He reached into his thickly wrapped shirt and pulled out a waterskin fashioned from the hide of a dinosaur known to roam the desert.

"If it is valuable and uncommon water you seek, you will find naught that is more scarce than this. To the north-east of here, at the desert's edge just before the highlands begin to rise out of the dunes there is a place where a vast water table exists deep below the sands. The water travels down the highlands from snow-capped peaks before it reaches that water table under the dunes. My people are adept at manipulating the desert to our benefit, so we can access in a couple of hours what it would take most people several weeks to dig up if not longer. Once upon a time it was a story among my tribe that the water from that place was possessed of healing properties. We know that is not wholly true, at least not in the miraculous sense. But it is highly rich in minerals beneficial to an ailing body, and it is clear and crisp. I would imagine you'll scarce find water as unique as this. If you have a bottle to store it in, I will give you enough to fill your bottle so you may keep it for your collection."

Nilen nodded to the bot, then canted his head to one side. "What is your name, mechanical one?"

Once that was dealt with and he was able to gift the robot the groundwater from the mineral table he turned back to Azoth. "You say that they gained awareness on their own? That is very interesting. I know nothing of mechanical beings, but I can't imagine something like that would be normal. Were it so, surely animals in the wilderness would experience similar awakenings, don't you think? In any case, we can leave at your leisure. "

Nilen could understand why Azoth might be concerned of his reaction to a bustling city. It would certainly be a new experience for the fox fellow. However, he was not wholly oblivious to the existence of cities. After all, there was a city of large enough stature to at least be visible from the desert if you skirted around the edges. He had never actually visited the place, though, and he was quite excited to see what it had to offer.

"I am excited to see what the city has to offer. I've only caught glimpses of it on the horizon occasionally when the winds were less active and we were near the desert's edge."

Nilen turned his head to glance at the small automaton again when it explained that it was heading back to the ship. He shook its hand and nodded to acknowledge what it had said. Once it turned to leave, he shifted his attention back to the Emperor.

There were people on Earth who had many animalistic traits. Even more-so than Nilen and his tribe! Nilen wasn't really aware of that, nor was he aware of their limited number. Azoth likely was aware, but Nilen had no way of knowing that.

"If such a thing is possible, then I can't help wondering what they might say to us if they were capable of speaking the same tongue."

He followed alongside the Emperor. Nilen glanced to his side to ask, "You walked into the desert as you are? Does the desert heat not bother you at all? Even the most dune savvy explorers wear some sort of clothing to help against the beating rays and harsh sand-filled winds."

It was highly interesting to the formerly isolated desert nomad that there was a race of beings with so many different innate forms that people mislabeled them as changelings. Not that Nilen had heard many stories of shapeshifters, but the ones he had seemed to always imply that true shapeshifters could take on the form of anyone or any sort of creature. The way Azoth talked about his race it sounded as if they had set, specific forms they could transition between. Still, he was certainly curious to see what alternative functions the other forms might have or how they might look. He had never used or experienced such types of abilities himself. His kin only ever got close enough to that kind of ability to maybe grow an extra appendage or three for use in battle if you could even call something like that relevant to reshaping your entire physical being.

Still, he nodded in understanding of the concept, at least. "I hope it not rude of me to say that I am genuinely intrigued at what you've told me about your people. So naturally resilient and sturdy... and with multiple forms they can change into for various benefits? You can survive with less sustenance in a smaller form... that does make sense. Even the most ravenous mouse could not hope to match the appetite of the average wolf. A smaller body takes less to maintain...does it not? Or so I would guess."

He shook his head after feeling a tad embarrassed that he might be rambling. "I am more curious to see the city up close and to explore your ship. Having never been on or near a space-faring vessel...it may well be the most important experience of my life to get a taste of space travel. I've never ventured outside my tribes own dunes until today. That's not even considering traveling to entirely different planets. It's like learning crawl on all fours and then suddenly running at an all out sprint in the same day."