Deeproar » Lair » Khonis

Khonis

(#34131183)

Level 2 Guardian

Familiar

Luminous Ambassador

Energy: 49/50

Personal Style

Apparel

Skin

Scene

Physical Attributes

Battle Stats

Measurements

Length

13.04 m

Wingspan

17.77 m

Weight

9027.39 kg

Genetics

Moss
Cherub

Moss
Peregrine

Buttercup
Glimmer

Hatchday

Jul 01, 2017
(6 years)

Breed

Adult
Guardian

Eye Type

Light
Common

Level 2 Guardian

EXP: 237 / 641

STR

AGI

DEF

QCK

INT

VIT

MND

Lineage

Parents

Offspring

none

Biography

KHONIS
The cunning.

A thousand bells pealed to life, and Khonis rose from sleep and lifted her head to the heavens. Even with her century-old tenure at the abbey, she still loved to hear the dawn chorus ring out across the land. Each melody was different; the timbre of the bells shifted from day to day. It was a marvellous spectacle.

She sighed in bliss, feeling the rising sun kiss her skin and scales, take her in its warm embrace, and fill her with strength. How she wished to stay a little longer and bask in its glory within the safety of her room!

You will have plenty of opportunities later in the day to praise the sun, she heard the old priests' voices chide, and she reluctantly rose to her knees to tidy her bedding.

A soft clip-clop of hooves and a rustle of vestments and rings announced Leera's arrival before he opened the door. As the faun drew near and held out his hands, Khonis clasped them in hers, her giant hands comically dwaring his petite ones.

Her eyes still drooped and her voice was thick with sleep, but the precision with which she chose her words was crystal clear. "You can still leave. There is time. I will not force your hand into this mess."

He shook his head, tail curling around her wrist before vanishing into his robes. "I've made my choice. How many times must I tell you?"

"Until the point of no return, and perhaps even beyond."

"I knew what I signed up for the moment I said hello to you," Leera grumbled, and Khonis let out a soft breathy laugh as she rose to her feet. "My answer will continue to be the same for as long as you ask. And quit being so lofty! You create more questions than you answer when you talk like that."

A moment passed before she broke out into more sustained laughter, and Leera rolled his eyes with a tug on his lips. "Well, then. As it is, I'm effectively confined to house arrest, no matter how the Archlights put it. Will you accompany me to the sanctum for my morning rituals?"

"Of course, my Priest."

Once Khonis had refreshed herself, the pair set off on a brisk trot towards the sanctum. Their small talk murmured through the corridors and they passed acolytes and priests alike, pausing their conversation to greet and be greeted.

Soon they entered the abbey's innermost chamber: the treasured sanctum where glorious light spilled through the open windows and illuminated the room from dawn to dusk. As Leera closed and locked the door, casting a dampening spell, Khonis knelt down on the thatched straw mat and gazed into the rising sun. She let her lungs fill with the morning air, and began her morning rituals.

Leera remained silent until she reached for the incense. "One of our caravans has set off for Port Daring from Severance," he murmured in a low whisper. "I expect there to be a sabotage of sorts."

His companion made no notice of acknowledgement; instead lighting the sticks and arranging them in a pattern. Still, he continued: "Our missionaries have reported activity close to the border with the Sea. Graffiti, vandalism, theft. Even in the locales where crime is rife, they target the chapels where none would dare."

Khonis remained silent as she inhaled the musk and exhaled deeply, letting the smoke drift through her veins and set her insides alight. It was after at least a dozen more cycles of breathing that she opened her eyes and rose from the mat that she turned to face Leera.

"And they leave no trace of their identities?"

"Not even a scale or hair."

"It'll do us no good to sit and speculate. My wings ache, but I don't fancy trying to get through the bureaucracy just to explain myself."

"I doubt anyone would."

A small noise at the door shut off Khonis' reply and sent Leera skittering before they noticed the slip of paper underneath the door. He bent down and picked it up, brow knitting into a distasteful scowl as he read the script. "Tenkor and Gruze want to speak to you."

Khonis' reaction was a more subdued shake of her head. "But of course. It would not be house arrest if the jailers didn't pay a visit."

***

In the parlour, a familiar pair sat on the plush guest chairs. An Imperial bedecked in pearls and a Pearlcatcher who rested her own perfectly round pearl in her lap. They looked up from their muted conversation as the pair entered, rising to greet them.

"High Priest Khonis. I trust you have been well?"

Neither faun nor dragon showed any response to the slight at Leera. "Indeed," Khonis replied smoothly, "as the days grow longer, we find ourselves in good health."

The Pearlcatcher smiled disarmingly. "Most excellent. Her Radiance will be pleased."

"High Priest Tenkor and Archlight Gruze." Leera dipped into a neat bow, pointedly ignoring the irritated flick of ears. "It is an honour."

Gruze nodded, their jewel-laced antlers jingling softly. "Leera."

Tenkor's careful smile bared more teeth than what would be appropriate. "Ah. I see you remain in good health." What a pity. He heard the unspoken words drip with their unspoken venom but kept his expression perfectly neutral, and rose again.

Khonis decided to gently nudge the conversation back on track before Tenkor developed a taste for fun. "What brings the Twin Pearls to this humble abbey?"

Gruze motioned for her to sit, sinking back into their own chair with a deep sigh. Their companion's smile deepened into a grimace, but without any of its prior malice.

Dragon and faun spared a second's glance before returning their attention to the pair. The Pearlcatcher's gaze lingered on Leera for more than he felt comfortable before snapping back to Khonis, apparently having decided something.

"This is an uncomfortable topic to breach," Tenkor began with an unusually sombre intonation, "but necessary nonetheless. Your companion is trustworthy, yes?"

The pair suddenly became acutely aware of the sensations of wards and spells being layered on the room; strong sturdy magic wrapped and enveloped the atmosphere until they could choke on it. Leera felt the weight of his sword underneath his robes and remembered with satisfaction that he had sharpened it the night before.

Khonis kept her voice perfectly neutral. "Above and beyond, High Priest."

She licked her lips, wetting the chapped skin. "Very good. You see-"

"The Grand Light is dead," Gruze supplied bluntly, earning a sharp inhale from Leera and an indignant huff from Tenkor. "Found cold in his chambers last morning by his acolyte when he failed to turn up for morning rituals."

Khonis leaned forward, waiting. Of all the reasons for the Pearls to pay her a visit, in light of her most recent stunt, this had been non-existent.

"No blood or toxins or anything. By all accounts, he died of natural causes."

Tenkor grasped the conversation again. "A heart attack or blood clot would be within the realm of possibility, yes? No. The Grand Light, as decrepit and withered as he was, suffered no mere fault of the body."

The brilliance of Gruze's eyes intensified. They had been born long before the advent of eye mutations, but the sheer radiance that their eyes cast would beg to differ. "Do you understand what this means, High Priest?"

She forced down a swallow, opting for balancing her breathing. "The Arcane Death."

Tenkor flinched violently as if she had spat out a curse, licking her lips again and running her hands over the pearl. Her previous acidity had completely dissolved, and Leera stifled a contemptuous curl of his lip at the sight of her. "Y-yes. Oh, Radiance's wings, how those inscrutable insects managed to slink through our ranks undetected escapes me."

Gruze placed a hand on her pearl, and her hands eventually stilled. "Vernia is investigating as we speak," they consoled. Khonis felt relief ripple through her. If the hard-nosed Fae couldn't uncover the culprit, no one could. "But now we turn our attention to the rest of the clergy."

"The Grand Light's death has not yet been made public - Radiance knows what would happen next - but we have decided to delay it for now until a suitable successor has been appointed."

"I take it the Archlights have not yet had time to deliberate?"

Another jingle of jewellery on antlers. "On the contrary. We naturally prepare for these situations. The list of nominees includes you, High Priest Khonis."

Tenkor's ruby claws clutched at her pearl as she looked away, and Leera felt his lungs empty like he had been winded.

Khonis' face was stony, fins pinned back. "Radiance pardon you."

Gruze levelled their gaze with hers, their expression as equally frigid. "I am telling you this because it is likely that whoever assassinated the Grand Light is interested in a successor sympathetic to them. It also means that they can and will whittle down the nominees to their liking."

"I-I know we have our differences," Tenkor interjected, knuckles and skin turning white, "but we don't want to see you dead."

Leera stood up, tail lashing. "Yet your presence here would tip them off and endanger her," he spat, hand resting on his covered sword. "And you still speak of her safety?"

Familiar venom briefly coloured Tenkor's cheeks but bled away just as quickly when Gruze held up a hand. "Your concerns are true," they conceded with the barest shade of regret. "Which is why we have also decided to lift your confinement and send you on a mission to the Icefields."

Khonis had no energy left in her to be surprised.

"We would never send you alone," Tenkor supplied helpfully, ignoring Leera's scowl. "The escort is woefully simple, and, regrettably, outsourced. But fret not - they have been selected with great care and trust."

"You leave tomorrow before dawn," continued Gruze. "You head to Severance with the next caravan. They will find you. Your mission will be a simple reconnecting of ties with the communities in the Icefields. The Death holds the least sway in the ice." Again, Tenkor flinched but made no comment.

"...I see."

The silence stretched into eternity before the Imperial stood up, pearls clicking together. Tenkor rose a second later, pearl disappearing into the voluminous folds of her robe. "We're sorry," they said in a voice a shade softer than before. "But the enemy moves and we must too."

Khonis rose, a little unsteady. "Of course," she said, but her eyes were looking to some far-flung corner. They refocused and snapped back to the Pearls, and she let her breath cycle. "Yes, of course. I understand."

"Light bless you."

"And long days ahead."

_{Needs: Wasp, Bee, Stained}

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