Oyan to Oyan

The spatial destabilisation that usually accompanied Oya to Terra rifts was particularly orderly as it manifested in the outskirts of Spain, occurring in one of the Field class areas near the location where Alexdander Drago was launching his new product.  That meant that it was within very close proximity to the three Xelots that had recently taken Drago’s challenge, having been thoroughly trounced as a result.

Despite their close proximity however, Jinzo was the only one within sensory range of the event, having been separated from the group as he decided to explore more of the Spanish countryside and sample the liqueurs indigenous to the area.  The odd rush of sensory information drew Jinzo’s attention to the portal at this point, reminding him of the rift that had resulted in him being transported to Terra.  With all things consider the meant only one thing; some other Oyan was now experiencing the same fate that he had.  Jinzo smiled as he decided to check it out, powering up his form now and making his way over to the area.

As he approached the rift, he watched as a young man exited from the warping space, noting that he didn’t at all seem disoriented as he stepped onto the earth beneath the portal.  From the energy which his form was exuding, Jinzo estimated him to be in the region of level twelve or thirteen, an assumption that was later confirmed as his ethereal scanners displayed their readings.  Jinzo approached the channeler cautiously, having only recently recovered from the bruising inflicted on him by Drago Enterprise’s Monster and not willing to be forced into another five days of rejuvenation.  As Jinzo approached the Oyan channeler, he watched as the man’s energy flared to life, a warning for the Xelot to keep his distance.  Jinzo paused now, reluctant to show any signs that might be interpreted as aggression, simply awaiting the man to say something.  He would have to wait a while however as the man looked over his form, utilising his True Gaze to scan Jinzo before he spoke.

“Greetings.”  Was all he said, in what Jinzo recognised as Common Tongue, a method of communication unique to Oyans.  This was the first time he had actually experienced the effect, but he was quite familiar with the theory behind the technique, which was partially psychic but primarily ethereally based.

“Greetings.”  Jinzo replied now, in his native tongue, causing the man to raise an eyebrow.

“You’re Oyan…”  He commented, quite intrigued that he would be lucky enough to meet a fellow Oyan this soon after his arrival into such a foreign land.  “A Hell native at that, this is quite fortunate.”  He continued, causing Jinzo to raise an eyebrow.

The man stood just barely under six feet tall, and his features were not indicative of any of the tribes that called Hell home.  In fact his features were rather boyish, unbecoming of a warrior despite his strength level, and the light skin and shoulder length platinum blonde hair that he sported didn’t ring a bell in the head of the Hellvisor at all, making it impossible to place where he was from.

“I am from Hell, but clearly you are not.  What is your business here?”  Jinzo inquired now, causing the man to smirk.

“My name is Nikolai Anan, I am a member of the Talon clan.”  He started.  “We inhabit the more central and parts of the southern lands of Aianores.  Primarily, my clan are intellectuals; as a result I am well learned… Hell was of particular interest to me in my childhood.”  He explained, causing Jinzo to nod.

“Oh, I see.  I am Jinzo Hellvisor.”  Jinzo replied, pausing before reiterating his question.  “What is your business here?”  He inquired once more.

“Consider me a tourist, I am in search of channelers, two in particular… unfortunately, I know little of them, so I will be doing quite a bit of wondering it would seem.”  He explained, causing Jinzo to look rather puzzled.

“If you know so little of them… how do you intend on finding them then?”  He inquired now.

“When I meet them, I’ll know.”  He replied, causing Jinzo to sigh at his cryptic speech patterns.

“I see…”  Jinzo watched as Nikolai’s eyes poured over the Xelot Field Uniform which he wore, causing Jinzo to raise an eyebrow yet again.  “Something I can help you with?”  He inquired now, causing Nikolai to nod faintly.

“Your clothing, it is a uniform is it not?”  He inquired now.

“Yes, I am a Knight of the Council of Xelots.” Jinzo replied.

“Is this a strong clan?”  Nikolai now inquired, causing Jinzo to pause for a while before replying.

“It’s not a clan… it’s a military faction, one of the four most prominent on the planet.  The leader is the Lord Paladin, Marshack Almed, one of the four strongest men on the planet.”  Jinzo explained.

“Impressive, and what of the other three?”  He inquired, causing Jinzo to shrug.

“The first of the others would be Rayad Demar, arch nemesis of the Lord Paladin.  He runs the Order of Demai.”  Jinzo explained.

“Is his faction also strong?”  Nikolai inquired, causing Jinzo to nod.  “So what is the difference then, why did you join with Marshack Almed and not Rayad Demar?”

“Well the Xelots are noble, not that I’m too big on that, but it’s a lot better than the Demai.  Basically, they are the exact opposite of the Xelots… so when you feel completely depressed and want to blow up stuff regardless of who it belongs to… then you've pretty much become a Demai.”  Jinzo explained, with a scoff.  “The Mercenaries are another faction, lead by Maika Smerkyov, and they are pretty… simple.  They will work for anyone for a price… if you’re a merc, you will probably have a lot of fun… probably kicking ass, for the good guys and the bad.  At the end of the day, they are basically barbarians for hire.”  He paused again, to let Nikolai take it in before moving onto the Rogues.  “The Rouges are the world “police” force.” Jinzo started, making the inverted commas signal with his hands while saying the word ‘police’.  “They are stationed on a tropical island, this worlds equivalent of Malaikin…  So far they seem to have skill, but at one point we Xelots were assigned a mission and there was a Rouge interfering on behalf of the Demai…”  He shrugged.  “Needless to say, this greatly upset one of my team mates, who… in all manners of wrong ways, wanted to take the target of the mission, a young prince, back from his own family as a result… Seig is pretty emotional.”  He sighed, causing Nikolai to laugh.

“You don’t seemed to have a lot of love for your teammates, or your faction.” Nikolai reasoned.

“Of the four factions, the Xelots are the superior choice, but even I don’t subscribe to their mentality whole heartedly.  As for my teammates, they’re not all bad.  My leader is impressive on the battle field, but boring otherwise.  My team mate Bobby is impressive all-round, he and I are probably the best choice if you’re looking for people to tag along with.  As I mentioned, Seig is emo… and the other two recent additions to the army are pretty uninteresting.”  Jinzo explained.

Nikolai was particularly impressed with his honesty, as he would have expected the Xelot to be far more interested in persuading him to join his faction than painting a realistic picture of the world setting.  Nikolai smirked now, once again addressing Jinzo.

“This was not my original plan, but you actually seem like someone who I can trust in this place.  I will be… “tagging along” with you and this Bobby while I get my bearings.”  He explained, causing Jinzo to shrug once again.

“Do what you will…”  He replied, before giving it some thought.  “I guess I could use a sparring partner… admittedly, I’ve become pretty out of shape since I left hell… this place isn’t very conducive to building up your strength.”

With this, the two made their way off to meet up with the others, where Jinzo would have to explain how he managed to pick up his companion.