Meeting of the Minds Part II

Another Meeting

There was a lot to discuss in this meeting. For starters, there was the Ganthi System. The Tyranids clearly establsihed control in the system. However, the Kabal of the Liquid Sword did such a good job plundering in every sense of the word that the system was only half as valuable as it once was. The Biel Tan went for the Hive Fleet after defeating the Liquid Sword, and got smoked. Perhaps they should've focused all of their energy on the Tyranids instead of wasting valuable lives and resources on meddling in the affairs of the Liquid Sword. Last, but certainly not least, was the dual nature of this meeting. It turns out that the Board of Directors of the Masque of the Dark Sun its entirety decided to SHOW UP to this meeting. As already mentioned, there was much to discuss.

Osiris: I would like to thank you all for allowing us to participate in this meeting on such short notice--

Shaka: Short notice? You all just appeared 5 minutes before the meeting started!

Osiris: We had a good reason. Allow me to introduce the Great Harlequin of the Dark Sun, Rogziel. <All eyes focus on Rogziel>

J.E.: Nice to meet you...finally. To what does the Liquid Sword owe this esteemed pleasure? It is not exactly a secret that you have a distaste for 'slumming'.

Rogziel: My personal preferences and the lack thereof are not your concern, Kezef. <all of the Dark Eldar look confused and surprised> We have business to attend to and that is the bottom line. The Dark Sun is directly responsible for your Kabal's survival and you know it. We did not do so out of the kindness of our hearts. Let's keep it real: some heavy sh*t has come up, and we need you right now as much as you have needed us in the past.

Marilith: Pardon my intrusion, but..."Kezef"?

Rogziel: Yes. I know the true identity of your master. <Marilith attempts to cut him off> Before you even pretend that the Cult of Misery is on consignment, let me just say that my documentation shows that the only reason Kezef allowed you to join the Cult of Misery is because he used you in order to secure complete control of said organization. You all don't even freelance anymore without his permission. You don't sell your services to the highest bidder. The Cult of Misery is nothing more than an extension of the Liquid Sword. <the Cult of Misery leaders look stunned and embarrassed>

Marilith: I would just like to know more about the identity of our master. <glances nervously at J.E.> After all, being, "just an extension of the Liquid Sword," I would like to know the truth.

Rogziel: Very well. And I wouldn't be so afraid to ask if I were you. I don't see why you wouldn't be rewarded for having the courage to pursue such valuable information, even if it is at the expense of 'His Mighty Omnipotence Supreme Lord Kezef the Magnificent Jade Emperor and Master of All That is Within His Grasp'; a modest moniker if I would honestly say so myself.

Masai: A bit too modest, I think. Why would one that is true kin have such a name that doesn't inspire horror, terror, and fear? Even the name of our Kabal not horror inspiring. What is so scary about a Liquid Sword?

J.E.: Because my title is nothing more than a mask. Masks more or less symbolize perception and hide the truth. And a scary mask doesn't turn one into a monster, it merely reveals just how insecure one really is. Oh, and Masai...its not our Kabal, its my Kabal. Don't ever forget that. You will accept whatever name I give you without question. And you must learn to be a horror, not simply act like one. Now that you have torn off my mask, Rogziel, you might as well finish the story of my identity.

Rogziel: Very well, then. You see, people, Kezef is true kin, only that he's not; not in the truest sense of the word. He is not a Dark Eldar. He is, or rather was, a citizen of the Enarc Craftworld.

Jedi: A Craftworld Eldar? <J.E. remains silent>

Shaka: If I'm not mistaken, Enarc was one of the first Craftworlds, if not one of the greatest.

Rogziel: You see, the 'Most Venerable Highest Jade Emperor of All-Embracing Sublime Spontaneous Existence of the Heavenly Golden Palace', or the Jade Emperor for short, was the Grand Farseer of Craftworld Enarc. More important than that, he was the representative of the Three Pristine Ones, who ruled their homeworld, and for them he led an expedition that took them as far as Terra, where he set up a colony for many years in a colony once called China. His colony was set up in the fabled Mountain of Jade, where he would reside when not on his Craftworld, which the humans called his Golden Palace. Little did the natives know that palace was also a spaceport. Why he was there is classified information, but he was there for a long time.

Krull: You mean Terra as in the Mon Kei homeworld? He was actually there?

Rogziel: Yes. In fact, his influence and advice was what paved the way for an empire known as the Han Dynasty. And his influence was far reaching on that world. The inhabitants of the China colony, and ultimately the entire land mass, called Asia, even emulated many Eldar customs and traditions. Of course, since they are only human, they had no idea what they were doing, flapping their arms around and pretending to fly like their masters. In the China colony, many inhabitants would go as far as to carry jade stones with them in order to emulate the waystones that Craftworld Eldar use to protect their souls upon the transition of death. They couldn't possibly comprehend that jade is just one component of creating a waystone. Anyway, He and the other farseers of Enarc were worshipped as a pantheon on Terra for thousands of years. It is officially unknown what happened to the craftworld, but the planet was consumed by s/he who thirsts, and exists as a crone world on the Eye of Terror.

Shaka: 'Officially' meaning that you don't want to tell us. And our esteemed overlord was the ruler of this craftworld. And how did he end up here?

Rogziel: No, your esteemed overlord was not the ruler of said craftworld. Kezef is not the Jade Emperor, but one of his children. Kezef grew disenchanted with life on a craftworld and decided to live as an outcast. He felt that his father not only paid him little regard, but felt that Craftworld life was limiting, oppressive, and contradictory. Most Craftworld Eldar adolescents go through this, and most don't survive. Those that do normally return to their craftworlds eventually, but Kezef did not. Kezef left Enarc with a group of acquaintances and set off on a life of freedom. He has had many, many adventures and lived to brag about them, although he does not. Kezef is an astoundingly modest individual.

Basia: I don't blame him. Abstinence is the worst form of indulgence, and pleasure and pain come from the same source. And with that, the Craftworlders still serve the will of Slaanesh. Just because they close their eyes so that they can't see the bogeyman doesn't mean that he isn't still there.

Rogziel: True enough. To continue, one day Kezef and his friends were assaulted by colonists on the Imperial world Tolence. Kezef was the only one to survive and was captured. He suffered perpetual interrogations and tortures, since his captors refused to believe that they were merely wanderers. He eventually managed to break free, escape the colony, and move on. He eventually discovered what his band was originally looking for on Tolence: a lost webway gate. Heh, well, lost to conventional Eldar. The webgate was actually not far from your esteemed city, Commoragh. Since the Imperium had confiscated his waystone and he never recovered it, he decided to take his chances on Commoragh rather than return home. He was addicted to freedom and too proud to return to a Craftworld lifestyle. He adapted to life on Commoragh quite well. He simply let go of all of his repressed emotions from life on the craftworld when things got rough for him, and it worked. And if things got too rough he could always retreat to Tolence via the webgate and take a 'break'. He started rallying weaker Eldar to protect each other from more dangerous threats; kind of a unite and conquer strategy. He even rallied some slaves of other races, since most slave pens on Commoragh aren't even locked [the streets of Commoragh are a lot more dangerous than any slave pen ever will be]. Even though most of them did not survive either, people began to notice, and Kezef before long took in with one of the street gangs known as--

Shaka: The Razorvines. Hah! That explains a whoooole lot.

Rogziel: Right. Contrary to popular belief, not all Razorvines are mandrakes. Some of them, those that are strong, smart, and swift enough to stand up to mandrakes, are often used as diversions. Since Kezef was seen a lot more than the mandrakes, he became the object of a lot of retaliations. When it became convenient for him and he had enough followers that consisted of the weak and oppressed, of which there is plenty on Commoragh, he left the Razorvines and started his own little Kabal. The irony was that he secured a lot of influence because of his association with the Razorvines and now he was turning his back on them. He would, however, absorb the gang into his Kabal, killing and consuming whoever would not yield to his authority. In fact, in the beginning the Liquid Sword dedicated all of its resources to subduing the Razorvines. Kezef was not intent on hiring their services, he wanted absolute control of them. Besides, he didn't have the resources back then to do so anyway. The first campaign outside of Commoragh was targeted at none other than the colony on Tolence. Tolence would also be the site of the first outpost that Kezef ever established, in order to hide his resources from larger, more established Kabals that would have just squashed him and taken what he had "earned." With this in mind, most Kabals ignored the Liquid Sword, thinking that they were pathetically weak and allowing it the opportunity to implode. Obviously, that didn't happen. The rest, as we all know, is history.

Imhotep: <to J.E.> Well, your mighty omnipotence, it would appear that you are a late bloomer. Better late than never. You've done quite well for yourself on Commoragh. Not bad for one of our misguided, inbread cousins. <bows>

Shaka: If I do say so myself, it borderlines on severe disrespect to call our lord out like this, Rogziel. He obviously did not want anyone to know this. A 'friend' would not do such a thing, so why are you here?

Rogziel: One: to make a point. If a Craftworlder could adapt to life on Commoragh while abandoning his legacy as a proverbial prince, then anything is possible. It is for this possibility that I am here. Two: I would like to put you on to some serious info. You all shun psykers because of obvious religous disdain, but you all are missing out on something. It is a given that every race in the galaxy would just love to get a piece of the webway, but you all don't seem to understand how aggressive everyone has become in terms of attaining this goal for their own reasons. There is some major sh*t brewing. Every mission that we have influenced was for a reason. Craftworld Eldar, Chaos minions, and even the Imperium are trying to secure the webway for themselves. Abbadon, Eldrad, and Cypher alone have already gotten directly involved and things have only begun to prelude. Lost Space Marine chapters and Heretical Imperial Guard armies alike are set to strike at any moment. Do you understand how big this conflict is going to be? The webway would provide an obvious competitive advantage for control of the galaxy. In addition, there are those who want the BLACK LIBRARY. They are out of their f*cking minds if they think we will allow that to happen. They are a lot closer than you think. Even the battles that you all have lost were significant to us because it slowed the momentum of every race that is involved, which is to say all of them. However, the momentum has been steadily building anyway, and a galactic tidal wave is brewing. If you all don't want to drown in it, then know this: you must reinforce the meaning of fear to the galaxy and soon. You must do so not only for yourselves, but for the Eldar race, even if you must fight the Eldar race to do so. It is so serious that I'm willing to not only ally with you all but to allow you the total freedom to be yourselves and do what you do best. Oh, and youmustalsopreparetodefendCommoraghfromtotaldestructionifyouwanttobeevenremotelysuccessful...

Rogziel: With that in mind, alliances are going to become crucial. I suggest that you start with your chief rival, Mezzellion.

J.E.--now known as Kezef: Who the f*ck is Mezzellion?

Rogziel: Mezzellion is the one that Archon Scarab reports to. You think that they are the same person because Mezzellion like to utilize look-alikes and decoys for Archons. Rumor has it that his twin brother is Scarab and that Scarab has never been killed in battle. I will neither confirm or deny this rumor, for I have already told you too much. But I will say this: it would be in your best interest to at the very least seek out alliances on Commoragh. At first glance you may think that it's an act of weakness, but in actuality it may keep you alive. Trust me. I am doing this not for you, but for our entire race. Are you with me?

Kezef: ...I'm down.

Rogziel: Good. Then let the inception of the Perfect Brotherhood take place at this moment. I named it thus because it is in fact imperfect, but perception is often reality in this galaxy of ours, so we really have nothing to lose with that in mind. Oh, and thank you for the Razorvines that you donated to our cause. You'll be happy to know that some of them actally survived the ritual, and are full fledged Harlequins now. We must all leave now and take care of some personal business, but we will be in touch. Good Day.