Of Horses and Politics (Tirion/Selibas)

[Iorran (Tirion)]

OoC: Takes place near the end of "Birthright by the Blade".

Tirion grasped the reins of the fine mare Selibas handed him. He patted her side and stroked the chestnut coat that shone in the morning light. She was different from the colt he was used to back home. He could tell from just touching her. Taking to his pipe once more, Tirion turned to Selibas and nodded in thanks.

"'Tis a fine horse, me lad! I thank ye fer yer kindness." Tirion was about to head to the tent he stayed in to gather his personal effects which still sat next to where he slept when a thought crossed his mind. Tirion urned again to face Selibas once again.

"Say. Could ye point me ta any o' the tribes ye know of? 'Twould make me job much easier. Maybe even help me make sense o' that faergin' map?"

[Selibas]

Selibas pointed North, "The Halikaeon tribe should be north of here. Also I believe the Kutola tribe is somewhere nearby this tie of year." Selibas begun to trot away but stopped. "You seem a bit foeign about chiefs, how does your tribe govern itself?"

[Iorran (Tirion)]

Tirion was jarred from his eagerness to move on with Selibas' question. Did he ever show his unfamiliarity with this tribe's governing system? He couldn't remember, but he answered the inquiry anyway.

"Well, me tribe - I suppose ye couldn't really call us a tribe no more now that I see how ye all live - we 'ave a council o' five elders that govern the people. One or more elders propose an action and everyone votes on it. The majority wins. Now our militia is lead by one man. This is decided by who... er... has tha most valuable trophy heads." Tirion bit his lip at the thought of the Norric's headhunting practice and the man that currently held the office, "I hope to be in tha council one day. I'm already a junior member. That's what this half tunic means." Tirion patted the blue half tunic he wore over his regular tunic.

[Selibas]

"Hmm, seems pretty sound. What part are of Sacae are you from. You don't hold yourself the way other Sacaens do. I feel like you'd fight unlike the other Sacaens. I think I'd like to hear more about your whole tribe to be honest." Selibas said ooking up to the giant.

[Iorran (Tirion)]

Tirion balanced his weight on one hip as he pondered answering the question. He wanted to move on, but he supposed informing Selibas of his tribe's ways could help him be a better leader if he found anything else he liked. Tirion took to his pipe once more, letting out three smoke rings as he usually did. He was hoping to get four rings out this time, but wasn't able to before his lungs were empty. Tirion inhaled heavily before answering.

"Mare about tha tribe, ye say? Well, I've explained that I hail from tha city o' Mullingard near the northernmost tip o' tha plains. In tha shadow o' the mountains ta be exact. Our rival tribe - well I guess it's sister tribe now, eh boyo? - Gaul, has their city o' Faerderic set up just a quarter day's walk southwest o' Mullingard. 'Tis a wee bit colder back home. Um..." Tirion thought of more to say. It was difficult to answer such an open question, "Our primary crop, if you don't count sableweed, is cabbage and our most common livestock is sheep closely followed by cows. Our mystics call upon the spirits o' the elements and other things I don' understand and recently, a chapel o' Elimine was erected near tha council buildin'. Er..." It got more difficult to recall everything he knew, "Our militia be made up o' lots o' different soldiers. We specialize in tha blade and I remember tha Gaul likin' axes." Tirion had run out of arbitrary things to prattle off. He just waited for Selibas to narrow his inquiries down so Tirion could more easily answer.

[Selibas]

Selibas leaned in toward the taller man, "And the women?"

[Iorran (Tirion)]

Tirion was both thankful Selibas narrowed his question and caught off guard as to the question's subject.

"Er. Well. They be women. I 'aven't seen many other women than those o' Mullingard. Though I certainly ain't complainin'. We got a fine pedigree, lad." Tirion stopped for a moment. He was worried he wasn't descriptive enough for the boy, "I guess this is a bad question ta ask me. I only 'ave eyes for one bonnie lass back home." Visions of Erie filled his head. He longed to be back home and see her again, but he knew he had a job to do.

[Selibas]

God marriage, Selibas couldn't even talk to girls. He might have to get better at that. Selibas decided that he shouldn't ask about the man's wife, his expression showed that he missed her. So Selibas asked a question that could help him as a chief, "What kinds of weapons do you use? Clearly a sword but," Selibas nodded to Tirion's blade. "What else?"

[Iorran (Tirion)]

OoC: Tirion and Erie aren't married. They share each other's feelings, but Tirion's never had the courage to do much about it despite Erie's advances. They've known each other since they were children so it feels awkward to Tirion even though he's madly in love with her. Of course, Selibas wouldn't know that so yeah. This was pointless.

Tirion was thankful that Selibas moved on from the previous question.

"Well I mentioned that we Norric favor the sword. Me best pal is good with a spear. From me days in tha militia I remember seein' archers, magi, lots o' horsemen - some with bows some with iron - an' sometimes we just throw up our fists in a friendly bar fight. I do recall them addin' holy lads an' lasses to the ranks after the church popped up." Tirion was starting to feel like he was being grilled for information. He supposed Selibas was prying for tips on leadership, "I would just say keep yer units diverse an' yer warriors seasoned. O' course, what do I know 'bout war? I'm just a politician."

[Selibas]

Selibas laughed at the, just a politician, thing Tirion said. Selibas replied, "Well I think anybody who fights with any form of reason is a politician. If you swing a sword because of some dispute about some cows, your trying to solve something n the way you know how. And politicians are soldiers just less up-front about it. You fight with words in order to solve a dispute." Selibas paused then said, "Hell that dispute might be about cows."

[Iorran (Tirion)]

Tirion took Selibas' words into consideration. They rang true, but he still felt opposed to them.

"Well you cannae say that 'bout us Norric." Tirion responded with a sigh, "If there's one thing you take from this, boyo, make sure your people never show the savagery mine do in battle. There are limits and that man just..." Tirion was stopped as he realized he was clenching his pipe so tightly the leaves had spilled from the shaking. He took a breath and calmed himself down, "Just... know there be limits to how ye handle war."

[Selibas]

Selibas nodded. There were limits on war. That was one of Selibas' biggest problems. If he got angry he couldn't limit himself. There was no way to stop himself from killing. It had shown in Nabata and it had shown in these very plains. Selibas lowered his head. He decided he had delayed both of them enough. He looked up to Tirion and said "Well my friend I know you have to be on your way. I have my own business as well."

[Iorran (Tirion)]

Tirion placed his lip on the end of his pipe and inhaled deeply. Exhaling a large puff of smoke, he nodded and placed a hand on Selibas' shoulder.

"Aye, lad. May yer travels bring ye closer to yer destiny. Until we meet once again."

Tirion turned and gathered his things from the tent he slept in the night before. He put his armor and cloak back on and fixed his bag and gourd to the saddle of his new horse. Mounting the animal, he set his feet in the stirrups and spurred it forward, galloping north in search of his next destination.