Merrill had asked Raven to meet him at the clinic. The cleric had been coming down to the barracks to take care of him, but in order to gauge the progress Raven had made as far as strength and range of motion there was equipment Merrill would need to use and that equipment was at the clinic. Raven was halfway through the tests when a nurse entered the physical therapy room. Gaynor wanted to see Raven in her office.
Raven knew something was amiss before he even went inside the room. Two Archons in full gear stood on either side of the door. Four more waited inside. Having already centered himself to be able to perform Merrill's tests a bit better than he probably would have been able to otherwise, the Sin showed no outward reaction to the presence of so many heavily armed and fully geared Archons.
"Have a seat." Gaynor said coolly . "There are a few things we need to discuss."
Whether he was seated or standing mattered little to the Sin's ability to react with the appropriate speed a situation might require of him. Thus, he sat in the chair the Head Cleric of the clinic indicated. Casting an idle look about the room he noted that one of the Archons was a mage. Raven was fairly sure that whatever was about to be happen, the fact that a mage was present did not bode well. There were plenty of ways he knew for dealing with magik users, however, and in preparation, he ever so slowly began plucking tiny strands of aether together. Not enough to be noticed, but enough to twist should he find he needed to. The clinic might be a safe place to be and these Archons were Asmodians in service to The Shedim Lords, but Raven could count on one hand the number of people he ever completely let his guard down around and still have four fingers left over.
"Soldier," The towering Gladiator Archon intoned in a deep rich baritone that Raven found hauntingly familiar. " It is with Honor and Regret that I deliver these papers and this pronouncement..."
Raven gripped the arms of the chair he was seated in. He had heard these words before. He knew what they meant and what was to happen next. From where he had been standing behind the young Sin's chair, Merril clamped a firm hand on Raven's shoulder both to offer support and to ground the lad.
"Your meritorious service notwithstanding it has been deemed that you have given more in your service to The Shedim Lords than is reasonable to ask of one soldier. Thus, the Lord's release you from your duty to The Empire. You are hearby granted an Honorable Compassionate Discharge from military service. You are to be afforded all the benefits and respect given to veterans upon their normal retirements which include a monthly pension and access to medical care under any Priest in service to the Empire." The Gladiator announced, extending the stunned Assassin a scroll. Merrill reached around and accepted the rolled up papers on Raven's behalf. The Glad laid a gauntleted hand on the far shoulder of young Asmodian who sat blinking in the chair before him, leaning in close and covering Raven from view with his own body. "There's no shame in this, Raven. Azphel knows you and your family have paid more than any should ever be made to in their service to Pandae. Put all of this behind you, son. Rebuild and make the name of your House great again..."
It was then that Raven recognized the voice. It was his first Precept from basic training. Though everyone else in the room knew Raven by a false surname This male knew exactly who he was. Breathing heavier, the Sin grasp onto the plate shrouded arm that held him in a distant embrace.
"When ever you're ready, boy. Take your time." His old trainer said softly as he remained where he stood, bent over appearing to be passing on private information or additional instructions, but in actuality he was using his broad mail-covered back to hide Raven from the view of the others in the room allowing him to collect himself in what small measure of privacy the Glad could afford him. After a moment, the Sin released his grip and dropped his hand back to the armrest of the chair.
"Do as she tells you! Understood? Be strong!" The old Asmodian whispered in a commanding tone he knew would resonate with his old student. He had heard some talk about an incident that the lad had been involved in here. It was part of the reason a full squad of Archons had been dispatched to deliver a simple discharge from service and why Kvasir had personally tasked him with this delivery. Neither of them wanted the boy to do anything stupid as they knew that the escorting soldiers had been given orders authorizing the use of deadly force if they deemed it necessary. The Glad gave Raven's shoulder a final squeeze, before straightening up and returning to where he had been originally standing when Raven had entered the room.
"Yes,well... as you are no longer a member of the military, I am to ask that you surrender all weapons you may have on your person and your cube as they are property of Fenris' Fang. I understand that the daggers you were wearing when you arrived are in a locker. You need not go to retrieve them. The Archons will secure those items. " Gaynor said with a hint of frost in her tone from behind her desk.
"Ma'am, yes, ma'am!" Raven replied with practiced crispness. He stood and systematically began to divest himself of the numerous knives, throwing stars and caltrops he carried with the alacrity of a seasoned soldier during a turn-out drill. The Head Cleric's eyebrow raising at the collection of variously sized blades/weapons neatly laid out on the desk before her. The Glad standing beside her clearing his throat with his approval of both the professionalism with which the Sin performed the task and the small arsenal his old protege had concealed on his person.
Raven removed his cube and placed it alongside the knives with only the briefest of hesitation. Kistig's potions that kept his nightmares at bay, allowing him to sleep, rested safe in a box wrapped in sylphen wings inside his cube. Apparently the hesitation was longer than he had thought or perhaps it was just part of what came next.
"Any personal items inside the cube will be returned to you after the contents have been reviewed." Gaynor said. "This is true also for the contents of your locker in the barracks. Accommodations can be made for any medication that you may have stored there. The Archons will escort you there to retrieve them. You will, however, need to make other sleeping arrangements as it is impermissible for civilians to be housed inside a sensitive military instillation."
"That won't be necessary, ma'am." Merrill interjected after only partially stifling a laugh at her referring to the all but deserted building as a 'sensitive military instillation'. " I can provide Master Silversong with replacement perscriptions until such time as his property is returned to him." While he would not normally intrude on the Head Cleric's dealings, he was annoyed by the less than charitable treatment his patient was receiving from her. Choosing to refer to the young male with the honorific of Master in an attempt to offer Raven at least some small measure of the respect he deserved.
Merrill could not at first understand why Gaynor was behaving the way she was until he remembered what had transpired in the tavern recently. He was sure then that Aremisina had a hand in the cold and needlessly insensitive way Gaynor was treating the young male. Gaynor and Sina were known to be more than just business associates, the Elyos Spirit Master providing specially crafted medicines for the Head Cleric. He should have known she would run straight to Gaynor after not only having what she would most assuredly have considered her irresistible advancements denied, but Raven adding the further insult of roughly bending her over the table in the pub and pinning her face down to it beneath his claws.
"Very well, Merrill. The problem at hand is that -master- Silversong doesn't seem to exist. There is no record of his birth, ascension...or his ever having served The Empire. The meritorious discharge you hold was issued postumously to an Archon that is listed as having fallen in the attack of Morheim by Lepharist rebels." Gaynor sniffed as she slid the black folder embossed with the emblem of The Fenris Fang off to the side. The name on the folder having been struck through and completely obscured by a thick black line.
"No record? What do you mean there's no record? You can't redact a person!" Merrill growled hotly as his eyes fell upon Raven's file.
"The Archons are here to escort this young Deava from the premises should he prove unruly. That order can be extended to include you as well Merrill..." The Head Cleric warned before returning to adressing Raven. "Young man, the travel ban placed upon you when you arrived has not yet been rescinded. You are, however, free to leave Sarpan...under escort." Gaynor continued. "Do you understand and comply?"
"Ma'am, yes ma'am!" Raven responded in a manner most becoming of his former status. He stood at attention, eyes straight ahead, completely unfazed by her words or the way they had been delivered. His old Drill Sergeant had instructed him to obey her commands. Though she was not a member of the military, she was a Cleric and this would have afforded her respectful treatment even if he had not been under orders.
"I see nothing further to discuss..." She concluded with an air of disdain and a limp wristed dismissive flicking of her fingers that every Archon in the room seemed to take offense to. The two in the back shifting their weight ever so slightly. The mage, while not turning his head, cast a reproachful look in her direction and the Glad visibly bristling. Raven, however, accepted her dismissal stoically. He clicked his heels and turned with practiced precision leaving the room with silent decorum.n a deep rich baritone that Raven found hauntingly familiar. " It is with Honor and Regret that I deliver these papers and this pronouncement..."
Raven gripped the arms of the chair he was seated in. He had heard these words before. He knew what they meant and what was to happen next. From where he had been standing behind the young Sin's chair, Merril clamped a firm hand on Raven's shoulder both to offer support and to ground the lad.
"Your meritorious service notwithstanding it has been deemed that you have given more in your service to The Shedim Lords than is reasonable to ask of one soldier. Thus, the Lord's release you from your duty to The Empire. You are hearby granted an Honorable Compassionate Discharge from military service. You are to be afforded all the benefits and respect given to veterans upon their normal retirements which include a monthly pension and access to medical care under any Priest in service to the Empire." The Gladiator announced, extending the stunned Assassin a scroll. Merrill reached around and accepted the rolled up papers on Raven's behalf. The Glad laid a gauntleted hand on the far shoulder of young Asmodian who sat blinking in the chair before him, leaning in close and covering Raven from view with his own body. "There's no shame in this, Raven. Azphel knows you and your family have paid more than any should ever be made to in their service to Pandae. Put all of this behind you, son. Rebuild and make the name of your House great again..."
It was then that Raven recognized the voice. It was his first Precept from basic training. Though everyone else in the room knew Raven by a false surname This male knew exactly who he was. Breathing heavier, the Sin grasp onto the plate shrouded arm that held him in a distant embrace.
"When ever you're ready, boy. Take your time." His old trainer said softly as he remained where he stood, bent over appearing to be passing on private information or additional instructions, but in actuality he was using his broad mail-covered back to hide Raven from the view of the others in the room allowing him to collect himself in what small measure of privacy the Glad could afford him. After a moment, the Sin released his grip and dropped his hand back to the armrest of the chair.
"Do as she tells you! Understood? Be strong!" The old Asmodian whispered in a commanding tone he knew would resonate with his old student. He had heard some talk about an incident that the lad had been involved in here. It was part of the reason a full squad of Archons had been dispatched to deliver a simple discharge from service and why Kvasir had personally tasked him with this delivery. Neither of them wanted the boy to do anything stupid as they knew that the escorting soldiers had been given orders authorizing the use of deadly force if they deemed it necessary. The Glad gave Raven's shoulder a final squeeze, before straightening up and returning to where he had been originally standing when Raven had entered the room.
"Yes,well... as you are no longer a member of the military, I am to ask that you surrender all weapons you may have on your person and your cube as they are property of Fenris' Fang. I understand that the daggers you were wearing when you arrived are in a locker. You need not go to retrieve them. The Archons will secure those items. " Gaynor said with a hint of frost in her tone from behind her desk.
"Ma'am, yes, ma'am!" Raven replied with practiced crispness. He stood and systematically began to divest himself of the numerous knives, throwing stars and caltrops he carried with the alacrity of a seasoned soldier during a turn-out drill. The Head Cleric's eyebrow raising at the collection of variously sized blades/weapons neatly laid out on the desk before her. The Glad standing beside her clearing his throat with his approval of both the professionalism with which the Sin performed the task and the small arsenal his old protege had concealed on his person.
Raven removed his cube and placed it alongside the knives with only the briefest of hesitation. Kistig's potions that kept his nightmares at bay, allowing him to sleep, rested safe in a box wrapped in sylphen wings inside his cube. Apparently the hesitation was longer than he had thought or perhaps it was just part of what came next.
"Any personal items inside the cube will be returned to you after the contents have been reviewed." Gaynor said. "This is true also for the contents of your locker in the barracks. Accommodations can be made for any medication that you may have stored there. The Archons will escort you there to retrieve them. You will, however, need to make other sleeping arrangements as it is impermissible for civilians to be housed inside a sensitive military instillation."
"That won't be necessary, ma'am." Merrill interjected after only partially stifling a laugh at her referring to the all but deserted building as a 'sensitive military instillation'. " I can provide Master Silversong with replacement perscriptions until such time as his property is returned to him." While he would not normally intrude on the Head Cleric's dealings, he was annoyed by the less than charitable treatment his patient was receiving from her. Choosing to refer to the young male with the honorific of Master in an attempt to offer Raven at least some small measure of the respect he deserved.
Merrill could not at first understand why Gaynor was behaving the way she was until he remembered what had transpired in the tavern recently. He was sure then that Aremisina had a hand in the cold and needlessly insensitive way Gaynor was treating the young male. Gaynor and Sina were known to be more than just business associates, the Elyos Spirit Master providing specially crafted medicines for the Head Cleric. He should have known she would run straight to Gaynor after not only having what she would most assuredly have considered her irresistible advancements denied, but Raven adding the further insult of roughly bending her over the table in the pub and pinning her face down to it beneath his claws.
"Very well, Merrill. The problem at hand is that -master- Silversong doesn't seem to exist. There is no record of his birth, ascension...or his ever having served The Empire. The meritorious discharge you hold was issued postumously to an Archon that is listed as having fallen in the attack of Morheim by Lepharist rebels." Gaynor sniffed as she slid the black folder embossed with the emblem of The Fenris Fang off to the side. The name on the folder having been struck through and completely obscured by a thick black line.
"No record? What do you mean there's no record? You can't redact a person!" Merrill growled hotly as his eyes fell upon Raven's file.
"The Archons are here to escort this young Deava from the premises should he prove unruly. That order can be extended to include you as well Merrill..." The Head Cleric warned before returning to adressing Raven. "Young man, the travel ban placed upon you when you arrived has not yet been rescinded. You are, however, free to leave Sarpan...under escort." Gaynor continued. "Do you understand and comply?"
"Ma'am, yes ma'am!" Raven responded in a manner most becoming of his former status. He stood at attention, eyes straight ahead, completely unfazed by her words or the way they had been delivered. His old Drill Sergeant had instructed him to obey her commands. Though she was not a member of the military, she was a Cleric and this would have afforded her respectful treatment even if he had not been under orders.
"I see nothing further to discuss..." She concluded with an air of disdain and a limp wristed dismissive flicking of her fingers that every Archon in the room seemed to take offense to. The two in the back shifting their weight ever so slightly. The mage, while not turning his head, cast a reproachful look in her direction and the Glad visibly bristling. Raven, however, accepted her dismissal stoically. He clicked his heels and turned with practiced precision leaving the room with silent decorum.