031.2 "Chaos is everything and nothing."

[Corwin]

[19:56] <Kotono> Muirfinn is walking in the courtyard, stretching his muscles after everything. As he walks, "Why hello there," A feminine voice speaks from behind him, "Aren't you tall, dark and watery?"
[19:58] <Muirfinn> Raising a scaly eyebrow, Muirfinn turns. "I'll have you know that I'm rather average in height when it comes to my people."
[20:00] <Kotono> Behind you is a humanoid woman of breath-taking beauty. She is stunningly gorgeous, hair a vibrant brown, brown like rich chocolate and with a body too perfect to be mortal. No sag, no weakness, only a breath stealing beauty. She wears a dress of lxurious, soft material that clings to her hips and surely swishes around her legs. In a honeyed voice that momentarily dulls your senses to anything
[20:00] <Kotono> but the sound of it, "You seem tall to me. Is that what matters, or are the facts more important?"
[20:05] <Muirfinn> "Perhaps. Belief is important, it shapes one's opinion of their self and others. Facts have their own value, though. Sometimes you can only rely on them to get a story straight." He taps the beakish tip of his mouth with a smile curving the ends of his mouth and bows at the waist. "I am Muirfinn."
[20:08] <Kotono> "Canderella Stormfury," Introducing herself with her own smile, "What good is a name, if not a meaning behind it? Or is the meaning already there by the person who is so named?"
[20:13] <Muirfinn> "Some are born with meaning to their names, and others must give their names meaning." Muirfin nods. "I was fortunate enough that my name was granted to me upon my birth. And you? Stormfury sounds a powerful name, and not one given or taken lightly."
[20:18] <Kotono> This part of the courtyard is quiet - no soldiers and you're not near Elrisa's tower. Canderella slows her pace to match Muirfinn's, "I was born as Canderella, a name I lost for a long time until I regained it; yet Stormfury was a name I was given in honor. The first is an affection, the second is an honor. Canderella means Maiden of the Candles from where I was born. Stormfury...I dare not
[20:18] <Kotono> speak of what it means, for any who do not grasp it need far more help than I can give."
[20:40] <Muirfinn> Letting out a sort of hissing snort, Muirfinn laughs. "Let them wonder then. I suppose I should explain my own, then. I have found that many have trouble understanding it, as it is in the tongue of my people, the tortle. I hatched some  two hundred years ago on Lifasa, and was recognized as having been blessed by one of our gods, the Mother Ocean. While not rare, my gift is far from common.
[20:40] <Muirfinn> In recognition of this gift, I was named after the Mother of the Seas. My name means 'He who dwells at the Mother's side.' I do my best to live up to her standards of fairness, goodness, and wisdom."
[20:43] <Kotono> "Oh, something to live up to. Always chasing the rainbow...dare I ask if you have found yourself worthy of those standards?"
[20:49] <Muirfinn> "If you believe yourself worthy of an honor, you may truly not be worthy. I can only hope that those who came before me believe it to be so." Muirfinn sighs. "I might be a failure instead. I have tried so hard, we all have, but I believe my race will not survive the coming conflict. We number only 44 in all. We have not had time to find partners, lay eggs, and raise young. Time has been
[20:49] <Muirfinn> lost, and with it, so many lives. I will continue to try until I am the last one left, I am not giving up...but I believe we may die in the retaking of Lifasa."
[20:53] <Kotono> "Extinction is part of the cycle of life," Canderella agrees, pausing her walk altogether. "From the days where the species counts in the trillions, to the last moment where the final one closes his eyes and passes into death, all is a part of life." She pauses for a few moments, humming, "Are you saying that your race is a failure, then, to fade away into extinction?"
[20:58] * Muirfinn shakes his head. "No. The forces of Hell are to blame. We were surviving on Lifasa, even thriving. The year the devils came, three new tribes had been founded on our shores. For a race that lives long and reproduces slowly, we were doing well. In a day, our numbers fell from thousands to less than a hundred. We were unprepared, by a large margin. We hunted animals, fish, and game. Most races generally left us alone, and we liked it that way. We fought amongst ourselves, had tribal wars over resources or land or feuds. We prospered in spite of it. No, we are dying because of infernal greed. Not by a natural fault."
[21:01] <Kotono> "So look outside the natural cycle since it's already been ruined," Candrella retorts, "It's not something you talk about in polite company, but there is magic that can help with sex and childbearing. Plus your race lays eggs, so make some eggs here and have someone watch over them. Even if the worst happens, you'll have another generation lined up.""
[21:09] <Muirfinn> "That is one of the reasons we sought the Aurora out. The elders and those of us beneath them met and agreed that our only hope may lie here on the Aurora. We were successful and lost none in our move from where we were sheltered to this place, but problems still exist. My people are still quite wary of outsiders, and set in their ways. The elders and I have done all we can to encourage them
[21:09] <Muirfinn> to see the other races here as friends, but it will take them time. Our second problem is that, without outsider magic, we cannot use that to uncourage the growth of eggs and improve fertility. My people reproduce once every fifty to seventy years, laying a clutch of eggs at each interval. Of those eggs, only a few survive to become adolescents. Birth defects are common, and they must be
[21:09] <Muirfinn> able to swim before we can raise them. Our young spend the first ten years of their life in the water. This problem is enhanced by the fact that of the 43 tortles left, only half of that number is still of age to lay eggs. Many are unsure whether or not they wish to bring children into a world where their home is gone. It will take time. Rest assued, I have not given up hope. I have fear,
[21:10] <Muirfinn> but I do hope for the best, and will not rest until we are succesful or I am the last that remains."
[21:12] <Kotono> "That long?" Murmuring that as she frowns, "You really do need to play the long game."
[21:16] * Muirfinn nods. "We live on average for a century and a half, so everything is very slow for us. We must be careful not to upset people, as many tribes are represented among us. Many feuds and insults still simmer, so caution and care must be perfect. It is a lot like playing a board game, only you can't see your opponent's pieces, and every once in a while a third person moves your pieces around just for laughs."
[21:19] <Kotono> "Reminds me of the stories about devils," Canderella observes, "More concerned with rivalries and plotting than ever getting up and doing anything."
[21:23] <Muirfinn> "Unlike the devils, we have few aims for destruction and corruption for the sake of it." Muirfinn retorts. "Would that we could, we would ignore the rivalries and petty bickering and get on with 'making babies,' as I have heard it put. Unfortunately, I have found that, no matter the race, the common people rarely see beyond what is important to them."
[21:27] <Kotono> "That is why lords are strong enough to enforce their will. Talos is strong - he changed our very natures. If you are strong enough, bending the common folk to your will is a trivial matter." Canderella hums, "And yet, I spend long pondering the change, and the strange melancholy and wistful nostalgia I have for days long gone.  Truly a curious corundrum."
[21:33] * Muirfinn nods. "We have had some success, but we are not tribal chiefs. We are elders and leaders of religion and magic. Perhaps it is for the best hat we lost all of the chiefs. There is no one tortle there to stir up trouble." Muirfinn says, then winces. "Perhaps that sounds callous to you. I have found that many of our cultural mores can be abrasive to common people."
[21:35] <Kotono> "No, not really." Smiling wistfully, "I should tell you about the good old days. Where chaos AND evil mattered." Canderella sighs long, "Now only chaos. Callous like that is hardly a concern at all."
[21:40] <Muirfinn> "Chaos and evil?" Muirfinn asks. "Were you once part of a demon cult then?"
[21:47] <Kotono> "No, silly," With a smile that's all sugar and sweetness, "I was a demon." Preening a moment, "Don't you know the legendary beauty of a succubus?" Idly slinking around Muirfinn, "A few thousand years ago, Talos chose to abandon evil. Many of his servants went with him for fear or loyalty, and others were simply dragged along. What Talos did and chose boiled the evil right out of us," Sighing
[21:47] <Kotono> gustily, "One of those do-gooders from Celestia had something to do with it. I remember tormenting souls who displeased Talos, but now...it just isn't the same. The magic of being evil is gone. Seducing and manipulating mortals into damnation just isn't...fun."
[21:52] * Muirfinn scratches at his chin, peering at the woman. "Perhaps...perhaps we are too different? I don't quite feel it." He thinks for a moment, then looks at her again. "Talos, you say? I've heard of him. God of storms and the like?"
[21:54] <Kotono> "Essentially," Canderella replies, "Happened around the same time Torm fell."
[21:57] * Muirfinn nods. "It must be strange to have your god shift his dogma so suddenly."
[22:00] <Kotono> "You have no idea," Canderella meanders a bit, coming 'round the side of the courtyard. You come around towards Elrisa's Tower. Here you can see members of the Graceful Blow practicing, Canderella going to sit in the shadow of the tower and watch. Mirima is there, leading them along. Not too far away Adrian and Misalea sits. The latter leans into the former, Adrian's arm curled around her
[22:00] <Kotono> as she watches. Watching this as she talks, "Would you believe it makes me feel bad for an angel? AN ANGEL? I met one of Torm's servants who went with him. It was lost in bloodlost and horrified at the same time, every time he committed another murder."
[22:02] <Muirfinn> "Mmmh." Muirfinn grunts. "It must be terribly confusing. I don't know what I would do if Mother Ocean suddenly decided she embodied Earth."
[22:04] <Kotono> "Imagine a few countless hordes of servants trying to figure that out at the same time." Smiling, "I have to admit, it was beautiful chaos of the highest order."
[22:09] * Muirfinn nods. "I'm sure it was." He watches the practice as well. "Still, you surely must acknowledge that in chaos, order exists. The same is true of order. No matter how regimented an army, the mind of a soldier is unpredictable. No matter how wild the waves, the comings and goings of the tide can be calculated to the minute, if one has desire to do so. Watching the world work with itself
[22:09] * Muirfinn is a joy that so few seem to understand."
[22:12] <Kotono> "Mmm-hmm." A quiet murmur of agreement at that, "Chaos is everything and nothing."