Mr. Bagels

[Vixentrox]

Cathern sighed. Unanswered comm traffic must have filled up his comm system. No contact for weeks. No one had seen the poor fellow. He had been ill. Maybe he succumbed to his illness?

Mr. Bagels and come to West Athen, a bit befuddled, but he did do one thing. He gave the Clans that wished to be rid of the Sentinels hope. Mr. Bagels claimed to have had some influence with various powerful Clan leaders to include Mr. Silverstone and Lord Galahad. He sparked a discusion and petition amongst intersted parties to gain the replacment of the Sentinels.

It seemed perhaps some fruit was borne out with the recent activities of Lord Galahad's knights. But no word from Mr. Bagels on whether Lord Galahad was going to make his move.

Perhaps the Clan leaders had all been duped into false hope by this man. Cathern hoped this wasn't the case and sighed again.

[_________Lexusstreak]

if you ask me, it was just some guy who wanted a few minutes of attention. The sentinels aren't going away, you simply can't wish away people you don't agree with, it takes action, you want them gone, pull out your rifle and go challenge silverstone, if you were truly mighty enough then you won't have a problem now would you? I don't think so. The sentinels represent the last of the good breed of men and women in the clans who love their communities so much that they stand vigilant in Tir even though people like you despise them so much..but do they take their guns and train them on you? oh no no no, on the contrary you run up to them and put YOUR guns on them, simply for being there. I wonder who is the true terrorist now.

[Tussa]

It had been weeks since she had seen him. The odd fellow in The Cup in West Athen. When she first had met him, he was scared and malnourished. She had talked to him, listened to his story and given him some food to eat.

He seemed to live in another age in the beginning, not even being aware of the Council of Truths disappearance! That was months ago, and the man didn't know! She had told him about the political scene in the clan controlled south, especially how the Sentinels had taken over Tir after ICC.

The man was pale and paranoid. He had said he was afraid to leave the bar in daylight, that "they" were after him. When she had asked who "they" were, he had simply answered "the people of West Athen". She had reassured him and beckoned him to venture out more, to see for himself that no one would feel ill towards him. He gave her a nervous smile and said he would try. Soon.

In the following weeks she saw him in the bar very often. Chatting with people, having a good time. Sometimes she talked to him and shared a drink with him. A nice, but odd, fellow.

The last time she saw him he seemed a different man. A bit more color in his face. Still somewhat naïve and wide-eyed, but he definetly looked better. More confidence, she had thought, and smiled.

But now it had been weeks. Where was this mang, this young engineer, who was eager to learn more about the world outside the walls of buildings? She was hoping he was safe, and that he indeed had found that the world and it's people weren't as harsh as he had thought. Still...a nagging feeling in the back of her head wouldn't go away. Everytime she walked into the bar, she hoped seeing him there.

Let's just hope he's safe and unharmed. Maybe he got an assignment far away from West Athen? she thought. Yeah...that had to be the case.

[______________Emiliy]

The derivatives of time always had an odd way of manifesting themselves in the citizens of Rubi-Ka. The past oftentimes associated with pain and sorrow; the foundations of a conflict few truly understood. The present - the whispers in the darkness and the eyes scouring the land - full of mystery and surprise, and an overarching sense of danger. And the future, the most elusive of all, the dreams of many, and the hope of a world.

Thomas Bagels Wilson had been that future. Valliant battles of the past, waged by names such as Nelida, Cyani and Fixerben, had laid the foundations of a present; a present in which a group of clan leaders, representing well over 1000 clan members, gathered with Mr. Wilson beneath the ambient light and among the fruitful aromas of The Cup; gathered to hear a proposition, to be given hope, and a chance to seize at the future.

Unity of the Rose, Mercury Dragons, Whisper's Edge...Szentasha, Windguaerd, Vixentrox...names of legend among the clans. And of course, Silverstone. A simple name, and a cold, cruel face, concealing rampant hatred and a twisted sense of purpose that few espoused. Since his utter conquest of Tir, the world had seen conflict of a sort few currently alive could dare remember.

The Sentinels. The thugs. Crowding like vultures among the portals of the Tir Whompha, targetting all who passed through; unquestioningly slaughtered all who were not clan. Even the press seemed as vulnerable as the rest; a meeting the previous evening with Editor Raginar, of the Independent Reports of Rubi-Ka had been abruptly cut short when two of the organization's members found themselves at the mercy of Sentinels' weaponry.

Emiliy sighed, lifting her head to gaze at the two moons chasing each other across the abyss that was the Rubi-Kan evening sky. Hope... she muttered softly into the air, closing her eyes. Whether Bagels was, as some claimed, a madman with a morbid desire to inflate and then crush the dreams of others, or someone with a pure heart, a gallant purpose, and the means to see that purpose follow through, mattered little.

For no matter what came of the meeting and discussion, Bagels had done something which no one since Henry Radiman had accomplished oh so long ago: he had given people hope.

[Kirasha]

*nods* Valor Eternal was also there to parley with the other Clans and Mr. Wilson. Let's hope the reappearance of the Knights' partrol signals the culmination of the agreement.