08-08-2016, 02:16 PM
Armande smiled faintly, ignoring her muttering. Children were always petty. There it was, though. The story he wanted to hear. Very much in line with what she had written, with what she had told Martin.
But you could not interrogate a piece of paper. You could not question a second-hand account. And he had questions for her. Ijiraq were rare- he'd encountered them only a few times in his hunts. Very few Atharim had. In general, they appeared to have stayed dormant, having been crafted to serve at one time.
He was not so foolish to believe that his experience was the only one that mattered. A true tactician studied every account, every experience. To have been able to question Qi Jiguang in his campaign against the Wokou pirates would have been a gift, to study the stab, riposte, parry, and feint of the battle, and see why he responded the way he did.
Every battle, every skirmish was unpredictable. A true general looked for the whole picture. He wanted to win the war, not the encounter. Something this girl did not understand. She was a weapon who gave little thought to the future, beyond her own skin in the here and now. Perhaps it was a flaw in her race. Legends regarding sentients were rare. Only the barest information remained, though he had scoured the histories for them- and none of them consistent. A few tantalizing clues, though....
But not his concern at the moment. His attention focused like the point of a blade at her heart. "The man it attacked in the cemetary. Did it 'feed' on him? What happened to him?" She wasn't on trial, not yet. But if the Ijiraq had attacked a reborn god- which had been their primary targets- what happened to him? Had he escaped or had he been killed? And the other two men? "And what happened to the man it...'fed' upon you, discovered later?"
Beyond those questions specifically about her, though- and god help her if the answers were not correct- he was thinking. Killing Ijiraq was one of the more difficult challenges. Distraction was a novel approach, one few thought of. There were other avenues that were more fruitful and easier to set up. Not that she had thought of it, according to her. It had merely been the circumstances- though she had been quick to take advantage.
He hoped that remained the case.
Edited by Regus, Aug 8 2016, 04:02 PM.
But you could not interrogate a piece of paper. You could not question a second-hand account. And he had questions for her. Ijiraq were rare- he'd encountered them only a few times in his hunts. Very few Atharim had. In general, they appeared to have stayed dormant, having been crafted to serve at one time.
He was not so foolish to believe that his experience was the only one that mattered. A true tactician studied every account, every experience. To have been able to question Qi Jiguang in his campaign against the Wokou pirates would have been a gift, to study the stab, riposte, parry, and feint of the battle, and see why he responded the way he did.
Every battle, every skirmish was unpredictable. A true general looked for the whole picture. He wanted to win the war, not the encounter. Something this girl did not understand. She was a weapon who gave little thought to the future, beyond her own skin in the here and now. Perhaps it was a flaw in her race. Legends regarding sentients were rare. Only the barest information remained, though he had scoured the histories for them- and none of them consistent. A few tantalizing clues, though....
But not his concern at the moment. His attention focused like the point of a blade at her heart. "The man it attacked in the cemetary. Did it 'feed' on him? What happened to him?" She wasn't on trial, not yet. But if the Ijiraq had attacked a reborn god- which had been their primary targets- what happened to him? Had he escaped or had he been killed? And the other two men? "And what happened to the man it...'fed' upon you, discovered later?"
Beyond those questions specifically about her, though- and god help her if the answers were not correct- he was thinking. Killing Ijiraq was one of the more difficult challenges. Distraction was a novel approach, one few thought of. There were other avenues that were more fruitful and easier to set up. Not that she had thought of it, according to her. It had merely been the circumstances- though she had been quick to take advantage.
He hoped that remained the case.
Edited by Regus, Aug 8 2016, 04:02 PM.