A Myriad of Shadows

[Tin-Solaire of Astora]

Kubar Hidoh
Elder of Karbol, Light of Sangheilios
Karbol: Private chambers​

Kubar rose from his low bed, rising up to his full height and draping himself in furs. His skin felt blistered from the cold, it's reptilian nature made his homes cold morning particularly annoying. He moved silently over to the open balcony door, stepping out and looking hazily across the small city before him. Few souls moved in the silent town, mostly unggoy workers, going to tend to the starting duties of the keep.

Kubar thought back onto his teachings as a boy and his time here, about how much he'd learned from his old teacher. How he'd honed himself into the start of the sangheili he was today. However, his true concern laid in the thoughts of who he'd be in the eve. Kubar was nothing, if not hungry. Every thing he wanted he would have, but this did not mean he was impatient. He was well equipped to bide his time and consider his options as he waited for his chance. His current craving for power was over his own state, Hidoh, he even let the idea of leading his whole planet gently tickle the back of his mind.

A loud knocking stirred him from his haze "Enter!" He called, raising his voice loud enough to be hear through the sandy stone. At his bark a unggoy hobbled into the room, moving to set a pale of water and a small plate of kolo meat on the stone table in the center of his bed chambers. From the furs remaining on his bed a groan was heard, a slender arm extending out.

Kubar had forgotten that he had even brought in the female, having ran into her in the market. He turned and stalked towards the table as he waved the unggoy away. "Prepare my armor, and have a message sent to Kinjar, we need to meet with the minor clans." The unggoy said nothing and scurried off, disappearing into the stone halls of the keep.

"Elder" came a too sultry voice, oozing false whispers and manipulation. "why do you rise so early?" Kubar's teacher had taught him of this, the use of any sort of advantage to get one's favor. She knew Kubar was a important figure, that would do well for her if she became any thing of merit. Kubar stared at her before moving over to clasp her face in his large hand.

"You would do well to impart some of that cunning venom on my spawn..." he said, seeming to contemplate her face. He could see in her eyes that she was pleased, her eyes glinting with intelligence and pride. "To bad they are wasted here." he said before turning away from her and heading into the hall.

He left the female and instead focused on the armor that was floating in the room over, gently cradled by his ancestor's gravity stand. It was expertly maintained, even after the schism. Many a sangheili had questioned Kubar's loyalty to his own, considering his dogmatism to the prophets. That was silenced when he supposedly killed his own master, stalking alone into his chambers and cutting his throat. The truth was that Kubar had saved his master, and was currently hiding him in the large stone spire of his keep. His master advised him and taught him more than the covenant military ever had, and with the new sangheilos before him, he could change the very rules of his race.

He stepped into the armor and locked in the magnetic straps, sealing himself into the role he had taken. He was the light of sangheilos, every one knew. The honor guard that still swore fealty to him numbered in the five hundreds, giving him a blade to bolster his arm of words. He gave himself a once over quickly and then set out into the hall. Kubar moved into the dinning hall, waving away the unggoy that came out to greet him. He didn't have time to deal with them and instead focused on the honor guard standing at the front of dining hall.

"Kinjar, we have work to do." Kinjar didn't hesitate and simply followed after, his silent devotion unquestioning. They moved into the courtyard, a phantom already waiting for the two of them. Kinjar climbed into the cockpit, being the better pilot of the two, and started up the grab pods. Kubar slid the Star of Hidoh onto the small of his back. He didn't carry anything else, but he did check that his needler was locked into the magnetic weapons hold.

"Who are we speaking to today, my lord?" Kinjar's voice asked over the battle net. "We speak to the elders of the Zind and the Horun keeps. We need them to arm us if we're to usurp our current oppressor." Kubar said, moving to the door of the phantom and taking in the countryside. He knew it wouldn't take long for them to reach their destination, and old ruin that bordered Kubar's keep. He knew the god's wouldn't mind him using it for his own ends.

There were already two vehicles at the ruins, a ghost and a revenant, patiently waiting in the rising sun. They landed with a thud and Kubar stepped out from the phantom and stalked over the broken stone table.

"Brothers." he said with a deep rumble, placing his clawed hands on the cool stone. "We must speak."

"Then speak." Rais, the elder of Zind keep barked impatiently, apparently affronted by something. Kubar's eyes darkened as the elder dared disrespect him.

"I note your insolence, brother." he whispered, his voice becoming as sharp as a curve blade "do not doubt one who would slay his dogged prophet within an instant. I was there for the beginning of the true covenant, I was there as it fell." as he spoke he had drawn closer to the smaller sangheili, getting his helmeted eyes to almost touch the other sangheili's.

The other broke his eye contact and turned away, Kubar obviously had one the stand off, but that was before he proposed what he would.

"What say you of the Kaidon?" Kubar asked, now looking at Karn, the elder of Horun keep.

"He stunts my warriors." spoke Rais said, his voice bitter. Kubar had known that the Kaidon had held back Rais warriors during the battle of High Charity. He knew that that alone would make it all the easier for him to convince the warrior to join his cause.

"I say he leads as best as he can, given our lot." Karn said. Karn would be difficult, he was a level headed elder, having served in the navy as a security officer, he was used to stead fast death that he could do nothing about. Instead Kubar knew that his people's opinion of him was important. His comrades at arms were much like Kig-Yar, gathering for malcontent and whispers.

"And yet he demands you work your lands for farming? You were a warrior of merit in the fleet. Let not his own ambition smother your image, brother." Kubar said, his voice calm and collected. He could see the slight shift in Karn's eyes, showing his pride had been struck.

"Perhaps he is too focused on personal glory, not the best of those he rules." Karn said, almost begrudgingly.

"I think we have a grounds for something then, brothers..."

Kubar spent the next while discussing his warrior strength, his needs to become a weaponized force. It was a surprisingly short conversation, both groups pledging themselves to him and receiving their orders. Karn would have his factory begin making weapons and vehicles for Kubar, while Rais would bring him more skilled warriors. These two elders would make five, five elders all in total that would support Kuber. His treachery would be grandiose, but grandeur often brought danger, and Kubar made sure to keep himself secure in all ways, politically and physically.

With his morning work finished he and Kinjar boarded their ship and left, heading instead to the meeting chambers. The chambers was a massive stone pillar, with a single large stair case encircling it. At the very top an open air meeting place sat, with stadium style benches rising up from a central speaking platform. They had gathered that day to discuss things as a clan, the coming and goings of a post covenant sangheili society. Kubar knew all the faces present, most wearing robes but some wearing armor. He himself still wore his armor, with Kinjar in tail. He stepped into the large anti-chamber and looked about as the speaking dulled down. His reputation proceeded him. His peers bowed their head's in respect, and the younglings averted their eyes. Kubar moved and took a front seat in the chambers.

Now they waited for brother Hakan to begin his talk on the problems at hand.

 

[Beta12]

Spoiler: Hidoh Description (Found it Matt)

An old and respected clan within Sangheilios, Clan Hidoh presides over the State of Hidoh. The State of Hidoh is made up of large tracks of plains and lake Sahada. Housed within this land are many keeps, with two largest Keeps being Qorah Keep and Hidoh Keep. While the state itself could be considered small when compared to others, Clan Hidoh makes up for this in their export of agricultural products, armor, and energy swords. Clan Hidoh is known widely for its large Swordsmen population and traditional behavior.

The stars winked out of existence as a new day's sun rose on the horizon. Outside of his window, in the courtyard engulfed by his modestly sized home, feathered animals roused from their homes in the trees and began chirping. On the far horizon, the light cast from the sun bent around the carapace of a single Phantom in flight. The clanging of metal ringing up the hill from lower Hidoh signaled that Ghan's forge was already being put to use. Ghan himself had recently crafted Hakan a fine energy sword, commemorating their liberation of Hidoh keep from Kanak the incompetent, all those years ago. The memory of such war, rebellion, and transition was now overshadowed by the transition of his own species.

The Great Schism had seen most Sangheili united against a common enemy, the vile prophets and their towering fur covered oafs. Now though, with the war over, the prophets dead, and the Jiralhanae wracked with conflict, post-schism Sangheilios had become far more complicated. A species that had warred with humans for decades now found themselves in an odd alliance, headed by the Arbiter himself. He had forged an alliance with the humans in their most desperate hour, and his gambit had payed off. With the threat of Halo a distant memory, and the lies of the prophets brought bare, the concept of a permanent alliance with humanity had finally been broached by many of the Kaidon's and Sangheilios.

Though many supported the Arbiter, there were plenty of Sangheili who could not reconcile the years of war, and sermons, that forever tainted the image of humanity in their minds. Tradition was everything to his race, and unfortunately, traditional hate ran deep. While they had been the original aggressors, the humans and their demon's had killed countless brothers, sons, fathers, and even daughters.

The wooden chair beneath the Kaidon creaked as he straightened his back, his dark eyes locked onto the table before him. The dark wooden work of art had been carved from the trunk of a single ancient Kafel plant, carried out of one of the ancient jungles of Sangheilios. In front of him sat a bowl of cooked Irukan grain with cubes of Colo meat added to the mix. The meal could have been better, but he had not asked for it, and his mate Ohfreen had prepared it herself. She could have just as easily harassed the Unggoy servants into rousing early and preparing the meal for him. The gesture was of her own kindness, something Hakan appreciated as he made ready for the day.

Carefully, Hakan speared a peice of Colo meat from the bowl of Irukan, and brought it toward his maw. After spreading his jaws, the shipmaster let the piece of meat fall into his mouth and slide down his throat. The meat itself tasted heavily of smoke. "So you cooked it the traditional way?" Hakan asked aloud, as his mate Ohfreen moved into the room.

"I heard you mention once that it is how you enjoy your meals." She responded in her flippant way, as she rounded her way out of the room and into the courtyard beyond. Hakan's lower left mandible twitched with amusement, and slowly, he turned back toward his meal and continued eating.

Within minutes most of the Irukan was gone, and the last bit of Colo meat had just slid down his throat. "Ahhhh." He hissed, in a throaty way that cleared extra saliva from the roof of his mouth. The chair and table were soon left behind as the ship master lurched into a standing position. He had much to accomplish that day, and the most important on that list would be to discuss the current state of affairs with his own clan. As the Kaidon of Hidoh', he had called forth a meeting of the elders within his state.

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The tower of Hidoh was a meeting place as old as the state, first assembled when early and ancient Kaidon's required a neutral building to negotiate battle terms as well as surrender. The centuries had seen it pass from its ancient splendor, now a weathered, and shipped reflection of its former self. Situated on a hill, the tower was set with a perfect view of the large tracts of land surrounding lake Sahada. The closest of the visible keeps, and the capital of the state, Hidoh Keep, sat as a lumbering giant on the horizon, nestled at the mouth of a particularly large river, one of the many sources of the water in the vast lake. The entire city was engulfed by the shadow of the massive craft that hung over it, Hakan's destroyer Faith's Sorrow.

"Brothers." Hakan's booming voice filled the room as the large Sangheili entered the meeting chamber. His stark white armor was heavily modified from the standard ship master's gear that it had originally been. Forunner glyphs and Jirlhanae teeth added accents to places that were once dull, and several sections of the armor had been reworked in the master forges of his own keep. A large, thick, Jirlhanae hide pelt hung from his beck, kept secure by a thick iron chain that dug into his scaled throat. The entire set was meant to project purity and power, something that was given respect in their more traditional society.

Hakan's murky eyes found their way to Kubar. If any other Sangheili deserved the title brother, it would be him. He had made use of his honor guard in a way that had brought pride to his clan and race. Had it not been for his warriors, many more Sangheili would have died in their battle on the human home world, and his martial prowess alone was respected. However, the stain that marked a prophet's servant had not left him. The elders who had been enraged by the Prophet's lies often had little patience for their lap dogs, but the years after the Schism had dulled such hostility.

"Kubar, how does Karbol fair? I have not heard from you in quite some time." While Hakan had gone on from the Ark to fight Covenant remnants, Kubar had returned to the peace of his own keep. He had done enough as a warrior, and no one held his absence against him. However, the tension with the Jirlhanae populations had not abated in Hakan's own absence. If his destroyer had not been partially damaged in an engagement, he might have still been out in space, bringing glory to his state. "Have the Unggoy taken the strain off of your field hands? I realize agricultural work does not hold a light to the glory of battle, but securing our resources in such trying times is of paramount importance."