The Sisterhood of Hippolyta

[Kaiser Martens]

"...And that would be, I remember now, why I normally keep my shades on no matter what." He half-grins.

"Yeah. You never know...about them spirits, I mean. I've always been the kind of fellow to have unusually good luck." - It was odd. He seemed to be completely fresh, in spite of being so far out in the steppe. It's almost as if someone had just taken him out of some kind of plastic casing and deposited him there, in the middle of nowhere, where most would be covered in dust already. He was even well shaved. But he also did not seem like he knew what he was doing.

He shook his head. "It is an offer I cannot refuse. I must confess that sleeping out here in the open all by myself is a little unnerving. You know us men. Always trying to be tough on the outside. It's only useless in the end." He shrugged. And then, he felt like a king, surrounded by all of them. It was almost like being back home with the Valkyries, in the good old days.

[Sarah Tintagyl]

Around the fire in the night, Astrid and Jazerin sat with a few more of the female soldiers and Martens in their group. While some of the women had taken a liking to him, the two leaders were much more suspicious, especially of how well he was put together out on the Steppe.

"Well surely you've spend a few nights out here alone, friend." Said the German leaning her head onto her open hand. "I have to say, even the best travelers I've seen from either Europe or Asia don't take to the wilds as kindly as you've seemed to do. That said I agree with you, men always trying to prove themselves. But perhaps that goes along with your good luck, eh, friend?"

Jazerin laughed. "I'm more interested in the fact that if you came to see the Amazonian society, what do you hope to gain from such a tour. Or is that all we are to the world, a novelty?"

[Kaiser Martens]

And they were wise to be suspicious, despite his best intentions.

Martens sat in a somewhat buddha-like fashion, with his legs crossed and his back very straight, and then nodded. "You know how it is. Fortuna always favors the bold..." Then he adds, with a grin creeping into his face "...Provided that they are not outright stupid."

He frowns for a moment, considering Jazerin's question. It was obvious that he'd be eventually asked that, perhaps several times. But he hadn't planned an answer in advance. After seeming to meditate for a few moments, he shrugged in a somewhat...naive-looking fashion. "Well I sure don't know what you are to the world but I just wanted to see this for my own eyes. Most places in the word are boring...predictable. This is one of the last reservoirs of originality. It is, I think, a new type of culture, and I wish to know more about it." He looks down at his feet for a moment, nodding, satisfied with his own reply. "'Sides I heard they make great sandwiches!" - Of course, he couldn't help himself. Always the little anarchist demon hiding behind Martens' fascist shoulder, chiming in to add a little spark for the sake of avoiding dullness. His eyes looked alive and amused for a moment.

[Sarah Tintagyl]

"You see Jazerin, we have a comedian." Said Astrid as she stared over at Martens, halfway between amusement and rage.

"What I see, is someone who doesn't know how to take a joke." The Arabian laughed and leaned over on her hands, looking at Martens curiously. "We have excellent food here and across the Steppe, if you're curious, friend. Lamb being the specialty, but you'd be surprised how well an Amazon can function not only in the kitchen, but also on the battlefield. Though if you're looking for originality, there isn't a better place. This is a nation founded on the blood of a few riders and their queen. None of us in this Guard unit had the pleasure of being there when Theresia von Hapsburg took the mantle of Hippolyta, but it has already become a legend for our warriors in training."

Astrid rolled her eyes and stretched out her legs. "So you came for the myths and the legends and the nation of female warriors. Though you never told us your name, friend. If we're riding together, we might as well get to know each other."

[Kaiser Martens]

He looked towards Astrid, feeling quite amused, but also seemed to admire her rage, at the same time. Then, after smiling, he looked towards Jazerin.

"Lamb, hm? I miss real food. Been having !@#$%* supplies for days now. You probably know how it is." He felt his mouth watering a little, and swallowed. Then he narrowed his eyes, listening on. "Hm. That is interesting. What could possibly lead Miss Hapsburg to depart the confortable, freed Vienna and come here to the desert to start anew, even with a new name? As if some new Ghenghis Khan, or...more accurately, a new Ungern von Sternberg...only no Reds in sight..."

He continued, slowly, "More importantly, what will it represent to the world? I see what it represents here at least, liberation." He looked down for a moment, and then looked at Jazerin. "And no stone veil to obfuscate your life..."

His voice becomes more casual once more, and his demeanor goes back to being informal, grinning. "True that. It had just come into my mind. I am sorry. I do not meet people very often, so I sometimes forget the basics of respect... It was funny, that which was mentioned... I had a friend that used to call me comedian. He found it very suitable. The rest call me Yegor. I think that will do. Although you can call me anything you see fit." He bowed his head in respect. "At your service, of course." - When speaking those last words, he did sound serious, for a change.

"I know why I came. But I am like a ship adrift. Nobody knows what'll happen next. Hm. I'll be ready to ride when you are, in any case...I hope I'm not too much of a burden, anyways..." He folded his arms peacefully.

[Subtleknifewielder]

[size="2"]To find one single, isolated individual alone, but alive and unharmed, out in the untamed wilds of the Steppe, might be looked on as noting more than an unusual but happy circumstance. One to be commented on for a time, perhaps have a few stories told of it, and then forgotten as time moved on. However, it would seem the height of miracles, or at the very least sheer improbability and unlikely coincidence, that another lone traveler would dare the same land...especially at night.[/size]

[size="2"]As the temperature dropped, the sun fast fading into a memory of the previous day, the wind bit with a savage chill of its own, no doubt making the group thankful for the warm fire to gather around, and the shelter they had brought with them or made to spend the night in what comfort travelers could share. For a time, the silence from outside the camp was broken only by that wind, and the native creatures that could be found.[/size]

[size="2"]That silence was shattered the moment the second traveler approached. Of course, whoever it was was smart enough not to simply drop in unannounced on a party of (likely armed) strangers. No, they stopped well back from the outside circle of the encampment, calling out, like Martens had before, in the language of Russia. "Hail, the camp!" The voice Martens and the [/size][size="2"]Amazonians[/size][size="2"] heard was a strong, clear tenor, or maybe alto--gender was difficult to distinguish[/size][size="2"] from that voice alone.[/size]

[size="2"]Like Martens, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to differentiate whoever it was from a native speaker by that speech, and if anyone was watching, the the point at which the figure had stopped at outside the encampment made it, by either accident or design, difficult to see with any clear certainty any distinguishing characteristics about their face, clothing, or even the build of their body.[/size]

[size="2"][size="2"]OOC: Hope you don't mind the mild manipulation of the elements, purely for adding to the background for more effect. [/size][/size]

Edited January 27, 2012 by Subtleknifewielder

[Sarah Tintagyl]

"It's been an interesting few years since all of this started and in such a short time we've been able to build an empire that spans nearly the entire earth. But I think if we're destined for greatness then Theresia is the person to get us there. But if you're here to explore Yegor, then you're going to learn a great deal about a culture that includes all cultures and an empire which will one day include all other empires." Finally she yawned and sat up from the fire. "That said, Yegor, it was a pleasure to meet you. I suggest you get some sleep, we'll be riding early in the morning and we wait for no one. Astrid," said the Arabian looking at her German partner. "I expect you to get some sleep too."

"You know I haven't been sleeping well, I'm fine here, tending the flames until I pass out." Astrid said looking up at the sky as a few flakes of snow began to fall on the ground. "I wouldn't leave the fire if you paid me. You should just sleep here, Jazerin."

"I'll think about it. I'm going to patrol around the camp once more and then think of where I'll turn in. I'll see you both in a bit." She said and walked away from the flames.

Meanwhile as Jazerin paced through the camp she heard another voice from far off. "Show yourself!" She demanded, taking a rifle from one of the nearby horses. "You're in Imperial territory."

[Kaiser Martens]

"Yegor" was about to say something after having stared at the fire thoughtfully for several minutes. Then, he was pushed back into the real world by Jazerin's commanding voice. Looking in her direction with mild interest, he yawned, but then claimed not to feel sleepy. He leaned back to get his backpack, and took out his guitar with some effort and care from its container. It was a somewhat uncommon instrument, at a first glance it looked like a classic guitar, but the neck was like that of a steel-stringed acoustic guitar instead. He seemed to know that there was no danger, he probably trusted his companions' skill enough to allow himself not to care at all.

After spending a few minutes tuning the guitar by ear, he began to play something quite similar to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWxxpe_RF-g

He was supposed to be a Russian, after all, playing German, Dutch or Scandinavian tunes on the guitar would not do. He had to pick up something from a bit further east, and that had been it. He was fairly focused at first, but once that he felt comfortable he allowed himself to look back in Jazerin's direction while still playing. He did not sound overly skilled, but he did sound very sincere somehow, as if he really meant every sound that he made.

"I'll sleep...a bit later..."

[Subtleknifewielder]

"Yes, I'm aware of that. But thanks for the warning a[font="Arial"]nyway," the owner of the voice answered respectfully, stepping closer into the light. It might not be much light, but it was enough to tell, now, that the person was a young man in about his thirties, though a slight seeming one at that. He couldn't be much taller than five and a half feet, maybe a couple inches more, and while not emaciated, he was hardly the muscled type. Loose hair obscured his eyes, but he seemed not to be bothered by it.[/font]

[font="Arial"]Also revealed in the dim, flickering glow, was the distinct [i]lack[/i] of weapons in his outstretched hands, as well as the pack on his back and the unusual clothing. Not what you'd expect for such a cold climate, it seemed more in line with military fatigues than anything else, though there were no characteristics distinguishing whose uniform it might be. "In fact, that's why I came," he spoke again, once Jazerin had had enough time to take in his unarmed and nonthreatening appearance.[/font]