Rijin never understood the fear of "big" things. He himself had always been the largest guy in the room and he never understood the amount of anguish people continued to have over his stature. Sure he was a warrior, sure there was blood on his hands from time to time, but for the most part he was a very docile man. He only fought when there was a cause to fight for or a reason to use his size, to the everyday person he should be a presence of calm but instead he found that the non-Goliath like people of Midoku did not find his size calming or reassuring. Take what was occurring now for instance. Rijin's yeti, Numnum, simply wanted to meet Garus. Now was Garus excited about this meeting? No, in fact Garus went so far as to scream and cry backing away from the beast when he simply just wanted to say hello. Again a misjudgment, just because he was big Garus was afraid of him, not because of his actual being but merely his size! How outrageous it was to Rijin.
Garus crawled across the ground in fear, trying to make his way towards Rijin. Rijin watched the dramatic display, and so did NumNum. The two stared at Garus in nonchalant bewilderment as he crawled away from the creature, crying for his life, while in no true threat of danger. Garus finally reached Rijins foot and held onto it looking up at Rijin.
"You have to help me, there is a terrible monster over there!" Garus said.
Rijin looked up towards NumNum. The large white yeti stepped out from the darkness into the moonlight where he could be seen, and was a sight to behold. The Yeti stood roughly 15 feet tall, towering over even the likes of Rijin. He had short white fire that came from all over his body making him look like a large ball of fluff. The fur was so thick you could barely see his nose making him look all the more goofy and adorable at the same time. If you could look past NumNum's large stature then you would see how cute he truly was.
Rijin laughed, "there you are my friend!" Rijin walked over towards the beast, kicking Garus off of him, and gave it a big hug. The white fur encompassed him in a soft embrace. Rijin was not used to being smaller, it was something he did not often take pleasure in but at the same time he enjoyed being able to experience the warmth and cuddliness. He had missed it and found it comforting to say the least.
"What do you mean your friend?" Garus said, picking himself up and dusting himself off.
"This is one of my dearest friends, it is so good to see you brother," Rijin said. NumNum began to purr slowly and closed his eyes with a smile. The vibration added a nice rhythm to the hug.
"Right…yeah…so this was the friend you mentioned…" Garus said.
Rijin pulled away from the hug, "best I have ever had."
Garus began to walk over towards Rijin, "so I doubt you will answer this, bur how did you and this big fella meet?" Garus asked.
Rijin sighed while continuing to pet his friends stomach, memories began to flood into his mind. A sad young boy, made fun of for his height, and a kind gentle soul that came into his life when he needed him. He and NumNum had spent countless hours with one another, exploring the mountains and growing up as beasts of the wild. "I met him on this mountain. We were both outcast at one time," Riijin replied.
Garus stepped back in bewilderment, "you actually answered…that's a shock."
"I have nothing to hide when it comes to my friend here, he will be a useful ally on our journey would you not agree," Rijin said.
"He is coming with us? Not to be the bearer of bad news but I do not think that Prometheus is going to let you," Garus replied.
"He won't even know he is there," Rijin said.
"Ah yes, Prometheus will miss a 15 foot tall beast!" Garus said.
Rijin took off his necklace and held it out towards NumNum, "are you ready my friend?" Rijin asked. NumNum noticed the locket and began to walk towards it, he put his forehead into the locket and suddenly a cone of light came from the locket blinding Garus and Rijin for a moment. When the light faded the large yeti was gone. Rijin looked at the locket's face which now held the image of a very content and sleeping yeti on it. Rijin smiled and put the locket back around his neck.
"That was Fearsh technology…" Garus said.
"Yes it was," Rijin replied.
"Why do you have it?" Garus asked.
Rijin looked at him disapprovingly, "you ask to many questions." Rijin said as he began to walk back down the way they came."
"True," Garus replies, "but that doesn't mean you can't answer!" Garus followed behind Rijin as they went down the mountain. They were so focused on their descent they did not even notice the gate in reality that had opened before them. One moment they were walking down a mountain trail, the next they were on the deck of a ship. Rijin looked around and noticed that he had somehow appeared back in the Desert Winds. Prometheus and Qrow were off to the side with the same confused look on their face.
"How did…" Qrow started to say.
"I brought you back here," Fuju said, lying on the ground next to the circle of knives in the deck, Lia and Varithorn looked concerned around him.
"If you were going to teleport us you could have at least told us so," Rijin said.
"This was so important, I teleported you here the moment we found out ourselves," Fuju said.
"What is so urgent?" Prometheus asked, "I was in the middle of something."
The rest of the party looked Prometheus up and down suspiciously.
"Maybe don't say you were in the middle of something when we just came from a brothel…" Qrow said.
Prometheus looked around embarrassed, "that isn't what I meant…"
"We don't have time for this, we have a more pressing issue," Varithorn said.
"What is this information then?" Garus asked. The party began to hear footsteps come down the stairs.
Telluides presented himself before the party, "good evening, my name is Telluides, I am a government official…or at least I am supposed to be," he said.
"We met Telluides while investigating the palace, he was supposed to escort us," Lia said.
"Yes…but I was supposed to do more than that. My job was to monitor you all and to continue this charade of smoke and mirrors to keep you away long enough," Telluides said.
"Keep us away long enough for what?" Qrow asked.
"Also how do we know this isn't just a ploy to gain our trust?" Rijin asked.
Telluides loosened his robe a little bit at the top, just enough to be able to pull down his shirt over this shoulder showing his collar bone. Burned into his skin was a mark, a rune, one that Rijin recognized well.
"You are an azurite?" Rijin asked, perplexed.
He nodded, "I was hired by your father to investigate magical disturbances here in the Blessing of Love."
"That goes against the pack of the council!" Prometheus said angrily.
"This was before the council was formed. I have been here since just after the disturbances began," Telluides answered.
"That doesn't explain what an Azurite is!" Garus yelled. Everyone in the party looked at him. "I don't know what that is?"
"Are you serious? Didn't you go to Tennocks?" Varithorn asked.
"Sorry but most of Limgren isn't really allowed to travel much," Garus replied in a snarky manner.
"It's basically an arcane secret police," Lia said, "there are rumors about them all over Tennock but not many people know if they actually exist or not."
Rijin stood quietly. The Azurite were a well but loosely kept secret within Midoku, many students from other nations speculated their existence but no one knew for sure. The citadel would release hints from time to time in order to keep the mystery of it alive as the real Azurite's moved in the shadows.
"I cannot disclose the secrets of my order, obviously, but given the fact that the council has been declared; I will report to you," Telluides said.
"Then what do you know?" Rijin asked.
"The leader of the Blessing of Love is an impostor, they were the face of Helena but in actuality they are someone else entirely," Telluides said.