Runelords 00.5 - Khyrralien's Interview

The interviewer sat behind his desk; his appearance could only be described as an enormous, opalescent horned beetle with glowing, pleasant runes etched over his carapace. He opened up the file and adjusted his monacle before turning back to his applicant. "Good afternoon, Mr. Khyrralien," he said pleasantly, speaking in fluent Etherian. 
At the sound of his name, the eyes of the fey sitting across from him stopped wandering the room and slowly slid back into what appeared to be the interviewer's direction; it was a bit hard to tell. The large, pale green orbs were reminiscent of a deer's with their horizontal pupils, and they seemed to simultaneously bore into the interviewer and stare blankly past him.
With a warm smile, he replied dreamily, his voice a lilting tenor, "Good afternoon, sir." He inclined his head respectfully, his magnificent rack of antlers sweeping dangerously close to the interviewer's face, their many ornaments tinkling with the movement. "Is it time to begin?"
"Yes, quite," he replied. "I suppose my first question will be whether you are fluent in Angelic. You see, most people here do not speak Etherian, and if that is your only language, your opportunities here may be more limited than others'."
"Mmmmmmh," he leaned back to gaze at the ceiling for a few moments with great interest, eventually replying "To say fluent would probably be a stretch. 'Reasonable working knowledge', would be more like it."
"Well, let's switch to using Angelic, and I can evaluate your fluency, hmm?" His cadence changed as he switched to the lilting syllables of Angelic, "Now, Mr. Khyrralien: what brings you to Pandemonium? Why do you want to join our organization?"
"Ooh this n' that." Giggling softly to himself, he lazily brought his gaze back down to the interviewer and joined him in speaking Angelic, his words heavily accented, and a bit halting at first. "I am something of a....how would you say...collector? I...collect...experiences. I am especially...liking? No. ...Fond. I am especially fond of those that are new, different...strange, even. And this place, this organization," He gestured broadly around himself, grinning. "It's very much different, full of...interesting...things, interesting experiences, I am certain." He stared intently at the interviewer, his large ears wiggling slightly with excitement as he added, "And I would like them to be mine."
"...Okay," the interviewer said, masking his own uncertainty. "So, do you have any prior experience in an army or similar setting?"
"I want to say yes, but the answer is really no." He said with a small sigh, quickly adding, "But that is one of the reasons I am here of course! It's new! Fun for me, and better for you! No bad habits to break and all, right? And I am a very, very quick learner, never fear."
"Any experience with an organization at all?" he asked, a slight tinge of worry on his voice. "Have you ever had to listen to orders, or work in a team with other people to complete a task?"
The fey thought hard about this, then slowly nodded, "...yeeess...yes I have, a few times. I helped make a cake once, a...big? No. Huge?...Nah...enormous. An enormous cake with some other fey. There were lots of us; I'd never made a cake in my life, but one of us...I forget who...but one of us had directions and everyone did as he said and we had a cake! It was excellent...I would definitely do it again," he nodded firmly, smiling.
"I...see," he said, writing something down with a feather quill. "Because, as I'm sure you know, working in Pandemonium, it's always like that. You will be given orders every day, and you will need to follow them. Orders about how you conduct yourself each day, orders about what tasks you are to do, and possibly orders about what to do in a specific situation that is happening at that moment. How do you feel about that much structure?"
Khyrralien blinked a couple times, seemingly confused by his tone. Suddenly sitting up very straight, he answered seriously, "I think it would be a new and exciting challenge for me. Something that will take a lot of effort and self discipline, but it will only be all the more satisfying because of that. So, I am beyond willing to take it on."
"I am glad to hear it. I am sorry if I sounded patronizing, but we have had chaotic individuals, of all races, mind, come here and assume that just because they are skilled at combat, they do not need to follow our rules of decorum. It is important that we uphold ourselves to a high standard of practice, in order to function at our best. Now, on that note, what are the particular skills that you feel that you would bring to our organization?"
"No need to apologize, quite alright." He relaxed back in his seat once more, tapping his fingers together with a smile. "I have aaaall sorts of skills. Some magical, naturally. They call it 'bardic', my sort of magic; less offensive outright, but good for confounding enemies and bolstering friends. I'm sure you know the sort." Reaching over his shoulder, he produced an oddly designed crossbow and laid it on the desk, adding his sword to join it in short order. "And I have these, and the know-how to use them, should the occasion call for it."
"Innate Chaos support magic...martial training..." he said aloud as he jotted notes. "This is more for basic record-keeping; the next stage of the interview will test your skills in a more hands-on format. It says here that you register as chaotic neutral, and that your source of power is...satisfaction. Are you more of a broad-range sort of person? I ask because satisfaction can be hard to come by in a military training camp. Hardships facilitate learning and growth, and as such there is a lack of comfort in much of our surroundings."
"I...appreciate satisfaction of all strengths and sorts, I am not particular about it. I am certain there is satisfaction to be found here...in a sucessful mission? A well-executed technique? The improvement of one's skills? Things of this sort?" As he said this, a look of mild concern coloured his features.
The interviewer considered this, then nodded, "Well, there are certainly moments of triumph, as long as you feel you can sustain yourself on those. I merely say this because, as a general rule, the mood here is not one of satisfaction, but perseverance through adversity." He flipped through his papers, "I'm sure that, if you are quite serious about your application and we find you to be a suitable recruit, we can partner you with someone with a suitable temperament."
"That would be greatly appreciated, thank you." He said with a slight bow of his head, "I am certain we will be able to make it work."
The angel nodded his head, "Yes, we try. Now, I suppose for a final question: have you been in combat before? Serious combat, I mean, not training or scrapping with animals."
"Oh, most certainly." The fey replied with a gravity that sat strangely on him, his eerie gaze once more locking onto the interviewer. "I wont say it's my...natural...setting, but I am by no means a stranger."
The interviewer was unfazed. "Good! The next stage of the process will evaluate your hands-on skills. If we review your file at the end of the process and determine you to be a good fit, you will be informed of your acceptance and placement. As a non-angelic being, you must be escorted at all times on Pandemonium grounds, and you will be stationed outside of the fortress when not actively training. Do you have any questions?"
"Excellent!" Khyrralien chirped with his dreamy smile, "I don't believe I have any at this time, perhaps later. I trust I will be able to find someone to direct them towards?"
"Of course, there are many people who can answer any questions you might have," the interviewer said brightly. He straightened his papers, "Thank you for speaking with me Mr. Khyrralien. Now, if you'll follow me, I'll take you to where the next stage of the interview is to take place."
Category:Rise of the Runelords