#athistaur

[jester4554warhammerfanfic]

Playing with Chaos - 4

Setting the Stage

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The Jester stood just upon the edge of the cliff face that his Countess’ humble cavern dwelling looked out toward, and turned his gaze to the distant horizon. Situated in the middle of some forsaken wasteland desert on a miserable, backwater planet of the solar system, his high perch gave the Jester ample capability to look out over the vast and stretching sea of dirt making up this world. Tan sand made up the view all the way up until the land met the sky, where few clouds dwelt amid the sapphire blue skies, and those that did manage to exist were but the faintest of wisps.

“I can’t believe it’s still barely morning and the heat has risen so much already…” The mime beckoned with a finger and caused a rock to rise level with his head, which he quickly tossed over the ledge. “And all the light shining off this sand burns my eyes!”

Turning away from the endless view, Jester scowled viciously beneath his smiling mask, and shook his head as he walked away. The master mime was heading back into the dark caverns to speak with the Countess when she herself started to make for the outside world.

“You should save yourself the trouble and just head back in there.” He said darkly.

Placing both her hands on her hips, the reaper woman cocked her head to the side in amusement. “Oh, and why do you suggest this, Jester?”

“It’s miserably bright out here. I’m afraid that my eyes will burn from my head if I keep looking into the sunlight any longer! This is why I hate desert worlds Countess, and you know it!” To hone in on his frustration, the Jester went so far as to actually stick out a condemning finger at the leather clad woman. “You know I prefer forest planets to these wretched desert worlds: the weather is always terrible, there’s nothing to look at, and we’re totally exposed in all those stretches of sand!”

Chuckling at her companion’s distaste, the masked Countess expressed amusement, as well as a bit of mockery, in her counter-response. “You remember that our troupe had to pick a different sort of world to settle down on because of you, right? Not only have the Eldar been hunting you down, but your latest schemes have been riling up the Mon’Kai of the Imperium as well.” She crossed her arms over her chest now. “You’re beginning to make a lot of enemies, and they’re paying closer attention to your movements. The last three planets we visited were all forests of some nature, and our foes will be paying attention for details like that. If we stop here on this planet then it’ll throw them off long enough for us to figure out some place farther…”

Lowering her arms, the Countess walked forth from the yawning mouth of the cave in swaying movements so graceful they nearly seemed intoxicating. However, the lovely Harlequin’s movements seemed to have no effect on the Jester, who simply turned his head away in a pouting huff as he crossed his arms over his own chest in turn and sat down on a nearby rock.

“Of course I know that! Still, I don’t like it. It would be easier for me to hide in a forest, I feel really exposed out in these wastes…almost as though anybody could sneak up on me…”

Coming up from behind the Jester, Countess slipped both her arms around him from under his arms and over his chest in an embrace. “That’s what you have me here for, and the rest of the troupe…”

Jester, a master mime of the Harlequin Eldar, sat silent under the weight of the woman’s words seemingly thrown off. Beneath her mask, the Countess smiled coyly, certain she’d thrown her friend through a loop. Then, without warning, the coated mime mime with a stretched out face stood to his feet, almost dragging the woman up with him.

“You’re absolutely right! What am I nervous for when I have you and the others ready to kill at my command? I have a veritable army of some of the most elite killers this solar system has ever seen following me around; there’s no way I could be be taken by surprise all the way out here! We’ll just stay here like we planned for a few weeks, put on a dazzling show for the Mon’Kai of this planet, and be on our way like we always are! What can be so hard about that?” At some point during his speech, the Countess had relinquished her hold on the master mime and stood passively by as he turned to face her, his arms outstretched to the sides as he practically jumped from foot-to-foot. “Oh dearest, I want to put the show on now, can we go and get things started?”

“Always hasty when it comes to bloodshed…” Now the death reaper shook her head at the man. Bending down, she picked up the Jester’s top hat from the stone he’d been sitting on and placed it atop his head, looking into the eyes inside his mask as she did so. “You know we can’t go hunting down the Orks yet, ” the Countess straightened the hat before continuing. “We still to need to hear what plans the leader has come up with this time.”

The master mime smacked his palm into his forehead at the reminder that he still needed to go over their attack plans, pulling away from her as he did so. It was only yesterday that he’d been given the go-ahead that he route the Orks from human territory, with Commander Malverick’s sanction; while he had already concocted plans in advance for this day, it dawned on him that he’d yet to share those plans with the rest of his troupe. Even the lovely Countess had been mostly left in the dark, and Jester mentally chastised himself over his intense devotion to theatrics.

“Right you are again, my dear! Gather the troupe leaders, and have them meet me on the middle pinnacles - preferably somewhere in the shade - for we have much to discuss regarding the days ahead!”

Countess checked both her twin pistols, making sure they were loaded and ready for fire; just as she always did before departing from his presence, she elegantly bowed low. “They will know right away…”

[jester4554warhammerfanfic]

Playing with Chaos - 3

A Jester and His Countess

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Ah, Nag Champa…of course she would be burning Nag Champa. That’s my Countess’ favorite herb to burn; she takes leaves of the plant with her everywhere. I should have realized that she’d be burning it here of all places.The mime paused mid-stride and more deeply inhaled from the smoke strewn air. Oh, and is that the smell of oil mixed in there?

The den wasn’t very deep, and Jester didn’t have to walk much farther before he was greeted by the light of a few lit torches piercing the haze of smoke. Far more numerous than the torches, dozens of incense sticks poked out from the floor close to the walls and sent up huge clouds of smoke as they burned in unison. Now that the master mime was so close to the point of origin where the smoke was coming from, he was almost overwhelmed by the powerful scent to the point of suffocation, but he used his mental powers to expunge the scented smokes from his lungs.

In the middle of the den, surrounded by candles on each side and kneeling on her knees, was a woman dressed all in black, with a trench coat making up the main piece of her ensemble, the tails of which lied on the ground behind her. She currently kept her raven black hair drawn back in a tight ponytail, so as to avoid it blocking her vision. She had put down a fine roll of cloth directly in front of her, which was currently being used as a mat for an assembly of gun parts that she precariously cleaned. She’d taken off her black gloves so as to feel the metal more efficiently, but continued to wear her usual set of bridal gauntlets. Smaller spikes lined the edges of gauntlets, with two lines running down in between each edge as a larger set adorned her knuckles. To her right, lying face-up on the ground, was a simple mask depicting a woman’s face. Opposed to the master mime’s own mask, this woman’s was quite simple. Instead of having the appearance of being made from actual flesh it was clear that her’s was formed from metal, and the majority of it had been cast in white, while the lips and eyes were shadowed in black. A simple design, yet incredibly beautiful in nature.

As he approached the kneeling woman, Jester took off the top hat he wore, as well as his own warped mask, revealing the actual pale face beneath the false. In contrast to his mask, the master mime had a highly serious countenance, with cold, piercing eyes and a humorless mouth that seemed to be naturally bent into a frown. Drawing closer to the Eldar woman, he knelt down right behind her and placed his mask and hat beside her own before gently grasping the woman’s shoulders and resting his head on her right side.

“Ah, now this is why I prefer to use cutlery over guns. There’s far too much upkeep that comes with shooting utensils; look at all this care you have to invest into your guns!” At this moment, a long, curved knife, with a black blade and a bone white handle, serenely floated into view before the pair. At the same time, the mime’s hands moved down to the woman’s side, hovering close to her flat stomach. “With this I can be sure that my prey is dead, and then I must only wipe the blood from the blade until he is ready to serve me again. For instance, what if you shoot someone in the stomach and it looks like they’re dead, only to have them crawl away from the battle? Messy, messy, messy… I’ve missed you, my dear Countess.”

The Eldar woman pulled away from the master mime to kneel on the opposite of the mat in order to stare at him.

“And I, you, Jester. If only because there is nobody else around here who’s possesses the same skill as you at when it comes to getting on my nerves.”

He smiled fondly. “At least when I irritate you, it serves as a reminder to us both that you’re still alive.”

“Sometimes I wonder if the other road would have been easier…” She said, after an exasperated sigh.

The small pieces of metal in between them began floating into the air and reassembled themselves to form the twin guns that Countess preferred to use. As the pistols came back into formation, Jester looked at the woman in front of him, who seemed to be staring off into space as he finished what she had begun. Much like the mime, Countess had a serious expression on her colorless face, and a set of black eyes which possessed such a penetrating gaze that the Jester felt as if he were being stabbed with his own daggers. Her alabaster skin was utterly flawless, giving her the appearance of an angelic being - a stark contrast to the profession she was currently engaged in, which dealt so often in meting out death. She had full, tempting lips, but what beauty she possessed was nothing but a facade that belied the cold killer within her. It was this brutal love for extermination which attracted Jester so.

When he finished putting the Countess’ guns back together, the twin pistols elegantly floated toward her. Much like his own set of black and white daggers, her guns were crafted of a similar material and design. Each pistol, which possessed a barrel the length of his entire outstretched hand, was streaked with lines of ebony and ivory. Yet, when placed side-by-side, it became apparent that, despite their similar makeup, the guns were differentiated only by the color patterns they possessed, which swapped places on each gun - where one was the color of white, the other was filled in with black. In truth, they were quite beautiful to look upon, but, just as their wielder, the guns were capable of great carnage, as Jester had seen men lose entire arms to a single well-placed shot from his beloved Countess. With a dramatic air of elegance Jester placed the pistols into the hands of their owner, who gently holstered them out of sight and onto a clip located on the small of her back.

“Oh dearest, I have some good news for the troupe! I’ve finally convinced that human general I’ve been meeting with for the last several weeks to let us pass through the territory. All we have to do in return is kill off the Orks in the area, and make sure that the settlements that were attacked by the green-skins we brought are safe.” Jester extended his arms out to the sides and spun once in a place. “Of course we can’t let the Mon’kai know of our presence, but I’m sure you needn’t be reminded by such words of wisdom.”

The Countess allowed herself a chuckle, the first bit of emotion to grace her voice since the two had been together. “For all the stealth you claim to possess, it’s only due to your mind-bending parlor tricks. Aren’t I the one who’s had to sneak up on our foes in the past, merely to save you from your own blunders?”

“How dare you bring up such tender memories unannounced! You know full-well that any such mistakes were carefully calculated on my part, and I was either biding my time for the right moment to attack, or expecting you to come bail me out! There is little I do not predict, and all that occurs is because I planned it so. My shows are always perfect! I could nigh forgive myself if I were to ever deliver such poor performances to those among my beloved audience!” Jester practically danced his way over to the Countess, and took the lady by her hands as he began to dance by the smoke-strewn torchlight in the cave. “Might I ask of my lovely lady a question of the highest import, hmm?”

The Countess looked into the eyes of her dear friend, dazzled for nearly the hundredth time at the other’s ability to make her feel alive. As he hummed a nonsensical tune to give them something to dance to, the woman allowed herself to be struck by the mime’s mannerisms. His apparent expressions of love and affection struck a chord with her, and she was ever amazed at his ability to play whatever role he so decided. The harlequin gentleman now holding her hands and dancing by firelight enthralled the Countess because of his extreme commitment of flexibility, and this just made him all the more interesting to her. Though, she always bore in mind that an actor as perfect as him, would ensure he came out on top, no matter the endeavor, and no matter his allies.

Allowing the Jester to rest a hand on her shoulder blade and guide her into a pleasant spin, she nodded. “You may, my Athistaur.”

The detached look on Jester’s face vanished as a wry grin cut across his features. “Will we be prepared to use that artifact the Chaos so kindly obliged to give us?”

[jester4554warhammerfanfic]

Playing with Chaos - 2

No Fool like the King's Fool

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After the apparently mad harlequin departed from Commander Malverick’s tent, and taking cautious measures not to be seen by any of the humans living in the walled settlement, Jester found himself to be at much more ease traversing the scorched desert wastes that encompassed this land now that he was alone. Slipping by the mass of Mon’Kai had been easy enough for an Athistaur like himself to pull off, for all he merely had to do was create an air of transparency around his body in order to appear, by all means, invisible to the untrained eye. A master mime such as him specialized in acts of espionage and politics, and it was fairly common for the Athistaur to pick up such telekinetic talents in their endeavor to gain mastery over their role of political command. However, whether or not those Eldar who choose to engage in such a profession do well, is another matter entirely.

As burning sunlight fell upon the desert land, it caused the sand that Jester now lightly tread upon to become heated as well, which, in turn, caused the ground to send up a sweltering wave of hot air. In fact, the heat was so intense that even what cold-blooded wildlife one could normally find in a desert chose to sit safely in the shade, rather than risk being baked alive by the harsh sunlight. Thus far, the only living animals that he’d seen while walking the burning sands had been a single scorpion, which had dared adventure out from some rocky crevice in response to his presence. Due to either his own sadistic delight, or aggravation from the detestable temperature that was beginning to slowly cook even the great master mime within his ornate clothing, Jester had taken great pleasure in halting from his travels to pick up the critter by it’s tail, once it had wandered close to him. Anybody watching would have thought the man had gone mad from walking around in the desert for so long after witnessing his handling of the poisonous animal.

Jester had dangled the creature in front of his face, eyeballing it with great amusement as the little animal furiously attempted to pinch at the mask he wore. Beneath the two fingers he used to clench the stinger, the mime could tell that the critter was trying vainly to use its stinger as well, but, knowing it could do no such thing, Jester deemed it fun to hold his finger out and give the scorpion a shot at snipping his hand with a claw; something it failed to do every time it went for the bait. After he’d grown tired of playing around with the animal Jester tossed the scorpion into the air and held it in suspension, raising his right hand into the air and holding it open like a cage. However, he did this only for a moment, before clenching that same hand into a fist and watched as the scorpions carapace crushed in on itself, before finally dropping the small carcass into the sand, knowing that it would be devoured by some desert scavenger.

Looking up from the ravaged body of the eight-legged critter, Jester cast his gaze toward a jutting series of rock cliffs, which reached into the skies and had begun to cast a long shadow over the sands as the sun finally went down. Breathing deeply, the master mime used his telekinetic powers to once again expel his own rising temperature and return his body to a state of equilibrium, before moving forward once again.

——

Is it too much to ask for the weather to pick just one extreme? I can’t be gone longer than half a day before it either gets too hot or too hold outside. Damned gods!

By the time Jester reached the multitude of rock faces that he’d set his eyes on earlier in the day dusk had fallen, and the insufferably warmth of the desert began to drift away into a freezing breeze. Lacking any kind sort of large body of water this deep in the desert, it was rare for clouds to form over the land to blanket in the heat from the sun. What warmth that was stored in the sands, which burned almost as hot as fire after sitting for so long exposed to the sunlight, had already begun to dissipate as the night air now took over, casting its chill over the open desert. Fortunate for the telepathic mime, he was able to draw heat from the land and store it within his own body, just long enough for him to make it to the safety of the rocky caverns that his people currently made camp.

Despite knowing that the harlequin troupe that he currently traveled with liked to make their camps up high away from the ground, and for good reason, considering the type of ferocious creatures that were rumored to come out at night to stalk the land, Jester appeared to be the furthest thing from worried. If anything, he seemed excited for the long climb…though, perhaps that was because he had no intentions of climbing.

As the rock faces loomed overhead above him, the master mime scanned the area for one that seemed low to the ground. Upon spotting one such edge, Jester took off at a sprint and, with skill that would have left the most trained of acrobats drooling, leaped clear from the sandy ground, clutched at the side of the stone-face, and immediately jumped away from where he had just landed to another rock wall. In this fashion, Jester was able to reach the top of the earthen pillars with all-due haste, and make his way safely onto the ledge that protected most prominent of the natural caverns. As he all but flew from ledge-to-ledge, a few of the less adept harlequins poked their heads out to see what was causing pebbles to fall free from their place on the stone walls, but they quickly returned to sleep upon seeing that it was only the master mime returning to the fold. For, that’s how their troupe was established, lower ranking members dwelt closer to the ground, that way they’d be the first to encounter any form of invader - assuming of course that any hostiles were even able to locate the Eldar - while the greatest of the warriors could prepare for battle; as painful as it was for some, sacrifices had to be made for the good of the troupe, and these brave Harlequin troops were prepared to do their tasks.

At first, Jester couldn’t locate the cavern that he sought and had to walk around the ledge, but, within a few moments, he quickly located that which he was looking for. From out of one cavern thin trails of smoke drifted peacefully into the night sky, dispersing almost immediately once they were free from the protection of the stone walls and left to be ravaged by the gentle breeze that blew through the ravines formed by the multiple pillars. With the silence of a shadow stalking that which casts it, Jester disappeared into the wafts of smoke expelled from the cavern mouth…