“Hellooooo, Souldrainer speaking, who is this?”
While Retvik had always been the face of the Missing and the Thantir in general, it was normally Litvir who did more of the admin stuff. He also took most of the phone calls, because Arkay seemed weirdly funny with them. Sure, it meant Litvir using his somewhat silly code name, but he didn’t mind so much any more.
“Hello, I am Shadowclaw, one of the Black Storm and a leader of the Alsyr. I believe we met at the Justar’s silly party, did we not?”
“Oh, yes, we did indeed! How are you, is there something you need?”
“I am fine, thank you. Are you busy? I wish to discuss the Alsyr Decay Lord you fixed up.”
“I am not busy, not at all! What is the problem?” Litvir did somewhat know what the problem was, but he wanted this Decay Lord to explain things from their point of view.
“Decay Lord Dawnbreaker, one of the Alsyr, was thrown out of Kentarasa and into Patagenic, while battling a corrupted Voidborn. You picked him up and purified him, as he was lightly struck by the same Corruption. However, in a telecall debrief between Dawnbreaker and his superior, Terrorbane, Dawnbreaker claimed he wished to remain with you Thantir.”
Litvir leaned back in his nice, comfy chair. “That is a good brief description of what happened, yes.”
“I have a few questions. My first question being: are you or is one of your Psions manipulating Dawnbreaker?”
That was an odd question. “Why would any of us do that?”
“Your sect is small. We have had similar problems with beings wishing to join the Ekthris.”
Litvir thought for a moment. “Do you think that we are stealing someone from you?”
“Potentially.”
“But… why? As far as I am aware, the Alsyr are quite large, you can easily recruit people from pretty much anywhere, what with the Alsyr being an actual, official and well-developed sect. Sure, the Thantir only have 30 members, but we are not actively recruiting.”
A grunt echoed down the line. Litvir was pretty sure he was pissing this person off somehow.
“May I ask, Shadowclaw, is Dawnbreaker particularly important to you?”
“He is, yes. Dawnbreaker is an excellent purger who can deal with both Voidborns and Corruption, while also being able to lead troops.”
“So you do not want to lose him?”
“No, I do not.”
“Even if it makes Dawnbreaker unhappy, returning to the Alsyr?”
More grunts. “He is a vital, highly ranked soldier. Irreplaceable and well-respected.”
Litvir snorted loudly. “Hah! Psiksi told Retvik earlier that two other Alsyr had attacked him just before the bad mission that ended here at Savepoint. Calling Psiksi “well-respected” seems like a bit of a lie.”
“Why do you use Dawnbreaker’s original name?” Shadowclaw asked.
Litvir shrugged. “Us Thantir have always used our normal names over our codenames in casual situations. If you wish, you can refer to me as Litvir, I really do not mind. And little Psiksi felt somewhat refreshed and pleased when we told him it was fine to use his actual name.”
“Hmph. You are genuinely trying to take Dawnbreaker away from the Alsyr.”
“Oh no, not at all!” Litvir calmly replied. “We are not doing anything to Psiksi. The only thing we did was help him fix his ship and get rid of the nasty bit of Corruption that had hit him.”
“You seem pretty insistent about this.”
“Because I am insistent that everyone is treated fairly, and, more importantly, is happy. Psiksi told us all what happened, that he was supposed to just be clearing out some Corruption, when instead he and his team were attacked by a corrupted Voidborn. If you treated your members correctly and properly briefed them, then Psiksi would not have ended up here.”
“Dawnbreaker needs to come back to the Alsyr.”
“Why?” Litvir asked.
“Because we are meant to stay in the sects we are bound to.”
“Says who?”
“Says us.”
Litvir tutted. “No, no, we are not having that. A Decay Lord should have the right to join whatever sect they like, and they should be allowed to live in a safe environment. Psiksi does not feel safe or happy among the Alsyr. He may find better comfort elsewhere. Heck, Psiksi could join the Phantai or the Justar or the Ekthris if he really wanted to.”
“But Dawnbreaker wants to remain with you Thantir.”
“Well, obviously. He has been reunited with his little brother and is surrounded by his old friends. Psiksi is happier now than he has been in a while.”
“We want him back.”
“You have no choice in the matter!” Litvir was getting a little annoyed now.
“Oh, and you do, Souldrainer?”
“Actually, no, I do not have a real choice in the matter. Psiksi should be able to make his own decisions regarding his life and his happiness. He is both an adult and a Decayon and an individual…” Litvir paused briefly. “Hang on, there are many Alsyr, your sect is the second largest after the Justar. Why in the name of the Light do you specifically want Psiksi back so badly?”
There was no immediate answer.
“Well… Dawnbreaker is… very useful to us. He keeps the Alsyr Beh’evok in line, he keeps the lower soldiers on their toes and he is an incredibly powerful purger, one of the best we have.”
“He is just one person though. Surely Psiksi is not so valuable that you have to compromise Psiksi’s wellbeing and take away his ability to choose in the process.”
Again, there was silence. Litvir grunted.
“Shadowclaw, let me make this clear. I am not choosing for Psiksi. He needs to have the freedom to make his own choices. Speak to Psiksi, find out what he wants, then let him go. You have plenty of soldiers who have friends and family in the Alsyr. Allow Psiksi to choose his own future, whether that means staying with the Alsyr, joining the Thantir or doing something on his own.”
“Very well. I will talk to Dawnbreaker. Have a good day.”
Before Litvir could reply, the connection was closed and Shadowclaw now seemed to be offline.
“Hmph!” Litvir tutted as he got up from his chair. “I ought to tell Psiksi about all of this…”