“Alright, I think we have gone through all the important stuff, just one last thing now and then we can talk about the fun parts of you both joining the Thantir.”
The two beings in front of Vikalos were both similar and very different at the same time.
TK-0013-K07, codename Electricshadow but currently calling himself Ksar Teekay, looked like a Skyavok, but much more heavily armoured. He had reddish skin, sharp, heavy red and silver plating that was almost completely metallic and an astonishing pair of sapphire blue eyes, which were hidden away behind plastic lenses that stuck out, somewhat like a pair of goggles over Ksar Teekay’s eyes. Ksar Teekay had just formally left the Alsyr after an uptick of racist remarks and actions against him, and, after chatting with the Ekthris and the Phantai, had decided the Thantir were a better fit for him.
Moonblade though was a now former Phantai soldier. While, for a long time, it was forbidden for Beh’ens to leave the Phantai, since the Alsyr had been… convinced to allow their members to leave or renegotiate their contracts, the Phantai had decided to do the same, but in a much tamer way, mostly since the Phantai were no longer at war with the Crystal Doom. But Moonblade had been a Phantai soldier his entire life, and, while he looked calm on the outside, on the inside, he was terrified. Which was odd because Moonblade was a 3.4m tall Beh’evok covered in silver and grey armour. His crown of horns though was quite short, with only four main horns, and his arm blades were kept permanently retracted, because they were short and stubby. However, Moonblade was still a walking tank, which was why he was perfect when it came to guarding things.
Their meetings with Vikalos were supposed to be separate, but Ksar Teekay had accidentally come five hours early, because time was a bit funny in the Kentarasa Pentacluster where Ksar Teekay had originally come from. Moonblade was glad to not be on his own, so Vikalos decided to just do the meeting with both of them together.
“So, have you both formally left your sects?” Vikalos asked. “I received a message from Lightblade saying that Moonblade has been officially relieved of his duties and is free to move on, but Ksar Teekay, I haven’t received any messages from the Black Storm.”
Ksar Teekay frowned, then pulled a wad of paper from his satchel and handed it all over to Vikalos. “Yeah, sorry about that. They wanted me to deliver this stuff in person.”
“Not a problem. You are formally free though, yes?”
“Yep. And glad. Dawnbreaker… uh, Psiksi used to get harassed a lot, and as soon as he escaped, those dragony bastards all turned to me. I don’t look like a Beh’ena at all.”
“You don’t…” Moonblade muttered. “You look the same shape as Loopblade do.”
Ksar Teekay perked up a little. “Heh, yeah, that’s a tad complicated. But yeah, I’m free now. What do we need to do?”
Vikalos checked through the sheets of paper. “Nothing much. I’ll need some signatures, and then I’ll just call up Lord Kengana to update your Deathven records. The only things that will change are the sect you are registered with, what your duties are and potentially your UBI. I doubt you will see any major changes to your UBI, but Deathven’s lackies can be funny folks.”
Moonblade shrugged. “That is fine. I’ve never had anything to spend money on anyway.”
“Well, perhaps you’ll get a chance!” Vikalos smiled. “As part of your joining the Thantir, you are given your own personal, fully furnished quarters, and it is tradition that you are taken to the nearby mall and treated to a short shopping spree by one of the older members of the sect. Have you brought your belongings with you or will you need us to send a ship to collect things?”
Again, Moonblade shrugged. “I brought everything, and Lightblade said I could keep my Borderblade ship. But, uh, again, I… I do not really own much.”
Ksar Teekay smiled. “Like Psiksi, I have my own ship. You don’t mind me leaving it in your parking area, right?”
“Of course not. We have a separate area for our own ships though, so you’ll have to move it later…” Vikalos trailed off, then checked through his notes. “Alright, there is one last thing I want to go through before I have you sign these forms and be made official members of the Thantir. I have a question for you both. How do you want us to refer to you?”
Moonblade tilted his head to one side. “Do you mean, like, my name?”
Vikalos nodded. Moonblade thought to himself, but Ksar Teekay had an answer.
“Electricshadow is too cumbersome a name to use all the time. I’d like to be called Teekay on the regular, but I am fine being called Ksar Teekay, especially if Skyan Teekay is around. I suppose you could call me Ksarkay if you really need to, I don’t mind too much. Can I ask, uh, why are you asking? Is it because I have the same name as someone here?”
“We will call you Teekay then, or Ksar Teekay if we need to differentiate!” Vikalos smiled kindly. “As for your question, while yes, we do have quite a few people with the same name, we also want to make sure that you’re happy with your name. After all, you had no choice in your codename or your birth name.”
“Ah… wait…” Ksar Teekay paused. “You have multiple people with the same name?”
“Indeed. You’ll meet two of them in a moment. Tahnahos and Tanos both call themselves Tenuk, but Tanos is fine with being called either name. You get used to it pretty quickly…” Vikalos turned to Moonblade. “So, Moonblade, how do you… actually, I just realised, I don’t know what your real name is.”
Moonblade hesitated. “No one calls me by my real name. I think the only person who has asked my real name recently, outside of my changing sects, was when you destroyed the Crystal Doom’s mothership and I had a conversation with Shattershield. As far as I’m aware, my name is Fengar Selin.”
“Do you want to use that name?” Vikalos asked. “Because we will continue calling you Moonblade, if that’s what you prefer.”
Moonblade thought to himself some more. “Hm… I suppose I wouldn’t be against being called Fengar… Maybe we can try it for a bit?”
“Would you like that?”
“I think I would.”
“Well, alright then!” Vikalos beamed as he handed over two forms and two pens. “All we need now is your signatures, and we’re done. Have a read, then sign your names and codenames at the bottom.”
Ksar Teekay and Moonblade both read through the single sheet of paper, then eagerly signed their names and handed the sheets back. Vikalos removed the duplicates, placed them both into folders alongside other important documents, then gave the folders to the two new members. Vikalos then stood up and held out his hand.
“Teekay, Fengar, welcome to the Thantir, and welcome to the family.”