Gabriel Chen (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
turnsteptwirl) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
zenderael_mmo2013-01-25 09:31 pm
turnsteptwirl) wrote in zenderael_mmo2013-01-25 09:31 pm
Entry tags:
[Gabe] - Useless
Who: Gabe (and the Mazda!)
When: Monday, June 20
Where: The World Library
Before/After: after Gabe and Allen reunite
Warnings: N/A
Rumours were going around that the Asha had returned.
The state of things in Safta was growing dire, though the public could not know it. Economics, policy, things the Khshathra had command of--things the Mazda had little experience with. And on top of that, some members of the alchemist guild, absent their leadership, had entered lucrative business deals with the rogues under Aerveas's command. They were courting war, and the Mazda would not have it.
But what could she do? She had no understanding of the fine thread that diplomacy required. Her life was lived by the sword.
The Asha had more experience in politics, if only within his own guild. (Politics in the Amber Gaze were...not equivalent to the civilian sort.) She was not sure whether to hope it would be the same Asha that had left, for his experience, or to hope it would be a new Asha, for his sanity.
Whichever the case, she came now to call upon him, dressed in her ceremonial chainmail, her black hair, streaked with white, a thick windswept mane across her shoulders. She was imposing, as always, with her piercing golden eyes and the militant way she carried herself. The mogh she ordered to retrieve the Asha for her scurried off, eager to avoid any wrath.
Fortunately, the Mazda would not have long to wait. Gabe wasn't too far, and there were only so many places he was willing to go, at least until he was capable of defending himself as a mage. He knew some of the basic theory, but putting it into action was another matter entirely, especially when he didn't have much of a frame of reference.
Any other time, Gabe supposed he might have been thrilled to meet the Mazda. On the way to see her, he might even have excitedly mentioned writing Duncan afterwards to tell him all about it. Not to try to make him jealous, of course, but more because he was sure Duncan would have appreciated it. Spellswords had always been his favorite class in Zenderael, after all. If anyone could have appreciated meeting the Mazda, it would have been him.
Still, he knew it wasn't a social call and he wasted no time in heading towards her in the direction the mage had indicated she was in. Of course, the second he laid eyes on her, he felt himself tensing up a bit. Suddenly, he felt incredibly under-dressed, even if he had finally agreed to wear the robes people had come to expect him to wear. It still felt like what he wore to a rehearsal in comparison to the armor she was dressed up in, not to mention she seemed far more intimidating up close than he could ever hope to be.
What did he say to her? What was the proper greeting for another guild leader? He hadn't expected to be thrust into a situation like this so soon! At the most, he expected that the first guild leader he'd see would be Rhys.
"If I knew you were coming, I would have put on something a little more formal," was, unfortunately, the first thing to come out of his mouth, and the minute it did, he wished he could take it back. That was probably not the right thing to say. At all. Clearing his throat, and resisting the urge to tack on anything unnecessary to what he said next, he added, "You wanted to see me?"
Argh how did he address another guild leader why did he fail so hard at this?
Ah. A different one. She was both relieved and exasperated. He seemed sane, at a glance, which was more than she could have said for his predecessor, but he also seemed antsy. Likely he was not as experienced as she would have hoped.
She gave up hope then and there for getting useful aid out of him, and decided instead that she had a responsibility to ensure that he was capable. "I did," she said, folding her arms over her tabard and the symbol of the spellsword guild that covered her chest. "You're from Earth," she guessed. "How well-prepared are you to be in this position?"
The moment she shifted, he couldn't help but feel like he was disappointing her somehow. He didn't want to be a disappointment, but at the same time, he had to wonder if he really had to worry about impressing her. She wasn't a mage, after all; they were the ones he was more concerned about right now. Even so, he, the Mazda, and the Khshathra had to control Safta, so he supposed it had to matter a little bit.
"Not very," he admitted, figuring it was better to be truthful about it than lie to her. Besides, he had the feeling if he tried, her eyes would burn straight through him. He'd just avoid confirming her suspicions as to where he was from. For all he knew, she felt the same way about Earthers that Aerveas did. "But the Asha before me wanted me to replace him, and I respected his decision." That was also probably the wrong thing to say, considering how the Asha had been towards the end, but his predecessor had some moments of lucidity. Even so, he still wasn't sure he was the best choice to be the Asha, but he had to make the best of it.
Not very. He wasn't going to be able to help at all. Just one more problem for her to take care of.
She held back a sigh, raising one hand to rub at the crease in her forehead. "His wishes should be respected," she agreed, and though she did try to sound neutral about it, some of her annoyance leaked out. "Do you have people training you? Magic, the maintenance of the Library, Saftan politics?"
Somehow, until she had said it, Gabriel hadn't quite realized just how much there actually was to being the Asha. It wasn't just about the magic, though that was important, too. There was also the Library to worry about and politics. Argh. He hated politics on Earth, and now he had to deal with that here, too. Why had he thought this was a good idea again?
"Not yet," he admitted. "I've been looking into that." Argh, why was she looking at him like that? It was almost as though she thought he was completely useless, and while that wasn't exactly untrue, to have that implied made him feel worse than he already did. "Look, I know I'm probably not what you were expecting or what you were hoping I'd be, but I'm new at this. You were, too, once. I'm doing the best I can with what little I do know."
"I didn't say anything," she replied icily, not liking how quickly he jumped to an attempt to lecture her over something she was well aware of. She wasn't holding it against him that he was green, she was holding it against Vepha that she would end up with no Khshathra and an Asha who didn't know his job.
She turned, finding the nearest mage in moghan robes, and yanked them aside. "You. Go find me whoever's been acting A'zam Mogh in the Asha's absence," she ordered. "If he bitches about it, you tell him the Mazda wants to see him."
As soon as she released him, he scurried off with a stuttered, "Yes, ma'am."
She turned back to the new Asha. "We're going to make sure you get the training you need, because we cannot afford to have anybody who doesn't know what they're doing in charge of a guild right now."
"Okay, as much as I appreciate what you're trying to do, you can't just treat people like that." Never mind that she apparently thought less of him because he was new. He was used to that. He could even deal with her thinking he was useless to an extent, but his mages (strange, he thought, that he was already thinking of them as "his" mages) were another matter entirely. "There's a way to ask for things that doesn't involve manhandling them or intimidating them. This is a library, not a military base."
"I admire that you can put your foot down with fellow authoritarians," she said, facing him with one hand idly resting on the hilt of her longsword, "but working this out in a timely manner is more important to me than being gentle with your moghan. You've no idea the scope of the trouble that Safta now faces, have you?"
"Let's see..." He didn't know the extent of the problems, no, but he had a general idea of some of them, at least. "The Khshathra's still missing. She's most likely on Earth, by the way. Most of us seem to wind up there sooner or later." He wouldn't, most likely, unless he was probably about to die again. The Mazda might, and that wasn't something he was looking forward to, especially since he didn't know what he was doing. It really was a little disturbing, though, how they only came there when they were going to die. Did that mean something, or was it just a coincidence?
"Since King Aerveas invaded Everea, there's a distinct possibility he might turn his attention here next," he continued, frowning. "Logically, we'd be a decent target, considering one guild leader is still absent, I'm painfully inexperienced, which is something he'll most likely find out sooner rather than later, and you might be the next one who winds up going to Earth. If you did, he'd definitely consider us prime real estate or completely disorganized or what have you. Either way, he might try to move in here, too."
He paused, giving her a little smile. Not a smug one, but the smile of someone who was genuinely hopeful that they had gotten something right at the very least. "How was that for a start?"
"I'm aware," she said, to the news that the Khshathra was probably on Earth. And she was also aware that somebody would likely try to kill her and send her there, too, but she didn't mention it.
She listened, finding his understanding of the situation lacking, but satisfactory. He hadn't been holed up here completely unaware of the goings-on outside the library at least. She softened, but not much, because the Mazda was not and had never been a soft person. "It's a start," she conceded. "Are you also aware that the rogue's guild is aiding Aerveas, and the alchemist's guild has always enjoyed a lucrative partnership with them?"
"Yeah, I knew about all of that." Being a former player of a rogue, of course, he had to wonder if his own had been involved in the whole thing. Nayan hadn't said anything, but he had, admittedly, been trying to give Nayan his space. Still, it seemed like he had to have another talk with him, and he made a mental note to send dragon mail to Nayan later. "The alchemist partnership with the rogues has been going on forever, though. People don't talk about it, but as far as I know, it's always been a thing that's happening." Had the Mazda not known? That made things a bit awkward.
Wait, did saying that turn this into a ridiculously meta conversation? Not that there was an IC/OOC divide he had to worry about any more, but still. It felt awkward.
He considered for a moment before asking, "Do we know if the alchemists still supplying Aerveas' rogues? Because that would definitely be a problem."
Of course she'd known. It just hadn't been an issue until this war had broken out. She looked unimpressed with his ability to regurgitate information while assuming she wasn't aware of it. Her arms folded again, her golden eyes narrowed.
"They are," she said, and her tone served to indicate that this was the entire point behind her bringing it up in the first place. "And without the Khshathra here to command them to stop, my own command carries little weight for those most dedicated to their business."
"Yeah, alchemists are kind of like that."
And now he was regretting not talking to Harriet before he left. They could really use her here now.
"Let me see what I can do in terms of finding her." Never mind that he knew exactly where she was. The Mazda didn't really need to know that part, at least not yet. "We might not be able to bring her here, but maybe something in her handwriting would be enough, and if they keep doing it, maybe the threat from her of losing their powers as a guild member would be a decent incentive." He wasn't sure if the alchemists had a way of doing that, mind, but maybe they didn't know that, either.
"It would be appreciated." She had her doubts, but anything with the Khshathra's signature would carry more authority than she did.
The acting A'zam Mogh that she'd requested arrived then, the mage handling the Library's administrative work and daily operation in the absence--and now ignorance--of the Asha.
The person who walked through the door, however, was not one Gabe immediately recognized. He had seen her once or twice, of course, but somehow he had never really interacted with her for an extended period of time. Looking at her now, he remembered why. The mage in question, named Beatrice if he remembered correctly, seemed even more stern-looking than the Mazda did, though he suspected it had something to do with those glasses she wore. How was it that something that simple could make a person that much more intimidating?
"Mazda," she said, bowing politely to the other woman before turning her attention to Gabe, staring at him through those glasses of hers in a way that felt like she was burning into his soul. "I take it you're the reason I'm here. It certainly took you long enough."
"I would have done it on my own eventually," he protested, stubbornly looking away. In all honesty, he would rather the one to teach him be Reilanin, if only because he was used to her now, but considering she seemed determined to avoid him, he supposed he didn't have a choice in the matter.
He could almost sense her rolling her eyes as she turned her attention back towards the Mazda. "Don't worry, ma'am. I'll make certain he knows everything he'll need to know to be useful."
The Mazda bowed her head to acknowledge the mage's full bow. "Good," she said, short and clipped. She wanted to demand why this hadn't been handled before she'd come calling, why he'd been permitted to wait until he got around to it on his own, but that would change nothing and waste time. Best to concentrate on fixing the mess.
"Give him a tutor for every school of magic, one for Saftan law and procedure, and one for administration of the Library," she ordered, just the same as she'd order one of her Ambereyes. It may have seemed harsh to someone unaccustomed to military life, but to her it was simply businesslike and professional, and to any Ambereye it would have been the same.
She glanced at him--this boy, this inexperienced, soft, defensive boy--and thought he'd never make it far if he stayed that way. "And, Asha, if it please you, I would like to tutor you in the process of running a guild."
Even as Beatrice nodded, bowed, and disappeared to immediately make arrangements, Gabe couldn't help but stare at the Mazda in surprise. It wasn't the tutors for everything else that surprised him, honestly. He had resigned himself to that fact. It was her desire to teach him how to run a guild that surprised him. She wanted to... No. First of all, he couldn't do that to her. She had a guild to run. Since she was only one who actually knew what she was doing, he didn't think she could take the time to be distracted by teaching him anything. For another, she kind of scared him. He wasn't sure he could handle her staring at him like that all the time.
"Mazda," he began, trying to figure out how to phrase his response in a way that still sounded diplomatic, but also carried a certain degree of 'hell no' with it, "with all due respect, you and I are completely different people. I'm not sure I'd be best suited for your style of leadership."
She turned to face him, firm and unyielding. "Who else is there to teach you?" It wasn't a question. She was pointing out the flaw in his reasoning.
"Do not think that I intend to teach you how to lead an army. I intend to teach you how to lead people. The qualities of leadership remain the same, but how you choose to implement them will determine your style of leadership."
There was a protest on his lips, a moment where he was determined to tell her that he did, in fact, know other guild leaders. It died, however, before he could say anything. Rhys was his friend, yes, but he had other things to worry about, especially if the berserkers will still helping the paladins. He could ask Rhys questions, he supposed, but he couldn't ask Rhys to take time away from a very real problem he was dealing with just to help him. That would be the epitome of selfishness, wouldn't it?
He sighed, raising a hand to run it through his hair. "All right, but only if it doesn't take you away from your duties too much. I don't want to be the reason why you can't get things done."
You already are, she thought, but did not say it aloud.
"Report to my office at Ambereye HQ tomorrow morning, 10 AM." A pause, a level stare. "If it please you, Asha."
"I'll be there," he assured her, giving her a little smile. "Don't worry, though. I'm a fast learner." He was when it came to dance, anyway. He wasn't quite as certain about all this magic and politics and whatever else.
Maybe he just wouldn't tell her that part.
"I'll be up to speed before you know it." Some of it might go completely over his head, he was sure. However, he had motivation now, and that was to make certain she never looked at him like he was useless ever again.
When: Monday, June 20
Where: The World Library
Before/After: after Gabe and Allen reunite
Warnings: N/A
Rumours were going around that the Asha had returned.
The state of things in Safta was growing dire, though the public could not know it. Economics, policy, things the Khshathra had command of--things the Mazda had little experience with. And on top of that, some members of the alchemist guild, absent their leadership, had entered lucrative business deals with the rogues under Aerveas's command. They were courting war, and the Mazda would not have it.
But what could she do? She had no understanding of the fine thread that diplomacy required. Her life was lived by the sword.
The Asha had more experience in politics, if only within his own guild. (Politics in the Amber Gaze were...not equivalent to the civilian sort.) She was not sure whether to hope it would be the same Asha that had left, for his experience, or to hope it would be a new Asha, for his sanity.
Whichever the case, she came now to call upon him, dressed in her ceremonial chainmail, her black hair, streaked with white, a thick windswept mane across her shoulders. She was imposing, as always, with her piercing golden eyes and the militant way she carried herself. The mogh she ordered to retrieve the Asha for her scurried off, eager to avoid any wrath.
Fortunately, the Mazda would not have long to wait. Gabe wasn't too far, and there were only so many places he was willing to go, at least until he was capable of defending himself as a mage. He knew some of the basic theory, but putting it into action was another matter entirely, especially when he didn't have much of a frame of reference.
Any other time, Gabe supposed he might have been thrilled to meet the Mazda. On the way to see her, he might even have excitedly mentioned writing Duncan afterwards to tell him all about it. Not to try to make him jealous, of course, but more because he was sure Duncan would have appreciated it. Spellswords had always been his favorite class in Zenderael, after all. If anyone could have appreciated meeting the Mazda, it would have been him.
Still, he knew it wasn't a social call and he wasted no time in heading towards her in the direction the mage had indicated she was in. Of course, the second he laid eyes on her, he felt himself tensing up a bit. Suddenly, he felt incredibly under-dressed, even if he had finally agreed to wear the robes people had come to expect him to wear. It still felt like what he wore to a rehearsal in comparison to the armor she was dressed up in, not to mention she seemed far more intimidating up close than he could ever hope to be.
What did he say to her? What was the proper greeting for another guild leader? He hadn't expected to be thrust into a situation like this so soon! At the most, he expected that the first guild leader he'd see would be Rhys.
"If I knew you were coming, I would have put on something a little more formal," was, unfortunately, the first thing to come out of his mouth, and the minute it did, he wished he could take it back. That was probably not the right thing to say. At all. Clearing his throat, and resisting the urge to tack on anything unnecessary to what he said next, he added, "You wanted to see me?"
Argh how did he address another guild leader why did he fail so hard at this?
Ah. A different one. She was both relieved and exasperated. He seemed sane, at a glance, which was more than she could have said for his predecessor, but he also seemed antsy. Likely he was not as experienced as she would have hoped.
She gave up hope then and there for getting useful aid out of him, and decided instead that she had a responsibility to ensure that he was capable. "I did," she said, folding her arms over her tabard and the symbol of the spellsword guild that covered her chest. "You're from Earth," she guessed. "How well-prepared are you to be in this position?"
The moment she shifted, he couldn't help but feel like he was disappointing her somehow. He didn't want to be a disappointment, but at the same time, he had to wonder if he really had to worry about impressing her. She wasn't a mage, after all; they were the ones he was more concerned about right now. Even so, he, the Mazda, and the Khshathra had to control Safta, so he supposed it had to matter a little bit.
"Not very," he admitted, figuring it was better to be truthful about it than lie to her. Besides, he had the feeling if he tried, her eyes would burn straight through him. He'd just avoid confirming her suspicions as to where he was from. For all he knew, she felt the same way about Earthers that Aerveas did. "But the Asha before me wanted me to replace him, and I respected his decision." That was also probably the wrong thing to say, considering how the Asha had been towards the end, but his predecessor had some moments of lucidity. Even so, he still wasn't sure he was the best choice to be the Asha, but he had to make the best of it.
Not very. He wasn't going to be able to help at all. Just one more problem for her to take care of.
She held back a sigh, raising one hand to rub at the crease in her forehead. "His wishes should be respected," she agreed, and though she did try to sound neutral about it, some of her annoyance leaked out. "Do you have people training you? Magic, the maintenance of the Library, Saftan politics?"
Somehow, until she had said it, Gabriel hadn't quite realized just how much there actually was to being the Asha. It wasn't just about the magic, though that was important, too. There was also the Library to worry about and politics. Argh. He hated politics on Earth, and now he had to deal with that here, too. Why had he thought this was a good idea again?
"Not yet," he admitted. "I've been looking into that." Argh, why was she looking at him like that? It was almost as though she thought he was completely useless, and while that wasn't exactly untrue, to have that implied made him feel worse than he already did. "Look, I know I'm probably not what you were expecting or what you were hoping I'd be, but I'm new at this. You were, too, once. I'm doing the best I can with what little I do know."
"I didn't say anything," she replied icily, not liking how quickly he jumped to an attempt to lecture her over something she was well aware of. She wasn't holding it against him that he was green, she was holding it against Vepha that she would end up with no Khshathra and an Asha who didn't know his job.
She turned, finding the nearest mage in moghan robes, and yanked them aside. "You. Go find me whoever's been acting A'zam Mogh in the Asha's absence," she ordered. "If he bitches about it, you tell him the Mazda wants to see him."
As soon as she released him, he scurried off with a stuttered, "Yes, ma'am."
She turned back to the new Asha. "We're going to make sure you get the training you need, because we cannot afford to have anybody who doesn't know what they're doing in charge of a guild right now."
"Okay, as much as I appreciate what you're trying to do, you can't just treat people like that." Never mind that she apparently thought less of him because he was new. He was used to that. He could even deal with her thinking he was useless to an extent, but his mages (strange, he thought, that he was already thinking of them as "his" mages) were another matter entirely. "There's a way to ask for things that doesn't involve manhandling them or intimidating them. This is a library, not a military base."
"I admire that you can put your foot down with fellow authoritarians," she said, facing him with one hand idly resting on the hilt of her longsword, "but working this out in a timely manner is more important to me than being gentle with your moghan. You've no idea the scope of the trouble that Safta now faces, have you?"
"Let's see..." He didn't know the extent of the problems, no, but he had a general idea of some of them, at least. "The Khshathra's still missing. She's most likely on Earth, by the way. Most of us seem to wind up there sooner or later." He wouldn't, most likely, unless he was probably about to die again. The Mazda might, and that wasn't something he was looking forward to, especially since he didn't know what he was doing. It really was a little disturbing, though, how they only came there when they were going to die. Did that mean something, or was it just a coincidence?
"Since King Aerveas invaded Everea, there's a distinct possibility he might turn his attention here next," he continued, frowning. "Logically, we'd be a decent target, considering one guild leader is still absent, I'm painfully inexperienced, which is something he'll most likely find out sooner rather than later, and you might be the next one who winds up going to Earth. If you did, he'd definitely consider us prime real estate or completely disorganized or what have you. Either way, he might try to move in here, too."
He paused, giving her a little smile. Not a smug one, but the smile of someone who was genuinely hopeful that they had gotten something right at the very least. "How was that for a start?"
"I'm aware," she said, to the news that the Khshathra was probably on Earth. And she was also aware that somebody would likely try to kill her and send her there, too, but she didn't mention it.
She listened, finding his understanding of the situation lacking, but satisfactory. He hadn't been holed up here completely unaware of the goings-on outside the library at least. She softened, but not much, because the Mazda was not and had never been a soft person. "It's a start," she conceded. "Are you also aware that the rogue's guild is aiding Aerveas, and the alchemist's guild has always enjoyed a lucrative partnership with them?"
"Yeah, I knew about all of that." Being a former player of a rogue, of course, he had to wonder if his own had been involved in the whole thing. Nayan hadn't said anything, but he had, admittedly, been trying to give Nayan his space. Still, it seemed like he had to have another talk with him, and he made a mental note to send dragon mail to Nayan later. "The alchemist partnership with the rogues has been going on forever, though. People don't talk about it, but as far as I know, it's always been a thing that's happening." Had the Mazda not known? That made things a bit awkward.
Wait, did saying that turn this into a ridiculously meta conversation? Not that there was an IC/OOC divide he had to worry about any more, but still. It felt awkward.
He considered for a moment before asking, "Do we know if the alchemists still supplying Aerveas' rogues? Because that would definitely be a problem."
Of course she'd known. It just hadn't been an issue until this war had broken out. She looked unimpressed with his ability to regurgitate information while assuming she wasn't aware of it. Her arms folded again, her golden eyes narrowed.
"They are," she said, and her tone served to indicate that this was the entire point behind her bringing it up in the first place. "And without the Khshathra here to command them to stop, my own command carries little weight for those most dedicated to their business."
"Yeah, alchemists are kind of like that."
And now he was regretting not talking to Harriet before he left. They could really use her here now.
"Let me see what I can do in terms of finding her." Never mind that he knew exactly where she was. The Mazda didn't really need to know that part, at least not yet. "We might not be able to bring her here, but maybe something in her handwriting would be enough, and if they keep doing it, maybe the threat from her of losing their powers as a guild member would be a decent incentive." He wasn't sure if the alchemists had a way of doing that, mind, but maybe they didn't know that, either.
"It would be appreciated." She had her doubts, but anything with the Khshathra's signature would carry more authority than she did.
The acting A'zam Mogh that she'd requested arrived then, the mage handling the Library's administrative work and daily operation in the absence--and now ignorance--of the Asha.
The person who walked through the door, however, was not one Gabe immediately recognized. He had seen her once or twice, of course, but somehow he had never really interacted with her for an extended period of time. Looking at her now, he remembered why. The mage in question, named Beatrice if he remembered correctly, seemed even more stern-looking than the Mazda did, though he suspected it had something to do with those glasses she wore. How was it that something that simple could make a person that much more intimidating?
"Mazda," she said, bowing politely to the other woman before turning her attention to Gabe, staring at him through those glasses of hers in a way that felt like she was burning into his soul. "I take it you're the reason I'm here. It certainly took you long enough."
"I would have done it on my own eventually," he protested, stubbornly looking away. In all honesty, he would rather the one to teach him be Reilanin, if only because he was used to her now, but considering she seemed determined to avoid him, he supposed he didn't have a choice in the matter.
He could almost sense her rolling her eyes as she turned her attention back towards the Mazda. "Don't worry, ma'am. I'll make certain he knows everything he'll need to know to be useful."
The Mazda bowed her head to acknowledge the mage's full bow. "Good," she said, short and clipped. She wanted to demand why this hadn't been handled before she'd come calling, why he'd been permitted to wait until he got around to it on his own, but that would change nothing and waste time. Best to concentrate on fixing the mess.
"Give him a tutor for every school of magic, one for Saftan law and procedure, and one for administration of the Library," she ordered, just the same as she'd order one of her Ambereyes. It may have seemed harsh to someone unaccustomed to military life, but to her it was simply businesslike and professional, and to any Ambereye it would have been the same.
She glanced at him--this boy, this inexperienced, soft, defensive boy--and thought he'd never make it far if he stayed that way. "And, Asha, if it please you, I would like to tutor you in the process of running a guild."
Even as Beatrice nodded, bowed, and disappeared to immediately make arrangements, Gabe couldn't help but stare at the Mazda in surprise. It wasn't the tutors for everything else that surprised him, honestly. He had resigned himself to that fact. It was her desire to teach him how to run a guild that surprised him. She wanted to... No. First of all, he couldn't do that to her. She had a guild to run. Since she was only one who actually knew what she was doing, he didn't think she could take the time to be distracted by teaching him anything. For another, she kind of scared him. He wasn't sure he could handle her staring at him like that all the time.
"Mazda," he began, trying to figure out how to phrase his response in a way that still sounded diplomatic, but also carried a certain degree of 'hell no' with it, "with all due respect, you and I are completely different people. I'm not sure I'd be best suited for your style of leadership."
She turned to face him, firm and unyielding. "Who else is there to teach you?" It wasn't a question. She was pointing out the flaw in his reasoning.
"Do not think that I intend to teach you how to lead an army. I intend to teach you how to lead people. The qualities of leadership remain the same, but how you choose to implement them will determine your style of leadership."
There was a protest on his lips, a moment where he was determined to tell her that he did, in fact, know other guild leaders. It died, however, before he could say anything. Rhys was his friend, yes, but he had other things to worry about, especially if the berserkers will still helping the paladins. He could ask Rhys questions, he supposed, but he couldn't ask Rhys to take time away from a very real problem he was dealing with just to help him. That would be the epitome of selfishness, wouldn't it?
He sighed, raising a hand to run it through his hair. "All right, but only if it doesn't take you away from your duties too much. I don't want to be the reason why you can't get things done."
You already are, she thought, but did not say it aloud.
"Report to my office at Ambereye HQ tomorrow morning, 10 AM." A pause, a level stare. "If it please you, Asha."
"I'll be there," he assured her, giving her a little smile. "Don't worry, though. I'm a fast learner." He was when it came to dance, anyway. He wasn't quite as certain about all this magic and politics and whatever else.
Maybe he just wouldn't tell her that part.
"I'll be up to speed before you know it." Some of it might go completely over his head, he was sure. However, he had motivation now, and that was to make certain she never looked at him like he was useless ever again.