Call of the Athar, Quakes of the City.

[*DM_Duke]

It was a peaceful day in the City of Doors. Though never quiet and never truley at peace, today, was a good day, a day of prosperity as the time of The Shadowsworn and their reign passed to be replaced by other... more ambitious cutters high and low.

The Hive had seen more growing activity latley, between faction members of all groups as the place had become a swarm for recruitment amoung the factions. There was talk that one faction was begining to stand out amoung the others, The Athar.

Atop a podium where a small gathering of cutters had rallied below, a single Athar woman stood with a robe and hood covering her appearence. She had a sharptoothed grin and the look of a humanoid, but her extremely pale, almost decaying skin and blood red eyes said otherwise of her.

The Factotum standing atop the podium was guarded by two equally robed and hooded figures, armoured to the teeth. They even wore helmets under hooded cowls. All three figures stood wearing a strong greenish turqoise attire. A silvery finery upon its secondary decoration.

"Cutters, Berks, Barmies everywhere lend me your ears..." the womans gentle and serene voice carried across the crowd gathering in a literally hypnotic manner their minds dulled by her words, they stood there like a mass of fools.

"The Shadowsworn tyrany might be over, granted, if you've 'alf a brain to believe that nonsense even happened. I know I know, everyone claimed it, but wheres the real proof? You know, proof, is much like the gods. Wheres the proof in all that then, 'ey? Where were they when we needed 'em most, when the city was attacked by foreign powers. Where was the lady, when you needed 'er most, Sigil?"

Superstitious cutters and bashered chattered amoung each other sceptically. Such talk was dangerous, very dangerous and daring. What right minded addle-coved berk would even consider trying to downtalk the lady?

Then again, this was the Athar.

The woman continued to speak: "I tell you where Sigil, nowhere. Thats right, you Paladins give me the eye, you Clerics look at me in frustration but you know it, I know it. Theres no gods to be found here, no "salvation" in looking to some higher power."

The confusion was turned to intregue as the crowd stood there, listening, wanting to know more...

She delivered it flawlessly, a tactical speaker, she knew how to appeal to her audience: "Each and every one of you is your own pillar. You stand now on the opportunity for change, reform, potential. Us Athar stand with you, support you, we have need of "you" to help us make that difference. But we cant do it without your support..." her tone guile, yet so carefully practiced.

"I know what your thinking cutters... I know, but the truth is, we cant make things right for ourselves if we dont make a stand to put our voice through. The Gods are powerless here and the lady? She aint gonna pester us as long as we dont get on her bad side. So come on, throw in your chiv, bring out the basher inside you. Join me! Cutters! Were gonna make these god-driven fools listen closley, to what "we" have to day about it!"

The crowd was rallied and larger. Uncomfortably so for the Harmonium patrolls here. They kept a close watch of events, but did nothing for now, passing through the alleys and monitoring the growing crowd with caution. Hardheads couldnt act here, the Xaosmen would have a field day nitpicking them, and their recent intervention against the Mercykillers in pacifying them would only make them loose face.

They were forced to watch the fire of discord grow, as The Athar Factotum won the people over like gullible peons to a mistress.
When it was over... there were alot of new Athar showing up in Sigil. Chant on the street is that the nameless Factotum who made her brief appearence in the Hive is far from done with this place...

But that wasnt the biggest bother of the people.

Her speech came to an abrupt end when the entire city felt a tremor. From the Hive to the Ladies Ward to the very Barracks, for a second, everyone felt a small rumble wash through the cities vast cobblestones.

There was no obvious sign of where it came from, no traceable path that symbolised a rational observation...

But there was chant that the Mercykillers were riled in panic about something...

Only the Lady herself could possibly know what in the nine hells caused that rumbling. But for a second, the city shook, leaving cutters and bashers across it spooked.

Was this a sign of things to come?

...Only time, will tell.

[*Azulfae]

*From the crowd a big half-orc surrounded by other orcs occasionally points and waves to the factotum throughout the speech licking his index finger and drawing a line down over his right nipple area then mouthing something very smutty and wrong.

Maybe the gods hadn't been there for the city, not that they could have been, but a few servants of a few gods had been and some were not easy to ignore the presence of, or to forget.*

[*Chevette]

Vorgazelle stood amid the crowd of orcs, grinning lecherously at a few of them - Vorgazar included of course. She winked and grinned as the huge half-orc Warchief made his "statement". But then the rumbling happened and she grunted, frowned, and looked around.

"Whut da fook was dat?" She growled.

[*Azulfae]

"It wuzn't me!"