ORIGIN

Okay, that-... Being hatched near someone did not make one their child, but Vargas had neither the time nor the patience to explain this. Surely the creature knew that? Or was he just being poetic..?

"That does not mean you are his son,; are you Aquarian's creation or are you not?" He wasn't sure what he meant by "our ally" but he'd get to that soon enough. "An Overseer enforces the will of the Masters, administers trials and tests, hunts down rebels, rewards the loyal..." Vargas gestured vaguely with one hand. He was getting rather sick of having to explain this over and over again, and his anger at it being somehow unknown in this era had mostly, by now, given way to exasperation.

"I came because I have heard that you live in Cetus. This was, in my time, unheard of. Why do you choose to dwell here? How are you safe; how is Aquarian your ally?" Unless the old serpent had grown lazy, and actually spawned a bunch of smaller children to do his work for him?

"I believe so," Dragon answered. "I once held hopes that i would grow as large as he has, but..." he trailed off, looking sideways at his own body with a twist of a grin on his reptilian face. Of course, that was always there.

Vargas's answer had him keenly interested at once. He knew two things: one, Vargas might be extremely dangerous to what he had tried to accomplish here. And two, he might be a good source of information, himself--if Dragon was careful about it. "Ahhh; I have never met an Overseer. Have you just emerged? Are there more of you?" he asked. "Bar what tests they give themselves, I have heard of only one trial, and that was Hydra." Enforces the will of the masters... rewards the loyal... what if he already knows? What if he knows we distrust them; that we hide knowledge from them?

Dragon pushed this thought away, not the least of which because he had no idea if Vargas could read his mind the way some could. Instead, he considered Vargas's question, and his grin actually twisted a little wider. There are things he doesn't know, then.

"I will tell you." He settled himself in the muck, staring up with a glint in his dark eyes. "When many of us began to awaken, your Masters broke amongst themselves. They have not told you this-?" He wasn't sure how true it was, but he remembered enough, and he eyed Vargas sidelong, trying to gauge any reaction. It wasn't easy, given its rigid face, as rough as his, but it seemed to narrow its eyes, at least. That was something. "Nemean betrayed Aquarian, or so he says. We do not know; they do not show themselves often enough to be of much concern to us, or us to them, I suppose. Our father is... displeased; he is the one that we serve, here."

Dragon wasn't sure that trying to pit the masters against one another was a good idea, or if it would ever work. It wasn't his intent, regardless. It was more that if some of these Masters heard that the ones in Cetus thought themselves to be 'serving' a wayward Master, they'd be less inclined to bother with them. Better a reclusive cult to a hibernating sea serpent than a bunch of stewing information-gatherers plotting a potential rebellion. "We bring our father food, as a sign of our respect for him. We rarely leave this cave. The others... I do not know. We are insular, here. Does this answer your questions?"

"There were more of us, of course; I have not yet spoken with them." A reluctant way of avoiding admitting that he had no idea.

At Dragon's claim that the Masters had split apart, his eyes indeed narrowed. It wasn't that it was unprecedented, it was just-... Aquarian and Nemean? A second break-? Vaguely, he remembered Astraea's soft question to the fairy--"Are you still opposed to working with Aquarian?" He hrmphed, relaxing some; far more likely that the sprite had done something dramatic, and Aquarian, equally a diva, was sulking in his waters.

He had half a mind to warn Dragon not to get caught up in their drama, but it wasn't his place to do so--and anyway, it might be amusing. But why gather Gembound to him-? "What does he ask you to do? How many of there are you?" Vargas demanded. Could he be planning some sort of takeover? Creating his own army in Cetus, perhaps?

Dragon laughed, good-naturedly. It was half real, and half knowledge that worries had to immediately be assuaged. "He eats what we bring him; and he sleeps. At times, he has screamed at us. In return, we call him our ally. That is all." This had a little too truthful a ring to it, a sour note that reminded Dragon yet again of Aquarian's refusal to join the battle against Raheerah.

He pushed this aside, and grunted. "There are not that many of us living here. I do not think him to be interested enough to have any plans for us, if you fear on our behalf." If you fear what he might do with us. The Overseer's worries were plain enough. "We survive; that is all we wish to do. To live on, separate, and in peace." Until you choose to break it.

Vargas listened, thought, and at length, he gave a grunt.

As far as mollifying Overseers went, Dragon had a silver tongue. Aquarian was known for his dramatic nature, his flailing and his screeching. Undoubtedly he'd had a lover's spat with Nemean, and they were angry with one another--for now. That might offer more hunting opportunities for me,Vargas thought, hopefully. Though the way things are now...

Regardless, it seemed that the serpent had simply adopted some of these strange creatures, and tolerated their presence in exchange for food. Vargas, knowing how hungry and how indifferently lazy Aquarian could be, believed it. And it was truth, really. He couldn't know that, but it was; Dragon lied only about his own intentions, and he had not at all mentioned the Children of Rot.

No; there seemed to be nothing to worry about, here. His own magic had picked up no more than a couple dozen of them, certainly no army, unless somehow they had masked themselves. He'd go have a stalk through the swamp, regardless, and see what else he'd see.

<"That will do," he said, at length, and turned to stalk off through the marsh.

Dragon watched him go, and his mind was quickly at work. He wished, more than ever, that he had a familiar--one to send off, to search the caves for news on 'overseers' and 'trials.' For now, he felt that a crisis had been averted--but this was most definitely a sign.

They had to step up their pace; they had to move fast. He debated trying to waken Aquarian, to speak with him--to ask him of their fates should the other Masters turn on them. But it was best, he decided, to plan for both eventualities, for now--to have one plan in place with Aquarian as their ally, and one without. Things might suddenly change, and they might need one or the other, instead.

"Damn," he muttered, and his tone was grim and quiet, not at all the bold cheerfulness he'd presented to Vargas. Could they--could all of them--even stand up to that one, single Overseer-? Perhaps with preparation, with an ambush; but in an outright battle, he wasn't so sure.

It certainly wasn't something to bank on.

Vargas didn't know it, but he'd given Dragon more information than he'd really left with. And Dragon, worried, just wondered what the hell he could do about it.

I need to find out if other Overseers are awakening. What this means. If the caves will change-... and then what we can do about it. Again, his distant worry that Aquarian's promise of "live long enough, and learn the truth" hadn't been an encouragement to seek knowledge, but a warning of things to come, began to surface. And now, it was not seeming so far-fetched.