and some by virtue fall; Namaah/any

[Kushiel]

Kushiel, was in fact, a man with a plan. It was a new feeling, and one that would come as a shock to all who knew him. Most days, Kushiel didn’t have a plan that stretched beyond the next stupid thing that would come out of his mouth. Today was not one of those days. Today he had this plan, and it had several parts, all of which needed to be carefully tended too.

1) He needed to lull his mother into a false sense of security. This could best be accomplished by minimizing contact with her. The second she got into his head he would know her son was spinning lies. Granted, she might have been suspicious when he picked up Namaah and sprinted out of the Valley, shouting goodbye over his shoulder as he went.

2) He needed to secretly indoctrinate his sister as a Chamberling. This was best accomplished by showing her around, and displaying all the beautiful, sparkly things the Chamber had to offer. She would need to meet Straia, as the most sparkling thing of them all (aside from her brother, of course).

3) He needed to survive his mother’s wrath when the deed was done. This is where the plan got a little shaky. His most feasible idea was to hide behind Namaah, and to use her as a sort of “sister shield”. He was not particularly proud of this part of the plan. But, sacrifices must be made, and Gallows would never hurt her baby girl. Her degenerate son, on the other hand, would most likely not receive the same consideration.

All in all, things were going smoothly. He had successfully acquired Namaah, and proudly escorted her across the border. They just needed to avoid the seedier parts of the Chamber, namely Gryffen and Shaytan. It was a dubious honor, being named the Chamber’s most insane. Naturally, Kushiel didn’t place himself on this list. Whether he deserved a spot tended to change from day to day. Today, he was a responsible big brother. Yesterday he had threatened to light Shaytan up like a second sun.

Hey, you had to keep things interesting.

The big stallion stopped in from the the Chamber’s burning tree and gestured at it proudly, as if he, himself had planted it, oversaw its growth, and kept it ablaze. He grinned down at his little sister, yearning to see a look of delight on her face.

“Well? Pretty great, huh?” He had already told her about the Chamber’s tree, but words didn’t really do it justice.