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Lord Vaako ([info]lord_vaako) wrote in [info]mirage_rpg,
@ 2008-07-26 16:49:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Entry tags:complete, day 9, lord vaako, severus snape

Who: Vaako and Snape
What: Trapped inside for the storm! Not that Vaako minds.
When: Early Afternoon
Where: Library
Rating: PG
Status: Complete



It had been an uncomfortable night, to say the least. Sure, he knew logically that Riddick couldn't kill him, but his face was still swollen and sore from where the other man had pounded the hell out of him. It was one thing to know something logically, anyway, and quite another to fully believe it. It was hard to sleep when you knew that the men in the bed a few small feet away would kill you, if he was able to.

Finally, he'd given up, and arisen from his bed. He'd found little rest there that night, but that was okay. Truth be told, he'd found something that aroused his interest far more than sleep did. Being a Necromonger meant that he had had little time for one thing that he truly loved. Now, since he was a commander without an army to lead, he suddenly had much more time to himself. Especially since his Lord Marshal didn't want to speak with him, let alone give him orders.

Well, if he was really free to do what he wanted, he would go back to what he had done for the majority of yesterday. It was before dawn, he could sense that as he rose and made his careful way to the bathroom. This constant dark Riddick kept their room in was going to cause him to hurt himself, he was certain of that. But it didn't happen this time, and soon he was ready to leave the room. He'd noticed, in the bathroom mirror, that the swelling in his face had gone down a little. Of course, just the sight of his bruised face reminded him of the danger he was in, and he put on his heavy plate armor and picked up his axe. Old habits die hard, after all. He noticed a sort of eerie calm about the place as he left, but thought nothing of it.

Back to the library, feeling somewhat guilty, he hurried. It was like he still felt he had to hide this, because who among the Necromonger armies would understand his love of reading? It still hadn't fully sunk in that he didn't have to be scared, that he could openly do whatever he wanted. Silently, despite his heavy armor, he slid through the library doors and made straight for the chair he'd been in for most of the previous day.

He made an odd sight, the man in the armor with the weapon close at hand, sitting comfortably in a chair. It got even stranger when he reached out and picked up a book, the same one he'd been lost in yesterday. It was an incongruous sight, the warrior reading, but there was no one to see. And if someone came in, well, he had nothing to be ashamed of, did he? He wasn't breaking any rules. No matter what it felt like.


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[info]severelyseverus
2008-07-30 09:21 am UTC (link)
Snape observed all of the warrior's responses, both verbal and non-verbal, with great interest. He found it fascinating, the way he moved from an information gathering mode, to an almost interrogational mode. Snape refused to be intimidated, but was not offended. The man was military. He probably couldn't help it.

"Well, I should think the multiplicity of habitable worlds should be obvious to anyone on Mirage, even if it hadn't occurred to them before, if they're paying attention. My home planet of Earth orbits a star we call the Sun, though it has many names among us. I have no idea how big our planet is compared to others, I'm afraid. Not my area of expertise."

Snape flinched a little at the man's follow-up question on Muggles. Had he given himself away with his tone of voice? He'd have to watch that.

"Yes, among many magical folk, Muggles are considered ignorant and inferior. Of course, they are, when it comes to magic. One cannot doubt, however, that they are every bit our equal when it comes to common human values and weaknesses."

Finally, the man had given his name! Of course, now Snape had to give his. Oh well, it had really been inevitable.

"A pleasure, First Commander. My name is Severus Snape. Tell me: Necromonger? In what way, may I ask, do you 'sell death'?"

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[info]lord_vaako
2008-07-30 11:42 am UTC (link)
He listened thoughtfully to the other man's responses, and it came to his attention that he was most definately speaking to a highly intelligant man. This should have made him nervous, since keen intellect wasn't a trait the Necro army prized greatly, but instead, it thrilled him. Was it possible that he could say things to him, have a real conversation, without looking at him skeptically and wondering if he was going to turn in him for thinking too much? In a place ruled by a tyrant, it can be very dangerous to think too much, or talk. One small comment could, if taken wrong, get you killed.

"It is so strange that I have never heard of this 'Earth', nor the star it orbits. Obviously, it supports life, since you hail from there. I would have thought that we would have charted a course there already so that we could..."

He shook his head, realizing that he couldn't really be completely open with this man. For one thing, he certainly couldn't tell him that, if his army had come to his home planet, they would have been forced to convert, or have been killed. It was the Necromonger way.

"A pleasure, Severus Snape." Oh, damn it! That intelligence could be a bad thing, too. But long habit would not allow him to lie about his religion. He wasn't even sure why he was tempted to do so. If it was truth, it was truth. "We don't sell death, exactly. You see, the 'Verse I'm from is polluted..." The words that he'd said so many times should have rolled off his tongue, but they didn't. He frowned and tried again. "....Must be purified...."

Finally, he sighed and rubbed his temples. He had a headache, and though the pain was more like pressure than an actual painful sensation, it was still vaguely uncomfortable. He thought for a long time before shrugging.

"It all seems different here."

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[info]severelyseverus
2008-07-31 01:06 am UTC (link)
Snape narrowed his eyes as he listened to Vaako's explanations, trying to piece together what he was saying. It sounded as though his people had interstellar ambitions to purify a polluted place. Was he saying their home-world was polluted? Snape could sense where death might be associated with those themes, but only in general terms. He was no closer to understanding the Necromonger name.

"I understand what you mean, Lord Vaako. It must be jarring to have been ripped from your previous context, to be separated from your army, from your role, from your clear and ever-present purpose. Now what is your mission, what your objective?

You see, sir, I understand because I am in a similar situation. I had a role, a purpose, a fate, in a destiny larger than myself, and I too was torn from it with no opportunity for reconnection."

He stepped closer to the warrior, standing over him.

"But there is opportunity here, too. We are free, Lord Vaako, free of those responsibilities, those ties that restricted us." He bent closer. "We can have whatever we want here. We can be whoever we want here." Snape displayed a most unnatural grin.

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[info]lord_vaako
2008-07-31 01:25 am UTC (link)
He frowned, knowing that the dark man wouldn't leave it as it was. All of a sudden, he decided to be perfectly honest. He had enjoyed this conversation with the enigmatic Severus Snape, but he was a little confused by his lack of ability to just talk about his religion, what should have been his whole life. He'd never had that problem before.

"My religion believes that life is a taint on the 'Verse, and that the only way to achieve true happiness in the afterlife is to kill everyone, or convert them. I was converted. My family was killed."

Despite the words he was speaking, he kept his face, and voice, impassive. He didn't expect sympathy, nor did he feel sorry for himself. He simply was stating a series of facts. Strange, though, how he didn't say that he believed these things, just that it was his religion. A small thing, perhaps, but major for him.

"You had a fate? What was it that you were torn away from? Was it anything like sweeping across the 'Verse, killing and destroying? That was my fate, and I was... I would still be, if I was there... I was good at what I did."

He lowered his gaze when Snape walked over to him, frowing slightly. It had never occured to him before that he could just put his past away, like it was a toy he didn't need anymore. His fingers rose to the side of his neck, and he shook his head. Who was he kidding? He'd been purified.

"Perhaps, for you, that is fortunate. As for me, I think I will never be anything but a Necromonger commander. You see, my Lord Marshal is here..."

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[info]severelyseverus
2008-08-01 12:14 am UTC (link)
Snape was fascinated by the perversity of the warrior's religion, and by its seeming central paradox. How could they tolerate their own converted lives, if all life was a plague? It sounded like a cancerous philosophy to Snape, an idea that had taken hold and was replicating itself at rapid speeds with no other purpose. Fascinating.

"I too once served a man who was the cause of much pain, suffering, and death. It may be fair to say death fascinated him as much as it fascinated your people; however, for my former master death was not something to be embraced, it was something to be conquered, to be mastered! He sought to live forever, and would have done anything to make that happen."

He felt sorry for the man, when he learned he was not able to leave his past behind him. It did ever so sound like a past worth abandoning.

"Is he? Are there others of you here as well?"

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[info]lord_vaako
2008-08-01 12:22 am UTC (link)
Well, that was unexpected. Although, he hadn't really known what to expect. He was used to people knowing who the Necromonger army was. No one where he was from hadn't heard of it. The fact that Snape didn't know, and yet responded in such a way, made him feel... sort of a kinship for the man, actually. It sounded like they had similar stories, in a way.

"You did? Why did you follow such a man? I followed the previous Lord Marshal because it was either be purified, or be killed. I chose to live. Sort of, anyway."

He frowned as the man continued talking, trying to absorb everything he was saying. It seemed like sacrilege, from someone who worshiped death. Or, at least, had followed someone who worshiped death.

"The new Lord Marshal is here, yes. He killed the old one, and became the new. It is the Necromonger way, you keep what you kill. The one you followed, he would not be tolerated where I was from. Death cannot be mastered, and should be embraced. Other than that, though... did you notice, our stories are somewhat similar?"

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[info]severelyseverus
2008-08-01 09:33 am UTC (link)
Snape blinked, deflecting the impulse to roll his eyes. Of course he had noticed their stories were similar! That was what was fascinating! The man was a little slow sometimes, wasn't he? Despite the similarity in their tales, however, Snape felt that perhaps they were not all that similar as people.

"I followed him because I too was fascinated by death, and because I had powerful friends that followed him. I believed he was the way to power and pre-eminence, but I saw the error of my ways later, and rejected my membership in his band of fanatics. It seems our stories are somewhat similar, but only up to a point. I am sorry you must still be burdened by your Lord Marshall."

Snape thought about the people he had seen on Mirage. Had he ever seen anyone else in armour like Vaako's? Surely a Lord Marshall would wear something grand.

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[info]lord_vaako
2008-08-01 10:06 am UTC (link)
He nodded thoughtfully, for though he did pick up on a little of Snape's attitude towards him, it was too similiar to the contempt his wife had had for him back home, and he was fairly good at ignoring it. At least, he figured, Snape wasn't actually really being cruel to him, like she had.

"How nice for you, that you could just choose to stop following him. Unfortunately, the Lord Marshal has an army to back him up, and... well, it never actually occured to me to leave. What was it that made you decide it wasn't worth following him anymore?"

His fingers rose to play over the scar on his neck, the reminder to him that, for him, it wasn't as easy as just walking away. The odd part was how Snape's words suddenly made him feel a fierce longing for the days when he hadn't answered to the Lord Marshal, or anyone. Once, he'd been a leader among his people, before the Necro army came.

"The new Lord Marshal, he... didn't realize what he was doing when he killed the old. He only wanted revenge for the death of a woman he loved. He's different... but he would have been a good leader, I promise you..."

He blinked when he realized he was sort of babbling. He'd come dangerously close to confessing that he had wanted Riddick to kill the old Lord Marshal, that he'd picked him as the next leader of his people. He hadn't expected to ever tell anyone that. Their stories were similiar, but that didn't mean he could trust him unreservedly.

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[info]severelyseverus
2008-08-03 09:30 am UTC (link)
Snape felt his guard go up when Vaako asked about his reasons for leaving. It wasn't that he, himself, wasn't completely clear on them; it was that he had only ever shared them with one person before, and he wasn't going to start changing that now. It might be tempting for some to say it didn't matter anymore, here, on Mirage, but for him it would always matter.

"Choosing to stop wasn't as easy as you suggest, but it was straight forward. If you want to leave your Lord Marshall now, he has no army to back him up here. Of course, if he is so different from your previous commander, perhaps you will enjoy being his dutiful follower. My reasons for leaving are my own, and I do not speak about them."

Snape followed Vaako's fingers as they moved to trace the marks on his neck. What were those marks, and what was it about their conversation that made him subconsciously touch them? Vaako seemed a very tranparent man, once one learned to read him.

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[info]lord_vaako
2008-08-03 10:38 am UTC (link)
The dark-haired warrior actually smiled a little, despite the fact that Snape was clearly a little irritated. It was just so easy for him to see the defenses the other man put up. Where all non military this easy to read? Or perhaps he just didn't have the same practice that the non fighting members of the Necro army did at deception and intruige. Maybe other people would find it hard to read him, but actually, it was very simple. The more snippy he got, the closer to home something hit.

"It's not just Lord Riddick... he doesn't even want me to follow him. He's didn't even want to be a leader, but he would have been good at it. Much better than the previous one. That's not the point." He frowned, having once more gone very close to the subject of what he'd done, how he'd orchastrated Riddick's rise to power without the man's knowledge. "It doesn't matter if he wants me to follow or not. Obedience without question. Loyalty until Underverse come. That is the Necromonger way."

Again, it didn't roll off his tongue in quite the same way it would have back home. Here, everything seemed a little different. Maybe it was just that he wasn't surrounded by a whole army saying the whole thing along with him. As for Snape's second point.

"If you don't want to talk about your reasons, I hardly see how you can convince me of anything. But it's none of my concern, so keep your secrets."

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[info]severelyseverus
2008-08-03 11:59 pm UTC (link)
Snape felt himself grow more irritated at the way the warrior was able to speak so candidly about his former life. Had the man no shame? Snape could not imagine the embarrassment in store should he reveal to this man that he betrayed his former master because of love. Vaako would never understand, with his devotion to loyalty and death.

"It is none of your concern, and I will keep them. Besides, I hardly think you would understand. Don't take this as an insult, but your Necromonger way sounds mindless and docile. You've got to think, man! Take your destiny into your own hands! Your Lord Riddick doesn't want to be your leader? Fine! You don't need him! Cast off the shackles you have placed upon your own ankles, and walk free! That is the only advice I can give you."

Snape wasn't sure why he was so willing to give this man impassioned advice, but he had meant every word he had said.

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[info]lord_vaako
2008-08-04 12:32 am UTC (link)
Vaako really had no reason to hide anything from this man, though still, it was a little odd that he was speaking to him like that. Maybe, though, he'd just needed to get these things out, and Snape had provided a way to do that. Or maybe, it was just training from his former life. Likely, it was a mixture of the two.

"Loyalty and obedience is the only way to get anything done. It isn't mindless to give your alliegance to a good commander. How else is the Underverse supposed to come and free us all?"

He shook his head and sighed, suddenly tired. His brain was moving in all sorts of ways he wasn't used to, spurred on by the comments the other man was tossing his way. It seemed so easy one moment to do as he said, and quite impossible the next.

"Though where I'm from you would be killed for your words, I find that I appreciate them. Things have changed. I don't think this planet would allow me to purify people, and I know I may not kill. Still, what is a Necromonger without death? It's a puzzle, but... I have time to figure it out."

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[info]severelyseverus
2008-08-05 09:29 am UTC (link)
Snape found that, the man's questions about his past aside, he was more than enjoying pushing Vaako to question his long-held beliefs. His whole philosophy was so questionable, Snape couldn't really help himself. Clearly, the man had been brainwashed by these Necromongers, and Snape was enjoying the challenge of trying to free him. It wasn't because of any personal affection for the fellow, of course.

"I assure you, sir, loyalty and obedience are not the only ways to get things done. Perhaps they are the most effective way to advance the cause of the Underverse, but I have not yet been convinced that that is in fact a worthy pursuit. Where I come from we believe in a thing called speaking your mind. It is true, some are frightened of it, but it is not illegal. I have no idea what a Necromonger is without death, but I dare you to find out! You may not have a choice... Indeed, you may have nothing but time."

Snape watched the wheels turn in Vaako's mind with a subtle grin that he couldn't keep off his face. He was fascinated by the man's dilemma, and couldn't wait to see how his crisis developed.

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[info]lord_vaako
2008-08-05 09:40 am UTC (link)
He'd found reading with his gauntlets on hard enough, but when he raised his hands to massage his temples and try to get rid of this headache that he was completely unused to, he ended up staring at the pieces of armor covering his hands in something close to bemusement. Slowly, deliberately, he lowered his hands once more, and started working the heavy armor off his hands. It would make things a lot easier, and there was clearly no real reason to keep them on.

"The Underverse is the only worthy pursuit, and speaking your mind is not the way to get there. The Underverse is the end to all this, don't you see? The end to having to go through all the planets capable of sustaining life, and the end to killing and converting."

He frowned slightly, setting first one, and then the other, gauntlet on the table in front of him. He looked once more at his hands, pale and a little sweaty from being confined, but at least his own hands. Carefully, he raised them to his temples and rubbed gently, trying to massage away the headache. He thought for a long time, before bothering to voice anything to Snape.

"I remember... before the Necromonger army came, of course... it was different. This place is nothing like my home world, but it some ways, it's very... it doesn't look at all the same, but there is a feeling here different than anything I've seen on the Necromonger ships..."

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[info]severelyseverus
2008-08-05 11:16 pm UTC (link)
Snape snorted, showing no respect for Vaako's words. As the man took off his heavy gauntlets, Snape wondered why he hadn't done so earlier. How had he managed to read in those ridiculous things?

"Underverse may be the natural end of all this, but it doesn't mean none of it is worth it! Believe me, Underverse will come whether you help it or not. Meanwhile, there are more important things to do, like make something of your life! No one likes a homocidal madman, and I'm one to know! You and the Dark Lord are two sides of the same coin! He ran from death, you run towards it. Both things are futile. I don't doubt things feel different here. People are more interested in their own lives, as pointless as most of them might be, than death. Besides you can't kill anyone here anyway! It's time for you to get a new job!"

Satisfied that he had made his point, Snape wondered if this was the moment to storm out of the library. Still, a desire to see Vaako's reaction held him back. Besides, he had just as much right to be in the library as the warrior.

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[info]lord_vaako
2008-08-06 12:55 am UTC (link)
The dark haired man should have been at Snape's throat for his derogatory comments about the Necromonger army. He should have killed him just for that. Yet, he didn't move, he just sat there thinking, and it wasn't just because killing wasn't allowed here.

"No, that's not true. Underverse only will exist after all life has been converted or killed. Until then, there is no peace for any of us."

He didn't know why he was bothering to explain, and suddenly, he realized that it didn't really matter here. Like, really deep down realized what it meant. No one could be killed here. He could talk about his religion all he wanted, but it wouldn't mean anything. It was a sobering thought. He was the sort of person who thought long and hard about things, and only then came to a conclusion. This, he knew, would be the work of several nights to mull over in his head.

"The Dark Lord... funny, but it seems to me that you speak his title with a certain amount of reverence. I wonder, is it truly possible to leave something like this behind? Dark Lords, Lord Marshals... they are really the same, in the end. A powerful person who says they know better than you, but do they? That is the real question."

He sighed softly, and reached for his book. Odd, he'd never noticed how nice the pages felt between his fingers. Maybe because it had been years since he'd picked one up without the heavy gauntlets in the way. It made a difference.

"We can argue about this until the Underverse comes, but until I've had time to think, it won't do any good. It's been a... pleasure of sorts, actually, speaking with you. You have a perspective I've never considered before."

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[info]severelyseverus
2008-08-06 09:20 am UTC (link)
Snape watched Vaako's warring feelings, as his anger conflicted with the sense he saw in his words. Snape, of course, knew he was right, and felt immense gratitude at any acceptance Vaako showed of his point of view. He did not expect the man to throw off his whole belief system right then and there, but he did think the correctness of his perspective should be immediately apparent.

"There is no peace because that's life. Merlin forbid our lives should be dull and peaceful. I agree with you that lordly authority figures are something we can do without, and this Planet is the place we can do that."

When the warrior picked up his book again, Snape could sense he was finished with the conversation. That was fine. Snape had given him much to think about. At least they were not finishing as enemies, which meant Snape could continue to enjoy the library.

"It has been a pleasure of sorts speaking with you, too. I thank you for considering my perspective."

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[info]lord_vaako
2008-08-06 10:19 am UTC (link)
"Perhaps we will meet again. After all, we both seem to enjoy the library."

He smiled, the expression not one he usually used, but it was genuine nevertheless. And then, his hazel eyes were drawn back towards his book. It was surprising to him that he'd been able to hold off so long, but now that the conversation was over, he was not going to fight it anymore.

It was difficult to actually curl up with a book when you wore full plate armor, but somehow, he managed to give the impression he was doing just that. Soon, he was lost in Shakespeare's vision of Scotland once more.

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