The guard Rainer Boss conducted an interrogation on Yamanu concerning the death of Topaz Natine. The transcript would have been made available to Captain Miriamella and the Guard archives. Rainer had no recommendations of his own concerning this case.
[16:57] Rainer Boss shakes his head a little to Yamanu, and he moves over to the desk to find his file, which as part of Miriamella's almost neurotic tracking and SharRoos' diligent archival skills, contains quite a lot of info, and he flips through it for a moment, commenting almost casually to the counnec, "You know Captain Miriamella doesn't work by proxy. Lord Athian would not do, she would want you questioned in person. ...says here you summoned a necromantic bone dragon that destroyed the infirmary... ...also that you are the son of a necromancer that threatened these lands..."
[17:02] Yamanu sighs a little bit. "She is sometimes thorough to a fault." he says. "It's how she is. And 'summoned' would be an inaccurate term. I built it, piece by piece. ... and... well... yes. I am the son of Hazel."
[17:03] Yamanu says, "Suppose you'll be wanting to hear my life story, huh?"
[17:08] Rainer Boss shakes his head to Yamanu, and says softly, "...No, I don't think your life's story is relevant at this moment. In fact I would say it's completely inadvisable, since I'm sure those aren't your only two sins from you past, we don't want to add bias to this, do we?", and he smirks a bit, and says more officially, "You're wanted for questioning on your involvement with the death of Topaz Natine, the fennec who was studying magic with you."
[17:11] Yamanu chuckles. "Fair enough." he says. "So yes. I gathered as much. But I'm afraid there isn't much I can tell you. Topaz was a slave to his own lust, and in the end his hunger for power must have consumed him."
[17:15] Rainer Boss perks his ears, and he starts taking notes, and asks Yamanu, "However, the circumstances of Topaz's death are still practically a mystery for us. Was he with you when he died?"
[17:17] Yamanu nods softly at Rainer. "I was present at the time of his death, yes." he says. "I carried his corpse unseen into Fennecia afterwards, for him to be found by his parents."
[17:19] Rainer Boss nods a little, and he writes that down, and asks softly, "...can you explain how the fennec died? What was it he was doing that brought upon his demise? How were you involved with it?"
[17:23] Yamanu nods softly. "We were experimenting with magic. Preparing for the next trial to become my apprentice, the purpose of the experiment was to push him to his absolute limits of the power he could draw upon. My craft relies upon the Aether that is within us, unlike most other crafts that draw upon the Aether around them. Tap into your internal Aether too much, and you will be harmed. Topaz understood this, but he pressed on. I warned him to stop, but did not interfere."
[17:40] Rainer Boss nods to Yamanu, and asks softly, "So, you realized he was in danger but you allowed him to proceed?"
[17:46] Yamanu nods. "Yes, I did. And yes, I allowed it." he says. "What I do, there is no coming back from that. Once you start on this path, you have to finish. Oh yes, you could quit in theory, but then that door remains open. The temptations to tap into things they do not quite understand but can now quantify. That they are aware now exists and can tap into. They will continue the path regardless of what I want. Topaz suffered from the 'small dog syndrome' which plagues many fennecs. He was aggressive and ambitious. Eager to compensate for his small stature. If left unchecked, he would become dangerous. A monster. I should not even have warned him to stop, but I did. And Topaz made the decision to continue. He was an adult. It was his life to throw away."
[17:54] Rainer Boss nods a little and takes note of what Yamanu says, and says softly to him, "...you realize you could be seen as responsible for him. The fact that Topaz was an adult doesn't exonerate you from the responsibility as his teacher. ...That is for the courts to decide, however. I'm here just to question you. So... According to your account, you were conducting some magical -something- with Topaz, he went too far, and you did not stop him from going too far, which resulted on his death, is that correct?"
[17:58] Yamanu tuts a little. "You cannot hold me accountable for this. I gave Topaz the tools with which to hone his new craft. Blaming me for this is no different than blaming a blacksmith when a man kills a guy with a sword he made. Had I stopped him then, he would have continued on his own when we parted ways, and then he would have posed a danger to his family as well. Damned if you do..."
[18:01] Rainer Boss says softly, "That's the thing, mister Yamanu: You are not a blacksmith peddling instruments of death. You were his teacher. If I'm in the arena with a student and I give them a sword and they kill themselves with it and I do nothing to stop them, that's on my shoulders. ...now if later they go and get a sword and kill themselves that's another story. ...but like I said, I'm just taking your testimony, you'll be free to go after this. ...But I must ask: Why did you go into hiding after Topaz's death?"
[18:04] Yamanu shakes his head. "I did not. I actually have a life outside of Lismore, you know? I was visiting my daughter."
[18:07] Rainer Boss nods to Yamanu, and smirks, "...convenient, I suppose. Again, not for me to decide. ...So, anything else you would like to tell us about the incident?"
[18:13] Yamanu smiles at Rainer. "I'm not saying it was unrelated. I felt I needed it after his death. I take comfort in being with my children." he says. "And what more would be relevant, you think? If this is going up to the Courts, I should probably only answer questions."
[18:18] Rainer Boss shrugs a little, and this part he doesn't write, saying softly to Yamanu, "...you don't seem to show any remorse, any regret. That won't earn you much sympathy if the captain decides to pursue this further. Your past also doesn't help you much, mister Yamanu..."
[18:21] Yamanu sighs a bit. "I do regret what happened and I have mourned for Topaz, but in my line of work, you know that life moves on. If every little soul that departed from a body bothers you for long, you will be consumed by the grief. I still sense Topaz, and I take comfort in that he is in a better place. I could bring him back right now if you so wished, but he has it better where he is now than he ever had it here in Lismore."
[18:22] Yamanu says, "He is happy, is what I'm getting at. That he killed himself in his quest for power was regrettable, but he no longer suffers. Bringing him back would be a mistake.""
[18:24] Rainer Boss smirks, "Bringing him back would be against the law, to begin with. Topaz's supposed emotional state in the afterlife is not our concern, though I will advise Navaru be consulted about this matter if you think that's necessary."
[18:28] Yamanu shrugs. "Navaru and I do not get along." he says. "His would be a truly damning testimony; he has been looking to eliminate me for a long time. Either way, I mentioned Topaz's afterlife because in the end, letting him die was the right thing to do. I take it the Natines raised this warrant against me. I am willing to undo it if they can get me the licence to perform the ritual. In exchange for them leaving me be..."
[18:36] Rainer Boss says softly, "...actually the Natines wanted answers, but also the captain, and the palace, and the LIAA. The death of a student of magic is a serious matter, mister Yamanu. People get curious about it, you know..."
[18:41] Yamanu sighs a bit & he rises up to stretch his legs. "Well fuck me then." he says. "Still, Topaz made his choices. Could I have stopped him? Yes. But he was a small and frail little thing who wanted power. He pursued magic to be stronger, so that he may protect himself and his family but he got greedy. He cut corners. He wanted lots of power as fast as possible, but he lacked the talent to keep up with his gain. The LIAA may not have recognized that, but I did. He was a danger to society and had I stopped him then, he could have taken people down with him when he inevitably started pushing his boundaries alone. He lacked restraint. It may not look it now, but I spared likely several of the fennecs from suffering a most gruesome fate by his hands."
[18:42] Yamanu says, "I can give them their son back as a reincarnation, if that will help them. He will be reborn and grow to adulthood anew. They can raise him differently. He could have a second chance."
[18:46] Rainer Boss says softly to Yamanu, "Again, that's for the courts to decide. I will submit this report to the captain and she will arrange if there is further need to contact you, mister Yamanu. I advise you not to disappear, stick around where we can find you. ...But on the matter of 'what could be', the 'what if's' of life, you do know several prominent people say you are dangerous and should be neutralized. By your same logic concerning Topaz Natine, do you say we should then take care of you before you cause more harm?"
[18:55] Yamanu looks away for a moment, his ears twitching. "... ... I sense Navaru is not here." he says. "Just his weak spawn. I may have done some regrettable things in the past, like the issue with the dragon -- my bad -- but that does not change the fact that you need me. And I provide a service which will ensure that the empire lives on: even should our rulers' bodies be destroyed, I can bring them back to reclaim their rightful place on the throne. And even were it not the case, I still protect Lismore from more threats from the spirit realm than you could imagine. I am on your side, guardsman. I may make mistakes, but I am an asset to this empire, one not to be taken lightly."
[19:01] Rainer Boss offers a slight shrug to Yamanu, saying softly, "...once again, I'm not here to judge you. But I can offer you a friendly warning: People aren't very happy with you, mister Yamanu. And there's very little evidence of any services you perform, and if what you say is true, the one person who can confirm to the courts anything on your field of expertise isn't likely to come to your rescue. So be careful."
[19:03] Yamanu crosses his arms. "If they allow me, I will /demonstrate/ what I do." he says. "And I know people aren't happy with me. You make one mistake and forget about a bloody dragon & then everybody freaks out when it comes home to roost, I get it. I screwed up. But it's not the worst cock-up in the history of this empire so they should let it go."
[19:07] Rainer Boss chuckles a little, and asks a bit amused, "Can you point out what you believe is the worst cock-up done by one individual? I am not native to these floating lands, you see; a bit of a history lesson could come in handy."
[19:10] Yamanu nods. "Giving control of the realm, I guess before it was technically an empire, to Lord Ashtyn's son. The most incompetent ruler Lismore has ever had; he ruled for like three months, but those were the three worst months we ever had. And Xian let it happen. Though one could also argue trying to raise a foxramau child to act like a mortal was the biggest fuck-up ever done in the history of Lismore post-empire status. It did lead to the Valentine Incident in which that very child, driven mad by the constraints imposed on her & the shame imprinted on her for being a demon, turned on the people who raised her, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people."
[19:11] Yamanu adds: "And then they failed to admit their guilt in it, and instead of dealing with the problem at its source -- that is to say, the way demons are treated in Lismore & the expectations imposed on the foxramau -- they just collared the lot of them with a magical collar that forced subjugation."
[19:13] Rainer Boss nods to Yamanu, but says softly, "Those seem more like mistakes waiting to happen, or long succession of events that lead to unfortunate incidents. Your dragon thing was a mistake from the beginning if you ask me! Who in their right mind would create such beast in first place? ...which I believe was against the laws? And... misplace the creature! How do you misplace a dragon the size of a building?"
[19:18] Yamanu rolls his eyes. "I am blind, technically. I cannot see the dragon if I cannot touch it; there is no life in it." he says. "Also! Also! Xian and Dru spent years meticulously crafting one of the worst enemies Lismore has ever had in that Fangshi woman, and then they wondered what the fuck happened when the girl lost her marbles and started killing everybody! And that's the biggest problem with Lismore; nobody's guilty of anything, except the weak and downtrodden who can be blamed. My dragon was benign. It came home to roost, and the first thing people in this damnable city do is attack it. The fucking thing was benign and wasn't out to harm anybody; it just wanted to come back to its home. If the assholes had looped a rope around its neck and whispered sweet nothings to it as they led it away, the infirmary would still be intact, the prince wouldn't have been fucking maimed & things would've been fine. But the idiots in this place grab their weapons the first chance they get & then hit things, and then they
[19:18] Yamanu are so stupid that they wonder why the beast they just attacked is attacking them back. And then they go looking for people to blame, even though it's their fault that the infirmary fell. It's their own damn fault that the prince had his eyes gouged out. Gods..."
[19:23] Rainer Boss shrugs once again, saying softly, "These all are debatable matters. The proverbial chicken and the egg riddle perhaps even. You are free to go for now, mister Yamanu, but stay where you can be found, in case the captain decides to summon you for a court hearing or if there are more questions."
[19:27] Yamanu sighs a bit and he reaches out toward his staff, which disappears from its location in a puff of mist, and appears in his hand in a similar fashion. He places it on his back, where it stays -- even though nothing is holding it in place. "I'll stay in town." he says. "But I suppose a brute like you wouldn't understand the intricacies of something like a bone dragon. It was just another beast to slay. Barbaric. And because of it, there is no way to heal the prince's sight. So... Well done, the people of Lismore..."
