[Video/Action for roommates if they want]

[governorkang]

[Kang is sitting at the desk in his sparsely-decorated room, carefully putting together what some may recognize as a handmade miniaturized catapult. The bowl is just big enough to easily fit the little worn minotaur doll also lying on the desk, next to an equally worn copper dragon twice its size. There are no instructions; he's building it entirely from scratch, and from memory. It's highly detailed, and the angle of the arm is adjustable.

He pauses after making a small adjustment to one of the pieces of wood with his dagger.]

I know these are considered to be outdated weapons by most here. They remind me of home, though. I made one a little bigger than this for my children last spring. In hindsight, it probably wasn't the best of ideas; they took to knocking things off of shelves from a distance. My mate was not very pleased with me.

[He smiles wryly.]

I'm sure we've all been thinking of home lately.

[The dagger, held in his right hand by only three of his fingers, is set down. It has a wicked wavy blade on it, clearly meant for battle rather than whittling.]

This isn't going to be some sort of speech about whether we should or shouldn't help the Initiative. There's been more than enough of that already.

It's simple curiosity about other people's homes. Do you live in the mountains, the forests, a city? What do you do for a living? Who do you have waiting for you?

[He shrugs.]

It wouldn't be fair to ask without talking about my own. Many of you are aware that I am the Lord-Governor of my kind's nation, Teyr. There are mountains to the west and south, and marshes to the east. Most of it is savannah, with the city proper near the middle. It was originally an old dwarven kingdom, abandoned long ago. We've nearly finished rebuilding it, and we have begun building a road from one of our smaller towns to the port city of Kalaman in the west.

[A pause, and he picks up the dagger again, nodding at the sword leaning against the wall.]

I would also like to remind everyone that I do offer training with blades, particularly swords, and hand-to-hand.

[And, private to Crucible:]

I would like to speak with you, in person.

Comments

[governorkang]

Back during the war, yes. Trebuchets as well, and ballistae.

[oncearanger]

[Ah yes, the trebuchet. That was one of his favorite stories.]

There's nothing primitive about it. It still takes just as much skill to do this---I could make something purely functional, but the aesthetics would suffer.

[governorkang]

Outdated, not primitive.

[He would never slight his or his men's skills. He smiles, though.]

[oncearanger]

Precisely.

[He nods.]

So...you wanted to hear about worlds, right? Mine was a little different.

[governorkang]

Yes. Much different, I would wager.

[oncearanger]

Right.

Where I'm from, humans are the dominant species. We use our tools to change the landscape to suit our needs, automating the production of many goods.

I lived at a seaside town, with a lush park, some sturdy trees, and a rocky beach. There was a desert nearby as well. But the main feature was concrete. Buildings, roads...a little like Exsilium, but everything was in working order. And we used motor vehicles to travel across distances quickly.

[governorkang]

That seems to be the case with many worlds out there. It's odd, that your kind are most common.

[He shrugs.]

Motor vehicles, like the 'cars' during that art theft mission?

[oncearanger]

Right, cars. And there are longer ones carrying many passengers called buses, and even longer trains on rails, and airplanes for air travel.

You're familiar with sea travel, right?

[governorkang]

Not personally, no.

[oncearanger]

All right. Well, for short water trips such as on lakes and calm rivers, we have canoes. They're manually operated with paddles. Then there are steam-powered boats, then gas engines, powered in a similar way to modern cars.

The biggest ships can move thousands of people.

But I digress.

The thing I liked best about my home environment was the weather. It was comfortably warm nearly all year long.

[governorkang]

It stays warm year round in Teyr. Our summers get very hot, but the nights are cold, and it rarely rains.

[oncearanger]

It was the same on my world, but we might've had warmer nights.

I don't think that world's waiting for me, though. It was destroyed just like Elmer's, though the process with mine was much faster.

[governorkang]

By the UE, or by someone else?

[His voice indicates that if Billy doesn't want to answer, or wants to change the subject, it's perfectly alright.]

[oncearanger]

Someone else, unless the UE are really sharp-clawed bug creatures using humanoid holo-disguises and have suddenly changed their tactics.

Worlds weren't even consumed for the sake of resources. It was just what they did, laying it all to waste.

[governorkang]

Destruction for the sake of destruction.

[It's... not all that surprising to him. The Dragonarmies had done quite a bit of it during the war.]

There is still a chance it could be saved. I wouldn't give up on it yet.

[oncearanger]

If we can tamper with time, it's definitely possible. I don't count on it, but I hope for it.

And I sincerely hope your family stays safe.

[governorkang]

Don't ever give up on that hope. And thank you.

[oncearanger]

I won't. There's always something to live for, to fight for.

[governorkang]

Exactly. And once you give up, then you guarantee losing.

[Something he's said more than once.]