The Tamassran

The Tamassran looked over at the large group forming nearby. This had to be them. He was to find the Warden-Commander and travel with her. He saw the red haired girl approach him and he nodded curtly. "You are the Warden-Commander?" He asked her in a tone of voice that was sociable, but had the subtle sternness of a schoolteacher.

The tall woman walked towards the Qunari with an assured air of someone who knew exactly what they were doing, who they were and their place in all things. Her outward calm seemed to reflect within her as well making one know that she was all business. She stopped a couple of feet away from the Qunari, looking up into his face with no fear or wonder. Her voice stayed stable, calm and authoritative almost as if she were a stone golem.

"I am Guremi, a soldier to the king of these lands." She stated evenly as she noticed that this nine foot man wore simple brown robes with no adornments. At any rate, this meant he was likely not a fighter and worked in some other mysterious manner, "May I ask of what you wish to speak with the Warden-Commander?"

The Tamassran frowned when the human who met him mentioned that she was not the Grey Warden. "Then we have nothing to discuss. I wish to see the Grey Warden-Commander because it is an urgent matter." He said abrasively, folding his arms over his massive chest while golden eyes stared down at the red haired human. Clearly he wasn't much of a conversationalist.

"I see." Guremi's head lifted a bit so she could give the Tamassran the same "dressing down look" that he was giving her except without the advantage of physically looking down on him, "In any unit there is a requirement for a contingent of formality and avenues in which one must meet in order to be able to speak with an individual or individuals of authority. You, sir, are trespassing against those formalities. Now, I ask you once again what your business is with the Hero of Fereldan so that I may announce your presence in the proper format."

The woman stood stock still, an inevitable wall, albeit one smaller than the Tamassran, which would not sway. She continued to look at him as if he were a disagreeable child trying to get into the cookie jar.

The huge Qunari cracked the faintest of smiles. "So you are not completely barbaric. That is good. It will make the transition to the Qun that much easier. I am here to see the Warden-Commander because I was ordered to follow her. My mission is for her ears alone." He said, his smile fading back to the stone cold stare. "I am called Tamassran. Your barbarian little minds would know that as 'teacher'."

So a Qunari could be amused by something. Who knew that was even possible? The King had mentioned that the Sten they knew never smiled around him or any of the others except for the Hero when she told the man to stuff it. So it was true that they appreciated ones who were strong, much like a wolf pack would. That made things easier. Guremi was no beta or lower. She was pure alpha who had decided to work for the King out of respect only, chewing her way up in the ranks in short order.

"Barbarism depends upon the person or persons you are commenting upon, not the race, although I can see how your people may consider those of Fereldan." She spoke calmly, still making sure that he knew whom was in charge, "My 'barbarian little mind' realizes that as 'overseer' or 'consultant.' It could be a combination of the two. I shall not presume that the Hero of Fereldan will see you right away; however, I will have her informed of the urgency for this meeting."

Torture strode out of the shadows, his eyes staring at the two as his lips quivered threateningly just in case. He walked slowly as the diminutive Dwarf came from the darkness behind him, a smile upon her lips and a gleam within her eyes.

"Guremi is it? And a Tamassran. You are quite an enigma withing these lands." She tilted her head, "It looks like you are doing well enough keeping the Qunari at bay and in his place, Guremi. I shall take it from here."

Nygozy waited for Guremi to acknowledge whom she was and bow to the Tamassran before leaving. Calm exuded from the little woman as she stood at ease, petting her dog's ear, "Tamassran. It is a mystery as to why the Qun would send a messenger to a camp such as this instead of to the King."

The Tamassran was increasingly fascinated with this red haired human who spoke with such venom that she figured herself above him, one of the Qunari. Her suicidal overconfidence would have been met with violence were he a soldier but he was not. He was Tamassran. His job was to instruct these barbarians to embrace the Qun. Finally the Warden-Commander made her appearance. A short frame, and stocky. A Dwarf. Curious. The Sten's accounting of her made her seem like a giant. The Tamassran nodded to Nygozy. "You are...shorter than I had expected. And as for my purpose, I am not a messenger. I am to travel with you as was commanded to me by the Ashkaari. I have been given the impossible task of saving Fereldan from the invasion that is to come." He said in a quiet, rehearsed tone.

There were notable differences between him and the Sten. He had horns, small ones though, and pulled back silver hair worn loose, instead of dread locks. He was also taller than the Sten, and wore humble, plain tan robes. There were no weapons on his person. Not being a soldier, he was not permitted to carry one.

"I am sure that my Sten did not express size because he never found size an issue in competence. His view was that of one who saw potential and capabilities as well as strength within an individual, not physical height." The small woman stated in with a slight twitch of her lips which indicated amusement but she also meant it when she stated that her stature meant nothing, "I am sure you will come to be aware of that as well."

Nygozy tilted her head slightly, her eyes narrowing a bit as she listened to the man. Now this was quite interesting, "Save Fereldan from the invasion? Would it not be better to bring about these supposed changes by working with the ruler of the land?"

The Tamassran shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "I was just under the mistaken impression you were a giant, what with your reputation." He said with a bemused smirk on his bronze face. "At any rate, your king is not going to be traveling the land from your barbarian capital. You are. You are a more competent leader than he is, and a better warrior. I am not a fighter, I was not bred for such a purpose. As Tamassran, I cannot take up arms, and must teach instead. So embracing the Qun is the only means for which Fereldan shall be saved from the invasion that is to come from the Qunari.

An impossible task, but I had volunteered for it."

The man spoke simply and to the point making the dimunitive warrior smile as she remembered how Sten spoke, a touch of disdain in his voice more often than not. Her Qunari friend had made her strive even harder to basically say 'nyah nyah' but not in those words. It had given her reason to strive for more and beat the odds instead of giving up as she had wanted to. Maybe the Tamassran could also be a motivational entity, helping her to push herself further in diplomacy. Or she would be tempted to slice his kneecaps off.

"It is an honour that the Qun would see me as a positive contributor to this process; however, as one who continues to have use of the magical elements of this land you may find your time in training a rather difficult chore. There are several mages within my ranks which will make your stay within this party a challenge. My own views are subjective but I do look forward to learning much more of the Qunari world from an actual instructor of this knowledge."

The Tamassran listened to the Dwarf's words carefully, and judged her accordingly. She had prior knowledge, if a little vague, of the Qun. Perhaps the Sten had taught her some but her training was incomplete. He nodded to her. "I expected resistance when I volunteered for this. Especially from your Sarebaas. They will come to heel, I will make sure of that." He grunted, the bemused smirk still on his face.

"Once I have enlightened all of you to our customs, there will be selections for mates and other things that are within my duties as Tamassran. I will make you civilized people." He said with almost prideful confidence.

The words were weighed with interest as the little woman rolled her shoulders and patted Torture's shoulder to send him off as he was getting anxious. She made a slight dog like sound then the animal trotted off to unknown realms.

"You say that you volunteered. It makes me wonder what made you choose such a difficult mission as this could not have been one on the top of the list for favorite choices you and your brethren could choose. In fact, I'm sure it was rather unsavoury to some." She listened to the breeze, "Was it known exactly what group you would be assigned to when you volunteered?"

Once the reference to mates came up she smirked, "Ah yes. The Tamassrans do match making. It would be interesting to see whom you feel I would best be accompanied by."

She didn't notice a glaring eye from the shadows but if the Tamassran had any feel to being watched he would notice that someone was giving him a death stare at that moment.

The smile faded from the giant Qunari's face at the mentioning of his volunteering. "Another conversation for another time, Warden. It is not important right now." He grunted, then felt the glare of an eye on his back, burning a hole into his soul. "Your match should be simple enough, Warden. There are few males here who can help you produce a suitable spawn. I also feel someone is already taking a disliking to my presence." He pointed a thumb over his shoulder into the general direction of the Warden Commander's ever-present shadow, Kai.

"Suffice it to say, you have many...interesting companions." He said with almost bitter amusement.

"I look forward to the discussion." She stated then smirked at the concept of having "spawn", "Would I have to swim up river for this?"

Nygozy had not forgotten Kai was there but had also not taking note of his presence, "That would be my body guard. He doesn't like anyone and is quite willing to share that knowledge." She smiled.

The Tamassran shrugged. "I will need the times of each female's moon flow monthly, and a sample to help accomodate the proper mating cycles." He started, but stopped. This was not the place nor time for matchmaking. They would have to be away where his experiments could be done in peace. He had several jobs to do while in his exile to Fereldan. He grunted at the bodyguard. "The one eyed man will be interesting to find a match for. I sense that temperament of his. Would that he be as protective of his own offspring." He mused to himself.

Walking with the Warden along the banks of the lake Calenhad, the Tamassran watched the Circle Tower warily. The tower of Saarebas was infamous in Par Vollen where the Tamassran came from. Lax security. Saarebas off their leashes. He wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't seen it for himself.

Nygozy blinked, "Moon times and a sample?" She smirked with a slight snort, "This sounds interesting. Could you walk me through the process and how this comes about for a successful combining of two individuals to create a proper spawning?"

She glanced towards where the Tamassran thought Kai to be and shrugged, knowing that her bodyguard had moved a time or two since the big man had realized which direction he'd been glared at from. There was a trick to hiding and that man had it instinctively so she doubted this Qunari could actually find him unless the man had been trained heavily in assassination himself.

For a moment she seemed to consider that statement, "He is of the ilk of those who only have a target and nothing else to their lives. Plus it would be difficult for him to put that into effect a relationship as he stays directly with me at all times."

The Tamassran harrumphed as he got the impression the Warden was mocking his job. "I pair up potential mates in accordance with how one can achieve the most optimal offspring. A balance must be achieved. As for your one-eyed friend, he should have been born Qunari, and not a savage. His dutifulness would have seen him become one of the best of us. However, he is also needed in the process of creating optimized spawn, as do all Qunari at some point must submit. It's not like I am asking him to stab out his other eye." He grunted and scratched his chin, staring at the group by the fire. Observing some of them he could only sigh. "I have my work cut out for me. Where did you find such a motley crew?"

The harumph said it all but the Dwarven lady didn't show any reaction as she listened to the Tamassran. It was a topic many of the others would balk at in a moment but seeing how this man's customs were dealt with could bring her to know more about the people and she knew that the king was likely to consider her the closest thing to a diplomat for the Qunari than anyone else since she was the only one who had a long standing relation with one. She still missed Sten as he had been a stalwart friend.

"We must speak more on the subject some day. One thing is terribly clear in this nation and that is: people here mate for more than optimum results in offspring but you will learn that in time. Reactions to your questions regarding the situation may be ... ultimately, unpleasant. The cultures are very different in those regards." She glanced once again towards the woods, "As for my 'friend,' I am sure he would find your apparent approval of his stalwart attitude as a respectful observance, if not the savage part. I'm sure one day he may become interested in such things."

Nygozy took a look at the group and smiled, "They have come to me. No searching had been done. I take those who wish to help and are capable to be of help as long as they adhere to my rules."