Nine Swords

From small beginnings come great things.
„Let me give you some context...“ a strong male voice filled the room

„You are sat at a table, it is rectangular and crafted from solid oak. You are sat with seven other people and you are positioned equidistantally along 3 sides of this table. Each one of you is wearing a black blindfold.

I am speaking to you via video phone. At any time during this conversation, you can remove your blindfold and look into my eyes as I speak to you all. I must state however, that the action of removing your blindfold now you are within this room is much like a contract – a life binding contract, between you and the people I am working with. You may leave the blindfold on as long as you wish... if you still have it on when I have finished speaking to you this morning, I will ask you for your decision.

Each one of you has the right to leave. Though I know each of you already has reason enough to be here. „

The eight remained as they were. No hands raised to remove or adjust a blindfold.

"It is apparent that you all wish to know more...

I shall continue. You are all here because of who you are, the paths you have walked, the journey I and my fellow associates believe you have in you to follow. You are all here because of the balance it is foreseen that you as a group could achieve. Where the old meets the new as it were. Where you find you face those you already know..."

A deep resonating laugh momentarily filled the room. The speaker followed this with a short cough

"... and join together to fulfill a common mission of protection, service and duty. Does anyone at this point wish to throw caution to the wind? "

The eight remained as they were, like breathing statues.

"Each of you has weaknesses, though what you may not have trained within your personal charactertistics is balanced by another. That other person compliments you. Where you falter, the other is strong. Together you are a formidable team."

This last sentence cauesd a slight movement in the room. One person at the table began to smile. The speaker recognised this and simply said...

"I think I may have just triggered a reason for one of you to be here, at least that is what I interpret. Would you like to speak?"

She shook her head to indicate no. Though slowly removed her blindfold. She looked around the table, and instantly recognised someone sat amongst the others.

Her smile remained, as did her silence.

"I recognise that you wish to not speak. Perhaps you are concerned you may sway other peoples thinking. Therefore, I shall continue. If at any point you wish to contribute to the dialog, please raise your hand."

She gave a slight nod in acceptance and glanced again with a smile at the person sat opposite her across the table and then faced the monitor to watch the speaker as he continued.

She watched the speaker talking, conveying his thoughts and ideas in an animated fashion. He appeared incredibly enthusiastic from his continual dialog and his manner. As interested as she was with the developments he was describing, her thoughts lapsed.

My journey, its factors and how it has contributed to me sitting in this room today are surely components to other people’s experiences; I mean, these factors must resonate in other people’s lives as well as my own. Without a force, there is no effect – and some forces most certainly impact harder than others. Or rather, they feel like they do. The age old problems of feeling like if you stay where you are for much longer, then things will come crashing down and that the fall-out from this would not only be detrimental to ones self, but to people who had no idea it was about to hit. Can you preserve face by walking away, perhaps not – perhaps instead you will be considered as the one who caused the hurt, the pain and the distrust will then come and whip you from the back when you least expect it. Maybe though, you can hold out for the hope that when the dust settles and the tempers are dampened that the long term outcomes are actually closer to what you had suggested they could become.

This is when I find my energy.

I don’t know if this is something personal to me, I very much doubt that it could be… but I know that this is the point where I throw all those pieces up in the air and look for the opportunities for a new game plan.

It isn’t that life is a game to me; it is more so that I need some chaos to enable me to find the clarity. Shake things up a bit and see what good can come from something. For me to find ways to grab hold of the ideas I have and give them a new lease of life. Now I have the energy to fight for them to be realised.

Added to this new lease of energy... is him. I have no doubt that I can play my part in what our speaker is describing, now I just wonder if he and the others around me will choose to walk this path with me.

Imagine…

Boomed the speaker. She gave him her full attention again... noting that the other blindfolded people also looked towards the screen even though they couldn’t see it.

…that you have the chance to not just join a group, but that you will play an instrumental part within it; perhaps its main focus. To join is obviously a step many people will take, however over time they often begin to show feelings of insignificance because they haven’t found their niche.

What will your niches be? You are all highly trained individuals; you each have your areas of speciality. Will one of you ensure that as a group we remain full of active and highly competent members? Will one of you help to ensure that the resources available are actively maintained and unparalleled in their content?

I believe each of you has something to contribute; my question now is who amongst you is ready to choose to remove their blindfold.
The speaker rested his hands on the desk in front of him.

Her hands rested on the table, palms down. She bowed her head for a moment. The only voice she heard so far was coming from what sounded to be a monitor. She lifted her head.

"I..."

She paused a brief moment.

"I'm here because I was called and because that's what I choose. My path led me here and now. I'm not here to stand passively on the sidelines. I want to help in building something greater than ourselves."

She raised her hands to the blindfold, lifted it, set it down on the table and ruffled her short hair. She had a faint chuckle and bowed her head with a playful smile at other person sitting across the table who had also removed her blindfold. She then gave a look around to the other blindfolded attendees, holding her breath a little as she recognized another familiar face, then turned her attention and gaze to the monitor.

For now, he decided to keep his blindfold on but to ask a question instead of making an immediate decision: "In the past, I have been in situations where I could see things weren't headed in a good direction but stayed silent for too long until, from my perspective, it was too late. So before I commit to such a contract for life, as you're calling it, I would like clarification on its contents. Will we be making our own agenda or who would decide on our aims and goals? It's obviously not usual for a group of people joining a bigger organization to just do our things, so to speak. But it is very important to me to know the exact limits of our freedom for the future."

It was clear to him that such a potentially troublesome question asked in this context could mean that the next thing he would feel was a pair of arms picking him up as well as the sole of a heavy boot in his back while flying out the door. But in the end, he really wanted to get it right this time. There just had to be certainity to some things. Working for someone that pushed his own agenda without regard for others' opinions or wishes was absolutely no option for him. If he was joining a group, he really needed to be convinced by what it stood for. So he kept his fingers crossed that it might out work right this time.

The speaker nodded and readjusted his position at his desk, his hands with fingers interlinked on the desk in front of him.

„I wondered how long it would be until you spoke. Your question is a valid one, and considering what I know about you, it is a question I have already spent time thinking about.
As un-nerving as it may sound, the group of you sat here right now are an experiment. An experiment in which those of you who sign up will work together in forming the foundation of a unit meant to be a mix of Old and New. Different backrounds, methodologies, beliefs... To fight on all fronts, the rising darkness, the other factions. Brought together in our, The Templar, common mission of protection, service, and duty.

With this as a base for the group, it is the wish of those that I work with that you will all choose to form a cabal together that not only upholds the goals of our faction – but that can develop goals of its own in keeping with our common mission. That you will work together in order to ascertain what you can contribute to our community. It will be down to you as founding members of the cabal to ensure that these are met. “

Satisfied with the response he received, he made the decision and lifted his blindfold. It took his eyes a little to get used to seeing again, so after squinting for a few seconds he started taking in the details of the room they were in as well as the people around him. With a short wave of his hand and a nod, he silently greeted those that had already made their decisions as well as the person on the video link.

"Three out of eight, Stated the speaker. our morning is progressing steadily. Before we continue, would anyone like to increase our numbers to 50%?"

She could feel that things had already begun to shift and take form in the room. The air was charged with something that she couldn't quite explain and it made goosebumps rise on her flesh.This could be the opportunity she'd been waiting for. A chance to carve her own history and prove her worth, but still she waited to hear more before making a final decision.

Maxime looked around the room, her eyes lingering longer on certain faces before lowering them to her hands, still resting on the oak table. "So we'd be a sort of bridge between the old guard and the new blood. That should be interesting...", she said softly, punctuating it with a slow nod before raising her eyes again to let them wander on the other attendees.