All Muadh'd Up (D4, Afternoon)

[Efren Lanville]

Efren nodded and smiled affectionately, "You ever need help fighting some tyrants. You get a hold of me okay?"

He then added, "And in return, maybe you'll help me understand the traditions of my Muadh ancestors a bit more?"

[Kiran Alsahar]

They smiled. "I'd be happy to help, though obviously my peoples' traditions aren't exactly the same. The southern Muadh no longer have aylonit, for instance, and maybe not even the concept of a saris."

[Efren Lanville]

"You'll have to excuse me for not being the best student... What is a 'saris'?" He asked.

[Kiran Alsahar]

"You can't know what you can't know, " they said with a shrug. "They would be like an aylonit, but a male at birth. There's never been one that I know of, though."

[Efren Lanville]

"I see... Yeah, from what I gathered while I was there, my mother's community has been female-led for quite some time. The title of Old and Young Mother are granted through conceiving children with outsiders. People born as males aren't tasked to lead in any way. It seemed as if men speaking to the group as a whole was even potentially threatening."

He paused, "I wonder when this rift took place. When did the communications between the Southern Continent and the rest break down? And why would the turn towards matriarchy be so cemented in their beliefs?"

[Kiran Alsahar]

"I wish I knew. The Old Mother said that aylonit were lost to their culture a long while ago," they said. "They mentioned outsiders coming and teaching them. That might be the source of some of the differences. I'm not sure why we were different."

[Efren Lanville]

"Huh..." He said with a look of interest and slight befuddlement.

"It is my intention to head back and spend more time with them soon... I'll see whatever I can learn from their stories and histories. The Lady Vim's research should also be recovered..."

He then turned to look at Kiran, "I'll be happy to share anything I learn if you are interested. They are my people... and understanding them helps me to protect them. The more people who understand them... the better."

[Kiran Alsahar]

Kiran nodded. "I agree. I'd love to hear more about them."

[Efren Lanville]

He smiled, “I don’t know if it’ll help with your path for all of humanity. But if you start small, maybe one day it’ll grow to something bigger.”

[Kiran Alsahar]

"I'd want to know regardless of if it's involved with that," they replied with a smile.

[Efren Lanville]

He smiled, “I’m glad.”

He continued, “I’ll be heading out of town for a little bit… Would you happen to have any recommendations for reading to learn more about ancient Muadh history or anything?”

[Kiran Alsahar]

"I wish. I think most written resources about us are by outsiders, so they'll be through that lens," they mused.

[Efren Lanville]

"Are there any good ones from those outsiders? Or least bad ones?" He asked.

[Kiran Alsahar]

They shrugged. "I'd check any library the Atreides might have. I'd be happy to share our oral history when you get back, though."

[Efren Lanville]

"I would love that." He replied with a warm smile.

Efren paused as they reached the end of a hallway with a window that looked out over the cliff behind the castle.

He leaned forward onto the base of the large windowsill and looked out over the ocean.

"I would like to share something private with you if I can..."

He waited for Kiran to give their acknowledgement before continuing.

"It is likely that my father will ask the duke to legitimate me as his heir once Leto returns. He told me of this intention this morning..."

He continued to look out over the sea, "My family has a special responsibility to the Muadh... Lanville lands are also those of our people. We secure their autonomy and ways of life."

He then turned to look at Kiran, "You and I are both young... There are older and wiser people around to help teach us now. But one day it will be people like you and me. And I feel that there is enormous potential among our people..."

He turned back towards the window and lowered his gaze to the area just above his hands, "I guess what I'm saying is... I will need friends and allies to help me in my duties. I hope that we can be those things for each other going forward."

[Kiran Alsahar]

They nodded in agreement. "I agree... there is a lot of potential there. They deserve better than being hidden away and forgotten where they aren't mistreated. I think we'll likely find ourselves at common purposes. I hppe we can be that to one another, as well."

[Efren Lanville]

He smiled and nodded his head while standing up straight, "You've made me twice glad then. When I get back, I'll look forward to hearing of our oral histories."

He smiled, "And you can continue to let me know more of your better path for humanity. I may not be sharp enough to understand it all, but I make a pretty good average idiot. It'll help you learn how to pallet it up for us dummies that make up most of the known universe."

[Kiran Alsahar]

They smiled. "I appreciate it. I need to run it by people to solidify my points."

[Efren Lanville]

He smiled teasingly, "Yeah, it'd probably be good to include other people on the whole path of humanity thing."

He then said, "And we'll have to do something fun sometime. Got any hobbies outside of saving all of humanity?"

[Kiran Alsahar]

"Yeah, I don't think it'll work without people on board - at least enough of them. Tyranny is kind what would be good to avoid," they admitted. "But like... give me more than two days with the idea for that, eh?"

"Yup! I like swimming and exploring. You?"