<div class="floatleft">(http://i.imgur.com/VwYXW5c.jpg)</div><del><strong>Sesus Shaoji</strong></del><strong>Towering Oak</strong><br/><strong>Location:</strong>The Plantation<br/><strong>Anima:</strong>Dim<br/><strong>Tags:</strong>Sparrow<br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Essence/Active Effects</div><div class="spoiler_body">Personal Essence 13/13<br/>Peripheral Essence 26/33<br/>Harmonious Presence Meditation (7m, +3 dice to all social influence)</div></div><hr/><br/>"Surviving the journey over the barbarian wilds between Thetla and Prasad is not enough of a hero's tale?"  Oak laughed, cheerily, the joke and his ease of manner facilitated by the joint he waved around to punctuate his point.  "Your standards of heroism are truly daunting, Sparrow -- I can tell I'm going to have to do something worthy of the Dragons themselves to win your approval.  To address your question, however..."<br/><br/>Oak's gaze flicked briefly to Baral, then back to Sparrow and the third, of-yet unintroduced man.  "Thetla is not a large country, but our gods are strong and obedient to the Immaculate Calendar, our armies powerful, and our wealth sufficient to satisfy the tastes of even a Guildsman," he said, allowing some pride in his voice.  "Prasad is one of our more relevant trading partners for some of the rarer botanicals our people produce, next only to the Realm itself.  To this day, my great-grandmother claims we can claim descent from House Buranao, but -- well, stories being what they are."  He gave Baral a knowing wink.  "When our return shipment of interests from Prasad never returned to us... they sent me to ask about it.  And my uncle, noble man that he is, decided that he would arrange for a fitting companion for a mortal prince to meet me here, rather than spare any of my sisters, his daughters, or his concubines.  I'll admit I was a little irritated by the man's decision, but I can clearly see that Sextes Jylis was was smiling on the arrangement.  My Lord Sesus is an old friend to the family, so it was with his permission that we are impinging upon his hospitality."