As Darami wandered the hallways of the Astral Astoria, he pondered over the thought of having a drink at Hades' Hive. He decided against it, Darami needed to rest before he could begin his daily reading and meditative practices. He looked around the hallways with curiosity but found nothing of interest.

As his footsteps echoed through the silent hallways, he searched for an answer to his question, if a tree falls in the forest and there is no-one there to hear it, does it make a sound? He constantly wondered about the riddle, it could make a sound but there would be no-one there to hear it. How could it be that a tree would make a sound with a creature hearing it. His lifestyle often gave him time to ponder over the ancient riddles yet he never found an answer.

Darami walked towards the turbolift and as he stood waiting for the doors to th turbolift to open, he heard sounds behind him. Faintly, footsteps were coming closer towards him. The footsteps were not of the usually variety were they are loud but these footsteps were deliberately quiet.

Darami turned quickly to see an attacker lunge at him with a fist and Darami fell to the floor as it made contact. He wondered whether this was a random or planned attack. Darami stood to make it seem as though he were going to fight but instead as a fist came towards Darami, he quicky turned and ran towards his quarters.

The loudness of Darami's footsteps and breathing echoed both ahead and behind him yet there was no sign of the attacker which provided evidence that this was a random attack. He came to his quarters just as he felt as though his lungs would collapse and he entered the quarters and dived at his bed.

As Darami sat in my quarters pondering over the attack with an ice pack to his jaw, he wondered whether the universe would be free from the evils that corrupted and destroyed so many of our lives? Would the universe ever be unveiled as a pure and beautiful place or would it stay as a dark and desolate place, destined for total destruction and hatred?

Life was difficult for Darami. He had so many enemies on this place and outside of the walls of the Astral Astoria. His line of work often cost him the freedom and safety that he destined to unveil to all parts of the universe. He constantly had to stay in his quarters for hours, days or even weeks before he could risk the attempt to walk the halls of the Astral Astoria in freedom.

He had an ancient phrase that was spoken by latin humans, and that was Carpe Noctem, or in English Seize the Night. Darami was a lover of the night which was rather controversial considering he wished to destroy the metaphoric darkness that surrounded the universe. He longed for the freedom to roam the hallways in peace, knowing that he wouldn't be given looks of shame and hatred as he walked or having the knowledge that he wouldn't be attacked by an enemy.

He felt ashamed knowing that he could not defend himself because of his beliefs and his work but he still trained in Martial Arts. His quarters had became a place of sanctuary many years ago and it had it's own Dojo for his training. Each night, he would train for an hour in Martial Arts. But today was different, today he would meditate in the Liate stance for the whole night in perfect silence...

The silence was soothing both to Darami's mind and to his soul. The Laite position was working perfectly so that he could collect his thoughts and banish all his negative thoughts to the back of his mind. Darami knew that was never possible to ban all negative thinking, but instead he had to place the negative thinking where he never went, metaphorically speaking.

As he sat in waiting, the clock was ticking by but it didn't disturb him. It was almost as if he had a barrier which blocked all sounds and thoughts that tried to enter his mind. The seconds soon turned into minutes, minutes into hours and after three hours, he suddenly felt a strange presence.

Darami hated to be disturbing during his meditative period but he knew that if he didn't react quickly, he could end up dead. He rose to his feet and suddenly the metaphoric bubble was destroyed. He turned to each side, searching for an unusual presence but there was nothing but perfect silence. As he slowly dropped to the Laite position, he suddenly felt a presence behind him. He turned to face the intruder.

"What is it you want with a man like myself? Do you wish to kill me because of my beliefs? Or do you wish to torture and break me down like so many before have done? I ask you, what is it you want?" Darami asked the intruder, who was dressed for the occasion. The intruder wore an all-black suit which seemed as though he was going to a ball or dance of some sort.
"What is it I want, is not what you think I want. I do not wish to harm you nor do I wish to cause you pain in any form. I am here to notify you of some news." The intruder told Darami. Darami relaxed as the words entered his mind and soothed his beating heart.
"Tell me this news then. I do hope that it is good news." Darami told the man.
"It has been said that you are a diplomatic man and have deep fundamentals and principles yet I have never heard of your name. Now, you shall have the chance to deliver your message to the people of the Astral Astoria in three weeks. You are to deliver a speech based on diplomacy and pacifism. Do you accept this agreement?" The man told me.
"How is this an agreement? Surely if I agree to play my part in this then I must be given something in return. Wouldn't that be so?" Darami asked the intruder.
"That is correct, in return for your services, the Astral Astoria management are willing to offer you complete freedom from rogues and thugs, with an offer of five thousand imperial credits also." The man said in a soft voice.
"I cannot accept the offer of money for giving a speech about my beliefs although if it is possible to stop the attacks that I am cursed with. I will willing oblige." Darami proclaimed, now having hope for freedom. And as quickly as the intruder had entered, he left.

Darami suddenly realised that he must prepare his speech and gain an infinite amount of knowledge about his own beliefs and the beliefs of others within three weeks. What a task I have, Darami thought as he sat at his desk preparing his first set of notes...

Pacifism is an ancient practice...

The first few words of Darami's speech and already he felt stupid about making a speech. What did the Astorian people want with his beliefs? They had not cared much about him nor had they tried to stop the savage and brutal attacks that so many times before they had walked by.

The few notes that Darami had were not enough. Darami walked towards his overly sized bookshelf and began searching through novels and research papers, books he'd written until finally he came to the section he wanted.

Ancient Beliefs and Practices

This book would be ideal for his speech, he would simply highlight some of the most beneficial notes that were inside the book and re-write them into a speech whilst adding his own views, opinions and quotes along side the speech. It will be perfect, Darami thought. Finally, Darami would have the respect and quality lifestyle that he deserved. And not just in his quarters, outside of his quarters, he would be respected.

Darami took out a pen and started underlining key sentences in the book, but after searching through several pages and finding many key sentences, Darami felt the presence that he had felt a day ago. He turned and again, there stood the man who had frightened him not long ago.

"What is that you want, kind sir?" I asked the man.
"I am simply here to admire your work, I am a great fan of yours and I persuaded the Astorian management to allow you to make a speech about your views and beliefs." The man told me with a certainty of honesty.
"If you must watch over me whilst I work, I believe that it would be best if you could place yourself onto a chair and not make any movement or sounds." Darami told the man.
"And also, what is your name?" Darami asked.
"My name is Dmitrovich, and I will make no noise or movements to disturb you, sir." And at that, there was silence as I continued my work...

The only sounds that hollowed through the room were that of Darami's furious scribbling of pen against paper, the deep breathing of both Darami and Dmitrovich and the constant turning of pages from the book that Darami had chosen to base his notes upon.

Darami was suprised that Dmitrovich had kept to his promise and simply sat beside him as he worked, making no sounds other than that of his breathing. Darami wondered whether Dmitrovich was hot in such dark clothing and Darami decided to ask whether Dmitrovich would be more comfortable without the mask that covered his face.

"Dmitrovich, would you feel more comfortable without that mask? You have no need to hide your face from me. I am not your enemy nor am I your friend, though I would feel uncomfortable knowing that my guest were uncomfortable." He asked Dmitrovich.
"If you would feel it best, I would like to take all of this exterior clothing of. Beneath this dark coat of clothing lies another coat of clothing. Do you have a place that I could take my clothes off?" Dmitrovich told me in a masculine voice, Darami was suprised that Dmitrovich could stand the heat.

As Darami stood to take Dmitrovich to a place of cover so that Dmitrovich would feel comfortable, I saw Dmitrovich take off his mask. I looked in awe as long, golden flowing hair came from the back of Dmitrovich's head and I looked upon Dmitrovich's face to find out that this person that I trusted was actually a woman. So beautiful Dmitrovich was too...