Council meeting for December: Second bejawl Postponed
Nannaras X
December 1st YC 120
With every month comes another council meeting between the Patriarch and the representing leaders of the CORE modules. This meeting happened on the 30th of November and went over the statistics and progress of the and laid down new plans for the Zaibatsu as we enter the month of December.
The first biggest thing to report on is the second Bejawl will not be happening on December 1st as intaily planned and will instead be hosted on the 22nd of December. Leading up to this date there has been a lack of organization and professionalism from the Head Director of the Karvose Collaboration Studios, Auljam Karvose. Auljam had failed to submit any official scheduling for the day’s festivities and had neglected coordinating with colony administration to begin preparing the festival grounds before the 1st. Along with this, Auljam’s own health is now in question. Auljam Karvose arrived at the meeting an hour late, noticeably fatigued, pale and sporting a cloth bandage on his forehead above his left eye. The meeting took no detour to question Auljam’s appearance as enough time was wasted with his tardy arrival. However Auljam would only remain in the room for thirty minutes before being promptly dismissed by the Patriarch and escort out by security after repeatedly nodding off to sleep at the table and looking “Unfocused and lost” when he was awake. The meeting continued on without him, but not before the Patriarch declaring the date for the second Bejawl to be pushed back to the 22nd of December immediately.
On account of his battered appearance, the Director was examined by Ohrion menders after his removal from the meeting. The menders began with removing the bandage over Auljam’s forehead. Beneath the bandage, menders found a infected, long, deep cut that they appraised as being the work of a short blade… The menders questioned Karvose on the source of this injury, but he was unwilling or unable to supply a coherent answer. As the examination progressed, symptoms of dehydration, sleep deprivation and blood loss (from the previously mentioned cut) were also noticed. On encountering extensive bruising to his right shoulder, the menders once again pressed Karvose on how he sustained these wounds, but no more in the way of clarification was forthcoming. Due to the extent of his injuries, after this initial assessment Karvose was transported off-site to an Ohrion facility for further treatment and testing.
Zaibatsu Peacekeepers were called in to investigate just what Auljam Karvose has been up to over the past few days. Communication between Karvose and the rest of the Zaibatsu has been growing increasingly tenuous in recent weeks, with the Director’s only public appearance being a brief show-of-face at last week’s Grand Feast in honour of the Zaibatsu’s agricultural sector.
In October, Karvose founded a program to teach applicants how to be a professional wrestler, and this detail casts some light on the affair. This program was a recurring theme in the interviews between the Peacekeepers and employees and collaborators of Karvose Collaboration Studio when asking about Auljam’s recent activites. And it gradually became clear that the Director scarcely left the program’s gymnasium during the fortnight leading up to the council meeting. The situation was so severe that Karvose had taken to sleeping for only a few hours in an office adjacent to the gymnasium, rather than his own home.
Professional wrestler and program instructor Himri Besi (perhaps better known by his stage name, Lostar Brail) was questioned about Karvose’s recent behavior. Himiri goes on to explain that ever since Foley Jones departed from the Studio, Karvose’s determination to see the program succeed became almost fanatical, with him working vastly extended hours in an attempt to fill the void left by Jones. Besi also revealed precisely how Karvose received the cut to his forehead: the night prior to the council meeting, Karvose asked Besi to teach him about “balding”
“Blading”, as it is called in the professional wrestling industry, is the practice of a wrestler intentionally cutting themselves with a small blade during a match. The bleeding that follows helps add to the drama of the bout, or - in the jargon of the field - “sell” how impactful an attack was. Due to the propensity for wounds to the forehead to heal quickly while bleeding profusely, the forehead and scalp are the choice targets for these blade jobs. The practice is for the most part safe when performed correctly, but an inexpert cut can sever an artery or–perhaps worse in the theatrical world of wrestling, leave a permanent scar.
Himri explains the moment between him and Auljam.
“I’m getting ready to head out, right? Students were already gone, gym was cleaned and my gear was already in the locker. Auljam calls me over about one last thing… I go over and immediately he gets to the point; asks me if I can show him how to do a blade job. At first I refuse, try to put it off ‘till later, but then he’s like “Nah, nah, nah man! It’ll be quick! Just show me once, real quickly, please!” and I just go with it. I go find the med-kit first then get my spare razor blades out of my locker and come back to him."
“Now, I ain’t about to actually do it right here in front of you but I’ll show you the motions. Now you take a small, concealable razor blade - typically you keep it hidden in your wrist bands or handed off to you by the referee…You hold it like this so your hands, keeping it hidden from the audience and the cameras. Go about right here above your eyebrow and give the blade a little push, get it into your skin, then slide it across a wee bit and you’re done. I do this in front of Auljam, let the blood flow, patch myself up and hand Auljam a clean blade”
“Now, at this point I knew I made a mistake as the man was clearly a little nervous about this, but I let him do it…and he fails. I mean, he gets the blade in, slides it across a bit, but then gets scared halfway though and panics, cuts too much and from the look of it, a little too deep, ‘cause damn, that blood starts gushing out. I jump on to controlling his bleeding and getting him patched up as quickly as possible, all while Auljam begs me not to tell anyone… I keep telling him I won’t so he’ll calm the ■■■■ down and let me help him, and after I get him bandaged up and I’m about ready to run out and just be done with the day, I tell him to go see one of those, uh… Orows, Ohrans or whatever they’re called for actual medical help. He said he would and I left him there at the gym, thinking he was gonna be fine and check himself in.”
- Himiri Besi (Lostar Brail)
Clearly, Karvose failed to heed Besi’s advice to seek out Ohrion Menders for medical attention. With the disturbing nature of blading–someone deliberately spilling their own blood to further dramatize an already-scripted performance–it is safe to assume that Karvose wanted to hide this detail about professional wrestling from the public eye. Now that this detail is made public, there is some concern about what exactly is being taught in this program.
Karvose is to remain in a Ohrion clinic for a week to rest and recuperate. This stay is mandatory and, and security are instructed to prevent any attempt he should make to leave. The responsibilities of the Collaboration Studio will temporarily fall into the hands of Viontha Rundon, an Intaki actress that was appointed “Lead Collaborator” by Auljam Karvose after their years working together in the holo-reel industry. Viontha’s focus is. and will continue to be, on preparations of the Bejawl on the 22nd of December.
In other, less dramatic, news regarding the council meeting, a new policy has been initiated to allow the Stelmari Exchange to facilitate the sale of produce and meats from the Kresh Root Society. Previous policies allowed the Colony Administration and the Kresh Root Society to handle the allocation of food stock in the Zaibatsu. However, after facing concerns regarding the storage of produce, Stelmari Oksasio’s idea of taking some of the stock to sell on outside markets for additional funds was accepted. Warehouses for food products are also to operate at 75% capacity, with any stock above that to be donated to the Exchange. Currently, the Exchange seeks third parties to whom they can sell this produce, netting themselves a tidy profit–and demonstrating their capabilities to the Patriarch in the process.
ZANIE will be on standby this December for any new updates.