Cathak Nekuto
"When I heard that the Wyld Hunt Nekuto was attached to had all perished in a fight against the anathema, I confess I breathed a sigh of relief. My husband was nothing special to look at, and his Aspect-granted passion was all for his troops. Without good enough breeding to even tinge his skin, taking him into my bed was like bedding a mortal, and most of the servants are easier on the eyes. Nekuto had a little snub nose, close-set eyes with overlarge eyebrows and some of the most boring brown hair I've ever seen. I'm not saying he was ugly, mind you, just that I could have done much better as one judges these things.
"I suppose Nekuto could have made up for his physical shortcomings if he were at least a decent socialite and could make a good political impression, but he couldn't even manage to get that right. He wore his armor to dinner parties. His armor! And then he was always going on about his troops and their battles. Where was the talk of gardens, of poetry, of music? He was barely around the house long enough to be a nuisance and still I'm better off without him. I hope my next husband proves a better man."
-- Cathak Tilis, Widow to Cathak Nekuto
Little Egg Lost[edit]
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"We didn't talk about our lives before Pasiap's Stair, much. It was one of the unwritten rules of the school; whatever came before didn't matter, we were training for our futures as officers of the Realm. Nekuto wasn't a patrician, otherwise he would've been adopted into one of the Great Houses straightaway and sent to the House of Bells, instead of ending up with us at the Stair. But he didn't grow up on the streets like I did, either, son of a dockworker. You could see it in his eyes; he'd had just enough privilege to dream of a grand life and just enough struggle to know it would never happen. Not until he exalted, anyway.
"Nekuto was more determined to succeed than anyone else in our fang; than anyone else at the Stair, probably. Seizing his chance to realize those old dreams, I guess. He didn't make fang leader until our third year - Meplit had a harder time backing down and I had an easier time with the war Charms, being Earth Aspected - but I don't think we would've made it to that third year if it wasn't for Nekuto. He stayed up late with us to make sure we got the tactical principles we'd get tested on the next day, he was the one who went back to carry Verun when he'd fall, even though Bepof was stronger. He was our heart.
"They spilt us up after we graduated, of course. I went to the twelfth near Chiaroscuro and they sent Nekuto to the fifth up in Cherak. I mustered out when they put the legions under control of the great houses - I serve the Realm and the Empress, not a bunch of petty would-be kings. Nekuto's probably still with it, though; I think about him carrying Verun and I can't imagine him doing anything else but leading troops."
-- Ceges Halen, Talonlord of the Twelfth Legion, Retired
The Phoenix Hatches[edit]
"My son, Hejek, had never Exalted, but I was proud of him just the same. He knew what he wanted and went after it, and he'd become a fangleader by his twenty-second birthday. That was also when he wrote to me about his scalelord, Nekuto. A fire-aspect, like myself, he was a lost egg done well. But not as well as he would've liked. His talon was pulling dirt missions while Dynasts received sweeter assignments, he'd trained his men fabulously well, but had no chance to test or advance his skills. I met Nekuto myself a few times, when Hejek brought him home on leave or when I got to travel for house or Realm. He was everything that Hejek said he was.
"The Empress had left us by then, and I knew that the hounds in the Deliberative would soon turn their talk of house-sponsored legions into a reality. I did what I had to - I went to meet Nekuto and offered him my daughter's hand and the name and patronage of my house. I had him leading a talon in Harborhead not long after that. Things went from bad to worse quickly, though, with Tepet's failure in the north and Cainan had to pull the wing back home in case things got worse still.
"But Nekuto wouldn't hear of it. He'd had his first taste of action as a true commander and he wasn't about to go back to readiness drills. Even though we might soon have needed him at home, I couldn't bear to bring him back to boredom so soon. I arranged things with Cainan so that he could keep one scale, Hejek's, and continue on for a two-year tour with the local Wyld Hunt. I hope that settles my boys down enough to let them rest at home a while - the vultures are starting to circle."
-- Cathak Caras, Senator of the Greater Chamber
