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| Owner | Pose |
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| Marigold | THE MISSUR PENINSULA, ETRURIA At the Nabata Desert's eastern edge. It's been a whole week and a half, and nothing bad has happened. Igrene and Fae stayed behind in the secret village of Arcadia. Sophia has come along as a guide through the Nabata desert and a support for Roy, still shaken by the relevation that he isn't fully human, though her time with the group is soon to come to an end. Sophia still clutches Forblaze; the divine tome, the memento of her mentor, and the cause of the lingering injuries on her hands. It's no use to her. She ought to give it to you, she clearly knows. And yet... well, maybe that's the real reason she's stayed. The sands and wastes of Nabata have, as soon as you rounded the foothills of a mountain range, transformed within a day's travel into flowering Etrurian grasslands. At one point there was even a small farming village, whose inhabitants donated a precious sword or two and furtively whispered thanks for resisting the Bernish coup. (Scarred Cecilia, talking with them, looked almost like her heart would break.) |
| Marigold | Today, as the sun nears the flat horizon behind you, most of the army is hunting for food or building a fire in the forested hollow where you've pitched camp. Conveniently near the warpgate, a large white army-tent has been pitched, and soft light filters through its canvas onto a map on a (spare-wagon-parts-improvised) large table. The map is a layer of translucent oil-paper, shaded with pastels to show force distributions, over inked terrain. THE WAR MAP: https://i.imgur.com/ip1bPMe.png It isn't pretty. The military commanders and their advisors are crowded around the table, scooting over to make room as you come in- which is to say, Mage-General Cecilia with her intent yet soft-eyed demeanor, ex-provisional Archer-General Klein white-knuckling the table's edge, Roy's counselor Seneschal Merlinus quietly fretting enough to go bald if he weren't already, and casually towering Echidna who's wormed her way in on a likely technicality. She's sort of a commander, debatably. Roy belongs there too, but he's awkwardly hovering at the table's corner, clearly still haunted by something. Clarine (who looks a lot like Cecilia with her hair down- is that on purpose?) sits in a chair nearby as Klein's plus-one, making herself useful by scribbling down the minutes. Sophia hugs Forblaze to her chest like a teddy bear at the tent's entrance, probably on call for her future-sight. And Marcus, the old Lycian knight, stands by an upright vellum note-board in the back. Written on it are topic notes: 1. KING MORDRED'S SAFETY 2. DRIVING BERN FROM MISSUR 3. WARPGATE VS. RALLYING 4. GUINIVERE'S LETTERS 5. DIVINE WEAPONS' DEGRADATION 6. DRIFT OF MAGICAL LAW And in different handwriting: 7. Elffin. Wouldn't you know it, Echidna's two buddies have snuck in too: her ginger spymaster Larum and blind bard Elffin. They look a little tense. Cecilia keeps eyeing them guardedly. "Oh, come in, come in," says Merlinus as the first warpgate arrivals enter, readily scooting his portly frame over to make room at the table. "Can I get you anything? Tea? I wouldn't recommend the alcohol tonight!" "They might need it, Merlinus," says Cecilia, looking up for only a brief smile. "I don't like seeing our situation all laid out like this." "Really? I've seen worse," Echidna says dryly. "Easier to be a revolutionary than a general, I'm afraid." "Is that so." |
| Aidan Proudpick | Aidan's eyes climb to see Clarine just sitting and taking minutes instead of trying to hunt down someone to throw herself at or declare her new sexuality for the month. "Tea's great!" He drifts around the map, looking at it. Full scale army manuevers have never been something on his mind. He's always just... hit and ran to try and bait the Empire out and make things harder for them. His decision to change the Gale Empire from within doesn't exactly help here. The squirrel moves around the map, letting his eyes drift over each set of demarkations. A twitch of his tail marks a thought passing through his head before he makes his way up to the board. This takes a bit longer, as Aidan has to actually mouth every word out to himself and some of them several times to himself. Do you know how insane a name like Guinivere is to sound out?! He finally ends up standing next to Roy. Aidan tries to slouch a bit so he doesn't look like he's TOO much taller than Roy. "What's yer plan for a path?" |
| Odette Raskins | Even though it might be better for Sophia to turn over the Forblaze, Odette isn't the person that's going to make her do it. She does remain nearby, though, offering her some bandages for a little extra padding, slow-release painkillers, and a bottle of water to wash them down with. "Feeling okay? These... They're not super strong, so they won't mess you up, but they'll last a good while!" She leaves the 'supposedly' left unsaid, so there might be that much more of a placebo effect. The EMT is still dressed in her local thrift-store quality adventuring gear rather than her usual uniform, although her Company-issued cap is still plainly visible on her head along with the medbay-symbol'd cape. The cape is light enough to use for shade with the power of sticks, too, although walking through the desert is still a drain on Odette's stamina more than even fretting over Sophia's hands, Cecilia's scars, or Roy's... He's not doing great, is he? Odette checks on him rather often, too, although she's truly not sure how to try and take his mind off his revealed lineage. Seeing the map laid out with all those different indicators of who's where with how much territory probably isn't helping much, either, but the list of topics... No, that's not really helping either. The divine weapons falling apart is an obvious concern to Odette, who already doesn't have the means to fight most anything here, but losing the divine weapons would absolutely be a blow to her mental state. The next topic, however, catches her eye, and she at the commanders of the group while taking out her PDA and taking some notes of her own in following with Clarine's example. "Ah... Wh-what's this about topic 6? Um. 'Drift of magical law'? Is that something we need to worry about, too?" Another pause, and then she inhales anxiously through her teeth. "I-is there someone that would enforce that, if we end up breaking it with all the divine weapons involved?" |
| Dysnomia | Dysnomia finds herself drifting between Sophia and Marcus on the walk through the desert. The old soldier, strangely, felt a little easier to talk to. Another old soldier, used to the twists and turns of battle and all its pratfalls...but Mia found herself asking over Sophia's wounded. Wondered, to herself, just how much she'd done for her people at her own expense. It wasn't a difficult treak, but it felt like it grinded on and on. Time and time again, she'd find herself glancing back the way they came, wondering at the loneliess of a shining little soul, trapped in Arcadia. It wasn't exactly better, when she filtered into the room with the others. But it was more...Comfortable. Tactical acumen laid out, threats and potential movers and shakers all laid out before them. "I don't like seeing our situation all laid out like this." "It's hardly good, no. But there might be opportunity, here..." She knocked her fist on the table. "General Cecilia. I seek clarificaiton. It is my understanding that your fellow generals fight for Bern because the King is threatened. Is that the case?" She doesn't wait for an answer. "If so. The forces of these generals..." Little red pins, help up by writhing smoke, impacked the map, upon the forces of the two generals. A dainty red string strung itself between them. "...and their forces might cease hostility. If that monarch is rescued. With the council's leverage ousted, Bern would have no further hold on Etruria." Assuming there were no further sudden-but-inevitable betrayals. But Dysnomia couldn't exactly predict that. "That may be our best hope. Our forces are thin. Spread out. Concealed in the mountains, Cecilia's forces may be able to hold out for years, if not decades. But while staying entrenched her makes the Council's situation more precarious, it's not a winning stroke on its own." "But to get there, we would need to bring a team in, push on through enemy territory...And likely Galle. A smaller team might allow for more discrete action. But they would be cut off from support." Her eyes find the old soldier. "What do you say, Marcus? Is my read correct?" |
| Desire Stars | Neon is among those helping with the fire, having brought along some skewers and kindling from home, as well as a little fan and even a grate to use as a grill, with rocks she gathered from nearby to rest it on. Ace, meanwhile, elected to help with gathering food. *I'd bet that someone's going to trap or hunt something. But I'd also bet that people would appreciate having a decent spread. A lot of nervous faces around that planning table. We should take any chance we can get to eat well.* But of course, you can't just go grabbing everything that looks like it might be edible. It's best to know what grows in the area and is safe--Ace doesn't, but there are a few people he imagines might. Sophia, Cecilia, Merlinus and Dieck are all variously either well educated, well traveled or experienced enough to be good starts. So, he canvasses them. "Like this?" Detailed pencil drawings of the descriptions he's given are presented, on the level of quality one might expect to find in a journal of natural philosophy from this world, altered with quick strokes of an eraser as necessary. He returns with a burlap sack laden with the bounty of the forest, tying it up to keep animals from getting in and dropping it near the rest of the provisions. |
| Madeleine Cadrasteia | Madeleine is more used to being a strategic asset than a strategic advisor, so if she had to tell the truth she'd admit to being a little excited about sitting in on a Big Important Planning Session. She's not about to let this opportunity pass her by - she's feeling chatty today. "Do we know what Bern's supply lines are like for the Missur region? This country isn't fit to sustain an army on forage alone. Is all their support coming around the north of the Lycian mountains, or is it possible they're shipping goods in past the isle of Valor?" She gestures at the southern coast on the map. "What are the seas and coasts like in the south? If there's no sea route direct from Bernish home turf then turning Etruria and shutting the overland route may have to come before breaking their hold on Missur." "What's this point about warpgates? Are you thinking of moving troops overland through the gates we already know of? I'm strongly in favor for moving small teams, like us Otherworlders, but dropping the whole army into terrain of uncertain allegiance could see us encircled. Retreating through the bottleneck of a warpgate is not an enviable position." "My, ah, exchanges with Zephiel did bear some information - namely, that he is well aware of the ways magic is changing," Madeleine says, skipping ahead on the list. "'The bones of the world already creak,' and all that," she says with a nod to Flamel. "But I'm not sure if that means he's *behind* it or simply aware of the process. Either way it'll be important to find out what we can about how things are changing - if they're going back to the ways of the Scouring, or to some new configuration. My guess is the second, because the divine weapons are starting to show wear and tear. Something tells me that wasn't part of their original design." "Which reminds me," the huntress continues, turning to the person perhaps least eager to speak up. "Sophia, did Forblaze ever see use in your memory? Having an idea of how it worked before could give us some insight into what's changing with the Weapons. Their decay is a thorn in our side but we'll have to contend with Eckesachs and Maltet sooner or later and having a weakness to exploit could be key." |
| Lilian Rook | Nothing bad happening for this long may be the record for not involving a ship, or so Lilian thinks. She'd take the opportunity to get anxious about when the next shoe would drop and mantle the tension that she is so habituated to, but every day that nothing goes wrong within memorable distance of Arcadia is now a little blessing to be thankful for. At some point, she fixes Marcus with her most silently grave 'I am so sorry. I get it now.' type of expression in her repertoire, and moves on. 'Easier to be a revolutionary than a general, I'm afraid.' "That's a shame, seeing as you're both now." is Lilian's joining line, finding the first point nobody with a noble title is saying anything mission critical. "Much like how the situation won't change no matter how we choose to document it." Lilian has clearly taken Merlinus' advice (and tea, after trying 'not to bother him' once), having the stones to show up to this meeting sober. She isn't quick to invite herself to the table, but even with her cup occupying her hands, what she means to illustrate on the map is abundantly clear simply by the path of her gaze. |
| Dark Horses | MICHINAGA frowns incredibly deeply at the sight of of the two people he despises the most are sadly still alive at the camp, clicking his tongue in annoyance as he shoves his hands into his DGP branded jacket. Things are never that easy for him, it seems. Worse than that, he's a bit out of the loop. And while he could simply be quiet and absorb the information just fine, that'd take a bit longer than swallowing his pride and asking somebody to catch him up. Though the only person he really knows how to talk to is... Ace can feel Michinaga's stare burrowing into the back long before he speaks up. "You don't have a reason to screw me over, so I might as well ask, what're the important things I need to know? Facts only, I don't care about your opinions." His way to speaking to Ace is more like talking to some sort of trickster deity or jinn, than an actual human being. KEIWA, having noticed the few times Neon, Ace, and sometimes Michinaga had disappeared, has finally had enough. They're adults, sure, but they're also part of the DGP, and it's kind of suspicious that they just kinda vanish like that. Is it secret training? Are they just best friends? Or maybe it's some sort of weird affair??? He really hopes it's not the last one, honestly. N-Not because he has feelings for any of them, but because it'd be really awkward, and because he doesn't want to be labeled as a pest! So here he is. In the middle of the camp, having stumbled in after stealthily trailing behind Michinaga (he knew). Not knowing what to do, and too scared to ask, he defaults to joining Neon, giving her a weak smile. "Hey. Uh, need help?" |
| Flamel Parsons | "Hi! Get me hydrated for sure, and the caffeinated-est tea you've got." Flamel brightly smiles on his way in. "Priority one for me is Guinivere. There's some letters, it said? What's that about? We need to get to her before they move her to Bern, that blade's pretty crucial I think!" Cheerful, eager, and incessantly optimistic. "I think if we push our hardest, though, we can make it!" Looking at the map, that might be in question. "That trio all being here, making problems getting to Aqualeia... It's scary! We We definitely can't loop west around those mountains, we definitely can't afford Percival pincering us from the east, with Douglas north and Galle above. He nods a few times at Dysnomia. "If we could get at the king, though, all that turns around fast. *If*, though. We can't really do much with that..." He runs his fingertips through his hair messily, in frustration. "Graaahhhh, if only we had *some* way of doing *something* about the Eliberian royalty situation from here! We could do *something* about, maybe at least one of those generals! Ahhh... well, we'll figure something out! Maybe if Cecilia knows one of them...?" Many of the other things are unknown to him, but he *is* interested in some of it. "The magical law drift, the divine weapons... I'd been wondering about that! Are we really thinking it's about to be affecting our tactical situation, though? I'd be *amazed* if fundamental values are still changing so much, after all these years since the Scouring!" |
| Angela | Echolalia has elected to stay behind a little longer for Fae's sake, feeling that SO MANY PEOPLE leaving at once would be hard for her and the least she can do is keep her company a bit longer. So long as nobody ambushes everyone again, and what are the odds of that, she figures she can linger behind a few days and catch up. Just like an echo, she'll always follow you! At least that's what she told Dysnomia. She's really proud of that one. The Lobcorp Agents, conversely, have more or less not been present in Arcadia. They got called back for drills and are returning now. Shajo looks annoyed, Nonon looks troubled and sour, and Tennant is as cheerful as ever. "Yo Mia!! We should talk about movies again! I've found SO MANY dragon movies. I can talk you up all night about them!" Tennant shouts. Nonon sighs, crossing her arms and she gestures to Shajo who ends up pushing forward to take the lead. "Hey... Glad to be back for a bit." He says, glancing over to Echidna before turning to Roy. "I'll get right to the point. We have it on good authority that Hokma ... ... Well he was the guy who was running strategy for us, he's gonna do something against the facility soon. Within a month, maybe two. We're not entirely sure--" "It's time for the boss's Meltdown! I can't skip it..." Tennant has joined Shajo who grumbles under his breath but doesn't stop them. "Basically we can't really rely on him to lend a hand with strategy and we might get called away at any moment. Tennant for sure, me for sure. Nonon a maybe. I'm seeing if we can't get at least her stationed longterm with all of you but it's an all hands on deck situation so I can't say for sure" Nonon, behind, says, "I gotta keep fighting with Echidna! It's not fair that I get to miss it!" In a boisterous whine. "As she says." He pauses, looking at Merlinus. "That bad huh? Sorry for bringing extra bad news." Tennant looks at the map, pushing towards it, studying it thoughtfully. "Oh wow, an actual actual War Map. Haven't seen one of these in a long time!" Tennant seems more excited than troubled. "I'm no expert but this doesn't look good at all, haha..." They look to Cecilia and adds, "You know I haven't seen too many war movies? Gives me bad vibes, haha... I suppose after the real thing, the film version isn't quite as fun--no matter how well directed! But I did like that film about making a war film... It was a bit goofy, though, haha." |
| Petra Soroka | This is the worst part of war. Well, the widespread death and terror is bad too. The crying children and adorable home villages near collapse aren't great, actually being in battle is still pretty shitty feeling, the constant betrayal and backstabbing and uphill-climbing is exhausting, but the truly worst part, that Petra dreads every time, is strategy meeting. Because she's *bad* at it, and it makes her feel *stupid*. Petra is dressed in a cute knitted shawl that doesn't quite obscure the anachronistically modern long sleeve tee worn underneath it. She slips into the tent without any fanfare or greeting beyond a little wave of her hand (mostly in the direction of Klein and Clarine), before loitering at the entrance along with Sophia. Unlike Sophia, though, she's not gifted with the minimal utility of at least being worth calling on, so her presence at the far end of the tent from the strategizing is more like "hanging at the back of the class", so that she's not taking up room around the table. The worst students sticking together. She starts to nibble on a granola bar, before very carefully leaning back on one of the poles to make sure that her under-sixty-kilograms doesn't somehow topple the entire tent. "How's the meeting been so far?" Specifically, asking Sophia's opinion is the one Petra is most comfortable with, because she senses that Sophia is much more likely to explain the emotional reality rather than the tactical minutiae. 4. GUINIVERE'S LETTERS Compared to the movement of armies, this is something Petra has a lot more personal comprehension of. She politely raises her hand, because she doesn't feel like she counts as a 'military leader' (she shouldn't), so her participation is upon-request rather than free. "What do we know about where Lady Guinivere's at? Still in Etruria? And, uh, King Zephiel too, since he wasn't in Bern last time we knew." "We need to get to her before they move her to Bern, that blade's pretty crucial I think!" Petra gnaws on her granola a little longer to consider that. "Do we think that Lady Guinivere's treatment is going to be more driven by, like, tactical concerns, or personal ones? Is Zephiel going to be more concerned with the Fire Emblem, or his sister? That changes a lot for how difficult it'd be for us to get to her." |
| Odette Raskins | "namely, that he is well aware of the ways magic is changing," "I'd be *amazed* if fundamental values are still changing so much, after all these years since the Scouring!" "Wait, do you mean... N-not like, legal laws, but natural law?" Odette glances between Madeleine and Flamel rapidly as she starts to get what magical law actually means, going pale for one entire second. Afterwards, her face lights up, and not just because shecan smell the scent coming from the fire. "Is it because of us being here? A-are we throwing off the natural order just by showing up? Maybe thatmeans we could even be leading to new..." She takes a deep breath to calm herself down, then fiddles with her glasses briefly. "S-sorry. It's just... All new territory for me, you know? I haven't seen anything like this since... Ever." "Their decay is a thorn in our side but we'll have to contend with Eckesachs and Maltet sooner or later and having a weakness to exploit could be key." "Like... Breaking them? O-on purpose?" Odette's gaze falls on Sophia as well after MAdeleine asks her that, biting her lip for a moment whiel considering that approach. "That might hurt us more than Bern, I think. They must know by now that we're looking for any advantage we can get to fight their dragons, so... I-I mean, it'd still be a loss to them if they broke, but it might be even more of a loss to us, you know?" ACE with provisions, MICHINAGA being MICHINAGA Even though Odette wasn't the one asked, she feels a pull to help out her fellow DGP contestants. "H.. Hello, Mister Buffa! Let's see.. Um. We rescued General Cecilia-" She gestures helpfully at Cecilia, "-and then we followed Miss Sophia-" She gestures at Sophia next, "-to a village of dragons and humans coexisting out in a desert. And.. N-now, we're here to assess all this stuff going on." One more gesture at the map and the list of topics, and then Odette chuckles awkwardly as she tries to reorganize her thoughts again. Did that actually help him at all? |
| Desire Stars | You don't have a reason to screw me over, so I might as well ask, what're the important things I need to know? Ace smiles at Michinaga, but it lasts only for a moment. Whatever smarmy thing he might have said somewhere else is stowed away. "First of all," he says, voice low so as not to talk over the planning, "What you're seeing is it. We've managed to recruit a few people, but we're still very outnumbered." "Bern has been steadily growing its ranks, which is unusual for any war, let alone the kind that their leader is waging. It's not about borders, or who has the right to what, or even a disagreement about which god is right. Zephiel is doing this to see the verdict of some trial where humanity itself is the defendant. So..." "He won't be bought off or even dissuaded. And most of his troops have no idea. You won't have much trouble against them, but it doesn't seem to cost them much to throw men at us, whereas we have to be very careful about losses. Worst of all..." Ace frowns. "They've got more than just numbers on their side. Zephiel's officers are a match for you or me easily. And they've started fielding... let's call it 'armored cavalry.' Dragons. Or something close enough it makes little difference." "We have weapons to deal with them," he says, nodding to turn Michinaga's attention to the tome that Sophia carries; to Armads, too, if it's present. "Legendary artifacts from another era. But they're starting to degrade, and our experts on the matter don't seem to know what to make of it." "Bern's campaign is also making it hard for us to move unnoticed or to make allies. The last thing we did was discover a village with humans and dragons living together--dragons, I should mention, were thought to have been wiped out. Unfortunately, we had to fend off a party from Bern who wanted to conscript the dragons in that village." "But it's not all bad news. The village is safe, for now. And on the whole, we've won more than we've lost. Our arsenal of those artifacts is growing. So is Roy's army, if only by a little bit. We've survived way longer than a force this small would, otherwise." He frowns thoughtfully. "Aside from that... when fighting breaks out, listen to Lilian. She's got leadership experience and she's a big part of the reason we've made it this far. The rest should get covered by this meeting pretty easily." |
| Desire Stars | Hey. Uh, need help? "Hi, Keiwa," says Neon, wiping a bit of sweat from her brow with the sleeve of her windbreaker. Neon has always seemed quietly harrowed, try as she might to hide it behind her warm demeanor. Letting the sleeve fall back to her waist where she's tied it, "Yeah, actually." "I think this'll last for a while, but it seems like fires take more to get going than they do to keep going. Wanna take a look around for some logs we can use later tonight to keep it going?" |
| Lilian Rook | 'Hey... Glad to be back for a bit.' "Happy to see a reliable face." Lilian says, while studying a map. It's a figure of speech. 'I gotta keep fighting with Echidna! It's not fair that I get to miss it!' "We'll get through it quickly. God knows this war will still be here when you get back." 'Is Zephiel going to be more concerned with the Fire Emblem, or his sister?' "The Fire Emblem. Without a doubt." Lilian says. "What he's doing right now is too important. And unlike us, Guinivere has effectually defied him before." Taking a moment just to quietly drink her tea, Lilian exhales, weariness fogging on the edge of her cup, then opens her eyes again. "Well, let's get something out of the way. What did Elffin do?" It's very hard to tell if that's a joke or not. Then, she tilts her chin up at the map. "In no universe do we leave General Cecilia's forces in the mountains and win this war. Missur is not a negotiable issue; King Zephiel's forces overwhelmingly outnumber ours, so we do not have the luxury of 'leaving them tied up'. Rooting Bern's troops out of the mountains at every step won't be plausible with the time we have and our general lack of aerial troops. It would be best to coordinate with whomever we can to make a straight shot at General Galle. Defeating him will be the most plausible key to taking the region; he knows as much, but I don't think he'll take the sensible strategy of shying away and letting his troops wear us down." "Fighting General Perceval at the door to Etruria is a fool's errand; General Douglas will no doubt be prepared to capitalize on the terrain and smash us from both sides. Etruria is the more powerful immediate ally, with the potential to cow Lycia into compliance, and so Mordred has to be our next highest priority after Guinivere. The one possibility that we should seriously entertain is using General Galle's presumptive capture and the rallying of General Cecilia's army as a means to break sufficiently weak attachments to Bern in Lycia and Etruria; that is, if the leadership is being genuinely compelled against their personal wishes." "But that can come later." Lilian trails off, recharging her talking meter with more of Merlinus' tea. "I doubt the Divine Weapons are going to lose their efficacy so quickly it should jeopardize our ultimate goal, but that makes me just as curious why King Zephiel knows or cares at all. We're not exactly in any position to spy on him." |
| Marigold | "You know, Etrurian chestnuts are highly prized..." "How 'bout some quail eggs? Look for..." "Ah... I've always liked the wild onions..." "Yes. That kind of mushroom exactly. Make sure it bruises blue." Ace can find a nice helping of all those, plus wild apples and pears. Merlinus peeks out of the tent and raises his bushy eyebrows on his return. "My goodness, young man, that's a healthy spread. Mind if I cook them up for us?" The fruits enter the tent's food circulation near-immediately; roast chestnuts filter in a little later, when he returns with drinks. "It's time for the boss's Meltdown!" "You're going to be betrayed? And you're just... waiting for it to happen?" Roy says to the Agents, not quite getting it but absorbing the gist. Echidna claps a hand on Nonon's shoulder and nudges her amiably, then gives her a sparkling wink when she turns around. "Hey, it's my favorite couple. Glad you're both working for me again. You still haven't gotten to see me use Armads, huh?" In the background, Larum droops. "How's the meeting been so far?" Sophia, relieved to see Petra and Odette, leans in and murmurs. "Bad... um, Cecilia got mad earlier... I've never seen that... she doesn't like Klein much. I think more people got invited so they'd stop fighting..." She takes the painkillers obediently. The cuts on her hands from Forblaze have mostly healed, but still glow uncannily, as if they'd cut something deeper than meat. "What's yer plan for a path?" Roy steadies himself and looks to Cecilia for assurance, who nods. "It's bad. Right now, Bern controls all of inhabited Elibe except the Western Isles. Our only hope is to regain Etruria as an ally by striking at Aquleia, the capital. That's where High Chancellor Roartz heads the coup." He pokes the red-circled city with his finger, in Great General Douglas's territory. "Everyone's in agreement on that. But we haven't agreed on how to get there." His eyes wander to Cecilia and Klein, who look at each other, both with a trace of grumpiness. "Easier to be a revolutionary than a general, I'm afraid." "That's a shame, seeing as you're both now." "Dame Commander. I take your spirit, but I must insist I'm a 'loyalist'," says Cecilia. "Douglas would have your head for saying so," Klein says wistfully. "That stubborn old mule can come for it again." "Whoa, whoa..." |
| Marigold | "... your fellow generals fight for Bern because the King is threatened." Cecilia takes a re-composing breath and un-balls her hands. "That's right, Dysnomia. King Mordred is in Aquleia with a knife to his throat. The Generals' oaths are to the country before the crown, and everyone knows Mordred is senile, but..." "But if he dies, Etruria fractures anyway," Klein finishes. Cecilia looks at him with just a little annoyance, and he apologizes with a smile. "... That's right. Etruria has no shortage of squabbling lords. If there's a succession crisis, we'll be in no state to resist Bern. It'd be the Lycian campaign all over again, but with no-one left to save us." "Bern's supply lines..." "Are overland, yes. Bern's navy is weak, and sailors avoid Valor." Cecilia's white-gloved finger traces a red line on the wax paper: "Unfortunately, they pass through Great General Douglas's territory. As usual, the only way out is through..." "What do you say, Marcus? Is my read correct?" Marcus smiles a little at Dysnomia, eyes twinkling, and crosses his arms. He up-nods in the direction of the table. "It's a sound strategy. You're on Cecilia's side, then. Just listen to them, the next time they go at it." "Are you thinking of moving troops overland through the gates we already know of?" "That's right, Madeleine. Elibe is changing, and it's important to change our tactics," Cecilia says. She doesn't look at Klein, but he looks away from her, rubbing his arm. "Most 'warpgates' remain uncharted, but before you went to the Western Isles, we happened to chart one near Aquleia. We could strike at the capital directly." "... of course, a 'warpgate' is a bottleneck, and passing a proper army through one into hostile territory risks instant rout," Klein says. "I know that." "So does Douglas." "So, as I've said, we wouldn't take a 'proper army'." "And just leave your loyalists in the mountains, instead of putting them to good use?" "Protecting Arcadia. I have faith in them." "Tch." "I am your senior, Klein." "Am I not allowed to advise you?" "I'd like you to watch your tone." They both look equally aggravated and mollified, in turns like a seesaw, by Lilian's detailed input. Their eyes sweep from her back to each other. Cecilia's the first to break the jaw-working tension. "... Shanna and Thea have been useful messengers. I could put my men to that use. Galle doesn't realize it, but he may be in a precarious position." "... Oh. Oh. Because--" "Because if I know Douglas, he may not actually ride to Galle's aid." "Of course! He can't betray his men or defy Roartz, but no-one can blame him for being a little late." They're getting along a little better now. |
| Marigold | "You know I haven't seen too many war movies?" Tennant gives them something else to bond over. "War..." "... movies?" "Oh. Like a play you can watch any time, I think." "A play re-enacting wars... that's a little barbaric, I agree." "Civilized people should just go to the arena, it's true." "Maybe if Cecilia knows one of them...?" "The generals? I know both of them. Douglas was my mentor. Perceval was my colleague," Cecilia says to Flamel, trying not to sound bitter and slipping into fatigue instead. "We fought. What do you want to know?" "What do we know about where Lady Guinivere's at?" Roy clears his throat awkwardly, and smooths a letter flat against the map-table. It has flowing scarlet handwriting. "We don't know for sure, but... when our pegasus knights got back in touch with Cecilia's forces, we found out someone's been informing them about Bernish troop movements. They're why we were able to draw this map." With a gesture at the table you've all been studying. "And my intel, too!" "And Larum, yeah." "And Larum." "And... Larum." "Um." Roy shakes his head, refocusing. "They're anonymous, but I'm sure they're penned by a noble. And they're written like aerial reconnaisance. I feel like it's got to be Princess Guinivere, working with her retainers Miledy and Elen." He feels a little sheepish saying 'feel like'. "It even makes sense she wouldn't sign her name. Cecilia's men might not trust a Bernish princess. ... I just hope something doesn't happen to her before she can regroup with us." "Is Zephiel going to be more concerned with the Fire Emblem, or his sister?" Roy grimaces a little, then nods to Lilian. "I've never gotten the sense he cares about her at all." "What did Elffin do?" Larum poses grumpily like she's going to intercede for Elffin's dignity, but the half-blind man just smiles serenely. "Nothing except live, commander; I do promise." Echidna seems to find her buddy's reply darkly funny, by her lopsided grin. "I can take credit for nothing more. But that I do live may be of help to you." |
| Angela | ''You're going to be betrayed? And you're just... waiting for it to happen?'' "Aha! Yeah, pretty weird huh? But don't worry, that's the plan. Maybe you all should start planning around for that sort of thing since it seems to happen around you all. A lot." The cheery expression fades for a moment. "You know, you can still win when you're betrayed. That makes it all the more sweeter, you know? That no matter who didn't believe in you or your Lady--or Lord!--you still proved through and ''changed the world''." "Tennant's always been a little hyper," Shajo explains, rubbing at his neck. "But...yeah, it's not like a... military betrayal. It's part of a project so the 'betrayals' are actually kind of mandatory." Nonon brightens upon seeing Echidna. "Yoooo! Echidna! Your FAVORITE couple, huh?? You bet!! Ga ha ha!!" She hefts SHajo up into her arms, princess carrying him. "I know we've warned about inconsistent deployments but once the Project is complete, at least Nonon and I don't intend to leave you in the dust." "I suppose I'd have to check," Tennant adds vaguely. "Yeah..." Shajo says, wrapping his arms around Nonon's neck. "It can be like that." ''You still haven't gotten to see me use Armads, huh?'' "Nooooo.... I missed it??" Nonon asks. "Man... I bet it was so epic too...Next battle!! For sure!!!" ''War...'' ''... movies?'' "Mm! That's about the gist of it...! Plays you can watch at any time, on a screen not like the ones you've seen Miss Angela or Hokma on!" Tennant dramatically points an index finger up and then spreads their arms wide. "Like... Woah!" They smile faintly. "Ol' Benjamin--I mean, well, Hokma. He actually masterminded the last big war in the City! That's partly why Miss Angela had him manage our operations here... I ended up in that war before i got the job to look after him. And boy, did he die ''a lot''." They sigh. "I hope i get to see how this one ends." ''Lilian talking about strategy.'' Tennant pauses to marvel a that. A nostalgic look passes over their eyes before they smile, "Gosh, you rally are incredible, Dame Commander. With you here, it hardly seems like these are bad odds at all." |
| Aidan Proudpick | Aidan listens quietly, standing next to Roy and letting him explain first, rather than leaping in to offer his own judgment. He leans over the map, pointing at the mountains, "Where I'm from, you can't really drive an airship over a mountain. The air is too thin, see?" His tail flick flicks as his brain bubbles with thought, "I'm thinking if we jump straight to Aquleia, Galle is gonna figure it out and come after us from behind. He'd be stupid not to, he can catch us the fastest." He sticks his tongue out as he thinks, "Last time we fought Galle, even at a fortified place, it didn't go so well. But having wyverns at our backs the entire way is gonna be terrible." He looks at Roy again, instead of Cecilia, "If we get ta Aquleia, liberate them, they gonna be able to keep the wyverns off our backs?" "Most 'warpgates' remain uncharted, but before you went to the Western Isles, we happened to chart one near Aquleia. We could strike at the capital directly." Aidan jerks a thumb at himself, grinning, "Shove me through first. I've had a lot of practice with the army in setting up a position. I can scout and set up a fortified position." He jerks a thumb over at Madeleine, "She's really good at tracking, we can probably both get in and get out if it's really bad." |
| Dysnomia | "Defeating him will be the most plausible key to taking the region; he knows as much, but I don't think he'll take the sensible strategy of shying away and letting his troops wear us down." "Because if I know Douglas, he may not actually ride to Galle's aid." "Then we may be able to rob Galle of the luxury of choice, as far as reaching us." She traced the line of red, cutting through Etruria. "Once their supply lines cross into Missur territory, we can strike--" Her finger stopped a the northernmost point of Missur, where it touches Etruria. "--And they WILL fold. Every army is only a few missed meals and broken transports from breaking. And in hostile, foreign territory, they will not find them. This will give Cecilia's forces the opportunity they need to rally from the mountains and retake Missur. And Galle will have to face us, either to defend his supply lines or to promptly reclaim them, else risking all territory his forces occupy." "Any if his backup doesn't come in time...Well...All the better." "I can do some aerial scouting myself. I can fly high. See far." And it might provide her an opportunity to not be dragged off and made hostage to whatever movies Tennant wanted to drag her off to watch. "With luck, I might be able to find Galle and direct you to him." "They're anonymous, but I'm sure they're penned by a noble. And they're written like aerial reconnaisance. I feel like it's got to be Princess Guinivere, working with her retainers Miledy and Elen." "So, either pegasi mercenaries, or Guinivere..." Dysnomia frowned, pressing her hands together. "This may be optimistic thinking. But you seem right. If this is her, this suggests she is, at least, not in Bernish custody, else she would not be free to do so. We may need to trust that she will come to us in due time, rather than pursue her." "It's unpleasant. But she will be incredibly difficult to find, if she is hidden. And our path, by contrast, will be easy for her to trace. For now, we'll have to settle for checking if a solitary wyvern is Triffin before shooting." |
| Odette Raskins | "I think more people got invited so they'd stop fighting..." "Oh... A-at least... Er." Odette glances over at Petra uneasily with that look in her eyes that makes it obvious she's trying to come up with something reassuring. Failing at that, she turns back to Sophia, scooching a little closer to keep her voice down. "What'd she get mad about? The... This whole situation? Or something about Klein specifically?" Up close, Odette also gets a better look at the wounds on her hands, and then she holds her own hand out like she wants to take Sophia's hand. "May I?" She asks while reaching into her bag with the other, fishing out a fancy little analyzer. "Medical tech from home. Did you get those injuries from Forblaze, or.. S-somewhere else?" If she's given the go ahead, she'll start scanning the wounds more closely, trying to figure out if there's some physical angle she can work at to actually treat those wounds instead of just trying to alleviate the presumed pain. "Fighting General Perceval at the door to Etruria is a fool's errand; General Douglas will no doubt be prepared to capitalize on the terrain and smash us from both sides." "Right now, Bern controls all of inhabited Elibe except the Western Isles." Confirming the dire situation from both Lilian and Roy has Odette's face paling again. "S-so they've probably got eyes and ears everywhere, too..." Sighing lightly, the EMT fiddles with her analyzer idly while trying to think something up. "If the High Chancellor's the leader of the coup here, then... Then they might be expecting us to hit them there. They'll probably have their defenses shored up real good. I-I mean, bad for us, but good for them, so..." "I am your senior, Klein." "Of course! He can't betray his men or defy Roartz, but no-one can blame him for being a little late."" She hears why from Cecilia and Klein directly soon enough, and Odette swallows nervously as the tensions rise. Her hands go up slowly to her chest subconsciously as she keeps glancing between the two, quivering just a bit at their reactions to Lilian's assessment of things. She lets out a relieved sigh when they finally agree on something at the end there, but the circumstances still have her looking somewhat anxious. "Do we... C-can we really count on Douglas not showing up on time?" She asks, clearly hesitating to bring up something that might disrupt the moment of peace. "We've had a bunch of people turning on us, but would someone working with Bern really turn on them after turning on us already?" Odette pauses, then taps a finger to her chin. "Unless... We could convince him that it'd be worth the delay somehow?" |
| Madeleine Cadrasteia | Cecilia and Klein discuss the tactical implications of Warpgates. "Familiarity with the gates is something we have over Bern. I'm in favor of using that, but we need to be decisive in that use. Our first warpgate-based strike will be our best-positioned, and they'll start fortifying after that - if they haven't already. Aquleia seems like the right use for it to me." Aidan: "Shove me through first. I've had a lot of practice with the army in setting up a position." "I don't think it's quite that simple, though you're right to have faith in my talents. A forward team could be useful but it's a big risk to play only some of our hand at once. Flamel, myself, some of our other less obtrusive sorts could make for good scouts, in the city and on the route there from the gate. But if even one otherworlder is recognized and word spreads, the jig's up. Maybe Larum could help with this..." Madeleine looks to the islander spy, hoping to see any optimism about the idea. Elffin: "But that I do live may be of help to you." "Yes?" Madeleine perks up at the bard's implication. She knows a specialist when she sees one, especially after spending this long in proximity. "What are you bringing to the table?" |
| Desire Stars | "Go right ahead. A star like me has an eye for quality--that eagerness tells me you won't disappoint." A play re-enacting wars... that's a little barbaric, I agree. "Maybe so," muses Ace. "Although it's a relatively new thing, 'war movies.' When plays would feature war, usually, it was as a backdrop for the real plot. Is it the same with you?" But that I do live may be of help to you. "Well?" Ace asks, playfully imperious. "Don't keep us waiting just for humility's sake. I know I wouldn't." |
| Flamel Parsons | Flamel listens to Roy, nodding along with his speculation. "An anonymous royal source... Well, that *does* sound like the kind of thing that she'd do! I mean, remember when we met her, and she'd just," He makes a big, enthusiastic gesture. "*Hiked* out of Bern's hands and into Lycia at that point, hadn't she? God, but she's great. He really ought to care about her the way she cares about him, or at least consider her a giant tactical influence." Beaming smile! He does shake his head at Odette. "Don't think it's us. I mean, I wouldn't know the first thing about changing a magical law, but I like to think I have more of a surgical influence!" As for Madeleine's recommendations, "Oh! Vanguard stuff, 'sapper' stuff, scout stuff, I'm perfectly trained in all of them! But... Mmm, just feels so risky. I'm all for prioritizing a strike force, but there's so many dangerous pieces in play! A gate strike-force might wind up putting the king at risk, even with scouting... but it's worth looking at! We should think a lot about the idea." And, of course, Cecilia is pretty bitter. "I want to know... Well, you know me by now! You know how I work. I'm a Psychonaut! I want to know what stresses, and worries, and personal demons might make someone become a collaborator with Bern like this. I know it centers on the King, but their personalities, their hopes and dreams... you know, my sinister intelligence dossier!" |
| Lilian Rook | 'Dame Commander. I take your spirit, but I must insist I'm a 'loyalist'' "I'm serious, General Cecilia." says Lilian. It isn't anything especially noteworthy, but it's the most firmly she has perhaps ever spoken to someone with that name. "Revolutionaries are loyalists to something or other. The hats change when what they're loyal to rises or falls from power. That isn't to say that your prior grievances are meaningless or unfounded, but as far as half the country and most of the world is concerned, you're not a 'temporarily embarrassed General'. Please try to stay grounded in reality." 'Douglas would have your head for saying so' "How fortunate for him that he might dream of a second opportunity." Lilian says, falling back on weary mislike at the thought. 'So, as I've said, we wouldn't take a 'proper army'. That marks the point of Lilian's first smile. Even a little one. To be doing that, she must have already reached at least one or two conclusions in her extensive mental math. "We did happen to pass through that one, didn't we?" she says, musing. "It's unfortunate for them that they haven't been travelling all over the world; then they might know where they lead. Ah, but then they'd need high-value assets that arent' tied down defending major strategic chokepoints." Finishing off the rest of her tea, Lilian makes taking it away Petra's problem without blinking. "I won't argue against something I've been urging for a while now. You have my full support. Only--" 'Shove me through first. I've had a lot of practice with the army in setting up a position.' "No. You'll be spotted, captured, interrogated, then killed immediately. It's the capital city; the Mines were too much for you." Lilian interjects, automatically and severely, as if it were going to be her point already. "The force sent to accomplish something like this must be capable of deep insertion, behind enemy lines, without imminently drawing too much attention. That means people covered in fur or glowing flames won't be going first. It's entirely possible that Douglas may have incidentally fortified the area, or even found the Warpgate by accident, and traversing it would encounter immediate security." 'Gosh, you rally are incredible, Dame Commander. With you here, it hardly seems like these are bad odds at all. "I am." says Lilian, brushing back her hair and folding her arms. "But these odds are far from what I'd like to work with. If they were much worse, I'd be seriously suggesting that we abandon our other priorities and focus entirely on assassinating King Zephiel" 'Of course! He can't betray his men or defy Roartz, but no-one can blame him for being a little late.' "We'll commit to taking Galle, then. We'll want to strike with as little fanfare as possible, to give General Douglas plenty of time to become delayed. And we'll need to gather up all the reports on the mountains we can get from General Cecilia's troops, and we'll need aerial messengers to spread the news of his capture afterwards." Lilian says to Klein, presuming those are issues he will simply Solve without difficulty. 'Do we... C-can we really count on Douglas not showing up on time?' "No, but if he does arrive promptly for some reason, then there won't be a better solution by then anyways. It goes without saying that we'd only be able to knuckle down and fight harder." |
| Lilian Rook | 'We don't know for sure, but... when our pegasus knights got back in touch with Cecilia's forces, we found out someone's been informing them about Bernish troop movements.' That's the second time Lilian smiles. Much wider than before. "Goodness. What next, I wonder? That woman is absolutely incorrigible." she says. "I like her quite a lot." 'I just hope something doesn't happen to her before she can regroup with us. "It won't. But . . ." Reluctantly, Lilian looks at Roy, a certain way. "We can't afford to be 'just in time' again. I stand by that judgement." 'I've never gotten the sense he cares about her at all.' ". . ." It doesn't make sense that one person's silence can be 'heavy' in a crowded command tent, surrounded by a score of other voices. But for a moment, Lilian's feels that way. 'Nothing except live, commander; I do promise.' "Excellent work. See to it that you continue." Lilian says, less forced than she feared it would sound. |
| Petra Soroka | "Bad... um, Cecilia got mad earlier... I've never seen that... she doesn't like Klein much." Petra closes her eyes sympathetically with Sophia's distress. "Well... it was a good idea to get Lilian here, at least. Whatever she comes up with, it'll be smart enough to make both of them happy, so I'd trust her for that. Best I can do to help is come up with some question she can bounce off of to explain how stupid and wrong I am for everyone else." She meets Odette's look, then drops her eyes to Sophia's hands, crumbling up her granola bar wrapper. "Because of the anti-dragon stuff, right? Pretty fucking inconvenient. Honestly, between the two of you, Forblaze is kind of letting Athos down more than you are, by not letting you use it. We *could* maybe try that seance thing we did with Armads, to..." Belatedly, Petra realizes that this would mean Sophia confronting her recently-deceased mentor, rather than a milennia-old mythical ghost. "Well, we can ask about it, if you want to stick around." "But if he dies, Etruria fractures anyway," All of Petra's thoughts about 'fuck that old man' are cleanly countered before she can voice her disdain for an aging father who's heartbroken by the loss of his family. The pre-warning of the risk of betrayal by all the faceless hordes of self-interested nobles strikes a thematic chord, though, and Petra has to wonder about the stability of information in an era without internet. "Well... attacking the capital is one thing. Maybe even, like, kidnapping-- rescuing the King. But if we do that with a small strike team like Cecilia says, it's not like we could... take Aquleia, rather than just doing a hit and run. The generals won't suddenly all turn blue on the map-- they won't all join our side the moment we touch Mordred like it's a game of tag. And, like, emotionally, a king stops being a king if you can't see him in the context of a throne room." "If we *get* the king away from Bern, then, how do we make sure anyone actually knows that? How do we make sure that the generals actually get the information, and that the random lords everywhere don't just conveniently claim that he got killed in the fighting and try and make their stupid fucking play anyways? I feel like we need *both* the king *and* the capital, to actually have the, uh, narrative reiteration that we need to make it a fact, and for that we'd need the actual army." Petra frowns, looking at the map. Her brain is rapidly being strained by attempting to come up with 'tactics', even framed through narrative as they are, and she sort of runs out of steam to just suggest a slight variation on what people have already said. "... We could send some of us through the warpgate near the capital to sneak around and try and find a second one reasonably nearby. Find a second, uh, bottle, hole, so that the army's not boned coming through a few at a time." Petra falls quiet after that, and is forced to contemplate the intellectual basis of her strategizing. Does the context of there being arguing 'sides' for different strategies, both of which have distinct faces, meaningfully affect her ability to contribute? Does it affect what she's mentally able to come up with, that she'd be more likely to invent plans that conveniently socially align with her preferences? The subjective nature of reality sucks to consider sometimes! "The Fire Emblem. Without a doubt." "I've never gotten the sense he cares about her at all." Petra looks crestfallen at that, despite barely knowing either of the two people involved. "Oh. Well, maybe we could talk with the knights and see if we can trace back to the area where they got the letters, and maybe get an idea of where she is." |
| Petra Soroka | "A play re-enacting wars... that's a little barbaric, I agree." "Civilized people should just go to the arena, it's true." Petra goes to bat for war movies! She's a lot more animated when talking about narrative war in general, rather than the practical kind. "See, but, it's always about the *personal* stories of the people involved in the war. War's a fact of life, right? So there's tons of people who have been in the army. Meaning there's, like, a pretty considerable well of shared emotional experiences that come *from* war, you know? You can't tell the stories of 'humanity' without telling stories about war. And, like, people get inspired by watching heroes fight against impossible odds and win. Like, imagine your story, Cecilia, with coming to the rescue, and then the coup, and then fighting to the edge of the continent, then being rescued and-- uh, hopefully turning it around. People love that stuff." "And it's cathartic to see, uh, the sort of larger than life tragedy and stuff that war creates. It's like a scale of drama that most people don't interact with on a day to day basis. It sort of, naturally mythologizes people, except they're real people too." "But that I do live may be of help to you." Petra looks vaguely peeved at the continual nonanswers, but her tone is crassly prompting rather than actually angry. "Well, like, spit it out." |
| Dark Horses | "I see. Well, I don't know if this information is going to be useful for me in particular, I'm just going to do what I always do, but I suppose it's still useful to know what I'm getting myself into... Thanks." Michinaga's thanks is genuine, though noticeably, strained, as if he was choking just saying the words. " And yeah, out of everyone here, I guess I'd listen to her. Though, if she's the one giving the orders, I have to wonder how the hell a certain someone is still alive... Well, whatever. It'll probably happen eventually." KEIWA gives Neon an audible nod, enthusiastically turning around to go find logs before realizing something. That something being that he doesn't really know where to begin looking. Well, it can't be that hard, you just find sticks and stuff on the ground, right? But wait, wasn't there something about them needing to be dry or something? Keiwa audibly sighs and ruffles his hair, before simply sucking it up and beginning his search. He'll figure it out. |
| Desire Stars | It'll probably happen eventually. "Maybe," admits Ace. He shrugs. "Maybe not. I have a feeling it's the kind of thing that would cost her a lot more to do, or even to have someone do, than to have it happen by chance. The kind of thing that harms the person who does it." "Has anyone ever asked you to do something that you didn't do--because if you did, you wouldn't still be Michinaga Azuma?" Sticking close to Keiwa on the hunt, Neon shares her own method. "This is what I do," she says, rubbing her thumb against the bark of a particularly substantial stick. "Just peel back the bark a little--if it comes right off, it's probably already starting to rot. If it stays on, push a little, like this, to split it, just a bit." She naps it with her thumb after a bit of give, revealing the fibers. "As long as they're not, you know, green, I think that means they'll work okay?" "Anyway... what made you come out all this way?" |
| Marigold | "I suppose that's familiar. But even if they concern individuals, should we make narratives about war at all?" Klein muses to Ace and Petra, during a lull. "It isn't like monsters under the bed. It may grip and thrill us, but there are things no person should be desensitized to. I'm aware of the irony of me saying that, as a former general, but... Bern valorizes war, and look where it's got them." Cecilia doesn't vocally disagree. "I'm serious, General Cecilia." Cecilia tenses slightly, most visible in the press of her lips. "'Rebellion'. 'Guerilla warfare'. They're harsher than ordinary war, aren't they? Something I'd hoped to spare my soldiers from, when I failed in that first strike. But you're right. I suppose they're already hiding in mountain ranges. There's no point calling it something else for my pride." She graces Petra with her attention next. "It's true that a crown's power is always half-real. But General Douglas will flip the moment he has credible news Mordred is safe. And he won't be far from the capital, himself. Still, you're right. If we can take the palace, it's wise to pull some of my troops in to hold the capital after." "If you're in agreement on strategy," Roy says, eyeing the group broadly but particularly Dysnomia and Lilian after her comments on the warpgate tactic, "I think it's settled. First we rally Cecilia's soldiers and strike Galle in the north, where he's forced to defend. Then we scout the capital and assess storming the palace with a smaller group. Any objections?" Flamel asks after the Generals' mindsets. Cecilia sighs, her shoulders rising and falling, and looks away. She's having a very long day. "It feels like two different kinds of betrayal. This is exactly the sort of thing Douglas would do, but I hoped he wouldn't. And I never thought Perceval would take Douglas's side over mine, but I suppose he did." Her eyes shut. Face relaxes, with good-with-kids practice. She uncrosses her arms and leans back against the tactics table. "That doesn't tell you what you want to know, though. Perceval is just like me, except he's a man, I suppose, which makes all the difference. Young, talented, sharp, sincere, a little too eager to prove himself. When the prince was alive, I heard they were best friends; he gets his approval from public opinion now. Or used to. The coup is unpopular; I suppose he finally thinks he knows better than the people." She sighs, eyes shut to visualize a scene, and tucks hair behind her ear. Klein seems uncomfortable with the way she talks about the other Generals, but doesn't object. "Douglas is old, gruff, used to being hated, stubborn as a scar. The 'tough love' sort. Even though he doesn't love Bern... my heart aches to say it, but I think he's always been attracted to the idea of a sinking ship to go down with. Whoever has him guarding the capital, instead of Perceval, knows him well. I'll be shocked if there's any convincing him until Mordred is safe." Having said all that, she looks depleted, but a little relieved. Probably she hasn't had anyone to open up to. Klein offers her a chestnut, and she crunches into it. "Damn it," she says around chestnut crumbs, and Roy looks like he's just seen a ghost. "Both of them. I really thought I could trust them." |
| Marigold | Off to the side, Echidna is hoisting up Larum in one arm, just like Nonon is hoisting Shajo- or, well, not quite just like. Larum squeaks and leans against Echidna's shoulder, but the energy between them distinctly isn't 'couple'. Maybe like aunt and niece. "Oh, you wouldn't believe. I swung Armads so hard it chipped the edge! Took a dragon's head clean off, just like that... of course, I had a little help." Wink~. From her elevated perch, Larum talks infiltration. "Well... I think scouting out the capital is a good idea!" "Agreed," Klein says. "I've got plenty of connections there, too. But I'm from Aquleia, so I'll have to be a little careful..." "That's right," Cecilia murmurs. "You've changed a lot, but I remember seeing a girl with your hair around Great General Douglas when I studied under him, Larum. Did he send his spymaster to the Western Isles because he suspected something?" "Ah... well..." Larum trades a glance with Echidna, still holding her aloft. Tacit permission passes between them. "... Something like that. His daughter, actually." "His-- pardon?" "Adopted! I'm from the streets, and I didn't want to tarnish his reputation, so..." "... Oh. Oh, Larum... but then, why send you away?" That bard with the dull eyes nods in Petra's direction, then, and steps forward towards the table. "If you need me to explain..." Echidna murmurs behind him. "No. It's quite alright. I've done too little already." He gathers up his shoulders, and his courage, though he tries to keep his face easy. "Petra. All of you. Please forgive my reticence, now and before. There have been attempts on my life. It was never a matter of trust, since first you helped Echidna, but a matter of honesty's benefits outweighing its risks." Cecilia seems to just now be realizing it. Klein is still connecting the dots. A tense atmosphere hangs as he coughs and clears his throat. "... Pardon me. Two years ago, an attempt was made on my life. I am still an invalid because of it. The culprit was unknown; it seems now to have been the earliest stages of Roartz's coup. To protect me, General Douglas told the world I was dead, and had his daughter smuggle me to the Western Isles. He little knew they were the heart of Etruria's corruption. For my own safety, I lent my meager efforts to Echidna's rebellion, and Larum alongside me." "... Prince Myrrdin. Mordred's son. You're alive," Cecilia breathes. Her feelings are muddled. Anger's in there somewhere. 'Elffin' droops, with the relief of years and the surrender to her implicit accusation. "Yes. Not that anyone should believe it. I'm afraid it would solve no problems for me to take the throne now. Everyone would call me a pretender. But if you could persuade the generals..." Nobody is really looking at Klein, which is why it's a shock when he bolts up and tries to throw a punch at Prince Myrddin's face. Cecilia's sharp enough to grab one wrist and jerk him backwards. "Etruria got torn apart because you pretended to be dead?!" "Klein!" "We could have protected you! What's wrong with you!" "Klein! It wouldn't change anything. He'd be a hostage too." "Nnnnnh..." |
| Aidan Proudpick | "The mines were not too much. A perfect place to set up a hurricane." Granted, he then had problems with the blood, but-. Aidan takes in the rest of the idea, tapping the front of his incisors with a claw. Filing it away for later use. He tries to map out doing a battle in Spire City in his head and frowns, furrowing his brows together. Madeleine and Mr. Parsons pressing the issue backs him down from arguing with Lilian further. He folds his arms, intent on showing he has NOT lost on moment, he is not turning into a corncob. He nods along, "We'll figure it out once we find out where it goes." There! That means he can still be part of it! If it turns out that way. "... Pardon me. Two years ago, an attempt was made on my life." That shoots Aidan's eyebrows up, tail flicking about with new interest. The true is enough to burrow through Aidan's current mental barriers and land firmly into, "A prince!?" Normally, Aidan doesn't bow for royalty. But he finds himself making an exception. The story is just too perfect. And he IS very beautiful and princely, and he has just that perfect affectation and his hair DOES look great and- Fortunately, before Aidan can fall too deep into a personal fantasy of princes and knights, he snaps back to reality as Klein struggles to take a swing, "Hey! Hey! He wants to do something now, this is something we can do!" |
| Angela | ''It may grip and thrill us, but there are things no person should be desensitized to.'' "Huh?" Tennant asks. "Why not? Isn't it better to not feel anything?" Their smiling jovial face has gone blank. "There's still war, whether it's valorized or not. And even if you know the promise is a lie, you still can't get out of fighting just like that. If you are lucky, you can find someone worth fighting for." ''But these odds are far from what I'd like to work with.'' "Aha..." Tennant's smile is back, but it's not quite the same. "Well, DAme Commander... You should feel free to use ''us'', at least, as you see fit to improve those odds. Shajo, Nonon, myself... You can spend us wisely as you see fit." Shajo grimaces, "She doesn't like to do things that way, Tennant." "..But we are here for her." Tennant adds, leaving it at that. Nonon wonders aloud, "Incredible... I didn't know legendary weapons could CHIP. You might just overpower Armads at this rate, Ga hA HA!" Nonon cackles, smiling broadly as Larum and Echidna and the way they're leaning against one another. Shajo is more concerned, looking towards Larum thoughtfully. ''His daughter, actually.'' Shajo raises an eyebrow. "Another twist? This is getting to be rough on my nerves..." Nonon whispers into Shajo's ear, "I'll smooth them out for you tonight." "Arright I'm good." Shajo says, grinning. ''A secret prince!'' In a break between Klein throwing a punch and the admonishment of Cecilia, Tennant's voice breaks through. "Oh wonderful! Perhaps now that we have a prince, we can convince more generals to help us instead after all! It seems our luck is turning around, Dame Commander!" |
| Madeleine Cadrasteia | "Well, this changes our hand considerably, if we have Douglas's daughter and a man whose birthright the generals have sworn to defend. Between the two of you we have leverage at least on Douglas, though we should be careful how we apply it. We need to be the guardians of both his own blood and the blood of the crown, and not brigands keeping the two away from him. But if word reached him at the right time, in the right way, that his trusted daughter has returned from defending the prince and now works to free the king... that could stay his hand at a crucial moment. It's a proper ace up our sleeve." "And, well," she turns again to Myrddin. "If you were Perceval's confidant, I'm sure you can help with him as well, when it comes to that." |
| Desire Stars | I'm aware of the irony of me saying that, as a former general, but... Bern valorizes war, and look where it's got them. Why not? Isn't it better to not feel anything? "You're not wrong to feel that way," says Ace. "That is, Klein isn't." After a lengthy pause and a look towards Tennant, regarding what *they'd* said. "...Valorizing it is exactly the point of most of those movies; it's the main attraction instead of the backdrop. And it's no coincidence that the first examples of the genre came about at around the same time as the largest wars on our world," he says, gesturing to himself and Michinaga with a subtle sweep of his hand. "There are war movies that are anti-war, of course. But those have their own pitfalls, just like any other art meant to critique. Even the most blatant message can be misinterpreted," he offers. "And even the most nobly-intentioned artist can still fall short in their analysis of the subject matter." "The point of *art,*" he says, fixing Tennant with a pointed look once more, "Is to provoke an emotional response in the viewer, at the very least. Maybe Tennant and I should put together some films to show the army. No war films," he says, pre-empting Tennant. "...but it'd help to have something to bring everyone together and entertain them, when we've spent so much of our time here fighting uphill." Prince Myrrdin. Mordred's son. You're alive. Everyone would call me a pretender. But if you could persuade the generals... Etruria got torn apart because you pretended to be dead?! Ace sighs. Klein! It wouldn't change anything. He'd be a hostage too. "Or dead for real." Ace doesn't bother going any further--it looks as though Klein is already working through it. "I'm glad that you're here and willing to help, Prince Myrddin. I think, given our present company at the moment," he offers with a smile (more for the company than the prince), "It's fair to say we can be very persuasive when we need to be. I'm willing to try, if the rest of you are." |
| Flamel Parsons | Flamel plants one hand in the palm of another, excitedly. "I was *just saying* that I'd hoped we could have *something* to help with the Generals! Good god, that's a *brilliant* bit of luck, I can't believe how--" Klein is instantly trying to fight Myrridin!! "Woah!! Woah! Hey! He just said-- No!" He rushes forward. "Emergency clarity!" He calls out, instantly planting two fingers on Klein's temple while Cecilia holds him, injecting a huge amount of activity into mirror neurons and strongly dissuading aggression. Flamel takes the threat of someone beating up someone who just said he's handicapped pretty seriously! But thankfully, one way or another, this is getting dealt with. "Guh. Woah..." He shakes his head. "I mean, whatever happened in the past... Jeez, everything going on here, it's all been in motion for so long! How long has this coup been planned? Was Bern even doing this when..." He takes a big breath and exhales hard. "Wow. You... went through exactly what I said Zephiel might have been meant for! That's-- it's like something about Zephiel got *shattered* into parts..." He points at Roy. "Roy's path through artifacts, friend-making... " His bloodline -- which he won't say in a crowded tent -- "It's half. And Prince Myrrdin's failed assassination, exile, gaining allies that fight the corruption within his home..." "Ahahah, sorry, I'm caught up in my theories." He pulls back. "This is a huge opportunity. A *huge* opportunity!" He's excited! "We definitely need to take advantage of it. Thanks for trusting us with that, and-- I really do hope you'll be able to make some headway with the generals! I don't know if we'll make headway with Douglas, but that kind of kindness and honesty in a time like this right now, your old friend... We could turn this around!" Optimism. Positivity. "We could *really* turn this around!" |
| Odette Raskins | "There's no point calling it something else for my pride." "General..." Odette offers Cecilia a sympathetic look, then puts on a firmer expression like she's trying to psyche her up or something. "The important thing is getting them home safely, right? And if guerilla warfare's the way to get them there... That'll be better for your pride than anything else, I bet. I-I know you can do it." The EMT pumps her fist lightly, then holds her jaw briefly before brings her arm back down to her side. Still hurts. "If you're in agreement on strategy, I think it's settled." Odette listens to the plan, and she nods quickly at Roy once he reiterates Dysnomia's and Lilian's thoughts about using the warpgates. "That sounds good to me. Whatever gets us the most people on board before we go after the Chancellor and save the King, the better. Securing him, getting everyone on board with us again..." The unease doesn't fade entirely, but she's feeling a little better about the situation now that there's a plan to work with again. Seeing Larum up on Echidna's arm, Odette looks up briefly in quiet awe and admiration (and wanting to get up there herself) before looking towards the former in surprise. "Y-you do? Oh, that'll be real helpful, if you can get a hold of them safely enough. Maybe we can even find some routes in ahead of time, and..." Does the Watch have any contacts loitering out in Aquleia? She'll have to do a little asking around later, but she'll need to be careful not to drum up the wrong kind of attention once she does. And then Larum reveals that she's General Douglas' (adopted) daughter! "You're...? Oh, that does make things more complicated, then. Ah.. B-but if... Does he know you're here with us?" She asks, looking between Larum and Elffin a few times before stopping on the latter once he starts to explain himself. "Um... Y-you're forgiven? Er. What for, Mister Elffin?" She seems confused at first, but the reasno why he's chosen this moment to speak up becomes clear fairly soon. An attempted murder, a fake death, staged disappearances, and- "... Prince Myrrdin. Mordred's son. You're alive," First the daughter of the general, now the son of the king. Odette inhales deeply as she realizes just how many high-ranking figures are in this army, then rubs her hands on her knees lightly just to have something to do with her hands. "M-maybe it won't solve problems now, but... Later! And it might be a-" She sees Klein moving from the corner of her eye, but she doesn't quite catch what he's doing until Cecilia's already stopped him from punching the prince. She still jumps up after the fact, though, hurrying over to offer Cecilia whatever little aid she can as an ablative body between Klein and Myrddin. "M.. Mister Klein, please! We're low on... Well, everything right now. I-if you really want to have it out with him, at least wait until after we sort out this whole-" She gestures at the map and everyone around the table. "-thing first, okay?" "I'm willing to try, if the rest of you are." "D.. Definitely! I don't know what else I'd be good for besides making sure everyone's as alive as can be, but..." Odette nods quickly at Ace, then looks between Larum and Myrddin a few times before chuckling softly. "I mean, we've got the daughter of the general AND the prince everyone thought was dead on our side. I-if anything, I'd be more worried about them thinking we found too many people way too conveniently." |
| Petra Soroka | "But even if they concern individuals, should we make narratives about war at all?" Petra blinks, curious. "... Duh? I mean, people shouldn't just live their lives totally emotionally disconnected from war until the day it shows up, right? People who don't go to war shouldn't exist without any context for what it's like, or else the people who do know will never be able to interact with them properly ever again." "I don't even think I care whether it, like, valorizes war or not. Removing war from the, uh, social consciousness without removing it from the-- the reality of the world, just creates a societal rift that sucks for literally everyone. It's not *traumatizing* to watch a war movie. It teaches you what other people go through." "Still, you're right. If we can take the palace, it's wise to pull some of my troops in to hold the capital after." Yippee! Yahoo! Petra has no further input strategically here, but being praised by Cecilia for having *some* input is enough to make her bounce on the balls of her feet. Good job, Petra! She will, of course, just go where directed. There's no complaints there. "Petra. All of you. Please forgive my reticence, now and before." It doesn't actually take much to mollify Petra's slightly-ramped irritation at Elffin. Stepping up, addressing her directly, and inspiring the room-quieting narrative gravity to speak, is plenty enough to do that. "We could have protected you! What's wrong with you!" "Klein! It wouldn't change anything. He'd be a hostage too." "Ah-- Klein...." Petra isn't one to interrupted an impassioned thrown-fist, especially not one driven by politics and years old regrets. It's not her place at all, especially because she doesn't know how to choose a side. "I guess that does give us lots of opportunities we didn't have before. But, uh, same thing about the-- your dad; it'd take a lot of environmental setting-up for people to actually believe you. Getting to Perceval though...." "... Sorry about talking shit about your dad so much." |
| Lilian Rook | 'But you're right. I suppose they're already hiding in mountain ranges. There's no point calling it something else for my pride.' "I'm happy enough to know that you understand the position your people are really in, General." 'Any objections?' "None, Lord Roy." 'Both of them. I really thought I could trust them.' "In my experience, betrayal never comes alone." '... Something like that. His daughter, actually.' Lilian's darkly contemplative mood breaks with a "Beg pardon?!" at the same time as Cecilia. She winds back to something much more passively uneasy than the General when it's explained, though. 'To protect me, General Douglas told the world I was dead, and had his daughter smuggle me to the Western Isles' "No way . . ." Lilian half-gasps, eyes slowly widening by the second. "You're-- You can't be serious!" She looks for Flamel by reflex. "No, no, that's massive if--" 'We could have protected you! What's wrong with you!' "Save that question for Douglas." Lilian says, immediately regretting raising her voice. 'The mines were not too much. A perfect place to set up a hurricane.' "I'm not having an operation this important massive escalate in difficulty because everyone saw the only person covered in fur from miles away. End of discussion." 'Incredible... I didn't know legendary weapons could CHIP.' Mental note. Bully Khosa about this later. 'You should feel free to use ''us'', at least, as you see fit to improve those odds. Shajo, Nonon, myself... You can spend us wisely as you see fit.' "I'm afraid my wisdom may be slightly out of commission for the time being." she says. "Now that I'm scheduling my own wedding, I find it difficult to sacrifice a happily married couple; so you'll all just have to survive." Lilian smiles. |
| Marigold | Myrddin, belatedly, jerks back from Klein's attempted swing and ruckus; Cecilia is pushing the belligerent general-let back down into his chair by the shoulders, and maybe squeezing them a bit too hard. Klein is hot-faced, eyes averted, already guilty-looking before Flamel's subduing touch makes contact (and then much more, after). (Clarine is already scampering to get him water and pat his back.) "You alright?" Echidna says, hand steadying Myrddin's shoulder. "Y-- yes. Please. He was right." "No he isn't." She eyes Ace, gratefully, and nods. "... Great General Douglas," he sighs, "knows already that I live, and has made his choices despite it. But Perceval at least I might reach, should the opportunity arise. I thank you for your willingness to indulge me." He tilts his head towards Tennant and Madeleine. Retreating from the spotlight, Myrddin rubs the back of his arm, trying and failing to find an upright posture that suits him. Having shed a two-year imposture, however thin, he's lost the skin that seemed to fit him best. "I forgive you," he says to Petra, about his dad. It's sincere, but his smile is off. Distantly unhappy. "It's... a complicated affair." Which is a refined way of saying 'I'd bitch about him too'. "Good god, that's a *brilliant* bit of luck..." "No way . . ." "Luck? Hah," Echidna says. "If you hadn't bumped into us, we would've hunted you down. Western Isles are the mainland's dumping-ground; that's all." She winks at Nonon, mood un-dimmed. "Overpower Armads... hah. I might." Taking her non-Larum-holding arm off of Myrddin to flex: "If I can chip it, I must've surpassed the heroes already, right~?" "Or the axe got weaker, Echidna..." "Ahhh, let me joke." Larum looks down at Odette from her lofty perch and purses her lips. Thinking about Douglas doesn't make her happy, right now. "No. Father's got no idea I'm back from the Isles. It'll shock him for sure... but I don't know if it'll sway him. Even I can't sway him once he's got his heart set on something." "The important thing is getting them home safely, right?" Cecilia, re-seated, smiles at Odette over her folded hands in a warmly chagrined way. The look of a parent being comforted by their child, maybe. "And making sure they have a home to return to. That's right." Lilian chastising her makes her eyes sink, but she nods mutely. For all the 'generalship', she's younger than Lilian, even. It's easy to forget. |
| Marigold | Klein isn't in a state to keep up his conversation with Tennant, but Marcus- still standing by the vellum board, and recovering from (for once) not actually having been in on a reveal beforehand- feels compelled to fill the silence. "Not everyone who dies or kills in war was forced to, you know," he says gently, leaning in from behind them. It'd be easy for his words to sound scolding, but his face is creased with something else. "That people will think they understand is exactly the danger of those stories. Or is the real thing just like your stories were?" Flamel's theories befuddle most of those present, but Myrddin himself seems at least vaguely intrigued. "Pardon me, but... wasn't King Zephiel poisoned, as well?" "Poison? I heard you died on a hunting trip." "A poisoned arrow." "Ah..." . . . The plots are plotted; plans are settled. The evening winds down, and the sun sets past the western desert. Ace's treats are distributed, the drinks get harder, and the talk gets softer. Klein and Myrddin make up. Echidna tries to regale a captive audience with war stories she couldn't share before. Roy and Sophia sit together in silence, like summer friends on the last day of camp together. It's a transitional moment. Hard times are behind you. Hard times are ahead. But, for now, you can feel happy and satisfied. ... It's easy to miss the sound of an exhausted horse cantering closer, until a soft surprised-concerned-sounding hubbub rises from the camp outside. An absolutely haggard woman, dehydrated and unslept, rips open the tent's flap and lurches inside. It takes a minute to recognize her. "Igrene?? Why are you--" She looks around, eyes wide behind her straggly hair, and cuts him off. "Please. Where's Fae?!" |