Lord of Azure Flame Chapter 21: In Destruction's Wake

[Balcerzak]

Helios couldn't help but be a little impressed. For a runt the little fellow sure had a command of vocabulary. There were even a word in there he wasn't entirely sure he knew the meaning to. No matter, an introduction was requested, and he supposed that was actually rather fair, all things considered. If the little priest was going to be a semi-permanent fixture, and especially considering he tended to wounds, it couldn't hurt to be on decent terms with him.

Inclining his head, he replied, "Ah, so I haven't, Beau. I go by 'Helios'. I should say, that since you haven't yet met everyone, I should probably take it upon myself to warn you about one particular lout. Goes by the name of Chase, and hasn't a sensible bone in his body. The rogue's got a hair-trigger temper that flares hotter than the noon-day sun, not to mention the fact he's blinded by infatuation and devotion to our resident Shaman here. Can't say I've always been on best of terms with her either, but she's at least logical and has reasons behind her actions, as much as it may pain me to admit it."

Looking around as those nearby were gearing up to head out, and watching as Charlotte was directed into the carriage. Jerking his thumb in that direction, he added a final comment in a low tone, seeking not to be overheard. "She had quite a bit of a shock last night. If you're taking the carriage too, do be... considerate."

[-Cynthia-]

Many Magnificent Meetings

"We would happy to discuss things with the Grand Marshall." Madison said. "Shall we go to meet him now?"

"Max, stay here and do your exercises." Mathhias said, turning to his brother.

"But I wanna meet this Grand Marcia guy!" Maximillian protested.

"This is grown-up time, little brother. We'll tell you all about it when you get back, well within the grounds of not breaking public security of course." Madison said.

Maximillian pouted and went up to his room.

Strategy

"There should be plenty of flammable rubble left around here from the earthquake. I have a squadron of pegasus knights I can use to fight their wyverns as well." Brunhilde said. "I'm not sure if the TISME mages will want to get involved. You think they would because they have an outpost here, but they may see it as choosing sides-something Elysima may not want to do at the moment. Still, I suppose it wouldn't hurt someone to ask."

[Balcerzak]

Arrin had come up to where Tessa and Morgan had been dealing with the strange new arrival, and greeted her. Smiling brightly back to him, she had gestured for him to come around over closer to her, while the current business was still being decided. At this point however, it seemed that all of the relevant discussion had exhausted it, and the new guide-to-be was simply being stubborn on the matter of where or not demons were merely beings from the tales. It didn't seem a necessary thing to convince him otherwise, so she stopped paying attention to the matter, and turned to her friend.

As she did, though, he stammered a bit awkwardly before following through with a question, inquiring how she'd been planning on travelling today. Cocking her head a bit in surprise, she echoed back, "Ride in a carriage? I hadn't planned to, I mean what about Trevor?" Sudden realization hit her, and she immediately raised her palm to her face and moaned, "Oh bugger! I got all caught up in other business and haven't tended to him proper yet this morning."

Reaching out she grabbed Arrin's hand and pulled him lightly, "Here, come along with me while I do that. We can talk on the way."

As they set off, she asked some of the first natural questions that came to mind. "What were you planning on doing with Francis then? Or are you just not feeling up to it, and simply thought the carriage would be easier? You did just recover from a bit of a situation didn't you..." Biting her lip she furrowed her brow a little.

[Phoenix]

Heading For A Meeting

Again trying to ignore the odd younger sibling, the messenger replied.

Cavalier: I suppose now is as good a time as any. Time isn't on anyone's side right now it seems.

Fighting Back

Harvey: The firewall has to take them by surprise. If we light it too soon they'll just go around and only be delayed a mere half hour. May need to need to get as much tar on the stuff as possible. Lights quicker. Oh and about your knights. Try not to get too mixed in with the wyvern riders too early. We can only shoot at them with the ballistae as long as friendlies aren't in the line of fire, but also don't take too long or they'll overrun the positions. Once the ballisticians can no longer target the aerial threats, they'll turn their attention toward our patient friends behind the firewall and mow them down. I don't expect more than a handful of students to help if that, but maybe. It's worth a shot if there's even a chance to shove them back here.

Irina and F-5E

Irina: Hey that was pretty impressive. You know I never really went trick flying with Kiev before. I know he can make some extremely tight turns though. When we were at Ilyphina we could fly between the buildings easily.

Looking down at Kiev who was staring at Namid curiously, she recalled another one of his traits.

Irina: He also likes to dive ... from really high up. Comes from being a plain dweller where the only way to surprise your prey is to come at them from nearly straight nose dive. (I remember that one time we crashed doing a nose dive. We both got pretty luck but me especially.) We're not as fast as some wyverns, but we can still out maneuver them if they're traveling faster than us. I also found a way to get the upper hand on people who flank me.

Without any warning, she shouted "Flip!" Kiev turned slightly before he sent his body into a wild hyperswipe! Irina demonstrated a quick counterattack thrust as if an enemy were right behind her before the maneuver began. With Kiev facing the other way, the opponent would have taken a very powerful hit to any area Irina chose. They only lost a meter of altitude and a forth of their speed before Kiev flipped back over and pushed forward with his wings again and picked up enough speed to catch up to Tas and Namid.

Irina: That only works in the air though so ... eh.

Edited November 24, 2010 by Phoenix

[Inactive Account]

"No, I'm fine," Arrin assured, following along. "It's just that we were the first ones to be asked, so I thought I'd better work out whether we were riding in the carriage or not. Kelas said she'd mind Francis if I wanted to go in the carriage, maybe let someone else ride him for the moment. If you don't want to go in the carriage I'll ride along with you, though."

[Mercakete]

"Of course, and thank you for the warning" replied Beau, making a mental note to keeo an ear and an eye open for Chase, "Though I am curious. You said that you 'go by Helios.' Are implying that you have a title?" (I suspected he was a noble. Now seems to be the time to see if he actually is.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hahaha! That was pretty good!" Tas laughed as he clapped his hands, impressed, "Aerial manuvering is very important for wyverns, even though most plains wyverns have ground battles, where it's easier to use their natural weapons and to defend their bellies. Let's see what else you can do."

Namid snorted. He didn't want to be outdone by Kiev and when Tas gave the nonverbal series of commands, he happily followed them. They dove a short distance then unexpectedly flew straight upward. Then performed a wide, upside-down loop, stopping short and levelling out for a moment far above Irina and Kiev before speeding this way and that in an up-and-down serpetine pattern. Once the pattern became somewhat predictable, they dove again in a freefall before Namid snapped his wings open and shot forward, normally at first, then dipping and rising, adding a quick barrelroll before coming up beside Irina and Kiev again. They had flown through a good portion of the sky when all was done. Namid let loose a puff of air in pride, challenging Kiev to perform as wide and quick mastery as he had displayed.

Tas was being far less competative. "Maneuvers like that are for avoiding being struck from below. You have to keep changing them or you might be hit. Though if you don't hold on tightly, then there are other problems, obviously." He chuckled at is last sentence. It had been especially difficult to hold onto Namid durring the barrelroll.

[-Cynthia-]

Multiple Meeting Madness

Matthias and Madison followed the messenger to the imperial palace, where they were told to wait for the Grand Marshall.

"Are we really qualified to do this? This seems a rather important duty to place into our hands given how long we have controlled TISME." Madison said to her brother.

"I would prefer the headmaster be here to make the decision, but things are what they are. He can overturn our ruling if he returns and deems it necessary." Matthias said. The siblings patiently awaited for the Grand Marshall to arrive.

Organizing

"Fine, I'll tell my troops the plan, and we'll set up a wall. You can gather the TISME mages if you want. Oh, and if any of you gets any smart ideas before the Haltonians come, I'll slaughter you to the last man." With this, she gave Roland a nudge to awaken him and flew back to her camp.

Blitzkrieg

The templars made good time on horseback, as it had stopped raining and the roads were rather clear. The mass of cavalry headed from Ursibus towards Burgosas, a well-traveled road.

"Kamilla, have you ever been in a battle before?" Althea asked the girl next to her. "You are not a templar so I would not think you would have combat training."

[Balcerzak]

"Hmmmmm... well..." Tessa pursed her lips hard in thought. Riding on Trevor was always fun and enjoyable, and she looked forward to it. On the other hand, she'd never actually ridden in carriage, and maybe it would be a good opportunity, to try new things. "I guess... maybe I could let Morgan ride on Trevor, so she doesn't have to double up with Chase? I wouldn't mind. Every once in a while some change can do good right?"

~~~

No way am I confiding anything like that yet, Helios thought as Beau picked up on a careless turn of phrase, and asked a dangerous question. Luckily, the wind mage had a story that he could fall back on that would be easily verified by anyone else if the boy tried digging around some more. Though... if he started digging enough of the truth would probably come to light anyway. Regardless!

With an apologetic grin he explained, "Some time back I had a bit of a problem, lost my memories. The guys here were kind enough to fill me in on the details, but every so often I can't help but wonder if the man they described to me is actually who I am. I don't really expect you to understand, though." He shrugged a little. "I should probably head back to my horse," he added with a grimace. "Looks like we're moving out soon. Guess I'll be seeing you around more later."

[Mercakete]

Beau nodded. "Yes, I suppose. Farewell for the time being, then," he answered. (So, it was not as an infant but recently that something befell his mental health. Since he mentioned Charlotte, perhaps she knows more of this.)

Walking the short distance to the carrage, he politely adressed the Jerdonian princess. It was the likliest place to find her and sure enough, there she was. "Hello, Charlotte. It is good to see you again. How fare you?"

[Inactive Account]

"Yeah, all right," Kelas replied to Isotov, reaching out a hand. "If we keep up this pace we're going to need more horses soon, but Amari should be all right for the moment..."

-----------------------------------

"All right. I'll go tell Kelas and Beau, then," Arrin agreed. He turned and got Francis, then headed over to Kelas. "I'm going with Beau and Tessa. Can you--"

"Yeah, I'll work out something to do with him," Kelas replied, dismounting to take Francis' reins as Arrin nodded and ran off to find Beau. She turned back to Isotov and held out Francis' reins. "I think this solves the ride problem, at least."

-----------------------------------

Arrin headed over to Beau next. "We're going in the carriage," he told Beau without preamble. "I guess we should get going soon, then."

[Phoenix]

Saddle Arrangements

While giving Francis a slightly suspicious look Iso took the reins. He had no idea what to expect from the creature though he never remembered it acting up or anything like that. He carefully stepped over to its left side and put a foot in the stirrup before quickly hauling himself up into the saddle and placing his other foot in the opposite one. Giving Kelas a mix of nervousness and confidence all bundled into one smile he chirped up.

Iso: Easy enough. Heh. After you I guess.

Maneuvers

Irina: Wow, you sure know how to evade.

Kiev was impressed. Namid was faster than him at this height and with so much open air, tight turns weren't much to impress with. As he wondered about ways to impress the wyvern back, Irina came up with an old idea of hers.

Irina: I've got a couple of tricks left I can show you too. (I need to be careful though. Last time I tried this, Kiev crashed, and by the grace of the goddess apparently I landed in a cart of hay.) I need you to do something for me though. Just keep flying just like you are. Keep that exact speed and altitude.

With that, she slowed Kiev down until they fell more than a hundred feet behind Tas and Namid. As the two picked up speed again they began catching up. Flying as fast as he possibly could Kiev caught up in seconds and began to aim downward a good ten degrees while Irina stood up in the saddle. At the very last second Irina jumped as high as she could and Kiev swooped down underneath Tas and Namid as Irina soared over them. Irina had twisted during the jump leaving her face aimed up at the sky and her back facing down at Tas. Kiev inverted his body leaving his belly facing the sky as he and Irina began to plummet. As both of them entered a straight fall, Irina caught up to him and latched onto the saddle in time for Kiev's recovery.

The two quickly came back up to fly alongside Tas and Namid.

Irina: Now that's just a crazy stunt I learned how to do. Leaving the saddle on purpose, heheh. I don't know how useful it would be in a pinch really and I didn't do the whole maneuver. The rest is just a last second recovery before hitting the ground. (Which I screwed up on and am not taking any chances with right now.) I did find that you can jump from one wyvern to another though so I guess that's something though I can't imagine what good that would do. Nobody goes around stealing wyverns.

Combat Experience

The trip thus far had been long, and so boring that Kamilla found herself actually counting the number of steps Blitz had taken with an individual leg. She had counted to nine hundred and forty-two when Althea inquired about her combat experience jarring her out of her tedious little endeavor.

Kamilla: Well the only thing I know about combat is to not get hit. It helps to stay behind and use Sanctuary to strengthen allies. It worked rather well for awhile, then the infighting and ... well that was before. I should be able to help so long as someone keeps them off of me. (I don't want to be shot by that crazy outlaw or sliced up by that smelly ... wait ... Helios. I keep mixing their names up with those stupid ones I thought up while my mind was warped. Curse Morgan and her magic. It turned me into a complete moron.)

Gathering Allies

Harvey: Don't get paranoid. We've got as much a stake in this as you. Anyway, I'll see about those TISME students then. Good luck in your preparations.

The officer turned to head into the TISME building followed by a handful of his men. There were plenty of students around. Seeing that as a good thing, Harvey came to the center of the area preparing to address them all.

Harvey: I need everyone's attention, please. Alright, listen up, cause if anything, we're short on time. Now whether or not you people know about Halton's invasion it's happening and they'll be here sooner or later. We need to make preparations to either delay them or outright push them back here. I can pretty much guarantee that if they manage to smash us and push through to Burgosas that at least some of you are gonna die in the crossfire. This is going to be a war zone soon and even this building won't be safe, not if they come with the numbers they'll need to crush us. So I'm asking for volunteers to help us hold the line. It doesn't take an expert to figure out that wyverns have pathetic resistances to magic, thing is we just don't have enough magi with us. I'm not going to give a big ol' speech to try and recruit the lot of you, I'm only asking that if you have the courage to do something this, then stand with us.

Meeting The Marshall

Once the cavalier had taken the siblings to the palace, his assignment was complete and he returned to the barracks. Word reached Triton fast and he made his way down the halls to meet them only to encounter Percival first.

Percy: REESE!!!

The Grand Marshall flinched and then immediately began grinding his teeth, embarrassed that a mere voice startled him.

Triton: What do you want, Percival?

Percy: I've heard word that you and your men are planning a big operation soon.

Triton: How did you hear about that? Furthermore how did you get in here? (Literally, you're wider than the door leading into this hallway. How did you get in here?)

Percy: You would have come to me begging for help regardless, but that won't be necessary. I've decided to grace you with my ... limited assistance.

Triton: ... go on.

Percy: If you are planning on stopping Halton, then you will need someone like me who can strike fear into the hearts of those little upstart wyvern riders. They'll see me and tremble.

Triton: ... go on.

Percy: Place me in command at the head of the invasion force. I will scatter their ranks in seconds and that will be the end of it.

Triton: ... (I don't ... I don't even ...) I'll give that much consideration, Percival but I'm in a hurry here. I have to speak with TISME representatives. Feel free to tag along if you must.

Percy: Perhaps I will. My batch of buff spell ran out days ago. I'll be needing a replacement as soon as possible.

Meanwhile Madison and Matthias waited, an unexpected visitor "graced" them with his presence.

Harold: Ahhhh! Don't I recognize you from somewhere, young Miss?

[Snowy_One]

As the axe head of the chimera came down, Mana sprung forth, the point of her blade pointed towards the beasts elbow. Swiftly, she spun the blade about, turning it so that the pommel of the weapon, not the point itself, struck the chimera full force in the joint; aiming to cripple his ability to swing for at least a short while.

---

"The group itself shouldn't be hard to find. Seek out a large group of mainly dysfunctional people whom try to kill each other every third hour but somehow manage to get along together. They should be near the edge or just inside the forest rim by now."

[Inactive Account]

"Don't be nervous," Kelas instructed without prompting as she climbed into Amari's saddle again. "Francis is, as far as I can tell, the horse equivalent of a pet puppy. He's certainly not going to run you into any lakes," she added, giving Amari a look. "I think you've made enough progress to not have much to worry about now," she added, a bit more seriously. She nudged Amari forward, following along with the group.

-----------------------------------

Amari was not entirely disappointed by the most recent turn of events. She would carry whoever Kelas told her to, for however long was required, but she got tired. It looked like the Boy was going somewhere else again; that was all right, Francis wasn't one to get nervous when a particular rider went elsewhere. She tossed her head, eager to get moving again.

-----------------------------------

Francis was somewhat surprised. The Boy had handed him off to the Lady, which was not unusual. But then she'd given his reins to some other human! Ah well. If the Lady was passing the reins around, she wouldn't be giving them to some bad human. This certainly wasn't any sort of thing that should not be. ...this one was little heavier than the Boy, true, but since the Lady had found Francis, he'd gotten more food, and gotten stronger. He could carry this human!

This one seemed kind of nervous, though. Were there monsters... somewhere? He couldn't sense any. Bad humans? Wolves? Wyverns? He couldn't smell any, other than the herd-wyverns. What could be wrong? He grew a little nervous too, but followed after the Lady and the lead mare. They didn't seem to be nervous, so maybe things were all right.

[Script]

Luc Altair and the Fargo

Meanwhile, with nothing else to hold his attention, Luc had slightly listened on on the conversation Helios was having with Beau. Helios was giving the lad a rather quick rundown on some of the others. Chase and his infatuation with Morgan; where Luc recalled how quickly the bow had been drawn--a bit too quickly of course. If Luc already wasn't certain of it, he would have concluded that the boy had the Crimson Bow. His words about Morgan certainly struck true, she was logical and blunt to an extreme. Next he spoke of Charlotte, and how he should not upset her. Indeed, if Helios hadn't told the lad about it Luc would have done so.

Beau sent a quick question back after his thanks. Questioning if Helios was of nobility, and Helios answering that he couldn't remember. Memory problems, in Helios' words. Curious, if the man did have memory problems, than he had kept it hidden for a bit it seemed, so why release the information now? Was he trying to hide if he was of noble heritage? It was a possibility, of course, this group certainly had it's fair share of them. There were a fair few reasons Luc could think of why Helios could be hiding such a thing; much like Luc's own desire to keep his face hidden during the exit from the city keeping your identity exposed could be used as a ploy against your family, city or nation. Luc could respect that, if it was why.

After this, the two parted ways and Beau came over to the carriage. He was confident Arrin would come it seemed. And that confidence was rewarded as Arrin came back shortly after.

"All aboard! Whoo hoo! Let's get this bad boy moving!" Fargo yelled.

"Keep quiet," Luc scolded. "I'll not have you betray our position or worse."

"Yes Captain."

Luc held his mouth despite his reservations. Time and time again Fargo had said those words and time and time again did he not learn. Once this whole mess was over, Luc would have to send Fargo back to training again. There would be no chance he would improve, but at the very least he wouldn't be forced to handle the man so often.

EDIT: Hope and Fargo don't mix.

Edited April 21, 2012 by Script

[-Cynthia-]

Charlotte

"Good to see you as well Beau, all things considered. More servants of the Goddess are always welcome on our journey. I am rather surprised to see you again though, last time we met you seemed to be headed for a different destination." Charlotte said to him.

Althea

"I see. Well, you can hide behind me if you wish. Know that there would be no shame in you running away if you so chose. I will not be retreating from this battle, either I will destroy the weapons or I will join with the Goddess. If I should fall in battle, I would suggest you take Blitz and report to the Grand Cleric of my failure." Althea said to Kamilla, looking forward.

M&M

"Lord Harold! What an uh...pleasant surprise. I think we conducted a business deal recently." Madison said, backing away from Harold.

"Do you have business with us, Lord Harold, or this just a...social call?" Matthias asked, unable to hide the look of disgust on his face.

Diane

Diane was displeased. Officers had come into the building asking them to help with some war or some nonsense. Whatever it was, it did not seem important enough to interrupt the exams her students were taking.

"Excuse me." she said, approaching the man. "Didn't we have an agreement that the Septimian military members of either camp would not interfere in TISME matters? Recruiting students to fight in some war certainly counts as interfering. Furthermore, while you make claims that the Halton military is coming, I fail to see any proof of this. Being a mage yourself means that you should know that theories require supporting evidence- well unless you were trained in some backwater cottage or something." Diane said, looking at Harvey sternly over her glasses.

[Mercakete]

"Oh, they don't, do they? Why do you think we couriers have to travel lightly and learn to fly so technically? Bandits are a huge threat to wyvern couriers, especially the bandits that live in the mountains. The mountain passes are the safest for new couriers so they travel in groups with senior couriers to where we make the deliveries. If bandits can get their hands on a wyvern that's already been broken, then they could sell it themselves. There's always been a private war between our wyvern couriers and bandits," replied Tas, not upset in the slightest with Irina for not knowing, but a tad irked at the memories of bandits, "You're a great flier, though. I can tell the bond you and Kiev already have. Otherwise you wouldn't be able to perform a trick like that. It's actually something that anyone who rides should learn: being able to leap from the saddle. You took it a step further, though, when you reunited. It's something Namid and I don't like to do, but if I get thrown off, he has to be able to catch me. Here's a tip: the better use you make of the air, the harder you'll be to hit. Pretending you'll go in one direction and instead going a different way is a good tactic, too."

With that said, Tas guided Namid once more. The mountain wyvern suddenly fell back a little, then flapped forward and up enough for Tas to quickly slip down and land in front of Irina, placing his weight mainly on the front of Kiev's saddle via his hands so he wasn't straining Kiev's neck. Namid fell back again but stayed above Kive in altitude. "This makes it a little difficult for your wyvern to be hurt and it's sudden enough that you can take a captured wyvern back." After the friendly statement, Tas allowed himself to fall from Kiev. Namid swooped past Irina and Kiev while Tas grabbed onto a saddle strap and pulled himself back into namid's saddle, falling back to fly beside Irina and Kiev again. "And getting back to the wyvern that's expecting you to need his assistance isn't a problem."

Durring the maneuver, the hatchling clung to Irina, unsure of what was going on. Humans flew?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Altion and Adam left, Joe allowed his sense of urgency and anger be unleashed. More than anything else, that drove the horses forward quickly as they sped off towards Altenau.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Seeing that Arrin was coming allong, Beau decided to board the carrige he'd previously been standing in outside. Making room for Arrin, he sat down next to Charlotte.

"Alright. I'm actually rather glad considering I would probably slow this group down on foot," he replied to Arrin before returning his attention to Charlotte, "I was not planning on going on a journey involving as much risk as it seemed your retinue was taking. In fact, my plans were to wander about, enjoying my travels until I decided to return home. However, since Septimus decided to become far less hospitable overnight, the best option seemed to be leaving to Jerdon. However, the merchant I purchased a ride from's horses became so fearful that they refused to move last night. I went to find help and found your company in much the same state as I had last time and so put my staff to work. After a while, I tried to return to the merchant but I admit my directional sense went askew and I was found by one of your horses, who returned me to your camp. After that I found Arrin again and he allowed me to sleep in one of your tents. This morning I went back to see if the merchant was still there. However, he had already gone. So, I accepted the offer to travel with you at least for a while. I will not be a burden, however. I can and will heal whoever needs it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Do not be so troubled, Sister Althea," encouraged the currently soft-spoken monk who rode beside her with an encouraging smile, "You are quite strong. And besides that, if you attack with such little hope, it is likely your predictions will come true. Remember: I will intervene if I think it necissary. Do not let your loss of moralle flow into the hearts of your men."

[Phoenix]

Take Me There

Adam: Alright then. If you can find them that easily then we should hurry. We can't waste anymore time.

Holding on as the two made their way down the road, Adam's thoughts came back to Altenau as they frequently did. Was anyone still alive? Would he see Joe again knowing what danger the man was riding into? He closed his eyes tightly not wanting to look around.

Aggression

With a sharp pain coursing through his elbow, the minotaur quickly reached out putting a tight grip around Mana's neck! Enraged, it roared in her face as the grip tightened. Howard was at first blocked by the shield, but stepped in reaching around dropping both spears to take his brother's hand with one hand and his choking hand with the other. All three were closely locked together, the two chimeras trying to out muscle each other. Stratos continued to watch from the rooftop.

Failure Is Not An Option

Kamilla: No, don't say that. Even if you mean it. I don't see the difference between preparing for failure and pursuing it. If we don't stop them, they'll cause more and more destruction until a whole country goes up in flames. The lord was beaten, so they can certainly be beaten, and I'll do my best to ensure that happens. I don't want to think about running away. Um ... maybe Raemond said it better than I did.

She'd come a long way she knew. Being kidnapped by the group twice and then finally coming against them armed only to lose was out of the question. She was surprised to hear herself saying what she was though. She wasn't a brave person so why was she suddenly so adamant?

Kamilla: (I think I ... I think I hate them. I have to be careful or this will go from being about justice to revenge.)

Ilyphina Palace

Harold: Why yes I remember it quiet well. You arrrre Madison, correct? Of course I'm correct. I don't forget the name of a lovely young lady.

Tossing Matthias a glance he ventured a guess to at least seem equally interested in both.

Harold: And you're ... Matthew or something like that. Whatever. Names aside, I wonder why've come here. Did you grow to miss me so soon?

Triton: They're here to see me, Harold.

Triton and Percival appeared from the end of the hall and walked over, Triton in a fairly serious manor. Out from another hall the pegasus knight from before appeared again.

Veronica: Sir Triton, I was looking for you.

Triton: (Perfect.) I'm here now, don't worry about that. I want you do to something for me though.

Veronica: Yes, Sir? Anything.

Triton: Accompany "Lord" Harold and "Lord" Percival for a little while. If they need anything, take care of it, please. Once I'm finished speaking with the TISME representatives I'll come find you.

The woman stayed silent with her jaw hanging open as Harold appeared over her shoulder giving a playful reach around.

Veronica: (... betrayal ...)

Harold: Why thank you, Reese. I must say you certainly know what I like in a courtesan.

Percy: I'll return shortly however. I need another batch of-

Triton: I'll explain that to them, Percival. Please ...

Veronica mentally stabbed herself before escorting the two heroes out of the area, being fondled by Harold the whole way.

Triton: Goddess dammit I can't stand them. Alright, I asked to speak with the headmaster but since he's vanished again I'll explain the situation to you two. Yesterday Jace the Brute took over Burgosas in one afternoon battle. Word spread fast and Halton has begun moving in on Septimus to take advantage of the confusion. They've committed a surprising amount of their forces to the campaign. At this rate Septimus will fall. A year or more after that, Elyisima. I will not stand by and let Halton make a power grab that will doom my country down the road. When the negotiations the king and queen are attempting to make fail ... and they will fail ... I'm going to commit a number of our forces to force Halton to stand down. No country can invade and defend on a scale of this magnitude otherwise I wouldn't be considering it. What I need to know is where TISME will stand in this. If you will do what you can to assist, that is appreciated more than you know. If not, I respectfully ask that you do not interfere at the very least.

Harold: (Lose the Marshall get with a hero, but whatever.)

TISME Septimus Branch

Harvey: I don't think your arrangements can stand up too well with an impending attack on the way. Oh right, "evidence". Look, woman, I'm not handing you military reports just to convince you. You want your evidence, stand outside the city until they get here. I promise I'll have a scout cav standing by to bring you back here so you don't lose your specs or break a nail in the violence. I came here to gather who I could now so I wouldn't have to be bothered trying to organize a bunch of panicking civilians later on once the fighting starts.

Irina and Kiev

Irina: The couriers have their wyverns stolen?

Thinking on it for a moment, Irina remembered that she had grown up in Redwood. An IM controlled city with few incidents of bandits. The times bandits had come though ended horribly for the would-be thieves however. She remembered that militia wyverns were nothing like horses or other mounts. She lowered her voice a bit at first.

Irina: I think the wyverns in use by the my uncle's company are trained to only be ridden by a particular person. I heard that before the fortress was built, people used to make fun of the bandits who would try to take just a single wyvern only to all be killed by it. I didn't know that in other places they could actually be stolen after being broken. Most of our wyverns just bite and throw people who didn't personally train them. Even Kiev's kind of picky when I don't have the reins. I thought it was pretty much that way everywhere, not just with ours and Halton's military wyverns. That's interesting to hear.

As Tas came down onto him, he quickly compensated to account for the new weight and stayed at his current altitude. He wondered what Namid's human was doing, but didn't look back knowing he might accidentally put the rider off balance. Suddenly after a bit of talking, he let himself fall off looking down, Kiev wondered if he would sprout wings. Instead Namid caught him. Also good he thought.

[-Cynthia-]

Princess

"We are all glad to have you with us." Charlotte replied to Beau. "Jerdon will likely not be as safe as it once was, but it should be better than Septimus at any rate." At least I hope so. Though my coming home could cause even more fighting...

Templars

"It is not a lack of hope that commands my words, but rather a desire not to lead any to their deaths under false pretenses. We will march in full force and whether we succeed or fail is in the Goddess's hands. I pray that we prevail, but sometimes the Goddess spins a web of fate that even I cannot see. All we can do is go forth in the name of righteousness and do what must be done." Althea responded to Kamilla and Raemond.

Teacher

"You sound awfully sure of yourself." Diane said to Harvey. "I would really rather remain here and simply teach and conduct our research in peace, but if what you say is true then it seems we will be disrupted irregardless. Very well, I'll see when the Haltonians come myself. But either way, no students are going near the front lines and everyone Circle 2 or below will not be leaving this building at all." she said adamantly.

Of Marshalls and Magi

I should make a mental note to thank that pegasus knight if I see her later. Madison thought to herself as Harold mercifully left the room.

The siblings listened intently to the Grand Marshall's speech. Matthias was the first to respond "Like I told the messenger, TISME's primary interests at this time are ensuring the safety of the faculty and students in Anglenar and keeping the headmaster out of danger. If it is not a direct threat to Elyisima, then I see no reason for TISME to be involved."

"But there is the eventual threat to Elyisima." Madison countered. "Given the Grand Marshall's logical progression, Halton will attack Elyisima eventually. It makes more sense to intervene now when we have potential allies on our side than to wait until Halton controls all other nations besides our own."

"Perhaps Halton only attacked Septimus because they were having a civil war." Matthias pointed out. "If Elyisima puts up a strong, united front that may intimidate Halton into pacifism.

"Have you any reason to believe that Halton will attack Elyisima, other than the recent attack on Septimus?" Madison asked the Grand Marshall.

[Mercakete]

"Well, we're good targets since most of us can't fight. We have our partner-wyverns, but they've been trained to act civilly. Also, when we're towing a wyvern to be sold, of course they have to be broken otherwise they'd try to pull away and throw the partner-wyverns off-balance. Seeing as the wyverns we sell are used to us, though, they're already broken and so they're not as much trouble in the air. But that makes it easier for bandits to attack and steal them, too," he explained, "And don't get confused about Halton: we sell to them, too. They're actually some of the best buyers; always needing more wyverns."

As the thought struck him, he added, "We don't just breed wyverns, but taking in wild ones is pretty uncommon for us. Riggs was a wild wyvern, but he was a special case. If it weren't for him, we'd only be selling plains wyverns."

At the mentioning of Riggs, Namid perked up a bit, shifting his gaze around. Was Riggs here?

The hatchling had resumed putting his face to the wind and even spread his wings a little, pretending he was flying on his own.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Those were my thougths as well. My only other option would be to go south to Elyisima and I do not wish to return home just yet," replied Beau, "I am glad to be a part of this company for now. There is someone I am somewhat curious about, however. You see, I was speaking with him only a moment ago: a man with green hair going by the name 'Helios.' He told me that he had recently lost the memories of who he was. As such, he has my condolances. Is he one of your attendants, Charlotte?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I can understand that completely," Raemond replied, "But even so, a front may be required, lest your men lose heart."

Edited November 24, 2010 by Mercakete

[Phoenix]

Halton Is As Halton Does

Triton listened as the two siblings each presented their take on the matter, but when asked about Halton and the likelihood of a threat to attack Elyisima, he began with a quick statement.

Triton: It's Halton.

Crossing his arms again he continued.

Triton: Well we have been politely threatened to stay out of the conflict. It's all they can really justify at this point, but once Halton's forces take over Septimus, they'll have more than enough land to grow an even bigger army than they already possess. You're right that they struck Septimus due to the civil war, but Septimus is not a weak country. When Halton takes over Septimus, proportionally we will be far far weaker than them and absolutely nothing will be standing in the way of them conquering us as well.

He also chose to expound on the specifics of the "threat".

Triton: My only concern with this thus far is that they will consider any action against them a declaration of war at this point. Our saving grace is that they can't stand against both Elyisima and Septimus and it will likely end the conflict in a truce. I would rather this not turn into a blood bath which is why I came to TISME in the first place. With the added support, it may be just enough to make them cease their operations in Septimus without us ever having to launch any major campaigns ourselves, the desired outcome.

Anglenar

Harvey: I had a feeling someone might say that. So the students are going to be held up in here, and the teachers can't be bothered. Figures. Well that's just fine then, but just remember. If we get overrun here, mmm around an 80% likelihood with no further assistance, there's no telling what could happen to this town. But whatever. I stopped carrying about TISME's policies after I joined the military.

He let out a heavy sigh. He half expected a teacher to step forward and speak for the students as a whole. He didn't have time to try and convince them though. Perhaps they would have a change of heart later, or perhaps he wasn't giving them enough credit. Either way he had work to do and it was obviously pointless to continue with Diane between him and the mage students.

Harvey: I've got civilians to kick out of town. See ya later ... if we're all still alive that is.

Dwelling On Things

Kamilla: I understand. Still, just the thought of them getting away after what they've done. (I wanted to get away and stay away, but I want to make sure they're stopped this time. Elyisima's military couldn't even haul them in so I can't exactly leave it up to the authorities and expect justice to be served here. The best thing I can do is support the church in its efforts so that's what I'll do. I don't have to fight them directly either so that's also good.)

Training

Irina: Well I can understand them buying up a bunch of wyverns since that's their main focus, but they train their wyverns in ways some people have never even heard of. No matter where they come from, military wyverns always end up learning a lot of useful stuff. Coordinating with other wyverns. Letting some people ride them but not others, even discriminating between passengers. Attacking like war dogs on command but only killing certain people. The best I could manage was teaching Kiev to put people up in high places, tackle things, guard things, and fetching stuff I need. Meanwhile Lev can make Krinkov do absolutely anything he wants, and I have no idea how he did that.

She was finding the wyvern talk interesting of course, but she was getting more curious about this Riggs. From the sound of it, it was a mountain wyvern.

Irina: So Riggs is what got the wyvern mountain breeding started? Are Namid and these little ones with us his offspring?

[Mercakete]

"Ms. Kamilla, do you believe these people to be evil?" asked Raemond, only glancing over at her before shifting his eyes back to the road. Within that glance was something like pitty, though it was so quickly-passing that it would be difficult to catch. His tone, however, was merely curious.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"That may be true, but what is also true is that behaviors are built into wyverns at young ages, when they're more impressionable. I wouldn't doubt that if one of us who raised even one of Halton's fiercest wyverns met with them again, they would be as calm as they were when they were under our care. We're like a flock - humans and wyverns all," explained Tas fondly as he felt the wind brushing against his face and playing with his hair. At the mention of Riggs, Tas suppressed a bit of a laugh. "Riggs was the reason we were able to breed mountain wyverns, yes. Actually, he's my father's partner-wyvern. There's a bit of a story attached to this. If you don't mind, I'd be glad to tell you."

Edited November 24, 2010 by Mercakete

[Phoenix]

Evil o_O

Raemond's question had actually startled Kamilla though she only flinched a little. Thinking about it, she wasn't quite sure herself. Troublemakers, yes, but she wasn't sure if evil was the right way to describe them or if she even believed it to be so. After a few seconds of thinking it over, she had her answer. She kept her gaze forward and downward however not looking back over to the monk. She was a bit shy giving a straight forward and honest answer with barely a hint of sugarcoating on it.

Kamilla: Well, you recorded my story. They have good intentions, they're just incredibly stupid and carry around evil cursed weapons. "The road to hell is paved with good intentions" ... I think that's exactly what whoever said that meant. They need to be stopped before they blow up an entire city or worse. They think they're actually saving the world but all they've done is beat the stuffing out of anyone they come to odds with.

While They're Young

Irina: You make it sound like you have wyvern agents in Halton ready to do your bidding, hahahah, but you're right. I've seen early life training effect wyverns down the road first hand, and not just Kiev. I'm really glad they don't simply forget. You know, if not for Victor we might not have ever found out that Kiev and Krinkov are actually brothers ... uh-half brothers I mean. Different mothers. (It makes me wonder what kind of crazy evil parents Victor had.)

When Tas finally offered to expound on Riggs, Irina was more than willing to listen.

Irina: Oh do tell. Getting even one mountain wyvern from the wild is said to be really hard so I've got to hear this.

[Mercakete]

"Well, then, they are not evil - only mislead. If that is so, then why is your ire rising as it is? If they are enslaved by the demonic weapons, then should they not be pittied? True, we must destroy them. But when we do so, it should not be out of hate or vengence, but rather out of mercy and compassion. They will not understand the blessing they will be recieving, so of course they will try to defend themselves. How sad that they do not even understand the perils of their souls..." Raemond mournfully replied, "We should pray for them as they leave this world. Perhaps the goddess will have mercy on their tainted spirits..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"An army of our own within the ranks of Haklton? Haha! Hardly! Sure they'd remember us and I don't think they'd attack any of us, but they're still Halton's aviary force. If they didn't catch sound, sight or scent of Namid, myself or any others who were at the ranch then they would attack without mercy: true to their riders," Tas replied. Upon hearing the bit about Kiev and Krinkov, Tas answered, "Oh, they're brothers? That's interesting. Most wyverns from the same parents don't see each other too often, especially if they had different mothers."

Hearing that Irina wanted to hear the story, Tas took a deep breath of the crisp air, remember the story he'd been told a thousand times growing up in the ranch. "Well, when my father was a few years older than I am now, he was a wyvern courier at the ranch too. Back then, his wyvern was a nervous, little, dark blue plains wyvern named Lash. He was the runt of hus clutch and was more timid than most of the other wyverns. Even though my father was new to the wyvern business, he'd managed to get Lash used to him and so became his partner. One day he was flying with a couple of the others, delivering a wyvern over the mountain passes. They wyverns - especially Lash - were on the alert because they were in a wild mountain wyvern's territory. Sometimes you have to fly through, though, in order to take the safest route and make good time. While they were flying, Lash suddenly began lostling his tether to the wyvern they were delivering. Both wyverns were jumpy and even though my father tried to calm Lash down, it didn't take long for borh wyverns to be pulling the others this way and that. Now all the wyverns were panicking and their riders were just trying to hold on. The couriers who were there say that there's nothing more terrible than when the wyverns start yanking at their tethers in a wild wyvern's territory. They lose their wits and start roaring and clawing... They wind up blindly attacking in terror and flying into cliffs and each other."

Tas stopped for a moment, trying to clear his head of the descriptions the older couriers had told him of the grotesque flight. He, himself, had seen something simillar occur on one of his group-deliveries. Returning to his story, he continued, "While the wyverns were panicking, Lash suddenly roared more loudly than my father had ever heard him roar. And immediately he began falling. The drop threw my father off. All the other couriers were shouting at him to cut Lash's tether. So, my father grabbed the tether and pulled out his knife. It wasn't very hard to cut it since it was made of leather. The group stopped falling, but my father and Lash hit the ground. If it hadn't been for Lash's body taking the impact, I would never have been born. There was an arrow that had punctured one of Lash's lungs and air sacs. He died when he hit the ground."

Tas was quiet again for a moment. Even though he'd never met Lash, he still felt grateful for the wyvern. When he'd composed himself again, he continued, "The other wyvern couriers were under attack but managed to escape the bandits. They were using an old tactic: shoot down one wyvern in a tether net and let that one drag the others down for capture. The reason Lash had begun panicking was because he could tell that the bandits were going to attack. The others left my father behind, figuring he was dead anyway and that it was too dangerous to go back and look for him. So, they made the delivery without him. When my father woke up, he saw what'd happened to Lash. He was pretty upset... For a while, he looked around for shelter, food and water. What he found was a cave. Inside, he found a wyvern nest. It was empty, so he stayed there. The next day, he found a wyvern fledgling curled up against him: Riggs. My father didn't know what happened to the mother, so he began to take care of Riggs himself and gave him his name. He knew how to take care of wyverns, so the only hard part was finding enough food for both of them. One time my father found what used to be the bandits' camp. They'd already moved on - probably to sell the fledglings they'd found in the cave that my father and Riggs stayed in. But my father found Riggs' mother. The bandits had killed her to get to her nest. They never found Riggs' father. They lived in the mountains for a long time, hoping to be rescued. No one ever came. They all thought my father was dead. He had to raise Riggs on his own. A strange thing happened, though: they kept finding eggs, hatchlings, fledglings and even injurred or elderly mountain wyverns that the bandits had left behind. By the time they got back to the Ranch, they'd picked up several mountain wyverns in all stages of life, all from different clutches."

Tas was smiling at the story he'd heard so many times now and added, "Everyone at the ranch was impressed including the head of the ranch and his daughter: my mother. My uncles say that she liked the kindness my father had shown to all those wyverns instead of just trying to leave the mountsins himself. They also used to tease my dad a lot saying that she'd always had her eye on him. When my grandfather died, one of my uncles inerrited the ranch. It's not like I was in line for it, but I did get to grow up there." Heaving a sigh, Tas muttered, "Too bad bandits burned it..."

[-Cynthia-]

Attendants

"I am not sure about the memory loss, it seemed to have happened right around when I joined this group so I cannot really say what he was like before he lost his memories. He is no attendant of mine, but he seems to have remembered that he is Prince of Tora, and in a situation not entirely dissimilar to my own." Charlotte replied to Beau.

Ilyphina

"Halton certainly does have a history of conquering other nations. For the most part they were small ones and nomadic tribes so political leaders paid little attention to it, but it does show a history of conquest. Perhaps a sufficient display of resistance will cause them to back down." Madison said.

"Or we will have a war on the scale of the one with the Lord of Azure Flame." Matthias retorted. "We may be entering Elyisima into a long and bloody conflict."

"The Grand Marshall seems to have already decided to send Elysimian troops. Adding TISME mages would merely hasten our victory." Madison said to him.

Matthias sighed. "Very well. What would you have us do Grand Marshall?"

Anglenar

"I do not think you would want Circle 1's and 2's on the battlefield anyway, conjuring puffs of smoke to throw at the Halton army seems a rather pointless endeavor. The 3's and 4's however, could be of some use, but as a teacher it is my reponsbility to protect the students. If we could fire spells off from a safe location that may be acceptable-assuming of course this Halton invasion is not merely some fabrication you've devised." Diane said to Harvey.

Poor Unfortunate Souls

"There is little we can do for the wielders except pray for them and end their existence." Althea said. "It is really...too late. But the others that travel with them, hopefully we can convince them to lay down their weapons. We do not need to kill any more than is necessary."

[Phoenix]

Irina

Irina was fascinated by the story Tas had shared with her. The circumstances seemed so carefully interwoven and if nothing else, a remarkable set of events. Had the bandits not been there at all, the delivery would have gone on without incident. Had someone else been hit, the entire group might just have all been dragged down and captured. Had Tas' father not been saved by Lash's sacrifice, Tas wouldn't be here. Had the bandits not been careless, Tas may have very well been riding a plains dweller like her.

Irina: It's amazing how things sometimes work out.

Having been reminded that their ranch was gone now, she quickly tried to put a positive spin on the situation.

Irina: It's not over yet. You can still rebuild if you want to, (though I wouldn't recommend the same place. Seems like it might hold some bad memories and also, bandits round two, etcetera.) after you find your father I mean.

Anglenar Preparations

Triton: One of the generals suggested a more open initial display of our power before launching any attacks, stationing a large number of our forces along the Elyisimian-Halton border. Another suggested launching surprise attacks by sending in a moderately sized army through Tora. Some suggested combinations of the two plans which I am in some support of. After Halton sends away our representatives we could as you mentioned "put up a strong united front" which could cause them to rethink they're plans for conquering Septimus. If that doesn't get the results we're after, having a large number of our forces at the border ensures Halton cannot break very far into our country in retaliation for the attacks we'll launch from the south. With them focusing on three different battlefronts at once, Septimus will get the time it needs to unite all of its forces and then will become a lost cause. The peace talks are going to be a nightmare, but I won't accept the alternative. What I need here is TISME's open and public support of what we're doing, not only that, but in order for our southern incursion to be successful if and when it happens, we'll need a careful mix of melee, ranged, and magic wielding forces. Supplementing our forces with some of your own would ensure our success and reduce overall casualties on Elyisima's side.

Consolidation

The officer stopped in his tracks hearing that he was addressed again. Turning back to face Diane he listened to her rebuttal.

Harvey: Hmph. Circle ones and circle twos. Sadly at a time like this even they could prove useful in some way. I don't know what your definition of "safe" is in a war zone so I'll leave that up to you people to decide.

Kami-Chan

Kamilla: I'm trying to keep a clear head about this. They probably aren't evil but they have to be stopped.

Althea mentioned only killing who was necessary which sent a wave of relief rushing over the girl. She only needed to convince Tessa to stay out of the fight and perhaps drag Eric's unconscious body out of the way and then she could focus on strengthening her allies.