Lord of Azure Flame Chapter 24: The Schism

[Inactive Account]

"We're fine, Irina," Kelas replied, suppressing a grimace; Irina didn't look like she was doing too well. "Er... come on," she muttered, "let's go, can't really talk here."

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

Arrin was silent for a bit; the new information was spinning round his head and frankly it was making him a little ill. "Did you have to explain that in terms of my SISTER?" he finally asked, miserably uncomfortable.

[Mercakete]

"Would you have preferred it if I had explained it in terms of Tessa?" Beau replied, a bit of a smile forming again in amusement as he tilted his head innocently to the side somewhat with the inquirry.

[Phoenix]

Hallway

Iso: (Irina ... dammit all she's right here. I know there's no point in just taking her and running but ... going along with what Ivanko and Ixion are planning is almost just as bad as doing nothing. I need to find a way to stop them from using her like this but I'm ... powerless. There just has to be a way to put an end to this. I might not be able to help her once we're actually in Zaftra. After all, where the hell could we run from there? How far could we get before they catch us? I need to think of something ... there's gotta be a way.) Huh?

Iso snapped out of his thoughts as Kelas suggested going somewhere else. The fire sage couldn't argue with that and simply nodded. He ignored the pain in his leg and they walked over to the room he had shared with Helios. Thankfully he didn't seem to be there at the moment.

Iso: Well, that's fortunate I guess.

[Inactive Account]

"No--" Arrin choked out, face going bright red. Beau had explained some things about the nature of relationships as well as mechanics; the former had made more sense, but the latter had mostly served to make things terribly uncomfortable. He supposed liking Tessa as more than a friend, having a "crush" on her as the colloquialism went, was fine, and it certainly explained some of what he'd mistaken for symptoms, but he was not at all comfortable thinking about any of that!

At that point his mind cut out entirely for a moment, and for lack of anything better to do started listing out the alchemic elements, since that was something he had thoroughly memorized. "Light, caloric, oxygen, azote, hydrogen, sulfur, phosphorous..." he mumbled, rambling for a few seconds more until he realized what he was doing. He shook his head, attempting to clear it and regain at least a little composure. "...I mean... the explanation would work just as well without any names attached at all..." he muttered.

OOC: editing Kelas in eventually

[Balcerzak]

"Ugghh..." Helios groaned when Charlotte pointed out the dark druid. "Ixion. That's probably not a good sign. I'm not going to say he's always trouble, but they've tended to go together like ice and snow. The mind and magic games at the Ilyphina TISME branch might have been good intentions, but..." he sighed and shook his head, not bothering to elaborate.

"Then there was the incident with the ice demon at the caves, he waited until we'd done all the fighting, taking severe damage in the process, before he assaulted it as it ran away... I think you were busy tending Alferis at the time, might not have seen that. Much more recently there was that madness with the clown at the capital... You're probably most remembering seeing him at the ball, though, I think he was with the headmaster... and he took Damian with him for training afterward."

The quick summary of what he remembered of their past encounters concluded, the sage tried to venture a guess as to the current situation. "When he's not keeping to himself, he's seemed to grudgingly offer us aid, but I get the feeling he's only doing it because he's trying to manipulate some grander scheme into his favor. I have no idea what he'd be up to this time, but probably something big's afoot... again. He's powerful, and doesn't really stand for people wasting his time. I'd try to talk with him, but after previous encounters I've gotten the impression he views me as an inferior practitioner... You're right, I guess we'll have to wait until whatever this has played out."

An idea came to him, and he straightened up a bit. "Actually, one moment. If Ixion's around, maybe Stephanie is too, and she always seemed to genuinely want to help. Maybe we should go look around and see if we can't find her and find out what's happening. What do you think?"

OOC: Tessa coming at some unspecified point in the future.

Edited March 31, 2011 by Balcerzak

[Mercakete]

Beau was thoroughly amused. Arrin was so awkward that he didn't know what to do with himself. With a light chuckle, the light magic-user mercifully began turning the subject, "Well, not to worry, my friend. I will help you in your persuit as best I may. On to other matters, though." He took on a more serious expression as he continued, "The main reason I sought you out today, I'll admit, is one of reassurance. You do trust me, don't you? Sometimes it feels like you're trying to keep things from me." It was confrontational, yes, but not at all agressive. The young bishop had asked the question disarmingly; Arrin would likely answer truthfully -- Beau knew this. If he lied, however, it would be fairly easy to catch.

[Balcerzak]

Tessa had just finished receiving a rather scalding reply from Ixion, who apparently was certainly "not in the mood for these childish inquiries". She shrunk back a little, clutching her toast and jam breakfast a little more tightly than it deserved. She felt like raising an objection, that it wasn't the "momentary vice grip" that had really had her worried or anything, but instantly thought the better of it.

Morgan chimed in again, adding her piece to the situation with a not-so-subtle critique of the dark druid's methods, and suddenly her small check-up mission had spiraled into something larger. In fact, the whole room had seemed to have heard the lecture, and everything that had followed, and of course this included Damian himself, who looked a little hurt at her lack of trust, simply repeating that it was only a bad memory.

What a terrible way to start of the morning. A reunion that should have been pleasant getting... tangled up and marred in this fashion was frustrating, and the healer unconsciously ground her teeth a little. What was there to be done for it now, though? Nothing? Let everything blow over, go spend time with him later when all was forgot? Musing her options, still rooted in place near Lev and Ixion, she overheard something that struck her as strange.

Kiev's chances of surviving in the upcoming battle are too low for me to allow her to use him as her mount.

WHAT? was the thought that instantly rung out inside her head. Something like that cannot just go unheard, and her attention suddenly took an about face. Nothing that followed seemed to be of any real relevance, or if it was, she at least didn't quite understand it. But one thing Tessa knew for certain was that she really had to find Irina. If someone were talking about Trevor like that without her knowledge...

As Ixion left the inn to do who-knows-what to that other wyvern, Tessa quickly and indelicately shoved down her toast and made her way back to the stairs. She thought she'd seen Irina and Heinz leaving that way... better to follow and check the hallways and rooms to see if she could catch up.

Edited April 1, 2011 by Balcerzak

[-Cynthia-]

Charlotte

"Oh right the ball...he's one of those Ivanko Mercenaries right? I didn't hear anything about any help they were offering myself. Let's go take a look," she said to Helios, walking downstairs, passing Tessa on her way down.

"Do you know why all these mercenaries are here, Lev?" she asked the mercenary sitting down at the table.

Xenia

"Morning," she replied to Daneka. "Surprised to see you here, thought you would be back at the palace organizing or whatever it is that you do. But I guess everyone needs a little relaxation now and again, eh?"

[Inactive Account]

"Well..." This was sufficiently far from an uncomfortable subject that Arrin could think. "To be quite honest, not entirely, because I don't trust anyone in this group entirely. I'd certainly like to, but given what we're up against and the fact that we seem to attract shapeshifting enemies in particularly, it doesn't seem prudent to trust entirely." He wasn't entirely telling the truth, either; he did trust Tessa entirely, and maybe Kelas... well... maybe not Kelas... but it didn't seem that it would be wise to mention that.

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

"Yeah..." Now that Irina had appeared, however briefly, Kelas wasn't sure what to say. Irina's condition hadn't been a vote of confidence for how the trip was going to go, either. With a sigh she sat down on the end of the bed nearer to the door, still taking inventory of what bruises she would likely have gotten from the floor.

[Mercakete]

This wasn't the answer Beau had especially hoped for, but he would try to change Arrin's mind only minimally. "I see. Well, given your reasons, I can understand that. Even so, I would appreciate to be warned about such things. I had no idea that encountering demons was a common phenominon among this group, let alone shape-shifters. I would appreciate warnings about such dangers in the future," he replied, a sort of finality and formality to his tone. With a slight bow, the young bishop began to leave, mentioning, "I should let you return to your decyphering. Likewise, I will return to my own studies. Good day, Arrin."

Beau's emotional state as he walked toward his own room was confused. Rationally, he appreciated Arrin's honesty. However, he was frusterated at himself to have been so naively idealistic and needed to regather his thoughts. (That really was quite selfish of me. I should not have interrupted his studies in the first place, even though Sadie apparently already had. In additon, friendships do not grow at that quick a rate. Ah, my inexperience in dealing with "friends" must have shown. How embarrassing. I doubt Father would approve of my even having friends anyway, let alone him being...and aquaintence, I suppose. Though he did say we were friends, that was perhaps far too rapid a development to assign that title. Yes, I should be more careful in the future. He has no reason to trust me and I should likewise not trust him so much as I do, perhaps. Though I want to eventually become trustworthy... I don't know what to do regarding this. There is no rational explanation to this frustration...though when is emotion ever rational? The only thing to do is calm down, for the time being. I will...figure something out later...)

[Phoenix]

Downstairs

Lev ate anther piece of his apple as Makar and Martin sat down at the table to begin checking up on the wyverns. Lev supposed questions like that were going to come up at some point.

Lev: You'll be taking your country back at some point, right? Preferably with diplomacy? Well Ivanko's Mercenaries are taking theirs back with extreme violence. Today's the day the last two fighters are briefed and whisked off to our last battle. Irina and I are those last two fighters. Trouble is we've been keeping this from her. She's not going to take these too well but it's too late to change that now.

Makar: Well we've got to miss out on the action but everyone plays a part somewhere. One of these wyverns might become some important big shot's wyvern someday, so we need to look after them until they can adjust to wherever they have to live without dying.

Upstairs

Iso sat down next to Kelas and buried his head in his palms which were firmly propped up on his legs. The thoughts were just racing through his head now. Nothing he could think of seemed like it would work, not with Ixion and Ivanko there. Though he was beginning to wonder if talking to the man himself wouldn't do some good. Ixion said he was there but he hadn't shown up at all. If not for that vaguely familiar roar, he would have suspected Ixion of just lying for some reason or other. Giving into his grief a bit, he dropped his arms and shoulders and then shook his head at the floor.

Iso: Why is it always the monsters who have the most power? The demon king, the demons, Ivanko, Ixion, Jace ... all of them. Despicable people always manage to just walk all over us and there's not a damn thing we can ever do about it. I don't see anyone on our side all that powerful and willing to help us ... at least none that survive. (Mother ... Father ... I ... really wish you two were here right now ... so you could stop this.)

Outside

Ixion had, after just a few minutes gone through all the memories he could carefully blanking out the weak minded wyvern's sense of who her master was with Irina. The process had the wyvern stirring uncomfortably, but Ixion took another measure as well. Feeling somewhat opportunistic, the Dark Druid began to fabricate something that would be of use to him later.

Ixion: (I don't know where Pressha has wandered off to, but she appears to be the only royal that has done so. We don't need any thorns showing up later on. Know this, Nikita, your old master is no friend of yours ...)

In utter silence he implanted a handful of false images that would cause Nikita to bitterly hate Pressha should she ever lay eyes on the woman again. The wyvern began snarling in her sleep at the images in front of her. Any attachment she had with the Zaftran had faded away entirely under a fog of hatred. Ixion continued his work searching for any remaining traces of the woman. Once he finished, he took note of some very ... interesting memories the wyvern had. Standing up, he crossed his arms and looked down at the wyvern.

Ixion: (I have always found it interesting how loyal an animal can be ... and yet how little resistance their minds will put up. This would have taken hours to perform on a human, a race of instinctively treacherous beings. Yet only minutes are required for these polarized and loyal raised creatures.)

Burgosas

Daneka: I was invited to hang out wiz you all after zat slaughter and decided to shirk off just a little. Trouble is I can't remember what happened. I've been trying to get some information out of zis parrot but he's not repeating anyzing useful anymore. He might be hungry so I'm heading down to ze kitchen to find somezing to bribe him wiz. Do you remember what happened? And have you seen Alphonse around by any chance?

Edited April 1, 2011 by Phoenix

[-Cynthia-]

Charlotte

Zaftra was not a nation Charlotte knew much about, despite sharing a border with Jerdon there was not frequent trade between the two countries, likely due to climate. Still, she knew that it possessed a monarchy that was not dissimilar to the monarchies of other nations. Charlotte gave Lev a puzzled look. "Take it back from whom exactly? Last I heard, the Zaftran royal family was alive and well, though they have not had much contact with other nations in recent years," she said.

Xenia

Xenia raised an eyebrow at the parrot. "Never seen one of those before, though hard to expect much from a birdbrain. As for what happened, I really can't tell you much except that we cleared out at least most of the bandits. The sign of a good night is not being able to remember it the next morning." She paused for a second "Alphonse...that's that blue-haired beefcake you're always hanging around with right? Thought you'd want to keep track of him, wiley old fox you are. Haven't seen him myself," she said, shrugging.

Edited April 1, 2011 by -Cynthia-

[Inactive Account]

Arrin could only stare at the door after Beau abruptly left. Study? That wasn't going to work now, his train of thought had been too thoroughly derailed. Maybe he could bang his head against the wall a bit to make himself forget things. He tried; he only got a headache. The reasonable thing to do would be to sort through the new information to try and treat it as actual information instead of just one massive uncomfortable mess, but it was just too big of an uncomfortable mess... for the moment, he decided he would sit down and clamp his hands over his eyes for a bit, and maybe some of it would go away enough that he could think.

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

Kelas' misery seemed to be contagious. She didn't even know how to respond to Isotov's comment; things really did seem hopeless. Ignoring what the others would say-- nobody was here to look-- she wrapped her arms around him again, holding on as much for her own comfort as for his. "I don't know," she said quietly. "But we can't afford to give up..." She wasn't sure how convincing she sounded, because she wasn't convinced herself, but she felt like she had to try.

[Phoenix]

Isotov

The hug was of some comfort, and he even placed his hand gently over Kelas' closest one to emphasize his gratitude.

Iso: You're right. We're not going to give up, and one day I ... I'll be stronger. Strong enough to not be forced into things like this. Somehow, and someway.

Levski

Lev: The current emperor of Zaftra; Emperor Denisov. Fifteen years ago they could have put up a slightly better case ... but it's too late for talks now.

Makar: Yeah, we're tired of waiting for those cowardice liars to rebuild our nation. They hide away in their fortress of solitude while everyone else struggles to survive or flees to other countries.

Lev: The royal bloodline has grown weak due to all of that safety, and the country is in ruins still. Ivanko's had it. So have the rest of us. He's taking over and bringing the country back out of the dust of that old war once and for all.

DanDan

Parrot: Arrrk! Kill it with fire! Arrrk!

Ignoring the parrot for a moment, she replied to Xenia.

Daneka: Oh you. Alphonse is an excellent and devoted bodyguard. If I can't summon him he's eizer in ze middle of killing someone I didn't notice in ze shadows or he's in trouble somewhere. I suppose zere's a chance he's back at the palace covering for me but he would have left a note like usual. ... ugh, where is zat boy?

Parrot: More vodka!

Daneka: >.>

[Mercakete]

Tas had been ignoring what Lev and his fellow mercenaries were saying, but he really didn't have much to do since the nest was still being retrieved. He was only just tuning in. "Wait... You and Irina are going to war? A group of mercenaries against an entire country?" Tas asked, coming into the conversation. (They're powerful, so they should be fine...maybe...but there's got to be more soldiers than mercenaries. And is Kiev ready for something like this? He's a bit young...)

[-Cynthia-]

Charlotte

Charlotte frowned at what she heard. "While the neglect of your Emperor is unfortunate, there is no need for violence. He is your proper ruler-not Ivanko. Dissatisfaction with the current leadership is no reason for rebellion. There must be proper channels you can go through to make your grievances known," she said to Lev and the unfamiliar mercenary who had chimed in.

Xenia

"Well that last line the bird squawked sounds like me, not the first one though. I avoid fire whenever I can, fire and alcohol is not a good combination," Xenia said, shaking her head. "As for your bodyguard, you could always try looking for goats. I've found that getting drunk makes you end up near farm animals for some reason," she replied to Daneka, shrugging.

[Phoenix]

The Zaftran Way

Lev: Charlotte, these isn't as simple as a rebellion. Any Zaftran with open eyes stopped recognizing that man as their ruler years ago. The thing is ... those damn citadels are the real problem. Throughout Zaftran history, royal families have been tested by blades and fire. They've been targeted by massive armies, both foreign and domestic. An Emperor that cannot defend his thrown cannot rule Zaftra. This kept our leaders strong, and brilliant ... but the shortsightedness of an Emperor has led us to total ruin. Two hundred years ago, the first Emperor of the current royal family had four massive citadels built around the main palace, and the mountain was magically altered over time until the only viable attack against the palace was by air. No one could just warp in either ... they created the perfect defense, and doomed the country.

As the man spoke his voice began to slip deeper and deeper into contempt that spread to the other Zaftrans in the room like a plague.

Makar: It's not the Zaftran way to play politics, lady. Our culture, country, people ... everything, has just been rotting from the inside out since the end of the war. We can't allow ourselves to be ruled by an Emperor that puts all else before his country and people. People who aren't willing to fight and die for their ideals don't deserve to see them fulfilled. That's why we're fighting, and not making petitions for deaf ears.

Lev: To be honest, Charlotte, I have a hard time taking the leaders of some of these countries seriously sometimes. It's always about sacrificing the strong to protect the prissy nobles in pretty clothes ... no offense ... but things like that weaken people like us. For two hundred years the Denisov family has ruled Zaftra from the mega fortress. They are never truly tested or challenged and so the royals are likely nothing but a bunch of weaklings preaching of strength and honor while multiplying like rabbits in the comfort of their little safe haven by now. No matter how tough their warriors are, their Emperor is not worthy of them, or us; his family is not worthy to rule any longer and must be removed from power. That's tradition, and so we're going to kill them. If words would be enough to convince him back onto the proper path, then Aleksandr and Natasha would have succeeded years ago.

Martin: A quarter of a century ... and they're still hiding out in that fortress. Charlotte ... that's your name, right? This ... has to end ... while we can still rebuild. It's not just about having a place to live again, but about saving our cultural identity.

Mystery Animals

Daneka: Farm animals? Hmm ... I must have been wasted, trashed, smashed, plastered, and all manner of booze logged to end up wiz a tropical bird in my room. But goats ... hmm, probably one of the animals set aside to be butchered for someone's meal. There is a butcher shop near by, but Alphonse doesn't drink so I doubt I'll find him zat way. I may need to interrogate zat mercenary from earlier after all. (Dammit, where is that boy? This is starting to bother me. I suppose I shouldn't worry too much until a few more hours pass, but still ...)

Isotov?

Pacing the room he was in, Iso kept his arms behind his back and impatiently walked back and forth from one wall to the other.

Iso: (So once they leave I can get to the reason I'm really doing this. I need to find Shanice ... and I can tell its rather close by. Can't pass up an opportunity like this if I don't have to. Also ... I need to test something ... something that's been worrying me since we were in Burgosas ... when that light appeared in the distance. It's been bothering me for days. If I don't find Shanice I won't be able to confirm my suspicions.)

[-Cynthia-]

Death to the Romanovs?

Charlotte bit her lip as the mercenaries explained the situation. "No matter your grievances with the Emperor, none of you are the rightful rulers of Zaftra. It is your duty to serve and protect your leaders- even when you do not agree with them. To do otherwise is treason," she said, her thoughts drifting to Daneka for a brief moment.

"Emperor Denisov's rule may not be ideal. But who is to say that the replacement would be any better? It is easy to judge and criticize the people in power when you are not the ones making the decisions, but leadership is no simple task. Leaders often have to make sacrifices for the greater good, and I am sure Emperor Denisov had to make some following the war with the demon king. Rebuilding a nation is no easy task."

Charlotte's voice began to waver as she continued. "Isotov told me that the Zaftrans breed many heirs in order to keep their line strong. Are you really going to kill them all? Can you really sleep peacefully knowing that you killed a child for the crimes of their parents?" she asked, looking around the Zaftran mercenaries in the room.

[Mercakete]

This had turned from worrysome to terrifying. It was clear that the Zaftrans were already furious and it seemed to Tas that Charlotte's words would only provoke them. Normally, he would agree with Charlotte entirely and lebel the Zaftrans as barbaric mercenaries to be avoided, but he knew some of them personally and so had learned that they were not as he would have otherwise labeled. They were good, strong people.

"Charlotte," Tas adressed the woman carefully, hoping to choose the right words, "I think it's gotten to the point where their country and culture are almost completely gone. You've been travelling with Lev, Irina and Isotov longer than I have. Aren't you able to tell that under normal circumstances, they would prefer not to..." It was difficult for him to say the next part. The Zaftrans he'd gotten to know had been so friendly... "...kill so many? They aren't barbaric by nature, but they won't let themselves be walked over for too long. And even if they weren't pushed to these extremes personally, they protect the weaker ones around them. ...Is it possible that by overthrowing their current leadership, they will be doing what the emperor should have done in the first place: caring for the people of Zaftra? That would make the new leadership better than the old. I don't like hurting people...but I will protect whatever or whoever is under my charge, even to my own detriment. I think they're doing the same thing, just on a larger scale. A leader should never be the greatest threat to his flock. He should be respected, yes, but when he becomes an actual danger he cannot be allowed to remain. Zaftra's case is bloodier than I'd like but if it is the only way to save the country... There is no easy answer, but I'd have to agree with the mercenaries on this."

For some reason that was hard for him to say. In this case, no matter what, the ugly, despirate struggle for survival would take the lives of a great many. No matter what the outcome, only one side will survive, though. The other would be left in the past as a gory smear in that country's history.

[Phoenix]

Versus

Makar: well I'd say twenty five years is plenty of time to wait and see just what that family's intentions are. Who knows. Maybe he's just leaving his country's clean up duty for the next generation, but we're tired of waiting. Half of all Zaftrans are refugees living in other countries, and the rest are barely carving out a living with no support from the government. No royal family was ever meant to stay in power for this long, and these is exactly why. Zaftran rulers are supposed to earn their place as our rulers, not hide away in damn near invincible forts waiting for god knows what.

When Charlotte mentioned the younger royals, Lev shrugged first.

Lev: Generally, to prevent immediate follow up usurping attempts after a successful regime change, any member of the royal family that can be found is killed. I'm not saying I agree with that particular policy but that's how it's always been handled. To be fair, it doesn't really matter whether or not I agree with it. Ixion's going to see to it that all of them die, even if he has to hunt down every last one of them with his chimeras ... and we've all been instructed to leave Denisov to Ivanko. It's a violent culture, no doubt about it, but it's ours.

Lev withdrew a bit from the conversation to eat another piece of the apple he had sliced up. Listening to Tas' give his opinion had him almost grinning. He knew it couldn't be easy to say something like that, even politely.

Lev: I'm not really looking forward to seeing my boss as the Emperor of an entire nation, but this is our last viable option. If we don't do it, then the Emperor isn't the only one turning his back on the people.

Martin: Hmm ... you think little Niket here knows what color he is?

Lev:

[Inactive Account]

OOC: Oi, PSTers need to sleep also Phoenix you troll you had me confused for a minute there

With a sigh, Kelas rested her head on Isotov's shoulder. "Yeah. Just try not to die out in the middle of frozen nowhere, okay? That would kind of make things difficult." If she was going to go with the whole magical positive thinking thing, she might as well try to convince herself that nobody she knew was going to die in Zaftra, among other things. Maybe she could at least keep the inevitable feelings of guilt from completely paralyzing her, though she doubted that would last.

[Snike]

Derek

Several mercenaries now arrived at the inn: The chaos merely increased as Ixion arrived and left for a moment. However, that was non of Derek's concern, as he slipped out the front door, only giving the other mercenaries outside a cursory glance. It really did help easen things, if numbers this large were around - they could just slip out, right as the riders left. That way, they'd only have to keep a low profile, and the royals and their guards would be set. Now, it was time to ready the horses. The cavalier entered the stables and immediately homed in on Ann. Hopefully, the Prince would come down soon, and they could establish whether or not a third horse is needed.

[Mercakete]

"I think he does," Tas replied to Martin's question, "I don't think he really cares, though." It still bothered him that the friends he'd found in Irina and Lev were going off to war. The odds couldn't be good and there was still Kiev's age to think about. "Lev... Are you, Irina and Isotov actually going to go to war against Zaftra soon? Do you have enough mercenaries to fight an entire country? Isn't Kiev too young for something like this?" he asked the 2nd-in-command of the mercenaries. His worry was helping his headache, but that was the least of his concerns. (What are the chances that I'll see them again?)

[Phoenix]

Levski

Martin: Huh.

The wyvern rider began waving his finger around near Niket's face teasing the wyvern. It was a rather thick glove so no bite the wyvern could manage would do any harm, but Makar still had to sigh at the silliness. He saw lots of things like that and preferred to just be professional with wyverns.

Lev: To clarify, we normally wouldn't have the numbers to beat them. Their fortifications are too strong, but with those fortifications neutralized ... we'll gain the momentum we need to turn the tide of an otherwise unwinnable battle. From there it will simply depend on how we handle ourselves, and whether or not Ivanko can defeat and kill the Emperor in battle. Iso isn't coming though. He's got a job to do here and I'm sure Ixion doesn't want him along anyway.

Ixion: Actually that last part is incorrect, Levski.

Ixion stepped back inside and stood close to the table Lev, Makar, and Martin were sitting at.

Ixion: We don't have much choice but to take Isotov with us. Irina will no doubt be furious with us for keeping this from her all these years. How much more so if we try to separate her and her brother? (Of course once we've parted from this place, her feelings will be of no concern.)

Lev: (... nothing would make you happier than to have those two separated ... and you can easily force Irina along ... so what are you up to?)

[Mercakete]

Niket lowered his head, keeping his eyes trained on the finger as a predatory gurgle rumble-squeaked from his throat. What was it? It looked like a human's hand, but a human's hand wouldn't be acting so suspiciously... Maybe it was a human hand and was simply fun to bite like the big human was. A moment later and Niket's hand struck out, latching onto the gloved finger and pulling it under Niket's tiny tallons to be torn appart...but it was thick. Niket jerked his head around, trying to tear through the thick hide and scratched as it with his tallons, flapping his wings aggressively.

Tas hadn't thought that the mercenaries had been planning to separate Irina from Isotov. After all, they were siblings and Irina had already expressed her loyalty to her brother. "You mean you never told her that you were preparing for a war against Zaftra?" Tas asked, not knowing what to think about the situation for a moment. (Then... She probably doesn't want to go. She wouldn't want to go, so they never told her and instead...were going to force her to when it came to it?) "I understand she's a mercenary," Tas began, starting to feel somewhat angry with the situation in this new light, "but if she doesn't want to do something like this, you shouldn't force her to." His expression had slowly shifted from a look of concern to a glare, though his tone hadn't shifted in the slightest, remaining calm in spite of his facial expression. (They're old friends; how could they betray her trust like this?)