Lord of Azure Flame Chapter 27: War

[Phoenix]

Back To ... TISME ... Crud

"Uhhh ..." Okay, what the hell was that? Iso really wasn't sure. Tiria quickly took back the comment, or at least explained it away as best she could. Iso didn't see the need to continue the conversation after that though. He'd definitely said enough, apparently. Turning to face his sister, he said, "Can you wait just a minute? I want to talk to Miranda."

"Okay, sure."

With Morgan aboard, the situation definitely looked resolved. Lev had them both airborne in seconds and Harold and Percy were left standing there for a moment. "I'm heading back as well, Harold. If you want a ride then speak now or speak later once I'm out of earshot, heheheh."

"I'll catch up. I want to have a word with this cloaked woman~"

"Ugh."

Arrival Back At TISME ... Crud

Lev and Morgan made it back first and landed a short ways from the group. "... the crimson sword situation is mostly handled. We have a new wielder, so that's a start." He didn't feel like elaborating on that until someone asked, but Morgan could probably take it from there. He only spoke up at all because he was riding in front.

Survival of the Equestrian-iest

"I'm fine, don't worry about me!" Viveka replied as she jogged over. She knelt down to get as close to Tobe's height as she could and put her hands on his shoulders before continuing. "The demons fled the city, so it should be safe now. Are you alright? Did any of them come after you?"

Edited December 22, 2012 by Phoenix

[Mercakete]

"Raemond can sense demons," Beau clarified, indicating the monk, "He sensed two of them coming this way, but then they stopped. A third appeared and then two left."

A short time later, a wyvern with a couple passengers landed nearby and the news came that the crimson sword had a wielder again. Raemond frowned a little at that. I was hoping it would lose its power before they could find someone... This certainly is unfortunate... I truly wish there was a way to get rid of these demonic weapons without harming their wielders. Vaguely, he wondered just who the new wielder was.

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

They'd been flying around for a while in their search. When Viveka finally found the boy with some horses, Tas and Namid touched down as well. It was a little odd seeing the pegasus knight display such care for someone since she'd initially come off as fairly prickly. But it was a good sort of odd and Tas found himself smiling a little at the scene.

[Inactive Account]

let's not have anyone else run off now

Kelas grew even more concerned at Raemond's description of what had occurred, particularly since she was pretty sure he wouldn't be upset if there had been a skirmish that happened to take another wielder out, but Lev arrived stating that the situation had been taken care of. He would probably have seen fit to mention if anyone had been hurt, so there was that. "Has everyone else who was searching been notified?" she asked him.

also not running off now

"Nothin' followed me, I figger they dint see the need to when it was jus' me," Tobe replied, relieved that the lady was all right, and a little pleasantly surprised that she had come to get him. "Where we goin' now?"

and nobody can offer a ride

Arrin didn't see the need to stick around waiting for Miranda, so he started walking. Since there weren't people around again, he thought he might ask Tiria what the sword was doing, so he could try to figure out what to try and pass on to her. "If you don't mind me asking, what kind of side effects are you getting? Well, other than fatigue, I mean."

[scorri]

Tiria blinked and tried to focus a little more than she had been. "Uhm, well, it has mostly been a voice in my head trying to get me to hand over my anger and sadness and other negative feelings. Something about control. But it seems to have started to fade a little now. Maybe it is just more subtle. I am unsure."

[Phoenix]

Loitering

"Iso, Irina, Arrin, and Tiria. Those are the only people I've seen that should have otherwise been here," Lev replied. "By the way, in case you're still wondering, Miranda was trying to capture Shanice, but Petros showed up and whisked him away. Harold and Percival arrived just in time to do nothing, and I'm guessing they'll all be back shortly. Tiria's the new crimson sword wielder," he decided to add at the end. No point in leaving people guessing.

What's Up

Irina had agreed to hang on for a minute, and Arrin seemed to be addressing the situation with Tiria, so Iso felt free to talk to Miranda, or at least he did until Harold beat him to the punch. "I'm sure you're quite a capable mage, but it's not safe here, Miss. We should head back with the others and begin assessing the damage."

"I suppose so ..." Miranda muttered a reply, staring off into the distance with a cold look in her eyes.

"Here, take my arm. I'll be your escort. There'll be nothing to worry about with me at your side~"

(Hmm ... will anyone care if I use him to vent a little? No, that's a bad idea. He wouldn't survive. I don't know how to hold back when I'm this pissed,) Miranda mused.

"Hold on a minute, Harold. I need to talk with her."

"Get your own," Harold muttered. "Perhaps your conversation can wait. This isn't the best place, I don't think." And then it happened, Harold noticed Iso's irises. "Boy, what the devil is wrong with your eyes? I've heard the crimsons cause little red colored disturbances, but this is disturbing-you look like a demon."

"It's nothing; don't worry about it," Iso shot back hoping to shut Harold up long enough to get a word in with Miranda. "Miranda, I ..." Iso sighed realizing his plan was ruined the moment Harold showed up. He quickly came up with a new plan that, unfortunately, was first presented by Harold himself. "When you get back to TISME, I need to talk to you, okay?"

"Sure," she replied simply, not even bothering to look at him.

"Good, now go on. I'll see her back safely," Harold dismissed him.

Iso shook his head and headed back to Irina. "Come on, let's go," he instructed, sounding like some of Miranda's fury had rubbed off on him.

Found You

"We're going to meet them back at TISME, I guess. I'd rather head to the palace where it's safer, but they're probably still in shambles over there. We'll have to ride back on the ground regardless, so hopefully by the time we arrive they'll have things more in order ..." she sighed heavily, noticing the rush she felt overcoming her. She tried to keep her thoughts in order. "Okay, mount up on Shadow and lead the other one along by the reins. It's going to take a little while to get back, but there's no point in lingering out here right now." Hmm ... are we missing a horse? there's Shadow, Arrin's horse ... Helios'-Helios' horse. Oh no ... "Did you ... see which direction the other horse went in? The one Helios uses?"

Edited December 23, 2012 by Phoenix

[Mercakete]

Both light magic users were stunned into a short stupor at the news of Tiria's new title as the Crimson Sword Wielder. Beau snapped out of his a little quicker than Raemond did, though the young duke still couldn't find any words immediately. Every sentence that began in his head halted abruptly and was restarted. He, therefore, began devoting his time to sorting out his thoughts so he would be able to properly address the new Crimson Wielder when she arrived.

The monk, however, was having a bit more difficult a time swallowing the information. She... What? ... I... What was she thinking?! I thought she didn't like these people... This...doesn't make any sense... So he spent his time trying to overcome the shock that came with the news. Even accepting that she was now a Crimson Wielder was proving difficult.

Edited December 27, 2012 by Mercakete

[Inactive Account]

well i guess i'll just wait here then

With Lev's response, Kelas saw no reason to go tearing off away from TISME anymore. Arrin would be on his way back, with trustworthy people around; it would be better to not get separated from the group again. She dismounted and watched as Beau and Raemond both appeared to suffer massive mental difficulties. It was certainly going to be interesting when people returned.

something something something dark side

"That sounds about like mine," Arrin replied. "My teacher recognized the danger there, and spent several years training me so that I would be mostly immune to its influence... we haven't got that now, obviously, but maybe I can pass on at least a few of those techniques, to make things easier."

we lost the horse, or not

"'E's right over there," Tobe replied, indicating with a jerk of the head. "They'll prolly follows us leads or no, now." He clambered into Shadow's saddle and trotted over to retrieve Helios' horse, ready to go. Francis ambled along behind, the cat sitting regally on his saddle now that nobody was panicking anymore.

[scorri]

Tiria smiled at Arrin. "That would be wonderful. I want to control this blade, not have it control me. My uncle must be avenged and I cannot do that if I am under the control of the blade."

[eclipse]

Something something new Crimson Weapon wielder. That's nice, but are we truly out of danger yet? I'm not sure what these weapons are, but they don't look like something I want in my possession. I'd rather have my memories. Midori eyed the newly-bonded sword. Why did it look so familiar?

[Phoenix]

Heading Back

For some reason, Percival made sure to fly higher than Iso and Irina on the way back. It had Nikita agitated and wary, glancing over at the massive wyvern tailing them to make sure it wasn't trying to dive on them. The last thing she wanted was to be beaten up by some bull male on a power trip. Irina focused on Iso, though. "You know, I would have offered to have Miranda fly back with us if ... it wouldn't have you in your whole demon hunter mood ... with eyes and all."

"It's okay. It's not that I had to speak with her right then and there ... it's just ridiculous that Harold got in my way."

"It's kinda funny actually," Irina said, looking up into the sky and grinning a bit.

"How the hell is it funny?"

"Well ... didn't you and Miranda used to be together? I mean Harold probably thinks you two are just acquaintances or something. I don't know, I just find it kind of funny," she explained, her reasons fogging up for her a bit as she tried to lay them out for him.

"So ... 'hahah, Harold's going after Iso's old lover' funny? Yeah I ... I'm not really seeing it right now, sorry."

"No, I'm sorry. I was hoping to cheer you up, but that failed big time," she replied, sighing and hanging her head a little.

Iso cocked his head slightly, thinking about it. "Iii ..." Irina glanced back, hearing Iso speaking up again. "I guess that is kind of funny, actually. I mean ... Harold doesn't have a chance with Miranda ... heheh ... at all. It's so pathetic it's funny, hahah. Hahahahah ... oigh ... thanks, Irina. I think I needed that."

"You're welcome~"

Also Heading Back

"Hmm, if you're sure, then let's get going. Keep your eyes open, though; just because the demons are gone doesn't mean the crisis is fully dealt with. There are still some of fires in the city and it won't be completely safe until we reach a triangle point, I imagine. Ugh, the nobility's going to be scared out of their minds after an attack like this. This is just terrible," she trailed off.

Heading Back Is the 'In Thing' Now Apparently

Fenrir and the other chimeras tagged along with Miranda and Harold as they began heading back. Ixion wasn't certain that having her head back to TISME of all places would be such a good idea. If Miranda's light cover was compromised, they wouldn't really have enough time to explain before needless violence broke out, and he couldn't trust Morgan to assist now that the binding issue had passed, so he spoke up, using Fenrir as a conduit once again. "Miranda, perhaps it would be better if we headed to the palace instead."

"I considered that, but Iso wanted to talk. We can leave after that."

"Is that scaly mongrel actually talking?" Harold inquired.

"It's Ixion. He's speaking through Fenrir," Miranda explained, making sure not to look directly at the chimera while it was possessed. "It's not a big deal," she added.

"I suppose not to magicians such as you but I'm both impressed and disturbed ... hmm."

"Speaking of which," Fenrir began talking once again. "I would rather not have all of the canis variants present at TISME either ... for what I hope are obvious reasons."

"Fine," Miranda replied simply.

"Miranda, you'll have another chance to put an end to this ... but overall this is a good thing. I now have the time I need to solve all of the possible outcomes."

"I'm not waiting around for you."

[Inactive Account]

To safety

Tobe nodded solemnly and started forward. As they entered the city, he found it very hard not to fix his eyes on his saddle, but the lady had said he needed to keep looking around, so he tried to do so.

bluh bluh huge jedi

"You may need to avoid thinking of revenge in order to keep control," Arrin pointed out. He knew Tiria wasn't going to like it, but there was no avoiding the issue. "The only time I ever really lost control was when I met my teacher's murderer and tried to make her pay... and I nearly hurt one of my friends then, so it may not be safe."

As they finally approached TISME again, Arrin saw that Kelas had returned. He also noticed on closer inspection that Beau and Raemond both appeared vexed and nonplussed-- no doubt they had been told of Tiria's new status. Oh dear. He hoped nobody would somehow make it his fault. He gave Kelas a wave, but tentatively stayed near Tiria for the moment, in case his offer of training would help smooth things over with Beau.

[scorri]

"I will do my best, but... I cannot forgive them for robbing me of the only family member I had who cared about me."

[Mercakete]

Raemond, needless to say, was the first to notice Arrin and Tiria's return, having sensed their coming. There had been some irrational hope he'd been holding onto that Tiria was, in fact, not bound to a crimson weapon. However, there was no denying what his senses were telling him. There stood Tiria next to the young, crimson thunder sage...and he sensed two crimson weapons, one on each person and none in sight. His denial couldn't stand any longer and his heart sank.

From his prospective, Tiria had been marked and was doomed because of it. This valiant woman who had stood up for him earlier that day and who he was growing to respect greatly, now not only would be hunted by his own order in order to attempt to save humanity as a whole, but was also infected with a demonic parasite she could not easily detach herself from. It was a terrible, wrenching fate in his eyes. The monk walked up to the woman sorrowfully and stood before her, locking his gaze to hers to the best of his ability. Though his eyes were misting somewhat, his voice was still clear, if not quiet. So, he asked, one, simple question: "Why?"

[scorri]

Tiria looked up at the monk a little startled. "Why? What are you... oh. The sword. Because I am sick of being weak. I tried to fight a demon and broke my sword. I did no damage. Nothing. How am I supposed to avenge my uncle if I cannot even do any damage? You have something against these weapons, I know. But from what I have heard from Arrin, they are needed to save the world. And they needed someone and I was there. What else was I supposed to do? Allow the world to be lost? I need to do this. I am powerless against these demons without it. Why should I deny myself the chance to get my revenge just because you have something against these swords?"

Yes, that's right. He's trying to deny you your chance for revenge. I told you he would hate you for this.

[Balcerzak]

on horse

Tessa was welcome for the company, at least. Trying to follow the airborne in a ruined city was no easy task, and Fargo had confirmed that she'd managed more or less. Unfortunately she was not as timely as she would have liked and everyone had departed.

"Ah, well thank you greatly for the news... it sounds like another run-in with that demon that's been plaguing us for months. It's a wonder everyone's alright, and I'm glad that the worst that has happened is we haven't been able to keep up." The valkyrie added, as they rode along together from this point.

The trail was cold. Literally, as there were remnants of ice littering the area that Shanice had fled down, and a thick patch from where he'd attempted to throw off Miranda's pursuit. And then the trail was cold. Figuratively, as a junction was reached with no clear indication of which path had been taken.

Tessa wasn't quite sure how to proceed. Laughing a bit nervously, she broke the relative silence (though the ruined city in the aftermath of the attack was still anything but quiet), "Haha, good sir knight, which way do you reckon we need to head?"

With any luck, Fargo's sense of direction would be better than hers.

On wyvern

Following the royal pair hadn't been too difficult, and Iris was relieved to find that they encountered no trouble along the way. When they had landed near a gathering group including Morgan and the demon bitch, as well as one of the young crimsons and that unfamiliar swordswoman, it slowly began to unravel that the emergency had already been resolved.

The arrival of two of the six heroes was unexpected, and Lt. Frederikov didn't really know the proper protocol for interacting with them, but thankfully didn't have to. Harold had eyes for the demon, and thankfully left her alone. Isotov thought better of a lengthy conversation with his former lover, and everyone made their separate ways back to TISME. Lord Percy and his massive steed posed a bit of an irregularity, and she was forced to adjust her flying patterns to cope with this, but for the time being it seemed there was no great harm.

a demon horse

Satan had been quietly and calmly congratulating himself on just how much more intelligent he was than that fool who liked to ride him, and who made funny reactions when bit, or during one of those emergency dismounts that the stallion found amusing to help him along into as often as possible. When the tiny male human that was still around came by to collect him, he rolled back his lips and briefly considered testing what kind of reactions this one would make, but almost as quickly decided against it. The wee one had had enough sense to stick with him and the herd, opposed to the flock of fools heading straight into those pockets not only of angry hot burning, but of concentrated wrong. That alone was worse a reward of sorts, wasn't it?

so... digging holes again?

With Morgan and Lev's return and the news update, it appeared their hastily formed defensive line was obsolete and unnecessary. The Toran prince then turned the topic back to its previous status, before the mad monk's warning had caused a distraction.

"Well... I guess we should return to sealing off these tunnels."

Edited December 27, 2012 by Balcerzak

[Mercakete]

Raemond shook his head. "That is one theory. The goal of this group is to unseal the demon king. I am of the mind that if the crimson weapons succeed in this, then the world will be lost, not saved," he quietly corrected, "The weapons are demons attempting to release their master. It is such an unfortunate fate of those who become their hosts..."

The monk gave a world-weary sigh and then apologized, "I am sorry, Tiria... I do not possess the skill to safely remove the sword... If any of the Templars did, believe me, we would have attempted it again and again to save the others, too, and I would not hesitate to rescue you." What appeared to be Tiria's growing desire for vengeance was concerning to the monk, but he felt it would be unwise to mention that just yet. It would be a topic for later. For now, all he could do was offer condolences, as he was doing.

Around this time, Beau noticed Raemond, Tiria and Arrin talking. He didn't move towards, them, however. Instead, he simply locked his gaze to Tiria with a refined yet clearly disapproving look and posture, crossing his arms and drumming his fingers as he waited for her to approach.

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

While the others rode on the ground for the sake of the horses they were bringing back, Tas and Namid flew over the group. This was partially because Namid couldn't move on the ground very easily and partially because Tas figured he could be of use as a lookout. So far he didn't see anything that could constitute as a demon, but the sights around them were still grim. He was only nervous now, though, as opposed to the terror he'd experienced earlier. In the back of his mind, the courier wondered if he was becoming used to the sights. That thought alone sent a shiver down his spine. I...I don't want to get used to sights like this...

Edited December 27, 2012 by Mercakete

[Phoenix]

TISME

Tunnels? Lev glanced to Helios as that topic came up. Honestly, he didn't want to do digging of any sort. He'd help if it seemed unavoidable at some point, but for now he was merely observing the scene.

Tiria seemed to be stepping into the role of crimson sword wielder well enough, so Lev held back most of his attention from that situation. Raemond probably wasn't going to do anything drastic to her right now, though his beliefs about the role of the weapons was still concerning. Given the opportunity, he might do something incredibly detrimental. Lev came down from Krinkov and gave the wyvern a couple of pats on the back of the neck. Glancing around he noticed a few others missing. How many people had gone searching for Miranda? Well the demons were gone so the only real danger now were crazy people and the fires; they would probably be back eventually. That was when he noticed Jasmine approaching him with her pegasus in tow.

"Hey," she greeted a little shyly.

"Glad you could make it. Are you coming with us again or not?"

"That's entirely up to the general, but I hope so. The captain would go crazy without me," she teased.

Some Other Arrival

Percival was the next to arrive, but he did so alone. Lev at first assumed that Iso and Irina had stayed back to talk with Miranda or something, but wasn't entirely sure. He didn't feel like asking just yet, so returned his full attention to the exchange with Jasmine.

"Harold should be along shortly, though I'm certain he'll try to take a detour somewhere with that one woman," Percy announced.

"Woman? You don't mean Miranda, do you?" Lev inquired, being lured back by curiosity.

"I suppose it could be this 'Miranda'. I don't bother to remember the names of people who don't matter."

Damsel In Distress

Iso and Irina had spotted Ixion traveling on foot, escorted by his chimera pack, and split away from Percy to investigate, figuring he wasn't going to wait around for them anyway. Sure enough, he didn't care or even notice; Iris was probably going to follow them though. Ixion saw them coming and stopped. The siblings landed but neither of them dismounted. "Hey, where have you been?" Irina asked the wandering druid.

"Hunting stragglers," Ixion replied simply. "Shouldn't you two be joining the others? I don't require your assistance."

"That's not why we're here. I needed to ask you about Miranda," Iso clarified.

"What of her?"

Iso finally got down from Nikita and approached Ixion. The chimeras gave him enough room to get by and some of them began to sit or lay down. "Do you know why she's so upset right now? She wasn't showing it much, but I could tell. She's furious. I know she wants Shanice's heart, but she still has that chance. Why is it bothering her so much? I'm ... I'm only asking you because you've spent the most time with her lately. You're also the one who gave her that new body. I can't help but wonder if there isn't something more going on here."

"Hmph. If I had to guess, I would say she is merely beginning to feel the pressure of the situation."

"What do you mean?"

"Well Miranda has several problems, but I can currently only address one at the moment. The problem I aim to help her with currently is the retrieval of Shanice's core. It will allow her to exist independently of that creature. The problem is this will not allow her to exist independently of the lord, that demon king you're all trying so hard to destroy. We don't know for certain what will happen when the lord is confronted, but if he is destroyed, there is a possibility, however remote, that all of the demons will cease to exist as well. That would include Miranda, and she knows this. Her supposed allies, you and I included, are indirectly working toward destroying her. That is one way of looking at it."

"You're kidding ..."

"Miranda is fighting for her freedom and her life right now, and losing ... again. Looking at it that way, I can understand her frustration."

"So even though all she's ever done is help us, we're going to end up killing her anyway ... even ... even though she's our ally? That's ... that's just ... so unfair. It's ... it's wrong. Ixion, we have to help her; I'm not going to let it end like this!"

"There is no guarantee that destroying the demon king will destroy all of the demons; We may yet be fighting them for years to come without divine aid, but the possibility is still there. My priority right now is researching the various outcomes of her core merging with Shanice's. That is crucial right now because both cores while still linked have healed and matured on their own. Merging them will not simply destroy one demon or the other; I suspect their identities will merge, creating a new persona. The Miranda we know is still on our side, but merging with Shanice, a mortal enemy could easily change that, which is what I'm trying to avoid," Ixion explained. "Miranda needs Shanice's core, or she will perish right along with it when we confront and finally destroy it. I'm trying to give her the best chance of coming out of this both alive and intact, but she's becoming impatient and we are running out of time to stack the odds in our favor. I may not be able to reverse whatever results we end up with, or even contain whatever demon Miranda and Shanice become."

"We could have avoided all of this if you had just brought her back as a human. Why a demon? Was it for their longevity and power or something? Is it because they don't need to eat and won't take up resources or something?" Iso inquired, becoming agitated.

"Those were all boons but I had something else in mind as well that we will not discuss out in the open. My goals with Miranda are irrelevant until Shanice is dealt with, so don't dwell on them."

Well that was suspicious, but Iso was more concerned about Miranda's current situation, so he conceded on that point. "... fine, but what can we do about Shanice exactly?"

"Ravage its mind before the merger, make sure that there is nothing left to merge with Miranda. Severing its head would do if necessary, but the timing of that is critical and we won't get a second chance."

"Well now I definitely need to talk with Miranda. I'm going to help her with this, but we need a plan."

"Do what you want, but be mindful of the others, especially Morgan. I don't trust her to leave this matter to us if she sees a more powerful demon coming out of the merger and now that the crimson weapons are all bound again, she doesn't need Miranda around anymore."

"Look, I know Morgan can be impossible to deal with at times, but even she has to realize that without Miranda, we would have been down to eight weapons permanently when we lost Esphyr. That could easily happen again. I'm sure she can figure out that having at least one person who can secure a crimson weapon around is good for us, at least until we actually deal with the demon king. I think we could convince her with that argument," Iso explained, shrugging a bit at the end.

"Perhaps. Try and convince her if you think it will help; the fewer people in our way, the better our chances. I'll be at the palace." With that, Ixion went on his way and his chimeras followed for the moment. He didn't plan on bringing them into the palace after all of the hell hounds people had seen, but they would follow him a ways.

Iso turned to leave as well. "Well ... that happened," he muttered to Irina.

"Iso ..."

"Yeah?"

"What are you going to do if Miranda and Shanice turn into ... an enemy?"

"It's not going to happen," Iso immediately replied.

"But what if it does?"

"It won't. Miranda is stronger than him. Even if her personality changes a little, she'll still be on our side, and I'm going to do everything I can to make sure of it. I can't focus on things like her becoming our enemy, or it's going to happen. Don't you do it, either."

Irina sighed, conceding. "Just promise me that no matter how this turns out, you won't get yourself killed."

"That's a given. Can we go now?"

[scorri]

Tiria

Listening to the monk's explanation of his view of the weapons cleared up some things for Tiria. So that is why he acts around them as he does. That makes sense I suppose. Looking around, she saw Beau looking at her. With a slight gulp, she excused herself from Raemond with a small gesture to the duke. Walking up to him, she stopped a short distance away and stood at attention. "Sir."

Adena

People were returning and the threat of demons seemed to have passed. With a slight sigh, Adena sat down on a nearby piece of rubble and put her fire tome away. She placed her head in her hands as the amount of healing she'd done that day hit her. "Ugh. Why did I ever get mixed up in this group? I should have refused to follow orders," she muttered rebelliously. Sighing, she continued, "No, I shouldn't. This is a good group of people from what I've seen and if I wasn't here I'd be somewhere else in this battle."

Snips

Snips continued to munch happily on what grass he could find.

Applejack

Applejack waited in his stable for his human to come get him.

[Mercakete]

Tiria's indication only fully explained her departure when he saw who she was walking towards. Beau didn't look very happy. Raemond followed somewhat, but kept his distance. He didn't want to agitate the young duke any more than he already appeared to be. Not unless it became necessary, at any rate.

When she stood before him and greeted him, Beau still maintained his silence for a moment. Then, with an even tone, he asked, "So, I heard you were...bound. Is this true?"

[scorri]

Tiria winced internally. That voice is more telling than anything. He is quite unhappy. I shall need to be careful here. "Sir. Someone skilled in the way of the sword was needed and was needed quickly. I was available. Since it was explained to me that the world could end without all of these weapons, I felt that I had no choice but to offer myself as a possible wielder. My offer was accepted and the sword accepted me." She considered telling him about her need for power for her revenge, but glanced quickly back at Arrin and decided not to. Revenge... is not something I can think about now. Later perhaps. Not now.

[Mercakete]

As she spoke, Beau's countenance shifted to a more unreadable one. "I see," he plainly replied. After a short span of silence, Beau continued, "I assume, then, that there was no one else available who could be bound to the Crimson Sword. I suppose your offer was...irreprehensible, then. However, this act does put you under Morgan's direct command, I hope you understand. Yet, as it stands, you still owe allegiance to me. Until I myself join this company, you may find things somewhat difficult for you if orders conflict and you have to make a choice. This is the natural consequence of your actions."

He took a short, but noticeable breath, then added curtly, "I wish you luck. Be certain to ask Morgan's permission when I ask you to go somewhere with me, but do not say more than necessary as a general rule. At any rate, I see you and Arrin returned unaltered for the most part. Good work."

[-Cynthia-]

Morgan

The binding seemed to go smoothly enough, although Tiria still seemed to want to fraternize with the templar and his cleric companion. She should be reminded of her allegiances sooner rather than later. Morgan thought to herself, though there was now another matter to attend to.

Morgan dismounted from Krinkov and made her way towards Heinz. "We should speak...alone," she said to him simply.

Charlotte

"Well, we shouldn't stand idle- leaving these tunnels open could expose Illyphina to more demon attacks. Let's get to work everyone!" she said, attempting to motivate the others. She didn't know how to move rocks with light magic and lifting heavy objects was not her forte, so she decided to inspire others to do so instead.

Tristan

Tristan landed near Viveka, relieved to see Tobe was unharmed. "So...do you have a place for him to go?" he asked her quietly.

[Inactive Account]

"Unsealing the Lord is an intermediary step before destroying him, not an end goal," Arrin clarified, though he doubted Raemond would listen this time, or ever. "He's on the rise again, so the seal will break regardless, and if we get to him before it does, we might as well strike before he's returned to his full power. Or would you rather we give him the opportunity to rally any more troops than he already has?"

Tiria walked over to Beau, and he didn't feel particularly inclined to follow. Strangely, he heard no raising of voices; all the better, he thought cautiously, since Tiria really didn't need to be upset right now.

As they talked, the clouds that had been gathering over the city finally overflowed, and a thick, dismal mix of sleet and rain began to fall over Ilyphina. Though it began to put up the fires and clear the air, it was a deterrent to anyone remaining outside.

Kelas raised her voice over everyone's current bickering: "Can we make up our minds and decide what we're doing right now and do it? The sooner we get indoors, the better. If this keeps up we're going to get flooding, and I'd rather not be out in the street for that."

---

Tobe slouched down in the saddle as the storm began, unable to properly curl up. Behind him, the cat on Francis' saddle hissed displeasure and hid itself in one of the saddlebags. Hopefully wherever they were going, it was at least warm and dry.

[Phoenix]

Dancing In the Rain ... Not Really

Charlotte had nearly ruined Lev's day with the attempt to rally workers for sealing up the tunnels, but then it started to rain. Lev held out his hand as some melting ice landed in his palm and raised an eyebrow at it. "Thank you, weather spirits." Taking Krinkov by the leash, he made his way closer to the building. He didn't plan on bringing the wyvern inside without permission first, but leaving him way over here to have to retrieve him later just wasn't happening. It might have been worth taking the wyvern to the aeries, but he had never been to TISME before and didn't know where it was. On his way, he stopped by Charlotte. "Look at it this way, there's a chance any 'flooding' will drain into the tunnels those demons made all over the place. Unless they've got aquatic demons, that should buy us some time to deal with the tunnels properly later."

Jasmine followed Lev for the moment. She knew where the aeries and the stables were but wanted to wait for a good moment to tell Lev. The situation wasn't so urgent that she had to interrupt him or whoever he was talking to.

Conrad on the other hand led the rest of his unit off to the stables right away. They would be acting as extra security at TISME for the moment it seemed. Riding off to the barracks or palace in the rain wasn't safe on these rodes and they could lose horses over the ordeal.

Heading Back

Having left the royal siblings, Ixion continued on his way to the palace. That was when the sleet hit. He stopped for a moment to look up as it fell and so did his chimeras. A couple of them began a group howl and before long the whole pack joined in. Surprisingly, Ixion himself was surprised by their behavior. He didn't much mind the howling, but he realized that there were some traits and instincts inherent in the canis variants that he wasn't fully aware of, a consequence of his methods, perhaps. Once they stopped, he started on his way again and they followed.

Also Heading Back

"Err ... no," Viveka admitted a bit prematurely. She had to quickly come back and say, "Well it's not that I don't, it's just with everything going on, it would be difficult to contact my family in a timely manner. I don't want to trust any middlemen with him, you know? They're out on the countryside so this could take awhile ..."

Once the sleet began to fall, Viveka looked up in shock. They weren't even close to any of the triangle points yet. "Goddess dammit! What rotten timing!" What was really bothering her was that her first instinct was to give Tobe something to cover up with, but had neither a coat she could easily remove or a blanket. The best she could manage was some encouragement, and that had her silently fuming. "J-just hang on Tobe, we'll be back soon. Try to keep warm until then."

Back

When Miranda arrived at TISME, she had Harold's longcoat draped over her, and the hero himself was happily drenched. She had an angry and miserable look on her face, but Harold never seemed to notice. She didn't see Iso around anywhere which meant he was either inside, something she was seriously hoping against, or he hadn't returned yet. She stayed silent for a moment, but Harold tried to urge her inside. Fortunately she had a line ready for that.

"I can't ..." she began, looking to be on the verge of tears. "So many of my friends and colleagues killed today. I just ... can't go back yet. Can we ... take shelter somewhere nearby, instead? Please?" She looked into his eyes pitifully just to make sure the discussion was over.

Harold sighed with a smile. "Of course. I understand. Come, let's go," he beckoned.

As the howls reached his ears, Fenrir too raised up and began howling back to them. Miranda and Harold glanced over curiously.

[Mercakete]

That said, there was a sudden change in the weather and just as suddenly, Beau was cold and wet. Raemond was, too, but he didn't show any signs of caring. The duke, on the other hand, had donned an almost comically indignant look, glaring straight forward and standing there, unmoving.

The monk, meanwhile, addressed the crimson thunder wielder. "At least your goal is amiable and I can understand your reasoning...except that you expect to be able to defeat him. How do you know your weapons will not turn on you when the time comes to battle him? And that's even assuming you will be able to destroy him with as few as you have with you, even if you were all trained in demonslaying." He sighed and shook his head. "I suppose, in reality, the demons stand the best chance at winning this uprising no matter what we do. I only wish that you weren't so bent on using demons... If we could work together until the time came to destroy the weapons to be rid of the demons entirely, that would be ideal. Perhaps we could even pass along demonslaying techniques... Ah, if only..."

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

So then the rain and the sleet fell en masse. It made flying tougher for certain. In weather like this, Tas preferred to fly higher, but looking down, he saw the others getting soaked. There's no reason for them to deal with this... Not when I can do something about it. The rain is good, though. It should be putting out the fires and cleaning the air. This place needed it... So, Tas and Namid flew much lower, flying directly over Tobe, the pegasus knights and the horses to the best of their ability so they could act as a sort of umbrella while Tas focused on wiping any sleet off of Namid that settled on him.