Lord of Azure Flame Final Chapter: Victory or Death

[-Cynthia-]

Charlotte

"If the rebels lay down their arms and make no plans to overthrow my government, they should have nothing to fear. A good leader is strong and decisive when necessary, but also willing to offer mercy when possible. You may want to remind Ivanko of this the next time he decides to order children killed," she said pointedly.

Tristan

Well that's good to know, making an error on whose father is whose could get quite awkward. "People generally consider Aunt Brunhilde the odd one out in my family, but she's the only one speaking sense most of the time from my perspective. There's something to be said for experiencing the real world. Thanks for the compliment, hopefully we handle ourselves as well in the future," he said to Iris.

[Mercakete]

Raemond nodded as he straightened up. "I'll give you as much time alone as I can, if that's what you need. You'll have to talk with him sooner rather than later, though, I think. Quite honestly, I can't tell whether his self-importance and resulting umbrage comes with his age or his position, but you should know as well as I by now that it most certainly is a prevalent feature of our dear, young duke." He'd actually half attempted a joke there, though he was half-serious, too.

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

"I hope so," Tas sighed, staring down at the ground before him as he sat there. Though that was where his eyes were focused, really it was his mind that was working. Uneasily, he asked, "Are...you sure I can do this? This sounds like something that's hard even for you warriors. I'm... I'm just a courier and not even a very experienced one. I don't even have anyone like me to rely on anymore. What I know was supposed to be overseen by the more experienced couriers...and we always traveled in a flock. But I'm alone now...at least to the point where I can't really do what I was trained to. To be honest, I'm terrified... I know I shouldn't be, but I can't help it."

He lifted his head some and looked to Irina, making no attempt to hide his quiet fear. "How do you and the others do it? How are you so brave? Maybe if I learn that I can be more helpful."

[Phoenix]

Iso

"That's a succession issue and one no one up there would have budged on," Iso noted. He didn't necessarily like it, but killing off the entire royal family, while risky if they missed anyone, ended any debate on who would be in charge from then onward. "The officers up there were pretty determined to see that bloody battle through to the end. One of them even cut down the empress after I defeated her. Those children would have died whether or not Ivanko wanted it."

Irina

Irina was almost certain Tas could handle the job she was suggesting for him; his track record agreed. She was a little surprised to hear him bring up how brave everyone else was being, though, because she wasn't sure if it was bravery or just being broken in by all the constant attempts on their lives. Were they really braving the horrors of demonic hordes or just getting too numb to really think about what they were really pitting themselves against anymore? "I don't really know, Tas. It's gotten to the point where I don't even see demons as a real threat unless there's a large group of them or a really powerful one. We've been at this for months now ..."

[-Cynthia-]

"A battle is between two armed forces- killing helpless children and people who have surrendered is a slaughter. There is a big difference between the two," Charlotte corrected. "As commander, the actions of his subordinates are his responsibility- he easily could have given an order to have them spared. The children could have been raised in the palace as wards or something similar, but he chose not to do this. I thought you would be the last person to make excuses for him," she added at the end.

[Mercakete]

"Oh... So, I guess you just get used to it, then?" Tas asked in reply. It turned out to be rhetorical as he heaved a sigh and focused on the ground again, more intently this time. I can't do this... I haven't had the training and there's no way I can get used to this in the amount of time we have left before... he shuddered a bit the big one... N-no! I can't just give up! But...what else can I do? ... "I...don't know how to handle this. I wish I could... I'll do my best, but my hands are shaking... I'm afraid of freezing up or making a wrong choice or steering Namid, whoever we're carrying and myself to some sort of terrible death... There's just so much that could go wrong." I was never trained for this. I'm completely inexperienced. Why couldn't it have been someone who knew what they were doing instead? I'm afraid I'll faint in the middle of the fight...

[Phoenix]

Iso

"I'm not making excuses for any of this," Iso irritably said. As he looked at the fire, he began to remember all of the chaos and violence that happened in Kalten. "I just realize that the military and political strategies of my people aren't going to change just because they're cruel and excessive. I didn't even realize what was going on until Ixion told me that the reason he wasn't fighting alongside Ivanko was because it was his 'task' to hunt down the rest of the royal family ... then the empress herself lured us into a trap and tried to get her revenge for her children. Should have seen that coming ...."

Irina

"You're not going to freeze up or make any bad decisions. Believe in yourself," Irina replied. "You and Namid survived the attack on your home, you survived all of these other fights, even the fight in Zaftra of all places, and there was even a dragon. You never froze up then or made any terrible decisions, so there's no reason to think you will now. You just need to keep doing what you've been doing for one more battle, then it's over ..." Glancing away, she added, "Besides ... people shouldn't have to get used to things like this."

[Mercakete]

Irina's words were reassuring, even though Tas was still scared by the end of them. I don't think I'll stop being afraid...but it's not hopeless. I'll just have to focus and try to do the best I can. Just like in a delivery, all I have to do is be diligent and quick. Not sure how being polite will help in this case, so it's not exactly the same, but...it's not entirely different either, right?

In spite of his little self-pep-talk, he did catch Irina's last comment and how upset she seemed. The first thing he wanted to ask her was if she was alright, but there was no use in asking useless questions he already knew the answer to: something was bothering her. Somewhat tentatively, he rested a hand on her shoulder that was closest to him and looked her dead in the eye. The look in his eyes, however, was far from stern or hard in any way. They were gentle and sympathetic. "You've listened to me and gave me some courage. So will you tell me what's bothering you now?"

[-Cynthia-]

"So it was Ixion then," Charlotte said, her tone indicating little surprise. "You know, as heir you could try to change the military and political strategies of your people rather than just accepting them. You may not have wanted this, but you hold more potential power than you may realize and not the fighting sort either. Even in Zaftra, more battles are won with words than with fists," she advised him.

[Phoenix]

Iso

"I'm no more an heir of the Zaftran throne than Lev is. There's always the chance Ivanko won't be able to make and raise a replacement in time; he'll be sixty-five by the time they're twenty years old if he starts right now. Still, they don't want some traumatized mage running the whole country in a couple of decades, so why should I? I've spent my whole life not caring about Zaftra while Ivanko's spent his obsessing over it."

Irina

"It's no big deal, really. I'm just getting tired of all of this fighting, that's all. This war can't end soon enough. I want to be able to ride my wyverns without needing armor or weapons. Of course, once this war is over, there's nothing stopping them from dragging me back to Kalten. I'm not next in line or anything but they will still want to keep me out of harm's way. It's looking to be a pretty bright future if I can just weasel my way out of that, hahah ... heh ..." She didn't think she could weasel her way out of anything at the moment, but was trying to cheer herself up. She didn't like thinking about the aftermath when there were much more important things to focus on at present, like the final battle itself, and making it to that fight in one piece.

[Mercakete]

"Where would you go if you didn't go back home?" Tas asked. To be honest, he was a bit conflicted on how he felt about Irina's situation. She seemed like she was being coddled a bit much now -- maybe even controlled more than usual -- but she still had a family and somewhere she could return to. It was more than he could say for himself but maybe being watched like a hawk was uncomfortable enough that that didn't matter anymore. She was much more used to being away from home, too, so maybe travel its self had already become her home.

[Balcerzak]

"Mmhmm," Tessa murmurred softly and nodded as it seemed like Damian was coming around and starting to lose the downcast funk. "Just keep posi－ huh?" It had taken a moment for his comment on the matter of a 'curse' to fully register, and her transition to surprise then proceeded into silence as she listened to the rest of his explanation.

"Nonono, it's just that..." The healer waved her hands and stammered to explain, only to realize, she actually didn't have anything to explain: no reasons, no special insights, no basis in fact. "You see well... eheh, umm... Oh! I suppose at least it'll be a much better curse than the one related to the Crimson weapons at least." Tessa shook her head and smiled a little at that, because that curse too was just a fiction perpetuated by those who didn't know any better. "I guess since we'll be ending that one real soon, destiny is just going to have to give you something to take its place, huh?"

"And definitely, when this is all over I'm sure we'll have a lot to talk about. Going back over the events that brought us to where we are would certainly make for quite the evening campfire. It would be like a mix of adventure, drama, romance, and even a mix of... ghost stories." There was a bit of a wrinkle to her expression when she mentioned the last one, the smile lines having erased themselves from around her eyes, as the healer thought that it was a surprisingly apt way to describe what she had seen. Truly the sort of thing you could imagine from a circle gathered around dimly lit candles, and at the end, one of the children would jump on another and shout 'Boo!' In some ways that was a bit of a calming image, and allowed the troubadours thought's to drift to happier affairs.

"I'll probably have some things to ask you for advice for too," she added shyly. "Or maybe I should ask Aiya, her perspective might be a little bit closer, but you did say you'd listen to anything." A light-hearted giggle escaped, and she smiled broadly, ending on a note of friendly teasing.

Edited November 7, 2013 by Balcerzak

[Ether]

"I don't even want to think of what 'destiny' is going to shackle me with if I rid myself of this damn thing." Damian replied, half-jokingly. In truth, he really didn't want to think about it, and decided to leave it at that.

"It would be quite a tale, wouldn't it? To think, that we're the next generation of heroes... it's still quite the bit to take, even after all this time." The soldier continued, noticing Tessa's visage dampen at her mention of ghost stories... could that bit be related to whatever problem still lie dormant? Damian supposed that he may figure out, in due time... but now was certainly not that. Moving his hand forward to lightly ruffle the valkyrie's hair, Damian gave her a smile.

"I did say that, and I intend to make good on it... but there are certainly matters that she would be better at handling than I, without a doubt... but whether I've an answer or not, whatever your issue might be, I shall do all I can to help you... even if that amounts to nothing more than lending an ear."

[Balcerzak]

Well that went... surprisingly OK. The Captain came back with an unexpected apology of her own, leaving Iris a little off-balance, but pleasantly so. The lieutenant was a bit concerned when Tristan made his reply though, and she realized her remark might have been a bit too general. "Oh, Your Highness I never meant to imply anything about your family..." She bit her lip and cut herself off there though, the man hadn't seemed to take offense, but it still felt uncomfortable for her to have almost unwittingly insulted him. Since everyone had all moved on from the subject though, there was no reason to continue belaboring the point, so Lt. Frederikov decided to simply shift gears.

"Captain Falk, Prince Septimus, as I said earlier, excellent tactical work indeed. Captain, the fact that you doubt yourself surprises me, considering your relaying of timely intel and offering suggestions for beneficial shifts in formation, as well as providing emergency medical aid. And Prince, the dead bodies of your foes practically speaks for itself. If anyone were not being 'particularly helpful' that would most aptly be myself. While I do hope to improve my efforts in such matters in the upcoming engagements, you were also discussing matters of more long term strategy which carry a certain amount of appeal as well. I do confess to not exactly being the most well-positioned, personally, in the new regime, and perhaps your efforts would be better spent conferring with the Prince or Princess, but nonetheless I feel I do still have some opportunity to contribute, to relay ideas back to my superiors via spirit doll for further discussion. Please, do not hesitate to come to me with anything. A Zaftra that works well with the other nations is a Zaftra that can be truly strong, unlike the false strength of hiding in an ice fortress carved out to keep us locked away from the world."

Her speech may have been a little long-winded, or maybe over formal. Iris frowned a bit, hoping that wouldn't be a problem, and trying to tell herself to let loose a little and relax, but that might be hard without... Hmm. Yes, a little alcohol might be just what the doctor ordered.

"Actually, if you all don't mind, I'd like to propose a toast. Don't feel pressured to drink if you don't want, but I do have some vodka to share if you're willing." She waited for any takers before finishing off with "To strength through comrades!"

---

Having her hair ruffled prompted a full laugh, and and short girl wrapped her arms around the tall man's waist in a hug. "I can't imagine us as heroes, we're just people doing what needs to be done. But as far as your offer goes, I think I'll try to sneak an advance payment on it now then."

Releasing the embrace and lightly rocking back from the balls of her feet to her heels, Tessa looked up to Damian and dove in. "When there's... someone you like a lot, no. Someone you love, and I don't mean just as family. Or at least, someone that you think you do anyway. But you don't know how they feel..."

Okay, so this question was not going as smoothly as perhaps she had hoped. One deep breath later, "How do you do it, how do you let them know what they mean to you without causing misunderstanding... and maybe even how, haah, no, just that should be enough." Tessa sighed and smiled.

It would be less that useless to ask how to make someone love you back. If they didn't already, what would the point even be? Just clear communication was all she needed, but she didn't know the right way to start. After all, she loved everyone, and told them that frequently already. But, this, this was different and special, so how... how should she even start? She felt Arrin deserved to be told clearly. There wasn't really any pressure, no deadline, everyone was going to come out of this fine, after all. But still, she felt some slight anxiousness she couldn't put her finger on.

Edited November 7, 2013 by Balcerzak

[-Cynthia-]

Charlotte

"But what if Ivanko ends up being a terrible ruler? Killing children certainly seems like the beginnings of an oppressive dictator to me. People may be supportive of you replacing him and they may have a point. You just might make a better ruler than you expect," she noted.

Tristan

Building relationships between countries certainly seems like a princely thing to do...well unless Septimus is against the new Zaftran regime. We might as well make the best of them now that they seem to be here to stay, he decided, reaching into an empty flask from his pack and uncorking it. "Fill me up Iris," he requested.

[Phoenix]

Iso

"If Ivanko turns out to be that terrible of a ruler, they aren't going to be looking for his supposed son to replace him, not when they could just do exactly what he did and put some other family on the throne," Iso countered. "Besides, I'm not leadership material. I never lead and I rarely follow, that's just how my life's turned out."

Irina

"Where would I go? Mmm, probably Redwood. That's where we used to live before all of this 'retaking the country' stuff started. If my uncle still owns the fort there, I could probably move back there without much trouble. Maybe I could even renovate the place and turn it into something more useful than a mercenary fort. Like a wyvern ranch or something."

Viveka

Viveka winced slightly when Iris suggested a toast; some alcohol would do her some good, but she wasn't used to drinking, and she was worried something as strong as vodka would knock her right on her rear if she had too much. If she knew how much was too much, she wouldn't have been worried, but as it stood, she was more likely to embarrass herself than anything else. "Well, alright, but just a tiny bit ..." She was still worried but figured there was no way she could succumb to just a shot's worth.

[Mercakete]

"A wyvern ranch?" Tas echoed, actually giving a sincere, wide smile. He shifted his posture, resting his arms on his legs. "If you'd like, I could help with that. All this fighting isn't in my skill set, but this is something I actually know about. I did grow up on one, after all. Sure I didn't perform all the tasks back home, but I know most of it and the rest can't be too hard to figure out the techniques on. The layout should be easy to help with, though. What sort of wyverns are you planning on keeping there?"

Edited November 8, 2013 by Mercakete

[Ether]

"That's quite the doozy, Tessa... can't say I know what to tell you. I was... well let's just say I was a promiscuous man... in my days at the academy, I was damn near obsessed with women... I'd hit on just about anyone who was cute, and well, I was kind of famous through my dad, so I ended up having a lot of one night stands... but none of those girls really meant anything to me..." Damian began... it was a bit of an embarrassing tale to be telling, especially to Tessa of all people, but it was something that had to be done, eventually... especially with this coming up.

"It took me a long damn time, but... well eventually I stopped being an idiot and realized the woman I wanted to spend my life with had been standing at my side the whole time... waiting for me to notice she was there... so I guess... well that question is one better asked to Aiya than me... she's the one who finally turned me around... by the time I realized how I felt about her, she was already poised to throw herself into my arms." The soldier concluded with a sigh, rubbing the back of his head with his hand.

"Sorry I couldn't be more helpful... I can tell you what I think, but it's just my intuition talking, so feel free to dismiss it as rubbish, okay? But I think that any man... hell any man or woman, if that's how you wanna go about it... well they'd have to be damn crazy to take for granted how lucky they are if a sweetheart like you confessed to them. And if it's one of us, well... there's not a one that doesn't know that every word outta that mouth of yours is sincere... but even if they aren't, I don't think someone could know you at all, without knowing that much. I think... if your feelings are real, then misunderstandings... well I don't think they'd be much of an issue. How negatively can a person really take 'I love you'?"

[Phoenix]

Irina

Irina smiled when Tas offered to help. She liked the idea of taking pointers and other advice from him than the other way around; her only apparent skill set beyond wyvern riding was violence. "Any kind the place can manage, really. I was even thinking of going up to Zaftra to pick up Niket and the others if they haven't been claimed yet. This war has to end first, though. I'd more than welcome your help, though. This is a pretty recent idea of mine and I really don't think I can even get started all on my own." She knew there were people in Redwood who would be happy to help her, but she didn't think that would necessarily be enough, either. Someone like Tas who actually lived and worked on a wyvern ranch would be invaluable. She just hoped that it wouldn't cause him too many unpleasant flashbacks if he did decide to help her.

[Mercakete]

"If we survive this, then, I'll give you as much help as I can," Tas agreed with a nod, "I don't think I have anywhere else I have to be... Oh, and I have a lot of money, too. I was planning on living off of it until I could figure out what I was going to do and where I was going to live, but wyvern ranches can get expensive. If you plan on selling wyverns, you'll have to figure out who wants to buy them. We mostly sold to Halton, Septimus and whatever noble figured they wanted a pet wyvern. We never sold to anyone who didn't know how to care for one, though, of course. The closer your customers live to the ranch, the safer for your couriers, too. I've raised hatchlings, but my training has been primarily for delivering the wyverns. I'll do my best to train whatever couriers you want me to, at least to get you started. And if you're planning on raising mountain wyverns like Niket, so much the better; they're worth a lot since they're so hard to get from the wild. We did alright with a big, rocky plain. Try to match the terrain of mountains as much as you can if you'll be raising those. I can't imagine you not raising plains wyverns either, though, so you'll need some stretch of flat land for them with plenty of rocks around." He didn't even realize he was rambling at this point.

Edited November 10, 2013 by Mercakete

[-Cynthia-]

Charlotte

"A life without leading or following sounds very freeing- but also very lonely. Sometimes people may need your help and sometimes you may need theirs. Leading can be the only way to get things done in certain situations- if everyone shied away from taking charge people would end up running around like chickens with their heads cut off."

Edited November 9, 2013 by -Cynthia-

[Phoenix]

Iso

"That's exactly why I know they don't need me around, regardless of what Ivanko's leadership amounts to. The empress was killed by one of the officers that defected to our side. You can be sure that if Ivanko, myself, and Irina all disappeared, someone up there would step up to lead the country," Iso pointed out.

Irina

Irina simply listened quietly as Tas went over a few essentials and other basic things, though she couldn't very well commit all of it to memory right now.

[-Cynthia-]

"I would be very cautious around this defector- once someone becomes a traitor they have no honor left to lose by doing so again," Charlotte said abruptly. Even if Jace blackmailed Daneka somehow, she swore an oath to Jerdon and the royal family. I plan to hold her to that oath one way or another. "You are right though, that leaders show up in times of crisis. I suppose we got Morgan," she said unenthusiastically.

[Phoenix]

Iso

"I'm not sure who to blame for that one ..." Iso mumbled to himself. "As I was saying though, Zaftra neither needs, nor wants, a leader who up until recently, had absolutely nothing to do with that country or any interest in getting involved. I was just fine letting the royalty sit up there in their fortress. There are a few colonies around and people were doing fine before the demon attacks really picked up. That was good enough for me, and it still is after seeing all of the people that had to die to change things." Feeling all of that was a bit forced, he quickly followed up with a defensive, "I just don't see why you think I should be preparing to lead that country of all people ..."

[-Cynthia-]

"Because in the case of Ivanko being unfit or dying without an heir, you taking the throne would be the easiest transition overall. Having a son replace his father is commonly accepted, but having an outsider force his way in is inevitably a bloody rebellion. I think we can agree that bloody rebellions are the last thing any country needs after all of this," Charlotte said plainly.

[Phoenix]

Iso

"Pretty sure if they have to choose between this hypothetical Ivanko's own disinterested, illegitimate son and another bloody rebellion, they're going to take what they're already used to," Iso quietly noted, though he could still be heard clearly by at least present company. "I'd really rather distance myself from all of that if at all possible ..." Of course, with Irina being as closely tied to the situation as he was, he doubted he could completely escape this royalty nonsense.