Lord of Azure Flame Final Chapter: Victory or Death

[Balcerzak]

Get your Drink on

"Excellent, excellent," Iris smiled when her offer appeared accepted, albeit perhaps slightly reluctantly by Viveka. Tristan on the otherhand was plenty in the mood, so she first went ahead and transfered a fair amount of spirits from her own flask to his before she went ahead and poured just a small amount for her more cautious colleague. When that was all said and done, the toast was finally well and fully underway, with Lt. Frederikov leading the way, knocking back a healthy pull before letting out a sigh of satisfaction. "That sure hits the spot."

Heartful conversation

Damian had replied at fair length to her query, but Tessa wasn't fully sure what to make of it. Not all of what he'd said had seemed completely applicable, but perhaps she was just missing where the connections came together. Still, she listened with rapt attention as the soldier talked about his past, and put a personal spin on how he and Aiya had finally communicated to each other. It felt good to be confided in this way, and there was that pleasant sense of being completely trusted, especially when being told parts of the past where he wasn't exactly proud of his actions.

"Mmmm, I think I see kind of what you're getting at there. Just, be sincere, straightforward, and willing to take that risk, huh?" The young girl nodded to herself, commiting the words to heart. Then she started off with a bit of playful banter before shyly thanking him for his praise. "Also that's kind of funny, I'm not sure I'd have pegged Aiya as the waiting type, are you sure she didn't actually throw herself into your arms? Still, I'm not sure I'm as special as you seem to think I am, that anyone should consider themselves lucky necessarily... but it means a lot to hear it even so. Thank you."

"...Also, try not to tease him too much, will you, with the whole 'Big brother' thing? You might end up honestly scaring him or something." There was a bit of a twinkle in Tessa's eye as she imagined a scene like that playing out between Damian and Arrin. That was about all the hint she was planning on giving out as to her intended before she'd had a chance to properly confess to him and see how that would work out, after all.

Sulking and antisocial

Something he couldn't quite put his finger on was eating at Helios, and every possible method he'd tried to use to drive it away had been met with unmitigated failure. He'd attempted to ruthlessly tease Chase, like he'd often done in the past, but couldn't really get a rise out of him. The young archer just hadn't been himself lately, and this failed exchange was no exception. Maybe he'd started to actually read the writing in the stars, and realized that he didn't have a chance with Morgan after all, not with big man Levski on the case. Heh. That should have brought a smile to the wind mage's face, just thinking about it, and perhaps it did, but only for a second. Something still just didn't sit right, and he couldn't put his finger on it. He didn't even feel like blasting rocks, not that the desert would have much obliged him with opportunities, but when he realized that Helios simply went right quiet and stared into the fire wordlessly.

[Ether]

"You've got me there... I'm sure there was more than a single occasion where she would have liked to smack me about for being so dense... I can only guess she waited because of the gap there used to be, between us. She probably didn't feel comfortable asserting herself because of how we met." Damian replied, to Tessa's playful jab about Aiya's nature... fully justified as it was.

"You really shouldn't sell yourself short, Tessa. Most people are fueled by naught but self-serving intent, any kindness they might show is given at a cost, an outward guise to keep up good will... you've a genuine caring for everyone around you, Tessa... it's a shame just how rare that is, but don't take it lightly... it makes you a very special person." He continued, with a bit of a sigh, as the valkyrie completed her request.

"I'll try to keep that in mind... I haven't a clue what it is but Kelas seems dead set on her dislike of me... I wish I atleast knew how it was I had wronged her... it might be for the best if I stayed away from him, on the whole..."

[-Cynthia-]

Charlotte

"You may not be able to avoid it forever, but you can avoid it for a time. Stay in Jerdon as my honored guest as long as you like, you'll be far enough away from Ivanko and Zaftra that they cannot enact whatever plans they have for you," Charlotte offered.

Tristan

"To strength through comrades!" Tristan toasted before lifting his flask up, gulping the alcohol down. Oh Goddess it's like a fire in my mouth, he thought to himself, coughing a little before regaining his composure.

[Phoenix]

Iso

"I'd hate to drag you into this too," Iso noted, but that wasn't all he had to say on the matter. "Besides, I'm going to have a hell of a time trying to move around in general after this. Irina and I promised to stay together this time which means wherever I go, I have to somehow convince her to follow me or ... I'm stuck. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I'm worried it might turn into a liability."

Viveka

Viveka held back a chuckle as Tristan coughed. She had been wondering how much actual experience he had with alcohol and was beginning to think it was closer to hers than she expected. This war and the inevitable troubles that would follow it probably had him willing to try even alcohol to take the edge off. Deciding not to stand there shyly after the toast, she drank her share of the Zaftran sauce and ended up coughing much louder than Tristan. Taking a deep breath afterward, she recovered saying, "That was ... something, alright, heheheh ... yeah." (How on earth can they drink this outside of some kind of ... crazy contest? This is definitely an acquired taste ...)

[Mercakete]

"We only raised plains and mountain wyverns, but I can try to find a sea wyvern expert if you want to raise those, too. I wonder if the kind of water you have around matters for those... They probably eat fish, but maybe they can eat foul, too? Uhh... Are you planning on raising those at all? I don't know much about them. Oh and where exactly is Redwood? If you don't have anyone around nearby who would want to buy or if there's not enough space to make a proper wyvern ranch, you're just setting yourself up for a hard time at best," Tas asked.

[-Cynthia-]

Charlotte

"If you're willing to involve yourself in my problems I'm certainly not afraid to involve myself with yours," Charlotte said decisively. "Have you asked Irina about what she plans to do? Perhaps she wants to live in Zaftra," she pointed out.

Tristan

"Yes it certainly was, a fine er...vintage. Thank you Iris," Tristan said, trying to suppress laughing at Viveka's expense.

[Phoenix]

Iso

"I know she doesn't want to live in Zaftra, but that's all I know for the moment. I hope she didn't change her mind," Iso worriedly answered. "I've just been imagining us drifting from place to place after this until we figured something out, but I guess there's a good chance she might decide on something well before then."

Irina

Irina's first thought when Tas mentioned sea wyverns was Svetlana, and goodness was that not the best impression of a sea wyvern. As Tas went deeper into his explanation, Irina found herself more and more compelled to interrupt and note that she probably wasn't going to be raising any sea wyverns unless she was sure she could keep them from turning into flying sharks. She didn't actually say anything until he asked where Redwood was, though. "It's really close to Vaorin, but I guess technically it's in Halton. There are other towns started by zaftran refugees but that's where I grew up." Then, finally, she went into what was bothering her. "But, about the sea wyverns ... I think it might be best to stick with what we know best to start. If sea wyverns happen, they happen," she explained with a hint of nervousness in her voice, while a couple of dozen imaginary sea wyverns tore apart her renovated fort looking for fish in all the wrong places.

[Mercakete]

"It's just that once you settle somewhere you're probably not going to want to move," he explained, "So if you were ever planning on raising sea wyverns, you'd probably want to live somewhere near the water. That's just my guess, though. We never raised them, like I said. It's actually really nice to hear that you'll be raising plains-dwellers and mountain wyverns, though, since that's exactly what our ranch raised. I can give you a lot more advice that way. After this, maybe I can help you pick a nice spot over there for your ranch. That should probably be the first step since you'll need all that space with good terrain. I guess you could always do some landscaping, but it's better to find a place where the wyverns will naturally feel at home. Namid, Nikita and Kiev could give us their opinion on it, too. Do you think Lev and Krinkov would like to come? The more wyverns we get the opinion of, the better since you'll be dealing with so many different personalities."

[Phoenix]

Irina

"I'd love to have their help with this, but I'm pretty sure Lev is either going back to Zaftra or going off on his own. He's never really been attached to places like Redwood, so I doubt there's much that could get him to stay now that there's no one there to pay him," Irina explained. "... sooo I'm not going to get my hopes up. Anyway, it might be better in this case to do some landscaping if it's necessary because our home back in Redwood is a fortress, there are walls and guard towers and everything. I know that's not the best environment to raise wyverns in, but it's a lot easier to protect them with the walls there. I don't know, maybe if they weren't too far away from the fortress, it would be fine. I've just been imagining some renovations inside, that's all."

She wasn't sure what Iso would think of this, or Lev for that matter, but she was sure that if she explained all of this in detail to Ivanko, he would let her stay in Redwood, keep the fortress for herself, and maybe even send over a few helpers once things in Kalten became more stable. Maybe a little overly optimistic, but it all made sense to her.

[Mercakete]

Tas nodded, a bit sorry to hear that Lev wasn't going to stick around. The courier had grown a bit attached to the older wyvern rider. There was just something comforting about having him around that made him feel more secure. "Well, if the fortress isn't big enough you might have some problems. Raising wyverns takes a lot of space. They need to be able to roam and fly around. Ours even slept outside most of the time. Keeping them in aeries is fine for transport wyverns, but ranch wyvers live more like wild wyverns than transport or battle wyverns. Or at least the adult ones do. Eggs are moved to the nursery and that's where hatchlings are raised, too. They're so vulnerable in that phase, so we move them to keep them safe. Then when they're fledglings, they're let out and watched during the day and come back into a coop for the night. When they're big enough, we let them stay with the older ones," he explained, thinking back to when he was in charge of keeping an eye on the fledglings. There were a few stories there. Actually, if he was less focused on informing Irina, there were quite the multitude of stories he could share.

[-Cynthia-]

Charlotte

"Well, there will certainly be no need to wander about. Living at my palace would be significantly more comfortable and the food would be a significant improvement. You haven't really lived until you've had Jerdonian cuisine....I really need a personal chef again after all of this traveling fare. We would have plays, and jousting tournaments, and masquerade balls- I'm sure Irina would love it," she said confidently.

[Phoenix]

Iso

"I certainly haven't lived, alright," Iso muttered under his breath, thinking back on his childhood and adolescence. Nothing but drama and violence as far as he could recall. "Well, I'll let her know, and see what she thinks, then. You don't have to do this for us, though. It seems like a bit much and there isn't much we can do in return ..."

Irina

"Well, they've been raising wyverns at the fortress for a long time already, just not very many of them, and they were all war mounts," Irina explained. She wasn't trying to explain that it was spacious enough as it was, but at least functional. "I used to fly around with Kiev when I was younger, but since I wasn't allowed to go beyond the city limits, I would usually just stick to the inner walls ... aaand we did crash a few times. Kiev only recently got good at making sharp turns ..." Part of her renovations would include knocking down at least one pesky building that wasn't of much use ... other than giving Kiev something to crash headlong into ... but some of the reasonably tall structures would have to remain due to their function, so she would be letting the wyverns fly as far out as needed so long as they stayed out of trouble.

[Balcerzak]

The reactions of the other two to her beverage forced Iris to attempt to stifle laughter. It was only partially successful, so the good lieutenant felt the need to apologize, while grinning broadly, the warmth of the alcohol flowing through her and lightening her up. "...Eeeh sorry about that, I didn't realize you might not have been accustomed. It's just, well... the vodka travels much better than some of the the other spirits, in my experience. During peacetime you'll have to let me fix you a Flaming Wyvern, it's much sweeter and milder. Oh, the fire's only for show on that one, you blow it out before you drink it." That last bit of clarification seemed like it might be more vital than it normally would be with this audience.

[-Cynthia-]

Charlotte

"Your courtesy is appreciated, but not necessary in this instance," Charlotte said, waving her hand dismissively. "There's more than enough space at the palace for guests and I am requesting that you two come as guests. I suppose I could assign you to security or something if you feel you need a job," she added.

Tristan

"I'd take you up on that offer. I don't recall coming across any flaming drinks in Septimus, we mostly just drink beer," he said with a shrug.

[Phoenix]

Iso

Iso frowned. "Something tells me taking a guard job in Jerdon wouldn't go over too well back in Kalten. I'll just leave well enough alone, I guess. If Irina doesn't have an problem with it, we'll both come and visit."

Viveka

"Flaming wyvern?" Viveka echoed as she recovered from the drink. Kiev flailing around in a lake while completely ablaze was an interesting thought, but not one she wanted to keep dwelling on, after all it was the other Zaftrans that bothered her, not their smallest, goofiest wyvern. "Well, that's good. At least you don't have to drink it while it's on fire," Viveka noted. Meanwhile in her mind, a strong wind came through and put Kiev out. Of course, he quickly resumed flailing, because as far as Viveka knew, wyverns couldn't swim.

Edited November 28, 2013 by Phoenix

[-Cynthia-]

Charlotte

"Making the nobility in Kalten happy never seemed to be on your list of priorities anyway," she said to Isotov with a small smile. "I will look forward to your visit after we are done with all of this. I should go speak with Eric...the two of us have a lot to discuss I think. Get a good night's rest, you're going to need it for tomorrow," she said, rising to her feet.

[scorri]

Tiria sighed. "I know I will. I just... I need to get things figured out before I try and talk with him. Because, well, if this sword is going to be a continuing issue, I will have to regretfully resign from his service. I cannot in good faith continue serving him if I am a risk to him as well as myself. Once I have figured some things out... then I will talk to him." The templar's attempt at a joke had flown over her head, as she continued to stare out into the desert.

[Mercakete]

Raemond nodded, thinking her choice to weigh everything out was wise and feeling a fresh, small wave of pity for the woman. "The best of luck to you, then," he concluded before walking off to go visit the young duke.

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

"Hmm," Tas hummed as he thought about what she was saying. Then, he answered, "I've only really ever been to the ranch I grew up at, so maybe there are different kinds out there that work well. I was told before, though, that the more free, safe and comfortable the wyverns feel, the easier it is to raise more wyverns and that we wouldn't have as many eggs if they felt confined."

[Phoenix]

Iso

(Normally it would never cross my mind, but with them working closely with Ivanko ... well ... I don't want to make matters worse if it's going to come back on Irina in any way.) "I'll try to rest up, but it's just important that you do too, so don't lose track of the time. Goodnight, Charlotte." He waved goodnight and then returned to looking into the campfire he'd started earlier. (The two of us sticking together is going to be a lot harder than I realized. I'm not going to give up, but I feel stupid for not realizing just what I was getting us both into back then when we made that promise.)

Irina

"That makes sense, though that might explain our living conditions. They were training the wyverns they had for battle, not breeding them. When they needed more wyverns, they either bought them or went out and hunted for them. That's how I got Kiev ... and how we all got Victor ..." she explained, her expression twisting awkwardly as she looked away. Victor was both a blessing and a curse, as always. There likely wasn't a bigger double-edged sword in the Zaftran arsenal.

[Mercakete]

"Oh. Hmm so, what sort of wyvern ranch are you planning on running?" Tas asked, "We brought in wyverns from the wild, too, and we sometimes bought wyverns or traded them with other ranches to bring in some fresh blood," that term made him grimace now what with his new experiences, but he didn't pause for long "but we still bred the wyverns, of course. That's what a ranch is for, unless there are other kinds I didn't know about. I know there are wyvern training facilities, but those aren't really ranches."

[Phoenix]

Irina

"I don't really want to go out capturing wild ones if I don't have to; it's not the prettiest thing to watch and it kind of defeats the purpose in a way. See, I was thinking I might turn the fort into a wyvern ranch because then I could take care of the wyverns I already have, and raise new ones as time goes on. Wyverns taken from the wild are so bewildered and distrusting at first. I want to make families, not tear them apart, so at most, I only want to get new wyverns from breeding, rescuing or adoption, buying, or trading ... and I don't want them sold as war mounts anymore ... not ever," she explained as her embarrassment began to set in. "I know it doesn't sound like a very profitable setup, but that wasn't really on my mind, really ..." When fantasies met reality, funding always became the number one problem, even for royalty.

[Mercakete]

"Hmmm that's going to be hard... I never liked the idea of selling them to go fighting either, but my father explained that they're well taken care of and that some have a natural want to fight anyway. This way it's controlled. I'm not going to tell you who to sell your wyverns to, but if you don't want to sell them as war mounts, then you'll want to look for naturally docile wyverns and not raise very many. Only keep as many as you can feed and pay your staff to take care of," Tas advised, thinking back to some of the things he'd been taught growing up.

[Phoenix]

Irina

"Right, right. Five hundred wyverns seems like a low enough number, I think. I wanted a few thousand but if it's easier to keep things under control with just a few hundred, I can live with that," she said with a smiled. "I'm joking," she quickly explained, not wanting to freak Tas out or get too serious a response from him.

[-Cynthia-]

Charlotte made her way from where Isotov was and eventually located Eric sitting at another fire. She approached him slowly.

"You seem to be deep in thought- what's on your mind?" she inquired, sitting down near him.

[Snike]

Eric

"Oh, just about what will happen after we defeat the Lord, milady," Eric said, as the Princess arrived. "I realize I am getting ahead of myself, but, it is a bit difficult to focus on the task at hand when other matters weigh upon oneself."