Lord of Azure Flame Final Chapter: Victory or Death

[Balcerzak]

"Just beer? How dreadfully dull," Iris replied to Tristan with a frown. To Viveka's apparent confusion, she elaborated, "Don't ask me how mixed drinks get their names. Some times they make a fair amount of sense, other times they are just off the wall. Seriously, 'The Four Horsmen', 'Sex on the Beach'? What's next, I wonder sometimes," she laughed.

Lt. Frederikov's hands fell to her sides then, and as one brushed against her pocket, she got an idea. Fishing around for a bit, she found two spare sets of spirit dolls, carrying around extras having been habit long ingrained in her by her long association with Borodin. She handed one end of each of the two way communication devices to Tristan and Viveka, keeping their partners for herself. "Spirit dolls," she explained. "You can use them to get in contact with me, both during and after this conflict. If this can help keep Elysima, Septimus, and Zaftra just a little bit more connected, well..." the fire mage trailed off with a faint smile.

[-Cynthia-]

Charlotte

"Indeed it is...knowing what comes ahead may also strengthen our conviction for tomorrow. So what do you think Jace is going to do after we defeat the Lord?" she asked Eric. He is Jace's son after all...that feels so odd to think about still.

Tristan

Tristan blushed a little at the names of the mixed drinks, but quickly regained his composure. "Thank you for this gift- keeping in contact with each other will be quite important I think, after all of this warring and years of isolation and such."

[Snike]

Eric

"I... believe he is going to continue the negotiations," Eric said, avoiding eye contact. "He may be preoccupied with the recovery efforts, however, and thus delay those meetings for some time. Last I heard he was organizing a push towards Halton."

[-Cynthia-]

Charlotte

"Delaying the meetings is probably just an excuse to start marshaling his forces for another attack," Charlotte said sadly. "I believe Jace will have little desire to negotiate if the demonic threat is dealt with."

[Snike]

"I do not think even he would marshall an attack after an event such as this," Eric said, as he avoided contact. "And if he does, he will not be able to bring it to fruition. That, I promise you."

[Phoenix]

Viveka

"S-!" Viveka cut herself off so she wouldn't repeat what Iris had said. That was a strange name for a drink indeed. By the time she had recovered from that near blunder and composed herself, Iris had produced some spirit dolls. Viveka was always intrigued by them; their strategic potential was indescribable. She hadn't been sure if she would ever wield one, but now Iris was offering her and Tristan a pair in order to stay in touch. Viveka didn't want to say it aloud, but that was probably the best random gift she'd ever received, and she had been approached by noblemen on occasion.

Of course, she didn't see herself as particularly important in Elysima outside of this crimson situation, but perhaps that would change after the mission and she could help keep the countries from going right back to waving their blades at each other. "I'm not the most influential person in my country, but I'll do everything in my power to keep these connections of ours strong, so we can have a lasting peace this time around."

[-Cynthia-]

Charlotte

"I don't see how you can promise that Sir Eric. We never saw Jace's attack on Jerdon coming- Queen Isolde and King Stefan were caught off guard by the attack on Burgosas as well. I will find it very difficult to believe he will honor any deal we make."

Tristan

"I don't think I'm even in the top fifty or so of influential people in Septimus right now...but maybe that'll change," he said hesitantly.

[Snike]

"You forget my position," Eric said, as he took to examining his sword sheath. "I will be able to talk him out of it, should it come to that. Though it won't matter, since... Well, I can't say, just yet."

[-Cynthia-]

Charlotte raised an eyebrow at Eric's answer, feeling as if he were holding something back. "I pray that you are correct," she answered him simply, not sharing his confidence in his ability to convince Jace.

[Snike]

Eric

Charlotte wasn't confident, which was to be expected. Nevertheless, instead of pursuing that topic, the Brute's son decided to move on. "Anyways, how are you holding up, Princess? This travel definitely has not been the easiest."

[-Cynthia-]

"No, it hasn't been very easy at all- I look forward to this all being over. It will end soon though and my faith in the Lady will keep me strong. How about yourself? Everything that's happened with the Templars, finding out your Jace's son...you must have a lot of questions," Charlotte said thoughtfully.

[Snike]

"I suppose I do have questions, yes," Eric said, looking at the sky. "I do have quite a few answers to some of my earlier questions, though. And right now, there is no question that cannot wait. But, to answer your question, I am fine. And even if I wasn't, my faith would see me through this ordeal."

[Balcerzak]

Tessa

Heh, her 'hint' had been far too obvious, but it's not like it mattered whether or not he'd have been able to figure it out. As it was, it was perhaps for the best, as Tessa learned of some possible friction between friends. While she had her suspicions on what might have been the issue, it did bear further checking out. Still, she was starting to get a little impatient, now that she'd gotten her requested advice, the young healer was itching to act on it. That being said, she couldn't just up and leave, not just yet.

"Mmm, well, I suppose," she conceded lightly to the complement that Damian had paid her, though she still didn't necessarily agree with it. "Part of me thinks that rare or not, behaving the way one ought still really doesn't seem worth making that much fuss over. But thank you again for the flattery," she ended this with a light hug and a brief squeeze.

"About Kelas... I'm pretty sure it's not you in particular, but maybe more of an associated thing? I don't think she's always had good experiences with soldiers, or people of you position of authorigy, maybe. I can check up on that though, for you," as she spoke, Tessa's face broadcast her heart clearly, running from smile to frown to smile, as the subjects she was discussing affected her emotions. "I do plan on talking to her pretty soon anyway, after all."

Iris

Well... perhaps she shouldn't have picked that particular example for illustrating other oddly named drinks, Iris realized as she observed the reactions of her conversation partners. It was really her fault, possibly due to having loosened up a little, but she hadn't even considered whether or not present company was on the more prudish side of things, as it turned out they apparently were. Well, no sharing any ribald stories or old gossip with them, she thought wryly, before mentally shrugging at the conclusion that anything of that sort she had to tell would be utterly uninteresting to outside parties anyway.

At any rate, her gifts seemed to be received fondly, though. Lt. Frederikov counted that a win, and perhaps it was time to exit on a high note? She had, after all, sort of barged in on the conversation, and maybe it would only be fitting to let them get back to discussing whatever they had been, or had been about to start, before she'd poked her nose in. Captain Viveka's protestations against being influential, made her grin a little, as it seemed the good woman was firmly focused on the present as far as that went, but when Prince Tristan counted himself not even in the top fifty, she couldn't hold back a peal of laughter.

Quickly regaining her composure, she added, "I'd heard tales that retainers and advisers are often the true powers behind the throne, but selling yourself that short, ahaha. Good bit of humor. More seriously though, I wouldn't count anything out. I doubt Percy, Jace, Harold, Bethold, Kaileen, or Naelia thought they were particularly influential or would amount to much back in their day, but look what happened there. Now obviously, that's no guarantee for moving forward, but if you combine the opportunity this affords us with the drive to be the change you wish to see in the world, well... I have hopes, what can I say?"

"I should probably let you two get back to what you were working on before I interrupted, and I'd be a bit remiss in my duties if I didn't check in on my charge... So unless there's anything else?" Iris threw out a dangling invitation for any final conversation before her nearing departure.

[Ether]

"I suppose that could be the case... but I should allow you to get on your way." Damian replied, noting the girl's face... she was always so clear with what she was thinking, and it was rather obvious that her current wish was to test what he had told her... the soldier could only hope that his words wouldn't wrong her.

[Mercakete]

It was a good thing Irina mentioned she was joking, since at first, Tas was taking her comments seriously. Once she'd cleared that up, though, he, somewhat scrambling to respond correctly, forced out a quiet, little laugh. Then, more sincerely, he added, "Unless you have a lot of wyverns already, it sounds like you're going to start small anyway, which is good. You'll learn how to handle each situation more easily that way. I'm sure you'll pick it all up in no time; it's not like you don't have experience raising wyverns, after all, and you're the sort of person who can take on all sorts of challenges and come out on top. Not to mention your wyverns adore you, and that says a lot right there."

[Phoenix]

Irina

"Well ..." Irina looked down at Nikita, whose head was still resting peacefully on her lap. "Kiev does, at least. Nikita may like me, but it's only because Ixion manipulated her. She thinks I'm someone else," she explained. She still hadn't gotten over that, and it wasn't something she was sure how to address. "I ... I want to make our relationship more genuine ... but I haven't had her for very long ... and what if Pressha comes back someday? This whole situation is so wrong, I don't know what to do. I feel like I'm going to be punished for this someday ...."

Viveka

"Are you going to check on Irina or Iso?" Viveka asked, her eyes squinting in time with mention of the latter, as if there might be something wrong with it. Realizing her tone reflected this as well, she quickly added, "Not that it really matters, I'm just curious because it sounds like you're only going to see one of them right now." That wasn't her best recovery, but even decent comebacks were rare for her these days.

[Mercakete]

Tas frowned at that. "Yeah, Nikita should figure it out sooner or later... Whatever Ixion did, he couldn't have completely replaced her with you, could he? Sight, smell, mannerisms... If her partner comes back, I'm sure she'll recognize her..." after saying that, Tas brightened up a little, "Hey, what if you went looking for her partner? You could build memories together and she would know when she saw her old partner that it wasn't your fault what happened to her."

[-Cynthia-]

"That is good- I still have some questions however. How did Jace know you were his son and how did you come to believe him? I am afraid during everything that has happened that the specifics surrounding your...situation have been rather unclear," Charlotte said carefully.

[Snike]

"He knew, or rather, guessed, because of this sword," Eric said, as he laid his sheathed weapon down. "It belonged to my mother, and only members of her bloodline can use its flame. As for when I believed him, well... When I got my sight, and my memories, back, I returned to Jace's manse, to presumably recover, and there was a portrait I recognized there. It was of Jace's wife, better known to me as my late mother. That is when I truly began to believe."

Edited December 4, 2013 by Snike

[-Cynthia-]

"Oh, I think I know that picture now that you mention it- I remember seeing it after that terrible drunken woman brought me to Jace's manse. I never connected it to you though- do you have any idea how your mother and Jace became separated?" Charlotte asked. It was a rather personal matter, but her curiosity drove her forward.

[Snike]

"... About twenty years ago, we were on our way to visit Uncle- the man I used to think was my father- for the first time in a while. I do not recall this, but I was rather young," Eric said, avoiding eye contact. "We were ambushed by what Jace believes to be demons, and my mother barely survived the ordeal. Somehow she managed to make it to a village with me, but, well, the result was she lost or had her memory modified, and her health was mostly ruined. We ended up living in the village until she died, and I believe you know the rest of the tale."

[Balcerzak]

Now that was a curious tone. Captain Viveka's latest query seemed somehow... off. Quirking an eyebrow, Iris replied, "I had intended Prince Isotov just now, for reasons related to what was mentioned earlier, but assuming it went smoothly and there was plenty of time left, I would probably have fit in a visit to the princess as well. Is there some sort of problem?"

[Phoenix]

Irina

"I'm not sure if finding her is a good idea, Tas. She's the last remaining royal from the previous family. Ixion or other zaftrans would just kill her if she showed up, Ixion especially."

Viveka

"No! No, no problem at all, I was just really unsure which one of them you meant. Any other time and I'd have just assumed both and left it at that, really." She didn't see herself as being very convincing, but she hadn't had a chance to compose herself, yet, so that was all she could manage until then. "Sorry about that ...." she sheepishly added a moment later.

[-Cynthia-]

Charlotte

"I don't understand why demons would go around modifying people's memories, but then again we don't really understand why the demons are even here. All we really know is that we have to defeat them to achieve peace," she said, shrugging.

Tristan

The prince looked back and forth between Viveka and Iris, finding this whole exchange quite odd overall. He decided to just keep quiet and hope that the confusion would sort itself out soon enough.

[Mercakete]

"Who says they have to know about it? You could just go with Kiev and Nikita if you wanted to, right?" Tas asked. Even if she was technically supposed to be under guard, being a princess now, he didn't suppose they wouldn't allow her to take some time off or something similar.