Return of the Emblem Chapter Twelve: Divergent Paths

[Phoenix]

Fetch

"Alright one copy of Shadrak's notes coming right up," he joked before standing up straight and hurrying for the door. I'm not sure there's much in there she'd find interesting really ... and frankly I'm a little embarrassed by the thought of someone reading through the thing in full, but who knows. Maybe something good will happen.

He carefully shut the door behind him and began trying to find his way back to his room. It wasn't too hard now that he was used to this place and he'd made several trips through the guest wing in particular. Just as he arrived at the door to his room, he froze, remembering last night. Siv was in there looking after the egg. When he opened the door again, he found that it was just like he'd left it earlier. The blanket was still bundled together like a nest, though it reminded him more of a crater or a volcano like the ones he'd seen in old illustrations. Last time he came through here he was too distracted to think about it, really.

He took a few steps closer, noting the stains from the hatching. "This is where the egg finally hatched ... right? It's also where Siv was keeping an eye on it. I'll probably never see her again, will I?" He sighed deeply as he went back to what he was doing, searching for his notebook. "I should probably have a talk with Steinn soon." Once he had the notebook, he stood there for a moment, thinking out loud. "There's still the archives, too. It's going to be a long day ...."

Shadrak left everything else in his room untouched, though he wasn't really sure why. Once the door was shut, he went back to Mushirah's room and knocked on the door just in case. "It's me," he said just after knocking.

Sit

When Norbert asked them where everyone was, neither of the two cooks knew quite how to answer the question. The next one seemed simple enough, but Johnny was too curious to leave it at a simple answer. "I guess ... if you're really going to bring the bowl and spoon back, but where are you off to in such a hurry? You should sit down, relax and really enjoy your breakfast."

"Maybe you should skip the porridge for now and just have an apple," Erica suggested. It seemed a lot less risky on all fronts as far as she could tell; no spills, no missing silverware, and no empty stomachs.

Stay

That won't make her happy, Hypnos spoke up, though only Raquel could hear it, but I know what would~

Raquel gasped, fearing Hypnos really had been snooping around through her memories somehow. Despite the incredibly annoying stuff she thought she was about to endure, she took a moment to address Tia. "L-look, I appreciate the thought, really, I do. I'd just prefer my food to not move around like that ..." She glanced off in some random direction. "It makes me feel like it's still alive or something." Hypnos, what are you doing? How do you know what would make me happy? Have you been messing with my memories?

No, I have no intention of exploring any deeper into your mind than you'll allow, Discovery. I have other methods for situations like these, less intrusive ones, he explained, and from the tone of his voice, they were probably effective methods. She felt that was awfully--and oddly--considerate, but at least she didn't feel violated anymore ... only awkward.

"Hmm ... well alright then," Weyland concluded his thoughts aloud. "Raquel, associates, I need your attention for a moment." One long moment at that. "There are some issues we need to discuss, about last night and about how things will proceed going forward."

[Mercakete]

The addition of the "for now" made just taking an apple and having the porridge later quite the tempting idea. Sure, the apple wouldn't fill him up as well, but so long as he could have the more substantial portion of his breakfast later, he really didn't mind that much. "I think I will -- thanks," he replied to Erica. After grabbing an apple, he was out of the kitchen, munching on the fruit as he walked somewhat quickly back in the direction of the exit. He only made it partway through the dining hall, however, when Weyland began to address the group. That made him slow down and eventually stop, watching the inventor somewhat curiously, out of the way by the far wall.

He only stood there a moment before remembering something, however. Right, I'm not part of Raquel's group anymore... Guess that means this isn't addressed to me. Still, he was curious about what all went on during the battle and what all went on while he was knocked out. So, leaning against the wall a bit tentatively, Norbert decided that loitering for a few minutes couldn't hurt. From where he was, he could sneak out just about whenever he wanted without disrupting anything, he figured, so he decided he'd just leave when the professor began giving Raquel's group their new assignment or whatever.

[scorri]

Erion

Swinging down from the tree, Erion had started to head into the dining hall on his way back to his room when he overheard Weyland's announcement. With a slight shrug, he leaned against the door frame, and listened.

Hoshi

Sitting down, Hoshi sat quietly as Weyland started talking. She didn't know exactly what was going on, but the fact that he decided to keep her around meant that it was something important.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

Weyland had finally decided to show himself and get the show on the road. "Finally," Gar commented. "Moving porridge can only entertain for so long."

[roymbrog]

Katrina

“Well, I don’t think the stables are specifically for them, but yes,” Kat replied. Her smile widened at Eva’s enthusiasm. “Of course I’ll help you out. We can do it after breakfast, if you want.” The rest of the conversation wasn’t that relevant to her, though she frowned worriedly when Aneda mentioned she’d be leaving. Katrina wouldn’t pry since the pegasus rider said it was personal, but that put a damper on her plans of hanging out with her more.

She noticed Weyland coming in, but hadn’t paid much attention till he began speaking. At that point she was all ears.

---

Synthia

When Synthia returned to the dining hall with Gytha, Amon and Haythem were making to leave, and she was slightly disappointed about that. It seemed everyone Gytha wanted to share her story with had somewhere else to be at the moment. There was a back and forth for a while, before Haythem considered asking everyone to go with him for some reason (did he really not want to talk to Nadya alone that badly?). That was put to an end when Weyland entered the room, but that unfortunately meant the mariner’s tale would be postponed further. For now the mage sat down to see what this announcement was all about.

---

Valter

Traversing the cathedral found Valter in front of Joanna’s door, which he knocked lightly on.

[Nanami Touko]

Oh hey, Kat! "That's fantastic. I look forward to it, Kat! Always wanted to see how someone else handles one of the lizards... Other than my parents, so this is a perfect opportunity for that too." She returned the woman's smile, but turned her attention to the middle aged man speaking at the head of the room. Who's that...? She whispered to the table she was at, "hey, hey who's that? I'll listen anyway, just...curious. Everyone else seems to be paying attention, so... He's important, right?" Oh! Maybe he's Weyland? I didn't hear any other important names, so I dunno who everyone would listen to otherwise... How convenient.

[ReformBlade]

Mushirah was left to her own devices, curling up in her bed and pulling the sheets up. It seemed to be a mistake as she had almost drifted off into a deep slumber until there was a fairly jarring knocking at the door. Oh my goodness... Am I really that tired? she though, sitting up again and stretching. "Come in." she said in a weary voice.

Aneda's attention was grabbed by a certain Weyland speaking up. She was ok with this, any distraction was a good one at this exact moment. Are we getting kicked out? She thought, concerned for her own being more than others.

[Eail]

Hearing that things were about to get serious, Zach let go of Aneda, moving back to a normal sitting position and giving a nod to Eva. "Whatever this is... it's not going to be good I fear."

[scorri]

Lumi shrugged at Zach's comment. "I mean, it's to be expected that there will be some bad new, no? After all, we were attacked by demons last night. But hey! That doesn't mean it'll be all bad news, right?"

[Phoenix]

Notebook Delivery

Shadrak gently opened the door and stepped back into the room with his notebook. He didn't mean to smile quite as widely as he had, but seeing her practically asleep again after he'd just gone to fetch her some reading material struck him as a little funny. In his head, he was chuckling more at himself than her, though. "Not the best read out there, but it's definitely got some useful information in it ... even some things--well lots of things really--about dark magic," he explained as he approached the bed.

Intel Delivery

Tamara soon arrived at the dining hall with Bianca in tow, but was reluctant to make a formal introduction at this point. Weyland was clearly about to go deep into something. Turning to Bianca she said, "You should have a seat for the moment and I'll bring you your breakfast. Once Master Weyland finishes with this ..." she glanced back to see if it was what she thought it was, "meeting, you can be formally introduced."

Gabbie wasn't far behind the two and entered the dining hall wearing some version of her usual attire, minus the armor. She started heading for the kitchen the very second she arrived, figuring whatever she missed would be brought up again one way or another. She was glad to see the little vasilus hadn't been made off with, though she wasn't sure if her prayers were answered or they just got lucky.

Raquel was still a little distracted, by both Hypnos and her attempt to track down her appetite so she could at least try to feed herself that morning, but she divided some of her attention to what Weyland was saying so she would at least know what was going on. That was when Chip offered her another slice of apple, which was quite timely. After all, the apple was solid and wasn't going to change shape on her out of the blue. "Thanks," she smiled at him.

"Well, as you probably all guessed, last night's attack was only the beginning. Now that they have a good idea of what Ursium is made of, they'll likely focus their efforts on completing the siege gate for this part of the continent. Steinn, I believe some elaboration is required," Weyland took a few steps off to the side as Steinn took his place.

"The original plan, as I understand it, would be carried out by whichever prince survived and went on to rule, but the plan itself is fundamentally flawed. It even fails to account for the entities that have protected this nation in particular in the past, for example. Despite this, and even if the plan ultimately fails, the war Valdimarr is about to unleash on your people will devastate your countries beyond recognition," he began. "The siege gates Weyland mentioned are at the heart of this attack strategy. They are advanced sanctum-style 'links' that will allow entire armies passage from Corvus to any of the three gates in an instant. Once the gates are activated, there's no stopping them until whatever they send through is defeated. If last night is any indication ... Ursian regulars won't stand a chance."

Workforce Delivery

The doors Anna had left through slowly opened again and a line of ten men marched in like a pack of defeated soldiers. Anna didn't appear again until she'd herded in the last man and then shut the doors behind her. "Just stay put for a few minutes. I'm going to finish my breakfast and then get you each assigned based on what needs doing the most right now," she instructed.

Friend Delivery

"Who is it?" came a voice from the other side of the door. The source clearly wasn't close to the door at the moment since the reply had barely made it through. On the other side of the door, Joanna was beginning to stand up from what could have been prayer or meditation. Her hair and wings were presentable now as well.

[-Cynthia-]

Dining Hall

Veronika sat at attention once Weyland - and Steinn apparently - made an announcement. She decided to chime in after a pause. "With all due respect, if Ursium regulars won't stand a chance then maybe you should convince them to send their elite soldiers. We aren't equipped to stop an entire invasion and we have other concerns to deal with." I don't really like the idea of becoming Steinn's personal army- especially when we are already more than busy enough with the Organization.

[Mercakete]

As she listened, Gytha frowned. This certainly seemed dismal. Still, she felt relieved that the sea sounded like it was still safe -- from this massive invasion, anyway. She doubted it would stay that way, though, if the Fallen managed to take over possibly even one of the countries.

Weyland's opening statement wasn't what Bert had been hoping nor expecting to hear. To be honest, he didn't think that was the beginning, but rather the end of the Ursian-Fallen conflict, at least for a good while. What he'd been hoping to hear was a general report on who all was dead, injured and hale, or at least the numbers. His next sentence was a little confusing -- the rider had no idea what a "siege gate" was -- and quite foreboding. The foreboding, however, only translated into a burning anger. What?! So now they're going to send even more?! Grrr-- Ursium's going to be devastated! This was confirmed by Steinn himself: the object of blame, as far as Norbert was concerned. The prince went on to explain what the siege gates were. There's no way they can handle that and Neviskotia...

Veronika suggested they tell the Ursians to send in their elites to handle the situation. As much as he'd intended on keeping out of actual discussion, Norbert couldn't keep himself from blurting out, "Are you stupid?! We're already at war!" That was about when his mind caught up with his mouth. Well, at that point, there wasn't really any going back. Might as well finish this. Stepping forward, he continued, "The Ursian military should be told about this -- I agree on that. But they'll decide where to move who. If you ask me, we should just destroy these gate things before they can send anything through. If I'm understanding what's being said, anyway, there's a gate somewhere in Ursium we or the military can smash. Then the nobles can make themselves useful for a change and keep a more careful eye out for anything else that's not supposed to be on their lands so we can prevent this from happening again."

[Nanami Touko]

Eva whistled, low, and kept to herself. A few people had voiced concerns, but to be quite honest, she didn't have much of a clue as to what was going on. Someone named Valdimarr? Opening gates to invade all the countries? It all seemed a bit grand to her, which was why she didn't have much to say against it. I hadn't even heard of this Valdy until Weyland-- yeah that other guy said he was Weyland, so I guess he is --said he was doing this. I wonder what I've actually roped myself into? It was treacherous, to be sure, but a faint smile was beginning to creep onto her face. "The regulars won't stand a chance, huh?" she said, low enough to be heard at the table, but hopefully nowhere else. "Guess that'll give us something to do."

[Eail]

Zach paused for a moment before speaking up with his own, admittedly rather far fetched idea "Do you think having allies with the Dragons of Neviskotia could tip the odds in our favor? Aside from... one, particular Shadow Dragon..." He spat with disgust "I've had very positive interactions with Dragons, I suspect if it comes down to all out war, they'd side with humans in the end, especially if Neviskotia ends up involved."

[ReformBlade]

"Dark magic?" She mumbled, finding it difficult to keep her eyes open. The mere mention of the study made her feel weird. It was a practice she was always somewhat afraid of for its potential, but right now she was thinking it could be a key in helping her cope, maybe even overcome her problem as a whole. She'd heard of its capabilities before, but until now she hadn't really given them any real thought. Now I really want to read it... "Dark magic..." she repeated, a bit clearer and more pronounced than before. "Do you... think it could help me...?" She said, tearing up but not entirely aware of it per se. reflexively, her hand went to her arm, feeling the stump, noting that it was still a little sore.

At the mention of what sounded like a fullscale invasion, Aneda's demeanor shifted from feeling aloof and scared to just feeling afraid for her life in general. She wasn't quite understanding the transition herself, but she was definitely upset by the news. Perhaps hearing that her homeland had no chance, or that her family, however much she disliked them or had any spats with them, would be eradicated set something off in her, or perhaps it was the mere fact that no matter what she had done up until now it hadn't made her any stronger or better as a person, not when it really mattered. She could boast, feel confident, play around, act promiscuous, get drunk, none of those really saved anyone around her. So it goes without saying that she was feeling really down in the dumps now, and her mind went towards a rather dark place for her, staring at Weyland, hoping there would be something to help her out, help her cope, make her feel like she wasn't just a nameless soldier at the end of the day.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

Gar listened in, like so many others, to the explanations offered by Weyland and that Fallen guy. Doom and gloom, same old, same old. "As much as I don't care about the nations getting devastated; I'm going to assume there's some reason why smashing these gates or just turning them into gigantic kill-zones wasn't part of the introduction to them. So what is it?" Gar figured he already knew the answer though.

[Phoenix]

Dark Ray of Hope

"Hmm," Shadrak put his hand on his chin. He knew some things about organic arcana, but had never heard of entire limbs being replaced; that was an order taller than most of Ursentius' highrises. Still, the matter was definitely worth looking into. Anything that would give her some hope and something to look forward to was, really. "It won't be easy to pull off," Shadrak warned, giving her a serious look, "but there's no doubt in my mind that if we put enough energy into it, dark magic can help you, both in the short and long term." Best to keep it vague until he had a better idea of this arm replacement thing, no?

Golden Ray of Hope

Steinn shook his head at Zachary's question. "Neviskotia has little choice but to get 'involved' ... but from what I know of Corvian 'unit assessment', one able dragon is worth 'twelve regulars', 'three marshals', or some combination of the two. The dragon population in Neviskotia is less than a thousand and only a few hundred are trained for war. Once the gate in Neviskotia is activated, each individual dragon in the field will purchase its allies a few extra minutes and inflict its own weight in casualties before dying. That's all, but that's not really enough."

Addressing Veronika next, he answered, "I'm not asking you to do this alone, nor am I asking you to destroy the gate in Ursium. That task falls to Weyland and myself." Steinn crossed his arms and sighed. He leveled his gaze on her. "You and Raquel are going to Neviskotia sometime soon, is that right? The siege gate in that region is the one I would ask you to focus on. Wouldn't it be better to face down the threat before it increases its number ten thousandfold? I'm not asking that you deal with this problem alone ... if you can convince others to join you in destroying the gate, by all means. I would do it myself, but unlike my brother, I can't be in multiple places at once, and if I must choose a country to focus on saving from this invasion, it will be Ursium. Now, unless we find a third group to destroy the siege gate in Kigen, their only hope will be in heeding Weyland's warning, locating, and destroying it before it's activation. I plan on sending them 'likely' locations for the siege gate, but I have a feeling it won't do them much good if Weyland isn't taken seriously from the start. There isn't enough time for building trust."

"As for what we're getting at," Weyland chimed in in response to Gar, "Valdimarr's ability to duplicate himself is the work of a piece of the Fire Emblem. I wager if we can get that away from him somehow, we can finish this without throwing away too many lives. After that, well ..." Steinn could probably wrap this pitch up, Weyland decided.

"Two problems, a single solution for both. Support us in this, and you can have the emblem piece, Raquel ... I'll even have it sent it to you if you aren't already at the scene. Use it to defeat your enemies," he shrugged. "As a future Sovereign, I've already decided that I don't want my reign shaped entirely by this overwhelming power," Steinn bitterly noted. "I have a feeling that my brother will never be truly whole again now that he has tasted invulnerability, and I don't wish to suffer the same fate by possessing one of those ... artifacts."

[-Cynthia-]

Twelve regulars for one dragon is...lower than expected. "I would be willing to do this, but it will take us several months to get to Neviskotia. Without any proof of our claims or a location for this siege gate, I think like we will have difficulty finding any support in this," Veronika said dubiously.

[Snowy_One]

"If we need Neviskotia to aid us, my father used to be a soldier within its ranks. I am sure I can convince him to help us out. Even if not, he probably still has friends and connections that might be useful that I may be able to access." offered Robin, raising her hand up to try and ensure that people would listen. "I do not know if that would be of use, especially if we can get a few nobles on our side, but there is the chance of it serving to aid. Either way, I am sworn to protect Raquel, and if she goes to Neviskotia, so will I."

---

"Dumb question, but I am curious. Why are these gates so hard to destroy? I mean, even if they allow instantaneous transport, can't we just put a gigantic rock over our end? That way any who try to use the gate will end up warping right into solid stone, ending the fight before it even begins." asked Tia, a bit curious and wanting to know more about the gates.

[Eail]

Zachary took what Steinn said to heart... but he didn't discard the idea. Muttering under his breath the mage reached into his bag and pulled out a small journal and the pencil that was in the cover. Flipping it open and finding a blank page his mind was already racing, writing down calculations and potential plans, this was far too important to give up on so easily. There was an incredibly determind look in his eyes as he turned to another page and continued writing. "Don't discount it Veronika. I've got an idea... but I'm going to need your help for it." He replied.

"Help..." Zach muttered after a moment, his pencil slowly to a halt. Head snapping to the pink haired girl that was technically in charge. "Raquel.... do you still have that object Kit left? She said... she said if we needed her she'd be nearby."

Edited February 3, 2014 by Eail

[Mercakete]

When Zach asked if having the dragons help would be a good idea, Norbert's initial thought was a resounding "no." First off, trusting dragons is a bad idea in general. More importantly, Norbert already knew that the Fallen -- in numbers alone -- had an advantage that they couldn't hope to counter. Steinn's answer was a lot more informative, however. It'd been hinted at earlier, but now it was undeniably confirmed: there was a gate in Neviskotia, too. Part of Norbert wanted that gate to remain intact, at least for a little while. He didn't particularly care for faceless Neviskotians, especially ones in their military and he certainly didn't mind the thought of hundreds of dragons being slain without Ursian dragonslayers having to lift a finger. If the Fallen weren't so numerous and so intent on destroying all of human society, then it would just be a matter of people who wanted to kill them killing people who wanted to kill them. Still, the Fallen were the bigger threat. It was just plain safer to spare their enemies, strange as that by its self sounded.

When Steinn said that he wasn't asking them to destroy the Ursian gate, at first Norbert wondered just how sturdy it must be. Then, however, he clarified that he and Weyland would be taking care of that one. He felt a bit more at-ease then. It also more or less felt right for Veronika to be heading up the attempt to deal with the Neviskotian gate. She obviously had connections there she could use, after all, and that group was headed there anyway. When the prince mentioned being in multiple places at once, though, Norbert frowned in confusion. Wait, what? The topic moved on, though. As much as he resented the black-winged Fallen, though, he was glad to hear he was going to help protect Ursium.

When Steinn started talking about Kigen, though, Norbert couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the people of that country. They'd been fighting the Fallen for as far back in history as Norbert could recall and now there was a gate in their country, too? They were just set up for a grand-scale pincer maneuver. Besides that, Steinn mentioned Weyland sending them a warning and he, himself, sending them possible locations. They're just going to ignore them, I bet. Don't think they're likely to listen to anything one of the Fallen has to say and though we're on peaceful terms with them, they don't really like us much.

Weyland spoke up next on a topic Norbert was immediately drawn into. Apparently Steinn's brother had a piece of the Fire Emblem and could duplicate himself. So that's what he meant! If Valdimarr was as powerful as he seemed to be, that was a somewhat frightening thought. And, from the sound of things, someone was going to have to try to take it from him. The pegasus rider frowned in sympathy. I feel sorry for the poor saps sent to do that. He was a bit alarmed when it began to sound like those "poor saps" being proposed were Raquel's people. He calmed down again, though, as he realized that that wasn't really the case and it was more having to do with their help in Neviskotia.

Raquel would be getting that piece, it seemed, if they managed to take it from Valdimarr. Steinn sounded like he didn't want anything to do with it, which Norbert was perfectly fine with. He still bore ill-will against the prince and the less advantages he had, then better. Still, the odds of anyone actually getting that thing from him's slim to none... Maybe Weyland has something up his sleeve, though.

The discussion turned to finding support in Neviskotia, it seemed, and so Norbert went back to walking through the dining hall towards the exit. He did hear Tia's comment, though, and couldn't help but smile at her idea. If it was that simple, it probably had been thought of already, but the entire Fallen army accidentally wiping its self out was a nice -- humorous, even -- thought. He was nearly clear of the dining hall when Zach began "planning." Norbert rolled his eyes as he exited. That guy puts his trust in all the wrong places... Oh well. So long as he doesn't bring anyone else to the Gate with him, no skin off my back if he gets himself killed.

Gytha, meanwhile, was more or less just listening as information and plans were being tossed around. This sounded like an inland affair, so she didn't think she could offer any help aside from her fighting ability. All this about there being multiple of someone and gates for warping and all that was weird, but then again, a lot about land-folk was weird.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

That wasn't exactly an answer to his question, but whatever. Though Vradamir's duplication thing was new. Guess that was one way to avoid being slaughtered. "Trawl through anyone who might be helpful then huh?" Gar frowned at the idea. "I have some favors and threats I could call in but ehhhh..." he scratched the back of his head in frustration at the scenario in front of them. "Even if you somehow get every single little village out searching a decent perimeter that's a lot of ground to cover." Gar sighed and leaned back in his chair, balancing it on its back legs and using his arms to brace his head. "You said 'likely' locations right? What do you think the conditions for each gate would be? Seclusion? Close access to a populace? Unassailable?" Gar chuckled a bit at that. "Ha, what size are these gates anyway? Must be pretty big to bring out ten thousand troops in no time."

[Snike]

OOC: This is a bit before Weyland made it into the hall.

Aaand Blake had made it out without much ruckus. Excellent. Now, then, time to head to the inner city and try to accomplish something today. First, he'd try to track down Reign and Nadine, then, the privates. After that, he reasoned he'd try to help where he could.

***

"...Whereabouts, geographically, do you expect the Ursian and Neviskotian gates to be established? It might help our efforts if we knew around where to look," Axel said, speaking up for the first time that morning. From his words, he seemed to be taking the threat seriously, but beyond that, it was hard to say what the armored man was thinking.

Edited February 4, 2014 by Snike

[Toogee]

Jam listened as things became more complicated than protecting a mansion or even a city. The entire continent was about to be invaded by the bird people and demons. With the numbers Weyland was talking about, this could very well end the normal way of life across all countries. There seemed to be a plan in place, but it involved going into another hostile country and convince their leaders of this story. The dancer suspected Greta wouldn't go along with that, and she wouldn't blame her. As soon as dragon allies were mentioned, Jam was out. She had seen enough of them during her lifetime; she wasn't about to do them any favors.

Jam was far more concerned about the gate in Kigen, a country near hers. She identified more with the desert, so having such an invasion hit close to home put things in perspective. There wouldn't be any running from this...

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

Eli would have been content just staying in the city and going about his business as a regular nobody. The day he took that job to find Raquel was apparently the day he gave up that life. As the details came out about how dire the situation was, he began to realize that, in order to go back to the way things were, he had to fight for it. If that meant going into the heart of Neviskotia, so be it.

[Phoenix]

Find the Gates Win a Prize

Valdimarr's emblem piece ... even if we don't get the one at the cathedral, we might still be able to take his for Lady Aisha, Amon realized, beginning to wonder if that was their ticket out of this mess. Since last night, he couldn't think of a good way to resolve the archives potentially only having one emblem piece, but this might be it ... and now Haythem was giving him a knowing/concerned look. So was Malik.

"Well, you could always make the pitch after Valdimarr attacks them and hope for the best," Weyland shrugged at Veronika. If getting an army dropped on their heads was what it took to convince them, it was probably inevitable. "Which reminds me ... was the attack in Europa a test for the north in general, or just Ursium?" The answer to that question was the difference between a repeat of Europa somewhere in Neviskotia, and business as usual in that country until a sudden all out attack occurred. Unfortunately, Steinn wasn't certain, so he neglected to answer for now.

"You won't find a rock 'gigantic' enough, even if you do survive the defenders' relentless assault. Keep in mind, these are not going to be lone structures, at least not for very long. Corvian forces will construct fortifications around them for additional protection if they can. The siege gates themselves are enormous structures but also simple ones. They are not restricted by orientation, which means they can be built out of plain sight. Your wording is oddly appropriate by the way," Steinn paused, noting Gar's latest question. "The way I see it, the gate in Kigen is likely in 'seclusion' for its own protection. The one in Ursium is probably being built out of sight relatively 'close to a populace'; that would allow them to quickly get a foothold in Ursium, capture a lot of resources immediately, and replenish their forces faster in order to withstand any counterattack. The one in Neviskotia would likely be 'unassailable' by a large force, somewhere in the mountains; it's the siege gate furthest from Corvus so it must be the most carefully guarded ... otherwise its destruction will turn Neviskotia into a natural stronghold. At least, that's how I would have distributed them. If they do it any differently then the results could be better or worse. It all depends on what the differences are and what for," he explained for Gar, Tia, and Axel. "If you'd like, I'd be more than willing to show you potential regions on a map."

When Zachary asked her about Kit's trinket, she sighed, remembering that she'd inadvertently started up a small collection with these things. There was Fira's, Lilith's, and most recently, Kit's. "Yeah, I do ... it's probably in the Dauntless, though. I don't keep any of those on me most of the time." She then scowled at Steinn, figuring it was about time to do so. "'If you do what I tell you to do, I'll give you this emblem piece.', is that what you're trying to say?" Raquel asked, sounding insulted. Why do people always do this? 'Just drop whatever you're doing and fight for MY cause!' It's so frustrating. It would be nice if we could replace the one I lost, but it's going to take weeks to track down and take this Valdimarr guy's emblem piece, all the while Sardis and the others are keeping my father and probably replenishing THEIR numbers. Do I have enough energy to last that long, or will Hypnos run out of time by then?

I find it a little funny that I've probably been in direct contact with that particular emblem piece before, heheheh. It's sure getting around, just like the previous one, Hypnos chimed in inside her thoughts.

"I'm not certain what else would motivate you ... if not saving countless lives," Stein shrugged at her. "Do you want it or don't you? I can find someone else to bestow it on," he asked, sounding even more indifferent now. "While I'm personally not willing to take possession of one due to my position, there are other suitable candidates within my own circle," he glanced briefly at Annelise.

"Can I have it?" Gabbie asked. "I'll share with Hypnos, don't worry," she quickly assured Raquel, fanning her hands at her in a gesture. "Just wondering~" She didn't get a real answer from her at first, but neither did Steinn. Raquel was just looking exhausted and extremely agitated for the moment, admittedly to the lancer's amusement.

Amon winced, having no idea whether Gabbie was being serious or if Steinn wouldn't be willing to give it to him instead. After all, Raquel was probably going to come into possession of another emblem piece within a few hours if all went well at the Grand Cathedral. She didn't need two of them, did she?