Return of the Emblem Chapter Twelve: Divergent Paths

[ReformBlade]

Grimacing and curling herself up at the mention of the idea not being easy, "I figured as much..." Nothing good in life comes easy. she thought. She motioned for Shadrak to hand the journal over, but all that happened was what was left of her arm wiggling in an unfortunately goofy way, one that took her way too long to catch onto and made her sigh in exasperation. No, I'm not going to cry. I'm sick of crying, I'm not going to do it... not right now... please.

More talk of plans happened around Aneda, all she could do was look around and hope there was an answer. She heard mention of gates being in three different places, one in her homeland, one in neviskotia, and one over in Kigen. Two of those were actively going to be taken care of, which left the third one open. I could go there... But by myself I'd probably accomplish nothing. Not like I'm doing anything amazing with anyone here either though... Oh god, what am I thinking, I'm... She froze up, unable to parse even her own thoughts together.

[-Cynthia-]

"I don't think there have been Fallen sighted in Neviskotia...pretty much ever as far as I recall. It will be difficult to convince anyone that they are suddenly a significant threat, especially given our other problems," Veronika explained. Part of me doubts that Valdimarr would attack Neviskotia myself- attacking Ursium because Steinn was here makes sense, but spreading your forces too thinly is never a sound strategy.

[scorri]

Hoshi

... Kigen... Gulping nervously, Hoshi quietly spoke out, "Uhm... Sir, I... have connections in Kigen. They aren't the best you could find but... My family is fairly well known in the capital. If we were trying to convince people of this threat... I could possibly provide a foot in the door. Just..." Her voice dropped to a whisper, "Just as long as it does not require me to speak to my father... There are others in my family who could help but him I will not speak to unless absolutely necessary."

Erion

Hmmph, Fallen invading Neviskotia. I doubt it but... He gave a mental shrug. If he was heading that way with Raquel any ways, no harm in making sure his homeland was safe. It'd take a lot of convincing to get him to go to Kigen. He'd spent enough time there already.

[Nanami Touko]

Hearing more of what was happening, Eva decided it was time to voice herself, even if it didn't help too much. Standing up, she let everyone know what was going on, "I'll go to Neviskotia. My parents, my mother specifically, she raises wyverns. They're well trained, and if you're looking for a gate in the mountains, it'd be a pretty easy way to get some scouts looking without needing to bother the military. My parents'll believe me, I can promise you that. Well... Alright, they might not believe me, but they wouldn't say no to people wanting to take the wyverns out flying. That's all I can offer you, other than my own sword arm. Sorry." She sat back down and crossed her arms. Guess I can't exactly promise they'll be on board, but they wouldn't have a reason to say no. As long as we didn't hurt them, it'd all be fine.

[Ether]

It seemed that this was what Lord Steinn had wanted her to observe... these human deliberations with regards to what would be done about Valdimarr's forces... a decent chunk of whom she might have considered friends in the past... though such things didn't matter at this juncture. She had noticed Steinn's gaze move to her when mention of whom would receive Valdimarr's emblem... suddenly there was a good deal of pressure on the Kestrelli warrior. Well, there would have been, had Gabbie not chimed in. whether it had been intended as a joke or not, with how well in she was with Lord Steinn, the idea didn't feel very far off from reality.

Still, there was no need for her input at this point. Annelise opted to simply continue to observe, as she had been instructed.

***

Well, it seemed the light breakfast has been eschewed in favour of a much more serious subject... no time to sulk at this point, Faatina noted, as she listened.

***

Damn... now that was a revelation... just how deep into this shit had boss gotten? Arietta supposed she'd never know the exact answer.

[Eail]

Giving a nod towards his boss, Zachary scribbled a few more notes in his journal, this information was good, already new ideas were pouring in. "We're going to need to use that soon. I realize that practically none of you trust Kit, but with what's going to happen there's no reason to not call on all of our potential allies." Flipping yet another page of his book "Give the shard of the Emblem to Veronika, that's my suggestion, not like it really matters but.... I'd say if anyone is going to have it out of the group it'd be her, or maybe ask Veronika and Raquel who they think it should go."

_____

Alphonse could feel his leg shaking as everything was brought to light, this was overwhelming.... Out of the corner of his eye he saw Jamilla coming in, getting up he moved over to the dancer. Speaking quietly so only the two of them could hear what was said. "Jam... What are you going to do in relation to all this. I'm not gonna keep you locked up like a bird in a cage but... I still want to protect you, are we gonna go along with this stuff or just try to slip away with Greta?"

[Phoenix]

Mushirah's Room

Shadrak leaned closer and placed his notebook on Mushirah's lap. He tried to smile at her, but it came out weaker than he would have liked. "I hope I'm not forgeting about anything embarrassing in there, heheh," he tried to pull more attention toward himself, hoping that would help her to cope in some way, all the while trying to actually remember if there was anything overly embarrassing in his notes.

Dining Hall

"Hmm, the mountains? That's a hell of a lot of area to cover," Gabbie noted with a grimace, seemingly back to her more serious self. At least they had some volunteers in the form of Eva and any wyvern riders she could get, but Gabbie was expecting some intense violence if anyone actually flew up there and found the siege gate, whether or not they were actually prepared for it. That thought had her tempted to ask the wyvern rider if her 'scouts' could hold their own in a fight, but what was clawing at her attention now was Zachary, who was taking notes from the looks of things. "Where'd that stuff come from? That's usually Shadrak's thing, spawning random crap ..." she mused aloud. "I asked first by the way," she added, scowling half seriously at the scribbler when he mentioned giving the emblem to Veronika or letting their leaders in general decide.

Weyland nodded at Hoshi. "If you believe you can handle it, I'll see if I can't find you an escort." Weyland figured his wording implied one tough mercenary or Weyland Employee but he actually meant something closer to a squadron. It wasn't something he was willing to leave to chance with the stakes being what they were. "

"Find a way," Steinn gently urged Veronika before glancing back at Raquel, "unless you people have more urgent business over there ...?"

That was the last straw, Raquel decided, standing from her chair in a huff. "First Wrath and now this! When is someone going to help us with our problems instead of distracting us?! I get it ..." she lowered her voice, "this 'invasion' is too big to ignore ... I just wish Sardis and the others weren't just getting a free pass to do whatever they want while we focus on the Fallen."

"You have plenty of help as it stands and more to come, no doubt, but I was under the impression that an emblem piece would be invaluable in your personal mission. I apologize if that's no longer the case, but I don't feel that joining your group myself, or adding kestrelii warriors or demons to it will help matters. If anything, it will only complicate them," Steinn replied. "I'm offering you what was of great importance to you at one point, training you on the siege gate closest to your own objective, and giving you leave to deal with the gate however you see fit. If you still feel like you're getting a 'raw deal', then I'll retract the offer. You'll still be facing them at some point, especially if you bring that one along with you," he pointed at the vasilus/kestrelii infant the woman at the table was cradling, "but the emblem piece will remain Corvian property."

There wasn't much time left before Steinn's subtle rant changed Raquel's mind or Veronika accepted Zachary's idea; Amon made his decision. As he slowly rose from his seat, he kept his gaze down at the table, images of battle racing through his mind. "We'll do it. If you need a dedicated group to take out one of the siege gates, then my team and I will do it in exchange for Valdimarr's emblem piece. You have to agree to hand it over to us when he dies." With that said and off his chest, he lifted up his head to face Steinn. He was visibly furious with himself for having to do this and for taking so long to reach the decision in the first place, but what was done was done. He had no intention of making eye contact with Raquel or the others again, not during this meeting at least, and he made sure to avoid doing so. <Lady Aisha ... please let me know that I'm doing the right thing here. We're volunteering to go to war for an emblem piece, to kill dozens, possibly hundreds just for a trinket.>

Steinn cocked his head at the young rexian. "Just who do you represent, here? It's not Raquel and her companions, that much is clear."

[spoiler=Rendezvous]It was a long wait, and having only seen some of the teams' members return was demoralizing for the Fallen warriors that escaped the battle. Somehow, Loki managed to hold on until they arrived, but he'd lost a lot of blood, and with all of their healers dead, they could only attempt to stop the bleeding and hope he pulled through in the end. Norn never left his side and neither did Gunnar, but Helga approached Sigrid with the same cold, demanding expression and stature she always did.

<"Where is Lord Valdimarr? You were in his strike team, were you not?">

Sigrid wondered on how to relay this news in a diplomatic manner- reporting the death of an emperor was never something she had done before. Under pressure, she decided to go with a simple route.

<"Lord Valdimarr is dead. I see little point in remaining in this country much longer,"> she responded to Helga curtly.

Meanwhile, Skari walked over to where some of the other Fallen seemed gathered around a gravely wounded figure. He cocked his head to the side as he looked at Loki. <"He's about to die,"> Skari noted objectively. <"Would you like me to possibly prevent that?"> his voice calm and casual.

Runa was surprised by Skari's news but even more surprised was Norn, who managed to speak up before either Runa or Gunnar. <"Yes! Save him,"> she demanded, still trying to help another fallen keep pressure on Loki's wounds.

Helga's eyes widened in complete and utter shock at Sigrid's news. Had Steinn truly been the one after all? <"What do you mean 'dead'? He can't be, not now ..."> Helga began shifting in place uncomfortably as those nearby began reacting to the news. When she realized some of them were becoming desperate, she turned to face them and shouted, <"If any of you dares to run to Steinn begging for forgiveness I'll strike you down before you even get off the ground!"> That should keep order for now, but in a situation like this, they did have the right idea.

<"By dead, I mean dead,"> Sigrid said, only being aware of one kind of being dead really. Helga's plans seemed to be unraveling before her, but Sigrid could take no pleasure from it as she was similarly affected by this news. <So am I to swear allegiance towards Steinn, beg for forgiveness? Try to kill him despite that being treason at this point? Leave Corvus forever and live in the wilds? All of these options were...undesirable.>

<"Are you sure you saw him die?"> Helga asked again, phrasing it a bit differently this time around. Surely Sigrid must have just turned tail after a minor impaling or something.

<"He was quite clearly dead before I left,"> Sigrid clarified, beginning to find Helga's lack of understanding of the concept of dead rather irritating.

<"I had some healing medicine prepared for any of my demons who survived- unfortunately the humans killed them all. Humans can be quite the savages sometimes. This medicine should work for kestrelli as well as demons, flesh is flesh after all. I could probably even make your friend better than before, but I don't have those materials here with me right now..."> Skari said as his hands opened up a pouch, squeezing a thick paste onto Loki's wounds.

Now, Loki was being treated with Skari's medicine it seemed, a thick pasty substance. He flinched when it made contact, but there was no telling if that was the medicine or just the pain of his wounds in general. Loki himself had grown quite pale since they brought him there, but Norn was hopeful that he would survive. She was going to become extremely difficult to manage if he didn't, and Runa kept her distance knowing that.

While Loki was being treated, Ragna and Fury touched down a short ways from the group, having flown all the way from the city under the cover of night. <"Valdimarr hasn't returned yet?"> Ragna asked, not spotting him anywhere in the crowd.

<"Hmm ..."> Fury rubbed his chin.

Skari finished applying the medicine to Loki's wounds. <"That should keep him alive for the time being, provided he avoids any more physical trauma for the next few days,"> After relaying this information, his attention was drawn to the arrival of the architects. His eyes grew wide as he got up and approached them, the injured kestrelli forgotten.

<"Architect Fury? Architect Fervor? I-I am...honored to meet you both, your work is an inspiration to me,"> Skari said, fumbling over his words. Sigrid looked over and sighed mentally, figuring that Skari would embarrass himself quickly if not stopped.

Figuring she wouldn't be able to fully accept what had happened without an explanation, she asked for one; the architects didn't interest her right now, not in the face of such terrible news. <"Exactly what happened? How did he fall to Steinn so easily?">

<"Steinn shot Lord Valdimarr in the eye with one of those human weapons that fire metal balls, then he turned him to stone, then blasted him with dark magic until Lord Valdimarr's heart was destroyed. There was no chance of survival,"> Sigrid reported flatly.

Fury looked past the conversation he was in to the one between Sigrid and Helga. From the sound of things, Valdimarr lost the fight, but given how they parted ways, he doubted their sovereign was truly dead, but not for the same reasons as Helga. He just knew that Valdimarr had quite a trick up his sleeve. The trick, even.

<"Hello,"> Ragna cordially greeted the fellow architect. Being among the most powerful and prominent architects, they had far fewer rivals than fans, something Fury was suddenly reminded of. <"If my work inspires you, just wait until you see the three vanguards I've created~">

<"Ohh yes, it would be fascinating to observe whatever you have created. I am but a humble architect myself, merely a dabbler in the art. Sometimes I experiment with creating new demons or self enhancements, but obviously everything I have done only pales in comparison to your accomplishments,"> Skari said, adding a slight bow of reverence at the end.

<"Flattery will get you anywhere,"> Ragna teased as she came a bit closer to Skari.

Fury stayed where he was, trying to sense if Valdimarr was nearby or if he was still off fighting somewhere. So far, nothing.

After Sigrid's explanation, Helga had to admit that made more sense, though how Steinn maneuvered to reach such a position was remained unclear. Still, Helga had heard enough, and she didn't want to hear any more than she already had about the demise of their sovereign. <"I see. At some point we'll need to inform Empress Urd of this, but for now, we should recuperate for a time, and then head northwest to catch up to them,"> she suggested.

<"I agree with that course of action. Siv lives by the way and appeared to be healthy,"> Sigrid offered the additional information as a courtesy, though she noted that Helga had not asked for it.

<"So I take it you're the one who created those new demons, the big and fluffy ones,"> Ragna asked Skari. That drew Runa's attention, since she had gotten to see a few of them in action herself. It was a shame they were destroyed, but the designs were certainly viable.

Skari blushed and sweated a little as Ragna came closer. <"Ah yes, the bears were my most recent experiment- they did seem to maul the humans somewhat effectively, though I will need to some modifications to them in the future particularly in the spines... I am glad that they managed to capture the attention of someone so skilled.">

<"Oh, I may have some suggestions regarding those spines ... assuming you want to protect them more thoroughly,"> Ragna said, sounding like she had just the thing for Skari's monstrosities.

<"Oh of course I would, any advice you have would be extremely appreciated,"> Skari said to Ragna eagerly.

<"There was no established 'second in command' ... best we wait until Lord Valdimarr returns before making any real decisions,"> Fury interjected. Helga wasn't sure whether to inform Fury herself, or let Sigrid do it like before.

<"Lord Valdimarr is dead, so I will act as I see fit,"> Sigrid said to Fury snappily. She wasn't about to take orders from Helga or some architect.

<"Do what you will then, and let any consequences be on your head alone,"> Fury retorted. <"I'm rather surprised no one's gone back to try and butter up the prince. Are they scared of his human pets or something?">

<"I'll strike down anyone who tries. We're not doing anything just yet,"> Helga explained authoritatively.

<"It would be a shame to have to kill those we trusted to come along on this mission, but I suppose a mutiny is a mutiny, but keep them alive if they flee, would you? There's no need to waste their bodies. Instead, they can be used for spare parts,"> Fury nodded. He was dead serious in his request but was also hoping the thought of being used as an architect's 'spare parts' would snap them out of their desperation a little too.

<"The humans do not intimidate me, but there is little reason to return to the estate at this point,>" Sigrid reasoned. Steinn will be more willing to listen to reason once he's back in Corvus, not right after killing his brother. <No need for Helga and Architect Fury to know that though- if they plan to support Steinn's rule they are keeping that to themselves.>

<"Well, that's good to know, but don't underestimate them, either. Lord Valdimarr should have destroyed Steinn easily, but it seems he has failed to do so simply because a few dozen humans were involved ... and though I do not believe he is dead, I do believe he is frustrated with the outcome.">

Meanwhile, Ragna shared some advice by relaying a little about another project of hers. <"There's a way to arrange the material in a demon's back to give it a fair amount more resistance to piercing attacks. It's very useful for keeping an arrow or even a bullet from severing the spine at certain angles without adding any extra material or sacrificing flexibility.">

<"Ah, I would very much appreciate a demonstration if and when you have the time Architect Fervor. Anything I can do to improve my creations is extremely valuable. I really do hope we get into more conflicts like this in the future- there's a lot of valuable information to be gathered from observing how these humans who are unfamiliar with demons attempt to deal with them.">

<"What makes you think he's still alive?"> Helga cocked an eyebrow at Fury, though she suspected he was simply overestimating Valdimarr as she had. About the same time she asked that question, a small puff of air hit her, though it felt more like a soft breeze on contact. Someone had just warped in very close to her.

<"Because our Sovereign is no fool, Finnian,"> Fury explained as he glanced at the subject of their exchange.

<"Urrrgh, I don't care what you people are talking about; it can wait. Help Siv. I didn't think she was in any danger since Steinn's been holding her captive, but they tried to take her out just to keep me from getting away with her ... that or they really wanted to protect that hatchling. Doesn't matter, I'll get her later. For now, just help Siv,"> Valdimarr instructed, fitting in a bit of a rant in the middle.

<"Y-you're alive,"> Helga said in utter surprise.

Just before Valdimarr returned, Ragna said, <"Sure, why not. I'll be needing to make plenty of adjustments to our regulars while we're out here anyway, and that will be the perfect time to do it~"> When Valdimarr finally did appear, with the injured Finnian in his arms, Ragna smirked. He hadn't made the mistake of giving Steinn the opportunity to kill him, which meant things could move forward smoothly, and having tested their demons against the Ursians, she had a good idea of what kind of improvements needed to be made to the forces that would be guarding the siege gate in this region. Everything save for Steinn's death was going according to plan and she personally didn't care if Steinn lived for now since he alone wouldn't be able to do anything about the siege gate in this region, and if he moved forward thinking he could, he would run into a nasty little surprise up there.

<"Y-you're alive? How? I saw you die, there's no way you could have survived all that,"> Sigrid stuttered.<If my own senses are deceiving me, I have no idea on what I can rely on...and now I look like a fool or a betrayer to everyone else.>

<"Lord Valdimarr looks to be in quite good condition for being dead,"> Skari remarked, cocking his head. He considered going over to help Siv, but there was quite a crowd forming around the Emperor at the moment.

<Oh ... right, Sigrid must have told them about what happened to the first one I sent ...> <"Hahahah,"> Valdimarr laughed as he placed Siv on her feet and approached Sigrid. Once he was within arm's reach, he placed his hand on top of her head. <"Have a little faith in me, would you? Heheheh-">

<"How did you survive?"> Helga asked, suspicion evident in her voice.

Fury would be the one to answer that question. <"Most were not informed ... to prevent Steinn from learning of his abilities too soon. Lord Valdimarr can now summon up dopplegangers and uses them to strike in multiple places at once. With this new ability, our victory is all but assured. Despite Steinn's best efforts, he was unable to defeat the true sovereign, and as a result, the extent of his capabilities are now known to us. It is only a matter of time, now.">

<"I'm pretty sure Steinn knows what we're capable of now, too,"> Runa pointed out.

<"Hmm, Siv, would you come here, please?"> Ragna called. Best to get that wound taken care of, before Valdimarr had to ask again or before Helga tried something.

Sigrid was about to apologize to Valdimarr before the explanation from Fury came which caused her to glare at the Emperor. <"May I remind you that I do not have the ability to create dopplegangers of myself? I would not have been so eager to risk my life for a duplicate- at the very least informing me of the situation would have been prudent."> <The fact that he trusts Architect Fury over me is distressing- I'll have to fix that and soon.>

<"I don't need guards, now. I need killers,"> Valdimarr smirked, raising a fist to just below the height of his chin. <"You people don't have to worry about me, anymore; just keep yourselves alive if you want to see the fruits of this campaign.">

<"Fair enough,"> Helga muttered. <The explanation is unbelievable ... but Sigrid seemed quite sincere ... and here is our sovereign standing right before us ...>

<"Ouch!"> Siv yelped as Ragna wiggled the arrow loose and removed it. Since she was about to be healed, there wasn't much point in being slow and gentle. Instead of waiting for help, Siv began to treat the wound herself. With the arrow gone, that wasn't nearly as difficult for her.

<"You might want to give Loki a touch as well,"> Ragna noted. <"The bleeding stopped, but those wounds have to go completely if he's going to be of any use later">

<"Killing and staying alive I can do, though I must wonder how you obtained the ability to create dopplegangers of yourself. That is a rare ability indeed, even among emperors,"> Sigrid decided to say aloud. <If he gives an evasive answer here, I will bring it up later- perhaps he does not want to reveal his secrets in front of Helga or the others.>

<"Obelisk gave it to him,"> Siv answered once her wound was closed. Apparently she'd heard about this already too, though in all likelihood, Valdimarr had simply explained it to her on the way to this very rendezvous. She wandered over to Norn and Loki afterward.

<"I think I'll go'head and point out that those 'dopplegangers' aren't fake, they just aren't the versions of me Steinn needs to be focusing on if he wants to win this fight. Don't treat them any differently from me, or I promise you, they'll make you regret it,"> the Sovereign warned.

<"Point taken,"> Ragna smiled. As far as she was concerned, the more Valdimarrs the better, she might even be able to claim one for herself if his abilities had the potential she suspected.

The fact that Siv knew the origin of Valdimarr's powers while she did not was extremely bothersome and Sigrid had to resist the urge to walk over and ram the arrow back into the little dove's shoulder. She found it unusual that Obelisk would bother to interfere directly in a sibling dispute, but it worked in her favor so she didn't give the matter too much thought.

<"With all due respect Lord Valdimarr, your dopplegangers should learn their place. There is only one Emperor in Corvus and that is you."> <And there is only one Empress as well...>

Valdimarr shrugged. <"Well, I gave you a fair warning ... and you're right, there is only one emperor, one ruler for Corvus, me ... but that same man has more than one vessel now. Don't forget that. If we're going to take this land for ourselves, you people have to be ready and willing to follow my orders, no matter which version of me they come from.">

<"It'd be treason otherwise, heheh,"> Runa chuckled nervously, agreeing to Valdimarr's terms.

<"As you command,"> Helga added, resigning herself to following whichever Valdimarr happened to be present in the future.

<"Very well, I will treat your dopplegangers the same as you,"> Sigrid agreed. <I certainly wouldn't want copies of me going around thinking they were real, but this is not my choice.>

<"Alright then, on to the next order of business,"> Valdimarr continued. <"Not to sound like Steinn, but I'm pretty sure the coward's going to try to put a dent in the plan by tracking down the siege group and taking them out before they finish building the gate for this region ... and if that fails, he'll just try to destroy it outright ....">

<"If he succeeded in such an endeavor,"> Fury interjected, <"it would severely limit our ability to operate here, and our efforts on other fronts would be compromised in the long term. The destruction of even one of the gates would tip the scales in their favor.">

<"It's not a perfect plan, but Steinn can't destroy the gate without help ... even that adorable traitor won't attack his own mother,"> Ragna noted. <"Matricide will be the end of any chance he had at replacing you.">

<"He had a chance, now?"> Valdimarr cocked his head at her, wondering if she was getting into politics, or the actual fighting.

<"Then should we not move towards the siege gate to defend it, if it is so important?"> Sigrid asked. Dictating what to do here would be inappropriate, but the strategy here seemed rather obvious.

<"Well Valor and mother have the gate situation handled; if you want to reinforce them, feel free, but I won't be taking command until the siege gates are completed. Right now I want to make sure Norn and Siv make it back to Corvus safely.">

<"Wait, you're giving us our choice of assignment?"> Runa asked, trying and failing to hide her excitement.

<"You answer to me, remember?!"> Norn angrily and loudly reminded her from afar, causing Runa's wings and shoulders to grow heavy and her tail to gently come to a rest on the ground. After Runa sighed, Norn went on to add, <"And what took you so long? We were trapped there for weeks!"> That sounded like it was for Valdimarr.

<"Tch, here's an idea, don't get captured,"> Valdimarr shrugged. It wasn't really an issue worth bothering with now that almost everything related to it was more or less fixed; Norn and her subordinates were all freed and alive, Siv was rescued, and Steinn had no more leverage at his disposal.

<"It was more prudent to gather our forces and prepare an attack rather than running immediately into a likely trap,"> Sigrid chimed in to support the emperor. <"Clan Tarren will be accompanying Lord Valdimarr back to Corvus,"> she declared. <I need to keep an eye on Siv...and Valdimarr.>

<"If I may, which 'version' of you is escorting the princess back to Corvus?"> Helga asked, her gaze narrowing at Valdimarr.

Valdimarr, in turn, cocked his head at her, gave a slightly lopsided smirk, saying, <"Does it matter? I don't think it does.">

<"Then of course, it doesn't,"> Ragna interjected, putting a little extra pressure on Helga to drop the issue. It wasn't convenient, not knowing which Valdimarr was which, but that was something that could benefit the sovereign personally when he would be commanding on multiple fronts. Even if she was kept out of the loop herself, Ragna could deal with that for his sake.

<"Any Lord Valdimarr is fine with me,"> Siv spoke up as she approached the conversation. She looked a little sad if not worried, but also had some hope in her eyes.

<Ugh, so I might end up traveling with an indistinguishable doppleganger that think it's real? A doppleganger would be a waste of my...charms. Helga seems to prefer traveling with the real one as well, but Siv is too stupid to care about the difference- that might come in useful later.>

<"Very well,"> Sigrid resigned herself, as Valdimarr seemed intent on keeping his secrets. <"My warriors are ready to move out at your command my Lord,"> she said to hint that they should get moving.

<"Alright then, no need to waste anymore time here; let's divide up the group and get moving,"> Valdimarr said, and as he did, his body began to glow with golden light and he split into two. Both Valdimarr's took a step away from each other and stood side by side with their arms crossed.

And here, Ragna figured he was going to make them play little game so he could make sure they didn't know which Valdimarr was which. This time, he just made it too difficult to tell initially. <Well played~>

Edited February 4, 2014 by Phoenix

[scorri]

Hoshi

"I... I can do it. I can continue working on projects on the road and... if I am among company I have nothing to fear." Hoshi replied to Weyland. Just about then, one of the Rexians spoke up saying that they would destroy one of the gates in exchange for the piece of the Fire Emblem. With a slight gulp, she turned to him and said, "You could come with me to take out the gate in Kigen. Assuming I am able to recruit any help, I doubt they would have any issue working with you and your fellows. Well... no, I can't quite say that, but I do not believe having you would cause any problems. And that would allow for at least some of the support you were planning on offering me sir," she turned back to Weyland, "to remain here and not weaken this place any more than it has already been weakened. We..." Her voice shook and she took a few seconds to calm down some, "We lost many last night. They will not be quickly replaced and if you are wrong and they come back to attack here, you cannot afford to be weakened like that."

Erion

"Hmmph, Raquel, I get that you have a lot you're trying to achieve, but... if you're headed that way anyways, what harm can come from trying to help?" He shrugged. "Maybe it's different for me because it's my home, but if this invasion is as big as everyone's making it out to be, I don't want Neveskotia to go unwarned. Even if we don't attack the gate itself, we can warn them such that they can focus on taking it out."

Lumi

Glancing around, Lumi sighed. She didn't have a real desire to head into Neveskotia and... well, she'd been planning on leaving the main group with Pete anyways. Turning to Aneda, she whispered, "So, what do you think? We could head with the group going to Kigen maybe. It could be an adventure! I've never been to Kigen. And hey. We proved yesterday that we can fight well together. Plus this doesn't sound like something we can just ignore, you know?"

[Mercakete]

All of this revelation and strategizing kept leaping to and fro and Gytha was wondering what Raquel was going to do. At first, she'd assumed that she would help with the gates issue, but when she protested, Gytha winced. She understood why Raquel would be frustrated -- at least somewhat -- but that sure sounded like an overreaction. From the sound of things, this gate was more or less on the way and helping out would do a lot of good for a lot of people. The winged one was even offering Raquel an emblem piece for her assistance.

Then, Amon began to stand, drawing Gytha's attention. That was when he offered to help with destroying the gates -- him and his party -- in exchange for the emblem piece. That was good news. If Raquel didn't want to focus on the gates, at least someone would. As she recalled, they needed an emblem piece, too. She was surprised to see Amon's face as he raised his head, though. He looked very angry and Gytha wasn't sure why. Did it have something to do with his earlier depression? She cast him a pitying look, worried for her friend. What's wrong..?

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

The apple was gone (aside from the core) by the time Norbert reached the stables and that he tossed aside on his way over to Rizen's stall. As expected, the pegasus was waiting right where the rider left her and watched as he walked over and opened the stall's door.

"Hey, Riz," Norbert greeted with a smile as he led her out of the stall and patted her snout a couple times, "Ready to get certified?"

Rizen gave a little nicker and Bert rested a hand on her neck, letting it slide in a brisk stroke as he walked back to shut and latch the stall door. After that, he mounted up and the two headed out of the stables on their way to Europa proper.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"Cute," Gar replied to how precise his predictions had been. "I would like a map, but if the Nevoskotia Gate is positioned to be unassailable then there's not many smart places to hide it anyway." Gar was already checklisting spots where it'd be hidden. "Ha, I'd even say there are none really. But all those locations aren't ones we'd be able to get to easy either." Gar stopped leaning his chair back, letting the seat fall back to all fours and he himself leaned forward. "News of this attack will be filtering in to Nevoskotian at least. But even if we have a few flier allies like suggested, we'll need a whole lot more to transport people up for an attack. Unless I'm underestimating those numbers." Gar shrugged.

[Nanami Touko]

"No, you're not," Eva said in response to the man, slightly disappointed. "My mother's just one breeder, she wouldn't have enough wyverns for you all to actually assault the place. Maybe find it, but that'd be it. Sorry that I can't bring any more to the table." It was frustrating, but that was the gist of it. That was kinda useless then, huh? Not like they could attack it on foot if it was so high up in the mountains. They'd have to get at least four or five breeders on their side if they wanted enough wyverns for everyone here to fly up... Or fly up whoever's going to Neviskotia. It was a slippery situation, especially with Raquel's hesitance to help. Eva began to mumble again, "I don't know her too well, or what she's gone through, so I can't exactly judge her reaction. Though... I wouldn't be so slow to accept for something like this."

[Toogee]

Alphonse could feel his leg shaking as everything was brought to light, this was overwhelming.... Out of the corner of his eye he saw Jamilla coming in, getting up he moved over to the dancer. Speaking quietly so only the two of them could hear what was said. "Jam... What are you going to do in relation to all this. I'm not gonna keep you locked up like a bird in a cage but... I still want to protect you, are we gonna go along with this stuff or just try to slip away with Greta?"

Jam saw as Raquel protested the plans for taking down the gates, being concerned for her own matters. The dancer didn't have any details to Raquel's plight, but it seemed kind of petty to put personal matters over the fate of the world. Jam was beginning to wonder if she really was this big time mercenary leader everyone claimed she was.

At the same time, Amon declared that his group would go after the gate in Kigen in exchange for one of those emblem things. Jam recalled that Fizza (openly) mentioned that being one of their goals, so it made sense for them to help out. That, and they were probably just as concerned of the battle reaching Rexian borders as Jam was. If that were the case, why did Amon seem so angry?

Alphy came to her, wondering what decision she had made concerning all of this. To be honest, she wasn't a warrior or a leader of a band of mercs, nor did she have any ties to the Sanctuary. She was just a dancer, one with modest fighting skills at best. Her dances could boost morale, but in the grand scheme, they didn't really need her.

"Of course Greta comes first," Jam whispered back. "I will stay with her until she's back on her feet. If she really doesn't want us around, well...Kigen is on the way home. Couldn't hurt to make a few stops and save the world."

Jam smirked as she delivered her decision in a matter-of-fact tone, as if saving the world was another item on a grocery list. If she had to leave Greta, the least she could do was help someone out. That may as well be Amon's crew.

[ReformBlade]

Giving it an actual moment of thought, "Are you sure you're ok with this?" she said, looking at the book on her lap then to Shadrak. "I mean, it was just an idea, I'm sure there's other things I could be doing if you don't want me to read this." Mushirah couldn't help but feel awkward about asking about it in the first place, helplessly going back and forth in her decision.

Amon seemed resolute on going, under certain conditions, Lumi seemed interested in going, and so did this other person who Aneda had not met yet. Am I going to go because I want to or because of peer pressure? She thought, concerned for the state of her being. "No, I can't ignore it..." she whispered back. I can damn well try to, but I don't think that'd be an answer. Oh Lumi, I hope you know what you're getting into... "I'll head to Kigen with him." Aneda spoke up finally. Nothing grand, more just stating a thing she'd be doing. A fact, if you will.

[roymbrog]

Katrina

All of this information was a bit overwhelming, and Kat was struggling to take it all in. No matter what the outcome of this meeting was, however, she definitely didn’t want to see her home country overrun by the monsters from last night, and stood up to speak rather hesitantly on the matter. “After seeing the state of the city last night, I, for one, don’t want to see this happen anywhere else. If Raquel’s unwilling to warn the Neviskotians of the gate, I will. Or, at least try to. I’ve got people back home who can help me look for it if that doesn’t pan out, too.”

Katrina couldn’t for the life of her understand Raquel’s reluctance to help, since it seemed she was going in the same direction anyway. Had she maybe misjudged this girl?

---

Synthia

With all this information being unloaded things just sounded worse by the minute. The beasts from last night swarming all of Ursium was a nightmare to imagine, for sure. She couldn’t say she held any great love for Neviskotia or Kigen as countries, but from what she had heard last night it was clearly the civilians who suffered the most during fallen attacks. With that knowledge, she couldn’t see how anyone would not want something done about them. That was why she was disgusted by Raquel’s response to the situation. At first it had seemed she was just upset about feeling used by people, but by the end it was clear that she was viewing the request to save lives as an annoyance.

“You’d think that knowing what loss feels like, one would want to prevent others from experiencing it as well,” she voiced, glaring at Raquel. “How many other girls are going to lose their fathers, do you think? Perhaps a few hundred? Stop throwing a tantrum and think of the consequences.”

To the mage’s surprise, Amon stood up to offer his group’s services in exchange for the emblem piece. “Like that one. Seems you lost the prize already,” she continued. The Sanctuarian looked rather angry, which was unusual, but Synthia could think of a myriad of reasons to justify that right now.

---

Valter

On the other side of the door, the horseman was hoping he hadn’t disturbed his friend. “It’s Valter,” he replied, though he wasn’t about to come in without permission.

Edited February 4, 2014 by roymbrog

[-Cynthia-]

"While I am honored by your trust, I have no desire to mess around with magical artifacts unless absolutely necessary," Veronika responded to Zach's suggestion before Amon spoke up. Well this group seems to be fracturing quickly because of this...maybe a smaller group was easier to take to Neviskotia anyway.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"Probably more than what some others have to offer," Gar replied to the mother breeder's daughter. Some other people were starting to get indignant at Raquel's outburst. Gar really didn't care either way, except for how amusing it was.

[Phoenix]

Last Chance: Pass

Shadrak smiled, nervous and a bit torn, but there was no way he was going to let a little fear change his mind. "Honestly, if you don't read it, I doubt anyone but Chie ever will, and she won't even be remotely impressed, so go right ahead," he encouraged her, widening his smile to try and look more genuine.

Golden Backlash

"A fair point," Weyland gave Hoshi that one. Amon's group was a bit of a wild card right now but if Steinn convinced them to focus on Valdimarr's emblem piece, they would probably make a decent escort for Hoshi while she tried to warn the Kigenese of the massive flanking they were about to receive.

"I suppose," Amon replied, not fully agreeing just yet. He was still a little distracted by Steinn's question. Should he tell the man who he worked for, or keep it a secret and hope Fizza or someone else didn't blurt it out two seconds later anyway?

"I never said I wasn't willing to warn people, and besides, what could possibly keep the Neviskotians from learning about the Fallen after last night?!" Raquel yelled. "What I've been through is hell, and only half of it had anything to do with Sardis or the organization! If we just keep swinging our swords at everyone else's problems, we're going to get ourselves killed! Don't you remember what happened to John? Sophia and Lia? Forget that the rebels are probably going to gun us down on sight. If you want to warn people about the gate then DO IT; you don't need my permission ... but don't snap at me for not wanting to rush off and attack a Fallen stronghold up in the mountains somewhere at the behest of another Fallen!" This is way over our heads, just like Wrath ... but nobody cares, not Lilith, not Steinn, not anyone. "If we go up into the mountains to fight a bunch of them, we're going lose people. There's no way I'm leaping headlong into that deathtrap just because Steinn's dangling an emblem piece in front of me; I'm not that stupid! I am thinking of the consequences, the consequences for us," her furious gaze fell on the fallen prince soon after she mentioned him.

It certainly would be a disappointing to die during a detour, Hypnos chimed in. Sure, it wasn't the time for that kind of remark but that was sort of his thing, leaping from the abyss to slay tension where it stood. Unfortunately, only Raquel heard that and she wasn't paying any attention to his commentary right now.

Gabbie smirked slightly. "A bit late to be paranoid, but I guess things did get pretty rough last noight, and they didn't even have to foight the people leading those demons," she muttered, mostly to herself.

"You probably will lose people attempting to destroy a siege gate ... gruesomely ... I have no doubt about that," Steinn admitted, his indifference still showing. "I was hoping that you would do whatever you've been doing to keep your losses to a minimum, or convince the Neviskotians to accompany you into battle. There's nothing wrong with avoiding a direct confrontation or even using them as shields to ensure a relatively flawless victory. However, at this point, I'm more inclined to agree to this one's request. Again, I must ask, who do you answer to?" Steinn's focus shifted to Amon. "I doubt that person is here at this moment ..."

Raquel's gaze shifted to him as well but he avoided eye contact just like before. After that, Raquel simply let her gaze fall to the floor. Now more than ever she just wanted to get away from this crowded dining hall and cool off somewhere. Chip was finished with his apple and her appetite hadn't come back, so she held out her arm for the little capuchin and he quickly scaled it to reach her shoulder. Now all she had to do was get out of the dining room before someone else tried to scold her ...

"I serve Queen Aisha ... if that means anything to you," Amon reluctantly answered. "The emblem piece is for her."

"Ah, I see. Interesting. Well, if you'll commit to one of the remaining siege gates, I'll gladly make certain that Valdimarr's emblem piece is delivered to you personally as soon as he falls. From there, you can take it to your Queen. Do we have an agreement?"

"We do," Amon sealed the deal, sighing quietly and backing away from the table. He was thinking about going for a short walk through the halls or something. He hadn't expected things to turn out like this and desperately wanted to gather his thoughts. Their goal was nearly in sight, now.

Good Morning

"Oh!" There was some silence after the brief reaction. Eventually the door opened and Joanna was standing there, trying to smile, but looking a little ... off. She was either distracted by something in general or trying really hard to force the carnage from last night out of her mind. "Good morning, Valter. How are you?"

[-Cynthia-]

"Unfortunately, an attack by the Fallen on Europa is likely to be seen as an Ursian problem. Neviskotia is already fighting on two fronts- they will not be eager to commit to a third. I agree with Raquel that we should try to focus on the Organization as much as possible, but our efforts may be in vain if we end up being overrun by demons," Veronika said, trying to remain calm. Raquel was clearly flustered but could hardly be blamed given the circumstances.

[Snowy_One]

"Raquel. I can not believe I am going to say this, but if what is being said is true in its entirety, my parents lives are in danger. A lot of danger if the demons attack. If you want to deal with Sardis instead, fine. I will head back to my home and do all I can within my power to either save my family, or kill as many demons as I can trying. I hope I have earned enough respect from you for at least a 'good luck', and I am now hoping that many of you will come with me, but I am going to save my family." said Robin as firmly as she could muster, her hands crossed over her chest. "I hope you will be there as well, but if not, than I shall part ways with you here."

[Nanami Touko]

This situation was beginning to frustrate Eva. She wanted to tell off Raquel for her attitude; of course there would be losses. Something like that couldn't be avoided with something as apparently large as this. Then again, she hadn't gone through this hell Raquel was alluding to, so whatever she said would probably be hot air to the woman's ears. Given that they'd just met, it would mean even less. "I've said my piece. I'd rather not ruin things by saying anything rash. You know where I'm going, so feel free to keep hammering it out with yourselves." Eva quickly took herself out of the room and placed herself against a wall outside the dining hall. Sliding down until she was sitting, she let out a contented sigh. "Can't stand tense situations like that for long... Hope someone doesn't come out and drag me back in there."

[scorri]

Erion

Shaking his head, he looked at Raquel and sighed. "No matter what you do, people will die. To you, it's apparently just a matter of if it's someone you know or not. But from what I saw last night, we have a better chance of fighting these things than most people would for whatever reason. So maybe you should stop living in regret for those who've died, and work on saving as many people as you can." Following Eva, he sat down next to her. <"You ok? When you ran by me like that I was worried you were gone for good.">

Hoshi

Despite all the arguing, it seemed that she did in fact have some sort of an escort. "Sir, thank you for trusting me in this. I will do my best to represent you throughout this endeavor." Bowing slightly to Weyland, she turned to watch the rest of the argument.

Lumi

"Hmmph, well if Aneda's going, I'll head to Kigen as well. Which means Pete's coming too, if I had to bet." Grinning at her fellow pegasus rider, Lumi nodded. This seemed like the best option. Though... Pete might not approve too much of her charging headlong into more danger. She shrugged mentally. Oh well.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"So, a part of the root of this is what that arrogant bastard said last night then huh?" Gar guessed at the cause, and he was sure he was accurate. He grunted and slide his head unto his arm. "Fair enough. But let me repeat what I said last night in slightly different circumstances. Whether you want to ignore this, or dive right in, I'll back you up either way." Gar slid back in his chair again. "But, in either case, learning whatever you can is advantageous."

Edited February 4, 2014 by Script

[Nanami Touko]

Eva hadn't expected anyone to follow after her, certainly not Erion. She was pleasantly surprised. I wonder if he was doing more than just hitting on me earlier, then... Maybe he was actually getting to know me. Eva smiled. "<Yeah, I'll be fine... But gone for good? I was sure you weren't already attached to me.>" Her smiled faded a little, as she tried to be a bit more serious, given the situation. "<I'm not good with serious situations like that. I try to crack jokes, or I get too mad at people, even if I don't know them very well. I didn't want to yell at Raquel, even if I wasn't the most pleased with how she's acting, so...>" She slumped against the wall a bit more. "<Here I am. What about you? Surely you didn't come out here just to see li'l ol' me.>"

[Phoenix]

Dining Hall

A long time ago, Raquel might have reconsidered her position on this after what Erion had said, but saving a lot of lives was the same pretext that got them on the Leverager, fueling a conflict that led to the deaths of her allies. Granted, it could have been avoided if they had separated sooner.

Robin ended up surprising her, by finally drawing a line somewhere. She wanted to save her family, even if it meant parting ways with Raquel. Honestly at this point, she wasn't sure why anyone here thought it was better to attack the gates themselves rather than trying to sick an entire professional army on it, but Steinn had apparently sold this suicide mission well. "If you want to do something about the gate yourself, I understand, but don't get yourself killed, for your family's sake," Raquel advised.

"Thank you," she replied to Gar, almost managing to climb out of the rut she'd slipped into. It was nice to see that at least Veronika and Gar weren't siding against her, and for once Raquel was thankful for the latter's apparent indifference. She wasn't sure if she would have still brought up the disaster at Chousokabe in the actual conversation if Burke hadn't reminded her of it last night, but something about the nature of their battles had been bothering her lately, regardless. "Things have just ... gone better for us as a whole when we've focused on Sardis," she quietly noted, keeping her head down.

Gabbie almost sighed but stopped herself, deciding instead to use that breath to point out an inconvenient truth. "Those days are over, Raquel. Those idiots aren't going to take it easy on you after that mess at the fort. Reconcoile or kill, remember?" With that sad fact out of the way, she crossed her arms and smiled slightly. "I don't really want to go charging at an army guarding a siege gate containing even more armies, either ... and if you try to bring Connor up there with us I'm going to promptly murder you, but until then, I've got your back too, I guess, whether it's mountains and demons or organization heads and pikes." She ended that semblance of support with a shrug.

She could appreciate ... some of that, but couldn't manage a 'thank you'. Gabbie had just threatened to kill her in front of everyone after all and despite the tone, she probably wasn't joking. "I'm just going to go now ... I want to be alone for awhile." So, I want to save lives by avoiding unnecessary battles and they want to save lives by fighting in those same battles. Our group's probably about to get a lot smaller. I'm not sure if that's good or ... really bad ....

[Snike]

"... A map with those locations pointed out would be nice," Axel said, ignoring the drama around him. "The definition of what your kind consider a 'regular', and, what they're expecting to face in Neviskotia would be handy as well. We can't be taken seriously if we don't know the threat." He wasn't a fan of Kit, but here wasn't the place to argue about it.

***

A few minutes after he left, Blake realized that he had forgotten one of his manuals. While he didn't immediately need it, the man wasn't on a schedule, and if he had the book, he could at least jot down any strategies or tactics that came to mind, throughout the day. So, he returned to the ruined estate, and began to work his way over to his room. The dining hall door was up ahead, but there wasn't very much of a chance he'd be apprehended there, so it looked like this would go smoothly.