Return of the Emblem Chapter Thirteen: Revelations

[Snowy_One]

Robin didn't know what to say. She wasn't LIKELY to die, but a woman strong enough to even lift the sword... If she ever found out and ever cared enough there wouldn't be enough of Robin left to put into a grave. Should Robin confess? Hide and forget? She had, honestly, almost forgotten herself and pushed the event behind her.

"Where... where is that wine from last night? Maybe something like that can distract me, or something to shoot, or... or I do not know... A hug? Something?" she asked, clearly still worried and panicked.

[Phoenix]

Infirmary

Raquel began to focus on eating, hoping she could get her strength up before noon.

"There's not a whole lot I can tell you that I didn't already sum up," Jethro noted, "but I'll see if anything else comes to mind."

Dining Hall

"Sorry but, I charge a lot for hugs," Ryder replied. "Well, see you people when I see you ..."

"Robin," Gabbie spoke up, "only certain vasili kill people on a regular basis and Lilith isn't one of them ... and the mouthy mages that got bowled over at the cathedral were practically begging for it. So just relax."

[spoiler=OoC]This is likely my last Rev post prior to the TS to Ursentius.

[Snike]

"Alright, thank you," Blake said, before he turned and began to head towards the door. "I'm going to get ready to leave, as well. See you in a bit."

[Phoenix]

[spoiler=A short time ago in a city very very close by .....][spoiler=... wait for it ...] RETURN OF THE EMBLEM

REVELATIONS

Ursentius is plagued by violence. With the Ursian army spread far and wide to counter Imperial attacks, sabotage, and subterfuge, it falls to local security forces and the capital's small army garrison to protect the city's citizens, and the royal palace. All the while, rumors of a fallen incursion have begun to spread like wildfire.

A prominent name in this chaos is Invictus, an increasingly organized group of anti-government radicals. In an attempt to consolidate their power, they have joined forces with a highly skilled warrior and his allies. Together, they aim to strike near the heart of Ursian power, one of the four grand fortresses, the fortress named for the God of Consolidation ....

[spoiler=STRIKE]"You picked the wrong fortress to work in, pal; the only truth here is 'you're dead'!" The soldier couldn't defend himself against a firearm of that make, not this close. He just didn't know how. The weapon went off in his face, sending him to the ground in a bloody heap. Zerachiel placed a boot firmly on the corpse's chest and glanced toward the main courtyard as his own men and some new blood from Road's group moved in. "I wonder how long it's going to take for them to start getting big heads ..." A thick, unnatural fog was pouring over the walls and concealing their approach until it was too late for the garrison's archers to do anything about it. "They need to hurry this up before the wind mages show up," he muttered to himself. The tactic they were using wasn't unheard of, but it was primarily used for retreat and deceptive repositioning, and by much larger forces than what Zerachiel and Road were working with. Still, it was their only reliable way to get what they were after without losing most of their men, so both men agreed, and made sure their mages conjuring up this fog were well prepared.

Road was personally leading a small team of his best fighters to the armory. What they were after would be found there. He'd trust Zerachiel's men with creating an escape route. They couldn't go over the walls with what they were planning on taking with them, not a chance. "There it is," Road said, pointing at the wide building nearby. Its doors were large and had to be opened with special mechanisms from the inside. Luckily, there were side entrances in plain sight. Road himself, was a dark avian, young, tall, lean, and driven. In his left hand, he held a large weapon, approximately five and a half feet in length, with two separate triggers, two separate, vertically aligned muzzles, and what looked like a spyglass on top toward the trigger end. It was most likely a rifle and caduceus built into one weapon, with a few extra grips for different holding positions, and fixed blades that ran along the underside of the weapon in a staggered line, allowing Road to attack or defend with the weapon in a melee. It was his personal firearm and a deadly long range weapon.

His men overpowered the guards by moving in through the darkness and ganging up on them one by one, though not without casualties of their own. Still, it was only a matter of minutes before they had the armory doors wide open. Road was standing just outside, waiting to see the prizes they'd risked life and limb for. When he saw them, he grinned ever so slightly. Ursium's newest weapons, the heavily armored self propelled assault vehicles, most often referred to simply as 'tanks'. These were the new Juggernaut models the army engineers had developed based on Weyland Enterprises' Recusant models. There were four of them, all lined up, and ready to go ... only, they weren't going to work for the army, they were going to work for Zerachiel and Road. "Make sure we're ready for the engineers," Road ordered, "They should be getting dragged out of the barracks kicking and screaming right about now ..."

Road was right, it was only a few moments later when he picked up the screams of the feeble, easily discerned from those of real warriors. Ten of his men had managed to find three engineers, fewer than expected, but they only needed one to figure out how these machines worked. The pilots would be his own men. That's how Road felt it should be, if for no other reason than to keep the engineers from getting any ideas. A few minutes of watching his men flog the engineers to within an inch of their lives, all for the information they needed, made him realize that these engineers were trained to resist physical torture. They didn't have the tools to make these men divulge anything useful, nor the time.

"We could always just try and operate it ourselves, but ... I'm sure there's some trick to these things. What I'm really worried about is long term maintenance."

"Tell us how it works or we'll slaughter your whole wrathdamn family! Everyone you love! Hell, everyone you even know," one of the men threatened as he jerked on a half conscious engineer's collar. "Say something you useless piece of crap!"

"Enough, already," Road hissed, "he was closer to breaking when you were just stepping on him. We need to try something else."

"Damn right we do," Zerachiel chimed in as he approached, "This is taking too long."

"You have an idea?" Road and his men usually relied on picking off guards from isolated patrols and squeezing them for vital information. It was how they knew when and how to hit the northern fortress and why they were able to stand here and ponder solutions for as long as they had. When dealing with individuals who wouldn't break so easily, they were typically at a loss. They could try the classic approach of threatening one's family, but until they learned who someone was, and located their loved ones, such threats rang hollow to most people, especially those in the army. Hopefully, Zerachiel had a method that would get them the information they needed.

"Four tanks, huh? Not bad, but I honestly thought there'd be more here. These aren't Weyland's models, either. That's odd." Zerachiel glanced over at Road, who was beginning to get impatient, and then he looked down at the engineers. "Yeah, I've got something. Bring me a soldier." A simple head nudge from Road and two of his men ran off to bring back one of the soldiers they had actually bothered to capture. "Watch and learn, pheasant boy," he smirked.

The soldier was in even worse shape than the engineers, despite having a full suit of armor on. They dropped him at Zerachiel's feet and got back to a safe distance. "Engineers, listen up! I'm not going torture you ... I'm also not going to offer to spare this man if you give us what we want." Road raised an eyebrow but continued to observe. "The fact that my friends here even had to ask you more than once is reason enough for me to gut this miserable son of a bitch. So you're going to watch, and then I'm going to tell you what happens next.

Making sure Zerachiel was true to his word, Road's men forced the engineers to watch as Zerachiel tortured the soldier to death. It was a grueling two and half minutes, and his victim was screaming throughout the ordeal. "Now then ... I think we're done here. After all, I don't need any of you alive." He'd had their attention already, but now they were wondering why he was suddenly giving up on getting the information they had, information they knew was critical to the operation and maintenance of the tanks. "See, I know some people, and they're very good at digging up old memories, even from the dead. As long as your brain hasn't rotted away, they can get the information we need. I don't feel like carrying your bodies with us though, so since you're not cooperating, our only option is to warp these tanks out after getting them ready, and cut off your heads to bring back with us. More convenient than keeping you alive ... so let's get started. I'm no guillotine but I can get your heads off eventually."

Road's face lit up with interest. All but assuring someone they were about to die was just one of many interrogation techniques, but this one was being applied quite interestingly. The engineers had assumed they could stop what was happening ... they knew with a great degree of certainty that if they died here and now, the information would die with them and the tanks would be useless. Even Road doubted it was possible to retrieve information from a dead mind. The engineers were going to die for nothing if it was possible, however, and they knew that now. No one was going to get here in time to save them; their only chance for surviving the night was not only giving up the information, but also begging for their lives. Well played, but would it actually work?

[spoiler=Death Meet Part One]It had been too long since she'd last been here, Naomi told herself. Sure, there was surprisingly little to do or look at, but home was home. What was truly odd was how many others were actually here as well. The 'grunts' as Burke called them weren't present, and neither was Burke himself, at least not yet. Since the meeting mainly concerned Naomi and the others who'd been given titles, that made some sense to her. The room wasn't big enough for everyone, anyway. Morgana had arrived early, having spent the last day hold up in the building with Dominik, and looking a little upset. She was sitting there on a couch across from her, trying her best to ignore Dominik, who was standing beside her rather than sitting. If Dominik couldn't cheer her up, Naomi doubted she could, so she decided to leave the both of them alone.

Naomi turned her attention elsewhere and found Volya standing behind a large chair, probably meant for Thanatos, his arms crossed, his expression aloof, if not outright dark. There was rarely any use in talking with Volya. He wasn't interested in talking with people, at least not her. Not that she wanted to talk necessarily. She simply wanted to find some way to pass the time until Gabbie finally came in. It would be the first time she'd be able to speak with her friend with the latter's memories in tact in over two years.

The couch she was on was full, with Cassandra to her left, Ayano to her right, and others taking up the last two spots, so there wasn't any room for them both, currently. To try and address the problem, she offered up her seat and guided one of her coffins, the Coffin of Staves, over to the space between the couch and the large chair. Once it settled to the floor, she sat down on it. It would be just like old times, the two of them sharing a coffin while listening to the others bicker about everything. "Now I wait ... won't be much longer, now."

Suddenly Naomi caught Morgana glancing at her. She couldn't tell if the irritable look was due to Dominik or if she was mad at her about something. Fortunately she didn't have to wait long to find out what the problem was. "I know we're all supposed to be here, but we're you supposed to be looking after someone?"

Reina, of course. "I couldn't bring her here but I told them I had to go to an important meeting," Naomi half explained. "I'm sure they'll be alright until I get back. I even left six coffins with them."

"Your coffins are useless if your real body isn't there to help coordinate them," Morgana reminded her.

Naomi curled up slightly. "They're good for hiding in," she murmured, thinking of retreating into Dionysus, herself.

Things in this meeting room had been relatively quiet, up until now. Isabella, having taken a seat at the end of the Southernmost couch, the room having filled up, bit by bit. Seated next to her was one of the titled disciples, Ayano the Hidden... well, to be precise, aside from herself, everyone in the room at present held a title. It was more than a little pressure, all things considered... these were the elite, unique even among the Disciples of Thanatos, not at all lacking in uniqueness as a baseline.

Well, lucky for Isabella, the visor she wore was doing an excellent job of completely concealing how much her eyes were darting about the room like crazy at the various assorted disciples. It was about the only thing allowing her to maintain a calm visage.

Of course, the exchange between Naomi and Morgana had atleast cut through the silence, which made the place a bit less foreboding.

Thanatos soon entered the room, frowning a little as he made his way over to the large chair. Pavel followed him in, in a much less sombre manner. The former sat down, but didn't say anything. The latter stood up and addressed Isabella.

"Any reason why you're wearing your visor?" He asked, simply.

"Mmm? Oh... I just... I've grown accustomed to it, I suppose. It feels... natural, to me." Isabella replied, before reaching to remove the item in question... it wouldn't have been brought up if that wasn't the intent, after all. Placing the visor gently on her lap after removing it, the woman opened her eyes, a light glow escaping her crimson irises, her pupils distinctly unlike those of a typical human, if one paid the attention to look.

"My apologies." She added quickly... well, so much for looking curiously about the room unnoticed, with attention brought to it, all eyes would likely be on her eyes, at least for a moment.

"No problem. It's just that we are all on the same side here, so there's no need to hide your face," Pavel said, with a slight smile.

Sometimes I wish I had a mask, Cassandra mused, the benefits of Isabella's visor not lost on her.

"Excellent," Dominik spoke up, grinning at Isabella. "A beautiful bright red. Brighter than Morgana's even, but unnaturally so. I take it that's your handiwork?" he asked, glancing blankly at Thanatos.

"Yes, that is correct," Thanatos said, apparently staring into space. "... Impregnable's still going to be a little while, so, once Seeker and the Faceless arrive, momentarily, we'd may as well begin."

"Yes, you're right." Isabella replied to Pavel, lowering her gaze a little as Dominik appraised her eyes. She hadn't expected this sort of development, and was somewhat unprepared for you.

"Ah, thank you."

"Ugh." Morgana groaned at the exchange. It was one thing to be hit on constantly by Dominik, but when he turned right around and began subtly starting in on other women, it just made her sick. She wasn't sure if he was keeping his options open or simply trying to get a rise out of her. In all likelihood, he was accomplishing both, and with consummate ease. Deciding to put the matter out of mind in the most direct way possible, she spoke up. "Is it really necessary to wait for them? Gabbie's never been much for details and I've never even heard of the 'Faceless'. Who is he?"

"What makes you think they're male?" Dominik chimed in almost teasingly, though also looking genuinely curious. It was nice to see something other than the smirk of a hopeless creep on his face. Almost. Before she could say anything, one of the doors leading into the room opened and Gabbie stepped inside, looking just as upset as she had been. "Gabriella," Dominik smiled, holding out his arms, ready to receive her from across the room.

As soon as Gabbie was clear of the door, the reason behind her mood became obvious. Another Gabbie stepped into the room, looking just as downtrodden and annoyed as the first. Around that same time, Naomi had leaped from the top of her coffin and was racing to hug her friend. By the time she arrived, though, the situation had become clear to her, too. "I ... uh ..." She kept trying to find a way to word her question. "Are ... you both Gabbie?"

"No," the two of them answered in unison, just as the second to arrive came to stand right beside the first.

"I ... uh ... uhmm ..." ... was their friendship really so hollow? Could she really not tell the real Gabbie from some impostor? "I ..." again she cut herself off and sighed. This was embarrassing beyond belief. She could have asked questions, throwing them out like a pop quiz until one of the Gabbie's faltered, but that was a method for people who really couldn't tell genuine articles from fakes. Just being one of those people crushed any desire to investigate further. "... darnit. I'm sorry," she said, fighting back a tear as she turned around to go sit down.

"Me too," both Gabbie's replied. Each realizing the other had answered as well, they both glared at each other. Dominik smirked at them. Best enjoy it before Thanatos outed the Faceless.

Keeper had been sitting quietly, half napping as they waited for everyone else to appear. When two Seekers seemed to appear, he sat up a little straighter and raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. Well... Looks like we're all here then."

"Oh, I suppose I must be growing old, as I evidently have forgotten that there are two Seekers. Very well then, I hope you don't mind then if I burden you with twice the usual seeking requests then," Thanatos said, to the Gabriellas. "Things are starting to pick up, as we all know by now."

How's the neck, Seeker? Pavel asked.

After Thanatos' comment, both Gabbie's seemed to want to clobber each other on the spot. The real Gabbie must have been so fed up with this charade that she was nearly ready to come to blows. The double, whichever one that was, was likely just going through the motions. Still, their thoughts were about the same until Uniter checked in on the real Gabbie.

It's fine, I guess, she grumbled a mental reply.

I see. Sorry again for not knocking him out.

Both of them sat down on either side of Naomi, leaning on her for support. Maybe ... two Gabbie's wouldn't be so bad, Naomi thought to herself. Maybe she didn't have to feel bad about not being able to tell them apart.

"I know all too well," Morgan answered Thanatos, bitterly.

"What's wrong?" Ayano asked, a rare hint of curiosity on both her face and in her tone.

"Well," Dominik decided to explain, "one of her students perished in the fallen attack and like always, she couldn't bear to rely on anyone but herself. Rather than asking our master to save the child, she waited too long and they were swallowed up by the Gate." Whatever fury he had been kindling was beginning to be pushed aside by grief. When he glanced down at Morgana's face, she looked ... 'contained' was one way of putting it. She must have been flipping tables in her mind, though. He figured that the only reasons she didn't lash out at him for blaming her for the incident were because he was right, it wasn't becoming of a noblewoman, and Thanatos probably wouldn't allow it. He sat down beside her, not making a move toward her, but simply leaning back. "She'll be fine, but the wound's still fresh, you see. Sorry for the interruption."

When two Gabbies arrived, Isabella looked them over quickly... no noticeable differences between the two were there... it was quite a convincing copy. She couldn't pick out anything off about the pair to distinguish them, so there was no real point in searching further. Then, of course, there was the exchange between Dominik and Morgana, yet again... the two seemed very close, if with a bit of a penchant of poking fun, at least from Dominik's side.

Attention went back to the pair of Gabbies for a moment as Thanatos cracked a quick joke and the two looked like they were about to scrap, before huffing and puffing and sitting on either side of Naomi. She supposed it was only a matter of time before things started moving forward in earnest.

"Right, well, unfortunately the fallen attack is part of why we are here tonight, and the first order of business," Thanatos said, with a frown. "According to the Fallen prince, Steinn, they plan on invading Sardius, starting with the three powers. What happened last night was merely a taste of the suffering that is to come, if they succeed. Which I am not willing to let happen. Seeker, the real one, would you be willing to outline their strategy for invasion, or should I?"

The Gabbie sitting on Naomi's left stood up. The one on her right slowly smiled, dropping the guise completely. "I guessed correctly," Ayano said, her voice practically a whisper.

"How could you tell?" Cassandra asked, leaning toward Ayano and matching her volume.

"I said it was a guess."

"I'll keep it brief," Gabbie began, "they're going to set up their little siege gates, one in each of the three countries. Each one probably has a big ass demon assoigned as guard, and later as a vanguard. Once those gates open, a huge army is going to come charging through each of them. If that happens, they'll get overrun."

"I'd hate to have the logistics of that explained in detail," Dominik shook his head. Three armies big enough to overrun their target countries meant they had to more than just outnumber the opposition. They had to outright double them. At least.

"Approximately seventeen million fallen according to Steoinn," Gabbie said, grimacing. "That's how large the total population is, roight now. They can't throw even half that many soldiers at the other countries, but they can use a good portion of it to start, and they'll never run out of reinforcements. That's more than enough for them to win in the end."

Well... that was... certainly something. Isabella wasn't quite sure how to respond to something like that, so for the time being, she opted to wait and see what else came to light.

"Do you think Obelisk will be helping them?" Volya asked Thanatos. Even if he didn't show himself initially, reinforcing the fallen armies later on as a counter play to other vasili getting involved would be a good move on his part, and one they currently didn't have a foolproof plan against. This was assuming Obelisk had any interest in this invasion, and its outcome, however, and after so many centuries of seemingly no activity, it was hard to be certain one way or the other.

"I am fairly certain he has begun to aid them already, given that the Fallen emperor has a portion of the Fire Emblem," Thanatos said, closing his eyes. "If I recall correctly, he was killed twice by Steinn and Weyland's employees, while a third copy of his- or the original, without an emblem they're indistinguishable- nearly made off with Phoenix. I doubt that was the work of any mortal advisor, considering that until now, the fallen have not displayed such an ability."

"It sounds like all of this could be his doing and his alone," Volya muttered.

"What I want to know is why they haven't done anything like this in the past," Morgana spoke up, her eyes boring into Gabbie. "The fallen have always had the advantage of numbers, so why wait until now? I also don't see how they're so big a threat to the Kigenese considering that they've been fending them off since this Sardius came back together. Are you implying that they've been holding back for generations just to overwhelm everyone now?"

Gabbie frowned, trying to recall some of her more private discussions with the Fallen Prince, and piecing together what she could based on them. What Morgana was asking would inevitably require a more elaborate explanation than what Gabbie felt she could manage during this meeting, but the secrets of the fallen would come to light eventually, one way or another. Once all the cards were on the table, it was very easy to figure out what had happened, and why every war starts and ends the way it does. "It's not like they haven't tried and come close to conquering Kigen before, but they've never evolved. Fallen sometoimes just foight for the sake of foighting. The kigenese have the best chance of stopping one invasion force cold," Gabbie admitted. They could and have after all, beaten back the largest fallen armies their society had ever known ... "but if they get hit from two or more fronts all at once, or the capital is hit directly, or if they manage to oisolate the major cities from one another instead of attacking head on and use sheer numbers to cut everyone off from everyone else ... then it's going to be a completely different story."

"Again, why haven't they tried this before? Specifically this siege gate approach," Morgana asked again, this time focusing on what was bothering her the most.

"Ask Steoinn," Gabbie shrugged at her, hiding her irritation as best she could, "you can't expect me to have every little detail from just a few chats with him. I doubt even he knows all of what's going on, here. If I had to guess, I'd say either the technology was only recently completed, or they've been planning for this for a long toime."

"... Regardless of why they have not invaded in the past, I am fairly certain that it is not a coincidence that they chose now, with the cycle coming to a close," Thanatos said, frowning. "Regardless, we will be stopping their invasion, and that means we must find and destroy the three siege gates. Luckily for us, the Ursian siege gate was stumbled upon earlier today by the Ursian army. It is in the northwestern region, so at this point I am more concerned with finding the other two gates."

Morgana's pressing of Gabbie wasn't unexpected, but neither was her not knowing the details. After all, the logistics of something to this scale were massive, and with so many variables to be considered, especially with incomplete knowledge... well, as had been put, they just weren't sure. What was clear on the table, was that regardless of the why, that it couldn't be allowed to come to fruition. A sudden invasion of that size would utterly destroy life as it was known today, regardless of the outcome. It wasn't anything like a dispute between two countries as had been on and off between Neviskotia and Ursium... if this were to play out, it could lead into some sort of mass extinction event.

Keeper shrugged slightly. "Well, I'll offer my services of course, though I'm not sure I'm the best suited to deal with anything we might run into at said gates. But I'll supply my usual transport and supplies as needed. As for the one that has been found... will we be dealing with it or are we waiting until we know where they all are until we take them out?" As he was speaking, he fiddled with the bracelets looped around his wrist, unable to be completely still with the current topic of conversation making him less than comfortable.

With Gatekeeper asking what the plan of action was, all that really remained was to hear the answer, for now. Isabella was grateful for the opportunity to take in this information, but... something still felt off, to her. She was still as of yet unsure why she was here, in this place. All she had been told was that she was to attend, and at least, for the conversation at hand, she had no real contribution to make.

"I don't see the point of waiting if we know where one of these gates is," Morgana said. "Even if whatever passes for security at the other two locations increases as a result of the first gate's destruction, it's nothing we can't handle."

Dominik shrugged. "I'm starting to think what we can handle has an upper limit somewhere below what the fallen can dish out. Perhaps we aren't up to the task or there are just too few of us of this caliber. In either case, I don't think we should be too hasty in attacking them openly ... unless Burke's the one doing the attacking, heheh. There are plenty of people who want these gates destroyed and I think we should only take over if it's clear they're about to fail. 'Backup' if you will."

"You always just want to sit back and watch. That means keeping a close eye on things and just hoping something unexpected doesn't happen," Morgana groaned. "That's too risky this time. If anything goes wrong, we'll have been as useless as the rest of them."

"I am considering influencing the Ursian army to deal with it. Among other things, that stops the senseless bloodshed going on in its' east, as well as it frees up the Neviskotian army to deal with their own gate," Thanatos said, simply. "Assuming Obelisk is supporting this invasion, tipping our hand to them is not the best idea. Similarly, I am considering alerting the Neviskotians and Kigenese through the two emblem groups that have formed."

"The same one from earlier?" Isabella asked, as Thanatos brought up the groups centered on the Emblem... one of them had to be Valcyn's group, right?

"Though, do you think they'll actually postpone their war? It may seem obvious to do so, but... history has proven them stubborn at best, in that regard."

Keeper shrugged. "Probably depends on how he convinces them. Sometimes all it takes is the proper... motivation. You just get the proper people to do what you want, the rest of the army will follow. Like sheep." He grimaced, not enjoying the memories the discussion of armies was bringing back. Some of his own words were hitting a little too close to home.

"I'm not too considered about the Kigenese," Dominik said, gazing off at nothing, "after all, they know that the fallen will take advantage of any weakness presented. I am concerned about the Neviskotians, however. They're used to fighting multiple enemies simultaneously: everything from the Ursians, rebels, the avians, and even simple pirate fleets. Some fringe threat isn't going to concern them one bit until the threat comes a'knocking. Of course ... that isn't the only problem; Neviskotia's emperor isn't in the best health right now as I hear, mentally or physically ... and this has given the Conclave a bit too much power in my humble opinion. Just like any gathering of politicians, they're divided to varying degrees on nearly every issue. Convincing one sovereign ruler of a problem and getting him to act on it is exponentially easier than convincing an entire governing body."

"Then maybe we should just let them find out for themselves and repel the invasion once it comes," Morgana said.

Dominik smirked at her. "Is that your opinion as one of us, or as an Ursian noblewoman? You know if they break through it might be too much for even our combined efforts to contain."

"Neither ... but unless we handle this whole thing ourselves, or at least use some competent pawns, this isn't going to work out. If their plan is so fragile that we can roll over their defenses and destroy the gates then we're worrying over preparing for this. Do we even know what a siege gate looks like or how to destroy it completely so that it won't be rebuilt by a few survivors after we leave? What if Obelisk designed them and we have no way of dealing with the conventionally? Can we guarantee they don't have a way around a direct assault? Why would a group preparing for such a massive invasion leave anything to chance? It's because of this that I'm certain at least one of those gates is going to get pried open before it's destroyed and why I think if the Neviskotian Conclave is too stupid to act then they should be the first ones to go."

"Your western blood comes out at the most interesting times~ I guess we aren't heroes, but we should do what we can."

Yes, like just sitting back and watching the whole time. You do that, Dominik, Morgana thought to herself.

"So... what, if anything, do we know about the gate composition? If the Ursian military assails the gate that was found, we might be able to better determine a course of action with whatever information they might garner?" Isabella suggested tentatively, as the issue was brought up by Morgana.

"The Ursians have developed countermeasures to dragons with their 'Banshees', so odds are the Neviskotians will be retreating anyways to figure out how to stop them. This would provide further reason to abandon the war," Pavel said, frowning. "And Dominik, the Conclave holds little power over their actions, so convincing their leader, also known as the Emperor, bypasses the political nonsense."

"We do not know what the gates are composed of exactly, yet," Thanatos said, "However the fact that they need an arc demon to defend it indicates that they are most likely fallen-constructed and thus destroyable. It is difficult otherwise to explain why such great resources are being used. Steinn might offer further details."

Keeper shrugged. "So why not just ask him? We could go now and ask him for that matter. It's not like it's exactly hard for me to go pay someone a visit. Better to figure out all the details now, right?"

"True, the gates are likely destructible if they are being guarded... unless it's the building crews themselves that are being guarded, but that would leave only routing the crews and locking the area down before the gates are completed, even if they themselves were indestructible... of course, the gates being indestructible at all is unlikely..." Isabella replied with a contemplative look.

"Asking him is what Gabbie should have done," Morgana noted, sparing the lancer a glance.

"First off, I'm pretty sure if he knew, he'd have told Weyland by now, and second, there's no need for him to know about you, yet. Steinn has his own goals and I can guarantee they aren't peaceful ones. The less he knows about our group, the better. ... and it's not loike we're attacking the thing first thing in the morning," Gabbie said, hoping to put the matter to rest.

"Probably not, but we really ought to," Dominik said, nodding at her with a knowing look in his eye. The fact of the matter was, the longer they waited, the less likely they would be able to affect the situation. "Assuming we won't be assembling a team for that in the morning, however, what of the other groups? Do you think they'll need help reaching their targets or convincing the local governments to act?"

Keeper nodded and folded his arms, trying to avoid fiddling with his bracelets more. "Fair enough. Just figured if we need information, better to get it without risking exposing ourselves to the enemy. Though... there are those involved with Weyland who now know about us, as you're aware. Is there any chance that Steinn could find out about us from one of them?"

"Well, regardless of whether he has that information or not, we don't... it's not something we should expect access to." Isabella chimed in somewhat softly. Probably best to just allow them to continue, for now.

Keeper gave a non-committal shrug to the girl's comment and stayed silent for the moment. His input here wasn't especially useful since he was more transport and supply than tactician or fighter. He ran a hand through his golden hair, sighing quietly to himself. At least it looked like Sanctuary was not involved in the current situation. As much as it would have given him some satisfaction to see the city attacked by the Fallen, he had no interest in going anywhere near his old home. He'd chosen to not take vengeance on those who'd murdered him, but it had been a close decision. He couldn't trust himself not to go back on that decision should he return. No, best to stay away from there for now. And though this threat was not anything to be thankful for, if nothing else, it seemed to be serving that purpose.

"I am concerned about the southern group actually making it to Kigen, if only because of the mercites among them," Thanatos said. "I would like to add some security to both groups, however, and not just the group to the west. The eastern group has the added difficulty of having to cross the border and deal with the organization's attacks at the same time, so any help they receive would go a long way. As for the Fallen prince, it is unlikely that he will find out about this group, though he might know a little of my existence."

Keeper frowned slightly. "Hmm, I'd volunteer but I suspect that I'd be of more use continuing in my current role. Though if you disagree, I'd be perfectly willing to go with either group... I could also help speed along their trip. After all, that is sort of my thing." He gave a half grin at that. "Whatever you wish, of course."

"If you would have me for it, I am willing to offer what strength I can muster in assistance... though, I am unable to speak Kigenese, nor would I have any outs to whatever issues the Mercites are likely to provoke... I fear I would not be of much use on the Western front." Isabella noted softly, as the conversation progressed.

"Well he won't be hearing anything from me," Gabbie shrugged. "So ..." she glanced at Isabella for a brief moment, "would she and I be enough or are you going to throw more people at this problem?"

"And what of the group heading for Kigen?" Dominik asked. "They may only have one task, but it's a daunting one nonetheless."

"Yes, Isabella and Gabriella should be enough for the Neviskotian group," Thanatos said, plainly. "As for Kigen, well, I am inclined to assign the Hidden to that group, if only because of her familiarity with the area. Ayano, is that acceptable?"

"Yes," Ayano answered, though some in the room figured she'd have agreed to any assignment. What wasn't clear yet was exactly in what capacity she would be helping them. With Gabriella and Isabella, things were a bit clearer.

"A scout, maybe ...?" Dominik mused aloud.

"It might be best to hold off on assignments," came a sinister, reverberating voice from just outside, "until we're certain they'll be in any condition to help anyone ..."

To be continued in Part Two ....

[spoiler=Death Meet Part Two]"It might be best to hold off on assignments," came a sinister, reverberating voice from just outside, "until we're certain they'll be in any condition to help anyone." Many knew right away that it was Burke, despite the slight changes. One of the doors leading into the room slowly opened until the dark hall beyond the room was in clear view of the room's occupants. Two metal hands reached in, grasping the door frame on either side, as if to help haul in the rest of Burke's body. It became somewhat more clear why once more of his outer shell came into view; he wasn't walking, but floating into the room, with four massive shields fighting for room in the doorway alongside him. The four shields managed to enter the room first, and as they positioned themselves along the door frame, forming a massive 'x' shape, each's features became clear as day. Each one bore Burke's anchor, as well as an enormous metal skull.

"What's that?" Dominik said in surprise.

Once Burke's body was inside the room, the rest of the details could be made out as well, a long robe, hanging over and woven into metallic parts and armor. It was clear that Burke's human guise had been nearly dropped altogether, as his hands and feet were clearly not attached to his limbs, and violet dark energy practically oozed from the insides of his gauntlets and greaves, quickly spreading out into his aura, and eventually returning to him. The visor on his helmet contained a single gem that glowed ominously. It sat in place of an eye, as Burke had no need of one. As he came down to stand opposite Thanatos, his shields came to him and stayed in place on his left, right, and the latter two at his back. "After all, some of the upgrades aren't going to be ... seamless ..." Burke concluded.

Isabella was speechless as Burke entered, taking in all of his odd features. Between his demeanour, his present state, and his mention of these... upgrades, she couldn't feel anything but danger about him. Something just felt... off.

Keeper blinked and raised an eyebrow, "... Upgrades? What exactly are we talking about here?"

"Everyone should be alright within a day, regardless, Burke," Thanatos said, as his lieutenant clambered into the room. "That is another part of why I called you all here tonight: I am investing more of my power into each of you, now that the conflicts are beginning to pick up. That will be handled after the rest of the meeting."

Pavel took the time to examine Burke's new armor, expressionless. Well, at least he certainly looked the part of Death's right hand man, or spirit, or whatever the Impregnable was at this point in time.

Keeper leaned forward, curious now. "Hmm, upgrades huh? Should be interesting then. As for the other group, just the Hidden then? If so, what of the rest of us? Do we focus on the gates, or did you have other plans for us?"

Well, that was about as standard a definition of upgrade as one might receive, Isabella supposed. Though she wondered if this measure was truly preventative, as was being implied, or reactive... had they been suffering increased rates of failure? She just didn't know, though whether is was proactive or reactive didn't really matter much, at the moment.

"Where Ayano is concerned, I'm no so certain," Burke shook his head smoothly. "Many of you seem to be at your best, and yet it is not enough. The options I want to explore with her in particular are among the most dangerous. If we're unable to improve her cloaking abilities to new levels suitable for the coming days ... you may have to find her another body ... the original won't be salvageable," he shook his head again, more decisively this time.

"I'll do whatever is necessary," Ayano replied , her response distant and mechanical.

"Sheesh, what type of experiments are you running, Burke?" Dominik asked, cocking his head at the armored monstrosity. He'd been fine with some of the other experiments, after all, Gabbie's seeking ability was quite the boon, and Naomi was a proof of concept; they could split up an individual spirit, allowing it to be present and anchored in more than one location. These were valuable insights into the laws and limitations of their world, and how to best use it to suit their needs. It was just sometimes, there were experiments that had a greater degree of risk than others. This experiment concerning Ayano seemed to be one such case.

"Ayano has no means of fooling the noses of the fallen's demon pets, and poor ground or heat left in her wake can allow her to be tracked as well. The only way to overcome these limitations is for her to phase partially out of this plane, so that no obvious trace of her lingers that an enemy would notice. That requires a good deal of work, and if it fails, her body could be destroyed or even atomized. It's dangerous, but her original abilities aren't enough anymore."

Ayano's expression never changed, and never hinted at concern. Whatever she was required to do, she would do it, or in this case, submit herself to it.

Keeper looked at Burke, mostly in surprise, before looking back at Thanatos. If Burke was planning on doing this, it meant the boss had already thought about it. And since Ayano seemed to have no objections... he shrugged. "Fair enough I guess. She clearly has no issues with it, so I see no problem with it. Though that does bring up the issue of possibly messing with your plan for the group headed to Kigen. Though I suppose that there's no sense in worrying about that until after the... upgrade occurs."

"Mmm... the premise is sound, but do you know if such a modification is plausible?" Isabella interjected... if what he said with regard to the Hidden's abilities was true, then Isabella herself would likely have little issue tracking the woman... that kind of lapse in her ability could prove a problem if the enemy was right.

"It will work, and it shouldn't affect the Kigen-bound group significantly. I will watch over them in the meantime," Thanatos said, closing his eyes. "Nonetheless, that particular upgrade will be occurring on the mortal plane."

"Listen, elite grunts, I wouldn't be trying this if I thought it wouldn't work," Burke said, a hint of irritation in his voice, "I'm just not certain the process will work on the first try. We need to change the way her mind handles certain information in order for this to work properly."

"You could always go to the avians for help," Dominik offered, figuring any phasing shenanigans would require light magic, and as it turned out, Ayano's normal cloaking abilities relied partially on light magic, as well. "Their control over light is more advanced than anyone's."

"No ... we're just going to use a gestalt rune and tinker around in her head to accommodate the changes. If nothing goes wrong, she'll be able to completely conceal herself without being obliterated each time," Burke said, not really wanting to bother with the featherfolk.

Well, he snapped rather quickly, Isabella noted. It seemed Burke had quite the thin temper... his terminology was rather gruff as well... while she herself might not be worthy of much, the others here were mostly all titled, they deserved better than that...

"Wait, where on Earth did you get a-" "from Nyx," Burke cut Dominik off. "She knows what we're in for; all I had to do was ask."

"... Back to your previous question, Keeper, both you and the others are to continue with their previous missions, for now," Thanatos said. "We need to keep up appearances, for now, and while we have made a breakthrough with regards to the organization, I am not intending on acting until I know whether or not we have the cooperation of the other three."

Keeper let out a slight sigh and nodded. "Right... Previous mission..." Ah well, looks like it's more time in Purgatory for me. Well, not like I'm not useful doing what I'm doing. Just a bit tiresome after a while.

"Other 'three'?" Morgana asked, not sure who Thanatos was referring to. She had some vague idea, but she preferred to make certain.

"I don't see how some of us," Dominik chimed in again, indicating himself, "like yours truly, can be improved upon, Burke. What's your wild experiment concerning us?"

"We haven't decided what we'll be doing to each of you just yet," Burke explained. "That's something that should be decided by the end of this meeting. Perhaps we can turn you into an even better abomination," he finished with just a hint of amusement in his tone.

"I don't know," Dominik feigned concern and gestured at Burke, "it could be hard to top that."

So did that mean that some of these upgrades would be decided through brainstorming or consensus? It seemed an odd idea, but if they didn't have something preplanned in mind, it wasn't the most far-fetched of ideas, Isabella supposed.

"It really doesn't matter if you can't all be extended," Burke began again, "the difference can always be made up in equipment. As you can see, my body has changed considerably. This is one way to handle things since some of you have abilities that can't easily be upgraded, Morgana and Dominik in particular."

"I'm not putting on a bunch of armor, especially not like what you're wearing," Morgana quickly chimed in, her question temporarily forgotten.

"Well we're not throwing a bunch of gestalt runes at the issue," Burke said, crossing his arms slowly. He nudged his helmet toward Ayano. "In this case it's absolutely necessary, but if you can be improved with a little extra armor, then I think you should just embrace the change, mage." The term itself wasn't much of an insult, but the way Burke used it certainly was, and was intended to be a bit cutting.

"Let's discuss this a little more before you start writing us off as 'needs more armor'," Morgana countered, pretending to jot down notes in an exaggerated manner.

would appreciate it if you would tone it down, Burke. Morgana, keep in mind, there is more than one type of armor," Thanatos said patiently. "As for the three I mentioned, they were organization members Uniter had saved from the crisis at the complex. They've been deprogrammed and are recovering from both that and their injuries, at the moment."

It seemed that some of the senior disciples were apprehensive about the idea... which eventually devolved into the suggestion of armour, which again, seemed to garner some opposition. It also came to light that Uniter had extracted some extras after she had left with Jethro.

"Back to the upgrades...," Thanatos said, before opening his eyes. "Go ahead and tell me off if you are opposed to my suggestions. Uniter, you would be able to locate disciples as you speak with them. Your armor is also ready."

"I see," Pavel said, thinking back to the complex. Being able to locate Cassandra might've sped things up considerably...

"Gabriella, I would modify your capabilities so that you can determine allegiances alongside its current functionality. Naomi, for you, I believe we would be further separating your spirit, and adding other control pieces. Morgana, I am aware that you are not fond of armor, however that may be what is needed if another magic source cannot be acquired. Keeper, you would only require armor, to help evacuation situations. Volya, you need only an iron rune. As for the Twins..., well, Dominik, it might do you some good to put on some armor while you're in your human form, but other than that, the two of you need no enhancements, as-is."

To be continued in Part Three ....

[spoiler=Death Meet Part Three]Cassandra felt somewhat out of place at the moment. Perhaps once things eventually came back to this organization everyone seemed to be gunning for and her part in whatever steps were taken to deal with them. For now, she listened and tried to observe the others without being noticed by them.

Keeper shrugged. "So long as it doesn't slow me down, I'm fine with whatever. I trust your judgement as far as that goes."

"Alright," Morgana conceded. At least it was coming from their leader and not one of her annoying colleagues. In the back of her mind, she was still processing the mention of the three organization members. What was to happen to them?

"How exactly does my 'upgrade' work?" Gabbie asked, "knowing who's with who is really specific ..." She had doubts she could get that kind of information so easily.

"A spirit cannot hide its true nature," Burke began, gesturing at her as if she should have known what they had in mind from the beginning. "A spirit cannot deceive another spirit in a mingled presence by any means; identity, loyalty, desire, all of these are etched into it plain as day. The trouble starts here," he pointed at Gabbie's chest, "your physical form ... your spirit is tied down to this body, just like all the others. Yours and theirs are little more than barriers to understanding each other."

"I koind of need my body, Burke," Gabbie said carefully, "you know, so I can actually exist." She'd learned a few things prior to Burke suppressing her memories, about spirits and her unique ability. One thing that had always been of great interest to her was the two distinct states of a spirit, conscious, and unconscious. An unconscious spirit was exactly the same as a physical mind trapped in a coma, incapable of conscious thought or activity. A spirit that isn't tied to the physical world cannot remain conscious, and therefore, was incapable of even basic thought or experience. Without a mind to dwell in, it was as if they didn't even exist. Thanatos had nearly subverted this with Burke, by tying him to something inanimate--at the man's own request, but this exacted an inconceivably high toll on him, as he had no choice but to replace all of his senses, possibly over centuries, learning through trial and error. How he saw, heard, felt, and interpreted the world around him was truly alien to the rest of them. He was still like the rest of them in the end, though, a spirit tied to the physical plane, latching onto the physical world to avoid being drawn into the Gate and swallowed up. Here in Purgatory, more than anywhere else in existence, it was important to have a firm grasp on the physical.

As far as Gabbie knew, only the gods possessed spirits that could exist and act totally independent of the physical world. They were the only ones who could have their bodies completely annihilated and live on, as well as interact with each other, and work toward their individual goals. That was what made her wonder about this upgrade she was going to receive. Her body, her physical brain, had no noticeable interaction with her spirit, or at least it hadn't until Thanatos built physical responses into her mind and body based on what her spirit did. It was what allowed her to 'sense' others when her spirit came into contact with them. Each spirit was unique, and Gabbie's memory of the combinations of feelings and sensations associated with each of them allowed her to remember and identify anyone she'd ever come into contact with in the past. It wasn't something she could see improved much.

Thanatos and Burke had a plan, though ... "You'll be keeping your body, despite how feeble it is." Burke's general opinion of fleshy beings, even among the disciples. "We're just going to expand your vocabulary ... that's all. You remember people through a blend of thoughts, feelings, and sensations brought about while in contact with and focusing on others. Now we go deeper. You have identity; next, you need loyalty, better said allegiance. You will gain this by submitting yourself to a few modifications of the mind. When we're done with you, the material you will have at your disposal will allow you to work out for yourself who you can and can't trust ... in the short term ... be mindful of that. For the long term, you'll have to be smart enough to recognize the signs, but don't worry ... if this is successful, we may be able to get you to the third level in the near future. Then you'll have identity, allegiance, and desire. Once you have all three, no one will be fooling you by any means."

"Woe be to the fool who would even consider satisfying his extramarital lusts and betraying the trust of our precious Seeker," Dominik sung quietly. He knew Morgana would attribute him with that sort of behavior but he didn't mind. He only liked to keep his options open, and didn't feel that people should blame him considering how 'wonderful' his attempts to court Morgana were going.

And that had been a general overview of what Thanatos had planned for these upgrades, along with a bit of exposition on Gabbie's in particular. Seems they were planning to alter her perception of spirits to be able to identify more than just the person that said spirit represented... though the mechanics of such a thing were lost on Isabella.

"By that point, it seems like her ability would function as some sort of universal sensor... though I suppose that's the intent."

"It is, to some extent," Thanatos agreed with Isabella, "She will need it, for the road to come. Now, any other questions, or shall we move on to speaking a little about the organization?"

"Hmm... nothing on my end, for now..." Isabella noted rather quietly.

Keeper shrugged. "No questions here. And I'm rather curious to hear more about this Organization. After all, I had a minor encounter with Lilith and one of their members today. Better I know who he is if I run into him again. Somehow I don't think he'll like me very much. After all, I grabbed his emblem user from under his nose. ... Rather literally I suppose."

"I was actually waiting for this part," Cassandra said, deciding not to hide in the background anymore, at least for now. From what she could tell, the others in the room seemed more or less ready to move on. "Did you learn anything important about them ... and what am I going to be doing now that they know I was a ..." She couldn't quite find the right words, a spy maybe? Double agent for her had more extreme implications.

"We know who their leader is and all signs seem to point to Leviathan as the group's primary ... benefactor," Burke explained briefly.

Morgana nearly threw up her arms in defeat but held back. There had to be some plan in place already. Dominik coincidentally followed through with the gesture, however. "The Sea King? Okay, just how screwed are we?" he asked, looking to Thanatos.

"No one ever did learn who exactly was more powerful, Leviathan or ... Obelisk," Volya noted. He noticed Burke crossing his arms, the gemstone within his visor dimming as the specter drew his attention inward. "I assume we won't be contending with him ... at least not directly ...?"

"That certainly sounds daunting." Isabella noted, at the mention that the group they had just messed with having Leviathan as a benefactor.

All Cassandra could tell was that the organization had a vasilus backing it from the shadows, which made eradicating them potentially much more difficult. They could probably defeat the organization outright if they found the base and dealt with all its leaders, but no one had ever explicitly stated it's total destruction as their ultimate goal in this matter, and now there was Leviathan to deal with. It did seem possible that he might intervene if they came too close to wiping the organization out, and he was being closely compared to Obelisk. That couldn't be good.

Keeper winced. This wasn't good. "... Great. So all we need to do is find someone who can take on Leviathan and is willing to help us. That should be easy, right?" He shook his head and sighed, slumping back into the couch. "So what are we going to do? Especially if that emblem wielder we're trying to protect still wants to try and take them on like they did today... That'll be trouble."

"I believe you have the decision there, Cassandra," Thanatos said, simply. "With regards to that, I do not believe it will be very difficult to get you back in. We did just indirectly save one of their more important members, after all, and there are ways to explain your memory. As for the Sea King, we will not be battling with him directly, that is for sure. Instead we will be dismantling and or subverting his land operatives. For the most part, the former, though if the three I mentioned earlier agree to cooperate, we will dabble in the latter. I am in the process of creating a countermeasure to Leviathan's mind magic, so until that is complete, we will not be changing our operations with regards to the organization. For now, just stay away from the coastline and the ocean, if you can. If you need transit, enlist Keeper's services."

Then the Gatekeeper himself spoke up, wondering about the mercenary band. "They have the support of Wrath in going after the organization, and though their decision-making needs some work, they are quite capable of engaging the organization in isolated battles. We will continue to support them in their ventures from behind the scenes."

On that note, it appeared it wasn't something Isabella would be directly involved with, at least for the time being... though the group that she had been assigned to did seem to be fighting this Organization rather often, so that might not be the case... at least the direct infiltration appeared to be handled elsewhere.

"Aren't we forgetting something?" Dominik spoke up, "Leviathan isn't just limited to advanced mind magic. He and ... sometimes his followers, can outright dominate the will of others if they're close enough. That falls outside of the domain of light, dark, or anima, and likely anything we can prepare ourselves for. I wouldn't be so worried if vasili were immune, but he proved that wasn't the case during the rebellion ..."

As the legends were understood, Leviathan rose to prominence during the rebellion as the ruler of a neutral faction in Sardius, summoning up a slave army literally overnight, and leading a vicious campaign against Obelisk's Dark Legion. The two conquerors were never known to have fought each other directly, but vasili serving under Obelisk were easily overwhelmed by Leviathan, their wills suppressed by his, and they were made his obedient slaves for the duration of his involvement in the conflict. None of those serving Leviathan at the time ever demonstrated abilities like his, which seemed to suggest that the Sea King either couldn't channel his power through his thralls, or simply chose not to. "You think the leader is capable of the same feats as him?" Volya asked him.

"He is," Burke confirmed for them, "though he prefers the more subtle touch, apparently. Leviathan's power is overwhelming but it would be too much for a mere human to handle in excess. Master's countermeasures should protect Cassandra from all but that ability, which I doubt will come into play against a simple mole like her. We're already prepared for that eventuality, regardless ... and I am the weapon that will strike down Leviathan's little pet ... when the time comes. Virtually no one is immune to Leviathan's power, but I am. I don't have a physical mind for them to overpower. I cannot be manipulated that way, and so I will strike the killing blow. Until then, just let them whittle away the pet's forces."

Gabbie had withdrawn quite a bit since Leviathan came up. Her first memories of Sardius were of the fleet of ships that captured her and the rest of the people her father was leading. The captains of that fleet were Leviathan's own. They were monsters in every sense of the word, and they were at least partly responsible for her death. She'd never even considered that this organization would be connected to them in any way, shape, or form, but there was a connection. It didn't endear her to Raquel's cause, but it did show her just how closely tied most of these incidents in the recent past were. It wasn't difficult to link at least one of the many vasili to any given problem in Sardius, citing action or in-action as the cause, but Gabbie didn't care about Leviathan, just as she knew Leviathan didn't care about her. The real problem were these servants of his, and the free rein he gave them.

Well, that was a bit disconcerting. Mind magic was one thing, but an absolute dominance outside the realm of known magic was another thing entirely... still, Burke didn't seem worried about it, which meant he was confident in his ability to deal with it in the manner he had suggested... she could only hope his confidence was well founded.

"We will see if that is necessary, Burke. You may not be aware, but Samael actually dealt a fatal blow to Wrath's avatar at that incident. I cannot imagine that he will be too pleased," Thanatos said, calmly. "If he wants to personally deal with the organization's leadership, who are we to stop him from fulfilling his vengeance? To a certain extent, anyways."

"Well," Burke began, amusement in his voice, "Lilith shattered the emblem and she just got sent here to sleep away her rebellious streak, so I doubt any divine punishment is headed their way ... not unless it's through you."

That was a rather interesting back and forth, though if Burke was correct it meant there was little chance of outside assistance from the Order of Wrath... though Thanatos was likely well aware of that fact, and likely wouldn't have brought it up without some sort of counterpoint... Isabella didn't really have anything to add on her end at the moment, regardless.

"You think he wanted to spare her?" Thanatos asked Burke, simply. "Besides that, inaction to this would signal to mortals that it is acceptable to kill the gods' representatives, and I somehow doubt that is something the four of them would allow."

Keeper had been keeping quiet after his last question was answered but now spoke up. "I know that we're not going to just sit back and hope that Wrath comes in and does something, but... What are we going to do if he doesn't do anything? Just let Burke take him on like he wants?"

Dominik shrugged. It seemed like a good idea to him.

"Why put her to sleep when he could have executed her?" Burke answered Thanatos' question with another question. "Assuming she's his favorite, he could have just taken away her spirit spring as an alternative. After that, she wouldn't be much of a threat. If he wasn't 'sparing' her for some reason, then he's far too lenient ... that or .... Truth, again."

"Obelisk is still around, so I think it's the latter," Dominik smirked.

"You know, it wouldn't surprise me one iota if Lilith is still working for Wrath ... albeit unknowingly. Truth might have been protecting her, but Wrath is no fool. If he knows what she's planning then the situation isn't completely out of his control. Maybe he kept her around ... just in case something changed for the 'better'."

"Well, having a vasilus that can destroy other vasili is generally a useful asset, yes," Thanatos said, frowning as he turned away from that part of the discussion. "Yes, Keeper, that is the plan. All I am saying is that if Wrath wants to simplify things, let him."

"I understand," Burke nodded. Justice was sometimes poetic, or at least ironic, so if not him, then someone else the man had crossed would probably do him in. Burke imagined the list was growing by the day. Maybe it would even be Lilith. That would be beautifully ironic, her aiding in the destruction of Wrath's enemies. Or maybe not ... maybe the involvement of emblem pieces ensured such a confrontation.

So in the end, it seemed that whole back and forth was mostly what ifs, not something they were banking on. Isabella supposed it might ease confusion in the event that said scenario were to occur, at least.

"Okay then," Dominik began, "so to sum it all up, send Cassy here back into the bunch of them to keep an eye on things, wait for the mercenaries to force them into a corner, and then strike if strictly necessary, to put an end to them once and for all?"

"And hope their base isn't near the ocean," Gabbie muttered.

"I should probably keep an eye on Cassandra for the first bit, in case I need to pull her out again, huh? Wouldn't want to risk anything bad happening. Especially if that vasilus is still after her."

"Potentially, yes. There are a few variables, but the gist of it is correct for dealing with the majority of the main branch," Thanatos said, calmly. "That would be helpful, Keeper, though it will be a few days before you'd have to keep tabs on the member who's going with the Organization."

"So that would appear to be the plan of action, then?" Isabella asked, since this particular topic appeared to be concluded for the time being. She was still wondering why exactly she had been summoned for this, since she had no real input with regards to the Organization... all that appeared to relate to her so far was being sent along with Gabbie, but that was something she could have been briefed on afterwards...

Keeper nodded. "Well, she's been spending time in my armory, enhancing her emblem abilities. She can continue to stay there, if she wants. It should be fairly safe, and allows her to continue to work. Alternatively,she could go elsewhere. I know Purgatory isn't exactly the best place to stay day in and day out."

"That would again be up to Cassandra," Thanatos said, evenly. "Anyways, I believe there is one more order of business to attend to. Isabella, do you know why you're here?"

At the mention of her own name, Isabella perked up slightly, turning towards Thanatos as she did so. It seemed she might be receiving an explanation for her own presence after all, then?

To be concluded in Part Four ....

[spoiler=Death Meet Part Four]At the mention of her own name, Isabella perked up slightly, turning towards Thanatos as she did so. It seemed she might be receiving an explanation for her own presence after all, then?

"I was not made aware as to why my presence here was requested, no." She replied, watching the vasilus with some curiousity.

"Well as you might know, this is an officer's meeting, so I have my officers, current and impending, gathered here," Thanatos said, seriously. "I'd like to make you an officer, in short. Would you accept?"

When Thanatos spoke his reasoning for having her there, Isabella's eyes lit up for the briefest of moments, before she realized the phenomenon and righted herself. Taking a moment to regain her composure, she looked back towards their leader.

"If you would have me, I would be happy to accept the position."

"Well then, congratulations, Isabella, the Apex," Thanatos said, with a slight smile. "We can handle the anchor along with the rest of the upgrades."

"With honour, Sir." Isabella replied, bowing her head to Thanatos as she did so.

"Congratulations," Morgana said, trying to stow her irritation away for the moment. Isabella didn't have anything to do with Dominik or her dead student, after all.

"Apex ..." Dominik hung onto the title in his mind for a moment. "Some sort of predator, maybe?"

"You can just mull on that for awhile," Burke said, and then his helm turned in Gabbie's general direction. "Gabriella, Ayano, it's just about time to go. I'm going to open you both up and make some ... adjustments. The sooner it's done, the sooner you can get back to work."

Ayano immediately stood up, ready to follow, while Gabbie lingered in her seat a moment. That sounds terrible ... "Err-I'm not the real Gabbie, I'm just an impersonator, heheh, really." She knew it was a poor attempt, but she wasn't being all that serious, only trying to let Burke know that he was making these upgrades seem far less than appealing. Almost as soon as she'd uttered the words, though, the piece of armor that composed Burke's right hand ripped away from one another as if blown apart by an explosion. They raced over and around Gabbie almost faster than she could see, and reformed into a solid gauntlet firmly clutching the top of her head. "Uh ..."

"That's not what an impersonator would say. I suggest leaving deception to the deceivers. Now come, it's not going to hurt that much."

Gabbie supposed that was somewhat true, at least when compared to Ayano. Her modifications would all be done to her mind. Ayano was the one that would have to have numerous runes carved into her bones, most likely her skull to start. The most effective way to do it would be to try to bypass the skin ... if possible, and engrave the runes all along her skull; a crown of runes. Also a crown of pain. Even if Burke could do it without going through her skin first, he would likely be using dark magic to disintegrate the material and leaving the runes in their place. It was a deliberate bone injury that would need to be inflicted and reinforced, so trying to heal it in any way to ease her pain would only force them to start over. Gabbie figured Ayano was going to be recovering here for the next few days ... possibly longer. Gabbie cared, but Ayano obviously didn't. "Foine ..."

"Is that everything?" Burke decided to check one last time to be sure. "If so, then we should get started."

"I believe that should be about it," Thanatos said, closing his eyes again. "Meeting adjourned."

"Welcome to the Disciples, Belle. If you ever need to get somewhere quick or need a new weapon, just let me know." Keeper grinned at the newest member, then walked over to Cass. "So. If you want to come back to my armory, that's cool. If not, just let me know where you're planning on going, so I can keep an eye on you in case you need to get out quickly."

"Maybe in the morning?" Cassandra replied, noticing that she was beginning to get tired. She remembered that she had been using one of the rooms in this building before being delivered to Sardis and his colleagues by Burke. It wasn't her favorite place in the world, but the familiarity was enough to make her choose it over the unknown options. "I should probably go to sleep for now ..."

"Mmm, fair enough. I should probably sleep as well. Well, good night. I'll probably be here until everyone else has left, in case they need me to take them somewhere. So just let me know." He gave her a slight bow before heading to the room he tended to use.

Edited November 15, 2014 by Phoenix

[Phoenix]

[spoiler=Home Coming]After about thirty odd minutes or so of riding, Faatina recalled that they were rather close by the Cathedral, by this point. According to what Reign had said earlier, they must be getting close to arriving.

"Hey Reign, we must be getting close, huh? The Cathedral is just a little ways further."

"Yeah, not far now," Reign confirmed. "Just wish it hadn't taken so damn long to get here," he muttered under his breath. He couldn't imagine his parents were still eating breakfast, and though he knew he'd have to, he didn't like putting his mother on the spot like this, at least not where cooking was concerned. She had another child on the way, too ...

"Well, it can't really be helped... we ended up having more than expected to do first, after all." Faatina replied, as they continued riding along. She wondered if it would be along the main roads or if they would turn onto a side road soon.

Reign looked at some of the streets signs, just out of curiosity, but like he suspected, few rang any bells, and even fewer were even useful in ensuring they were going the right way. Fortunately, Reign remembered the way without the signs. In fact, he'd narrowed down the apartment building not by the twists and turns it took to reach it, but by its general distance from certain landmarks he remembered. Because of this, he was able to eliminate all but two turns to get there.

"Here we go," Reign said as he guided Sandrock into a right turn, being careful not to startle or bump into any of the workers nearby. There was so much damage still being repaired, mostly broken windows and boarding that needed to be taken out, but some buildings were far worse off than others. There were also plenty that were littered with the bodies of men and beasts. There was no strong smell in the area, nothing out of the ordinary, so Reign figured this area was either recovering quickly or hadn't been hit too hard to begin with. "One more turn, up there," he said, pointing off down a long busy street. He had to beat down his urge to get Sandrock galloping, knowing he wouldn't be able to prevent an accident if he did.

Seems like they really were almost there, as Reign turned onto a side street, and pointed out that there was only one turn remaining after that. This area also looked relatively well off compared to most of the city, with regards to the aftermath of those attacks.

"So, uhh... anything I should know before I meet them?" Faatina asked, not much coming to mind to talk about to cut the relative silence between them.

"Yeah. The old man's not gonna stop pestering you so ... be ready for that," Reign warned, his tone split between annoyance and amusement. It was annoying to see his father's antics coming from a mile away and not being able to do much about it, but at least he wasn't going to be interrogated for long. Even if the man tried, Reign would be stuffing his face, with mother's cooking no less. There was no excuse good enough to interrupt that.

"Heh... alright, I'll keep it in mind." Faatina replied with a chuckle. There did seem to be some amusement in his tone, so hopefully it wouldn't be anything severe.

The next turn came up and from there Reign had no doubt they were on the right track. A little further up the road was the apartment building, an unusually packed in building, housing over a dozen households. They were becoming increasingly common in large cities like Europa and the capital; there were few other ways to keep up with population growth without spreading out and encroaching on the farmlands and estate grounds. That was trouble no one wanted.

Reign stopped in front of the entrance and hitched Sandrock up again. It looked like a hitching post, so he wasn't going to second guess its function, at least not while his stomach was rebelling against him like this. "They haven't been living here for too long, but they've already broken the place in, looks like," he noted. "Hopefully they're still eating."

"Whoa... that's pretty different from anything I've seen before..." Faatina noted, as she also hitched up Sharif. There had been apartments in Sanctuary, but nothing quite like this...

"That is true... we didn't really get a chance to eat before we set out... it would be nice. You did say you'd bring me to taste some true Ursian food from your mother way back when, after all."

"I'm not sure it's really Ursian," Reign mused aloud, "... or nomad for that matter. She kind of just does whatever she wants. Everything tastes great, though, so no one complains. I know some of her meals are definitely inspired by this country's cuisine, but the similarities tend to end there." He supposed it could still be called 'Ursian' but lately he was starting to think otherwise.

"Well, that's what matters in the end, right?" Faatina replied, following along after Reign.

After giving Sandrock a couple of gentle pats on the neck, he started for the inside, making sure Faatina was in tow. "I guess," he shrugged. "As long as it tastes good that's all I really care about."

The place looked exactly the same as it had before, and the though the hallways inside the building were empty, a plethora of activity could be heard behind just about every section of the hall. Reign even thought he heard an argument going on nearby. Fortunately, it wasn't the apartment his parents were in. Their destination was just up ahead, a room off to the left. "Right here," he said, just a few meters from the door.

"So this is it, huh?" Faatina replied, taking a moment for a deep breath and to clear her thoughts. If she was to be as bombarded with pestering, it would be best to be mentally prepared. Also it'd be nice if her heart wasn't beating at a mile per minute, loudly thumping in her head, reminding her how nervous she was... damn traitor.

"Yeah ..." Reign uttered one last thought in his head, let there be food, and knocked on the door.

It was a long moment before he got a response. "Who is it?" That was Aldric's voice, alright, but he didn't sound like a man who'd just had his fill of a good breakfast, maybe a good kick to the face, but not breakfast. Reign hoped he was only interrupting that and that nothing was wrong.

"Everything all right in there?"

"Oh for ..." Aldric quickly opened the door, but just enough to confirm that it was indeed his son. "Really bad timing."

Reign immediately blushed. "H-how bad, exactly?" His eyes narrowed at his father. "What were you doing in there?" He could think of some reasons his father would give him such a greeting, and one of them meant breakfast wasn't getting made anytime soon. Aldric rapidly shook his head. "Then why are y-" "Shhh! Just come back a little later and-" "Having a secret conversation at the door, Mister Abrams? Who's the visitor?" Reign was interrupted by Aldric, and Aldric was interrupted by someone else, inside. It was a man, likely in his thirties. Even his tone was formal, so alarms went off in Reign's head and they were so loud, they threatened to block out every other possibility that might have come to mind. He'd paid them a visit at the same time as a representative from the army. 'Shit' ... just didn't cut it, here.

Between the apparent father's mood and greeting, it was readily apparent that something was amiss, and Reign's reply and demeanour cemented the fact... this was not how his father usually acted. There could have been several things causing the disturbance, but the heavily precise and formal tone sealed it. A military official... Faatina's eyes darted to meet Reign's with a simple, obvious question. What do we do now?

"Don't worry, just one of those pesky street urchins, trying to get a handout," Aldric called back.

I'm your son for crying out loud. Elrey doesn't even visit. Reign knew his father was only lying to give them time to disappear, but he also knew the officer was no fool. Even if the subtle hints in Aldric's voice didn't give him away, the lie itself did, having been blurted out with little to no thought. If he really was just some street urchin, this conversation should have ended sooner, with either an invite, or a closed door. If he really was just some street urchin, then trying to keep quiet was pointless. If he really was just some street urchin- "Oh, I have something for him," came the man's voice. "We need to be generous whenever possible, or any blessings granted us by the gods would be in vain. He placed a hand on Aldric's shoulder. "Come now. It will be all right."

Reign took a deep breath as Aldric stepped away from the door and opened it all the way. A blonde haired man in a dull red uniform; he was likely an intelligence officer or something to that effect. Even they had excellent combat training, but they found little time to keep themselves on par with actual soldiers. To Reign, this only mattered because there was still a chance this could end violently. "Of course. I see the resemblance clear as day. You must be Second Lieutenant Reign Abrams. I've been meaning to have a word with you. Not out here in the hall, of course ..."

Aldric glanced over at Faatina, then back at Reign. None of his own questions were going to get answered out here, so the bewildered father resolved to speak with her while the officer spoke with Reign. "Come on, everyone inside. We don't want to draw too much attention out here."

Well, it seemed the jig was up, as it were. The military officer had seen through the crudely constructed lie in an instant, and identified Reign on sight. That was when they were invited inside to avoid drawing attention... there was nothing for it, she supposed. Stepping forward and lodging herself firmly between Reign and the officer, Faatina moved to enter the apartment.

Once everyone was inside, Aldric briefly looked both ways, and then shut the door. "Well ..." he began, gesturing at the couch, "Have a seat. Regina was a little under the weather this morning so she only started on breakfast a little while ago."

Probably the occasion when I'll be remotely happy about her getting morning sickness, Reign thought, sighing in relief. I need to see how she's holding up, not waste time talking with this parrot in a suit.

"So," Aldric paused to sit down in his chair; it sat at a slight angle across from the left end of the couch. "Who's your friend here, Reign?" When he risked a glance at the officer, he noticed the man looking right back at him, his friendly demeanor seemingly gone, like he was running out of patience. "Never mind, you should go have a word with the officer, here. Your friend can introduce herself, I'm sure."

"Not interested, but ... I'll hear him out," Reign shrugged. "Fair warning, though: you're wasting your time."

"Perhaps," the man said, giving his own, subtle, fluid shrug. "I'm sure you're hungry; why don't we check on your mother while we chat, hm?"

"I'll check on her. You just focus on your pitch." With one last glance at Faatina, he headed toward the kitchen, the officer in tow.

With Reign's father asking of her, before the officer clearly showed his impatience, causing him and Reign to exit to another room, Faatina sighed.

"My name is Faatina, Mr. Abrams. We met while travelling, and as I'm not overly familiar with Ursium, he showed me around, a bit. On one occasion, we had a lunch in an Ursian restaurant and he mentioned that I'd get a better impression from his mother's cooking... that he'd take me if he ever got the chance. Said he was coming to visit today, so I tagged along." She replied, giving a brief rundown of the parts of the story relevant to why she was there, careful to leave out any mention that they would soon be departing Ursium, in case the officer could still hear.

Aldric froze with a surprised look on his face, then after a moment, he burst into a brief chuckle. "That's more than I was expecting. Thanks for the update, there, Faatina. Seems like you came prepared for more than just a rough run-in," he said, gesturing at her sword. "You a mercenary or just a well armed traveler?"

"I suppose mercenary is the right word... I've only ever really taken one job, so it might end up a short-lived career choice depending on what happens. And sorry, was I a bit long-winded?" Faatina replied with a light chuckle, before leaning in closer to Aldric, making sure that the officer didn't have line of sight to notice, and whispered to the man.

"How much did Reign tell you about where we're going from here?"

Aldric glanced in that direction too and then quietly replied, "Doesn't matter; I don't remember much of it," and then chuckled. "What I do recall is that he's stuck to his school buddy, Raquel, like the pink is stuck in her hair, heheheh ... yeah. Honestly, it's starting to get old, though ..."

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"I'm glad you didn't run," the officer began once they were more or less out of earshot, though neither of them had gone into the kitchen, just yet.

"And leave my family at the mercy of you people?" Reign shook his head at the end, "No, I don't think so."

"Well, your parents have been deceiving us and your presence here proves that. Aiding a fugitive--a deserter, is a serious offense, but you know that, already. Why put them in such a difficult situation? Never mind, I understand perfectly," the officer quickly amended himself. "... I am Lieutenant Colonel Adrian Archos. I am not one of the scouts that would normally come here looking for information on you. When I heard about the investigation and why you were being sought out, I took it upon myself to see if I couldn't track you down."

"Well, here I am," Reign taunted him, holding his arms out expectantly. "Get to the point; I don't want mother to notice us yet."

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"Hmm?" Faatina replied softly... she didn't quite understand Aldric's implication here, but she supposed it didn't matter all that much.

"Anyway... we're doing some investigating in Ursentius for Weyland Enterprises, and after that, if nothing else comes up, we're heading into Neviskotia... once we're there, they shouldn't be able to touch him."

"Hmm ..." They didn't mean Reign any harm ... not at this point, but the idea of dragging him back into service after everything that had happened wasn't too appealing. "Well, the officer's not here to convince Reign to turn himself in. He's offering him his old position back in the army. They're mainly interested in that synchronized stuff; you don't get pardons like this unless you know something real useful, after all. They think it would be a powerful tool if they can create their own method and work it into the mage training regimen. They've got Nadine, though, so I don't know why always bring it up. Never mind that, though, it's up to Reign to figure this out, now. Why's Raquel dragging you people to Neviskotia, anyway?"

"I don't think he'll go back. circumstances are just too complicated, now. Besides, with his injury, the chance that he can even do it anymore is slim to none... something like that has to require good depth perception." Faatina replied, with a bit of a scowl. The Ursian military didn't really 'have' Nadine any more either, really, but it wasn't something she was going to bring up.

"As for that... well, you must know about the attack here. Looks like they're planning to do that in Neviskotia and Kigen too, follow up on the one here as well. We're trying to warn them so they don't get torn apart from the inside out... we have a group heading down to Kigen as well, and Weyland is looking into the problem here. That and, it looks like the Organization that originally took Jethro is based in Neviskotia, and she wants to stop them from being able to do any more damage... but..." Faatina trailed off with a sigh.

"We did manage to get Jethro back, so we don't know if Raquel will still go through with it. We've been contracted by Weyland to go anyway, but... Raquel might back out on this one. I don't know what Reign will end up doing if she does."

Aldric heaved a heavy sigh himself. "... wrathdammit, Reign, don't go and get yourself killed before you get us some grandkids," he muttered. "And don't wind up dead before we do, urgh. Err-sorry about that. It's hard being father to an actual 'nomad', at least when you're somewhat rooted like Regina and I. At least he visits," Aldric shrugged. "So those monsters are coming back eventually, ey? And from the sound of things, if the big leaders don't wise up in time, there won't be anywhere to run."

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"I want you to rejoin the army, Lieutenant. Desertion, while a serious crime, was not ... entirely unexpected."

Reign raised an eyebrow. "I'm listening."

"You already know that your commanding officer was sending you and the rest of your unit into certain death. The only real surprise was that the then Lieutenant Dalca didn't go with you. Despite both of her friends seeing the 'writing on the wall' as it were, she did not go with you ... even though the writing was in the blood of her brothers and sisters in arms. Now, I need to point out, that we are not even close to perfect, Lieutenant. Our rigid command structure is what ensures that we can remain precise and orderly on the battlefield, but the system still allows for the occasional imbecile to take command and 'sacrifice pawns' for some small personal victory."

Reign smirked, nodding a few times. "He really wanted that dragon on his list of kills, didn't he?"

"That he did. The colonel put his personal agenda ahead of his troops and his country and your unit was massacred as a result. Now this obviously doesn't excuse what the two of you did in response, however, it does come back on us, and our ... inadequate training regimen. The mages are not taught how to deal with situations where death is all but certain. We teach optimistic patriotism ... nothing like what you'd face in a losing battle. Mages are not held to the same psychological standard as ordinary soldiers, especially not those coming out of Horizon ... pampered upper class children and nobility for the most part. 'Abusive' training, they call it. I personally don't see it as you failing your country, Lieutenant ... so much as your country failing you ... and your unit. You never betrayed us ... not in earnest, you only left. Had you defected to the Empire, we wouldn't be having this discussion."

"I do have this one 'skotian friend," Reign smirked again. "She's making a decent case for the empire."

"Please do not jest about such things," Adrian groaned.

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"That's pretty much the gist of it. It seems that the attack on Europa was more of a pulse check and a cover than anything else... they had a specific objective inside Weyland's estate that we managed to repel them from... well, partly. They're building large... they called them siege gates, from my understanding, they're one-way portals that let them march armies into the middle or another country's lands, and by the time they realize what's going on, it's too late. That's why we're trying to get warnings out, if possible, destroy the gates before they're done." Faatina replied, her expression sinking further.

"If they open those gates even once, how many years do you think it would take to get rid of everything that swarms in? Even if the war is won, there will be pockets of resistance within the countries themselves for generations... just makes it even easier if they try again." Faatina concluded, sighing heavily.

"Yeah ... we're screwed in the long run if they get an army over the threshold," Aldric nodded in agreement, "but 'siege gates'? Never heard of ... well ... maybe. I've heard stories about monsters appearing out of nowhere, and that's exactly what happened here, so ... they've obviously got the means."

"Yeah, they've proven that already... just need to try and stop them before they go large scale with it... it feels really weird to call that attack small scale but in the end it really was... but yeah, that's the story behind dragged to Skotia, as it were." Faatina replied, glancing over towards the door to the kitchen.

"I hope he's doing okay..."

"It's the officer I'm worried about right now," Aldric frowned. "If he heard some of the things the guy was implying earlier, he'd light'em up on the spot, consequences be damned. Takes too much after his mother, there. So, why'd he invite you here and no one else? I haven't seen Raquel in ages and I know there are plenty of others traveling with your group."

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"I appreciate the army's commitment to weeding out its idiots, but I already know this invite's at least partially contingent on me telling you what I know about that stunt Nadine and I pulled at Horizon, and that's not going to happen."

"Lieut-" Adrian stopped himself short, shook his head, and gave a weak grin. "Reign ... I'm not actually authorized to offer you a pardon. It is something you would need to earn. If you helped us, that would save lives ... which would more than make up for your ... 'crime of passion', should we call it? I know it's distasteful, both for you and us, frankly, and the greater good can mean little to those not privy to the bigger picture, but I promise you that if you come back to us, you will see the bigger picture, this time. You'll have a purpose, with us."

... alright, what did they tell him? "I'm not interested in the king's vision for this country, Adrian."

"We don't follow the royal family just to fulfill their dreams for the country, but ours, as well. A single man can do virtually nothing of and by himself ... but an army? Unified by at least one common goal, can accomplish great things. Tell me ... how much closer are you to finding an answer? You used to have two eyes, did you not? I hope it was lost for a good reason. I hope it was lost bringing you closer to that answer."

"It's still there, but it's worthless at the moment ... I didn't get anything for it, no," Reign admitted. "Look, I don't know where you're getting this stuff about my 'purpose', and I'm starting not to care anymore. Unless you've got a more convincing offer, consider the offer rejected." And if you threaten my family, you're dead ...

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"That kind of worries me about what he was saying..." Faatina replied, trailing off a bit, before blushing slightly at the other question.

"Well, it's not like he put out an invitation or anything. We were just talking and he brought up that he was going to be heading here hoping to catch breakfast, and as I had mentioned, he had brought up his mother's cooking before. He mostly just didn't object when I asked if I could tag along, is all... though if more people had tried to tag along he likely would have left us all behind for fear of being too much a bother." Faatina replied, sheepishly grinning and rubbing the back of her head embarrassedly.

"Well, that and Raquel wasn't really in any shape to come. She took an injury when she was retrieving Jethro, and while it's been healed and she's awake now, she's still not really fit to be riding around the city. I'd imagine the only reason he came today rather than stay with her for a while is because he doubted he'd get another chance to see you for a long while."

"Makes sense, but ... usually there's more to it," Aldric replied. His head tilted to one side, just slightly as he gauged her earlier response. Then he smirked at her. "You must be the massage friend."

Well there was a bit of a curve ball, for certain. Reign must have told his father about that at some point, then. Despite attempting to avoid that particular outcome, her face flashed a bright red, so instead she simply opted to stare at the floor and hope in vain that he hadn't noticed... of course he had noticed.

"Y-yeah, that's right... so he told you, huh?"

"Not exactly," Aldric rubbed his stubble as he thought back to the event. "He was asking for some tips and I was starting to wonder if he'd decided to contribute more than just some occasional fireworks to the group." He leaned forward, still grinning like some kid who'd picked up on something scandalous. "So how was it? That was his first time as far as I know, so don't take it the wrong way ..." The grin was still there, though ...

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"Others would threaten you ... people who can't see the bigger picture," Adrian noted. Just as he saw the fire in Reign's eye, he added, "but I won't. Your knowledge of that technique is important, but not enough to go back on our own principles. That's why your friend, Warrant Officer Dalca has been carefully looked after ... to ensure she isn't ... forced to divulge the information. It should be given freely."

"All this talk of being unified and serving some purpose, and you people are still fighting each other ..."

"Human nature ... it can't be helped, but 'we do what we can, and endure what we must so that we can accomplish what we want.' I think that's how the saying goes, at least," Adrian gave another weak grin. He sighed when Reign kept giving him that hot glare of his. Adrian's smile faded quickly after that. "You're afraid ... proud, and ... preoccupied ... ... I understand."

"Reign?" Regina stepped over. She looked fine as far as Reign could tell, though she wasn't as upbeat as she normally was. To be fair, her brand of upbeat was somewhat mundane to begin with. "I knew you'd get here eventually ... but you're late." She spared Adrian a glance and then turned back to Reign, looking apologetic.

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"Err... it was good. I had been pretty tense for a little while, but a recent incident made it a lot worse. It was nice to loosen up, finally... he used his magic to heat the oil, too... it wasn't something I really thought about before then, but it was nice." Faatina replied, still somewhat red, but at the least managing to retain her composure this time.

A nice touch. "You seem a little embarrassed there, Faatina. It's just a massage, nothing over the line." Not that I'd be too torn up about it if he finally found something to keep him from obsessing over this long term business. He's too young to be completely bogged down by all that.

"Y-yes, I suppose you're right. I was just a bit surprised that you knew, I guess... really shouldn't be, probably." Faatina replied, letting out a light chuckle. She just had to play it cool, it wasn't so bad... he seemed rather understanding for how Reign had painted him.

"Well then," Aldric began, standing from his chair, "shall we go make sure the officer's still alive? If he is then all's well and we can eat. That's what you came here for, right, hahah."

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"I believe I've overstayed my welcome, Misses Abrams. I won't intrude on breakfast as well."

Regina would have told him to stay, if only he wasn't the type of person Reign had been trying to avoid for so long. He wasn't as imposing and, frankly, irritating as the others had been; he was a respectable enough man, but she couldn't bring herself to make things any worse for her son, and she simply gave a silent nod.

"If you ever need to get in touch with me, you should get a hold of officers attached to General Mesoa's forces. If I need to get in touch with you, I'll summon a Messenger of Night."

Reign nearly flinched. "You know Ryder?!" He wasn't ... was he?

"The messengers are far too efficient not to employ for urgent correspondence. They aren't as unheard of as you might suspect," Adrian explained.

"Hmm ..." Reign wasn't sure what to think, now. The way Adrian explained Ryder, it sounded like there was more than one. That would make some sense, and yet he'd only ever met Ryder. He supposed if there was more than one, he'd see a different one eventually, especially since Nyx seemed to have some loose connection to everything around here.

"Well then, I'll be going, now."

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"Sounds good... hopefully there wasn't any trouble..." Faatina replied with a sigh, standing up as well.

"Yes, Reign was quite thorough in lavishing praise on the food. I hope I'm not intruding..."

"Get'em to focus on giving us some grandchildren instead of fighting all the time and we'll call it even," Aldric replied before breaking into a laugh, a laugh the whole household couldn't miss.

Something inside of Faatina snapped at that moment. Specifically, her composure. Sure, Aldric had been going on for a little while with his rather constant mention of grandchildren, but with the other points of focus in mind, it hadn't phased her all that much. However, with the lack of yelling from the other room and the much more pointed implication, the rider finally caught fully on to the request here.

'I'm sorry for doubting you, Reign. Your father is a very dangerous man...' This silent apology was all she could muster through her currently overheating brain, which manifested itself in the form of a deeper, redder blush than the previous ones. Needless to say she was lacking in any sort of verbal response, and in fact, her whole body froze for a moment, before she managed to at the least manage to continue slowly moving towards the kitchen.

Adrian bowed his head in passing, but stopped as soon as Aldric passed him, prompting the man to turn around. "Sorry to trouble you, Mister Abrams. I'll be on my way, now."

"Okay, sure," Aldric replied, clearly curious about how things had turned out. For him to be stepping out now, Reign either whipped out some unparalleled charm or ... agreed to rejoin the army. Well that wouldn't be good for the grandchildren ....

Eventually, after Aldric let the man out, they found Reign in the kitchen, leaning against a counter near the stove. Regina was tending to the food there, still looking a little tired. Reign had already risked his meal by asking her to rest and not worry about breakfast, but she insisted. The mage was guilt free after that and simply stood around, making sure she was all right. As for what Regina was cooking, eggs, toast and what looked to be oatmeal were on the menu. She was paying especially close attention to the oatmeal, since it could be tricky to balance its experimental flavor, whereas the former two didn't require as much extra preparation. She'd made sunny side up eggs, and scrambled, just in case.

In the time it took Aldric to lead the officer out of the apartment, Faatina had managed to regain basic motor functions, and stepped into the kitchen. The scent of breakfast was certainly welcome, easing her mind a bit as well.

"How did it go, Reign?" The paladin asked rather timidly... today was seeming to be swiftly becoming one of those days.

"I warned him he was wasting his time," Reign replied with a smile. There was a hint of both pity and accomplishment in there, but deep down he was just very irritated. At least once he'd eaten, he'd feel better physically. "By the way, this is Faatina," he told his mother, prompting her to turn around. "Tina, this is my mother, Regina."

With a weak smile of her own, Regina said, "It's a good to meet you, Faatina. Could I just call you 'Tina'? I'm not much for formalities, honestly."

"It's very nice to meet you as well, Regina. And no, I don't mind, if that's what you'd prefer." Faatina replied, bowing her head slightly.

"Well at least he left without too much of a fuss..." The paladin concluded, letting out a light sigh.

"He's different from the others who came to us in the past," Regina noted. "I almost believed him when he promised us things would be better this time around." The man painted the military and its goals well, like any idealist would, but that wasn't enough to make her or her son forget that during wartime, idealism takes a backseat to pragmatism and politics. "I'll be fine, Reign," she said, when she noticed her son giving her one of those looks, "Everyone go and sit down at the table in the dining room. I'll bring the food out in a couple of minutes."

"You two go ahead," Aldric nudged his head toward the dining room, "I should give her a hand and Reign, you've got a guest to tend to."

At the suggesting that they wait in the dining room, Faatina turned her head towards Reign with an inquisitive look as she took a few steps in the direction that his father had indicated. Would he follow along or say something else, do something else... she just wasn't sure yet, though she supposed at this point it wasn't her place to get involved.

Reign only delayed a moment before deciding to leave things to his father. That was his job, he supposed. Once they were in the dining room, Reign took a seat and rested his head in his arms. "I had to work my ass off to get into the army ... now they won't leave me alone. Figures, right?"

"As far as they're concerned, you're a useful pawn... not the sort they'd want to let go of... do you think you can even perform that... fancy casting thing... synchronized I think you called it, anymore? With your injury, I mean..." Faatina replied, deciding to try breaching the subject for Reign's opinion on the matter.

"Hmm ... probably could," Reign replied, though he was still thinking about it. "Nadine's technique seems more complex and delicate than it actually is. It's actually pretty simple when you just focus on the outcome. It's called 'synchronized' casting because the casters match their breathing, heartbeats, and thoughts. There's way more to it than that, but I'd be getting into details less savory officers would kill to know," he explained.

"Hmm, okay... so your impaired vision wouldn't be a problem? I suppose if you're matching everything with your partner then you can use them as an aiming guide too, so I suppose it makes sense..." Faatina replied, giggling a little at Reign's addition.

"I'd like to see it one day... it sounds like quite the spectacle if the Ursian military is so convinced they need it back."

"They never had it, really," Reign smirked. "It's ... not a weapon, not one they could use conventionally, at least," he explained, his expression becoming rather distant, "... and you'll see why if I ever manage it, again. Doubt that's going to happen, though, even if I turn down this training job. This eye is the least of my problems as far as synchronized casting goes."

"Ah, I see..." Faatina replied, a bit saddened by the prospect. But if he never had to use such a thing again, that was better, wasn't it?

"I know he said your mother was under the weather, but... she seemed really tired. Is everything alright?"

"They've got another kid on the way," Reign lifting up from his arms a little, "that makes me the middle child, 'cause let's face it, she's not going through that again. It's too dangerous at her age."

At the mention of a child, Faatina's precariously re-instated composure took a nose dive once again, causing her to turn bright red as she had before, looking around the room rather frantically.

"A-ah... is that so...?"

"Apparently," Reign shrugged. "It's still too early for me to be completely sure, but I'm definitely seeing the signs."

"W-well... I uhh..." Faatina replied with a bit of a squeak, still in the process of trying to regain her normalcy. A process that was a little slow going at the moment.

"It should be fine ... he just has to make sure she doesn't get too stressed. I guess today didn't help things, much ..."

"Son," Aldric called out as he approached the table with ... entirely too much food on a tray. It was fine for him to carry that much all at once, Reign supposed, better than his mother, who just happened to be right behind him. "Finally decided to stop worrying so much and just settle down? With the military off your back, there's little stopping you."

A dangerous man indeed. As Reign's father entered and immediately brought up the subject of settling down to Reign, Faatina began fidgeting in her spot even more than she had been previously. It was an entirely unexpected innovation on the pestering that she had been promised at the start. There was no denying that she had been thoroughly blind-sided... she half-wondered if this was teasing on his part directed at the both of them, or a show of approval for the woman that Reign had brought along with him, but swiftly swallowed the thought as her blush strengthened.

"What is wrong with you? I can't support a family right now."

Aldric set the tray down on the table, revealing all of the food Regina had prepared. "You hear that, little one?" he turned toward his wife and knelt down in front of her. "It's up to you, now."

"Oh for-" Reign stopped himself when Regina giggled. It wasn't really the time to be arguing with Aldric about ... anything, really. "Well you wrote me off pretty quick, so I guess that means I'm free to do what I want. Don't mind if I do."

"Honestly, Reign," Aldric stood back up, "do you think our family would have ever left the fleet if they thought our blood lines would end with a couple of indecisive brothers constantly putting themselves in harm's way?"

"Probably; it takes more than an uncertain future to get people to leave behind everything they know, otherwise nothing would have gotten them to come here," Reign countered.

Well, this turned into a little bit of a family squabble. Faatina wasn't sure if she should say anything, stay silent, just leave the room... nothing seemed right, and it left her frozen in place... speaking of indecisive. All the paladin had the will to do at the time being was wait to see if it would blow over, reddening all the while.

Aldric loosed a heavy sigh. "What about you, Tina? Have any family?" While Aldric directed his attention back to Faatina, Regina began giving out portions to everyone, and Reign's attention quickly shifted to his own plate, which was quickly filling up with pure, unspoiled nourishment.

An escape route! It was like a miracle descended from above, that not only had the feuding... she couldn't tell if it had actually been serious, had stopped, and the topic appeared to be shifting, somewhat.

"Ah, no... not any more. My parents passed from illness many years ago, and my brother was killed on the field... he was a soldier."

Aldric looked stunned. "... wow."

"Goodness, you're all on your own?" Regina asked, sitting down the moment she finished so she could hear the rest.

"I suppose so... to be honest, I've kind of... gotten used to it by now. I didn't mean to be a downer, sorry..." Faatina replied, hoping not to have the subject lingered on for too long. Perhaps it would have been better if another escape had opened itself instead... she felt kind of bad, now.

"To be honest, Reign has done a lot for me... I was a complete mess outside of Rex Avaz... to be honest I still am, but... he's helped me feel around and get a hang of things."

Unfortunately for Reign and Faatina, there was almost nothing Aldric couldn't work with. Once the initial shock wore off, he was right back to his shenanigans. "Ah, I see. Say, remember how I used to always help you get the hang of things, especially outside, my dear wife?" A mouthful of scrambled eggs couldn't distract Reign from his father's prodding.

"I'm still not much of an outdoors person," Regina replied seriously, a perfect contrast to her husband at the moment.

"Right, that's why I tend to do the shopping around here," he explained to the rest of the table, "and by myself too, unless I can convince her to tag along."

The implication wasn't lost on Faatina this time around, mostly because it was simply playing on an earlier comment, in a way. At the very least, she managed to retain some form of calm, finally looking down at the plate she had been given.

"Thank you for the meal." The paladin noted, bowing her head respectfully before taking a bite. It was well made and tasty, that was for certain.

"It's very good."

"Something good came of being at home and experimenting all of the time," Regina smiled. "That must sound terrible ..." she suddenly realized.

"Not at all," Aldric raised his voice a little, "Like I was telling Reign before, people can lead simple lives if it suits them. There's no point in aiming farther than you can even see just for the sake of doing it. If what you love's already within reach then grab it and don't let go. You two understand?!"

"Now," Reign began, "say that at some big weapons presentation at W.E. or Hammer. You'll get hurt, but hey, free produce."

"Err... I suppose so." Faatina replied between bites... seems there was a bit of a lifestyle conflict between Reign and his father, for one thing. She was trying as well as she could to ignore the constant prodding towards a certain particular outcome, but it was getting more difficult all the while.

"Well at least one of you does," Aldric back down somewhat.

With the eggs gone, Reign moved onto the toast. It would get cold before the oatmeal would, so it was going down next. "It's not that I don't understand ... I just don't believe that I should cut myself off from other options before I even have a chance to figure out what really matters to me. You're different; you've seen a lot of what this world has to offer. All I've seen is the capital region, the ocean, and the front lines of a pointless war. I'm not going to just settle down and hide behind my 'simple life' based on that."

Yeah, definitely an ideology clash, more than anything else, between these two. Reign's father simply wanted him to settle down and protect himself, whereas the man himself wanted to experience more of what the world had to offer before deciding on his own path... even if he did end up choosing what his father wanted in the end. Faatina couldn't blame Reign, after all, she herself had left her home in Sanctuary to see more of the world.

"Fair enough, but you're still young, so if you're not looking to settle down just yet, then at least take care of yourself so you're not missing any parts once the time comes," Aldric said pointedly. "You've got me worried, what with that eye patch."

"Eye's still there," Reign quickly noted. "Actually, I've been meaning to bring that up ..."

And then the time came to speak of the eye. Oh dear... how would this end, now?

"All right, what's up?"

"Lilith showed up at Weyland's this morning--same one from the desert and the ship, yeah. Anyway, I had a word with her and before Ryder inserted himself, she seemed willing to fix my eye for me."

"So what stopped her?" Aldric asked, looking confused. Did Reign owe her a favor that he needed to fulfill first?

"Ryder. He ... just assuming they're a guy, I really can't be sure sometimes ... anyway, Ryder wants me to train the infant vasilus the group's been keeping for Lilith. The only way I'll be able to train her is if I use a special rune to change the way my spells work. I haven't decided whether or not to go through with it, which is why the issue of my eye never got resolved. They're also paying, but given what that rune will do to my natural abilities, I doubt they can pay me enough ..."

"That's ... going to require a bit more elaboration ..."

"Well, my understanding isn't as good as Reign's, so he can correct me if I'm wrong, but... basically this thing will completely alter the way his mind and body interact with magic. It will allow him to do things that would never be possible otherwise, not for a human... maybe not even for Avians or Dragons. It would put his control in the realm of a vasilus themselves... which would be what would allow Reign to properly train them in fire magic." Faatina chimed in. If possible, she'd like to reduce some of Reign's burden here, helping the explanation might do just that.

"The problem is, use of this rune deteriorates his body's natural connection to magic. The method he uses to cast now, his psychic energy. By the time the training is complete, Reign would be completely cut off from normal casting... he would require the rune to be in his possession in order to cast a spell, even something as simple as generating heat. Without that rune, it would be like he had never learned to be a mage in the first place... and with the fundamental connection gone, he'd never be able to restore that ability. Or so they told us, anyway..." Faatina concluded, looking over to Reign. She was pretty sure she had gotten it down, but if anything was off, he'd amend it.

"All your training ..." Regina frowned. There were plenty of mages who would take a rune and give up their normal casting abilities without a second thought, she knew her son, and all the work he had to put into his training. He had to meet above average standards to receive a scholarship, and she and Aldric had to pay the difference, and it was far more than they could have afforded without a lot of hard work, themselves. This rune sounded like it would make all of that ... nigh meaningless.

"I know, it's ... a tough call," Reign said. "I don't know if my natural abilities would be completely dead, or rather, I don't know if it'd be impossible for me to start over from scratch ... but I do know that I'll be relying on my fists without it."

"Will Ryder let you keep the rune?" Regina chimed in. Hopefully he could get something out of this sacrifice other than money.

"Never found out," Reign admitted. "Do you think that should be the deciding factor, here?"

"It ... it has to be, Reign. No amount of money they're willing to pay you is worth what they're asking you to give up in return. Even if they will let you keep it ... I can't help but feel they're asking a little too much of you."

"Ryder really put him in a tough spot, with this one. Training the vasilus is to Lilith's benefit, too... we don't know what she'll do if he rejects the offer. Really knows how to meddle, that one... if he rejects Ryder and Lilith doesn't restore it, then... we can only hope that he can get a replacement in Neviskotia. But even then, well... The Ursian government is famous for their stance on prosthetics. Between that and the tension with the army..." Faatina noted with a sigh, this topic didn't get any lighter as time went on, that was certain.

"Could always ask her if she wants a different favor," Reign mused. "Honestly, though, outside of things that go back to Wrath, she doesn't seem to give a damn about anything. I mean, I can handle being half blind until we get to Neviskotia, but without someone constantly watching my left flank, it's just dumb and reckless, like something Elrey would pull."

"Hahahahhhh! I bet he'd put on a patch just to prove he could outlast you," Aldric shook his head in amusement. "Maybe even a blindfold."

"Pretty sure he's outgrown the whole brother rivalry thing. I didn't give him much of a choice," Reign noted.

"I suppose you could, yeah. Wonder what she'll say, though..." Faatina replied, before the conversation shifted to Elrey, Reign's brother, who apparently had a rather competitive streak. With nothing to add, Faatina resumed eating.

"I'm sure Elrey would accept were he in your shoes," Aldric noted. "That affect your decision any?"

Just to try and bed Lilith, probably ... "... I'm not sure. He's not really a mage, so a rune like this wouldn't do him any good, but assuming he was ...? No, I don't think so. It's an annoying thought but that's all it is. I'll talk with Lilith about it once we get back and see if I can get all the details this time around."

"That seems like the best course of action, for now. Even she seemed kind of sceptical about all this." Faatina replied with a nod, between bites of food.

"Well, be sure to let us know what you decide," Regina chimed in.

"And know that whichever way you decide to go with this, we'll support your decision," Aldric added with a firm nod.

"Just like the first time around ... heh. Thanks."

Well, at the least, Reign knew he had the support of his parent's either way... though perhaps he had come with a hope that they would sway him one way or the other? Regardless, they had spoken their piece.

Goodbye For Now

When noon finally came around, it became clear to Suzume that she wouldn't be seeing Gar again for a good while ... even longer than she expected if she was unfortunate enough to be placed into the Ursian gate team. A few of the guards at the estate were already notified of such a reassignment. She hadn't been told anything about it directly just yet, but she was becoming more nervous as time passed. At the very least, the picnic had gone well. While Tacito did swoop down on them to investigate, he was placated with a few bacon strips and eventually left them to what remained of their meal.

After the picnic/breakfast there was only a little time to talk before she was figuratively hauled off to meet with Ernesta and find out exactly what her duties at the estate would be. It turned out that she was indeed being assigned to the Ursian gate team for the time being, mainly due to her magic skills. Even she had to admit that her particular skill set would greatly aid the team on defense. As for her estate duties, she was informed that she would likely return to work as a security guard once the gate mission was completed. She went to find Gar as soon as she could to let him know before the departure.

Meanwhile, there were unexpected departures within Raquel's group. Gytha was leaving, and so was the infant vasilus they had been looking after. Lilith informed Raquel that she would assess the infant's mental state and return her in a few days with some 'up to date' recommendations. After that, she warned that the group would need to be extremely careful in how they conducted themselves; the vasilus' early development would determine whether they would have a reliable ally or a renegade.

Her discussion with Reign didn't lead to much; Reign had asked for more time to decide, and since the vasilus wasn't yet ready for any training, Lilith felt she could grant that. She also informed him that he would be able to keep the Gestalt Order if he submitted to a type of guardianship with her as the 'guardian'. "All mortals belong to the Earth, which itself belongs to the Goddess Nature. Those who decide to serve other gods or vasili become legally bound to them, at least as far as our laws are concerned. Not all mortals are strictly 'servants', which is what this is all about. Some are under type of guardianship, which makes the guardian responsible for the actions of their charge. It also means that all decisions regarding your body and mind fall solely to me. Without agreeing to this, I can't let you keep such a powerful rune. If you do agree, then you are free of all other laws save for those I personally hold you to." Reign felt that was fair, though he was surprised by the way this divine government handled internal affairs. Still, he needed a little more time to decide what to do, and so committed her explanation to memory before they left the estate.

It was an irritating task for Jethro to help his daughter into the wagon Weyland provided them with, but he was able to do it without making a scene. Riley was hooked up to the vehicle along with another mare, though it wasn't Sandrock, as Reign was still borrowing that particular horse. As long as Raquel didn't try to do too much, things should be fine, but she wasn't going anywhere without a hand from his help, Jethro decided, at least not until tomorrow at the earliest. For now, he would be driving the wagon. His injuries wouldn't stop him from doing that much.

A City On the Edge

With little news arriving while they were on the road, they had little choice but to wait until they reached the capital to learn the extent of what was going on. There were other travelers on the road, more than usual, but it was always the same story from those that had anything to say at all; "the capital was just as dangerous as the open road," many of them said. There was virtually no mention of the stolen tanks or details about Invictus, though when questioned about the group, plenty knew who they were. Raquel and Reign would have been surprised if they hadn't, really.

By the time they reached the city proper, it was close to noon of the sixty-fifth day. Sixty-five days ago, Raquel's father was taken from her, and Raquel met many of her new friends, though some of them were gone now, and her father was, surprisingly, back. Knowing he wasn't committed to destroying the organization like she was had soured the reunion, however. She wasn't sure she could trust him to do anything for the group other than protect her. Once she was strong enough to not need such protection anymore, would he turn on them? This was just one of several things gnawing at the back of her mind as they traveled the main road linking the two cities.

Something else on her mind were other family members, her mother and little sister, specifically. She hadn't seen them in quite some time, though she'd gone for far longer without seeing them in the past. It was a consequence of traveling with her father, as he and her mother weren't exactly comfortable being around each other. Hopefully he wouldn't object to them at least checking in on Reina while they had the chance. According to Weyland, she was in the capital receiving lessons from a mage woman who supposedly came highly recommended.

"Where's our first stop again?" Reign asked. He was riding with Sandrock beside the wagon Jethro was driving. She had to look around Jethro to see him clearly. He was still wearing that eye patch. Reign had explained to her that he asked Lilith for a little more time to think about the job offer, and she'd granted it, but Raquel didn't recall how fixing his eye had anything to do with it. She also didn't see the point in Lilith making off with the infant in the meantime, but her stated reasons seemed sincere enough. Reign didn't seem to care one way or the other, neither about his eye, nor the infant he was being asked to train. She'd just have to let the matter be for now. They might be fighting soon, though, so she was a little worried.

"We're heading for Weyland Enterprises Headquaters in the city," Jethro answered, just a mere second before Raquel did. "I doubt they offer room and board, and even if they did, it wouldn't be free, so, maybe after stopping there, you people should look into some inns."

"Inner city inns are expensive, though," Raquel noted. "Traffic in the city is really heavy, too ..." Heavier than usual, actually, and in every sense of the word. The city's garrison and security forces were everywhere. One thing Raquel never thought she'd see had past them by just a few minutes ago, a tank, with a full infantry escort, rolling down the street like some kind of overly armored wagon.

"If you'd rather book a room out here in the suburbs, people, do it now," Jethro warned. "You can always catch up, later."

Reign didn't have any money so a room was out of the question. He'd be sleeping in the wagon or wherever else he could while they were staying here, most likely. He hadn't been to Ursentius in quite some time, but it still looked and smelled the same, even with those armored vehicles out on patrol. The suburbs still had two to three story buildings as far around the outer edges of the city as the eye could see, and toward the inner city were buildings so many floors tall that anyone stupid enough to leap from the top of one would have plenty of time to say a prayer on the way down. It was the largest human city in Sardius. Even the royal palace was here, deep at the heart of the city. He was still at a loss for exactly how Invictus was giving the local forces the runaround, but he had to admit, if one was going to sew utter chaos and challenge the system, a metropolitan area was just the place to do it.

"That's my cue," Gabbie muttered to herself. And just like that, she was off. She made a quick right atop Tacito, turning down another street and galloping away on the stubby limbed wyvern. She wasn't abandoning them to seek out her own interests, but she did want to get a better feel for the city from somewhere she wouldn't be bothered or distracted.

It took Raquel a couple of seconds to notice the wyvern rider breaking away from the rest of the group, but once she did, she tried to stop her. "Hey, wait!" It was too late, though. "Darnit ..." What if we need her to find Lois ...? "Urgh ... fine. Hopefully she'll be back when we need her."

Jethro decided to stop the wagon momentarily. "I'm sure she'll be back ... she's some kind of tracker, right? Anyway, there are some decent inns around here for those that are interested. We'll get the wagon going again in a minute, and then it's straight over to Weyland Enterprises."

Edited November 15, 2014 by Phoenix

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

After all his bluster about not going, here he was. Raquel was up, Papa Valcyn was tagging along, and things were going to get annoying before they got interesting. At least there were some fun times with Suzzy Q before leaving. And coercing Xenia into staying to do her actual job.

Now it was all lodging and inns. Well, that didn't matter to him. "Ehhh, I'll just pick one of my houses to sleep in," Gar shrugged as much as he could from his position of laying flat on his back. "Loads safer than any random inn that could be host to Invictus goons." Gar rolled over to a more comfortable position.

Xenia

She should have know better than to take Raj's job. Her four other encounters would have taught her that. But no, she needed the money. Or the Widows and Orphans did. Bah, now here she was, completely out of her way because she knew Raj wasn't about to let her backslide until she worked off the payment.

She wasn't in the mood to spend any more money after the whole debacle. "I'm just gonna head to one of the smaller chapels and exchange work for shelter." Invictus was less likely to hit a chapel after all.

[Snowy_One]

Money. Inns. Cash. Rooms. Robin gave a somewhat heavy sigh. "<Looks like I'm sleeping in the wagon again.>" she said with resignation. She had no cash on her to give. Even the cheapest and scuzziest of hotels were beyond her current funds and it was unlikely, in her eyes at least, that someone would pay the extra cash simply so that she could have a room. Normally she wouldn't have cared so much. She had grown up hunting out in the forests and woodlands and slept out under the stars often. However, this time, she was in Ursentius. A Ursian city that sent chills running up her spine and part of her was scared. She stuck out like a sore thumb at the least, being clearly at least not from the city. She needed new clothes if she didn't want to become a target but, without cash, how? No room to keep herself safe, clearly sticking out, she was, unquestionably, nervous at the thought of sleeping out in the wagon.

[Snike]

And here they were, back at the capital hunting an artificial or artificials. It wasn't something Axel imagined he'd be repeating ever, and yet here he was. It was funny how things worked out that way.

The wagon rolled to a stop to give a few of the mercenaries a chance to rent an inn room at a reasonable price, which didn't apply to Zero-Eight, so he opted instead to stare at the newcomer, who was a lance wielder. With a mask. What an upstart.

***

"Are you two going to book here, or inner city?," Blake asked Raquel and Jethro, partly out of curiosity and partly to offer the chance to book it for them.. He didn't see lodging for himself as an issue, but if he could make that issue easier for his employer, all the better.

[Ether]

Isabella had mostly coasted along during the trip to Ursentius. Nothing had really happened yet, shy of Seeker peeling off to do her own thing. Well, it was her own business, really, so long as it didn't jeopardize the mission. Regardless, something caught Isabella's attention, mostly that while tagging along on Veronika's placement had worked fine so far, the Disciple had yet to actually make her introductions to Raquel. Deciding that it was for the best to get that done, Isabella made her way over to the merchant father and daughter, the gaze of the armoured lancer not escaping her notice, but it was of no consequence for the time being.

"Raquel, Jethro." She noted, nodding to each as she approached. For now, she supposed she'd see if Jethro recognized her by voice, to begin with.

***

So this was Ursentius, the Ursian capital... and damn, it was huge. Faatina's eyes darted about the place in wonder... Europa had been large, but this place... it was simply colossal. Looking around for the nearest person, who happened to be the horse-mounted archer... Erion, if she recalled correctly, the paladin pulled Sharif up along side him.

"Hey, hey. This place is amazing! Have you ever been here before, it's so big!" She noted with excitement, failing to notice in her vigour that the man seemed a tad drowsy.

***

Ah, Ursentius. It had been a while since Arietta had been here, but more than anything she couldn't wait to met back up with teach. As such, she was quite a bit more jovial than usual, even humming an audible little tune to herself inside the wagon.

[scorri]

Erion started awake, having slightly nodded off and looked up at the person talking to him. "Tina, right? Can't say I've ever been here. From 'Skotia myself, but I've seen a couple of big cities in my time. Spent some time in the Kigen capital. But... nothing quite as big as this, no." He stifled a yawn before continuing, "Should be interesting at least. Do you know what we're doing first?"

[Ether]

"You haven't either, huh? I thought Europa was big but this place must be twice the size... it's incredible..." Faatina exclaimed, before Erion's question registered.

"Oh, uhh... I think we're going to the Weyland Enterprises main office, to meet up with the people that he had here investigating..." Faatina replied, thinking it over for a moment before responding.

[scorri]

Erion nodded. "Yeah, it's really impressive. And Weyland's, hmm? Makes sense. Want to find out the details of what's going on before anything else i suppose." He stifled another yawn, looking slightly guilty. "Sorry, not bored or anything. Was just half asleep that's all. Haven't been sleeping the greatest lately, unfortunately."

[Ether]

"Oh, did I interrupt your rest?" Faatina asked, a slightly guilty look coming onto her own face as well.

[scorri]

"Huh? Oh, no, not at all. Probably for the best you woke me up, wouldn't want to fall off and embarrass myself in front of everyone, you know? Too many cute girls and all." He grinned, clearly at least somewhat joking. "Besides, we're here now, I should be awake."

[Phoenix]

In the City

Not so unexpectedly, one of several bags between Raquel's feet began to stir, and soon, Chip appeared. He took a look around, curious about the sudden stop. Not wanting to deal with any monkey related incidents just yet, Raquel gently pressed him back down into the bag ... and then something Gar said finally registered. "You have a house here? Houses?" she asked, leaning forward and trying to turn around to get some sort of view of the man. She couldn't help but wonder why he would mention them. By doing so he'd inevitably opened himself up to requests ... though even before she asked, she noticed that no one else had picked up on it yet, or at the very least hadn't mentioned it.

"Depends on Raquel, but I'm fine staying with the wagon while we're here," Jethro answered Blake. "I'm sure she'll want to go visit the old place first though," he added, shaking his head somewhat bitterly. That was the building in the city he, his wife, and two daughters used to live before Raquel went off to the academy. "Need something?" Jethro said to Isabella, about all the greeting he could manage while this deep in thought.

[Ether]

"Haha, yeah, that might be bad... at least you're near the back so you wouldn't get trampled... might get left behind if you knocked yourself out though..." Faatina replied with a grin, before giving the man a pat on the back.

"Well, thanks. I don't feel so bad, now."

***

"I simply realized that I had yet to properly introduce myself to either of you. I am Isabella, I'll be assisting you as a combatant... as of yet my dealings have been with Veronika, so..." Isabella replied, extending her hand to the pair, open to either who might take it.

[Snike]

"I see," Blake said, just moments before the woman known as Isabella introduced herself to the Valcyns. So they had had a house here, from before the mercenary business... Though, from the sounds of it, Jethro wasn't looking forward to visiting. The swordsman briefly wondered why that might be the case, before deciding that it wasn't really his business. As a result, he just decided to stay silent and maybe learn a bit about the newcomer.

[scorri]

Erion smiled. "Yeah, I like being untrampled and also with the group. Wouldn't do to get abandoned. So how did you get pulled into this crazy mess?"

~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, at a nearby inn...

Uriel quietly stepped into the common room of the inn, searching for the girl he was here to meet. Spotting her sitting alone at a table, he smiled slightly and walked over to her. "Well good morning, Amalia. Or should I say afternoon? I suppose it's close enough to not matter one way or the other. It's good to see you again." He pulled off a pouch and healing staff sheath off his back and hung it on one of the chairs. Positioning his wings carefully, he sat down across from her. "It's been a while now. Almost a month? How has your time been during that time?"

Edited November 16, 2014 by scorri

[Nanami Touko]

A woman wearing a long, slit skirt, shorts poking out from underneath, and a long sleeved blouse with a high neck T-shirt under that, sat at a table, tapping her fingers against it the wood, as she waited for her companion to arrive. She'd been in the city for a month, waiting for him to return. He had things to take care of, after all. Time seemed to be slowly creeping by; this was when he was supposed to come back. So when he finally did show up, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Hello, Uriel," she said with a smile. "It's been an alright month. I got to dance for some people, and explore the city a bit. What about you? Did you take care of everything you needed to?" She was enjoying this wave of relaxation. "And you've been taking care of your wings, right? They seem like they get in the way..."

[scorri]

"Well that's good to hear. The city is certainly large enough to keep you busy, especially with the dancing. You didn't run into any trouble, did you? When I was entering the city, I heard some troubling stories..." He sighed. "It hurts to hear of the chaos and war that is plaguing the world. I can't say this is quite what I expected when I left Flugel..." He shook his head. "But yes, I took care of everything. Serafine is doing quite well. I keep saying you should come meet her. I think it would be good for her to spend time around other people." He chuckled at the question about his wings. "I've had them my whole life. If I didn't know how to take care of them and move around with them, I'd have had plenty of trouble before now. Though, humans are less worried about wings than we are in Flugel." As if triggered by the question, he shifted his wings slightly, so they wrapped around the back of his chair instead of just being tucked up against his back. "Hmm, that's better."

[Ether]

"Me? Well, I just kind of ended up following them out of Sanctuary... there's no way to make it out alone, so I took the shot when it came... until I learn more about the world I need to stick with people who know what's what, haha." Faatina replied with a sheepish grin.

[Snowy_One]

Robin watched as Chip's head stuck out of the bag for just a second before slipping back inside. Part of her envied Raquel. Back home Robin had once had a dog of her own, but leaving home meant no puppy, and now no Maw, and she had never been THAT good with animals anyways. Still, part of her thought about what it would be like to have something warm and fuzzy to pet... Then Raquel's line hit her.

"H-houses? How do you afford, why do you have multiple houses? Are they open by any chance? With four walls and a bed?" she asked her ears perking up. "I would not normally ask, having slept out in the wagon before, but this city... scares me. I would very much like four walls and a roof while we are here."

[Nanami Touko]

Amalia shook her head. "No, no trouble... Despite all of what's been happening here. It is saddening, isn't it? I wish there was a way to stop all this fighting..." Amalia sighed to herself, and leaned onto her hand, propping her elbow onto the table. It was a disappointing thought, that she couldn't do much to change all of what was happening in the world. One that she'd had to deal with all her life, but one that hurt the same, nonetheless. At least the news of Uriel's dragon doing fine could bring her a smile. "That's good. I understand why you can't bring her into town, unfortunately... Perhaps next time I will go see her, with you. It would be nice to get out of town for a while." She smirked at his wing statement. She knew all too well that he knew how to move his wings. It was just fun to poke at them, sometimes. "Yes, how things were in Flugel... You've told me a lot about it. You'd think we'd all become more considerate, with how many avians have started to come down here, but... Oh, well. I'll make sure to pay extra attention to your wings, to make up for it." She smiled again, giggling a bit.

[-Cynthia-]

So Raquel's father was traveling with them...this was unexpected. Veronika hadn't approached the man in person yet as she was unsure of how to deal with him overall- his motivations were still not entirely clear. For right now, the focus was on the group's lodging however.

She raised an eyebrow at Robin, who was acting a bit strangely. "We've been here before Robin, I'm not sure what is so scary about this place," she stated.

Gabbie went off flying on her own as she often did, Connor didn't find this unusual at all. Gar owning houses in Ursentius was strange though- Ursentius was not a cheap place to live, so he curiously awaited any forthcoming explanation.

[Script]

A Man Called Gar

"I have houses everywhere," Gar answered. "Well, except really impossible places like the bird lands or Sanctuary. I even had some back in Europa I just didn't have a reason to use them." Gar shrugged awkwardly again. "I mean, I haven't visited most of these in a while. All I do know is that they're stocked full of beer. So beds may be a gamble. And walls sometimes too."

"Oh Lord," Xenia rolled her eyes. "You're still doing that, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"I strongly advise no one risk their life by trying these out," Xenia told them.