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Fantasy Assassin's Pledge: Convergence (Veilbrand)

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GojiBean

Your resident irradiated Kaiju King
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Veilbrand
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This thread is for posting within the nation of Veilbrand only




 
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Collapsing onto the moist dirt, Lumi's spine shivered as faint, electric pulses reverberated throughout her consciousness. The sky, as it had been for the past three weeks, was burdened by a most ominous blanket of ashen clouds, just barely managing to prevent the sun's radiance from reaching the forsaken mortals below, with only the softest hue embellishing the sky to make up for it. Lumi's mind began to whirl, irritated by the never-ending chirps of the grass-dwelling crickets, she wished for once that she could be left alone in her contemplation, alone with the storm of memories and dotty experiences that infected her psyche.

It had been a long night. While the surgery she had attempted was not by any means her first, it was most definitely the one that had lost her the most sleep. Even now, several hours after the incident, whenever Lumi closed her eyes to blink, crimson-rattled visions were summoned of trembling glove-laden hands and the tentative edge of the bone-saw. And of course, there was the keystone- the centerpiece- of the macabre display: the face of the poor fool, who had nearly been carved open by a particularly vicious law-enforcer. There were far too many details to even recall in her mind, but the one thing that stood out particularly were his eyes, those blank eyes that held layers upon layers of history behind them. Lumi regretted not talking to the man, calming him down with simple questions and conversation as she had always been instructed to do. At the very least, it may have provided both of them some closure. What was this man's story? Why did he hold such firm determination, such an iron-clad steel in his eyes, that eventually faded away, not into a blank acceptance as one may have expected, but into a faint, barely recognizable, cloak of terror, enhanced by the sweat that pooled around him and mixed with his blood?

Lumi opened her eyes. The sun was out, for the first time in weeks.
 
The fresh smell of a battle, circulated around a small grassy field of Veilbrand, the revolution lost once again. The amount of allied bodies left Boko speechless, he wasn’t used to seeing so much people dead. At least not his allies, but he needed to move on, with the remaining combatants retreating from the battle Boko found it strange that the Veilbrand knights didn’t kill the remaining ones, with their firepower and weaponry it was weird that they didn’t do anything to stop the group from fleeing. He didn’t have too much time as one of his allies dragged him away from the camp, Boko wasn’t in shock but he was trying to piece something together yet he didn’t know exactly what he was trying to discover.

“Gods above, I can’t believe it..” one man yelled as they retreated through the forest, “We lost too many men out there” he continued as Boko followed the group, some of their members were carrying injured allies, there was no way this revolution was going to happen. Not with this pathetic number of warriors, as soon as the Veilbrand forces arrived it was obvious they were going to lose but for some reason the people decided to go ahead and attack the Veilbrand knights anyway, some of these people are nothing but farmers, parents, just like Boko they can’t fight experienced soldiers. There is no way they were going to win.

A couple hours later the group arrived at their camp, tents and various different campfires around the camp lighting up the area, that was one of the few camps they still had, it was well hidden but surely it was eventually going to be found. Boko took a sit around one of the bonfires, the look of despair in the faces of the soldiers only showed they didn’t know what they were doing, they were scared, he could understand. “Boko, right ?” a man said as he took a sit next to Boko, he looked oddly calm for what happened, “You arrived a couple days ago correct ? We shouldn’t have called you to battle but we're short on soldiers.. we lost some good people out there, I'm Katuk, I’m keeping things in order around this camp” he stated as Boko looked at him, order ? He thought “This place is far from order sir"

“What ?” the man asked before Boko continued “your soldiers don’t know how to wield weapons, I don’t see many of them training here aside from a couple determined warriors. A lot of us are simple townsfolk, farmers and you take us to battle without even training us. I was lucky to survive our last battle, and numbers ? We are not enough to take down that amount of soldiers, you think we will be able to do a revolution ?” Katuk looked offended, but remained calm, and with a raised eyebrow asked “And what would you do Boko ?” and Boko quickly replied “I'm not sure sir, but we should get more members. What we have isn’t enough, maybe people from outside would like to help us, with Egruus taken care off this place would be good for trading once again. Let me handle this, I can’t stay here. So I offer to go out there and find people to help us" he stated standing up. Katuk sighed before placing a hand on the farmer's shoulder.

“You are very brave, but I'm not sure if you will survive, like you said.. you are not a warrior. I can’t sacrifice another member for nothing” Boko would shake his head before crossing his arms “This isn't for nothing, I will find more people. I need you to trust me" and with a nod “I can’t change your mind.. then go, take one of the horses and go find them. We will be waiting for your return, Boko" and with a hand shake Boko took one of the horses and rode away from the camp, he wasn’t sure if he'd be able to find anyone or if people would like to help but he needed to try. He needed to help his people and he needed to take down Egruus.
 
With the sun finally out, if even only for a time, what few children were still in the village came out to play. Some jumping around in the mud, stomping it as hard as they could to splash each other. All to their parent's chagrin as they picked them up by their shirts as if they were sacks of poop before hauling them off to get washed.

A young male Revolutionary by the name of Arden then appeared around the corner of a dilapidated building. With a lean frame hidden beneath simple brown leather clothing that was all one size too big for his 5' 5" frame, he fixed and tightened his belt before checking his sword which was hidden beneath a side-cloak that draped over his left shoulder.

"Oh, miss Lumi! Are you all right?" He asked, rushing to her side.

"You're not hurt or feeling sick, are you?" He asked with a subtle tremor in his voice.

myrkwise myrkwise
 
GojiBean GojiBean

Lumi, jolting up with the sudden sound of Arden's voice, turned around and showed a half-crooked smile, though she obviously wore signs of distress and fatigue. She greeted Arden with a lackadasical wave of her hands, her eyes struggling to focus on his form.

"Thank you, Comrade," Lumi murmured softly, "I believe I will be well soon enough. It's just... Last night was....."

She left her sentence hanging, not sure how to end it, not sure what Arden would want or expect to hear from her.

"In any case," she changed the subject abruptly, "Is there anything you need?"
 
Arden sighed and his facial features relaxed.

"No, miss. I'm perfectly well." He said, softly knocking on his head a few times in a "knock on wood for luck" gesture.

"Also, on behalf of all of us I apologize about the other night... It's not like the so-called law enforcers haven't attacked people before. We should have been more attentive and seen it coming."

His face contorted into a frown with oblique eyebrows, followed by a deep sigh as he looked back towards the heart of the village.

"I suppose we can chalk up another failure for the Revolution's efforts to save Veilbrand and its people from this kind of brutality that the monster atop the chain seems to delight in spreading."

He then shook his head rigorously.

"Ah, but I'm forgetting. You managed to save him, correct? He may never walk properly again. But he lives, right? I didn't hear wrong, did I?"

myrkwise myrkwise
 
GojiBean GojiBean

Lumi scowled for a moment, before settling on a grim expression of abstinent sorrow.

"I..... The man I operated on was declared deceased six minutes before midnight. I'm sorry, were you an acquaintance of his?"

It was times like these that Lumi felt ever more powerless and pathetic against the all-consuming tsunami of horrors that inundated the Revolution's very existence. It was times like these that Lumi would even question her own devotion to the cause, when she would think back to that fateful day six months ago, when she had experienced the first loss of a loved one. She knew, however, that even if she couldn't even dare to glimpse hope on the horizon, she had to keep struggling forward, doing everything she could to push the cause.

That said.... Was she really doing everything she could? The memories flashed before her, as she contemplated every wounded and dying soldier she had ever laid eyes upon, their sunken, tear-stained eyes purging the scraps of innocence she had left. Could she had done something, if she had just been there, in the battlefield, rather than being relegated to the passivity of the slums?

Before she'd been able to justify her pacifism with the excuse that she was more valuable as a healer. Now, though, with a deadman on her conscience, she began to wonder whether it really made a difference if a life fell by her action or inaction.

Lumi turned back to Arden, hoping in silent agony for an answer, both to her spoken question and to her internal woes.
 
Arden's face dropped as she spoke of the man having died.

"Oh... No, I didn't know him." He muttered, rubbing the back of his head.

He looked out at the mountain laden horizon. The peaks almost seeming to creep towards him like a jagged series of prison walls. But he was quick to shake off the visual with a mental slap in the head.

"I know it's not relevant, but when I was growing up those mountains always seemed to inspire hope. My parents told me they're always reaching for the heavens and that we should strive for the same. To reach beyond where we are now and continue to better ourselves. But..."

Looking back at the village, specifically at the clinic, he sighed once more.

"... But now those same mountains feel more like they're hands blocking my path forward. Hands that keep pushing me down into a pit of hungry wolves just waiting to finish their current meal before turning their eyes to me. And I don't think I'm alone in that. Some of the guys have been muttering about when they think their time will come. When they'll be the next body on a funeral pyre, or if they even get a pyre at all."

He looked back to Lumi and offered a weak smile.

"Sorry to be such a downer."

myrkwise myrkwise
 
GojiBean GojiBean

Lumi shook her head, regaining her composure as hardened embers began to burn once more deep inside of her. She smiled at Arden, a truly comforting smile that she had always sought to utilize during her work with patients. It was a smile that she had learned to utilize with both the living and the dying.

"The world can seem like a dreary, hopeless place at times, I know. But you know what I also know? As long as there are tyrants - as long as there are horrific, brutal monsters that slave over the people - the people in turn will be incited to action. Even if we are to fall- even if all our efforts crumble and burn to ash, I am as certain that the Revolution will live on as I am that the sun will rise again." Lumi pointed reverently at the recently exposed sun, which had embraced the land with a glow that was sorely needed.

Lumi herself was unsure of whether even she believed the words she had just spoken. Still, this was everything she could do, right? She comforted people, gave dying soldiers one last solace before drifting off into the eternal night. She roused soldiers to arms, sang raucous hymns of progress and hope.

Smoke and mirrors, true. But perhaps smoke and mirrors were what they needed after all.

"Say," Lumi turned towards Arden, a hint of mischief manifesting within her eyes, "Would you like to run a trip in the infirmary with me? It may do well for those poor souls if one of their own were there, cheering them on."
 
Arden was caught completely off guard by the sudden change, and stared partially slack-jawed as Lumi made her speech. For someone so small and frail looking to speak with such power sent a chill down his spine. And as she concluded with her question, he couldn't help but chuckle.

"You really are something, aren't you miss Lumi?"

He took a breath and used a fist to give his chest a solid smack.

"I'm your man! Let's go see the guys!" He cheered.

myrkwise myrkwise
 
GojiBean GojiBean

Lumi grinned genuinely for the first time in weeks, "Thank you, Arden."

Truly, thank you.

The two made their way to the infirmary, catching more than a few curious half-glances along the way, mostly from children. Those that recognized Lumi, either from their monthly checkups at her parents' office or from parents and loved ones that were operated on, gave innocently warm hand-waves and greetings. Upon glancing at these children- nearly all of them emaciated, with some having ribs visible under their abdomens - Lumi felt the iron-clad weight of destiny riding upon her shoulders. It was a reminder of everything they had lost, everything they had to fight for.

The infirmary itself was a bit of a pathetic structure, although Lumi's parents had done everything they could to shape it into something barely functional. It composed of a tent-like area, with a 'ceiling' of dirty white linen held upwards by much too thin wooden rods. There were barely any beds, with most soldiers being laid on suspiciously soiled blankets. A few soldiers did not experience even that luxury.

Lumi's eyes caught her father, hunched over next to a curious-looking man, who had bandages over almost his entire face. They were having a conversation, though Lumi could barely catch a few words.

".... don't know..."

".... for two months...."

".... sure about..... "

"..... god damn it....."

Lumi sighed with a hint of apprehension. She nudged Arden, motioning for him to follow Lumi to her father's position. She had some questions for her old man.
 
Arden entered the infirmary with a smile. Some of those on the blankets he recognized. Some he didn't. They were so frequently being shifted around and sent to different camps that he began to wonder how long he'd be in this village.

He waved to a few of the guys who recognized him, giving them a thumbs up since he didn't want to talk too loudly for fear of disturbing those who were resting.

When Lumi nudged him, he nodded and followed her over towards her father.

myrkwise myrkwise
 
GojiBean GojiBean

"Oh!" her father snapped his head to the side, having also caught a glance of Lumi. He smiled weakly, wiping sweat off of his brow. The two of them usually worked together a lot, with Lumi acting as an assistant to her father's work. Though Lumi herself was quite knowledgeable and proficient in the medicinal arts, she would typically be relegated to emotional support.

Lumi sat down, face to face with both her father and the strange-looking, bandaged man.

"I didn't know if you were coming, Lu," her father said, "Thought you needed some time to rest from yesterday."

Lumi let out an overdramatic sigh, replying, "And leave you with all this? Nope."

Her eyes glanced over at the stranger, who had perked up quite a bit at the sight of newcomers. Lumi noticed something odd- a strange, illuminated movement in the individual's eyes.
 
Arden kept quiet for the most part. He didn't know why she wanted him to come over to her father. But there must have been a reason to it all.

He glanced to the one her father was looking over, and he gave the man a smile and a wave which he didn't seem to notice or return.

Hm... Odd.

myrkwise myrkwise
 
GojiBean GojiBean

Lumi turned to Arden, with a curiously determined gaze, "Say, would you so happen to recognize this symptom and whatever may have caused it? This man has an ailment about him. If the records are correct, he served alongside you during your last mission, which is precisely when these odd.... Happenings started occurring on his face."

Lumi motioned for her father to turn back a single bandage from the stranger's face, revealing a horrifically blemished mess of skin folds and the leakage of an oddly bright blue liquid. A nasty scent permeated the air, smelling most closely to a decrepit and half-decomposed corpse.
 
Arden listened carefully, and as the bandage was peeled back his face lost a bit of color and he brought a hand up to cover his mouth.

"What the-..." He muttered.

It was gross. What the fuck happened to this guy?!

But now that he got a better look, Arden vaguely remembered him from the mission. But he didn't remember anything about whatever might have caused this.

"Sorry, miss Lumi. But all I can recall is what I had to deal with. Whatever happened to this guy is something I didn't see... Urp..." He fought back the urge to vomit, swallowing the lump in his throat.

myrkwise myrkwise
 
GojiBean GojiBean

"Hmm...." Lumi pondered for a moment, ".... Could you tell me some of the details of your mission- perhaps where it went down exactly? I feel like that could be a huge help in finding out a cure for this chap."

The stranger growled a bit, clearly uncomfortable with having his unusual condition gawked at.
 
Arden sat back and put a hand on his chin.

"Hmm... Well, we were sent on a scouting mission that went back. It was a standard route around the area. First head East along the main road just to make sure it's clear, then head North to a mini-camp site where we usually make a final meal before the sun goes down so we're topped off for the evening. Then head West past this village to the Juncture in the main road leading around the mountains. And then back to the village."

He removed his hand from his chin.

"That's the route, anyway. Bet we got ambushed in a wooded area by some guys dressed like Egruus soldiers, but they didn't fight like them. Might've been bandits wearing their armor or something. But I remember they had weird weapons which, if I'm remembering right, were shining a blueish purple when the moon shone on them which is weird. Maybe a poison coating?"

He shook his head.

"The only other thing I can think of is that there was one among our group who disappeared a little while before the ambush. He was the one who cooked our food at the mini-camp before we headed West to the woods. Do you think maybe he did something to some of the food? I remember I didn't really eat much. Just a loaf of bread and had some water. But the others had a lot more to eat."

myrkwise myrkwise
 
There wasn’t much to be seen, the grassy fields were breathtaking but the smoke coming from afar, the yells that echoed as Boko galloped through the field only made him wonder, being a revolutionary seemed like a shot in the dark, a path with death as it's final destination. He couldn’t help but question his own beliefs, no, he was still fighting for something. They lost too many battles, and that left many questioning their loyalty. However they couldn’t stop fighting, if there was still hope, then they would fight for it. Because that was their future, and their calling.

Something caught his attention, a young couple, tied hands and legs as two bandits stole the supplies, Veilbrand was a place where even the best could fall easily to the hands of evil and those who remained right were few, he stopped the horse and jumped off slowly approaching the duo who were quick to notice the farmer with a bag on his head. “Hey! We already took these two, go find another one to rob" Boko slowly grabbed his scythe, readying it for combat as the two seemed to be questioning whether he was a bandit or a guy playing hero, either way it wasn’t to long of a silence as they grabbed their weapons, a bow and a short sword.

They ran full charge towards Boko who remained calm as their steps got closer, truth be told, with every combat he always asked himself if he could beat the enemy, he's never able to answer the question until the battle is done. Maybe he’s not confident enough, as the first man approached he went for a quick and strong swing but it didn’t caught Bokp off guard who quickly defended the attack and kicked the man to the ground, and right after raised his scythe to the sky before striking down towards the bandit, and with one down only one remained, but the second one didn’t lose time and quickly shot an arrow towards Boko who was still taking his scythe out of the enemy’s body.

The arrow pierced his left arm, making him stumble and drop his weapon, the bandit quickly grabbed another arrow and aimed towards Boko. He had to think fast, or else he was going to die on the grassy fields of Veilbrand. He walked to the dead man and used his body as some sort of shield, as the last bandit shot the arrow it got stuck on the dead man and Boko quickly ran towards him still using the body as a shield, fear consumed the man as he dropped his bow and tried to flee but it wasn’t enough as Boko jumped on him punching his face over and over until the bandit was no more. And with his final breath Boko stood up, he only needed to save the couple now. “Let me help you"

He turned they heads to see that both were already dead, if only he had arrived earlier, he clenched his teeth.. dead for no reason once again. He decided to cut the rope that trapped them and leave the two together, as well as their items. “Your lives will be avenged" he said as he grabbed his scythe and jumped back on his horse, he broke the arrow on his arm but half the arrow was still inside, he had to visit a clinic before he was able to continue his mission. He'd fold his left sleeve revealing a completely burned arm now pierced by an arrow. He knew a place that could help him and so he rode towards a certain infirmary.

Upon arriving, he was quick to capture the eyes of many who were mainly looking at his curious bag head. He stopped the horse and jumped down, holding his left arm to stop the bleeding he’d enter a tent like structure, if he was correct.. that’s where he’d find help. “I need help" he stated before dropping on the floor into a sitting position.

myrkwise myrkwise
 
GojiBean GojiBean

Nobuzout Nobuzout

Lumi murmured in deep contemplation, ".... Well, it seems that our first objective should be to track down the suspicious cook. Maybe we could also ask the nearby villagers if they've seen any raiders that fit your description?"

As Lumi was recounting her options, she heard a sudden thud near the entrance of the infirmary. It was a soldier! And he seemed quite badly wounded...

Lumi rushed over to Boko, silver shards of worry dancing in her eyes.

"Comrade, please lie down here." she motioned for Arden and her father to help her pick up the man and place him onto a bed.
 
Arden and Lumi's father both rushed to her side.

"I have his shoulder and waist." Arden stated as calmly as he could.

Her father grabbed the other side to stabilize his core. It was crucial not to move more than absolutely necessary given his condition. The more his core moved, the more the organs shifted, and the more the muscles twisted and contorted which would destabilize everything and potentially only make things worse than they were. Not to mention any bodily reaction could mean an increase in his heart rate which could cause more blood to pour from any and all open wounds.

"Steady, now." Arden whispered to himself.

myrkwise myrkwise
 
GojiBean GojiBean Nobuzout Nobuzout

Lumi inspected Boko's body, and she winced almost instinctively. In panic, her mind raced to think of what to do. She crouched down to the man's level and spoke in what she hoped was an assuring tone, but what she suspected contained a multitude of tremors, "It's going to be okay, it's going to be okay..."

Fuck.
 
As the strangers took him to a bed he’d look as they observed his wounds, it seemed like they were taking a peek at his burns. “Don’t bother” he said “I.. need you to help me with the arrow” there seemed to be quite a lot of blood coming out of his wound. He didn’t even know if he was going to make it, he looked at the few that were helping him and the other patients, there weren’t even enough beds for the amount of injured inside. Boko showed no emotions as his head was covered with an old bag. His voice was visibly hurt but it wasn’t his wound, no, it was the fact that so many were living in such poor conditions. His body burns were nothing copared to the rage he felt towards Egruus, but he knew he was not alone. He could feel the others around him, the room completely filled with sadness and anger.

“These.. you.. are you revolutionaries too ? What about these people ?” he asked, to one of the three persons close to him. Boko needed to leave soon, their members were dropping like flies, and if they couldn’t find outside forces then surely Veilbrand would be doomed. And to think that he wasn’t even able to save two persons.. how would he be able to save others ? These questions filled his thoughts as he watched the stranger treat his wound. They were a glimpse of hope, kindness even. To know that someone is still taking care of the injured is rather.. motivational.

myrkwise myrkwise GojiBean GojiBean
 
Nobuzout Nobuzout

Lumi scowled in frustration, "Don't be ridiculous. You're going to stay alive."

She paused, making direct eye contact with Boko.

"You've reached a Revolutionary Village. So, at the very least, be glad you aren't about to get shanked by some Egruus fucks."
 
Arden's eyes sunk as the man spoke. It wasn't exactly difficult to hear the same sort of anger and despair in someone's voice when you shared the feelings.

But hearing miss Lumi say "Egruus fucks" earned a pair of wide eyes and a slack jaw.

"Miss... Lumi?"

Since when did she talk like that?

myrkwise myrkwise Nobuzout Nobuzout
 

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