Futuristic [Archived] VOIB_ARC1_PART2

[Novelight]

Collbrande of Elesrith

Herrscher

Evelyn von Bismarck

Conference Room, 1ST FLOOR, EMPERON PALACE, IMPERIUS, ELESRITH │ AUGUST 18, 709 EC

"If it is of no issue," Evelyn sharply and swiftly responds, focusing her vision on her own pile of papers. She shifted through the documents while speaking casually, “I would prefer your presence in the ballroom afterward. It is rare that an outsider of the Northern Coalition is invited. Not to mention, your admirable and enigmatic uprising to the noble seat of Collbrande certainly raises some questions for those overseas. I trust that you’ll be able to indulge in their… curiosities?” Evelyn chuckled with a hint of sarcasm, putting a strong emphasis on the last word.

Needless to say, Evelyn’s suspicion was obvious. Her conjecture of the Collbrande seated on the opposite side of the table was based purely on intuition and the lack of information. If she didn’t know anything about the girl, then it was obvious that others would be just as clueless. “Ah, how awfully rude of me. I suppose you’re strangers with this fine lady.” Evelyn eagerly switched the topic after Luria’s response, “Unfortunately, the Collbrande of Katsuragi could not attend. A representative honoring his name and the title has decided to grace us with her elegance instead.” Evelyn hovered her hand towards the purple-haired woman on her right side, “Please, allow yourself to be known.”

Panther Luria

Code by Serobliss

 

[Panther]

Collbrandes of Ophelia

Collbrande of Anterås

Luria Cineris

Conference Room, 1st Floor, Emperon Palace, Imperius, Elesrith │ August 18, 709 EC

Luria scoffed at Evelyn’s sarcasm. She knew full well that a woman of her standing and wisdom would be suspicious, everyone else was. Perhaps this little casual stroke was a means to break the ice and shed more light on the woman who has so far lived and breathed in the shadows. Nonetheless, she got the memo of it being a joke and let it slip, “It’s fine, Lady von Bismarck. My eyes and ears tend to catch a fair number of things of the… unsavory variety. Your remarks are among the better ones, surely. But if the guests wish to know more about me, I will have to apologize since it would be in my best interests to disappoint them. To what extent, I will let them be the judge.”

She then turned her attention to the representative of the Collbrande of Katsuragi. What made House Amaterasu so preoccupied as to disable their leader from being to attend such an important meeting remained a partial mystery to the lady. It’s been a known fact that Katsuragi has been embroiled in a centuries-long war against the powerful and arcane Beasts of the Apocalypse that have been a plague to Empyria since its founding, leading to a wide variety of issues connected to them, even their supposed connection to the notorious Sishen Yakuza that her network gathered and surmised. The specific latest details of the war today are limited at best even for Empyria’s supposed chief intelligencer. This purple representative would certainly be able to shed more light on what House Cineris knows of the matter and maybe even give her new information. Luria thought it best to listen intently and take notes.

Interactions: Novelight (Evelyn, Akane)

Code by Serobliss

 

[Novelight]

House Hisakawa

First Shogunate

Akane Hisakawa

CONFERENCE ROOM, 1ST FLOOR, EMPERON PALACE, IMPERIUS, ELESRITH │ AUGUST 18, 709 EC

Since the inception of Luria’s attendance, the onna-musha remained standing waiting for her turn to introduce herself properly and lightly bowed before the Collbrande of Anterås. As the two Collbrandes struck a conversation she persisted in standing, until Evelyn would recognize that the woman had been waiting for their conversation to end. Upon hearing that they had recognized their error, Akane rest assured the Collbrande and nodded. “No worries. My name is Akane Hisakawa, the First Shogun of Katsuragi and Lord Amaterasu’s second wife, honoring the title of Katsuragi-no-Hisakawa.”

House Hisakawa was one of the three houses that served House Amaterasu, providing the latter with befitting warriors of both men and women. “Following the traditions of my homeland, please refer to me as simply Hisakawa. The common jargon of the Empyrian nobility tends to be quite… difficult. I apologize in advance,” Akane respectfully bowed and returned to her straightened pose, “But, I digress. I am here in the stead of the Collbrande of Katsuragi. Regrettably, he was rather excited to hear about his invitation to this monumental festival, but provincial duties take priority—especially when the ‘Forbidden Tomb’ is involved.”

Akane took a moment to pause before continuing, “Once the century ends and the new age dawns over Katsuragi, the heavenly seal placed upon the tombs of the Beasts weakens, and destructive miasma leaks from the cracks of the mausoleum. The same miasma was from hundreds of years ago when the province was at war with the very beasts. Capable of cursing the soul into putrid damnation, it ravaged our world with such force before the Beasts were defeated by the Symbol of Revelation, saving and establishing the culture of Katsuragi onward. Unfortunately, the souls of the slain beasts demand resurrection after an uncertain period of time, so Lady Zephyrus graciously placed a seal on the tombs, rendering resurrection impossible. However, its limitations last only a hundred years before they must be renewed.”

Akane displayed her bracelet for her to view. The item was glowing in red, with each connected black pearl illuminating ancient letters that are not known to the average Empyrian. “As shown on this bracelet, which is connected to my husband’s spiritual incarce, the Collbrande of Katsuragi is currently leading the ten-year-long ritual that is needed to cleanse the corrupted and restore the seal. He has been absent from his seat of command since the year 700.”

Panther Luria

Code by Serobliss

 

[Panther]

Collbrandes of Ophelia

Collbrande of Anterås

Luria Cineris

Conference Room, 1st Floor, Emperon Palace, Imperius, Elesrith │ August 18, 709 EC

Luria looked at the respected Hisakawa’s bracelet with some curiosity. She was aware of the regular ritual needed to keep Katsuragi and Empyria safe from the Beasts of the Apocalypse, but as someone who has only read on it, she took it at face value and did not actually get an idea of the effort needed until only now. A Collbrande, easily among the most powerful of Empyrians, having to commit to a ritual of such scale for a decade every 100 Empyrian Calendar years, leaving behind all of their other duties for the sake of this one and only this one. It made her wonder how the Symbol of Revelation was able to pull it off in the first place and those who came after, but it wasn’t important. At least not now.

But what is important is that they’re not dealing with another grave issue right now, that alone was worth thanking Lord Amaterasu for, “Send my grateful regards to His Lordship upon the ritual’s end, Lady Hisakawa. His great work shall not go thankless and unnoticed.” The thought of visiting Katsuragi crossed her mind, but she opted to not vocalize it, very likely to mull over it in the future once her workload lightens up. With a new position came new responsibilities, responsibilities that she has not yet fully adapted to.

Interactions: Novelight (Evelyn, Akane)

Code by Serobliss

 

[voided]

Imperial Security Directorate

EREBUS

HIKARU FUKUI

VANGUARD LOBBY, 3RD FLOOR, EMPERON PALACE, IMPERIUS | AUGUST 18, 709 EC

Hikaru’s grin grew wider as Retten introduced herself. House Voleir, huh? Hikaru has heard of that. Interhouse politics grew into the head being assassinated by an unknown party. Was it someone within the family? Or was it someone else? Questions were left unanswered as the house fell into disorder. Theories flew around, with no one to actually look into them, and then the heiress was gone. Wasn’t there a theory that she was the one orchestrating the assassination? Regardless, here she was, the child of the assassinated head of House Voleir.

The eldest Fukui was not one to pay attention to other noble politics, in fact, she disliked hearing about them. Lord knows she was just going to be roped into a discussion or two she had no interest in. But somehow, her father would speak about House Voleir; stating how much of a failure they were. He made sure to sound like a broken record—stating that House Fukui will not suffer from the same fate, as they were better.

How tiring.

Finally removing her arm from around Aria’s shoulders—mostly due to not getting any reaction from either of the two women she threw herself at—she extended a hand out to Retten. Oh, she could already see her father’s expression, the distaste and disappointment written all over his face as his daughter mingles with the heiress of House Voleir. Hilarious. It was almost a shame that he couldn’t see this.

“Nice to meet you as well, do you prefer Retten or Selana?” Or do you prefer Voleir? The last question almost left her mouth, but Hikaru bit her tongue. Maybe she’ll hold off on getting under people’s skin. For now. She then looked over at Vextress. “Nice to meet you as well. I didn’t expect to actually meet a cyborg in the flesh, but I guess there’s always a first time for everything.”

Interesting. So if Kurian Enterprise was the only technological company that could properly create technology that could work with House Wolfenstein—Vextress’ body—that meant they had to be pretty high quality. Hikaru didn’t see a need for technology in her current kit, but there was always the idea of improving her gun. But what could she even do with that?

Her wandering mind halted as her gaze then fell onto a blonde lady who strayed from the group. Initially she seemed to be listening to Gundahar, but once he was done, this woman was one of the few that went to get a drink. Well, not like Hikaru could comment. Meeting the girl’s bashful look, Hikaru’s grin didn’t leave her face. In fact, her lips parted, giving the woman a toothy grin of sorts.

“I’m gonna kidnap a blondie real quick.” Hikaru spoke to the rest of the group, weaving her out of the group and towards the shy individual. She gave the woman a short wave, already locking her into an interaction. “How coy, sneaking glances and whatnot.” Her eyes then went to the wine in the girl’s hand. “The wine isn’t the greatest, I’m sure there’s probably other things in this place that taste better.” And then back up to Elizabet. “Hikaru Fukui, codename Erebus. But please, call me Hikaru. Who might you be?”

Interactions: / Admiral19 (Retten) / TerrorKitty (Vextress) / SleepySheepiez (Valkyria) / OverconfidentMagi (Blackbird) / Purity (Aria) / WinterFestivity (Qinglong) / Panther (Syriel) / lunar_moth (Lusia)

Code by Serobliss

 

[OverconfidentMagi]

IMPERIAL SECURITY DIRECTORATE

Malo Salas Vesta

Neon Blackbird

VANGUARD LOBBY, 3RD FLOOR, EMPERON PALACE, IMPERIUS | AUGUST 18, 709 EC

Malo was still annoyed about the mission. At Dorten as well, though he knew better than to direct his anger at a person just doing their job, and doing it correctly too. Retreat was the correct course of action at the time. That just annoyed Malo even more. He knew he could have handled the threat. Not without collateral damage and likely casualties, but so would leaving a criminal of that caliber roaming free. And he needed to prove himself. He had to keep moving, keep solving the big problems, and he couldn't do that by retreating when it was the smart thing to do. He'd been truly pissed off about it after the mission, stalking off to vent his anger into crystalline firebombs one after another. The sector was treated to a surprise fireworks show that night, just Malo shooting off his stress into the night sky. And just to annoy him further, someone - all of his first through last guesses were Dorten - had told Qinglong that he'd been worried about her, making it out to be something it most certainly was not. Malo had been dealing with a constant headache of annoyances ever since the mission.

He put on the mask he'd been trained to wear since birth as nobility, nodding and smiling as if he was listening to the conversation he was supposedly a participant in. No one noticed or cared, and being among nobility it was likely entire conversations were taking place without a single word either party truly meant or cared about being spoken or heard. Malo hated events like this. He'd rather meet with a criminal trying to kill him than another dry noble. He let his mind wander back to what he'd brooded over far too much already recently: TAS-401... being made an official team. Malo's head throbbed. He watched through a gray filter as Agent Erebus acted overly friendly with Agents Qinglong and Aria. This was uncomfortable. He knew he was the odd one out here. He needed an excuse to leave.

Agent Erebus was kind enough to offer him that olive branch. "Aria, Blackbird. Since you two are by far the most charismatic people here, I think you should make friends with the other group. Qinglong and I will follow suit, promise."

Normally Malo would have agreed with her assessment, especially when dealing with other nobles, but Malo wasn't feeling particularly charismatic right now. That didn't stop him from jumping at the chance to extract himself from the uncomfortable group dynamic that had begun to form around him. He excused himself and walked with purpose away from the source of his headache and towards the most available solution: the bar. He ordered a drink that was an almost clear light blue color. A Royal Oasis. A drink known for knocking unsuspecting nobility flat on their ass. It looked and tasted almost like slightly sweet water, but was nonetheless pure spirits. Any noble seen downing such a risky drink at a public occasion and managing to not make a complete fool of themselves was considered quite respectable, a sign of extreme self-control. Malo sipped the drink and felt the sweet water wash over his tongue. The heat didn't hit until it was well down into his chest.

"Now, who to approach?" Malo might not be in the ideal socializing mood, but he did have to fulfil his duties regardless, both playing the part as a noble socialite and gathering potentially useful information to bring back to the group. His eyes settled on a woman that didn't seem to belong to one of the already formed groups conversing throughout the room. While interesting in itself, that was not what drew his eye over to her. She was staring at the group that was his... well, where Agents Erebus, Aria, and Qinglong had struck up a conversation with a few others. Her focus didn't seem coincidental. That was also quite interesting, and something worth walking over to strike up a conversation and fish for the reason why. It was also not why he'd picked her out of the crowd. The reason his eyes had jumped to her was nothing more complicated than his eyes had drifted across the room and had stopped on the person he'd found most appealing to look at. She stood out in the crowd in her red dress, bright enough to draw the eye but far from the overly complicated affair that most of the nobility favored nowadays. But now the other reasons he'd come up with for observing her served as his excuses to approach.

Malo made his way over to the blonde woman, but someone else got to her first: Agent Erebus. Of course. It was too late to change course without making it seem - correctly - that he wanted to avoid his coworker, so he dejectedly participated in an impromptu pincer maneuver against the unsuspecting blonde woman.

"The wine isn’t the greatest, I’m sure there’s probably other things in this place that taste better," Erebus was saying to her.

"And I can attest to both," Malo used Erebus as his entry into the conversation, raising his glass of specious blue spirit. "A finer taste is hard to come by, but perhaps a bit too sweet for a delicate tongue," he winked at Erebus, knowing there was a chance any noble would be aware of the danger his glass contained, and followed her introduction with his own. "Malo of House Vesta. Currently working alongside Agent Erebus." He shot her a look. "I thought for a moment I'd found the last pretty face in the room she hadn't gotten to before me, but alas." He let out a disappointed sigh, sipped his drink, and when he reopened his violet eyes his full focus came down heavily onto the unlucky young woman. "So, if it isn't rude to ask since we've been kind enough to offer our names, who are you and why have you been observing my coworkers from a distance since you walked into the room?"


Interactions: voided (Erebus) ▽ SleepySheepiez (Valkyria)

Code by Serobliss

 

[Panther]

Ashen Embers

Remiel

Thessia Tyrren

2nd Floor, Emperon Palace, Imperius, Elesrith │ August 18, 709 EC

The lone uniformed bodyguard of Lady Cineris from earlier had made herself scarce as instructed by her liege. She stayed away from the large groups of people in the lower and upper floors, opting to stay on an interior balcony on the second floor overlooking the vibrant ballroom below. Her eyes darted around the venue, studiously examining the environment and the people. A threat looming in the midst of all this also spelled a threat to her liege. It was her job to see if there were any, and if so, act on them accordingly.

Such was her duty, for she was Thessia Lara Tyrren, an elite operative of a force of the Collbrande of Anterås’s personal agents, the special task force dubbed the “Ashen Embers.” The right hand of her Collbrande. Her eyes, ears, nose, and dagger.

The ballroom didn’t seem out of the ordinary to her so she decides to continue her self-guided tour of the Emperon Palace by sweeping the second floor. The first was the most populated and thusly, the most secured, her being there wasn’t all too necessary. Besides, she didn’t want to be in the company of all the people down there anyway. It was a waste of her time. She walks into an empty corridor on the second floor before stopping in her tracks. A sigh comes from her, speaking out loud as if she was in someone’s company, “You’ve been eyeing me for some time now.”

Someone was there with her. Someone who has been keeping their watchful gaze on her since she entered the ballroom’s general vicinity.

Interactions: Novelight

Code by Serobliss

 

[Novelight]

Kriegsheld Cadre

Gundahar

Dietrich Lexcher

2ND FLOOR, EMPERON PALACE, IMPERIUS, ELESRITH │ AUGUST 18, 709 EC

Dietrich knew better than to remain for the rest of the evening. He disappeared without a trace from the room moments after he announced the arrival of the Collbrande of Anterås, swiftly leaving the scene to begin his next hunt: to locate the individual who stuck to the side of the mentioned Collbrande, whose face was all too familiar to the former Order operative.

He stuck to the walls and detached himself from the guests that crowded the palace. Focused and determined, Dietrich slyly excused himself from the ballroom after catching a glimpse of a woman who was standing above the many balconies, her hair and uniform unable to be forgotten from his stained memories. He grimaced at the possibilities. The consequences of her appearance must mean that the Dragon had plans for this evening. A predictable outcome or not, he was determined to get an answer to solidify his theory.

And so he pursued the woman from above, quietly strolling to the upper floors before he would inevitably be caught by the operative whose senses were too sharp to be fooled. Having been exposed from his spot, Dietrich silently emerged from the shadows behind the pillar, with thousand questions storming within him. With no intention of playing games, he silently stared and kept his guard.

“I was surprised to see that you were deployed here,” Dietrich stated monotonously, displaying no interest in showing the more animated attitude that he had come to develop after his departure from the Order. “I’m no stranger to her games. Your existence here means that a storm is brewing.”

Interactions: Panther (Remiel)

Code by Serobliss

 

[Panther]

Ashen Embers

Remiel

Thessia Tyrren

2nd Floor, Emperon Palace, Imperius, Elesrith │ August 18, 709 EC

Thessia turned around to face him, Dietrich, a former colleague of hers from a past and present that no one knows, a past and present that no one should know for many things were and are at stake here.

The woman looked at him in the eye with a stern and cold gaze. She likewise showed her being emotionless, speaking dryly, “I cannot fully speak for her nor should I entertain you with her plans. I simply came here to do my duties. Protect the Collbrande as charged to me, and to keep things in check. What my being here means to you is up to your discretion. So far so good, nothing out of the ordinary. Just your typical Northern Coalition Anniversary ball save for the fact that the guest list for the most esteemed is tailored for something that she doesn’t quite fancy.”

Interactions: Novelight (Dietrich)

Code by Serobliss

 

[Novelight]

Kriegsheld Cadre

Gundahar

Dietrich Lexcher

2ND FLOOR, EMPERON PALACE, IMPERIUS, ELESRITH │ AUGUST 18, 709 EC

Dietrich scorned after the last sentence, “Yet—you’re here, acting as her dog.” he paused and shortened their distance, but remained reasonably isolated to prevent tension between the two. He was cautious of potential eyes surrounding them—or a hidden sound recorder. Regardless, while he doubted she held hostility, he at least was cautious about potential eavesdroppers.

“It’s dangerous for her to be meddling in national affairs. I believe that was why the deal was made—between me and her. If you’re here, she must have alternative motives.” Dietrich replied with higher suspicion than before. He carefully gazes into the dark corners of the room, asking a daring question that could prove to be bad news.

“... You reek of the Dragon’s Invictus.”

Interactions: Panther (Remiel)

Code by Serobliss

 

[Panther]

Ashen Embers

Remiel

Thessia Tyrren

2nd Floor, Emperon Palace, Imperius, Elesrith │ August 18, 709 EC

Thessia replied sternly, “I have my orders.” She wasn’t as worried of anything or anyone eavesdropping on them as she had checked her surroundings earlier and would continue to do so. In this effort, she had the assistance of her shadowmancy, planting certain arcane constructs that blend in with the shadows of their surroundings much earlier. They were their sentries. Able to alert her of when to disengage or act normally.

Then the interesting mention of yet another colleague of hers from the past and present emerges. Was this a bluff? A pitfall? What the man stated had some truth, the colleague in question is indeed present but her exact whereabouts are not exactly something she should be delving into unless told. Regardless, playing the fool will likely do her no good. She gives some honest insight about the subject of their talk, “Hm. Alternatives are indeed on the table. The Dragon’s Invictus is one of them… a contingency plan. You of all people should know that she must be prepared.”

Interactions: Novelight (Dietrich)

Code by Serobliss

 

[Malphaestus]

Hand of Agartha

Sacerdos

Sextus Feuersturm

Private Guest Room, 2nd Floor, EMPERON PALACE, IMPERIUS | ELESRITH, MAINLAND AGARTHA

The proceduralities for his joining of the celebration had been as great a nightmare as the logistics he’d dealt with during his most arduous experiences in deep-space charity-work; impossible to have undertaken without the priceless aid of his assistant, preoccupied at present with the external investigations necessary to better allow the Knight-Templar Master’s adjoining with the coming special operation.

It had become clear, the very moment he’d landed in the region, that the loom of evil carried itself mischievously throughout even the daylight hustling of office workers and alongside the sunlit traffic. But even so, it merely lit his flame all the more, sharpening his justice’s edge with even greater sharpness.

As he’d taken up guard for the celebration, he’d been the witness to countless predominancies, of noble origin and tycoon accomplishments. All the while, making certain to appear as invisible to most as was feasible, and for once, keeping his origins occluded from unnecessary gazes. Not wearing his iconic Feuersturm mantle felt strangely alien to him, at this juncture, covertness going against his sworn nature: he did not like the dagger and the poison, but he accepted it because of the opportunity which his worship had granted him.

Though he cared not for what others thought of his procedure in this undertaking, at the very least, by the finalé of it, he would not dream to displease the Pontifex herself. That much was for certain, and such sensations carried themselves like an incarce of the spirit, vaguely meditative and spiritual, the complete stillness of guard duty not unfamiliar to him. But at the same time, the underlying context of this one instilled him with purpose beyond the religious- instead of aspiration, willingness for accomplishment: duty.

Clad in the ceremonial armour of high society- for celebration demanded visual flair strewn across all venues and all appearances, the gold and silver of his composite plates had felt daunting to adorn within the armoury cellar, but surprisingly easy to adapt to once within; as statuesque as a prop, yet as protective as any living being, the atmosphere of being a guard was a surprisingly fitting role for him. At ease in the stillness, time to himself and away from the world, yet never truly detached from it.

His time as a backdrop would quickly end, however, with the emergences of two prominents; the lady, and her lord, of Volcrest; two characters of strikingly homely personages, clearly easy for others to interact with and feel at ease amongst: warm. He had received word from his esteemed Pontifex before the celebration to exchange word with Vanitas Cryarcha, the intentions lying beneath such an exchange clearly evident to a Keeper of Secrets such as himself.

Though their meeting had been awkward, the lord and lady of Volcrest preoccupied with a prior exchange, it would appear that Vanitas was a man who did not enjoy the process of prolonging the inevitable. They were whisked into seclusion and privacy, but not before Sextus had provided a customary greeting towards Vanitas the moment he’d implicitly greeted him, so as not to display himself too obviously to the others; intelligence gathering and exchanging had been the primary purpose of his attendance, after all.

Though the room in which they had occupied was of somewhat lonesome character, it was as homely and extravagant as the public spaces which the palace embodied: with paintings of notable heroes and heroines adorning the wall opposite the door, and immaculate furnishings occupying the central space, above a rich fabric carpet upon which they stood, he felt an uncomfortable sensation of familiarity with the home he’d fled from in youth.

The three had walked with a patient stride, and so he felt in no rush to take his seat, making sure to follow the presented directive of the others in doing so: when he spoke, Sextus listened, making sure as not to indirectly worsen the relations between these nobilities and the Temple, as it’s representative in the matter involved. Though Sextus had been immortally grateful for the Pontifex’s trust in him, it nonetheless was stifling when he had to repeatedly interact with nobility, using their terminologies and pleasantries. All of which he was badly accustomed to.

Though Vanitas and Novaskaya’s soothing nature did calm the atmosphere, the visual presence of the fancifulness around them still visually unsettled Sextus, not yet affording the man to lower his guard; in the moment before he’d speak his own utterance, contemplating whether the person before him truly were them- stupidity itself, well acquainted with the their mannerisms and appearances from meticulous preparations before the present moment-, though quickly dismissed: “I am flattered- The Pontifex bears with me her blessings to the two of you, Lord Vanitas Atalax Cryarcha, Lady Novaskaya Krovoza; It is obviously an honour to occupy your time.”

Sextus nodded shallowly, but visibly, lowering his gaze respectfully against the table edge, around which they were seated, making sure to utilise the moment to formulate his next words carefully and naturally: “I am Sextus Feuersturm, Master Sacerdos, the Pontifex’s representative in secret matters, such as Aethrea; I had planned to meet with you, as I bear news about my side of the investigation…”

“But before that- House Violetta, Lady Korovoza, appears unnoticed, and for the moment, as concealed as they’ve always been- though there are some particularities in process.” Sextus spoke respectfully to the kind woman, her warmth of character visible from the moon, but with slightest awkwardness: he knew the importance of the Violettas well, however the main purpose of his exchange was something else. Thus he began to steer the discourse: “Which is why I had hoped to share my opinion regarding a few aspects of the Aethrea investigation, so that it remains as such- they are our Empire’s singular point of vulnerability, after all…” He’d placed his hands upon the table, touching fingers.

He mellowed shallowly as he finished his prior statement, the brief moment serving more to steady himself before them as opposed to anything else. “I had simply not expected our meeting to happen so swiftly,” he would then expand, whilst in his own mind believing that their meeting had become a degree too obvious- never knowing where Aethrea’s reach may extend.

“Regardless,” Sextus continued, finally acquainted with his surroundings. “Though I’ve only recently been entrusted with this task, I believe I bear a unique understanding of the situation, as entrusted to me by my wretched dynasty.” Though his words were resolute, his gaze cut into the floor with fervent flame, clearly wrestling with tainted legacies.

“As caused by my preoccupancy in different missions requiring my expertise before now, I have not been able to broach this topic with any of the other investigators- requiring a personal meeting, but I am very confident in what I will soon express. All I request is your discerning eye, Lord and Lady Volcrest.” Though he’d continued swiftly, the gap in between his words were visibly extended beyond what was customary of him.

“My Grandfather, the traitor; I believe, vehemently, that he is the key to unveiling Aethrea from where they’ve been hiding!” He grew agitated, though definitely of controlled nature; his shout, more of whispered variety, forever locked into the room in which the two were seated. He simply lacked evidence, the snake far too conniving to leave them so obvious. “Allow me, please, the opportunity to interrogate him… I know he is involved, there’s no doubt in my mind!”

A controversial mixture of justice and bottomless hatred swelled within his last words, delivered in mechanical spite: in this matter, he was biassed, but sensibly so: the worm had ruined a proud lineage, putting it to the torch, and most of all sent his sister on her dark course. But at the same time, Sextus was far too conscious of his obligations to the Temple which had, themselves, saved him in turn, preventing him from following the same path as his sister had.

Interactions: Novelight (Vanitas Cryarcha), @K417 (Novaskaya Krovoza).

Code by Serobliss

 

[TerrorKitty]

Vanguards of the Imperious

Vextress (Vex)

Alba Vex Von Wolfenstein

VANGUARD LOBBY, 3RD FLOOR, EMPERON PALACE, IMPERIUS | AUGUST 18, 709 EC

Alba had made a mistake coming to talk to these people. She may have been a cyborg but they were... Weird. Though it made sense she supposed. Especially considering the common thread in their line of work; it took someone a bit crazy to do what they did. If not already, you would be after going through the ringer enough times. Vextress had been a member of the Vanguard for five years now, and it was barely a few weeks ago that she'd nearly been turned to scrap metal.

That aside, she was beginning to wish she could drink. It seemed Lusia knew what they were doing. "Honestly, that would help quite a lot." Vex said in response to Syriel's offer. "Actually, would you mind accompanying me? I would greatly appreciate your assistance, if you would be willing to speak to her with me. Making a connection for House Wolfenstein would certainly be incredible, but I also have more personal reasons." Vextress continued before pausing to listen to what others were saying to her.

"Kurian Enterprise specializes in weapons research and development." Vex explained, "I'm hoping to make a deal, and with any luck I may be able to acquire new weaponry or even upgrades to my current combat abilities. My declassified schematics should be more than enticing in their own right but we'll have to see."

Interaction: lunar_moth (Lusia) / Admiral19 (Retten) / OverconfidentMagi (Blackbird) / Purity (Aria) / WinterFestivity (Qinglong) / Panther (Syriel)

Code by Serobliss

 

[SleepySheepiez]

Imperial Security Directorate

Valkyria

Elizabet Van der Lucht

VANGUARD LOBBY, 3RD FLOOR, EMPERON PALACE, IMPERIUS CITY, ELESRITH | AUGUST 18, 709 EC

Suddenly, as though summoned by fate, her dutiful search of the crowded room is brought to the jarring halt of conversation. The room was just so full of people. Beautiful and strange and confident people. A gathering of some of the finest exotic birds in Imperius city for a grand exhibition. A gallery of the rich and powerful. And even still, of all the myriad calls and dances prettied up in the protocol of social nicety, someone had decided she was the one worthy of interest. Maybe it was that, in her quick bout of peering around, she'd found nothing that might further her eagerness to forge ahead of the rest and be impressive, or maybe it was the cold fear that in so doing she might have accomplished just the opposite, but hints of distinct disquiet whisper a short while longer in the reflection of pool blue eyes before the girl finally focuses on the interruption in question.

Hikaru Fukui,
Codename Erebus.
But please call her Hikaru.

Elizabet holds her still untouched glass of wine a little closer to her chest. She's about to answer, find some way to respond to the playful remark about coy glances, or maybe say something about the wine she knew hardly anything about. Maybe she should have thought of that before taking it. Now it was almost necessary to drink it, right? Oh, and after Gundahar had specifically said to stay out of the stuff too...

Cutting into the formalities smooth as butter comes a rather elegant boy who is as alike to the wry wildness of his teammate as she imagined most of the modest gatherings hosted at the estate Van der Lucht were to this starstruck gala celebrating solidarity and strength in the Empire. There was something about him too, the refined way he held himself maybe, or was it the practiced flavour of disinterest to his tone? Elizabet smothers what would have been a surprised stammer by taking a prudent sip from her glass. It helped to give a little time to compose herself.
Hikaru was right, the drink wasn't quite as impressive as the venue.
Better than nothing...

"Elizabet Van der Lucht, codename Valkyria. It would appear I am to be coworker of a sort to the two of you as well." The crisp formality of her own is accompanied by a single respectful nod of the head to both. The flattery from Malo, Malo of a house Vesta no less, was surface level of course, but it's enough to coax a tentative smile to her lips. "You look, at the very least, to have gotten on well with my seniors, Miss Hikaru!"

The color of the pretty boy's drink was not lost on her either. While not the most refined of wine tasters, Elizabet knew enough to get by. Particularly she knew enough to know what drinks to avoid, thank heavens for those lessons. Yes, this Vesta character was making a statement alright. Whether or not it was to command respect, he'd certainly marked himself as one to keep an eye on, even if only to wonder at what he might do next. The Van der Lucht heir finds herself surprised at the slightest taste of jealousy mixing with her own passable drink on it's way to her stomach.
Of course not a trace of it shows,
of that she makes dead sure.
In any case, his question had been answered, even if not directly. This makes her feel a little smug about how smoothly she'd handled it, if she did think so herself. Perhaps it was the easy play to make in the game of nobles but it was fun all the same. This isn't a dream is it? This must be what it is like living the life of a noble who's name carries importance.
The life I might have had.
Is there a world where that me exists? I wonder...

Some of the dark haired agent's playfulness had rubbed off on her, almost enough to steal her mind away from the actual task at hand. Almost. It hadn't taken very long at all for the blonde to have sombered herself again with the itching anticipation of needing to be doing something that felt concrete. Was it proper of her to have spilled her codename to these two so readily? Maybe it was because Vextress and Retten and Planifolia and the grumpy Mage Knight had also spoken so readily and easily... It was almost as though the teams were here to let loose and have a little fun instead of focusing completely on the task. What danger was there in being overheard after all? Ugh.
She was overthinking it.
Again.

They were to be working together after all. She smiles again and idly swirls her glass, watching the drink inside whorl about like her thoughts.

"I only wish I could put myself as at ease as you both feel to be."

Interactions: OverconfidentMagi - voided

Code by Serobliss

 

[voided]

Imperial Security Directorate

EREBUS

HIKARU FUKUI

VANGUARD LOBBY, 3RD FLOOR, EMPERON PALACE, IMPERIUS | AUGUST 18, 709 EC

Being called Miss Hikaru threw her for a loop. On one hand, she liked feeling this sense of superiority and respect from the younger woman. On the other hand, being called miss made her feel old. However, she knew that Elizabet meant no harm by it. The raven-haired woman knew that this girl was the overly respectful type. A type that Hikaru teased often. A type that she found herself getting frustrated with.

A type she found herself looking after in small gestures.

A smile stayed on her face as her eyes flickered down to the wine glass that Elizabet was now holding closer to her. She extended a hand, motioning to the woman to hand over the wine glass. “You don’t seem to like it. Feel free to hand it over, I’ll deal with it.” She was about to pull an Aria and leave it somewhere.

“Ah, your seniors. You mean Syriel? She’s a fun person to chat with. I think I’d like her as my senior. Alas, it seems I—” her eyes darted as Malo walked towards the two woman. “—we have been jumping from senior to senior. First Zhenran Uncle, and Dorty n’ Dorky, now Gundahar.”

As Malo spoke, Hikaru shifted her weight onto her right leg as a hand was placed on her hip. As she caught his wink, Hikaru’s eyes widened for a second as she spotted the choice of drink he bought along. Quickly enough, her eyebrows twisted upwards as her characteristic crooked grin was back on her face. Then there was his look, which she returned with a triumphant one of her own. He had to be faster than that if he wanted to catch a pretty face before Hikaru.

“Oh my, now where did you get that, Sir Vesta? I sure hope you don’t get shit-faced anytime soon, we are meeting the Collebrands, remember.”

However, she did make a mental note of this drink being around this establishment. Hikaru had this drink once, and it wasn’t a fun time. She was bad with alcohol. Terribly bad. She can handle a can of Katsuragi beer, but that was it. Any more than a can, or anything stronger, was enough to set off her alcohol intolerance. An uncomfortable feeling, really. She couldn’t enjoy alcohol properly. She either had to drink under the threshold, or deal with the side-effects.

She envied Malo a little bit. Not like she’d ever admit it. It would probably feed his nobel-fueled ego. How annoying.

She looked back at Elizabet, a defeated smile of sorts now on her face. At ease? Barely. Hikaru was willing to look pretty and mingle, but she hated places such as these.

“Hah!” She barked out a short laugh before shaking her head. “Sweetheart, please. I want to leave this place as quickly as possible. The longer I stay here, the more I want to walk outside and smoke.” She then looked at Malo, a stupid thought popping into her head. “Hey, if you light a cigarette with your flame, is it normal? Or do I inhale Incarce along with the nicotine?”

Interactions: OverconfidentMagi (Blackbird) / SleepySheepiez (Valkyria)

Code by Serobliss

 

[lunar_moth]

Vanguards of Imperius

V. planifolia

Lusia Feodora Fair

VANGUARD LOBBY, 3RD FLOOR, EMPERON PALACE, IMPERIUS | AUGUST 18, 709 EC

If at all possible— nay, in a feat some might consider inhumanly possible, the impenetrable Lusia Feodora Fair’s face turns even redder than it was.

“Nn—-! Well, I suppose I backed myself into a corner, didn’t I? I certainly see how it might sound…” She sighs, and puts a palm on her forehead, a ghost of a wry smile tugging at her lips as she hastens to explain, “I’m talking about my niece, actually. I helped raise her; I think of her as my own. Should she know what’s good for her, she’s studying hard right now back in Iliosie where I left her for safekeeping.” Ah, liquor certainly makes your lips loose, doesn’t it? No need to spill your entire life’s story at a work function. It must be because deep down inside, you know you’re dying for somebody, anybody who wants to listen. Still. You’re supposed to be working hard to make sure they see you as competent, not as a domestic mother-figure!

“Ah, and come to think of it— we must be getting close to the rendezvous hour, are we not?” She desperately hopes they are. She really needs a distraction, a change in scenery, lest she continue to spew sentimentalities all over the place.

Code by Serobliss

 

[Panther]

Kriegsheld Cadre

The Mage Knight

Syriel Janus

Ballroom, 1st Floor, Emperon Palace, Imperius, Elesrith │ August 18, 709 EC

Syriel thought about Vextress’s request, a process briefly interrupted as she watched Erebus leave the group to go after Valkyria after the latter’s brief eavesdropping. Blackbird was also nowhere to be seen sometime after their initial assembly, thinking that he’s off to actually play the part as per Dietrich’s orders. Lusia was now rambling about bringing up a child, particularly her niece, that spawned an initial misunderstanding that was soon clarified, albeit a bit embarrassingly. It was a funny and wholesome moment to Syriel, something that brought a chuckle out of her.

Going back to Vextress, Syriel gives a nod to her, “Sure, I don’t mind. She should be in the ballroom with some big industry names. Now ladies, if you will excuse us, we’ll be right back.” She gave a smile before turning and walking away, gesturing for the cyborg to follow, “Come on.”

The two of them walked through small crowds of people up to the flights of stairs that led to the lower and upper floors. Thankfully, there wasn’t much foot traffic or congestion at the floors they were at either as far as they were concerned, allowing the two women to easily get to the second floor and all the way down to the ground floor and ballroom where the main party was. Syriel stopped partway through the stairs leading to the ballroom to assess their immediate surroundings, the crowds already started not too far from the base of the stairs extending into the ballroom that had the densest concentration of guests.

Everyone was mingling with each other within the gilded confines of the ballroom over glasses of wine and sumptuous meals served by many a servant and ambient music played by the small orchestra, their topics ranging from actual business to gossip and rumormongering among other things. A scenery that would be fully fit for a fairytale had it not been for reality being a bit less… fantastical. There was still something tense and suffocating about these parties for a good number of people. It was even brought up before.

Syriel pressed forward with Vextress behind her with some people glancing over at them with some recognizing the two. Whispers were abound almost immediately as Syriel and Vextress were too far from being the nobodies, noble and commoner, that constituted the run-of-the-mill guests, and they were also distinct from the most esteemed guests in their own ways. The Mage Knight walks through the ballroom and ignores them, her eyes darting around in search of the Kurian Enterprise founder and CEO. Soon enough, she finds her in the company of a few well-known names in the relevant industries, they were in the middle of a conversation. Syriel turned her head to Vextress and called for her to come over. As soon as she got near, Syriel looks at Izuna, “There she is. Talking with the bigwigs alright. Let's go.” She walked closer to the group of business people with Vextress in tow, and they would get close enough to be noticed. Manners ruled over Syriel, stopping her from butting in on whatever conversation the business people and Izuna were having.

Interactions: Novelight (Izuna) lunar_moth (Lusia) WinterFestivity (Qinglong) Purity (Aria) Admiral19 (Retten) TerrorKitty (Vex)

Code by Serobliss

 

[Novelight]

Kriegsheld Cadre

Gundahar

Dietrich Lexcher

2ND FLOOR, EMPERON PALACE, IMPERIUS, ELESRITH │ AUGUST 18, 709 EC

It was a mixture of speculation and presumption on Dietrich's end. The amount of evidence that was piled for him to analyze was right in front of him. Remiel's existence in the venue was dubious enough. He doubted her veracity, but she was not the fabricator of the truth. If anything, she was an equivocator. Perhaps it was her way of treating her old coworker, but that was of no importance now.

Dietrich grumbled in response to her prevarication. He dug his fingernails into his palms, visibly angered by the revelation of the news. If her words were to be true, than the event was going to be sabotaged from her debut from the entrance doors. Truth be told, Dietrich could already imagine how the story would go.

What troubled him greatly was not her decision to attend the ceremony without a proper invitation. Although a rare occurrence, it wasn't impossible that she decided to attend for the sake of building a connection with several individuals that could potentially become her pawn. Izuna Kurian was one of many. A genius in the field of weapons technology whose infatuation with wealth could not be compared to any other. Like her, there were many people of talent that attended this event. What was she really after?

The answer was unmistakable: to threaten the opposing force and admonish those who were planning to play her game.

"Karvein's dormancy is well known throughout the Order. It's not often that she is utilized for operations that aren't aggressive." Dietrich commented about Karvein's status in the Order, suggesting that she rarely played a role in the operations conducted by the organization. "Surely, she's not planning on turning this venue into a warzone, especially when the audience will be here to testify against her."

Interactions: Panther (Remiel)

Code by Serobliss

 

[Panther]

Ashen Embers

Remiel

Thessia Tyrren

2nd Floor, Emperon Palace, Imperius, Elesrith │ August 18, 709 EC

Thessia scoffed at the idea, having observed Dietrich’s subtle gesticulation and body language prior, “Karvein so as much lifts a finger here in this palace, she will have much to answer for. She has her orders and I assure you that she will follow them lest she provokes not only our wrath, but Empyria’s wrath.”

Thessia herself also had orders to participate in containing the latter individual should the worst happen, and if necessary, use lethal force. She opts not to tell this to Dietrich, he was already familiar with how they operated, too familiar at times. Thessia wouldn’t be alone should the somewhat unthinkable come to pass, she has the Collbrandes of Ophelia present, the Vanguards of Imperius, TAS-401, Dietrich’s task force, House Bismarck’s elite guards, and even her and the might of the Imperial Army if things go too far south. Though even she thinks they would be hard-pressed with a good portion of the palace being ground to dust in the scenarios she imagined.

After a long pause, Thessia looks at her watch before she starts turning the other way to continue her sweep, “There’s still some time before events unfold. If you have nothing else for me, you’d best be on your way to enjoy the party while it lasts. You and I will be very busy in the days to follow. I’ll be seeing you.” She slowly walks off after that, waving her right hand. The way she said 'I'll be seeing you' had a cryptic tone to it, what it meant was up to him to decipher. They will meet again, certainly, the question is when.

Interactions: Novelight (Dietrich)

Code by Serobliss

 

[OverconfidentMagi]

IMPERIAL SECURITY DIRECTORATE

Malo Salas Vesta

Neon Blackbird

VANGUARD LOBBY, 3RD FLOOR, EMPERON PALACE, IMPERIUS | AUGUST 18, 709 EC

"Elizabet Van der Lucht, codename Valkyria. It would appear I am to be coworker of a sort to the two of you as well."

So said the blonde. Malo had no reason to doubt such a claim, so he retracted one half of his predatory airs. The other half had nothing to do with this girl being any sort of threat, quite the opposite, and thus remained as he ran an appraising eye up her figure. Hearing that she would be a member of this so-called team added a weak excuse to his gaze, if he cared to obfuscate his intentions. And why should he feel to do that? This was a party after all. He sipped his drink.

"I only wish I could put myself as at ease as you both feel to be."

Malo observed her face change as she stared into her own drink. His violet eyes wandered around the room as he thought about various unimportant things before he sighed and brought them back to the beautiful blonde before him.

“Oh my, now where did you get that, Sir Vesta? I sure hope you don’t get shit-faced anytime soon, we are meeting the Collebrands, remember.”

Agent Erebus just had to go and remind him. As if that wasn't the whole point of getting drunk. "Tch, fine," he took one final sip of his drink and then blew over it as if cooling a hot drink down. But it was the opposite, and the surface of his glass began to steam as his power went to work burning away the alcohol, diluting the spirit not with water but flame. Such a nonsensical application of pyromancy, but so delicately controlled that few among masters would even think to use fire to accomplish something so trivial.

"At ease?" Malo let out a bark of laughter. "If that's what you take this as your senses need honing, my dear." He motioned around the room with his glass, the motion exciting the burning liquid enough that the surface burst into a colorful flash of fire. Malo just carried on like nothing had happened. "We're surrounded by nobles and politicians, soon to meet with the esteemed Collebrands! This place makes my skin crawl. Agent Erebus is hardly faring any better, I just wish we'd stop fighting over the same coping mechanisms."

He spat out that last bit only slightly quieter. His drink had dulled the subtlety of his tongue, not yet its sharpness. That loosening was the only reason he answered Erebus' question seriously. "Huh? I don't... My fire contains small crystals, so probably the latter? In small enough concentrations it's more or less safe to eat. Less safe if I decide your tongue could do with a few extra blisters." He lit a small neon green flame atop his finger, then extinguished it to leave behind a colorful crystalline dusting. Malo held eye contact with Erebus as he licked his salted fingertip, then shot a wink at the new girl for equal measure. "Why? Curious about the taste?" He held out his flaming cup as if offering it, almost daring them with the literal fire water. If neither took up the challenge he'd laugh it off and extinguish the thing, but if either reached for it he'd keep the fire going to see their reaction. For all his apparent inebriation, he was still in control, at least easily enough to keep his fire from touching a woman's skin.

Interactions: voided (Erebus) ▽ SleepySheepiez (Valkyria)

Code by Serobliss

 

[voided]

Imperial Security Directorate

EREBUS

HIKARU FUKUI

VANGUARD LOBBY, 3RD FLOOR, EMPERON PALACE, IMPERIUS | AUGUST 18, 709 EC

The Fukui blinked as Malo burnt away the alcohol. Was he really that upset over being reminded to not drink? What a shame. What a waste of alcohol that was. But before she could tease the man over wasting his pyromancy, he caught his last set of words. Similar coping mechanisms? How laughable. This was Hikaru Fukui, she would not use women to cope. She would rather if it was the other way around.

Wait what?

The raven-haired woman silently covered her face with her palm, sighing into it as she tried to mentally backtrack on her thoughts. She didn’t even drink enough alcohol to warrant such a thought. Perhaps her nerves were getting the best of her. She really needed to get out of this place as soon as possible. From between the crack of her fingertips, she locked her gaze with Malo’s; red eyes peering up at his. Did he really take such a simple question as a way to hit on both her and Elizabeth? Or was this some sort of challenge? Malo had a weird tendency to look down at people, so was this one of those moments? Lowering her hand, she looked back down at the drink, observing it as she raised a brow. There was fire, but there had to be some level of alcohol, right?

Ah, to hell with the no-drinking rule. If this was a challenge of sorts, she wasn’t going to back down. The Fukui family was far from being quitters. If she backed down at some fucked-up looking amalgamation of water, fire and potentially alcohol, she had no place in the ISD. With a chuckle, she reached out to the glass of fire-water, not sure how exactly to grab it. She decided that the bottom was the safest part of the glass to grab. Gently, she placed her palm on the bottom.

“Well, I could care less about how your Incarce tastes, but if you really want me to drink this fucked up shit, I’ll do it."

Truth be told, she was morbidly curious about how this literal fire water would taste. Rationally, it would just taste like water with whatever gave the alcohol its flavour, but just warm and without the alcohol. But for the most part, she just didn’t want to back down from a challenge, no matter how stupid it was. Even if it involved her being stupid. Why was she doing this? Excellent question. Maybe it was to stop Elizabet from potentially being hazed by this flamboyant twinkie beside her. Wait, was Elizabet the one being hazed? Or was it her? Whatever, she stopped using her rational thought process the second she stepped into this building. If she was lucky, she would have felt like shit after drinking this, and thus allowing her to run outside for fresh air and a smoke.

"I'm a Fukui, I ain't scared of a weird concoction that may or may not have alcohol in it.” What a inane response to an inane challenge. “Well, if your Incarce tastes good, I’ll use you as my cigarette lighter from now on. I can cut down on buying lighters from now on and I'll get something that isn't just the boring nicotine flavour when I smoke. I just ask you to not burn my tongue, we have similar coping mechanisms after all, don’t we?” Hikaru spoke the last part of her sentence a little quietly.

Interactions: OverconfidentMagi (Blackbird) / SleepySheepiez (Valkyria)

Code by Serobliss

 

[Purity]

Imperial Security Directorate

Aria

Isolde Caen

VANGUARD LOBBY, 3RD FLOOR, EMPERON PALACE, IMPERIUS, ELESRITH │ AUGUST 18, 709 EC

How dull.

This ball used to be merely a fantasy for her, a fantasy that she’d always dreamt of bringing into reality. And yet, now that they were here, it seemed a bit… slow. There wasn’t the kind of excitement brought on by a risk to her wellbeing, a risk to her reputation, a risk in general. Sure, they were waiting to meet the Collbrandes, and that would definitely categorize itself to all of the above should things go wayward or even well, but that only compounded the boredom that she was feeling now. The people here were mere flies, herself included, in comparison to what awaited them in whatever place the leaders of the nation were lounging around in now.

The conversation at hand was barely comprehendible to her, only occasionally using certain trigger words to employ the appropriate expression. She was much more preoccupied in picking out every piece of surveillance in the room. Of course, they probably had some form of clairvoyance occupying the room, something that she wouldn’t be able to pinpoint without expending an enormous amount of effort, but it was a simple matter to occasionally play with her hair, or cough, and cast a specific pattern of spectrums off her fingertips to see where the light was reflected or refracted. It was a fun little game, just something take the edge off of her wearing patience.

That, and she was thinking about a subject that had bubbled to the front of her mind as she’d watched Vextress leave. Technology and incarce… obviously it wasn’t a novel subject, but she’d never personally considered the combination of the two before. The most appropriately suited affinity towards the idea was of course electromancy, but she was beginning to wonder if she could manipulate technology using her own affinity. She could move mechanical parts using subtle shadows, yes, but light… photons made up radio waves, no? Using higher or lower frequencies of electromagnetism would require more incarce, so it would be more volatile and far more difficult to control something that would’ve already required extraordinary precision, but nonetheless there were likely already examples for her to learn from…

It always came down to this, didn’t it. What was her exousiarch? Would it help her in any way here, too?

The alcoholism going on around her was distracting her. What were they even talking about, now?

“Excuse me. I’m going to get a breath of fresh air.”

Of course, there was one other thing on her mind that the Mage Knight mentioned. Luria Cineris. House Cineris had always been of great interest to Isolde, and to hear that the Collbrande of Anterås was here as well gave her additional cause to look forward to the later evening. It’d always been a bit overbearing to her, the way that the other Collbrandes were basically trumpeted around whether they did so intentionally or not. To have a Collbrande that was entirely a mystery, that spoke to her most. She would need to try and garner an audience with her.

Interactions: lunar_moth (Lusia) ⟡ voided (Erebus) ⟡ OverconfidentMagi (Blackbird)

Code by Serobliss

 

[TerrorKitty]

Vanguards of the Imperious

Vextress (Vex)

Alba Vex Von Wolfenstein

VANGUARD LOBBY, 3RD FLOOR, EMPERON PALACE, IMPERIUS | AUGUST 18, 709 EC

Abla nodded in response to Syriel, quickly following behind the senior soldier. It took them a while to get to their destination partly just due to the size and scale of the building itself. Though at the very least the density of guests was low as a result. The architecture was most certainly impressive, the cyborg woman couldn't help but look around at every nook and cranny out of habit even if she was unable to scan the building's geometry as she normally would. That kind of information was most certainly confidential.

She was so wrapped up in her head Alba nearly bumped into someone as the pair entered the ballroom. The girl managed to doge out of the way with relative ease, thankful for at least having her collision warning system on passive activation; one of the few that had been permitted.

Alba continued on in pursuit of Izuna alongside Syriel, if only just trailing behind. There were a lot of eyes on her but that was more than expected, even outside parties and gatherings the cyborg always became a topic of discussion. Still, it was however much less embarrassing than the galas thrown at House Wolfenstein, in which 'The Singularity Vector' was the main centerpiece. Here at least, Alba was only one of many notable figures. Regardless, the attention was both flattering and annoying, and she didn't really know how to feel about it at the moment.

After having exchanged silent greetings to various onlookers Vextress sauntered confidently over to The Mage Knight when they signaled for her. She wanted to make a good impression on Izuna, and that meant allowing herself to be comfortable in her own hardware. Vex had to act as important as the attention she received would suggest.

Interaction: Novelight (Izuna)/ Panther (Syriel)

Code by Serobliss