Fantasy The Hunt [Bronze Age Fantasy][O/A]

[Monday]

Location: Confederation Roost, Valkonia
Time: Morning
Interactions: Archie Lilliana2 AiDEE-c0

As Horang's mind generated more details to flesh out his lie, he visibly relaxed, sliding comfortably into the ruse and letting go of the false charisma on which he'd relied to prop him up until now. Anyone as well-versed in Irudin's rituals or who frequented the temple as often as the Minister of Temples and his daughter would immediately see this nonsense for what it was; but precious few of those gathered were so intimately acquainted with the ways of Irudin. So Zarashi allowed the fool to spin his web, searching for something that would allow her to turn his lie against him. Meanwhile, worry for her uncle began to seep into her thoughts. The more her cousin prattled on, the more the situation reeked of foul play.

"More importantly, through his dreams, the High Priest received a vision commanding him to take the isle now, to reunify humanity after our sinful bickering," Horang finished, his gaze resting on the Minister of Forests for no reason that was immediately apparent to her. Odd. She filed that information away to process later. Then, his features twisted into that devious smirk that always boasted some new inspiration as he turned toward her father. This did not bode well.

"...and," he continued, "to divert the attention of his own chosen clan, the Ida, from our petty pursuits. For weeks, we have been involving ourselves in the unholy matter of attempting to take both Archonships. This will destabilize the balance of power between the three great tribes, and put an end to the Confederation." Zarashi's eyes widened, her nails biting into her palms so hard it was a wonder she didn't draw any blood. He wouldn't dare! To divert the council's favor by accusing her father of soiling his hands with impious matters- when clearly Irudin's will was his highest priority! That aside, he'd made sure the both of them could hardly mention the succession crisis without appearing unduly self-serving. The bastard. He will burn for this! "However, no other leader has the prestige to rise to the position of Confederation Leader without achieving a great success," that unholy mockery of a Seneschal continued.

"Therefore, I nominate Fenris Daan as leader of this expedition, so that he may gain such a success." Fenris Daan?! Zarashi pressed her elbows into the table to steady herself. Until now, Horang had had no known associations with the Karal clan. Furthermore, practically everyone in the room besides the Karal representatives knew Fenris to be inexperienced and completely unsuitable for the role, and he despised the Ida clan, to boot. To ally himself with such an unpopular candidate... What on earth are you playing at, Horang? Meanwhile, her cousin had locked eyes with her father, clearly a challenge. Kamar met his gaze evenly, admirably retaining his composure, but up close Zarashi could see that the muscles in his jaw were tightly clenched, a sure sign of suppressed rage. A sharp screeching noise filled the tense silence of the hall, causing her to wince, but as before, no one else seemed to hear it. Whatever else the voice from her dream might be, it was certainly not happy with the proceedings. A sudden chill raced down her spine as something prompted her to look back at Horang, her eyes drawn not to his face, but to his armor. It looked the same as always, but at the same time, something about it struck her as deeply unsettling. The back of her scalp prickled. Once, she had witnessed a thief being punished for for his crimes by the loss of his hand. Just before the blade fell, she'd caught a glimpse of the fearful, haunted, hungry look in his eye as he turned his face aside; and for some reason what she'd felt at that moment was the only thing comparable to what she was feeling now.

Yet another bizarre occurrance to contemplate when and if she reached the security of her chambers.

As the expected protests and exclamations broke out around the room, Zarashi turned her eyes to Fenris Daan, who was making no effort to hide his ambition, but seemed surprised by Horang's recommendation. So, at least they weren't working together. She considered herself an excellent judge of character, and beneath the man's impressive height and girth, she saw only a weakling- a naive, self-righteous idiot, not as confident in his strengths as he'd like to appear, who would only bring humanity to ruin. Her eyes narrowed. Irudin did not want him as Archon, so she would do whatever was necessary to bring him down.

A sudden, deafening clap of thunder shook the room, accompanied by a flash of lightning from the chandelier, and scattered her thoughts to the far corners of her mind. As her heart climbed back down into her throat, her pulse hammering in the ensuing silence, she turned to see Horang raising a smoking hand. Kamar Ida and his daughter shared a covert glance, her thoughts reflected in his face. Has Horang's magic always been this powerful?

"Please do not speak unless you have been called on by the chair." He regarded someone in the balcony with an unamused expression. Apparently, Zarashi had missed something. She was off her game.

"Now" he sighed, "Does anyone have alternative nominations?"

While Zarashi was still struggling to get her bearings, a small, mousy girl, representative of what she understood to be a lucrative industry, politely nominated Assuni, Minister of Forests, as leader of the expedition, citing her greater experience while trying to cause as little offense to Fenris Daan as possible. In a different mood, Zarashi might have found this amusing, but right now her mind was already calculating several steps ahead. Since Assuni was an elf, this obviously would not win her any greater authority than she now held, making her a comparatively innocuous alternative to the Karal chieftain. There was also a certain logic in sending someone who knew the forest well, although there was a possibility, however slim, that despite throwing her lot in with humankind the elf cheiftain might exploit the opportunity for the advantage of her own people. Though it would be a gamble, she could still foresee using the elf Minister to separate Horang's expedition from the selection of a new Primarch...

"Horang Ida. It would be hard to pretend that what you just said were not filled with questionable remarks and contradictions," Assuni spoke up, keeping her voice soft and unaccusing despite the intense glare she levied in his direction. Interesting. Zarashi decided to keep quiet and observe for the time being. "Still, if you are ardent about this expedition, sure that it is god's direction, we should take it with heed. First, perhaps send scouts to confirm the existence of this sorcerer, but not discard it. However, what you are doing here..."

"...Seems more like the setup to assassination, rather than a holy mission," her vice-minister jumped in as soon as she trailed off, grinning devilishly in a way that somehow reminded her of her cousin Bloodrang, despite his pale visage marred by an unsightly scar. A smirk slowly crept over Zarashi's features as this man continued to shred her cousin's ridiculous posturing with his biting words, and as she waited for Horang's response to the accusations. Mailman. Despite not knowing this man's name or the tribe from which he hailed, for the moment, she considered him a friend. However, as the room erupted into dissention and chaos, she realized that the Vice Minister's speech had provided ammunition for those who held a grudge against the temple. Ah, well. Horang had brought this on himself. Kamar Ida also represented the Temple, and if he could prove himself trustworthy, she had no doubt the damage could be repaired.

“Mailman!?” the Seneschal roared, silencing the assembly. Zarashi would have liked to believe he'd lost his temper, but she knew it wasn't his way. He was putting on another show.

“Is correct," he said simply, then went on to describe how he'd represented his uncle faithfully, humbly deferred accusing Assuni's vice minister of heresy as his uncle's duty, and repeated what their uncle had supposedly asked him to relay yet again. "There will be no further questioning of Irudin's message," he declared with finality.

“Second, that we must choose an expedition leader. His eminence did not specify who, but there is an obvious candidate. And you ask me what I have to say?" he berated the elf Minister's companion. "I have to say that in you haven’t answered my question. If Fenris is such a bad choice, who better?”

You know who the obvious choice is, Horang, as does everyone else in this room. Zarashi chanced a glance toward her father, who still retained his stoic facade.

“I’ve had enough of this,” Fenris Daan announced. “Valko and Irwin would be ashamed of this display of bickering." He glared at Assuni's vice minister. “Not fit, you say!? What would a man who has never soiled his blade know about fitness in battle?" Any fool knows that only those with experience and wisdom, both of which you clearly lack, deserve to lead. "And next time you insult the memory of Valko, burning at the stake will be the last thing you have to worry about.”

At the moment, Fenris' threatening demeanor did bear a striking resemblance to the late Primarch. Although she'd only met him a handful of times, Zarashi guessed this was why the cabinet members seemed to suddenly come to attention, like a line of soldiers. Perhaps this buffoon was slightly more formidable than she'd assumed. But only slightly. Horang sneered mockingly, probably waiting for the chieftain to make a fool of himself.

“And you,” Fenris looked utterly disgusted as he fixed his eyes on Horang. “Military expeditions have always been led by the Karal tribe. To think that you’d put it up to a vote, you glorified clerk." Despite her opinion of the man, she had to admit the satisfaction of seeing the mocking smirk drop of her cousin's face.

“My warriors are leaving this afternoon for the isle. Any of you who want to come with me are welcome to do so. Otherwise, stay home and forever be remembered as cowards!” The hall remained silent in the wake of this bold declaration. To Zarashi's knowledge, Fenris Daan had never before commanded an army- in fact, he'd never led anything larger than a company, as she recalled. Nonetheless, his impression of Valko Daan, combined with the knowledge that dissent could lead to civil war, seemed to have cowed everyone into silence. And of course Horang, who'd refused to shut his mouth the entire meeting, remained silent during the one moment it would actually have been helpful for him to speak.

In short, this meeting had been an abject disaster... and short of charging over to the temple and confronting Arkrath directly, Zarashi was out of ideas. She slumped in her chair as dread settled over her like a heavy cloak.

"Enough!" Kamar Ida slammed his fists on the table as he lept to his feet, knocking over his chair in the process, and Zarashi felt ashamed for having given into despair. Of course there was a way to salvage the situation. Her father had taught her that there was always a way, and now he must've found it. "The Seneschal's account of Irudin's message has been called into question, and so far, he has failed to provide adaquate justification for his claims. Though the council seems to have forgotten this fact, I, too, represent the temple and hold some sway with the Archon." His tone was stern, projecting power and authority. "And yet, I was not consulted on any of this. Now, before we all go charging off into the forest after some sorceress who may or may not exist, I see it as my duty on behalf of all gathered here to seek out the High Priest and ascertain the truth of the matter. And that is exactly what I'm going to do!" With that, he turned and stormed out of Confederation Roost, Zarashi scrambling to her feet behind him and struggling to keep pace with his long strides. Apparently, she'd been right- there wasn't a way to salvage the meeting. And now, hopefully, Arkrath would lend some sanity to the situation, instead of revealing himself to be allied with Horang's scheming. Or too high to speak coherently. Or, worse come to worse, dead.

 

[Zazz]

The elf leading the way was rather clumsy, and Eira found him quite noisy. She was beginning to wonder if he knew his way home. But the Two-Skin kept Kyrene's pace, and like the horned woman, she too found comfort in the snow of the mountain. The snow leopard sniffed for territorial scents and kept an eye out for markings, but it seemed to be clear. Even the deer smelled of nothing downwind... It was all very puzzling. The Ogrash introduced himself as Rock, which the young Two-Skin found fitting. She huffed in acknowledgement, her pack still dangling from her mouth.

At the door, the snow leopard hung back warily, setting her pack down and crouching. A soft hiss escaped her as the door swung open, but soon her curiosity got the better of her and she stood in a half-crouch, trying to see inside. The others entered. Eira glanced back down the mountain. She could go, but where?

The snow leopard observed her surroundings once before decidedly picking up her pack and following suit.

Once inside, the great cat shook out her fur, sending wet snow in all directions. She set down her pack once more and lifted her front paws to stand, leaning them just below a screen. "What is this place?" She asked in a raspy, mostly human voice. Not understanding a word of what was on the screen, she pushed off of the wall and landed on her big snowshoe paws. She took to walking by Kyrene again. "I'm Eira."

 

[Archie]

Confederation Roost
((OOC: And that's our cue to split up for a bit, Confederals! But worry not, you'll be back together in no time))

Fenris Daan expected everyone to accept his declaration. The room was silent for a matter of moments, and he smirked. Clearly, this was the first time he tried this impersonation of Valko, and it seemed to be working.

That was, until he was outdone by someone infinitely more skilled in the political arts than himself. Kamar Ida slapped his hand on the table and rose to speak. Initially, it was now Horang whose smirk had returned. He thought his gambit - of being silent and waiting for others to challenge Fenris - had worked, that Kamar would rise and challenge him. Since he knew Kamar was the stronger candidate, those who with keen political instincts soon pieced together after Kamar rose what his intentions were. Without first nominating Fenris on behalf of the Temple and claiming any Ida who nominated himself was being selfish and sinful, Fenris would have had no chance of winning a leadership bout with Kamar. Horang straightened his back, evidently fully expecting Kamar to now nominate himself at a disadvantage. His sense of achievement turned to visible curiosity, his eyebrow perking as Kamar stated he, too, had sway over the temple and that Horang was not the sole authority in this room on religious matters. What Kamar said next make the Seneschal's eyes widen.

"I see it as my duty on behalf of all gathered here to seek out the High Priest and ascertain the truth of the matter. And that is exactly what I'm going to do!"

Horang looked to the side and scoffed. The Chieftan of the Ida clan held more power in the tribe than the Seneschal, and had the right to barge into the temple and see the High Priest at any time. Some applauded Kamar's exit, but all understood that only an Ida had the privilege to demand an audience. Bertrand Nemeth glared at Horang. The two were known to be in cahoots, and if they had a plan, this clearly wasn't part of it.

Horang, as always, recovered his serenity quickly, and shrugged, in an attempt to visibly demonstrate that he wasn't bothered, whether that was true or not.

"They will return soon. This meeting is not adjourned" he declared, his voice assuming once more its bored tone, but this time with a hint of annoyance.

"No, it is adjourned" said Flavia, rising.

"This has been a giant shitshow, Horang. I'm going home". Her declaration was followed by a wave of "hear hears" as people peeled away from the balconies.

"My army leaves this evening! Come with your followers if you wish to join!" said Fenris, going as far as to thump his chest before he stormed out of the room. His vassals tried to create excitement and an air of support by cheering from the balcony, and all decorum collapsed. About a third of the room followed him - Irudin knows where. Were they just going to enlist in his army on the spot without taking any time to mobilize their tribes? The rest rose and started filing out. Horang, his expression unchanged, remained standing behind his father's chair.

Flavia paced over to Assuni and her vice minister.

"Nice speech you guys gave there. Would you mind joining me for lunch? There's a matter I'd like to discuss. The nest, tonight" she stated, before starting to pace away.

Fenris too stopped at the end of the table, turning to Evelyn, inheritor of one of humanity's largest fortunes and the title of one of only three people ever to be promoted to the rank of general. That, evidently, wasn't the reason he stopped, however.

"Lady Summers," he addressed formally

"Would you mind joining me in my camp? I've heard a lot about you and want to discuss something with you" he stated. His persona had completely flipped - if the stories were true, back to his true self. He was tender, his voice still baritone, but soft.

((OOC Note: If you want to reject any of these invitations, let me know and I'll edit this post accordingly))

As the delegates filed out of the room, a few remained, probably attempting to curry favor with the embarrassed Seneschal and Bertrand Nemeth, who remained in the room. Bertrand put his sole hand on Hessian's shoulder, pressing him into his seat to instruct him that he should remain. As the vast majority of the room left, Horang turned to the small posse that was still by the end of the table, questioning whether to leave.

"What are you still doing here?" he asked, smiling in amusement.

"Leave us" Horang added.

"I will" said one merchant covered in elaborate fur, bowing in submission.

"I just wanted to say, master Horang, that I support entir-"

"Leave!" Horang shouted, his voice booming and commanding when at maximum volume. The posse turned and left, shaken.

"That goes for your assistant too, Bertrand" Horang said, turning back to the Engyr chieftan, who smiled and shook his head.

"He stays. He's literally my right hand man, you see" Bertrand stated, holding up his right stub.

"He leaves" Horang declared, his voice rising in volume.

"He stays" Bertrand responded.

Horang sighed.

"Is anyone else here?"

Bertrand looked around the room. The Engyr built this place. They knew every nook and crevice of this palace. Hessian, who had aided the handless Bertrand in drafting the plans, knew that the bronze mirrors on the walls were strategically positioned such that the person in Bertrand's seat could see into all of the balconies.

Bertrand shook his head. Horang nodded, and at once took his uncle's seat. He turned to the mummified corpse of Valko, which stared at him with dead eyes.

"Hello again, old friend" he said, with a sadistic smile of grim satisfaction.


The Fire Temple
Monday

Spoiler: Temple Interior

The Fire Temple at Valkonia was only two blocks away from Confederation Roost. Unlike the Roost, it was absolutely not built by the Ida. The blue walls were decorated by bronze heads of bulls - Irudin's favorite creature, one that Arkrath claimed should be humanity's role models - charging, brave, violent, and destructive. Bronze dishes filled with charcoal burned day and night in the halls, which were generally too hot for anyone who wasn't an Ida or an acolyte in the temple, and therefore wasn't used to being around flames. Kamar, who was old enough to remember the old temple, knew that it was a massive step down from the Volcanic Temple, built in the cavern of the Great Volcano, that the Ida clan once happily inhabited. The twin Volcano Tribe warriors guarding the temple's massive ascending steps in front of its columns saluted with their fists as Kamar and Zarashi walked by. The others, flanking each fifteen steps on both sides, followed suit. Each wore leather armor with a red cape.

Inside the temple, everyone bowed at the sight of Zarashi and Kamar. Their rank determined how deeply they were supposed to supplicate. A senior priest could get away with a simple downward nod, a priest had to bow at forty five degrees, an acolyte had to bow deeply, and the pages and altar boys had to supplicate on the ground. The entire temple was organized, as Irudin willed it, in a strict pecking order. Everyone inside wore nothing but red and white. On both sides of the entrance, scribes from the Seneschal's office nodded at the advancing Chieftan and his most powerful offspring. Scribes were those unfortunate trainees who burned their throats learning to breathe fire, and were relegated to administrative tasks, reading, and writing. They formed their own parallel hierarchy, and often performed covert operations for the Temple. They could not talk, so they could not confess what they had done.

Kamar and Zarashi knew exactly where the high priest's chambers were. He was not in the prayer room - if he was, the circular room with an open circle in the roof for sunlight to enter would have been guarded, but there was no one there. As they approached the high priest's chambers on the top level of the temple, ascending five floors of steps, they heard great commotion and shouting.

"Let me in or I'm going to burn you all! Kill you all!" shouted a familiar, irate voice. The pair exited the steps to see Horang's brother grabbing a supplicating fire priest by the collar.

"Please, my lord, you can't go in, these are Horang's orders!" begged the young red-haired man, raising his hands over his face.

"Do you know who I am!? I'm Bloodrang f*cking Ida!" he shouted, his open mouth filling with flames as he shouted - an intimidation trick that only the most powerful fire priests could master safely.

As soon as the priests saw Kamar, however, their eyes widened. As Zarashi and Kamar approached the arching doors of the Archon's residence, they didn't even need to say a word.

"Sir, I-" the other mage, an older, bald man, stammered.

"I'd let you in, but the doors are locked, and only Horang has the key. He built four layers of them, and I couldn't burn through if I wanted t-"

Bloodrang shook his head, dropping the young priest onto the ground and violently shoving the older one out of the way.

"Brother, you think you're so clever" Bloodrang scoffed, letting out a long growl that turned into a yell. Suddenly, all four doors didn't just start burning - they spontaneously combusted, generating a heat so powerful that even the metal locks had melted. It was over in less than a minute, the ash and deformed red metal of the locks falling onto the ground. Interestingly, none of the five people in the hallway felt any of the heat wave.

For a fire priest, the Archon's room was surprisingly lacking in light. Incense was burning, and, contra what Horang said, the Archon was not inhaling the sacred green fumes. The curtains were draped over his window, and the place was illuminated only by a single bronze dish that hung from the ceiling, burning coals. Arkrath was on his King bed, flanked by bed curtains that were drawn open, his eyes red from past consumption of sacred herbs, and his cheeks red. Was Archon Arkrath Ida crying?

"Cousin, niece" he started. The elderly man started, coughing and not even acknowledging Bloodrang.

"I suppose Horang's meeting didn't go well if you're here so early" he stated, coughing again, this time using a tissue, and spitting blood. Then, a sight that no one in the family had ever seen before happened before their eyes - Arkrath Ida's eyes welled up, and soon he started crying. He let out a groan, and put his face in his hands. His crying turning to weeping.

"Kamar, I've lied about everything" he whined.

"Everything Torian said was true, I-" he continued, rambling as he stuck out his hand, as if he wanted comfort from the Chieftan.

"There is a daemon, and our whole mission in coming here, the reason Irudin sent the eruption, was so we could kill it. For twenty years I betrayed Irudin, I betrayed our God!" Arkrath lamented, shaking his head.

"Zarashi, please come here. Horang... Horang told me he'd fix this. Horang told me he'd convince the council to invade the island without admitting the daemon exists. Please tell me, did they send an army? Are they attacking? Irudin will forsake us all if we don't"

Something had happened to Arkrath. The paternal, stern, composed man that Zarashi had known all her life had degraded into a wimpering, nervous old man. Evidently, senility had struck him just as badly as it had struck Valko.

There was no time to think of that now. The brown-haired Bloodrang was seething more and more with every word that came out of Arkrath's mouth.

"I'll f*cking kill you!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, conjouring flames in both his hands, his voice turning to a low, feral growl as he dashed towards the bed and held the flames in Arkrath's face. The high priest didn't even conjour a spell to protect himself.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you now, you lying sack of sh*t!" Bloodrang commanded.

Karal Hall
Lilliana2

Since Fenris hadn't officially been named Archon, his place of residence was an old large house that was once owned by Valko, given to him as a gift by some merchant trying to curry favor. The place was wooden, but sturdy, decorated with furs the Karal had hunted, and in recent years, bought. When Irwin briefly lived here, he ordered all the bought furs taken down. No one knew which ones were bought and which ones were hunted, so instead he ordered them all taken down as he and his dog Haakon went out and hunted for new ones. Fenris could only hypothesize what they were doing alone in the woods all that time. The furs Haakon and Irwin caught were not properly cleaned, and reeked, so Fenris had them taken down and replaced by the originals a week ago.

The hall was completely empty when Evelyn walked in, but was well guarded by dozens of strong Karal warriors dressed in furs on the outside. Two chariots were at the ready. It was said the Karal had a camp not three miles from here - they had been encamped there for over two weeks as Fenris used them to strengthen his position. He already commanded most of the guards in the city, but their loyalty was not assured. After all, he had not formally acceded to the position of Minister of War.

"Ah, Evelyn" Fenris stated, visibly relieved that the young woman had walked in, approaching her and powerwalking around the long wooden table in the center of the room. He offered to take her coat as he invited her to sit, a meal of twelve courses sitting on the table.

"Whatever we don't eat, the warriors will before they set off" he re-assured her, in case she would think this display extravagant.

"Listen, I've heard from an old friend of your father's what you've been doing in the slave market. I-..." he started, looking around and making sure that no one else was in the room. There was a throne at the head of this room, but it had grown dusty. No one, including Fenris, had sat in it for years.

"I think it's amazing" he stated, staring into her eyes and pausing for a moment as he looked down to collect his thoughts, before meeting her gaze again.

"When we go on this expedition, everyone will expect us to hunt down non-humans, and conquer the Shadronian swamps. I don't want to do that. I want them to join the Confederation peacefully, assured of their rights - to give non-humans seats on the council proportional to their number, not just the same representation as each human tribe"

Fenris caught himself as he rambled and shook his head once.

"And before we leave this city, I want to recruit a non-human part of the force, made up of freed slaves. I'd obviously need someone who knows many of them, who could then tell us who the rest are, and someone who has the credibility to persuade them to fight for a fair and equal confederation. Would you be able to help me with this?"


Harpy's Nest
AiDEE-c0

Harpy's nest was an old castle on the cliff overlooking the sea outside Valkonia. It was a short ride from the city itself, and not a particularly active or large place. It was only ever inhabited if the harpies decided to land there - normally, they preferred their mountaintops. The interior was filled with straw, the harpies' choice of comfortable material.

As the ministerial pair walked into the palace, they realized no one was there but Flavia. She sat, with a dead goat roasting over a fire pit in the center of the castle floor, informally, laying down on the straw. In the corner were bones of something else - the bones were shaped like giant wings. It only dawned on the pair after a few moments that the other harpies who were here with Flavia had just been eating Valkyrie.

Also on the floor were fur coats - the kinds worn by Karal warriors. Apparently, they had forgotten to take them home after their most recent hook ups. The sexual appetites of harpies were legendary, especially for males that were big and strong like they were, leading to a special relationship with the Karal tribe, and not an entirely political one.

"Forgive the lack of accommodations. I still don't know what other species like to eat" Flavia said, laying down.

"Eat it or not, I'm sure you'll find lunch somewhere else anyway" she said, pointing to a knife that was laying on the ministers' side of the fire.

"So, Assuni, I've finally decided to meet you and get to know you, since you're my only equal in this court of fools" the harpy said, her pose relaxed.

"Your vice minister is fierce, though. A fighter. A little too small for my tastes, but I'm sure there are other harpies who would love to have a bite of him" she said, apparently aware of rumors that harpies ate other sentient species, and willing to make jokes about them.

"I'm curious though, why is a non human like you bowing to those idiots?" she asked, turning to Assuni. Flavia put on a pretense of not having a care in the world. Her castle was a mess, her goat was only half-cooked, and proof of the harpies' cannibalism of their close genetic cousins was lying to her right in the form of wing-shaped bones. And yet, a shrewd observer like the two cabinet members could tell from Flavia's stare that she was calculating, and that her proposal depended very much on what Assuni said at this very moment.


Confederation Roost
Trektek

"Enjoying yourself?" asked Bertrand to Horang, who was now comfortably seated in Archon Arkrath's chair, and had just greeted a corpse.

"Just admiring my handiwork, in more ways than one" Horang replied with a grin. He was the one who mummified Valko, but Hessian would have know idea what he meant by more ways than one.

"No need to beat around the bush with my right hand. I trust him absolutely" Bertrand replied, leaning back in his chair.

"You know I never did compliment you on your ingenuity, Bert" Horang stated.

"Valko was such a paranoid man. Food tasters, water tasters" Horang started. Bertrand grinned.

"Bathtub users" the Engyr finished with a smirk. Even Horang chuckled, before shaking his head, still smiling.

"And yet we knew, we knew, he would never let anyone else wear his armor" Horang said, leaning back with satisfaction, and looking at his corpse.

"Good f*cking riddance" he said, stretching his arms out on both of the seats near the high priest's throne.

"Only you could come up with a poison that seeped through skin, Bert" the Seneschal finished.

"Horang, you've really messed up" Bertrand said, pausing for dramatic effect.

"You had one compliment to give in your life, and you decided to give it to me" he said. Horang just stared at him, his face resuming its normal dead expression for several seconds. Bertrand's eyebrows raised, evidently not thinking his joke was that bad. Seconds later, Horang burst out laughing.

"Your face, Bert. Your f*cking face" he said, shaking his head.

"Where did you Engyr hide the booze here? Come on, let's get drunk"

Bertrand, whose tribe had built the Roost, put his foot on a tile close to his chair. It sunk into the ground, before sliding to the left, revealing glass bottles of ale. The Engyr were the only tribe who knew how to blow glass, had were the only ones with enough of it to waste it on beer. Bertrand passed one bottle to Horang, one to Hessian, and took one himself.

"It's my own brew, Hess. Stronger than any whiskey, so drink-" he said, pausing again for dramatic effect, "-with care".

He turned to Horang.

"That didn't go as I expected" the Engyr chieftan admitted, getting around the problem of not having a hand by biting the cork out of the glass bottle. "You're not at all a charmer, 'rang"

"Yeah, yeah" Horang said, sighing.

"The important thing is Fenris will march. Honestly, I didn't expect him to come out of his shell" he remarked.

Bertrand turned to Hessian, putting his only good hand around the craftsman's shoulder.

"You know, Hess - that Fenris guy used to be a sissy when he was young" he said, telling the story of Fenris's childhood to someone whom he thought had never heard it.

"At least by Karal standards, which means everyone who doesn't say oooh, kill, honah, rrrr, dieeeee" he mocked, dropping his voice and imitating a dunce.

"So, do you know what his uncle Valko here decided to do?" he asked, shoving Valko's mummified corpse with his stub so hard that it fell over into the next seat. Horang spat out a mouthful of beer and burst out laughing. Bertrand quickly joined him. Still chuckling, he turned to Hessian again. "Ahem" he said, clearing his throat, smiling and trying to regain his composure. "Mmmmm. Okay. So, Valko here said, rrrr, noooo, he is Daan, whip him dishonorable, bring shame to family, rrrrr" he continued, doing his dopey voice again.

"But Valko realized that Fenris had a weakness - you see, he cared about his friends. So, Valko took his best friend and tied him to a pole. And every time Fenris did something Valko thought wasn't manly" Bertrand continued, raising his hand and cupping it as if he were gripping a handle, then imitated a downward whipping motion.

"Ptcha! Twenty lashes! Ptcha! Fifty lashes!" Bertrand continued.

"Oh, Fenris manned up alright. But everyone learned the consequences of being his friend. And so, all his friends from lesser tribes left him, just as Valko wanted. Devious bastard." Bertrand, finished, evidently not noticing the irony in him calling someone else devious.

"F*cking mortals, my man" Horang said, raising his beer and standing.

"F*cking mortals!" Bertrand shouted, standing and hitting Horang's bottle with his own, before they both chugged half their drinks.

As they sat, the room was silent, both of them looking down, then back at each other.

"Do you know why the Gods don't just fly us back to Eden?" Horang asked, piquing an eyebrow.

"Well, maybe we wouldn't worship them anymore"

"You kidding?" Horang asked.

"All the things from your scrolls come true - metal horses that can fly, life forever, giant castles of poured stone, stretching into the sky. If someone gives all that, even I'd become religious"

"Well, I suspect Irudin does want us to go home" Bertrand said.

"Humans, anyway. The Great Spirit... I don't know about her. If it's even a her" he added. Horang let out a "hmm" and nodded.

"Doesn't matter. You'll be the Great Spirit soon, I'll be Irudin, and then we can all f*cking go home" he said.

"A toast to that" Bertrand said, smacking Hessian's bottle with his own, then Horang's. Both old friends downed the rest of their drinks. As Bertrand got back in his seat from leaning over the table, he turned to Hessian.

"And this is where you come in. Hess, we have a problem. How do you get onto an island that you can't fly into, and you can't sail into? Boats get incinerated by some kind of light-fire spell, and so do harpies. Who knows what the army will run into after they take the swamp?" he asked.

 

[AiDEE-c0]

Assuni

Location: Confederation Roost - Valkonia - Harpy's nest
Time: Morning - Noon.
Interactions: Archie
Mentions: Monday​

Whispers into jeering, another cacophony. Assuni clutched her face in her hand, letting out a groan. She had made much attempt to disassociate herself from her vice minister, but such a thing was hard to do. Now, filling out her statement as if they were a single intelligence, unabashed and inflammatory, the elf wished nothing more but to somehow disappear from the room. Things were not all bad, many agreed with his unhinged wording, but if even a fraction of the enemies he had made with just one speech also became the enemies of the minister, manoeuvring could prove much harder in the following days. Seeing as she already was a non-human known for usurpation of power, the attachment of Barabash served unwell. Ha, there he was, at her side, grinning like the idiot he was. He was clearly enjoying himself, enjoying making enemies in the worst places. As Horang came to a rebuttal to his statements, not a single word seemed to move him. He kept a satisfied smirk, not bothering to follow on through with anything he had implied earlier. Assuni let the embarrassment fall off of her. From what it appeared to be, the man didn't care about bringing down the seneschal in the slightest, although he enjoyed the process. Instead, did he simply feed off of the chaos that followed? A completely careless buffoon, he was lucky not to be dead by now.

Shutting down any more judgement of Barabash's character, however, came Fenris. The man clearly didn't like the attacks on his capabilities made by prior voices, and he let it show. He arose with a sense of resolve, but more importantly in an almost perfect impersonation of the late archont. Just the inflection in his voice made the minister halt to a tense, straight-backed posture, as he threw accusations in every direction. First, one of general bickering, which was easily justified. Secondly, a challenge to the madman, followed by a threat. A remark of blades unsoiled, utter lack of battle expertise, made the chieftain of the Progla tilt his head like a dog in need. It was curious. Assuni had never seen him pick up a sword before, yet the scar on his pale face spoke for itself, there had to be some reason to it. Regardless, the elf, still at full physical attention, watched as Barabash let out a chuckle.
"And next time you insult the memory of Valko, burning at the stake will be the last thing you have to worry about."
Thus sounded the threat that Fenris unsheathed. From personal experience, she knew. He's heard that one before.

At the same time, he was not the last on the Karaal's hit-list. Fenris turned to Horang, expression as if he had just laid eyes upon a pile of droppings.
"Military expeditions have always been led by the Karal tribe. To think that you’d put it up to a vote, you glorified clerk," he spoke, and followed.
"My warriors are leaving this afternoon for the isle. Any of you who want to come with me are welcome to do so. Otherwise, stay home and forever be remembered as cowards."
His voice remained at full boom, and he had made up his mind. In true Karaal fashion, nothing remained that could change it. Such a move reeked of naivity. Most likely, he felt the need to reclaim the honour he had lost in this hall. Assuni understood this, but she also knew well that honour is not reclaimed by impulse. To die in the pursuit of pride is the ultimate insult, which is why it must be well planned out, take time. Only then does it turn from a treat to a feast. Still, it all played into the persona. Valko would've charged the swamp the moment he saw a face flinch when he spoke, so Fenris was actually composed in comparison. Besides, while threatening, he still showed the signs of nervousity, albeit rightfully so. No amount of duel experience could ever prepare a man to lead an entire crusade.

"Enough!" The elven minister shifted her gaze quickly, meeting the face of Kamar Ida in the process. True to the speech that followed, he had been overlooked in the favour of Horang as a temple representative. In fact, his position was even higher than the seneschal's...
"And yet, I was not consulted on any of this. Now, before we all go charging off into the forest after some sorceress who may or may not exist, I see it as my duty on behalf of all gathered here to seek out the High Priest and ascertain the truth of the matter. And that is exactly what I'm going to do!"
He exclaimed, taking his leave shortly after. It would take some time for him to come back, but the truth that he'd bring would easily prove if Barabash's call-out was, or wasn't a sham, especially if that truth ended up being the head of the last archont. The meeting had brought up a lot of contradicting thoughts in Assuni's head, she would definitely need some time alone to organise them all. Scheming, plotting, just how best to weave this whole situation in the favour of her people. Perhaps, that was most dependent on the amount of big names that depart on the expedition? Maybe, it was time to make another vain appeal to the Spirits. That dream, after all...

"No, it is adjourned," proclaimed Flavia suddenly. The elf had zoned out, but now at least the meeting was over. A storm of voices backing the notion of going home served to bring Assuni completely back. She ignored Fenris' calls, in exchange for noting with curiosity the direction that the harpy queen was heading. Was it towards her? Of all the people...
"Nice speech you guys gave there. Would you mind joining me for lunch? There's a matter I'd like to discuss. The nest, tonight."
Of course, "we guys." The Anticipation threw Barabash a bothered glance, before turning her focus back forward. Flavia, by rumours detestable, had just offered a meeting. Were it not for the circumstance and implication, the right answer would be an obvious no. But this left Assuni curious. A matter, how lovingly unspecific. She didn't appear like the type for subversive action, visibly uninterested in the Roost's proceedings, so just what was the point of this? If anything, it was at least a great opportunity to see if the rumours held up.

With a loud exhale, the elf turned boot to leave the building. Barabash thankfully came out of sight, but the knowledge of the fact that he would surely show up later made her stomach turn. Now was the time to regroup with Indra and plan further action, at last something more pleasant. It was hard not to notice an elven mohawk among the crowds, regardless of their size. The streets in front of the Roost were brimming, people rushing left and right. Those people were left to themselves to play at their little crusade, for Assuni eagerly moved past them to meet the only familiar face, at the lead of his hair. In an isolated corner, Indra quickly gave signal for his retinue to fully assemble, departing immediately after. They marched as usual, the youth at the front, soldiers at the side, Assuni fully surrounded.
"So, how was the meeting?" The very former called out from his position, friendly and relaxed in tone.
"Dreadful, would you believe it? The best word would be uncivilised."
"Oh, I'd believe it, all-right. What're the crowds about?"
"Men are walking to die in the swamps. There's a lot to talk about."
Both figures nodded simultaneously, in spite of not being face-to-face. For the rest of the walk, the two conversed in kind. After topics and explanations ran out, they instead resorted to sharing puns and jokes of satirical nature, which served as a good distraction, if just for a while. His presence reminded her of someone, someone that she had cost a life. For that sake alone, there was no-one in the world that she wanted to protect more. Yet, he walked with glaive in hand, protecting her for her own mistakes instead, fittingly ironic.

"Here, I'll need to ask something of you," Assuni spoke with a slightly guilty intonation as the retinue arrived and disbanded in front of a set of doors. She hated that she had to ask even more of him, but currently, he was the only person she truly trusted.
"Oh? Of course, anything at all," the young elf responded, as unbothered as ever. As he did, he was already underway with opening the doors for his matriarch, giving a nod as he held them open.
"The harpy queen had asked to meet me this noon. There's some special preparations that I'll need assistance with, and I couldn't trust anyone else with them but you."
She nodded back, taking a step inside. Considering he was also to be there, this meeting could take any which direction, really. Better to be prepared than to be caught off-guard. For the next few hours, the duo disappeared behind doors and curtains.

By around the twelfth hour, Assuni marched only a minute away from Harpy's nest. She was accompanied by a new retinue, Indra again in lead. There was a new addition to her appearance, all fingers but the thumb of her right hand bearing bronze claws. These were nothing more than ring-based apparatures, generally used for hand-to-hand combat, or so they seemed. Of course, her face still remained hidden behind a mask.
"It seems we're here. Only one thing remains to be done."
The entire group halted, Indra taking to face the Anticipation with a look of acknowledgement. From inside a satchel strapped to his side, he lifted a single vial, filled with translucent liquid. There were no more words, only brief nods, as Assuni proceeded to dip each "claw" inside the concoction for a few seconds. With the deed done, she handed Indra a set of keys, before the retinue heeled, marching off. Just a moment later, Barabash joined the elf's side with a smirk, as they both made their way inside the castle.

True to form, the inside was filled with straw and bone, Flavia alone sitting in the main hall, adjacent to a campfire boasting a goat carcass. This one room was an entire harpy stereotype, fur coats left behind sporadically on the floor, belonging to the Karaal without doubt. Most foul, however, were the remains scattered in the corners. Their size and shape, the appearance of wings, added up with the race's reputation and known hatreds... Assuni had to hold back a gag reflex as the thought clicked. Meanwhile, Barabash leaned against a wall, adjusting his hat. He probably noticed too, but someone like him really wasn't bothered.
"Forgive the lack of accommodations. I still don't know what other species like to eat," the harpy initiated conversation. Behind cold jade, the minister's lip curled upwards instinctively. Completing this meeting without a bout of murder would prove difficult.
"Eat it or not, I'm sure you'll find lunch somewhere else anyway," Flavia pointed out a knife by the fire, which the elf promptly ignored.

Flavia next spoke relaxed and friendly-toned. She proved the gall to compare them as equals, while also lifting Barabash up as a "fighter," as if he ever had a cause to battle for. This was combined with joke about cannibalism, which would perhaps prove funny were it not for the current situation.
"I'm curious though, why is a non human like you bowing to those idiots?" She questioned, signal for Assuni to finally speak. From the look of the harpy, in spite of the tells, she was anticipating to respond to one of two kinds of responses. One was fated to be a dead end, but the elf paid no heed. With what she'd seen, the only proper cause of action was to set everything straight.
"You misjudge me, Flavia."
She stood with a tense posture, spoke in bold tone, inching just close enough to not pose as an immediate threat.
"Equals? Filth like you could never be my equal. A friend? I'd rather bear a thousand lacerations."
Assuni scowled, while Barabash snickered under his breath.
"Rest assured. All that I do, all that I suffer is so that one day, I might deliver my people. I will not stop until everyone that has caused them harm lies either broken or dead. Is this the answer you were looking for, witch? If so, speak plainly and quickly of your "matter," so that I don't have to suffer your, or my precious deputy's presence longer than I have to."
Keeping her clawed hand to her side, she retained stern posture as she spoke. At the end of her speech, she awaited attentively, scanning any and all body language. Worst case scenario, she was ready to defend herself should the need arise.

 

[Yahhah]

Valkner



Valkner noted Haakon’s growing rage while he was speaking but ignored it.

He didn’t want to kill the Karal he imagined if he did, he probably wouldn’t get his payment, but if Haakon charged him in a rage Valkner wouldn’t have much choice really.

Haakon seemed to calm before finally half answering a question. Looking at the current record for getting answers to questions Valkner decided he'd need to gather his own information and so decided it was a good enough time as any to depart.

“Confederation Roost” Valkner repeated before turning around. Even the hermit of a sellsword knew where to find that titan of a building. He already had the semblance of a plan forming. Of course, it’d depend just how good a fighter Haakon was exactly.

The werewolf considered stopping to grab a veil that would help conceal his identity but decided against it. Such a veil would probably only garner him more attention in broad daylight and once he fully used his abilities no veil would hide what he was.

He’d form a concrete plan once he saw the area. It had been awhile since he’d stood in Valkonia and had no clue of the geography of buildings around Confederation Roost in the present day.

Archie

 

[Monday]

Location: Fire Temple, Valkonia
Time: Late morning
Interactions: Archie

Upon exiting the stairwell, Kamar and Zarashi were greeted by the sound of an all-too-familiar voice shouting "Let me in or I'm going to burn you all! Kill you all!" and the sight of Zarashi's cousin and Horang's brother, Bloodrang, grasping a trembling, pleading fire priest by the collar. Ah, I see he's in one of his charming moods. Apparently he'd known something was afoot here even before they had- it was only natural, after all, that he be suspicious of his brother's activities.

"Please, my lord, you can't go in, these are Horang's orders!" the young priest begged, cowering.

"Do you know who I am!? I'm Bloodrang f*cking Ida!" Rather impressively, his mouth glowed with flames as he shouted, casting his face in a demonic under light. Zarashi made a mental note to practice her fire breathing later. While technically capable of the art, she'd been proceeding slowly and cautiously as per the advice of her spiritual instructors, and as of yet it took intense concentration for her to safely conjure fire from her breath.

Meanwhile, the two priests present in the hall seemed to catch wind of her father's presence.

"Sir, I-" the older mage stuttered. "I'd let you in, but the doors are locked, and only Horang has the key. He built four layers of them, and I couldn't burn through if I wanted t-"

Shaking his head, Bloodrang unceremoniously dropped the young priest onto the floor and shoved the other one aside. Nothing was sacred to him, it seemed- fitting, she supposed, considering he'd once been jailed for heresy. "Brother, you think you're so clever," he scoffed, letting out a low snarl that swelled into a roar, a sentiment with which the relatively composed Zarashi could agree. She watched with a mixture of admiration and envy as all four doors erupted into a blazing inferno and were reduced to ashes within a matter of minutes, the heat even melting the metal locks while not even reaching where she stood. Impulsive though he was, Bloodrang's raw talent for fire magic was at least on par with her own, and despite the heavy-handed display his control and precision were extraordinary.

Surprisingly, the only light in the High Priest's chamber came from the embers in a single bronze dish hanging from the ceiling, and, somewhat less surprisingly, though incense was burning somewhere, he was not inhaling the sacred herbs as Horang had claimed. Arkrath lay sprawled across his bed, and from what she could make out in the dim light, he was not well. His face was red, his eyes swollen, and... was that the gleam of tears on his cheeks?

"Cousin, niece," he called in a wavering voice, only to be cut off by a fit of coughing. Was he ill? This was concerning. If he were to die... well, let's just say the temple would not be quite so welcoming a place for the two of them. "I suppose Horang's meeting didn't go well if you're here so early," he said hoarsely, doubling up and hacking into a handkerchief. Now that is an understatement if I've ever heard one. When he pulled the cloth away from his face, it was spotted with blood. Zarashi tensed with alarm, but before she could think further she was distracted by something even more disturbing. Tears were welling up in his eyes and spilling down his cheeks. Arkrath Ida, High Priest of the Fire Temple, patriarch of the line of Grokai, and Archon of the Great Volcano tribe, was crying. What on earth was happening? From the looks of their faces, Kamar and Bloodrang were equally shocked. Her uncle groaned, covered his face with his hands, and started sobbing like a child.

"Kamar, I've lied about everything. Everything Torian said was true, I-" he whimpered, stretching out a hand toward her father, as though seeking some gesture of comfort- though what possessed him to think he would receive it from him, she didn't know. Kamar stood still as a stone wall, regarding Arkrath with eyes like wells of ice. Meanwhile, Zarashi felt as though the floor were dropping out from under her. What?

"There is a daemon, and our whole mission in coming here, the reason Irudin sent the eruption, was so we could kill it. For twenty years I betrayed Irudin, I betrayed our God!" he ranted, shaking his head. If it were true... but no, it couldn't be, could it? Everything she'd been taught... throughout her whole childhood... Then again... it would explain what Horang had wanted to cover up. But perhaps there was another explanation. She didn't see any implements for burning the sacred herbs lying out in the open, but its effects could last for hours, and it was known to induce intense introspection that, among other things, could lead to new insight on one's motivations for past actions. Then again... this didn't seem quite like that. It was too concrete.

"Zarashi, please come here. Horang... Horang told me he'd fix this." Remaining firmly in place, Zarashi clenched her fists in anger for the umpteenth time that day. And you trusted him?! she wanted to scream. You sent him to cover for you instead of facing the council yourself, like a man? "Horang told me he'd convince the council to invade the island without admitting the daemon exists. Please tell me, did they send an army? Are they attacking? Irudin will forsake us all if we don't."

Arkrath was growing increasingly frantic the more he rambled on. Was he delirious with fever? Or was he descending into madness just as Valko had in his last years? If so... her uncle as she knew him- wise, stoic, paternal; the strong and clever leader who had allied with Valko to bring their people to the forest- might already be gone. Irudin help us all.

"I'll f*cking kill you!" Bloodrang shouted, startling her out of her thoughts, as flames appeared in his hands. He dashed over to the bed and held the flames threateningly close to Arkrath's face, the High Priest making no attempt to defend himself. Was he really that far gone into despair? A large amount of the respect Zarashi held for her uncle died in that moment.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you now, you lying sack of sh*t!" her irate cousin demanded, the light from his flames illuminating the angles of his face, the utter fury in his gaze standing in sharp contrast to the look of hollowness and defeat in her uncle's face. Against the light, the bags under his eyes and the lines criss-crossing his skin stood out in sharp relief. Since when had he looked this old? Disgusted as she was to see him like this, it still took a few seconds for her bewildered thoughts to catch up with the situation; but once everything clicked into place, she understood why Bloodrang was so angry. Torian Ida had been falsely condemned for the crime of heresy while sincerely trying to do the will of Irudin, and, unlike the underhanded, honorless Horang, he had chosen to remain loyal to his father and as a result had been condemned to watch from his prison cell as his brother shamelessly exploited the situation for his own gain. And, had his father not been driven mad by his imprisonment, he might have been able to prevent Bloodrang's repeated humiliation at Horang's hands. Of course he would be angry.

"Do you mean to tell us," Kamar began, his voice low and even, but trembling with suppressed rage, "That you led humankind out of Talor under false pretenses? That all this time you've been hiding the truth from all of us while perpetuating a lie, a lie that we embraced wholeheartedly, a lie that we taught to our children, a lie that had us mocking and condemning the truth as a heresy when all along the true heresy was what we believed, and we the true heretics? That you let us settle once again into prosperity and luxury while Irudin's mandate went unfulfilled? Shame! You have brought shame upon your office, shame upon all who serve the Temple, shame upon the Ida clan and the Great Volcano Tribe, shame on all humanity! You should be stripped of your rank at once!" His voice had climbed steadily in volume as he spoke, but now it descended into a hoarse whisper as he shook his head. "I never would have expected this from you."

Zarashi, too, was angry. Torian Ida had, after all, been a faithful servant of Irudin, but Arkrath had chosen to betray both him and God in one fell swoop. That... that was something Horang would do, and completely unbecoming of the man she had believed her uncle to be. However, there was not much she could say that Bloodrang and her father had not already expressed, and furthermore, she thought it best to be sure of all the factors involved before wholly embracing Arkrath's explanation. So, she forced her anger aside for the moment, slowly crossed the room, and stood beside the bed. "Bloodrang. I need to speak with our uncle, if you would kindly postpone his execution for the time being. If you want to direct your anger toward something constructive, do us all a favor and go kill your incompetent jackass of a brother."

Of course, this wasn't a serious suggestion- however much Bloodrang might have wanted to carry out this directive, he'd lost enough duels to Horang and been in trouble with the law enough times to know that such an attempt would be... inadvisable. But she thought that providing somewhere else to direct his anger might prove a more effective distraction than simply attempting to calm him down, which had often proved futile in the past.

 

[Archie]

Harpy's Nest
AiDEE-c0

Flavia listened to her new guests, her claws playing with the straw under her as she appeared distracted. As soon as Assuni was finishing her tirade against the woman responsible for the spreading of plagues and conquest of the forest, the one responsible for guiding the humans to the forest in the first place, the harpy stood. She was almost eight feet tall, an imposing sight to most creatures.

"Rest assured. All that I do, all that I suffer is so that one day, I might deliver my people. I will not stop until everyone that has caused them harm lies either broken or dead. Is this the answer you were looking for, witch? If so, speak plainly and quickly of your "matter," so that I don't have to suffer your, or my precious deputy's presence longer than I have to." Assuni declared. It was a brave thing to do, but Assuni had guards. Flavia ripped a leg off of the barely cooked goat, blood speewing over the straw, as she took a bite of it. Her teeth ripped into the goat leg, tearing out some of the flesh and meat.

"Are you sure you don't want some goat?" Flavia asked, munching away.

"It's good to know you're motivated by revenge, and are a traitor. You're not much different than the humans in that regard" Flavia stated, continuing.

"This is good. I have grown tired of them, Minister" stated Flavia.

"I fly, but I see too many of them. Some of them are rather fetching. Others, not quite. The women are too small, and the children are nothing more than wastes of breath, always making noise, as if they're asking to be eaten, unaware of how tender their meat is. If the idiots knew what was best for them, they'd stay quiet and try not to attract too much attention" she explained, dropping the goat and drying the blood off with one of the Karal fur coats.

"I could always f*ck the Confederation Leader again" said Flavia.

"But humans are so odd with their relationships. They want one person to be with another for life, like some kind of mutual slavery. What a sheepish idea" she stated, continuing as if her line of thought were the natural way that everyone should think. She paced around her side of the room, coming ever closer to the pair at the door.

"I want to secede, Assuni. I don't think you like being with the humans very much either. And you" she stated, turning to Barnabash.

"-don't have much love for the Ida Clan from what I can tell, and their stupid religion"

"There's a weapon on the island, I'm pretty sure. Why else would the humans' puny God send them here? Why don't we take it together and use it to kill whoever we like?"

Confederation Roost
Monday

Arkrath listened with his head bowed as all parties took their turn to speak. Kamar berated him for his treason, and the man seemed to accept that, as he accepted Bloodrang's threats. But when Kamar suggested that he be stripped of his titles, Arkrath's lips piqued into a smile. Zarashi took her turn to speak, suggesting that Bloodrang go off and kill his brother.

"With f*cking pleasure!" Bloodrang shouted, powerwalking off. He walked with stride and confidence, despite being easily trounced by Horang in duels - if only because of that cheating armor. Clearly, he had been brooding for a long time, and he had a plan.

Arkrath, meanwhile, listened to Zarashi suggest he be executed, and his energy flipped entirely. He started giggling, then chuckling, then laughing. His laughing became hysterical, like that of a mad man.

"Strip of titles!? Execute!? And I thought you lot were just going to poison me" Arkrath said. The old man rose out of bed, opening his wardrobe and donning his red high priest's robes, as if he were going to leave and deliver a sermon.

"If the public knows the truth, that the Temple has been lying to them for twenty years, it will make heretics even out of our own tribe!" Arkrath declared.

"You two aren't like my idiot nephew and brother" the Archon continued, evidently regaining his composure and his mental faculties.

"You're smart, clever as an Ida should be. I regret lying about Irudin's message, but the version I've conveyed is a form of the truth that achieves Irudin's intentions. Do you know what would have happened if we declared there was a daemon the second I had my little dream?" Arkrath asked.

"Valko would have marched to the Starlit Isle, and opened negotiations with the daemon!" he shouted, straightening his back. His voice became lower, and his shaking stopped at once. Evidently, his shock at the prospect of being defrocked had snapped him out of his self-pity.

"It had to wait until Valko was dead. Horang saw to that for me. I don't know how he pulled it off" Arkrath said, his lip curling up in a grin, before his face returned to a snarl.

"But whatever happens, don't be naive. The High Priests have been dreaming about the daemon for centuries" Arkrath stated, walking to his table and tossing Zarashi a book entitled Record of the Holy Seances - the private dream diary of the past 24 High Priests. There was only one copy, and no High Priest had let anyone but the Seneschal see it until this very moment - though there was no religious prohibition on such a thing.

"All of them were mired in an endless war with the Engyr, unable to win despite Irudin's favor because of their own stupidity. Only I saved our clan from the brink of destruction. I was the one who convinced Valko to betray Clayton Nemeth. I was the one who convinced him to migrate to the Forest. I was the one who cast the firestorm spell that allowed us to enslave the races who protected the daemon. We are closer to our goal now than ever before. Why?" Arkrath asked, pausing.

"Because I was willing to save Irudin's prophecy for the right time" Arkrath stated, approaching his niece and cousin until he was only a foot away from them.

"As you could see from my episode earlier, I have borne this shame my entire life. It was unbecoming of an Ida to express it in front of you, however, so forgive me. These new herbs-" Arkrath said, snapping his fingers. A wooden box that was on his dresser erupted into flame.

"-Are no good"

The smoke that emerged pooled into a ball, before forming a stream that led out the door, a sign of Arkrath's supreme control over his magic.

Arkrath paused and sighed. His gaze switched between his cousin and niece. Zarashi and Kamar were two of Arkrath's three favorites, and all spent enough time with him to know that this was a sign that he was organizing his thoughts. There was a lot to organize - Bloodrang was going to challenge Horang, something bad had clearly happened at the Roost, and he had just confessed a heretical secret not just to two people who could handle it, but to his fiery nephew who clearly couldn't.

"Tell me, what happened at the Roost, and what do we do now? If we succeed in the next months, you will be one Archon" said Arkrath, putting a hand on Kamar's shoulder.

"Horang will be the other, and you-" Arkrath said, turning to Zarashi.

"Irudin has given you the greatest honor of all" he said, his voice taking a reverent tone, and his head nodding as if in submission to Zarashi. Evidently, Zarashi wasn't the only person Irudin had told of her duty. Arkrath wasn't smiling, however, but frowning. His wife had been the last chosen- an episode that ended in tragedy.

Valkonia
Yahhah

Haakon followed Valkner through the streets of Valkonia. He was clearly troubled by something, shaking his head, and his face turning red. In the market near the gate, he suddenly snapped, striding towards a market stall with a furious look.

"Give me a satchel bag!" he spoke, so loud he was almost yelling.

"And a hat" he grunted, looking to his side.

The petite old lady sitting at the other end of the stall, fanning herself, looked at him with concern.

"Irudin bless you, dearie" she stated, slowly moving to grab the items and handing them to Haakon, who slammed the required Groschens onto the table. He took off his fur coat, stuffing it in the bag, revealing muscular arms and a sleeveless undershirt. His sword was too big to hide. He then put on the straw hat the woman had given to him, which was too small for his head, and tilted it so the front covered his forehead.

"This disguise is a cowardly business" he muttered to Valkner. "We bring shame upon ourselves"

The pair didn't find it difficult to locate Kamar Ida. With his daughter Zarashi, he was moving with extreme urgency towards the fire temple. The two could find many suitable hiding places outside the temple, as it was surrounded by a vast slum.

"What do we do?" Haakon asked Valkner, eyeing the ornamental, tight-fitting design of the uniforms of the guards, and of the priests that exited the temple.

"I can't use a disguise" Haakon admitted, looking down then back at Valkner and scowling.

"Can't wear tight clothes" he said, his face turning red with shame as he offered no further explanation, for something that absolutely required explanation.

 

[deathrisesagain]

Zayden remained quiet while they walked through the strange structure. This was weird, and he was beginning to think it was a waste of his time. He should have been back at his Tower and making all preparations just in case the humans decided to attack. That was the last thing he wanted, another war. Already 323 years old, and have fought in seven wars. Was this next war going to be his last? Will he fall in battle? Can the strength of the Shadronian Army be able to hold off the humans? If his people were to go to war with these stupid short lifers, will the other races join in the war to fight along side them? Will the Shadronians be the only ones to fight? These were just some of the many of the questions that had ran through his mind, and he didn't have an answer to any of them.

Zayden's attention was deverted towards the rooms that they had walked by. The biggest thing that Zayden had noticed was the garden. A garden in the middle of a mountain? Where are they? It was time for him to speak up now. "Ok Elf, you have better start talking. What are we doing here and what is this place?" Zayden's cold voice nearly echoed as he spoke up. He was never one that liked being left in the dark. He slowly started moving towards the garden more. That was where he really felt like he should be heading, but didn't know why. Zayden ignored the rest of the party, and didn't care what they did, he just wanted to be in the garden. He quietly pulled out a bladder and took a sip of the water that was carried inside.

 

[Trektek]

Confederation Roost
Time: Morning

Everything ended up coming to a head with apparently no one happy. It was a mistake in his mind to not come to the conclusion of a new leader while everyone was currently assembled. But, it honestly seemed to him that the whole lot of them were fools. He would have thrown his hat in with someone just to make sure that the matter was taken care of. Every moment that they were without a leader, even just a figurehead was making them look incredible weak to their "allies" the traitorous non humans as well as their actual enemies who still lurked in the forests. It would only be a matter of time before they would pounce on humanity as a whole, perhaps even attempting to take them down from the inside as well as the outside. What better way while they were distracted by pointless bickering among themselves.

However, that was not his main purview. His main concern was the science that he wanted to get back to. His true masterpieces that would bring his name to the forefront of all. Using his intelligence and not his brawn as many of the members of the human council seem to prefer to rely on. How soon that they forget that the reason they were able to prevail over their enemies was due to the superior technological might that they were able to bring to the forebear. Once again, they were all fools.

As all the delegates began to file out of the room, he was all set to join them, all too eager to return to his studies and the science that lay within his laboratory. However, he was bade to stay by Bertrand and he was dutybound to stay. If not only because he was his literal right hand man, but that he allowed him to pursue whatever experiments that he wished. Some were able to bear fruit, but others proved fruitless. However, they always pushed his own understanding further and further ahead to the next and most important answers.

He listened as the pair spoke. Talking about killing the previous leader. It seemed as though it had all been carefully planned and on more careful consideration, Hessian realized that he might have actually crafted the poison that did the man in during his many many experiments. One of the ones that actually proved complete and apparently deadly.

Hessian nodded at Betrand's words about the alcohol and began to sip it slowly. He wouldn't want to numb his own mind at what was clearly a momentous occasion for the Engyr. And what an occasion it was. This had the possibilities to catapult their tribe to the very head of the table. Especially if all those troops were about to walk right into a very deadly trap with no true foresight of what dangers there actually are.

He mostly just listened as the two of them spoke. Speaking of mortals as though they weren't among them and the gods as though they were a part of the gods themselves. Anything could be possible of course. But if they were gods, or in fact soon to be gods, to be on their good side would surely get him much needed power and abilities that could only further his own research along. He was perfectly willing to stay on top and join in on this function.

He of course participated in the toast and the took another sip of the alcohol as he listened to the problem that they were relying on him to solve. "Hmm. An island that you can't fly to due to some sort of fire shield that immolates anything that gets too close?" He mentally took out his notes to review at the same time as he took out a notepad and began to scribble away furiously on something that might work, drawing something shaped very much like a turtle with at triangle drill type implement on the font.

"The first thought that I could come up with, is an underground transport to dig up from below the earth. With any luck, the protection spell is only on the surface and does not extend below it. As well as operating under the assumption that their isn't any sort of friend or foe ability on the spell and that it doesn't cover the actual island itself. Perhpas if we can provide some sort of fire protection on the Turtle as well?" That last question was directed at Horang.

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

Location: The Great Forest, just outside the Shadronian Swamp
Time: Morning

The screens all around them stated a possible name, but that alone was meaningless. This whole place looked as though it was filled to the brim with clues and he was determined to figure it all out. After all, they were brought to this strange place under even stranger circumstances and he was going to understand what was going on, using all the resources at his disposal.

"Lets split up into pairs and look for clues, gang." He turned to the large Ogrash. "You said your name was Rock, right? You should come with me. It'll be better that way." It didn't hurt to have a little muscle when they didn't know what they were dealing with and he wasn't going to leave himself under protected when he had the option to be otherwise.

"Let's go this way" He started walking to the room with the pearl and what looked like stars spinning around. That might have some answers. Or very more likely, more questions. Hopefully the former and not the latter.​

 

[Monday]

Location: Fire Temple, Valkonia
Interactions: Archie

Apparently, her distraction had worked a bit too well. Zarashi pursed her lips as Bloodrang strode past her out of the room, off to challenge his brother to yet another duel despite the advantage conferred by the other's armor. She hated dealing with these impulsive types. When properly utilized, the sheer chaos and fury they could wreak on one's enemies was an enormous boon, provided one didn't care about the collateral damage. However, that required getting them pointed in the right direction at the right time, which, depending on one's resources, could be somewhat tricky. At least he seemed to have a plan this time. Maybe he'd stay out of mortal danger long enough for them to smooth things over. Usually her uncle, ever the diplomat, handled such things, but at present he was obviously indisposed.

Meanwhile, Arkrath had started laughing and was gradually laughing harder and harder until she feared he'd completely lost his mind. They'd have to have him imprisoned here or discreetly hauled away to an institution, or else risk exposing the weakness of the Ida clan in broad daylight, either scenario leaving her and her father to face the escalating the power struggles within the Confederation alone while finding a way to dispose of Horang...

But perhaps she'd been mistaken. The threat of having his titles stripped seemed to rouse him from his stupor and incite him to action as he donned his priestly robes, claiming that revealing the truth now would only lead to further apostasy within the Ida clan.

"You two aren't like my idiot nephew and brother," he said, apparently regaining his composure. "You're smart, clever as an Ida should be." Zarashi allowed herself to imagine that he was finally coming to his senses and that by 'idiot nephew' he meant 'Horang'. Alas.

At any rate, she had to admit he made some reasonable points. An attempt to open negotiations with a daemon of all things would have proved disastrous, even decimating their armies and ensuring that Irudin's directive was never carried out... But no, surely that couldn't justify spreading heresy, could it?

The revelation that Valko had not, in fact, died of old age (far from surprising in itself), but that Horang had been the one to end his life shocked her to attention. She wasn't immediately sure what to make of the information, beyond a twinge of jealousy that Horang had been trusted with such a vital mission, and disapproval that the High Priest had allowed him such free reign... after all, he'd been known to twist whatever assignment he'd given to better suit his own purposes. Yet again, Zarashi found herself wondering what on earth her uncle saw in him.

"But whatever happens, don't be naive. The High Priests have been dreaming about the daemon for centuries." Arkrath retrieved a book from his table and tossed it to her. Upon reading the title, Record of the Holy Seances, she allowed herself a smirk of satisfaction. Here was the single existing copy of the private dream diary of the preceding 24 High Priests, which, although there was no law on this matter, had only been seen by the High Priest himself and his Seneschal until this very moment. Finally, she had managed to steal from her cousin one of the privileges of which she was infinitely more deserving. Then she admonished herself, ashamed of letting her petty rivalry distract her in the face of the great mysteries to be explored. Trembling with curiosity, she gently opened the book to a random page and caught a glimpse of the date, almost 200 years previous- from the time of Talor. She exhaled reverently. Here she was, privy to the secrets of Irudin that had been woven into the history of her people for centuries.

It was with immense effort that she was able to pull her attention back to what her uncle was saying. Because he had saved the prophesy for the right time, he claimed, they were now closer than ever to fulfilling Irudin's will with the races that guarded the daemon enslaved or destroyed. Again, he made a fair point, and once again Zarashi found herself questioning whether his deception had been necessary.

"As you could see from my episode earlier, I have borne this shame my entire life," he said, standing directly in front of Kamar and Zarashi. "It was unbecoming of an Ida to express it in front of you, however, so forgive me. These new herbs-" he snapped his fingers, causing a wooden box sitting on his dresser to burst into flames. "-Are no good."

Watching the smoke from the small chest as it plumed into a ball and streamed out the door, demonstrating Arkrath's incredibly precise control over his magic, she reflected that he was now behaving exactly like uncle she knew, and was inclined to believe that what they'd seen earlier was, as he'd said, merely an episode. Perhaps an unnatural one, at that... A thought began to germinate. Assuming Horang had used poison to deal with the Primarch, wouldn't he also be capable of rendering the High Priest temporarily ill and unable to attend his own meeting, in order to seize the opportunity that would provide for his own ends? She certainly wouldn't put it past him.

Sighing, Arkrath looked between Zarashi and her father while he organized his thoughts. "Tell me, what happened at the Roost, and what do we do now? If we succeed in the next months, you will be one Archon," he placed his hand on Kamar's shoulder, who seemed to relax at the promise that his goal would be achieved.

"Horang will be the other," -Zarashi almost suppressed the spasm of irritation that broke out across her face- "And you-" he said, turning to her. "Irudin has given you the greatest honor of all." His voice took a reverent tone, and he bowed his head, almost in deference to her. Zarashi felt her stomach drop as her lips parted in surprise. He knows? No, of course he knew. It made sense that Irudin would also make his will known to the High Priest on such an important matter. She would have told him soon in any case, but somehow, the fact that the High Priest was aware of her task seemed to make the whole thing official, solidifying mere possibility into concrete, immutable fact. Despite the closeness of the air in the room, she felt a sudden chill, as though she'd stepped from a vast sunlight plain, open in every direction, into a narrow tunnel with only one path forward as the darkness closed in behind. Onward inexorably into marriage, childbirth, and a predictable domestic future. A heavy weight seemed to settle over her shoulders. As she looked at Arkrath she noticed that he was frowning, no doubt thinking of his wife, the previous chosen, and how her duty had proved to much for her. Somehow, the realization that she was not the only one unhappy with her task, that even the High Priest himself did not have to rejoice at Irudin's every whim; as well as the prospect of being able to prove her mettle by surpassing Telermine in this duty, filled her with a grim, cheerless strength. She'd been handed a bitter burden to bear, but it was her burden, and she would bear it, to the best of her ability. She squared her shoulders in an attitude of determination, with just a hint of defiance, and locked eyes with her uncle, trying to tell him that her story would not end in tragedy as had Telermine's. Perhaps, in a way, her duty was just as important as that of the High Priest and the Ida Chieftain. At the very least, her obedience would not be delayed by deception.

"Zarashi? What is he talking about?" her father broke in, a hint of what almost seemed like nervousness in his voice. Her mood deflated instantly.

"Ah..." She cursed mentally. She could guess with reasonable certainty what Kamar's reaction to this new development would be, and, well... it wasn't an attractive prospect, especially now, with so much else going on. She turned to him and flashed him a cheerful smile. "It's nothing to worry about, father. I promise I'll tell you all about it as soon as we take care of the business at hand. Speaking of which-" she turned back to her uncle- "You were asking what happened at Confederation Roost this morning."

Without even looking, she could feel Kamar glowering at her suspiciously, but she forced herself to ignore it.

"Well, the short of it is that Horang once again proved himself to be an atrocious liar and a shameless opportunist," she said dryly. "He told the council that in your vision Irudin had requested that we send an expedition to the Shadronian Swamps. I asked him what the objective was, and he claimed that you'd seen in your vision that the source of humanity's problems was not a daemon, but some ancient and immensely powerful elven sorceress- basically a demon, for all intents and purposes; and that those who believed in the Daemon Heresy had been 'mislead by incomplete prayers'. Father and I, of course, saw right away that it was nonsense-" she hesitated slightly at the memory of the voice that had spoken only to her. Was that something she ought to reveal? Perhaps at some point- the High Priest, after all, would be most likely to know what it meant- but for now she decided that the strange occurrence would prove too much of a distraction from the task at hand.

"-Along with the Minister of Forests and her Vice Minister, but the rest seemed to be eating out of his hand as long as he made a false show of confidence. Since we had no idea why he was lying, Father put pressure on him, which forced him to compensate with even more ridiculous leaps in logic. Then he actually claimed that the mission was also meant as an antidote to the Confederation's 'sinful bickering', and to keep the Ida clan from the unholy endeavor of striving to claim both Archonships, effectively turning the entire room against us." Zarashi's tone was laced with disgust. Now, uncle, will you finally see- at the risk of sounding like Bloodrang- what a pathetic piece of sh*t he is?

"And as if that wasn't enough, he actually nominated Fenris Daan as the next Confederation Leader and proposed that he lead the expedition to prove his worth, which... went over about as well as you might expect. The Minister of Forests started to call him out, very diplomatically, of course, but her Vice Minister jumped in and accused Horang of attempting assassination and hijacking the meeting, highlighted Fenris' incompetence, and included with a number of insults toward Horang that were all too acurate. Horang made another pathetic attempt to justify his position, but Fenris jumped in and tried to salvage his wounded pride by declaring that he would be leading the expedition this very afternoon, and that whoever didn't want to go down in history as a coward ought to come along. At that point, Father claimed it as his responsibility to find out the truth, and we left the meeting. I assume Fenris is rallying his troops as we speak.

"Anything to add, Father?"

"Not much, except that your nephew's proficiency at magic seems to have grown." To Zarashi's relief, he was now looking at Arkrath and seemed to have put his suspicions aside for the time being. "He called order by firing lightning at the chandelier. Oh, and Fenris Daan, whatever else he may lack, managed to command the council's attention by pulling off a fairly decent impression of his late relative. We'll have to keep a closer eye on him. Now, as for what we should do..." he stroked his beard as he often did when lost in thought. "I won't pretend to agree with the way you handled this matter, cousin, but what's done is done. Revealing the truth now would only destroy everything you've worked for. I don't like it, but it appears our only option is to find some way to legitimize Horang's mess before it gets too out of hand. And please, for the love of all that is holy, appoint someone competent to lead this expedition, and while you're at it, knock some sense into your nephew's thick skull!"

Zarashi nodded approvingly.

 

[Yahhah]

Valkner



The werewolf grew silent as they entered the city. He noticed Haakon throwing some kind of silent tantrum before grabbing a disguise. Valkner would’ve told him to stop had he thought it would’ve poked a hole in his plan. The more attention Haakon drew to himself the less would be on Valkner, so he could disguise himself all he wanted.

Valkner narrowed his eyes upon seeing the pair moving through the city. “So, that is Kamar Ida” assuming Kamar to be the man. Valkner’s eyes roamed the street as a plan formed in his mind.

“I’ve got a plan. You won’t even have to sneak around very much” Valkner hissed as he watched the pair walk into the temple.

“For now, we’ll wait. You’ll stay around here. When Kamar Ida steps out of that temple, stop him. Either stand in his way, attack his guards, or start a fight with him. To be honest it doesn’t matter what you do so long as you keep him in place. I will place myself in hiding nearby. I will take care of the rest” Valkner said quietly so as to not vocalize the plan to anyone who didn’t need to hear.

Archie

Rock

Rock stood in the strange room, his eyes roving around the room trying to piece together just what was going on. He heard a few of the other creatures introduce themselves with some names he found interesting. Ogrash names were given to strengthen the creature in some way. Rock’s mother had named him Rock so that he would grow up to be tough like stone. He wondered why their parents had chosen such names. Unfortunately, the ape did not have the skills to verbalize this so he left it.

The green skinned creature who had introduced himself as Grem. He suggested that they split up into pairs and asked Rock to accompany him. The Ogrash was happy to oblige as he followed the smaller creature. The room itself held the Ogrash’s attention as they moved through it. He was silent as he seemed to dizzy himself by watching the stars fly across the sky. It was one of the most interesting sights the ape had ever seen. Rock almost forgot to look for clues, once he remembered he took a sniff of air trying to discern something, but couldn’t identify anything. His eyes did scan the ground looking for anything out of the ordinary.

Archie , deathrisesagain , Zazz , FireMaiden Trektek

 

[Archie]

"Mountain Castle" ((Things are about to get spicy!!!))
deathrisesagain , Zazz , FireMaiden Trektek , Yahhah

As Grem and Ogrash entered the room to the left, they witnessed the pearl on the wall expand rapidly, as if they were getting closer and closer to it. When it finally stopped, all they could see is the mountain, with the castle entrance, from above, as if they were seeing through the eyes of a Valkyrie.

"Meshra'vahnar cheshuin telemakcha" said a rather cheery female voice, but as they explored the room, there was no one to be found.

Senrir, meanwhile, was speechless at the demands of the Shadronian. His face turned red, as he realized that he had no idea what was going on. Just then, out of the room at the end of the hallway, where there appeared to be many plants, a tree-like creature walked out of the door.

It looked at the group, simply staring at them. For a moment, the eight foot creature seemed to be validation for Kyrene's warning that the group should be ready for combat. It turned to Eira, then Kyrene, then Zayden, then Senrir, and finally opened its mouth.

Out of its mouth came the voice of a woman, interspersed with shrieks.

"S-"it started, before its voice devolved into an ugly shrikes.

"Sav-.... Saviors of the Forest..." the voice continued, before finally stabilizing.

"I cannot speak long, but all your questions will be answered. I am the one they know as the Great Spirit. At the end of this facility, there-" the spirit started, but the voice devolved into shrieking again.

"There is a small metal chip" she stated after the voice stabilized.

"You must take it to Starlit Isle. There, all your questions will be answered. I fear I cannot control this demon long, before Irudin intercepts my message, I-"

The voice abruptly stopped. Instead of shrieking again, the tree-like creature simply stood, straightening its back. Without another word, it charged at the group. Considering how big it was, it could move fast.

Inside the room with the image of the pearl - formerly at least - Ogrash and Grem could see a new development on their overhead view. The forest around them had started to catch on fire, and the flame was spreading at an unnatural rate.

Fire Temple
Monday

Arkrath listened to his relatives as they informed him of the political situation at the roost. When he heard that Horang had named Fenris as expedition leader and not Kamar, he grimaced.

"He what!?" Arkrath exclaimed, the first time that any of the clan had seen him berate his right hand man. But, after a few moments of placing his hand on his chin and looking at the wall, his eyes squinted.

"I see..." he mused, turning back to the other two members of his small inner circle.

"He has done us all a great service" the High Priest concluded.

"If he had nominated you to be Archon, you would have been elected" Arkrath declared, facing his cousin.

"The Karal tribe and the former pagans would never have accepted this, and we would have civil war on our hands. They were already stronger than us when we left Talor, and they've absorbed many tribes since"

A calm smile occupied the Archon's face, as he felt the satisfaction clarity on the road ahead.

"Meanwhile, the main fear of the other tribes is domination from the Ida clan. I have tried to get you elected for weeks," Arkrath stated, facing Kamar, "and we have always come across the same objection. By making it seem like the Temple and Volcano Tribe are not on the same page, Horang will have calmed the fears of the ministers. This is an important lesson. In the coming months, we must appear divided" Arkrath stated, putting his finger up as if he had just come up with a great insight - even though his nephew had clearly divined it first.

"While secretly, we must be united"

He continued his lecture, wrapping up his point as quickly as he could. "I don't think I need to confer with Horang to sense his plan. The Karal will die by the thousands taking the swamp. When Fenris Daan inevitably falters, you two must lead the army to victory and ensure you receive all the credit"

Arkrath was visibly pleased with the look of determination his niece gave him in response to his revelation of her duty. He gave her a nod, satisfied at the knowledge that his niece was too strong to fall victim to the despair that captured his wife. He carefully listened to the rest of what his relatives had to say.

"Fenris's initiative is most unexpected" he stated in response to the account of the Karal leader's unilateral action. "Though I suspect it's all bluster. I'm more worried about this Vice Minister you mentioned - if he divined Horang's intention so quickly, he will be a threat to us. Do tell me more about him"

Outside the Fire Temple
Trektek

Haakon did not care for the details of Valkner's plan. As long as he didn't have to wear those strangling fire priest clothes and reveal his chief weakness, he would be fine. He nodded.

"That I can do" Haakon stated.

Just as he affirmed the plan, an entourage of a dozen fire priests, including a red haired young man who seemed visibly bruised, descended down the steps.

"By order of the high priest, come with us! We slaughter the heretic, Horang Ida, who will bring Irudin's wrath upon us all!" a handsome brown haired man called out. The leather armored guards looked at one another, remaining in their place. The Seneschal ensured they were paid and ran the temple on a day to day business, and they were none too happy to comply.

"Sire" one brave guard stated, stepping off his position at the side of the steps and bowing deeply.

"I will go to the High Priest and get confirmation of your order"

Bloodrang's head snapped to face the man, and he scowled. He opened his mouth and unleashed a torrent of flame, which incinerated the man instantly. The screaming only lasted for a few seconds, before the man's blackened corpse fell silent to the ground, and the torrent of flames ended.

"How dare you question a member of the clan!" he shouted at the man's corpse, glaring at the other guards. Wide-eyed, they quickly abandoned their posts and joined the lynch mob.

"Bloodrang?" Haakon mused, peeking around the corner. He turned to face Valkner.

"Something's off"

Fire Temple: High Priest's Chamber

"Sires!" shouted an altar boy, rushing through the burned-out passageway to the high priest's chambers and kowtowing before the high priest. Arkrath did not welcome the interruptions, but his face reddened at the arrogance of one of his followers approaching him without an audience.

"How dare you come here!" shouted Arkrath. A white-haired priest, lifting his long red robes to ensure he could run faster, hurried in after the renegade trainee.

"Please, sire. It's Bloodrang, he-"

"The whereabouts of the Ida Clan are no business of yours!" scolded the high priest.

"Please, sire!" the youth pleaded, daring to look up at Arkrath and matching his gaze - another great violation of protocol.

"Just look out the window!"

The priest moved to speak.

"Sire, I apologize for the behavior of my disciple" the priest stated. The elderly priest held a high rank and had been with the temple for decades, and as such was only required to bow his head in the face of the clan.

"I have not appropriately disciplined him"

Arkrath nodded to the priest out of respect for his position, but paid his words no heed.

"A commander is never responsible for the failures of his followers" he lectured, scowling. "Thirty burns!" he shouted. The standard disciplinary practice in the harsh environment of the temple was burning on the back and chest - thirty was a number almost certain to be fatal. The priest looked at the Archon with resignation, before bowing. The youth, meanwhile, was too shocked to sob, his green eyes wide, staring at the high priest in disbelief as the priest lifted him by the collar of his cloak and turned him to walk out of the room.

"And Headmaster Morcar" Arkrath said, addressing the priest.

"Let me never hear you say something so stupid again"

The Archon waited for the pair to turn the corner before dashing to the window. He flung open the curtains and the shutters. None of the windows were glass, so he was able to lean over the windowsil and get a full view of outside. There, Bloodrang was marching with a posse of two dozen priests, acolytes, and guards. The red-haired priest Bloodrang had beaten up earlier, and the bald one he had pushed out of the way were part of this posse, so Arkrath could tell at once that this was not the result of some long conspiracy.

Arkrath strided back to his relatives.

"Zarashi, there's no time. Bloodrang and his friends are about to get themselves killed. He's a fool, but he's still one of us. You must go save him now. Say whatever you need to" he ordered, waving her off, before remembering that she was the chosen and sending her off with a slight bow.

"And that book is yours now" he stated before Zarashi could leave the door.

He turned back to Kamar.

"We aren't done yet. Tell me about this Vice Minister" he beckoned, evidently confident that Zarashi would be able to solve this issue without the pair's intervention.

Confederation Roost, Main Hall

Bertrand and Horang listened to Hessian's idea. Horang nodded, but Bertrand leaned back in his chair, furrowing as if he were deep in thought.

"A tunnel would work" he said, "I hadn't considered that" he followed up.

"But it would take too long. I predict the Karal warriors will achieve a bloody victory within a week of arriving. We need something quicker"

Horang, meanwhile, was scratching his chin, contemplating the Engyr chief engineer's question about the kind of fire magic employed on the island.

"The magic isn't like anything the Ida clan has. We don't understand it" he stated,

"It doesn't seem to work underwater, as there aren't any scorched fish rising to the lake's surface" he observed,

"But who could hold their breath for that long" he asked.

Suddenly, a bronze armored guard opened the arching doors, bursting into the room and bowing.

"Sires, there's a-"

"Out!" shouted Horang, rising from his seat.

"Please sire, it's important, your bro-"

"Out!!!" he screamed again, pointing at the door. As the guard left and shut the door, Horang sat and shook his head, trying to sip from his bottle before remembering it was empty. Without even moving his hand or looking at the door, the metal forming its lock heated up, turning red and molten, before reforming, making the door impossible to open from the outside.

"We won't be bothered now. Hessian" Horang stated, turning back to him.

"Have you any other ideas?"

 

[AiDEE-c0]

Assuni

Location: Harpy's nest
Time: Noon.
Interactions: Archie​

Assuni let some of the tension in her posture dribble off, even, or in spite of, as Flavia showed off her towering height by standing up. While normally, an individual eight feet tall would appear quite imposing, she feared nothing. Just from the harpy playing around with straw, she knew there was no plan to lunge. Besides, even if there was, the battle would be over as soon as it'd begin, the poison would make sure of that. The elf took a moment to re-examine the scene, ignoring a second inquiry into goat meat, plus the following display of light gore, as blood started to seep into the straw bedding.
"It's good to know you're motivated by revenge, and are a traitor. You're not much different than the humans in that regard," her host spoke. Not much different? The minister bit into the corner of her lip. Did she have a death wish? A test of patience was not the wisest choice of action at the current moment.
"This is good. I have grown tired of them, Minister," Flavia continued by initiating a second statement.
"I fly, but I see too many of them. Some of them are rather fetching. Others, not quite. The women are too small, and the children are nothing more than wastes of breath, always making noise, as if they're asking to be eaten, unaware of how tender their meat is. If the idiots knew what was best for them, they'd stay quiet and try not to attract too much attention."
There was now a dense, green liquid slowly dripping down Assuni's chin. The utter disregard for life made her almost question her own convictions. Certainly not enough to call of them off, but if pursuing vengeance had the chance to twist her mind like this...

The internal strife made it so she nearly passed over the next remark, aimed towards marriage, nothing but further fuel to the fire. Her fingers clawed as the harpy initiated an approach closer, but she let that instinct fade as it finally came time to address the real point of the meeting.
"I want to secede, Assuni. I don't think you like being with the humans very much either." The minister very faintly scoffed, as if that couldn't have been any more obvious by even attending this rendezvous.
"And you," Flavia turned to Barabash, who was still leaning against a wall, smirking, "don't have much love for the Ida Clan from what I can tell, and their stupid religion."
This managed to pique a raised eyebrow from the tribal chief, musing something beneath his breath. Nevertheless, the harpy continued.
"There's a weapon on the island, I'm pretty sure. Why else would the humans' puny God send them here? Why don't we take it together and use it to kill whoever we like?"
A crude proposition, hinging on stretchy logic. A triumvirate of ministers, chasing after a weapon of one of theirs imagination, on an island more dangerous than any other... also contested by a crusade, possibly of thousands. That, in exchange for the opportunity that would arise with major names and entire armies leaving the mainland. In this situation, an uprising would be absolutely lethal, with invitations extended to all those who desired revenge. Cities could be taken with only minor resistance, the remaining men left to starve outside. Instead, they were to leave as well? What an idiotic plan. Luckily for Flavia, there was still someone that could persuade the elven matriarch to go for it. Someone that she hasn't heard from in almost a decade.

"A tribunal to preside over life and death, is that what you want?" Assuni spoke as she turned, slowly making for the exit. Ha, surely one filled with tribunes that wouldn't hesitate to tear each other apart the moment they succeed. This reflected in her tone, which was clear, but harsh at every syllable.
"Normally, I would just dismiss you as foolish," she continued, sighing. "But, against my better judgement, I will deliver my decision this eve."
She turned her gaze over her shoulder, eyeing both of the people in the room for a few seconds each.
"Meet me in the Temple of Anticipations, once the moon rises over the treetops."
The centrepiece of the once-proud capital of the moss elves, abandoned for years. There were some special preparations underway, it was awaiting a new breath after oh-so long. To deliver a final note, the matriarch stopped her steps right beneath the doorframe leading out, facing the halls in front of her.
"And Flavia. You do not get to call me by my name, nowhere and never. Nor will I accept traitor."
She turned around fully, one last time, to pull the bronze claws off of her fingers carefully, tossing them into the fire. Her expression had grown completely neutral by that point, but it was not like anyone could really tell, accounting the mask. A final heel-shift later, the minister started to disappear into the halls.
"That is a privilege reserved only for my own," echoed her voice, before fully trailing off, together with her footsteps.

"Ah! So now we really are talking in birds! Three eagles in a den of rats, how amusing!"
Barabash chose to remain behind, speaking up at last. Per usual, his voice was grating, akin to a jester. He bent down, letting his finger trail across a splash of blood that had made it all the way to his feet and sucking on it briefly, as he straightened his posture again.
"Their religion is boring, you're right. Destruction masquerading behind some guise of glory and honour, how pretentious!" He let his grin grow wider.
"Hiding chaos behind method, how ironic is that? But I know the true nature of man, dear Flavia."
He paused for a second, faking contemplation.
"And I'm sure you know it too, better than they do!" He winked with his scarred eye. Just how that eye even worked at all anymore, no one really knew.
"We'll make wonderful partners, no doubt. The name is Barabash, if you haven't caught it yet."
The deputy made it a point to bow theatrically, as if awaiting applause.
"Don't worry about her, either. It's a bit of a process, but she'll grow attached soon enough."
The man finished snickering, slowly taking his leave as well. Curiously enough, once he became obscured by stone, any footfall completely halted. Despite this, he was completely gone from the Nest.

 

[deathrisesagain]

Zayen stared at the creature that had walked out of the room he was heading towards. He stopped in his tracks and listened to the demon speak. 'Saviors of the Forest' she called them, what was she talking about? He listened carefully, metal chip, Starlit Isle, Demon, Irudin, all these names, and what to do. Zayden had a strong feeling that the swamps was in extreme danger, and that war was coming soon. He was a proud and loyal Shadronian, and would sacrifice his life if it meant the swamps stayed safe. "L'Laya, please be safe my dear." Zayden softly said, as if to nothing at all. The day that L'Laya claimed him for herself was a very happy day for him. The daughter of the Commander General wanted the 'Wrong One' to be her forever, and she was his everything. The day that his first child was born was the second happiest day. He was shook out of his thoughts when the demon shreiked again and then charged.

Without thinking, Zayden drew his sword, the sword making a beautiful yet terrifying sound as it unsheathed. He waved his hand across the front of him, calling forth the shadows. His objective was to create a barrier to slow down the create, but just long enough for everyone to get on guard. The longer he had to use his magic, the more tired he became, but in small amounts of time, he would be fine. "TO ARMS! THE CREATURES IS COMING!" Zayden shouted, trying to gather everyone for a fight. "Rock! See if you could slow it down! All others form on me!" Zayden ordered, he was a great tactician and had won many battles, in war and out. The Towers tend to play 'War games' to strength their skills and always be ready. He unclasped his cloak, letting it drop with a thud onto the ground. This reveal the soft black leather-like armour he wore, the black pants, and a dagger on his back with a green gem. His beaded necklace hung loosely around his neck. His sword in hand, his guard up, and a barrier made of shadows. All things that came natural to him.

 

[Trektek]

Grem FireBrand

Location: Mountain Castle
Time: Unknown

Grem watched as the pearl expanded as they approached causing the image to change until it was a bird's eye view of the castle entrance. It was some strange and powerful magic, it must be. It was a surprise that it wasn't better protected than this though. One would think that with this amount of information alone at your fingertips, just for spying purposes, without even touching upon what the other rooms and items in them might be able to pick up, that there would be some kind of guardian tom defend their secrets.

He listened to the voice as it spoke from nothingness. There wasn't even any where that it seemed to emanate from. It just seemed to come from everywhere and in a language that he did not understand. He only wished now that his magical studies had considered the magic of understanding languages as much as it did about understanding fire. But that was more a feeling of hindsight rather than anything that could be fixed.

"Hello, we come to explore, or at least to find out why we were brought here to this strange castle."
The others seemed to be interacting with something outside in another room, which he could only hear the vaguest of what was going on.

Before he could focus on figuring out what was really going on with the others, or even get any sort of answer from that mysterious voice, the image changed to show that there was a large fire in the forest outside and one that was getting ever larger. He knew from his studies of fire magic, that this was not from the result of some stray natural forest fire, but from the powers of fire magic. If their enemy thought that they would use fire against him, then they would have another thing coming. His powers were only stronger around fire and he would defend himself.

But now was the time to alert the others of the danger that was about to be upon them. He rushed Rock into the other room where the others were as he yelled, "There's a fire in the forest around us and it isn't a natural one. I think the humans might have found us."
Grem's eyes widened as he realized what he had walked into. Some sort of demon creature attacking the group. "If you hold that thing still, I can burn it to the ground."
The goblin had no idea if that would work, but it was the strongest trick in his arsenal. If they didn't take him up on the offer, he was going to hide behind Rock and hope for the best.

-----------------------
Hessian

Confederation Roost
Time: Subjective

"Right, right. Too long." Hessian started to mutter to himself as he began to scribble and listened to the two of them talk. Perhaps something similar in another avenue would manage to reach the true pinnacle of bringing their own forces to bear before the others. If not underground due to the slow speed of digging, ten what? And then the answer came to him as he heard them talking. The water. That was it, underwater transport was still within the same vein as underground, but it would require far less effort or at least less time for the travel once the effort was put into effect.

He ignored the intruder as he continued to scribble on his pad all the necessary formulas for relaying the plan once it would need to be put into effect. Only looking up from his work when he was addressed again by Horang and Betrand. "Yes. Yes I believe that I do."

He flipped open his notes to show the picture of the turtle that he had mustered up previously, but instead of a drill, it seemed to just have on fins. "You mentioned that the water was unharmed by this strange magic, that nothing coming up from below the surface was injured or that the spell just doesn't work underwater." He flipped over some pages to make it seem as though the turtle machine was going underneath the energy field.

"So I propose to take my similar idea of going underground and changing it to going under the water to get under the defenses that are blocking our way. It should be much quicker as the only thing impeding us would be the water. And we can make an airtight machine to survive under there."
Hessian seemed most pleased with himself and was certain that the pair would go for his solid idea.​

 

[Yahhah]

Valkner


Valkner stopped in his tracks when the mob appeared out of the temple. He briefly wondered what they were on about until the lead shouted about killing some Bloodrang Ida. Personally Valkner felt a tad glad the fire breathers were starting to kill each other off, but any feeling left his mind when the leader burnt a man to death.

An image of a massive brown wolf writhing in flames entered his mind. The werewolf shook the thought and noticed Haakon had spoken.

“Let them leave. The less guards the better” Valkner hissed. “Try not to gain their notice” he added as he moved off a little bit.
Archie


Rock

Rock stopped as he noticed the pearl began to move, and a voice of some sort spoke. The ape looked around at his surroundings a little confused. Rock felt his stomach hollow as they were given a bird’s eye view of the mountain. WHAT WAS THIS!? OGRASH COULDN’T FLY! ONLY BIRDS AND THOSE LIZARDS HE’D SEEN IN HIS DREAM COULD FLY! Rock felt very relieved once the flight had ended though he did feel just a little bit dizzy. Apparently Grem had said something while Rock was having his episode of panic that Rock hadn’t heard.

He did notice Grem leaving the room. Rock pulled himself together and followed. When they reached the other room, the ape saw the demon. Rock’s first thought was just how a tree had grown legs and walked up the mountain. His second was that the group was being attacked.

The demon was big, Rock couldn’t gauge its exact size but it seemed to be at least near his size if not a little smaller or larger. His first instinct was to charge at it. Then he heard Grem say something about being able to light it on fire. Fire was very good at burning wood, at least it was in Rock’s experience. “I.....Hoooold....Stiiill” Rock declared, before rising onto his hind legs to show off his full height. He roared ferociously baring his small tusks, unlike before this was obviously a threat towards the tree like demon.

Rock slammed back onto all fours and rushed at the creature. Once close enough he lifted a clenched fist and aimed to deliver a powerful punch to its head. If it’d been around, he would’ve gone for his club but unfortunately he’d left it in the clearing they’d come from. It wasn’t efficient to carry a weapon over such long distance at least not for Rock who lacked any kind of sheath for it.
Trektek Archie Zazz deathrisesagain FireMaiden

 

[Monday]

Location: Fire Temple, Valkonia
Interactions: Archie

Zarashi found herself immensely gratified by her uncle's reaction to Horang's nomination for expedition leader; but as soon as that pensive look crossed his face, her mood took a sharp turn in the opposite direction. It was all she could do to continue with her presentation calmly in the face of his outrageous claim that her idiot cousin had been doing them some great service by his performance today. While it was true that his reckless scheming had left open an avenue for them to exploit, it was certain to anyone who knew Horang well that anything benefitting the two of them couldn't be further from his true intentions. Maintaining the appearance of division to ease the Minster's fears of domination by the Ida clan was by no means a bad idea, although Arkrath seemed to think he'd come up with it all on his own- a most annoying habit of his. If it was anyone's idea, it was Horang's, although it certainly had not been his plan from the start, having come about as a fortunate side affect of his desire to undermine her and her father. His tendency to prioritize his personal vendettas over the bigger picture was Horang's fatal flaw- something her uncle persistently failed, or refused, to recognize.

She would change that today, if she could, and wipe that idiotic smile off of his face.

"I don't think I need to confer with Horang to sense his plan." Zarashi strongly begged to differ. "The Karal will die by the thousands taking the swamp. When Fenris Daan inevitably falters, you two must lead the army to victory and ensure you receive all the credit." That last statement caused her to perk up instantly. You two? Did that mean some time remained before she was obligated to take up the duties of the Chosen? Was there still a chance for her to win victory and fame at her father's side? Her chest swelled with satisfaction and pride at the thought. On top of that, her uncle seemed to understand the determined look she had given him, pleased by her show of strength. Perhaps life as she'd always envisioned it would not have to end so soon.

Arkrath was just inquiring about the Vice Minister who had confronted Horang during the meeting when, to everyone's surprise, an altar boy shouted out a greeting as he rushed down the hallway and through the door of the High Priest's chamber. Her uncle reacted to this egregious breach of protocol with an appropriate reprimand, but Zarashi found herself curious as to what had the boy so excited. Meanwhile, an elderly priest with his robes hiked up rushed in after the frenzied altar boy.

"Please, Sire, it's Bloodrang, he-" Ah. That explained it. Irudin knew what kind of insanity her cousin could concoct in one of his moods. What had he gotten himself into this time? And, more importantly, was she to blame for this latest episode?

"The whereabouts of the Ida Clan are no business of yours!" Arkrath admonished.

"Please, sire!" As he pleaded, the boy dared to raise his head and meet the High Priest's eyes, an even more brazen breach of standards. "Just look out the window!"

Bowing his head, the priest apologized for the behavior of his trainee, stating that he'd failed to discipline him properly.

"A commander is never responsible for the failures of his followers," Arkrath lectured- another point on which she might somewhat have begged to differ, if she didn't have more pressing concerns- before prescribing thirty burns, standard punishment for violating the temple's code of respect. Either the boy was a complete fool, or the message he'd attempted to convey was somehow worth his life. Or perhaps both factors were at play. The High Priest berated his disciple for his apology as he dragged the altar boy out of the room, and once they were gone, immediately darted over to the window, flung open the curtains and shutters, and leaned outside to get a better view. Zarashi stood on tiptoe and craned her neck, but her eyes struggled to adjust to the sudden brightness and she couldn't make out anything around her uncle's form. After a moment, he returned to his former position.

"Zarashi, there's no time. Bloodrang and his friends are about to get themselves killed. He's a fool, but he's still one of us. You must go save him now. Say whatever you need to." He waved her off before catching himself and giving a slight bow. This must've been due to her chosen status, she realized. Jarring though it was, and despite the fate it represented, she didn't exactly hate the show of deference. At the same time she found herself frustrated by her new assignment. Though it was highly unlikely, she couldn't completely suppress the nagging suspicion that he was trying to get rid of her. More likely, he saw the situation as her responsibility, which... wasn't entirely unjustified. She felt a twinge of anger toward herself. Well, the only way to amend her mistake was to go and defuse the situation outside, which she was, at least, more than capable of doing.

"And that book is yours now," Arkrath added before she left the room. Hesitating, Zarashi glanced between him and the diary. There was the possibility of a confrontation outside, and if that happened, the book was sure to be damaged. Understanding her need, Kamar held out his hand, and she handed over the book with a nod of thanks. As she left the room, however, she realized that she wouldn't be able to employ any of the clever rhetoric she'd been formulating in the back of her mind to turn her uncle against Horang, before he could sabotage their bid for the Archonship any further. This frustrated her more than anything else. After only a few paces, she suddenly darted back to the open doorway, poked her head in, and said, "Think about this, uncle! Who gave you the bad herbs?" before sprinting down the hallway.


The Minister of Temples regarded his daughter's statement with an eyebrow raised in amusement, quickly piecing together what she'd most probably meant by it, before turning to examine the book that had been gifted to her by the High Priest.

"We aren't done yet. Tell me about this Vice Minister," Arkrath prompted.

Lost in thought, Kamar waited several seconds before responding, turning the Record of the Holy Seances over and over in his hand. Finally, he looked up at his cousin, the stony, calculating look in his dark brown eyes concealing a roiling mixture of emotions, suspicion and dread foremost among them. "Barabash. Representative of the Progla, an insignificant agricultural tribe, and, until today, relatively unknown. He possesses a sharp tongue, a nose for trouble, and, judging from his performance this morning, seems to be the type that enjoys stirring the pot regardless of any benefit to himself that I can determine. He interrupted the Minister of Forests to speak, which indicates that unless this was some elaborate staged event, which I highly doubt, the two of them do not always work in concert." Brief and to the point, as he preferred.

Now he leaned toward Arkrath, seeming to tower over his cousin despite being only a few inches taller, a trick he'd mastered at a young age and often used with his subordinates. "Cousin, I believe it's time I asked you some questions." His tone was subdued, but carried an unmistakeable ring of command. "First: Are you aware that by elevating Horang to the position of Archon, you are only placing yet another obstacle in my path? Yes, I know you're fond of the boy. I am not saying this because of his rivalry with my daughter or myself, but because you ought to know as well as I that your Seneschal holds no goodwill toward me. He will see his promotion as yet another opportunity to undermine me as he did today, as Zarashi so eloquently described. Precious little concern you showed, I noticed. Horang has repeatedly demonstrated a disturbing tendency to place his personal rivalries over his concern for the Tribe as a whole. I have been tolerant long enough. Forgive me, if it is not my place to judge how the High Priest deals with his disciples, but I believe you've allowed him too much free reign for too long. And now, as Zarashi has already done, I sincerely challenge you to reexamine your faith in the boy. The results may not be to your liking."

"Now, as for this-" he held up the diary, clenching it so tightly his nails dug into the leather cover, "It's a strange gift for a High Priest to bestow on a layperson, is it not? Tell me..." He leaned in even closer, his voice sinking to a low, menacing growl. "What honor has Irudin bestowed on my daughter?"


Priests, acolytes and altar boys scrambled out of Zarashi's way with murmurs of surprise as she dashed through the Temple while considering what her course of action would be once she reached the gates. Judging from her uncle's comment about "Bloodrang and his friends", she assumed he'd managed to gather some kind of coalition to carry out her directive against Horang. Although permanently removing a certain disturbance was something she'd often contemplated, this was neither the time nor the place. There were too many variables, and, if she were implicated in any way, she would lose the High Priest's trust, something she considered integral to her father's campaign. As she emerged into the sunlight and paused at the top of the stairs, it appeared that she'd been correct. Along the road leading from the Temple to Confederation Roost, Bloodrang was leading a crowd consisting of about a dozen priests, including what looked like the two he'd been roughing up when they'd arrived (she recognized the young one by his distinctive red hair), which indicated he'd cobbled this mob together on the spot, and all the guards that were supposed to be stationed along the staircase. Near the foot of the stairs she spied what looked like a charred body, and fought the urge to smack her forehead with her palm.

"Bloodrang!" she called in a firm but neutral tone, cupping her hands around her mouth, while descending the stairs in a brisk but dignified fashion. "What are you doing?" Of course, she already knew the answer to that question, but how Bloodrang answered in front of all his followers would clue her in on the specific excuse he'd used to rally them. Hopefully, that would give her what she needed to disperse the crowd, if not to appease her enraged cousin.

 

[Archie]

"Mountain Castle"
deathrisesagain , Zazz , FireMaiden Trektek , Yahhah

The creature faced Rock as the Ogrash approached it, raising its arm to attack but being punched and reeling backwards. Rock's arm itself was in bad shape afterwards, as the creature was effectively made of hard wood.

The creature was soon joined by "company". A flock of bats - albeit ones that were green, as if they were made of plant matter, emerged from the clearing and started charging at the group. They impacted Zayden's shadow barrier, with many falling to the ground while others turned to make an attack.

The cackling voice that previously emerged from the tree-monster once again came up over the intercom.

"Hurry and get inside! He is here!" shouted the voice.

The wood creature, recovering after Rock's blow, pushed the Ogrash away and started ramming away at Zayden's shadow barrier. The monster was extremely strong, and durable. Worse, it seemed to regenerate - after each impact which diminished its club, the thing seemed to grow back at alarming speed.

Fire Temple
Monday

"Your daughter is chosen" Arkrath responded to Kamar.

"A great honor. And, unlike some who came before her, she is strong enough to endure it"

He turned and faced the window, watching the commotion that was going on outside.

"You underestimate Horang. Everything he has done has benefited him, but it has also benefitted the Clan. In that respect, he is no different than you and I. An ideal human in the image of Irudin should not be free of self-interest. As for the results, Valko is dead, and no one suspects foul play. The Karal are marching to their deaths, and we are finally..."

Arkrath paused, clenching his fist and showing genuine excitement which betrayed his usual unpredictability.

"On the cusp of achieving Irudin's mission"

He turned back to the chief as his mind shifted back to the topic of the Vice Minister.

"This Proglia is almost certainly a heretic. I will find a way to eliminate him" Arkrath divined, without explaining how it was he reached that intuition.

Outside the Fire Temple
Yahhah , Vulpes Iagopus

Haakon hid as best he could, crouching behind a market stall as the procession of Bloodrang marched across the market square - open at this hour - towards the Confederation Roost.

"Come, citizens! Witness the burning of a heretic!" shouted Bloodrang as he pumped his fists in the air, building up his confidence.

As soon as his cousin approached him, Bloodrang spun and glared at her.

"Good of you to join us Zarashi! The High Priest has admitted the theory of Torian to be true by vision. Horang Ida has refused to accept this vision and thus has refused to return to the High Temple! We must slay him before he escapes and spreads his heresy to the countryside!" he shouted at the top of his lungs such that everyone in the market square could hear. Bloodrang was not known for his cunning, and his wide grin betrayed his deception. It wasn't as if there was a particular purpose to it, however - Zarashi knew that the Archon had ordered no such thing and was present at the discussion that took place. The Archon did, however, admit that the heresy of Torian was true.

Confederation Roost, Main Hall
Trektek

"So I propose to take my similar idea of going underground and changing it to going under the water to get under the defenses that are blocking our way. It should be much quicker as the only thing impeding us would be the water. And we can make an airtight machine to survive under there." suggested Hessian. Horang, at this point completely intoxicated, stood up and reached his arms into the air, accidentally unleashing a bolt of lightning that set one of the curtains on fire.

"Ridiculous!" he blabbered. Betrand's special beer was more than 45% alcohol, and downing it was the equivalent of drinking a tall mug of hard liquor.

"Maybe not soooo..." Bertrand said, slurring his words. He rose and accidentally knocked his empty bottle onto the ground. It shattered.

"Airflightness can be achieved if you seal a boat with rivets, so if there was a way to preffurize air into metal containers, you could even breathe!" he stammered incoherently.

"Well if you put it that way" Horang stated, slapping the table and tripping over to the point where he almost fell onto it, stopping himself with both hands.

"Okay, let's do this!" the Seneschal declared, sticking his finger into the air.

"I go now" he said, snapping his fingers. The locks to the door on Confederation Roost heated up, emanating a red glow, before the metal on them melted to the ground, taking the entire bottom of the door with them.

"You there!" Horang shouted to several Elven slaves waiting outside.

"Clean up!" he shouted, waving his arms.

Bertrand turned to Hessian.

"You have full access to the bwonzeworks for the time being, just make sure you acroacreately increase the temperature of the bronze for molding the pressurisi-pressurized containers for the air, because if it's normal temper you won't have time to shape... shape it" Bertrand stated, giving a cryptic command. Nobody had ever created air tanks in the Engyr tribe before except maybe Bertrand, and he sounded like he knew what he was talking about, but he was completely unable to say anything coherent.

Temple of Anticipations
AiDEE-c0

((Timeskip to midnight just for this conversation, feel free to post whenever you feel))

Flavia had landed in the temple of the anticipations thirty minutes after midnight. It was not like her to show up on time or honor any kind of obligation.

"Assuni, I've brought a snack!" she shouted, dropping a raw calf's leg onto the temple floor. One should have been glad that she didn't bring a sentient creature, but this descration of the temple was just as bad.

"My apologies, Minister of Forests, I've brought a snack" she stated, dryly mocking Assuni's prior order not to refer to her by name, but complying nonetheless.

"Now, you said you had a plan in the works? I'm curious to see it. I've only seen humans plan these past ten years, and the only thing they've pulled off is killing their leader" she stated. It was impossible to tell, given her bored and irreverent disposition, whether she actually believed the leader was assassinated.

 

[Yahhah]

Valkner

Valkner loitered against a wall around the square only half listening to what the Idas were yapping on about. His eyes scanned the square for any sort of sign from Kamar Ida but thus far had been disappointed. Valkner's plan was risky but it should work fine so long as Haakon didn't blow it and Valkner's wolf shape could run fast enough. Though it was a little funny to watch these fire priests go on and on about things that to Valkner were trivial.
He feigned investigating a market stall to avoid suspicion but for now all he really had to do was wait for the target to show themself. He yawned as if tired wondering how long this would take. Though hopefully Kamar Ida would show himself after this procession of fiery fools dispersed.

Archie

Rock

Rock grunted as his punch landed, he felt a dull ache in his arm but it went away quickly. No worse then punching a tree, the Ogrash had done that once or twice to collect leaves. Though he didn't want to punch it again any time soon. He'd have to find another way to hold it still. Rock was vaguely aware of a group of flying things made of similar substance as the first creature to appear, the distraction of Rock trying to bat them away from the white haired one's barrier was enough to allow the big creature to take him by surprise. Rock was flung backwards landing hard on his back. Had he been any less hardy he may have broken his back on impact but the massive ape recovered. Rising shakily to all fours, he shook his head from side to side. Noticing one of the flyers had landed nearby Rock brought his fist down to crush it. His arm still hurt but adrenaline seemed to deafen his pain response as Rock formulated a plan on how to attack the big monster. It was as big as he was, was made of hard armor-like wood, and judging by its looks recovered from attacks very quickly.
Hitting it with his fists would not only be painful but would not exactly work well. He didn't need to beat it himself he just needed to hold it still or... Rock looked at the others. Sure they probably could fight just as well if not better then he could and he barely knew them. He was pretty sure a few of them may still be scared of him. But they were so little, Rock stumbled forward on two legs deciding a smarter course of action would be to fight beside of everyone else.

Archie Trektek deathrisesagain Zazz FireMaiden

 

[Zazz]

The Two-Skin's eyes widened as Rock was thrown to the floor. Eira visibly flinched. Soon came the green bats; they each hit the white-haired warrior man's magic shield with a thump. Thump. Thump-thump...

"Hurry and get inside! He is here!" shouted the voice.

But Eira wasn't so sure she wanted to go into the place the strange monsters came from. What if there were more? The snow leopard took a step back and glanced up at the ice nymph, then promptly bounded away, seemingly deserting her new acquaintances. But she soon returned, her pack carried in her mouth, and dropped it at the ice nymph's feet. It was hard to fight, after all, while carrying it.

The living tree had begun bashing at Zayden's magic shield, and it was rather terrifying. But Eira knew she could at least deal with the weird bats. She crouched, and wiggled, recalibrating before she pounced around the side of the shadow shield, chasing the green bats like a cat after butterflies.

 

[Trektek]

Grem FireBrand

​

Location: Mountain Castle
Time: Unknown

As Grem had started to take position to charge his large fireball attack that in his mind at least would have surely destroyed this wooden creature, it had easily recovered from Rock's attack. Okay, maybe his fire attack wouldn't have done nearly as much damage as he was envisioning, even if it was his most powerful attack. Maybe this creature would absorb it and just become some sort of fire tree monster. The thought sent shivers down his spine as a voice told them to go into the room that some strange bats emerged from.

"Change of plans Rock. Let's get over there where a voice is telling us that it's safe." He said confidently while thinking that hopefully this wasn't a trap to bring them to their doom. Grem rushed over to where the voice was telling them to go and they'd regroup from there.

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

Confederation Roost
Time: Subjective

Hessian jumped at the unexpected lighting bolt that emerged from the heavility intoxicated Horang. That was the thing that he disliked most about that man. He was incredibly unpredictable. It was entirely possible that he might just leap up and stab him just to see him bleed out on the floor as it was for him to give him possible praise. At least Betrand was there to keep him somewhat straight on the matter.

He listened as the two of them as they spoke back and forth with Betrand agreeing that his proposal was possible while Horang was eventually swayed in his drunken state and melted the door on his way out. Hessian was certainly glad that he wasn't the one that was responsible for cleaning up that pile of mess. It was not going to be fun for anyone.

He gave a slight bow to Betrand as he gave him his cryptic and slurred instructions to create air tanks for his underwater contraption. In theory it was all sound, but in actual practice, well, it was going to take some trial and error of which, their time was far more limited than what he would have liked. However, he would get it done and hopefully be on the way to achieving his own goals in the process.

Hessian gave another slight bow to Betrand, "I will take my leave then, my lord." And with that, he immediately headed to the Bronzeworks to actually attempt to create the air tanks by slowly increasing the temperature on the metals for easy bending without breaking or cooling for shaping purposes. It was going to require not only powerful strength from the hammer strikes, but also intimate knowledge of the coal forges to keep the heat rising at an appropriate speed. Too fast and the metal will get far too hot and become unusable as it melts, while too slow and it will either cool far too fast or just not get up to appropriate temperature for hammering.​

 

[AiDEE-c0]

Assuni

Location: Anon-Bashal - Temple of Anticipations
Time: Noon - Midnight.
Interactions: Archie​

Tap, tap, tap. The footfall of a hesitant pace echoed, weaving around hushed utterances. The sunbeams of a lukewarm day mingled together with the rustling of leaves and pines, carrying upon their shoulders the distinct smell of bark and sap. Without guard, Assuni had arrived in Anon-Bashal, the capital settlement of the moss elves. The roads were laid of heavy stone, pillars set horizontally. Weeds slowly crawled between their crevices, sometimes brushing past one's feet as they walked. Surrounding the improvised roads sat trees and huts constructed of their corpses, stone and hide. Occasional face-like ornaments decorated the path as it wound, carved and indented of bone. It was home. Home that detested her very presence, but that she could not imagine losing. Just strolling here, the minister was lucky to still be taking breaths. The opposition that had formed against her was vicious and virulent, sometimes managing to wrangle a village or two out of her hands, only to be met with the inferno of Valkonian intervention. Perhaps they took their lesson from that. Still, such a heed would not last long, Assuni would make sure of that herself. Grant her people pride and right to fearlessness, even if it meant paying the lethal cost. A troubling thought, that could not be avoided. Or, at least, until her goal was reached. Then it would have to be put aside, as fear easily leads to mistake.

Spoiler: Temple Gate

With a dense and heavy creak, a tall, wooden gate found itself flung open. It was hoisted betwixt the thick, rectangular columns of a simple stone portal, brazier on each side. The fact that the braziers were lit signified service, something long unseen, almost nostalgic. The matriarch inhaled deeply in a halt, before proceeding inside. Four more braziers besieged a sizeable altar, the grounds littered with urns, bowls and other containers, all either bronze or ceramic and spread in an organised manner. This was the work of the Adonarchs, local administrators and priests named by the council, or what remained of it. Their profession had the highest rate of execution, and their influence and loyalties were utmost mixed. Just like any nobility, their true motives and plots remained obscured from their superiors. A good number of them assembled to put the temple back into shape, a request from Assuni forwarded by Indra. They all came with differing intentions, but all of them were, without doubt, filled with curiosity. In a half-circle, about a dozen of them greeted the minister with their gaze. Standing most powerful among this ensemble were both figures of chiselled and lean features, blonde hair and black robes. The brotherhood of a bloodline flew within them, the family of family, therefore simply, family. One that had felt the most intimate betrayal.
"So you've made it," the older of the two spoke. "Good to be standing in front of you again. One needs to be careful, just being in your presence can lead to a... stolen heart."
His words began like the usual compliment, but were way too quick to start seeping with poison. His allusions were subtle and directed, yet, as it was, she could barely differentiate between his words, and that of Barabash.
"Is that not correct?" The man bowed elegantly, his expression fully neutral.
"Overon, I am thankful that you considered my invitation," began Assuni, addressing the crowd with a sense of benevolent urgency. "But instead of pointless jabs, we ought to get to work. A turning deliverance awaits us, and I will give my soul to carry it out. Do not let your personal hatreds hinder the path of our kind, adonarch, lest we become just like them."
The discontent brother-in-law shot back a scoff-accompanied nod, clearly unsatisfied. His attitude reflected the general mood of his kin, but, unwilling to violate the code of the temple, they followed along.

Spoiler: Overon

For the next hours, incense was burned and bones were ground, the containers inside the temple filled with plethora spices and exotic mixtures. The adonarch scurried to gown pillars with rope and fabrics, the altar with flowers and herbs. Meanwhile, Assuni meditated and recited, trying to remember exactly the old chants, hymns and somatic gestures she hadn't presented in years. They came naturally, but slower than before. If all went well - all had to go well - then the elves would triumph, revel in freedom, no matter what. Their spirit would be completely reborn, restored, the matriarch was never more sure of anything in her life. So, everything had to go perfectly, her actions could not cost them more than they already did.

As the moon slowly climbed the eastern horizon, casting a silver light across the leaves, Assuni stood up unhesitatingly. With the clasp of a single palm, she undid the mask off of her face, setting it beside her. To hide yourself in front of the spirits was to insult them and their wisdom. The adonarchs eventually left the premises of the structure, ready to return once further directive came. The minister let her braided hair fall down her back, extending her right arm out, fully to her side. A slim, finely crafted long axe of bone and jade found itself engulfed in her grasp, pressed into her hand by Indra. With a weak smile, he also disappeared past the gate soon after. The minister brought the axe closer to herself, resting its end in the moss. The next milestone was the arrival of her guests, which didn't take overly long.
"Assuni, I've brought a snack!" Flavia shouted as the flapping of her wings announced her coming. This drew a minuscule grin out of the elf, as what came next was entirely expected. A thud of flesh and blood resounded, a cow leg dropped onto stone.
"My apologies, Minister of Forests, I've brought a snack," the mocking of her earlier order-request didn't affect her mood. The proceeding, after all, was too important to let herself be bothered with something so insignificant as the yelps of a chicken.

Now with an active smirk, she interrupted the harpy in the middle of her next sentence nonchalantly, picking up a flower crown from the ground and placing it upon her head.
"Flavia, pleasant evening," the elf spoke passively. "The forest is prettiest this part of the day, and you're here just in time."
She turned around to face her guest, eyes aimed at the ground. This would be the first time an outlander witnessed the visage of her face, but such things bore no importance currently. She bent over slightly, picking up the carcass with her free hand and tossing it onto the altar with considerable force.
"Thank you, but no more interruptions. Sacred work requires sacred silence, and I dare you to break it."
Assuni's speech was softer than usual, but she still wasn't planning on taking anything from the harpy queen. Hopefully, she would know best herself to not interrupt in the presence of the spirits. Correct or not, the elf grasped her axe within both hands firmly, bringing it down upon the calf leg with the distinct flare of an executioner. As blood began cascading down the altar, painting flowers red, the last Anticipation sliced her own palm upon the blade, letting a green liquid drip onto the crown on her head. Using her other palm, dropping the axe gently, she scooped up a handful of sand-like powder, before blowing it into the air above her.
"Anticipated spirits, Hadia stands in front of you, in spite of her sin."
Assuni held her head up high, collecting her breathing.
"Our oppressors weaken themselves by the minute, and I stand to atone for the incesticide I've committed."
Then came a pause, the tugging at thoughts.
"But, I cannot continue without the guidance you used to offer. A crossroads lies in front of me, for the good of the people that you've wrought, lay waste to the path incorrect."
"I beg, not for my heart, but from the hearts of those who suffer. Segvac, Elivoth, Zirdo, Assuni, Anruvo."
"Deliver us!"

The minister rest thenar into thenar, middle phalanx into middle phalanx, bone dust whirring in the air, awaiting an answer.