Fantasy Hunter's Moon: The Sin & Sentence [IC] [CLOSED]

[Doomevil]

Senya looked over to Venextos who occupied himself with Takato. His aura wasn't unlike all the others, it reminded her of the Ashstone mages she talked with when she was training. A mage by the name of Patel always went about how magic is a dangerous yet necessary art. With time and practice, a caster should be confident in his or her abilities. In theory. Now they were in the age of factories and empires, with alchemy being the surviving offshoot of magic. The Red Wardens in its early years tried to recruit regular humans for contracts, only to experience hotshots and freelancers getting killed by the average vampire and werebeast. Even human serial killers had an easy time with them. It left such a sour impression that the mages needed to figure out how they can enhance the human body to go beyond their limits. They resorted to questionable methods, to put it lightly.

She entered training in the Stronghold, subject to a series of courses revolving around sorcery and combat. Later on, she fought other trainees the same as her from various backgrounds. Satisfied by her performance, the senior members allowed her to undergo magic alterations. The experiment took months, involving harsher combat scenarios and greater commitment. As a result, the body became more durable, not as strong as a werebeast or faster than a vampire, but stronger nevertheless. Outfitted with a specialization in magic and tools of the trade a Red Warden is on his own from here on. As long as they pay their debts to their temple, it was their home forever.

Senya raised an eyebrow, curious at the mysterious sorcerer, mage, whatever he was. He talked about the greater good and how he paid a good price just to be here. Why is he here? She made sure to catch Loque later, heading towards Takato and Vexnetos.

"Forgive my intrusion, but I noticed you mentioned you lost a pupil. Are you a mage by the sort?" She stared at the outfit he was wearing. Hood in particular.

 

[Viper Actual]

Seriphine was one of the last to step ashore. She had spent most of the trip studying the others in silence.

When yet another argument ensued she sighed and rolled her eyes. Did these fools have nothing better to do but bicker endlessly? What was the point?

Her ears twitched when Gwen and Henderson spoke of her. With a slight smirk she glanced at Henderson. "Are you uncomfortable?" Seriphine chuckled.

 

[joshuadim]

"Indeed I am... though not like the mages you are used to Warden." Venextos replied with a smile. "I am a Grand Magus of the Raven Court. Although that status might not be mine anymore... I had quite the unpleasant sendoff when I last met the leader of my order a few months ago."

 

[Fubuki]

This wasn't a wonderful start to the adventure. Aliana descends into the worry as the arguments start popping up as soon as they climb off the boat. The man named 'Hudson' was being particularly stubborn and zealous... He was so bloodthirsty and steeled in his convictions that whatever anyone said seemed to go through him. If he had the chance, would he kill her? She entertained the thought, imagining if dying would free her of this terrible existence. She shook her head as the others argued, "No, I can't die that easily.." She'd just end up down here, she realized.

The argument seemed to be over moral convictions, over when stealing and looting or killing is fine. She shudders at the thought. She'd resorted to stealing before, but it was out of necessity, and even then she was punished for it by her mother. Aliana didn't want to lose herself or her sense of being in her time in the Abyss, to become worse than what she already is. She's not bad, she just made a mistake, right? She's no murderer, she's just...

Riberta offered her own advice to the others, but the way she spoke of killing and stealing... Her heart sank, just that little bit, remembering just why everyone is here. She balled up her fists, wanting to say something but the bravery left her soul in that moment. Aliana was taught in blacks and whites, only to see absolute good and absolute evil in things. This kind of thinking would get her laughed at, so she kept her mouth shut. "She's just a dumb kid," she chastised herself "My voice is worth naught."

She looks up at Riberta, who takes her hand and guides her away from the group to another man. His name was Vincent, she'd learned. If Riberta could trust him, she could too, hopefully. She looked into her palm, gazing into the amulet to calm herself, before noticing a thin crack stretching diagonally across the purple jewel. A look of shock adorns her face. Was she holding it too hard? Her only connection to her parents, and its starting to waver. It must have cracked as soon as she stepped on the mainland.. She can't lose this amulet, it controls her! It keeps her sane, it reminds her of her past, reminding her of her failure so it could deter it!

Aliana heard a voice inside herself, telling her throw it away and become more than what she is, to turn and slaughter whoever gets in her way. She grits her teeth, holding Riberta's hand tighter. Her head tilts down, as she calls upon whatever strength she has left to control herself. The impulse inside her tells her to turn, to embrace the wrath she so enthusiastically refuses. Never again. She feels a familiar heat inside of her swell, calling for her once more to bathe in the blood of the weak. Never again.

"Never again.." Aliana says to herself, fighting back against her own mind. Riberta is here, Vincent is here, Jakob too, and Vene...Venext... Yes, the very kindly man who helped her before she entered this place. She still cannot pronounce his name very well..

 

[Breadman]

"So as it turns out the plan would be ineffective for our goals currently." Henderson looked to Loque after she explained the situation in the Abyss as clear as she could. "I had suspected that the brain trust in the group hadn't considered all the details, but now it was obvious. Thank you for your insight madame...Loque was it?"

Are you uncomfortable?

"If I was, you wouldn't be so smug." He didn't even bother looking at Seriphine. "I also prefer a nice candlelit diner before anything of that sort."

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

"Yes. Loque." She takes another puff. "For now, I suggest we do what we were sent here to do. Find the bitch and the two relics, as well as put down that priest Tariun is frustrated with... And, brain trust? Why, Mr. Henderson there's not enough brains here for me to feast on!"

 

[Viper Actual]

Seriphine scoffed as her smirk faded. "That's far from what I had in mind, brute." She narrowed her eyes. Realizing that he was perhaps more intelligent than appearances showed, Seriphine decided to investigate about her legacy. "Tell me, have you ever heard of the Ironwind Huntmastress?"

 

[SniperComZero]

Gwenaelle sighed with vigour. "...Perhaps you're right. Our little outfit has a couple too many problems to be thinking of these, grand ideas." She learned at least a little over the past year of how to not extend oneself. Gwen looked over to Hudson. "Especially with people like sour-puss over there, mm?" She shook her head, before looking over to the group's resident warlords. Uloth, if seemingly dull, at least came off as dependable. Riberta and Inari, perhaps they could be too, but she'd heard little of the former, and the latter seemed far too erratic to be relied on. Inevitably, however, it was her own kin that she trusted the least. Seriphine's silence on the journey, and the scrying looks she gave to everyone with nary a word made her, if not inherently suspicious, then at the least, not trusting in the slightest. Gwen just shrugged, however. It'd be best to not make more enemies by bringing it up.

"Not that we shouldn't start learning a bit about the culture and politicking here! I imagine it would serve us far better than to mill around these lands like a common bandit party. And..." She finally turned her gaze to Loque. Though she didn't want to show it, she did have some genuine concerns, and the constant doom and gloom of the demon wasn't helping to quell them. "...Far as I remember, these artifacts are rather powerful, aren't they? Even if we didn't know they were possessed by one of these icons, it wouldn't be hard to infer, non? Less so that they would be quite unwilling to part with them." As she walked, she did a bit of a flourish to the side with her arm. "If you have any better ideas as to take down one of these things, then by all means, let us know." She finally turned her head away.

["...Or I fear this expedition already has the scent of fir wood."] Gwen muttered under her breath.

 

[Breadman]

"You say that, but you were busy studying me not too long ago." Henderson chuckled. Regarding her question however, he was stunned. He had no idea how the elves functioned as a society let alone their titles. Gwen appeared royal, she even smelled royal, but this one reeked of the forest. Is that title just a fancy way to say ranger? He could only give an honest answer. "I have no idea who that is."

 

[Viper Actual]

Seriphine appeared to be annoyed. She frowned and tilted her head. "Queen Ageia of the Elven Federation? The War against Men? Battle of Crimson Pass? The Taming of Hurax the Unbroken?" Surely something would ring a bell. If not...how far had she traveled in time?

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

"The little war Tariun told us about is perhaps our best opportunity at some sort of distraction. How we can use that to our advantage, I still don't know. Regardless, anything we do here should not involve any sort of direct confrontation with the icons. If we're to steal the relics, we ought to stick to the darkness."

 

[EdwardDewey98]

Jakob looked over his shoulder as the elven warlord commented on various wars she must have participated a long time ago. All lost to history it seems. "I am afraid we don't hear much about those conflicts ma'am. As far as I know, northern elves such as yourself were peaceful folks." She must have been from a very old age, probably older than most members of the mission.

 

[Dmaster]

"What's any of it matter to you? If anyone here did know how your folk turned out it will either be sad or not so pretty." Hudson called back from over his own shoulder. "Best not to ask so many questions or go searching for whatever family you got left - they're long gone."

 

[SniperComZero]

Something else did catch the royal's attention. Much as she wanted to formulate some kind of plan in order to actually fulfil this mission-- and tangentially, not leave the world, and most importantly, her homeland, in ruins, she needed to think about other things for a while. Elven history seemed like the perfect distraction. "The war against Men? Eheh. Which?"

 

[Breadman]

"Speaking as a former human." Henderson interjected "I have to ask the same question. Which one?" A slight smile formed on his face. The pompous bitch seemed to be in distress.

 

[Viper Actual]

When Jakob somehow suggested that Elves turned peaceful Seriphine audibly choked on her own words before her expression turned into a puzzled one. Peaceful? Several wars? Ignoring Hudson, Seriphine glanced between the others. "There's only one war that I remembered against Men. Elves fighting against the Three Kingdoms of Men. Battles were fought across the neutral regions. Hundreds of thousands died."

Seriphine paused. "It was glorious. Honor and glory was bestowed upon House Ironwind in great deal during the twenty years the war lasted. After that we tried to conquer the dragons. Perfect beasts for war- had they not been sentient."

 

[Breadman]

Henderson raised an eyebrow at the reveal of how out of touch this elf was. What kind of magic disaster in time was happening exactly?
"Your house sounds like it had bollocks for brains if they thought conquering the fucking dragons was the smartest thing to do after decades of war. Tsavarians did us all a favor by wiping out the northern parts."

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

"And not just with weapons either!" Loque gives out a laugh before resuming her smoking.

 

[SniperComZero]

The mention of trying to tame the dragons sent Gwen into raucous laughter. "Ah! Now I know why your kind doesn't appear so much in the history books!" She did give a look to Loque however. "But-- ah. Not just with weapons, madame?"

 

[ANIMAL MOTHER]

“Heh heh...” Whatever Loque is going to say next, she’s clearly going to enjoy telling it to Gwen and Seraphine. “There was another war waged, you know. One fought over the delicate hearts of your fellow elven maidens. You know, some of my servants claim to have elven heritage, so I guess this means...” She puffs out a cloud of smoke at the two elves. “...You lost.”

 

[SniperComZero]

It took a few moments for the words to process in the royal's head. She scratched at her chin. Were they bred out of existence? That wouldn't be possible. Sure, she might have indulged herself every now and then... constantly, but they would have too much pride... too much pride. 'Murder borne of Lust.' The words gnawed at the back of her mind. "...Murder borne of lust..." She quietly repeated the phrase to herself, as it set in.

Facing forward as she marched, Gwenaelle had no comment.

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Once they got on the path proper, Inari took the time to listen in to some of the others chime in on a variety of things, from small bickering to teasing to more polite conversations. Takato, Senya, and that wizard man Venextos seemed to be forming their own little committee. They were level-headed, certainly, and would be important allies in the venture ahead. It was pleasing to see that most recognized the importance of needing intelligence on their surroundings. Some seemed to think her words and methods stemmed from banditry, but those were simply naive remarks. If she sought nothing but wealth, then she would be a bandit. Instead, there was a great deal more that her hands desired, and being a bandit was simple child's play to a woman of her experience. Leave it to those who didn't know the full extent of war to confuse banditry with necessity. A warband didn't march as an isolated entity. It was like a shadow that touched everything in its path, and what it touched belonged to it. When the light returned, there was no telling what would be left.

The pretty elf of the bunch, Gwenaelle, spoke well enough of them needing to know about the politics of the land, and aggravating the taxes and malcontents of their enemy. She had thought the same. Perhaps her lack of understanding the common language they all spoke limited her ability to convey exactly what it was she wanted. She had several interpreters grace her presence over the years depending on where her army was marching, such as outside of the Kowa states. It was unfortunate she didn't have that luxury here. Regardless, the only one here who could possibly fathom the lengths she was willing to take - and the success it brought - was perhaps the monk, Takato. He didn't seem to like her so much, but that was typical of monks in general. Few willingly followed, and the ones that did were often the... not so thoughtful kind. The Burning of Nagamasa Temple had been a messy affair.

Inari drifted towards Gwen, sighting the elf with her pale almost blind-like eyes and wide hungry grin. "Why my friend look so sad?" She asked, having not heard much of the conversation with the other elf and Locque. Inari walked close beside Gwen. "We so alike, both pretty and smart. You speak so well earlier on war and politics, but I know so little on your past. You not warlord, but maybe diplomat? Daimyo like me, or princess?"

 

[Doomevil]

"That's unfortunate, Grand Magus." Senya looked down, wondering if there was something else to say. "In that case, it's assuring to find another mage on this contract. If you need me I'll be here." She said as she walked away from Takato and Venextos. Now she was interested in this Elves conversation some of the members had just now. Senya leaned closer, chiming in when she saw Gwenaelle and Inari talk.

"I wouldn't worry right now. We're still figuring out names and backgrounds. But if we must dwell into war and politics, we should think about securing supplies on our own for this journey. Our allies might be underestimating how much we use for ammunition and food." Senya suggested.

 

[SniperComZero]

Gwenaelle didn't seem... sad. It was more like she was haunted. Her eyes had sunken back into her head, her already pale skin was as white as the sprite that followed her around, and that's not making mention of the rather morbid frown that had found itself across the she-elf's lips. Inari'd managed to spook her, to an extent. She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that the warlord's rather shrill speak had taken her off guard. "I-- I--"

And then that rather strange knightly woman chimed in. [Thank the ancestors.] With what she had gleamed over the past year or so, the knowledge that Gwenaelle had just learned of... plus the relative scarcity of her race, had made her feel sick to her stomach. "Oh-- oh of course, yes. It's-- it's always better to... to keep our options open, isn't it?" Her voice was markedly different. Not as smugly chipper and upbeat as it had been but a few moments ago.

 

[K0mori]

Shuffling along, lost in her thoughts following the brief meditation that brought her back to full control over her curse, Anya glanced at Inari as she began to speak to Gwenaelle. Anya had thought little of the elf up to this point; situation in the distant wilderness of the north had prevented her from interacting with some of the returning races elsewhere in Adonia because, as it turned out, the vast interior of Tsavania was always sparsely populated. Now, she simply watched others interact with the elves and kept her ears open, hoping that, by the time she felt comfortable speaking to the three in the group, she wouldn't be totally ignorant of their ways.

A hint of tobacco smoke reached her nostrils, surprising her. Anya was once a smoker herself, but had been forced to kick the habit shortly after becoming a lycan due to her vagrancy. Unless she could steal it, tobacco rarely reached her lips anymore, but now it was as if she had just quit all over again. Humbly, she approached Loque, rubbing her cold hands together for warmth. "Pardon," she entreated, "you have more of those?"