Fantasy Saga of the Seven Sins - The Second Cycle

[WarDragon]

Viktor's eyebrow remains raised. "No need to bother, Darian. I know most of them myself; two of the names on here are working for me, in point of fact. It really is astounding we haven't encountered one another before, come to think of it."


"I will gladly accept your aid, Master Sergeant, should it be needed in the matter of dealing with Marlon Trasti. I absolutely promise you that he will not be influencing trade again... nor much of anything else, when I am finished with him. However, I should warn you that at least one of your employers may look less kindly on me afterwards."

Spoiler

Sounds good, Rykon. I'm a bit unclear on how you phrased something though; is Rankar Iblan the mercenary commander under the Despot, or are you the mercenary commander under Despot Rankar Iblan? Because Rankar VII is the Despot's name in canon. If you meant the former, we can assume it's a relative of his.


And Opal, dear? You're bonded to something new in Creation.

 

[Random Word]

Opal's grin widens and she immediately slips off the edge of the rooftop, catching the edge with one hand and swinging behind a massive pennant bearing the seal of the Despot which descends almost all the way to the seating below. Grabbing the outer edge of the pennant and bracing her feet against the wall behind she runs down the vertical surface giggling, wind whipping her hair. As she nears the bottom of the pennant she pulls on it with all her might, wrapping it around her waist in midair like an aerialist's silk to unwind and drop quietly into the shadows.


As she steps out into the aisle she subtly alters her appearance and wardrobe, adopting the curious combination high topped boot and Legion sandal currently in fashion amongst travelling Dynasts in the South, sheer open robe and veil with billowing sleeves both weighted with curtains of gemstone beads, and long dress of Realm cotton with the Mon of House Ragara woven above the breast. She looked every bit the young heiress trying ever so slightly too hard to fit in on her first trip from the Blessed Isle. She suffuses her skin with essence, ensuring her every angle flattering, every gesture alluring, every effortless step leaving her poised to perfectly catch the brilliant southern sun on her golden-red hair. She blows a kiss to Viktor and Darian, noting the newcomer, before she steps into view of the box containing the two Terrestrials. She bites the corner of her lip, her brows knit slightly, one hand grasps the opposite elbow, one foot hangs just above the ground uncertainly, her body undecided whether to stride boldly forward or retreat within itself. She projects a cracked veneer of power and confidence belying vulnerability and confusion, clearly lost and in need of rescue.

Spoiler

Activating Instinctive Appearance Unity for 12m 1wp and Perfect Symmetry for 4m. Opal now effectively has Appearance 12, and ignores the maximum bonus/penalty for Appearance difference. Against an average Appearance of 2, she confers -10 MDV to them and +10 MDV to herself.


[dice]6608[/dice]

 

[Rykon]

Maxton lets out a deep chuckle, "My employers failure to specify means is their own problem. Besides, I have no lack of paying customers or productive work even without those two. Given my understanding of the circumstances, however, I am curious to see just how you plan on dismantling this little enterprise of Marlon's."

Spoiler

I'll change the name of the contact. I merely meant to indicate a military official.

 

[WarDragon]

"Yes... if my plans go as I expect, I could very likely find work for you myself, and my pockets, as such things go, are rather deep. As for Marlon... well, I could tell you, but you make it sound as if that would be spoiling the surprise."

 

[Rykon]

"No no. No spoilers for now." Maxton replied with a smile. "Though now that you mention it, getting a patron for some manufacturing work would be a nice change. Up until now, I haven't had much time to prepare more advanced arms for my troops."

 

[Seeker of the End]

Almost every single man in the stadium is downright staring at Opal right now, along with a few women as well. As Opal enters the box, a drunk man tries to sneak a grope upon the goddess of flesh that has manifested before him. The fire-aspect takes a glance before she turn back to talk to her green-haired companion. Said green-haired woman looks at Opal for a second before dismissing her presence.


"Are you sure this was a good idea to send him out into the tournament? I almost feel sorry for the mortals he's going to face. They don't stand a chance." the fire aspect remarked. Her companion shook her head.


"He wanted to test his skills without heavy use of his charms and that blade of his. He hates relying on either of them too much. Besides, there will be a higher chance that our target will approach him directly."


"Are you sure this plan will work, Sudou?" the fire-aspect asked, "If it's anything like Lux-."


"That was only a one time thing. There won't be anything like that," the green haired woman, Sudou you presume, stated. She smirked, "Besides, don't you want to see Siris in action, Lotus? His skill with a blade is something that even I had trouble believing."


The fire-aspect, Lotus, scoffed, "I've seen enough of it for a while. But I wish the matches would start already... It's getting very boring."

Spoiler

Opal, roll Int+Lore for memory check.

 

[Random Word]

Well, that didn't go quite as planned, but who am I to gainsay their lack of subtlety? She comes up short, her hand flying to her mouth, mortified that she's accidentally intruded on a space reserved for Princes of the Earth. With her remaining hand she idly grabs and twists one finger of the groper as her mind races, recording all the names and facts being freely tossed out to anyone listening and cross referencing with nearly three centuries of experience and an education which would stagger the most learned sages of the age. A seemingly endless stream of Essence-quickened insights flash across her mind to be discarded or pursued. When they tell everyone exactly who they are, it takes all the fun out of trying to gain their confidence, she reflects. I should encourage Viktor to be more circumspect. We're being terribly unsporting to our enemies.





"Oh, I'm so sorry," she exclaims, "This isn't - Oh! Have we met...?" she trails off, examining every facet of Lotus' face, searching for her Mon to identify her Great House and mentally tracing its genealogy to place her branch of the family and thus which events Opal could plausibly claim to have attended together. If she displays no Mon, Opal instead searches her mental index of the entire roll of the Dragonblooded host for names containing Lotus, trying to match her by her facial features to her likely parents or children and thus narrow down her identity, all in the hopes that she isn't a lost egg.

Spoiler

Spending the last of my Personal motes on:


1m Counting the Elephant's Wrinkles (Perfect recall)


6m 1st Intelligence Excellency


[dice]6631[/dice]


I doubt specialties in either Sidereals or the Usurpation would help, but if for some odd reason they do then tell me and I'll roll those.


[dice]6632[/dice]

 

[Seeker of the End]

Sudou frowns and gives you an appraising look, "No. I do not think either of us have met you." Lotus shrugs, "Nope. I haven't seen her before in my life."


Opal's initial search for Sudou and Lotus come up dry, it is probably because Lotus is in fact a lost egg or that they are both using aliases. But references to Siris, on the other hand, comes up with an extremely large amount of information thanks to Opal's own knowledge as a Lunar.


Siris is a powerful Full-Moon Lunar equal if not downright stronger than Opal herself, but he barely keeps in contact with the Silver Pact. The exact details surrounding his Exaltation are vague and unknown, all that is known is that the two brotherhoods of Dragon-blooded that were sent after him when he first Exalted were completely and utterly slaughtered. During events of his Exaltation, he obtained a very powerful daiklave which allowed him to absorb the combat skills and charms of those the blade has slain. There are rumors that several powerful solar charms have been stored into the blade, allowing Siris to easily become a very powerful warrior.

Spoiler

Opal, you can roll using your usurpation specialty.


 
From Opal's vast bank of knowledge about the Usurpation there appears to be a very... interesting parallel with Sudou. Although the records may have been faulty, as they were recorded long ago and much of it was lost, Opal does recall an extremely interesting piece of information taken directly from her studies under Raksi. There was one particular Dragon-Blooded who was instrumental in leading the Terrestrial Host to slaughter the Solar Exalted during Calibration during the First Age.


The leader was a Wood-Aspect Terrestrial who wielded a weapon with many forms. Said Terrestrial personally struck down the most powerful of the Solars gathered there and fueled most of the Usurpation. But after the Usurpation was complete, the Terrestrial vanished completely. The name of that Terrestrial, the name that Raksi absolutely despised and hated, was Irina Sudou.

 

[Random Word]

Opal's mind momentarily grinds to a halt while it attempts to come to grips with the immensity of the conclusion it has drawn. She pales and her eyes widen ever so slightly, emotions warring inside her. Could she really have butchered the Solar host? Why would she still be using the same name after so long? No, it must be a coincidence. A relation? The secrets she might know if it were true! Her fingers twitch involuntarily and her eyes shine with excitement. What if it is her? She killed Viktor. If I try to look at her memories and fail she'll probably kill me. Trepidation flickers across her face for an instant. Worth it.





She smiles warmly, shaking her head at her foolishness. "I'm sorry, for a moment I thought you were Cathak Yumina. Where are my manners? My name is Ragara Callisto, I was separated from my retainers in the press outside and I can't seem to find my box. I hate to impose upon you, but could I sit here? I don't want to miss anything, with the matches about to begin - I met a martial arts guru who claims his mortal students can defeat Immaculate Monks!" she gushes, breathlessly, allowing her genuine excitement to show through.

Spoiler

Spending 4m earned on 1st Manipulation Excellency. Instilling friendly good will and looking to start a positive Intimacy. Against their MDV of choice, with Appearance penalty as appropriate.


[dice]6642[/dice]

 

[WarDragon]

"No no. No spoilers for now." Maxton replied with a smile. "Though now that you mention it, getting a patron for some manufacturing work would be a nice change. Up until now, I haven't had much time to prepare more advanced arms for my troops."

"Very well... oh, you are a smith as well? Yes, assuming this little venture works out, I can see a great deal of business for you in the future. I don't suppose you might even be interested in something of a more... permanent nature, perhaps?"


Viktor smiles and tucks the note into his coat's inside pocket. Yes, he did see the part about destroying it, but one never gives up potential blackmail material that easily. He notices all eyes being magnetically drawn to a certain apparent young ingenue, near the startlingly powerful Dragon-Blood and his companion. "Ah, that must be Opal... I do love to watch her work."

 

[Seeker of the End]

Sudou and Lotus look at each other for a moment before Lotus smiles, "Go right ahead. You seem like a decent person." Sudou shrugs non-committedly. She appears to not care either way.


"I guess we should introduce ourselves, I'm Vermilion Lotus and miss grumpy over here is Nemesis Sudou," Lotus smiles. "You might want to get seated fast, the match is about to start soon."

 

[Random Word]

"It is an honour to meet you. Your generosity exceeds even your exalted station," recites Opal quickly, head bowing briefly, hands clasped, before taking her seat. She sits with her legs beside her on the plush cushions and strains to make herself as tall as possible, as if by the effort of trying to obtain the best possible view she might cause the match to spring into view. "Nemesis? What an unusual name. Did your family's astrologer portend some unusually adversarial fate for you?" As if suddenly realizing she may have caused offence Opal stammers out an apology, "Oh, I'm sorry. That's probably personal."


She continues to make small talk, mostly with Vermillion Lotus, until the matches begin, at which point she follows with rapt attention and cheers wildly and enthusiastically for whoever strikes her fancy. As one of her chosen warriors wins a bout she leaps to her feet, hand nearly brushing Nemesis Sudou's temple as her arms fly above her head. It's a long shot, but she couldn't live with herself if she didn't try. She reaches for the memory of the night of the Usurpation, involuntarily holding her breath as she does so, her entire world focused on the single act of teasing forth such a monumental find - or, perhaps more likely, nothing at all.

Spoiler

Pilfering memory as described, 4m personal regained into 1st Wits Excellency.


Larceny (6) + Wits (10) + Artefact (6) + Stunt (2) = 24 vs MDV, also acting as Difficulty for detecting the attempt.


[dice]6683[/dice]

 

[Seeker of the End]

Nemsis frowns, "You.. could say that." Lotus quickly makes the silent motions to 'drop it' before Opal herself apologizes.


Nemesis gives you a wary glance before sighing, "What is done is done. All of my family members are dead. I don't really care either way."


Opal's attempt to take the memory of the Usurpation is largely successful, but the memory strand is very unusual. It is... corrupted for the lack of a better term, and it burns with an faint emerald light that only you can see that eats away at the strand.

Spoiler

The memory is highly corrupted, and only bits and pieces are visible. You can only get a few words, phrases, and images from it.


A G̶̛̰̠̦͚̞̜͙̩̹̘̼͓̯̣͈͕̟͠͡ͅͅơ̷̴̷͏̘̞͔̺̯̰̼͕͈̹̣͙̭̗̮ͅl̛̺̘̗̜͉͙͕̙̯̰̱̦͔̙̬͟͜͜͝ͅḑ̺͇̲̤̩̥̯̻͚͎̩͓͈̬̭̻͢ͅe̷̶̟̣̖̲͓̖̪̻̮͔̙̙̯͖n̴̮̣̩͕͘ ̛̹͔͈̭͓͖̤̹̝͍͔͉̕͝ͅK͝͝͏͢҉̣̗̥͚̪͕͙̜̹̹̤̼̥̗̤̗e̸̴̶͕͚̳͖̣͎̤̗̱̰͙̯͙̜̭͚̕͟y̛̟͖͔̻̱͍͕͈̱ inserted in a small black box.


Two people underneath a strange tree with falling pink petals.


Blood, death, and T̲̖̣̭̪̯̥͕̙̠̳̱̭̬͚̭̽̅̀̚̕h̵̢̘͇̣̺̙̰̥̺̫̜͙̞͚̙̗̼̃̄͑͊̃͂̏̾̄ͧ͗ͯ̌͒͗̓͆͢ȩ̸̷̷̻̻̜͓̦̪̱̪͍͉̯̻̬͕̫̫̘͍̌ͮ̐̆̍̅̎ͅ ͊ͯ̇̈́̊̄͋͒ͫ̎͂͛́ͧ͛̂̉͂ͤ͏̢̞̯̖̹̻͖̯̻ͅH̵̯̼̣̟̳̪̯͕͓̼̟̹̤̪̺̓̌́̐͂͡ę̢̤͓͚̼̦̫͖̼̘͓͉̱̟͚̼̣̱̿ͧ̌͐͂͢͡͠l̡̗͕̰̯͚̺̲̳ͪͧ̋ͮ̀͒͑̉̑̂ͬ̄ͧ̊̃͆͘̕͜l͐̂̆ͮ͋ͤͩ͂͗̃͜͏̴͈̮̙̭̱̤̮̲́͢i̴̷̧̡̮̻̦͓͉̥̹̺͕̤͚̰̫̖̫͌̋̍̈́́̊ͫ͗̉̐̒̆̄ͥ̂̔̃͛͟s̷̢̨͍͉̹͖̖̮̣͚̳̞͎͉̭̟̞̮̻̀̄͊͌̈̉͒ͬ͡ͅḩ̸̢̡̫̝̣̻̮̞̬͕̖͉̝̲̫̙͑ͣ͐̒̀͑̈̏̈́̎ͧ͝ ̴̧̤͈͙̜̬̭̼̱͇͉̰̦̗͈ͩͪ̑́̈́ͦ͒̚͘Y̧̡̫̥̹͕͉͙͓̪̲̠͛̃ͯ̓̃̊̚͘͡a̷͉͙̣̩͍̟̭̬̞̱̲̖͈͙ͤ́ͪ̑̑̿̏͑ͥ̚̚͝r̢͚͖̮̗͙͉̟̟̝͎̳̯͛̉̓̓ͨ͆̔ͨͤ̊̊̆̉̌̒̈̀́̀̚̚̚͘ď̢̡̛̻͔̱̪͑ͫ͐ͭͬ̒̔ͣ̾̑ͭ̌͌ͫ̉̚͞


A loud noise, like a thunderclap.


C̨͔̥̮͓͕̩͍̬̞̳̱̘̠͍̝̳͂̈́ͪ̉͛ͦͩ̐͐ͥ̓͆̆ͧ̂̂̆́͘͟ôͣ͌ͩ̄̑̄ͪ́̀̚͡҉̸̲͓̫̱̥̩̙̬͓n̰̙̠̱̣̪̙͗ͥ̔̓̋͘͡ţ̸̠̰̬̗͕̼̗̱͚͖͓̘͇̭̞͓̳̲͗͊̄̅ͩͬͨ͋͒̀̉ͮ̾ͭ͗̉͐̔́͘͝r̈̃ͦ̔̑ͬ̈̈ͦͤ͂͑̇ͯ͞͏̵͖͖͕̮͚̪̬̺̬̮͓̤̹͇͔͘a̝̫̯̪̯͔͕͍͇͋͋́͋ͩ͛͌ͦ̃ͬ͡cͦ̽̅͒̑̌̊ͧ̈̽͐҉̶̣͕̤̝̻͎̹͕̬̞̮̤͎͉̦̻̱͕͠t̡̢̢̥̫̫͍̜̬ͮͫ́ͮ̆͑̂ͪ́̌͆̏ͮ͗͊́̐̉̚͡.̴̸̳̗̯̣̜̱̝̹̦̤̹͇̥̺̂̂̎̽ͧ͛̍ͅ ̇̐̈́͗̒̽͋ͪ̃ͤ̈̄̾̀̍͏̸̷̳̰͇̤͓͚͚̫̟͝ͅV̨̘̙̮͇͇̭̮͇͉̺͔͇̫̻͓̘̮̙̒̀̉̏͋͒͗ͬͬ̾̈͌̄͒͋̐͂͘e̸̛̲͎̲̼̤͉̘̩̹̜͕̟͇͕̬͈ͨ͛ͮ̔̆̃͊̄ͫͫ̓̂̅͐͘͢ͅͅş̢̼̰̪̹̜̳̮͊̊ͥ͒̀ͭ̎ͥͬ̏ͧ̽̌͟͞s̑̓̉̇̓͂͋͒̋́͆ͩ̂̂ͦ̎ͩ̌҉̟̰̼̘̗̩͎̟͚͍͍̥͖̥̲͟ȩ̴͚͇̼̺̻ͥ̍͑̿̄͒͘͢l̵͖̻̳ͦ̍̎̃̈́ͨ͆ͥ͗̌ͧͮ̍̾ͫͦ̕͞ͅ ̷̶̨̧̦͈͙̝͈͋͋͛ͯͭ͊̀̎͂ͥͯ̂ö̸̵̶̢͉̬͉̺̯̱̙͇̝͚̫̺̤͍̽̈́̾ͣ̑ͮ̅ͧ̄ͧͅf̨̙͈̖̥̠͖̙̟̓ͫ͛̐ͬ̏̇ͯ̂̑ͥ̐̿͂͜͝ͅ ̎ͨ̿̾́̕͏̭̻͙̥̭͔̳̯͠I̡̺͙͉̗̺̼̻̖͉͔̖͎͎̻͈̒͆ͫ̉͂̓ͧͬͨ̏͂͊ͦ̑ͫ̀́͜ͅͅr̨̛͖͎̼̹̙̣̭̞̞̫͙̫͕̒̔̓̊̊ͦ́̚a̵̢̩̱͉̣ͩ̉̀͛̍̅̀ͫ͗̎̒͋͂ͬ͌̑ͦ͟͢͡.̢̃̔̍̎ͮ͆ͪ̾ͧ̑̚҉̲̖̱͔̼̤͈̯̬ ̵̺͚͉͖̦̠̥̘̅͛̎̾̃̇̒̀͢Ṡ̷̢̡̜̞͉̬̗͇̩͔͚͎̝̺̻̬͓͌̏͊ͧͪͭ̈ͪͪͣ͡ͅi̴̡̙̰̳͕̪̪͙̳͔ͥ̉̈́̎̉̐ͦͨͮ̾̚ͅn̴̶̫̣̪͖̋̄̈́̅̇̊ͥ̐̈̄ͥ̄̎̈́́n͒ͧ͒̌ͨ͂ͫ͒́͟͏͓̥̱̹̘̼̤̱͉̣͇̞̤̻͈ͅȩ̴̶͙̭͎̤̦͗ͩͣ̀͒̉͜r̽̅̇ͣ̄ͫ̓̓̈́̒ͮ̉ͧ̿̀̀͝͏̖͈̠͇̤̬̞̩̹̰͉̥̫̳̼͎͇̦ͅ


Revenge, rage, hatred. W̡̡̟̬̳͇͇̩͉͇͕̉̈́̀̉͌̀̋̈̉́Ṛ̸̣͓͕̤̺͍̽̆͒̄ͥ̉͆ͯͤ̊͆̾̏ͥ̆ͫ̕͞À̍ͥ͌̇̑̒̂ͧͮͣ̌̎͑̚҉̸̨̢̝̥̠̩̲͙̹T̵̢̺͚̳͇̹̪̟̻̞̜̩̟̜͔̟ͤ͌̔̈̽͂̆͗ͥ̈ͤ̄͟͜͠H̡̹̪͚̹̓̄̍ͤ̐ͬ


Countless Solars burning in a green fire that is not a fire


A procelain mask, sniper. Revenge


P̑͊̂̆̂͊͋́̎͒̂̔͋͆̀ͧ̾̕u̾̓͐̅̄̓̽ͣ̆͂̃͒̐͏͝ņ̴̉ͦ̃̒ͫ͒̊̆͋͝͞i̢͛͋̽ͪ͛̈ͫͤͧ͌ͭ͂̾̑̚s̢͑ͧ̋̐͊ͫ̍ͧ̍͝҉̛̛h̛ͧ̆̇̂ͮ͟҉͘m̎̀̋ͨ͐ͬ͐ͩ̐̿̒҉̶e̴̛̾͐̉͡n̽̋̓̑̽ͦ͐͌҉̢́͢͠t̛ͣͪͮ͛̎͊̍ͦ͗ͮ̎̂͋͜


 
By the time the Opal snaps out of the vision, the next match has begun. A warrior in dull silver armor, a mundane but strong sword and shield in hand, faces off with a much larger man bearing an a large two-handed axe. The two fighters take a ready position before the fight begins. The fighting style of the sword user seems familiar yet different, almost as if-


"Come on Siris! Kick his butt!" Lotus shouts exuberantly, answering your question for you. She seems a bit... childish but Opal's mastery of the social arts knows that the cheerful act is just a facade.


The axe-user brings down his weapon upon the armored Lunar only for the knight to flow like moonsilver, effortlessly redirecting his opponent's downward strike. A horizontal strike by the axe-user is also parried effortlessly by the shield, although a sizable dent was made in the mundane metal. Now that his opponent is open the sword knight, which you definitely know is Siris, counters bashing his opponent's head in with his shield, stunning the other fighter before the Lunar deftly disarms his larger opponent. A sweep of his blade and his opponent is brought to his knees before the blade's razor edge presses lightly against opponent's throat.


"Yield." Siris stated coldly. The larger fighter growls in rage before he begrudgingly nods. Siris sheaths his blade before helping the other fighter up. With that done he begins to walk away.


"Like hell you're leaving, you maggot." the other warrior growls before he attempts to swing his axe at Siris once again while his back is turned. Nemesis scoffs, more annoyed than amused.


"Idiot."


Siris deftly sidesteps the blow before his borrowed blade flashes from its sheath as cold steel bites deeply into the axe-user's own hands and into the bones of his arm. Siris takes the dropped axe and promptly decapitates the larger man with his own weapon. There is a fountain of blood from the stump that was the man's neck before his body falls on the ground. The crowd is stunned silent, before there is a roar of applause and cheering.


"I don't give second chances," Siris said before he moved back into the underground portion of the stadium.

 

[Random Word]

Opal falls heavily into her seat, struggling to piece together the broken fragments of the most momentous find of a long and illustrious career researching the Usurpation. It worked. Luna, it worked! Her elation quickly gives way to terror as her blood freezes in her veins and her hairs stand on end, but even as her body prepares to flee her mind stubbornly continues to attempt to unravel the mystery. A vessel? Is she an Akuma? No, if the Yozis orchestrated the Usurpation, surely they would have let it slip to their Green Sun Princes. I think. The weapon? Perhaps it remembers, and has been handed down through generations? It might explain the fragmentary nature of the memories. They'll have noticed my change in manner, I need to come up with something to cover this. Oh, of course. Siris. Here's hoping Saif is right behind them if I've misjudged this.





Opal gasps and covers her mouth as Siris flows out of the way of the incoming axe. "Your friend needs to be more careful," she hisses. "This may be the far reaches of the Threshold, but if there were even a single monk in the audience... without even an assumed name... I never thought I'd see another," she blushes, and her eyes, while remaining locked on Siris, seem distant, lost in some happy memory, "And live, anyway."

 

[WarDragon]

Viktor watches the match between the Lunar and the axe-wielding mortal without excitement; the outcome was not remotely in doubt, after all. When the barbarian snatches up his axe and tries to attack the victorious swordsman after yielding, Viktor scowls, letting out a contemptuous snort at his death.


"What magnitude of imbecile must that brute have been? The judges would have killed him for such an ignoble stunt, even if the Lunar hadn't. I only hope he did not have a chance to breed first; such stupidity should not be perpetuated."

 

[Seeker of the End]

A few minutes later, Viktor receives a notification that Marlon is making his move. He's currently heading directly towards this coliseum as he speaks. He should be arriving in a few minutes, should you choose to wait for him where you were.

 

[WarDragon]

He allows himself only a small smile and a nod at the news. Inside though, Viktor is jubilant. Yes. At last, the time is at hand!


He rises from his seat and starts walking, gesturing for his minions to follow. "It's time. We will intercept Marlon at the entrance to his private box. Captain Karal , Sir Maxton, and I will wait just inside; Darian, if you wish to join us, you are most welcome."


"You three," he says, gesturing to the still incorporeal demons, "wait until Trasti and his retinue have seen us, then materialize behind them to cut off escape. Ember, take half the troops and find a hiding spot, be ready to aid us if needed. Marlon is mine."

 

[Seeker of the End]

Lotus is caught off-guard by Opal's remark, before frowning, "So you're like him as well? And hands off, Siris is mine."


Nemesis looks simply bored while scanning the crowd around them. The tournament doesn't seem to be particularly interesting to her and after a while, she excuses herself from the discussion. "I'm going to get something to eat. Lotus, don't go burning down the entire stadium because of a petty romantic dispute." With those cold yet bemused words she exits the box and vanishes into the crowd of people.


In the meanwhile, it appears that Marlon is getting closer before he begins to approach Viktor's position. He appears to have a rather strange retinue of guards accompanying him. Black essence of the Neverborn cling to their frames, denoting them as Abyssals. There are three of them total. One is dressed in black plate armor, another is a young girl with pale skin in rags, and the third is a young boy with black robes and a black visor.

Spoiler

 

[WarDragon]

"Deathknights," Viktor mutters with disdain. "Overreaching himself even more than I thought." He examines Marlon's guards, getting a better notion of just how much more difficult this is going to be.

Spoiler

Essence sight still up, 4 sux on Perception + Occult.


[dice]6830[/dice]

 

[Random Word]

Opal returns Lotus' frown, perplexed, "Like him? I don't - oh!" Her eyes go wide, in shock, "No! I'm not... I'm just me. I would never dream of -" she comes up short, blushing even more furiously. "Well, not again, anyway. I met one once, that's all."


Out of the corner of her eye Opal sees Viktor and his entourage rise, and she feigns turning away from Lotus in embarrassment to get a better view. She bites down on her tongue hard to choke back a scream of horror as Marlon strides into the stands accompanied by not one but three Abyssals. "Dark Anathema!" she gasps, the shock and terror apparent on her face genuine for once as her eyes involuntarily fixate on Viktor. "The crowd! Everyone will die if someone doesn't get them out of here!" Fuck, fuck, fuck, I'm too far away. I can't be the one to bring their attention down on him. Distract them? Evacuate?

 

[Seeker of the End]

Lotus' grin vanishes instantly before she shushes Opal, "Do you want everyone in the stadium to panic and trample each other to death?" Her carefree persona has completely vanished, revealing the experience and power that belies her original attitude.


"What we need to do is to draw them away from the stadium and into the roads. Too much collateral damage here. Dammit, where is Nemesis?"


Viktor on the other hand is able to analyze the Essence signatures of the three Abyssals. The knight is Essence 6 and the boy appears to be Essence 5. The girl, on the other hand is Essence 4. The visor that the boy wears appears to be an ominous artifact capable of channeling the destructive energies of the void into its target, a deadly weapon.

 

[Sherwood]

Darian nods. "A battle between us and them will be devastating if we are not careful. But I cannot help but wonder how well they would fare against my skills." She give off a dangerous smile as her hands go to her belt.

 

[WarDragon]

He nods grimly. "Take the young one out first, and put him down hard. The visor he wears is a weapon that could destroy anything he can see. Armored one is the most powerful, female the weakest. If you have any charms you can invoke without alerting them, now would be the time... my own are rather un-subtle."

 

[Sherwood]

She murmurs, "I understand. I will deal with him."

Spoiler

Spending 5m on Optimistic Security Practice,


2m on Into Infinite Depths on the younger one, to evaluate what combat skills he has. The character immediately gains the following knowledge about one individual: what manner of being the target is (Solar Exalt, god, raksha, etc), which martial arts styles he knows at least one Charm from, which martial arts styles he knows up to the Form-type Charm, which martial arts styles he has mastered, whether he has any Intimacies toward the martial artist, and the nature of those Intimacies, if they exist.


Personal: 22 / 15


Peripheral: 56


Familiar Link: 10


Willpower: 10

 

[Seeker of the End]

Darian manages to get a few readings off of the younger male abyssal. The exalt is an Abyssal Exalt of the Day Caste. He is a master of two martial arts Styles: The Violet Bier of Sorrows and an unknown style: Fate-Slaying Oblivion Edge. No intimacies exist between Darian and the Abyssal.