Archie
Not even my final form
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Fantasy Skyworld [Steampunk]
- Thread starter Archie
- Start date
Archie
Not even my final form
Event 1: The World Fair
Aeterna is the cleanest it ever is on this day every ten years. You can almost see the sun today. The whole world is converging on the city today to see its splendor and its marvel. The year is 267 A.A., 267 years after the birth of the great inventor Aeternes, and today is the world fair.
At the Illustria Convention Center, world delegations gather in special rooms as the gigantic hall is about to be flooded as soon as the clock strikes noon by tens of thousands of people. By the end of the day, millions of Aeternans and hundreds of thousands of tourists will have cycled through the building, seeing the greatest wonders and inventions the world has produced. The fair has been lauded in the papers. They print about how the world on the brink of war is going to be brought closer together, and peace may reign at last.
However, the hall might be rocked by greater events. Thirty mages were discovered and burned to death last week in public. The Order of the Enlightened, a dangerous terrorist group aiming to end persecution of mages, have promised revenge, and security is on high alert, as the Regent of Aeterna has a lot to lose: present today is the Tribune of the Volkarine Union, his main rival, who everyone but Aeterna admits is eclipsing their power. Any attack would destroy diplomatic relations and set off a powderkeg of tensions that would erupt into global war, killing millions as happened in the Volkarine conquest of the other industrial cities ending just two decades ago. But how could a few petty fugitive mages breach the security of 10,000 elite Aeternan troops monitoring the vicinity? It’s impossible… right? As always in Aeterna, don’t worry. Everything is under control.
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Archie
Not even my final form
Aaaaand we're open
((If you think it will move along the plot, don't hesitate to move around NPCs))
In a dark room littered with gold lined red cushions, a slight and skinny boy of not mroe than seventeen years sat on teh couch, passing over his only allowed pastime in reading the censored history of his Kingdom of Aeterna. it was his Kingdom, for this was King Nymar II of the House of Aeternes, King and Lord of all the Skies.
Those titles meanings had been warped like a blacksmith in the days before industry or in the wretched giant continents, littered with backwardness, might use his muscle to pound for hours a chunk of metal into a different shape. Through such hard work by the Regents these past hundred years, "King" had come to mean something ceremonial to the everyday people, and was a term of pity and mourning. "King" was associated with standing up next to the Regent like he was the father the new ruler never had due to the mysterious deaths of his relatives, with funerals, with mystery, and with intrigue.
When the King heard knocking, he knew it was time to go... but this early? The convention had not yet started, it had to be an emergency. He hurried down the hall, flanked by running blue uniformed guards with silver boots, the Regent's regiments. Each and every one of them had powered monocles covering one of their eyes, attached to an apparatus at the back of their helmets that let them track people and see their hearts, just in case the King would make a break for iot. but they weren't looking at him: they were looking through the walls, as if an intruder had entered the upper corridors of the Convention Hall.
Nymar panted as he got to the balcony box of the foreign delegates overlooking the hall from the center. It was lowered down by a steam pump, and only accessible by the fold-down staircase that Nymar hustled down to get to the box.
There stood the Regent, Duke Rufus Mottley, in a light blue coat and gear-embellished monacles as always, radiating the pride his city had in its contraptions and passing fashions.
Next to him, flanked by black and red uniformed men, was a man in plainer and darker attire, holding his chest as if he was about to vomit. This must have been the chronically ill Volkarine Tribune Fyodor von Golchak.
Everyone was looking down, and Nymar crept next to the many guards of Regent Rufus to look over the balcony as well.
Underneath, three black cloaked young women were standing and staring upwards at the box. Even from this height, Nymar could see their eyes were hollow, black holes... they didn't have any eyes. He gasped and suppressed a scream, falling backwards and only being caught by one of Fyodor's guards, in this case, a woman. It was only a minute later that he looked back down. The three women held a sack each, and pulled three heads out. The first was the severed head of Fyodor... but he was standing right there. The second, Rufus... and the third... Nymar closed his eyes and shrunk into the lady's arms, causing her to raise an eyebrow. The third head was his.
Fyodor smirked.
"Well my lord regent. Looks like we've been checkmated"
"It's not over yet" Rufus replied, scowling and twisting his nose.
"Men!" he shouted, causing Nymar to cover his ears.
"Let in the visitors early! We'll only be saved by heroes from the crowd" he said, drawing his own pistol.
"Get the Volkarines up to their ship, the King to safe quarters in my palace!" he barked, loading the revolver.
"And you, sire?" one of the guards asked.
"If I don't die fighting these men, I'll die fighting the political opportunists who take advantage of this disaster" Rufus said with an angry smirk, cocking his cartridge as the three eye-less women dashed behind the cover of a pillar then vanished.
---
The bell rang on train station #37, leading directly to the halls of the convention center through a flight of stairs. the View was beautiful outside the station from where the trains led in. This was one of those stations in the sky, and the convention center was propped up even higher, a steel and marble monument to the glory of these Aeternans who slaughtered Ling's family.
11:45. Ling stopped to look at the clock before a hurrying man knocked him over and had him drop his bureaucrat's scrolls that disguised him as an ordinary scholar working for Da Wang.
He picked them up slowly, like a passive scholar would, but seethed with rage as this rabble rushed to see their inventions which disrupted the natural harmony of the world.
"Eleven forty five..." he mused, walking onwards. That was 15 minutes early. The world fair never opened early. The crowd was like a tidal wave, but he refused to run.
Inside, the people fanned out to all the different exhibits and the floor was clean. The box of the Regent was lowered, and he was sitting here alone with just three guards, a curious sight indeed, since Rufus never went without more protection. On the floor, guards were everywhere.
Ling parked himself near an exhibit he didn't think he'd ever see in this kind of fair. Three heads on a spike... the Volkarine tribune, King Nymar, and Regent Rufus, with a curtain behind them that rose just high enough that they weren't visible from the platform of the regent above.
Ling squinted in confusion, looking around him to see who else was gathering, and if this was a signal for something. His own operation to steal technology wasn't supposed to happen for a long time.
((If you think it will move along the plot, don't hesitate to move around NPCs))
In a dark room littered with gold lined red cushions, a slight and skinny boy of not mroe than seventeen years sat on teh couch, passing over his only allowed pastime in reading the censored history of his Kingdom of Aeterna. it was his Kingdom, for this was King Nymar II of the House of Aeternes, King and Lord of all the Skies.
Those titles meanings had been warped like a blacksmith in the days before industry or in the wretched giant continents, littered with backwardness, might use his muscle to pound for hours a chunk of metal into a different shape. Through such hard work by the Regents these past hundred years, "King" had come to mean something ceremonial to the everyday people, and was a term of pity and mourning. "King" was associated with standing up next to the Regent like he was the father the new ruler never had due to the mysterious deaths of his relatives, with funerals, with mystery, and with intrigue.
When the King heard knocking, he knew it was time to go... but this early? The convention had not yet started, it had to be an emergency. He hurried down the hall, flanked by running blue uniformed guards with silver boots, the Regent's regiments. Each and every one of them had powered monocles covering one of their eyes, attached to an apparatus at the back of their helmets that let them track people and see their hearts, just in case the King would make a break for iot. but they weren't looking at him: they were looking through the walls, as if an intruder had entered the upper corridors of the Convention Hall.
Nymar panted as he got to the balcony box of the foreign delegates overlooking the hall from the center. It was lowered down by a steam pump, and only accessible by the fold-down staircase that Nymar hustled down to get to the box.
There stood the Regent, Duke Rufus Mottley, in a light blue coat and gear-embellished monacles as always, radiating the pride his city had in its contraptions and passing fashions.
Next to him, flanked by black and red uniformed men, was a man in plainer and darker attire, holding his chest as if he was about to vomit. This must have been the chronically ill Volkarine Tribune Fyodor von Golchak.
Everyone was looking down, and Nymar crept next to the many guards of Regent Rufus to look over the balcony as well.
Underneath, three black cloaked young women were standing and staring upwards at the box. Even from this height, Nymar could see their eyes were hollow, black holes... they didn't have any eyes. He gasped and suppressed a scream, falling backwards and only being caught by one of Fyodor's guards, in this case, a woman. It was only a minute later that he looked back down. The three women held a sack each, and pulled three heads out. The first was the severed head of Fyodor... but he was standing right there. The second, Rufus... and the third... Nymar closed his eyes and shrunk into the lady's arms, causing her to raise an eyebrow. The third head was his.
Fyodor smirked.
"Well my lord regent. Looks like we've been checkmated"
"It's not over yet" Rufus replied, scowling and twisting his nose.
"Men!" he shouted, causing Nymar to cover his ears.
"Let in the visitors early! We'll only be saved by heroes from the crowd" he said, drawing his own pistol.
"Get the Volkarines up to their ship, the King to safe quarters in my palace!" he barked, loading the revolver.
"And you, sire?" one of the guards asked.
"If I don't die fighting these men, I'll die fighting the political opportunists who take advantage of this disaster" Rufus said with an angry smirk, cocking his cartridge as the three eye-less women dashed behind the cover of a pillar then vanished.
---
Su Ling
The bell rang on train station #37, leading directly to the halls of the convention center through a flight of stairs. the View was beautiful outside the station from where the trains led in. This was one of those stations in the sky, and the convention center was propped up even higher, a steel and marble monument to the glory of these Aeternans who slaughtered Ling's family.
11:45. Ling stopped to look at the clock before a hurrying man knocked him over and had him drop his bureaucrat's scrolls that disguised him as an ordinary scholar working for Da Wang.
He picked them up slowly, like a passive scholar would, but seethed with rage as this rabble rushed to see their inventions which disrupted the natural harmony of the world.
"Eleven forty five..." he mused, walking onwards. That was 15 minutes early. The world fair never opened early. The crowd was like a tidal wave, but he refused to run.
Inside, the people fanned out to all the different exhibits and the floor was clean. The box of the Regent was lowered, and he was sitting here alone with just three guards, a curious sight indeed, since Rufus never went without more protection. On the floor, guards were everywhere.
Ling parked himself near an exhibit he didn't think he'd ever see in this kind of fair. Three heads on a spike... the Volkarine tribune, King Nymar, and Regent Rufus, with a curtain behind them that rose just high enough that they weren't visible from the platform of the regent above.
Ling squinted in confusion, looking around him to see who else was gathering, and if this was a signal for something. His own operation to steal technology wasn't supposed to happen for a long time.
General Deth Glitch
Two Thousand Club
The Lord Twiynuin
Dameos was arguing with his half brother, rightful heir of the Twiynuin dynasty. His younger brother despised Dameos and indeed he had a right to, Dameos was the oldest of the two and, consequently, their father, Lord Twiynuin's, favorite. In the Drawing room some high ranking officers from Dameos' crew were playing cards and Lord Twiynuin was making their day by gambling away small fortunes that meant nothing to him. Dameos eventually walked out on his brother after a few minutes of arguing, it was about time he stopped his father throwing away his brothers riches. "Lord Twiynuin, I believe its about time you left the table, your presence is expected at the fair" He said and then added looking at his officers "If you will excuse us."
"I suppose your right Dameos, I suppose you are right." Lord Twiynuin said in response before there was a knock on the door.
Dameos looked at the time, it was about 11:50, the fair was scheduled to start in ten minutes but his father was not expected for another forty. So Dameos opened the door, saw his crew standing outside and one of his crew who was off duty was standing at the door, a petty officer stood before standing to attention. "Spit it out soldier you had best a damn good reason for disturbing me here!" he said sternly
"Yes Sir!" the soldier said, pronouncing the capitals "There looks to be trouble at the fair, it opened early and an exhibition with some toffs heads on spikes, like the King and the other ma-"
"The King is dead?! You waited till the end to tell me this?" Dameos said, about ready to strike his soldier for his insolence
"Tha-thats just it Sir, he appears to be alive, I saw him on a balcony overlooking the place, the other guy looked fine too!" The solider rambled on
"I see, go to the Aeternian and have acting captain Rhymes prepare it for an uncertain future, Go you are dismissed"
With that Dameos strode back into his fathers manor, ordered his officers to attention, told most of them to come with him and the rest to end all shore leave for all crew and send some his way. With those that were not off to issue orders he left for the fair, hand across his chest resting on the hilt of his sword. Dameos was not going to be caught by surprise, it was already apparent that forces of magic were at work, foul things he thought.
With about four officers and a further eight NCOs he rushed purposefully to the fair, six men on either side making a sort of 'V' shape but not nearly a neat, the lines to either side being ragged as each man strove to make the line straight but finding it difficult to keep pace with Dameos without breaking into a jog, certainly none of the officers wanted to be seen jogging, IN uniform no less.
As he approached the crowd parted to let him pass as he looked like a man of importance, they also allowed the officers to either side through but didn't open wide enough to allow the NCOs easy passage. It was clear to him he was the first of his crew here and, likely, the only one to respond to the situation, likely the other officers thinking it to be a little trick played by the Regent, perhaps he was to trying to garner more support, they may have thought. Regardless of why he was there and he could see the heads, the regent and even Volkarine Tribune Fyodor von Golchak. But he was still trying to see the King, perhaps that mass of guards on that balcony would lead to the Kings locale. Either way he set off to speak with the Regent, he would no doubt have a plan for all of this, that is if he didnt cause it in the first place.
Dameos was arguing with his half brother, rightful heir of the Twiynuin dynasty. His younger brother despised Dameos and indeed he had a right to, Dameos was the oldest of the two and, consequently, their father, Lord Twiynuin's, favorite. In the Drawing room some high ranking officers from Dameos' crew were playing cards and Lord Twiynuin was making their day by gambling away small fortunes that meant nothing to him. Dameos eventually walked out on his brother after a few minutes of arguing, it was about time he stopped his father throwing away his brothers riches. "Lord Twiynuin, I believe its about time you left the table, your presence is expected at the fair" He said and then added looking at his officers "If you will excuse us."
"I suppose your right Dameos, I suppose you are right." Lord Twiynuin said in response before there was a knock on the door.
Dameos looked at the time, it was about 11:50, the fair was scheduled to start in ten minutes but his father was not expected for another forty. So Dameos opened the door, saw his crew standing outside and one of his crew who was off duty was standing at the door, a petty officer stood before standing to attention. "Spit it out soldier you had best a damn good reason for disturbing me here!" he said sternly
"Yes Sir!" the soldier said, pronouncing the capitals "There looks to be trouble at the fair, it opened early and an exhibition with some toffs heads on spikes, like the King and the other ma-"
"The King is dead?! You waited till the end to tell me this?" Dameos said, about ready to strike his soldier for his insolence
"Tha-thats just it Sir, he appears to be alive, I saw him on a balcony overlooking the place, the other guy looked fine too!" The solider rambled on
"I see, go to the Aeternian and have acting captain Rhymes prepare it for an uncertain future, Go you are dismissed"
With that Dameos strode back into his fathers manor, ordered his officers to attention, told most of them to come with him and the rest to end all shore leave for all crew and send some his way. With those that were not off to issue orders he left for the fair, hand across his chest resting on the hilt of his sword. Dameos was not going to be caught by surprise, it was already apparent that forces of magic were at work, foul things he thought.
With about four officers and a further eight NCOs he rushed purposefully to the fair, six men on either side making a sort of 'V' shape but not nearly a neat, the lines to either side being ragged as each man strove to make the line straight but finding it difficult to keep pace with Dameos without breaking into a jog, certainly none of the officers wanted to be seen jogging, IN uniform no less.
As he approached the crowd parted to let him pass as he looked like a man of importance, they also allowed the officers to either side through but didn't open wide enough to allow the NCOs easy passage. It was clear to him he was the first of his crew here and, likely, the only one to respond to the situation, likely the other officers thinking it to be a little trick played by the Regent, perhaps he was to trying to garner more support, they may have thought. Regardless of why he was there and he could see the heads, the regent and even Volkarine Tribune Fyodor von Golchak. But he was still trying to see the King, perhaps that mass of guards on that balcony would lead to the Kings locale. Either way he set off to speak with the Regent, he would no doubt have a plan for all of this, that is if he didnt cause it in the first place.
minusultra
Senior Member
Juli's jog quickened as she neared the great Hall that hosted the World Fair. Her bright blue eyes scanned the skied and landed on the enormous clock tower that stood smack in the center of the fair.
11:57.
Great! Juli had planned on getting there at least 30 minutes early but now it seemed she would be about 5 minutes late. Juli broke out into a full on run, she really, really, wanted to see the gates open. The polished steel was so pretty when the gear work came to life at the stroke of noon. Juli was only five but she still remember those gates. They were like the doors to another world, opening up to high archrs and floors so shinny that you could see your reflection. If juli remembered correctly, this was the only place in all of Aeternes that was high enough that you could feel the sun. Juli just hoped her memory wasn't making this place seem better then it was. It had been ten whole years after all. Well if so this was still the perfect place for her to get new equipment and find new customers.
As Juli got closer to the fait grounds she could just make out the growing crowd. Their voices gathered together in one loud mass and Juli could just make out the uniforms of soliders. There was a lot of them. Was that normal? For the life of her Juli couldn't remember. Everyone's attention seemed to be directed skyword to the balcony above. What was going on? Was the king making a speech?!
Juli began to huff as she pushed her legs to run faster. She was going to make it on time even if it killed her. If only she haddent stayed up late the night before.
11:57.
Great! Juli had planned on getting there at least 30 minutes early but now it seemed she would be about 5 minutes late. Juli broke out into a full on run, she really, really, wanted to see the gates open. The polished steel was so pretty when the gear work came to life at the stroke of noon. Juli was only five but she still remember those gates. They were like the doors to another world, opening up to high archrs and floors so shinny that you could see your reflection. If juli remembered correctly, this was the only place in all of Aeternes that was high enough that you could feel the sun. Juli just hoped her memory wasn't making this place seem better then it was. It had been ten whole years after all. Well if so this was still the perfect place for her to get new equipment and find new customers.
As Juli got closer to the fait grounds she could just make out the growing crowd. Their voices gathered together in one loud mass and Juli could just make out the uniforms of soliders. There was a lot of them. Was that normal? For the life of her Juli couldn't remember. Everyone's attention seemed to be directed skyword to the balcony above. What was going on? Was the king making a speech?!
Juli began to huff as she pushed her legs to run faster. She was going to make it on time even if it killed her. If only she haddent stayed up late the night before.
Juway
Typical New Yorker
Prologue: No True Bear
In front of a backdrop of mounds of cotton colored in hues of purple, pink and white, a massive mechanical bear drifted headfirst through the vacuum as if suspended by strings attached to its shoulders and hips, limp limbs swaying forward and back as though it was in deep hibernation. With a clairvoyant view of the bear's innards, one could see byzantine arrangements of bronze pipes: some bent; others pissing vital steam into the gaps between pipes, slowly spinning gears, pistons pumping out of time, large copper coils and other such devices which, were they in good repair and properly connected, would produce the terrifying power that the unconscious bear used to possess. One gear in the bear's machinery had seven teeth and one flat spot where there should have been an eighth tooth. Some saboteur had shaved the missing tooth down so that every time the gear spun, the adjacent gear failed to turn 1/8th of its rotation, and so the adjacent gear of the adjacent gear so too paused, and a chain reaction of inactivity paralyzed one of the bear's legs completely. Then the missing tooth spontaneously reappeared. The first time the gear turned its adjacent gear properly, the bear's leg violently swung forth and the bear bore its teeth and inhaled a great breath, producing a piercing, deafening cross between the noise of an air raid siren and the metal-on-metal scream of a speeding train's locked wheels on the track -
Mireille awoke in her sweat-damp bunk with a nearly lung-bursting gasp and a contraction in her abdomen that forced her to sit upright. Within a second of regaining consciousness, she clamped down on her fear with self control like a lack of oxygen kills a flame. The jolt of dread and horror that electrified her back and erected every hair on her skin subsided and was replaced by stoic calculation. Immediately she was aware of the man, a roughly six foot tower of muscle, who slept in the bunk alongside her. Her predatory, almond-shaped eyes studied him and she surmised that he was pretending to be asleep. Mireille nudged his chest and he pretended to wake up.
"Friedhold," she beckoned in a whisper.
His eyes opened lazily, one at a time and he grunted, "mmm, something happen?"
"Nightmare," quietly and with a hint of self-pity. Friedhold put a hand on her shoulder and laid her back down with a protective arm across her stomach.
"A nightmare of what, Freja? Didn't think you were capable of fear. They say you didn't even blink when the harpoon ripped through your guts."
She smiled and exhaled sharply through her nose as the scar on her left side pulsed with the phantom pain of that old wound. "No true Bear would wince at a flesh wound like that one." She felt his arm tighten around her slightly, affectionately. "In the nightmare, I saw a great Volkarine battleship. It somehow was within firing range before anyone aboard spotted it. As soon as I looked at it, it hit us with a perfect broadside. Our longship just disintegrated and I fell into the clouds..."
"Shhh. Keep this omen to yourself and let no one hear it. Anyway, it makes no sense. Anyone can spot a battleship from miles away. Even in the fog, you'll hear the roar of its engines well before it's in range." Mireille nodded three times nervously and feigned a relieved smile to him. She laid her head back down to go back to sleep. As she drifted off, she thought about the nightmare she had just fabricated. If the military might of the Union was the only way it could threaten the clan... well, I wouldn't even be here, and the clan would be hale and whole.
Somewhere above deck, unseen, a man dropped a sheet of paper tied to a small rock into a rusted swivel gun. Upon the paper was written an encrypted report of valuable information regarding Clan Bear activity. Written on the bottom of the sheet was a Volkarine codephrase that translated to "Glory to the Union." The man then casually disappeared below deck, anonymous again. The longship continued sailing through the clouds, most of its crew unaware of the nature of the bear's disease but aware that it was, indeed, ailing from something.
In front of a backdrop of mounds of cotton colored in hues of purple, pink and white, a massive mechanical bear drifted headfirst through the vacuum as if suspended by strings attached to its shoulders and hips, limp limbs swaying forward and back as though it was in deep hibernation. With a clairvoyant view of the bear's innards, one could see byzantine arrangements of bronze pipes: some bent; others pissing vital steam into the gaps between pipes, slowly spinning gears, pistons pumping out of time, large copper coils and other such devices which, were they in good repair and properly connected, would produce the terrifying power that the unconscious bear used to possess. One gear in the bear's machinery had seven teeth and one flat spot where there should have been an eighth tooth. Some saboteur had shaved the missing tooth down so that every time the gear spun, the adjacent gear failed to turn 1/8th of its rotation, and so the adjacent gear of the adjacent gear so too paused, and a chain reaction of inactivity paralyzed one of the bear's legs completely. Then the missing tooth spontaneously reappeared. The first time the gear turned its adjacent gear properly, the bear's leg violently swung forth and the bear bore its teeth and inhaled a great breath, producing a piercing, deafening cross between the noise of an air raid siren and the metal-on-metal scream of a speeding train's locked wheels on the track -
Mireille awoke in her sweat-damp bunk with a nearly lung-bursting gasp and a contraction in her abdomen that forced her to sit upright. Within a second of regaining consciousness, she clamped down on her fear with self control like a lack of oxygen kills a flame. The jolt of dread and horror that electrified her back and erected every hair on her skin subsided and was replaced by stoic calculation. Immediately she was aware of the man, a roughly six foot tower of muscle, who slept in the bunk alongside her. Her predatory, almond-shaped eyes studied him and she surmised that he was pretending to be asleep. Mireille nudged his chest and he pretended to wake up.
"Friedhold," she beckoned in a whisper.
His eyes opened lazily, one at a time and he grunted, "mmm, something happen?"
"Nightmare," quietly and with a hint of self-pity. Friedhold put a hand on her shoulder and laid her back down with a protective arm across her stomach.
"A nightmare of what, Freja? Didn't think you were capable of fear. They say you didn't even blink when the harpoon ripped through your guts."
She smiled and exhaled sharply through her nose as the scar on her left side pulsed with the phantom pain of that old wound. "No true Bear would wince at a flesh wound like that one." She felt his arm tighten around her slightly, affectionately. "In the nightmare, I saw a great Volkarine battleship. It somehow was within firing range before anyone aboard spotted it. As soon as I looked at it, it hit us with a perfect broadside. Our longship just disintegrated and I fell into the clouds..."
"Shhh. Keep this omen to yourself and let no one hear it. Anyway, it makes no sense. Anyone can spot a battleship from miles away. Even in the fog, you'll hear the roar of its engines well before it's in range." Mireille nodded three times nervously and feigned a relieved smile to him. She laid her head back down to go back to sleep. As she drifted off, she thought about the nightmare she had just fabricated. If the military might of the Union was the only way it could threaten the clan... well, I wouldn't even be here, and the clan would be hale and whole.
Somewhere above deck, unseen, a man dropped a sheet of paper tied to a small rock into a rusted swivel gun. Upon the paper was written an encrypted report of valuable information regarding Clan Bear activity. Written on the bottom of the sheet was a Volkarine codephrase that translated to "Glory to the Union." The man then casually disappeared below deck, anonymous again. The longship continued sailing through the clouds, most of its crew unaware of the nature of the bear's disease but aware that it was, indeed, ailing from something.
Last edited by a moderator:
MsPolite
The Ass Kicking Beast woman
The doors were shut, and only the trusted were let in. it was the only way what was about to unfold could be kept away from the prying eyes of the press and the public. In through the doors strided a towering man, six foot and six inches, with a lean body, broad shoulders, and a grin that infected people with warmth. He was in a beautiful dark blue court costume, straight out ofAeternian fashion from the last half century. But this picture was skewed, as the man was flanked by two bodyguards that attracted gasps and frowns wherever they went- two girls, the couldn't have been older than thirteen- with ghastly grey faces, blood streaking down their empty eye sockets, and white hospital aprons like they had just been sent to the Morgue. Because they had - long ago - by the Ridolfite Inquisitor, and the man they now served, haunting and tormenting his foes, had brought them back to life.
This man was the Grandmaster of the Order of the Enlightened, the Aeternian industrialist and Marquess, Javier Blout.
"One hundred thousand people live aboard one ship" Blout commented, bowing before his host. His bodyguards did not follow, their hollow eyes looking into hers.
"Your people must have been a great one - before their homeland was ravaged, that is" Javier said, dropping his grin to a frown and raising an eyebrow, pacing over to the window overlooking the rolling clouds.
"How happy we were before factories, industry, poison gas. And no, not when we were all slaves of Ridolfo - nay. Before that, in the state of nature, when no islands could reach eachother" Javier said, turning around and facing the Princess he served directly.
"And today, we stand with the miracle of nature, the magic in you - in me. And what do Rufus and Fyodor do with it? They squash it"
He approached, his speechless servants still standing there, staring at the Princess
"I have to tell you something" Javier whispered. "It's all about to end. Rufus told me I didn't have enough testosterone, belligerence to be as successful as him. Let's see how his testosterone serves him when the greatest horrors known to man eat him to bits, and when the next war in the skies breaks out to clear away this industrial rubble, and unleash the age of human excellence in magic"
His expression turned deathly serious as he knelt, tiling his head as he talked.
"I would have told you, but I am sure your spies already informed you, my lady. War is coming, is Eisen ready?"
The large metallic chamber echoed with the voice of the Grandmaster as he spout his Little speech. Bella, sitting upon her command seat with legs crossed and order cousle folded neaneaton the sides of the seat. Bella staired at the Grandmaster mute, leaving a long gaping silence as she rubbed her bottom lip with her white gloved hand. Her eyes peered through Javier's soul, and in her eyes anger and wrath slowly boiled. Finnaly after two minutes of silence Bella took of her Scarlett top hat and brushed her snow white hair behind her ear. She waved her hand in a half circle as small gleaming sparks flew from her hand, then in a moment she was gone. Disappeared. But then white gloved finger tapped the kneeled grandmaster's should as if to call his attention. In a soft tone she said "stand up" quickly and with precision. And in another instant she appeared in front of the now standingJavier,. "Its Admiral Sagrant to you." She paused for a few seconds and spoke again. "Stand at attention, now as you are right in regards to my fleep being ready for war. And we will help shelter your people. But I'm afraid that's all we will do until the war starts. I rather not tarnish my already, malevolent name." Admiral Sagnant walked back to her command seat. "You are dismissed unless you have other things you wish to speak about, and if not my mem will escort you to where you are staying, and oh, please be a dear and keep those....things away frommy people. Especially the children. Thank you." And with that Bella resumed her dutiesher hands shaking a bit. There was a chill down her spine. She felt quite uncomfortable with those dead things looking at her. As if revealing all her insecurities... She did not like them. A fire burned in the back of her mind, making her upset that the Grandmaster master would have such company around him. It was not fit for a man of his status.
A rather old man, with a thick long gray beard in an officers Uniform walks up to Admiral Sagnant as she sits upon her command seat. the Man salutes the Admiral with his fist pointed inward towards his heart. "Vice Admiral Ferros requesting permission to speak and advise Ma'am?" Ferros asked in a gruff tone. But Admiral only stared at the Large iron door which the Archmage exited threw, for a few seconds. Then she smirked and looked at Her Vice Admiral. "Hehe...Please Uncle Ferros, you do not need to be so formal when we are in private company. But please speak your mind like you always do." The man smiled, glad to see that young Bella is back in a good mood. "Little Bella, if I may, Why did you agree to help these Terrorist? They are Scheming, sniveling snakes, and may back-stab us at a later time." Bella was amused, did her dear Ferros not understand? well he is a Soldier, with a soldiers heart. "Uncle dearest, I agreed beacuse i want a war. Simply as that, I want the plunder to continue thriving, I want the thrill of battle and I want to feel that oh so joyest of feelings oh a Blood lust. To crumble our foes under our boot and to pay-Back-EVery-DAMned-DAY that those Aterian Pigs and Volkiane dogs made us suffer!" Bella's eyes were filled with rage now, and she pounded her fist with every word she uttered. Light and Heat were radiating out of her now. "For te F****** Years Now they have shunned us and refused to aid us in our worst years. I want to she these people burn. They don't Deserve to live, not when our Kingdom. our brilliant Kingdom suffered unjustly. NO MORE! they will pay." Bella was seathing with anger, so much so that Ferros had to take a step back because of the heat Bella was radiating. Soon after Bella cooled down a bit and Vice Admiral Ferros spoke. "Then what are your orders Ma'am?" Admiral Sagnant sat back and tapped her lip three times. "Ready all battle stations and man them 24/7, set all stations to blue alert." and with that Ferros Saluted and briskly marched off. Admiral pressed a button on her armrest causing pannels, keyboards and command consoles to un fold from all directions, and a speaker phone steadily lowed itself from above. Admiral Sagnant pressed another botton on the command console, then a red flashing light came on. "Good Morning Sailors." Admiral Sagnant's Voice reverberated throughout all her fleet as she was connected to every vessel of the Eisen Fleet. "we are going to Blue alert, this is not a drill, all hands to there stations. I repeat Blue alert." and within a moment of the end of her commands orderly chaos ensued with men and women rushing to there stations, without accidents or so much of a word. Back at the command deck a voice sounded out from the voxophones all around. "Ma'am our destination?" Bella tapped her bottom lip three times thinking everything through. and befor tapping a third time she gave the order, "the World Fair, full speed ahead."
This man was the Grandmaster of the Order of the Enlightened, the Aeternian industrialist and Marquess, Javier Blout.
"One hundred thousand people live aboard one ship" Blout commented, bowing before his host. His bodyguards did not follow, their hollow eyes looking into hers.
"Your people must have been a great one - before their homeland was ravaged, that is" Javier said, dropping his grin to a frown and raising an eyebrow, pacing over to the window overlooking the rolling clouds.
"How happy we were before factories, industry, poison gas. And no, not when we were all slaves of Ridolfo - nay. Before that, in the state of nature, when no islands could reach eachother" Javier said, turning around and facing the Princess he served directly.
"And today, we stand with the miracle of nature, the magic in you - in me. And what do Rufus and Fyodor do with it? They squash it"
He approached, his speechless servants still standing there, staring at the Princess
"I have to tell you something" Javier whispered. "It's all about to end. Rufus told me I didn't have enough testosterone, belligerence to be as successful as him. Let's see how his testosterone serves him when the greatest horrors known to man eat him to bits, and when the next war in the skies breaks out to clear away this industrial rubble, and unleash the age of human excellence in magic"
His expression turned deathly serious as he knelt, tiling his head as he talked.
"I would have told you, but I am sure your spies already informed you, my lady. War is coming, is Eisen ready?"
The large metallic chamber echoed with the voice of the Grandmaster as he spout his Little speech. Bella, sitting upon her command seat with legs crossed and order cousle folded neaneaton the sides of the seat. Bella staired at the Grandmaster mute, leaving a long gaping silence as she rubbed her bottom lip with her white gloved hand. Her eyes peered through Javier's soul, and in her eyes anger and wrath slowly boiled. Finnaly after two minutes of silence Bella took of her Scarlett top hat and brushed her snow white hair behind her ear. She waved her hand in a half circle as small gleaming sparks flew from her hand, then in a moment she was gone. Disappeared. But then white gloved finger tapped the kneeled grandmaster's should as if to call his attention. In a soft tone she said "stand up" quickly and with precision. And in another instant she appeared in front of the now standingJavier,. "Its Admiral Sagrant to you." She paused for a few seconds and spoke again. "Stand at attention, now as you are right in regards to my fleep being ready for war. And we will help shelter your people. But I'm afraid that's all we will do until the war starts. I rather not tarnish my already, malevolent name." Admiral Sagnant walked back to her command seat. "You are dismissed unless you have other things you wish to speak about, and if not my mem will escort you to where you are staying, and oh, please be a dear and keep those....things away frommy people. Especially the children. Thank you." And with that Bella resumed her dutiesher hands shaking a bit. There was a chill down her spine. She felt quite uncomfortable with those dead things looking at her. As if revealing all her insecurities... She did not like them. A fire burned in the back of her mind, making her upset that the Grandmaster master would have such company around him. It was not fit for a man of his status.
A rather old man, with a thick long gray beard in an officers Uniform walks up to Admiral Sagnant as she sits upon her command seat. the Man salutes the Admiral with his fist pointed inward towards his heart. "Vice Admiral Ferros requesting permission to speak and advise Ma'am?" Ferros asked in a gruff tone. But Admiral only stared at the Large iron door which the Archmage exited threw, for a few seconds. Then she smirked and looked at Her Vice Admiral. "Hehe...Please Uncle Ferros, you do not need to be so formal when we are in private company. But please speak your mind like you always do." The man smiled, glad to see that young Bella is back in a good mood. "Little Bella, if I may, Why did you agree to help these Terrorist? They are Scheming, sniveling snakes, and may back-stab us at a later time." Bella was amused, did her dear Ferros not understand? well he is a Soldier, with a soldiers heart. "Uncle dearest, I agreed beacuse i want a war. Simply as that, I want the plunder to continue thriving, I want the thrill of battle and I want to feel that oh so joyest of feelings oh a Blood lust. To crumble our foes under our boot and to pay-Back-EVery-DAMned-DAY that those Aterian Pigs and Volkiane dogs made us suffer!" Bella's eyes were filled with rage now, and she pounded her fist with every word she uttered. Light and Heat were radiating out of her now. "For te F****** Years Now they have shunned us and refused to aid us in our worst years. I want to she these people burn. They don't Deserve to live, not when our Kingdom. our brilliant Kingdom suffered unjustly. NO MORE! they will pay." Bella was seathing with anger, so much so that Ferros had to take a step back because of the heat Bella was radiating. Soon after Bella cooled down a bit and Vice Admiral Ferros spoke. "Then what are your orders Ma'am?" Admiral Sagnant sat back and tapped her lip three times. "Ready all battle stations and man them 24/7, set all stations to blue alert." and with that Ferros Saluted and briskly marched off. Admiral pressed a button on her armrest causing pannels, keyboards and command consoles to un fold from all directions, and a speaker phone steadily lowed itself from above. Admiral Sagnant pressed another botton on the command console, then a red flashing light came on. "Good Morning Sailors." Admiral Sagnant's Voice reverberated throughout all her fleet as she was connected to every vessel of the Eisen Fleet. "we are going to Blue alert, this is not a drill, all hands to there stations. I repeat Blue alert." and within a moment of the end of her commands orderly chaos ensued with men and women rushing to there stations, without accidents or so much of a word. Back at the command deck a voice sounded out from the voxophones all around. "Ma'am our destination?" Bella tapped her bottom lip three times thinking everything through. and befor tapping a third time she gave the order, "the World Fair, full speed ahead."
Bone2pick
Minority of One
Aeterna — two weeks before the World Fair
"I can't buy these."
The two men standing opposite of Bel traded apprehensive glances. Blootho, the smaller of the pair, even stopped eating his toothpick. Silence choked the railcar for a tense moment until Blootho let the obvious question roll off his lips.
"Why not?"
Bel slipped his magnifying glass into his coat pocket and then motioned to the items displayed across the workbench.
"Because they're knockoffs."
He had hardly finished the sentence before Blootho erupted into laughter. Stuger, his larger and less talkative partner, followed his friend's lead and let loose his own raspy chuckle. Bel never smiled as the pair went through their motions of disbelief; he allowed their amusement to run its course. Blootho was shaking his head when he finally spoke again.
"Take another look mate, these are genuine."
"Unfortunately they aren't. I took a good look."
Stuger scowled and then turned to his partner, who was busy quietly sizing up the trader that they'd brought into their railcar. Bel straightened his mustache as the short scruffy man looked him up and down. The bigger one, frustrated by the standstill, attempted to speak but was cutoff by their guest.
"The dampers on these are fixed. Authentic Wyncher music boxes have articulated ones, with no exceptions. And the cylinders in them should be pure silver, not silver-colored alloy. These are good reproductions, but they aren't the real article."
Blootho snatched the toothpick out of his mouth and sneered while his buddy just breathed stupidly through his mouth.
"You've lost your mind Bel... When I showed you one of the boxes yesterday you promised you would buy the lot of them."
"The box I saw yesterday was a real Wyncher. It's not here."
With that said, the two men stiffened and stared wolfishly back at Bel. Stuger growled out his next question.
"What the fuck are you trying to say?"
The treasure hunter blinked back and forth between the angry pair as he considered a reply. Bel was in a delicate situation: honesty was the only way he could hope to save his money, but it implied the sellers were crooks—which he believed them to be. Unfortunately when you accuse men of being swindlers, even if they are swindlers, you can trigger an attack. Bel eventually settled on an answer but directed it towards the dominant partner.
"I'm saying I'm not buying your music boxes."
His gauntlet rested at the edge of his coat, down by his belt, while his left hand flexed his gloved fingers near his shoulder. He was confident his flame pistol was the best weapon in the room for this scenario, but dreaded having to pull it. Sweat trickled over every brow. The only sounds in the railcar were the rhythmic hiss of measured breaths. Blootho's eyes wrestled with Bel's; Stuger watched his partner for direction. It stayed that way for seven long seconds.
The treasure hunter knew he was in the clear when Blootho dropped his stare. The short man flicked his toothpick away in disgust before speaking.
"Then get the fuck out."
The adrenalin surge was finally wearing off by the time his motocycle's tires began to pad along the boardwalk of the airship pier. Bel's disappointment in not scoring four immaculate Wyncher music boxes was trumped by the relief that he would soon be leaving Aeterna. The city and the treasure hunter had a rocky history, and today's events didn't heal any hard feelings. Bel needed to escape.
He cruised his bike up to the loading ramp of his ship, the Hoary Board, and then killed the ignition. That's when he heard the voices coming from on deck. A strange man's voice and Cameron's, his friend. Bel peeled his riding goggles off and sighed. What now?
He did his best to look unalarmed when he marched onto his ship's deck. And that was no easy feat, considering four Regiment Guardsmen were huddled around Cam in her wheelchair. Everyone turned towards the treasure hunter at once.
"Good afternoon officers."
One of the Guardsmen stepped forward.
"Mr. Burtau, the Regent Duke Rufus Mottley wishes to speak with you."
Bel looked past the officer and into the face of his friend. She was tired and worried, but unhurt.
"I'm honored, truly I am, but I won't be able to meet with the Regent today. We're shipping out within the hour."
A second Guardsmen stepped forward.
"No you're not. You're coming with us."
"I can't buy these."
The two men standing opposite of Bel traded apprehensive glances. Blootho, the smaller of the pair, even stopped eating his toothpick. Silence choked the railcar for a tense moment until Blootho let the obvious question roll off his lips.
"Why not?"
Bel slipped his magnifying glass into his coat pocket and then motioned to the items displayed across the workbench.
"Because they're knockoffs."
He had hardly finished the sentence before Blootho erupted into laughter. Stuger, his larger and less talkative partner, followed his friend's lead and let loose his own raspy chuckle. Bel never smiled as the pair went through their motions of disbelief; he allowed their amusement to run its course. Blootho was shaking his head when he finally spoke again.
"Take another look mate, these are genuine."
"Unfortunately they aren't. I took a good look."
Stuger scowled and then turned to his partner, who was busy quietly sizing up the trader that they'd brought into their railcar. Bel straightened his mustache as the short scruffy man looked him up and down. The bigger one, frustrated by the standstill, attempted to speak but was cutoff by their guest.
"The dampers on these are fixed. Authentic Wyncher music boxes have articulated ones, with no exceptions. And the cylinders in them should be pure silver, not silver-colored alloy. These are good reproductions, but they aren't the real article."
Blootho snatched the toothpick out of his mouth and sneered while his buddy just breathed stupidly through his mouth.
"You've lost your mind Bel... When I showed you one of the boxes yesterday you promised you would buy the lot of them."
"The box I saw yesterday was a real Wyncher. It's not here."
With that said, the two men stiffened and stared wolfishly back at Bel. Stuger growled out his next question.
"What the fuck are you trying to say?"
The treasure hunter blinked back and forth between the angry pair as he considered a reply. Bel was in a delicate situation: honesty was the only way he could hope to save his money, but it implied the sellers were crooks—which he believed them to be. Unfortunately when you accuse men of being swindlers, even if they are swindlers, you can trigger an attack. Bel eventually settled on an answer but directed it towards the dominant partner.
"I'm saying I'm not buying your music boxes."
His gauntlet rested at the edge of his coat, down by his belt, while his left hand flexed his gloved fingers near his shoulder. He was confident his flame pistol was the best weapon in the room for this scenario, but dreaded having to pull it. Sweat trickled over every brow. The only sounds in the railcar were the rhythmic hiss of measured breaths. Blootho's eyes wrestled with Bel's; Stuger watched his partner for direction. It stayed that way for seven long seconds.
The treasure hunter knew he was in the clear when Blootho dropped his stare. The short man flicked his toothpick away in disgust before speaking.
"Then get the fuck out."
The adrenalin surge was finally wearing off by the time his motocycle's tires began to pad along the boardwalk of the airship pier. Bel's disappointment in not scoring four immaculate Wyncher music boxes was trumped by the relief that he would soon be leaving Aeterna. The city and the treasure hunter had a rocky history, and today's events didn't heal any hard feelings. Bel needed to escape.
He cruised his bike up to the loading ramp of his ship, the Hoary Board, and then killed the ignition. That's when he heard the voices coming from on deck. A strange man's voice and Cameron's, his friend. Bel peeled his riding goggles off and sighed. What now?
He did his best to look unalarmed when he marched onto his ship's deck. And that was no easy feat, considering four Regiment Guardsmen were huddled around Cam in her wheelchair. Everyone turned towards the treasure hunter at once.
"Good afternoon officers."
One of the Guardsmen stepped forward.
"Mr. Burtau, the Regent Duke Rufus Mottley wishes to speak with you."
Bel looked past the officer and into the face of his friend. She was tired and worried, but unhurt.
"I'm honored, truly I am, but I won't be able to meet with the Regent today. We're shipping out within the hour."
A second Guardsmen stepped forward.
"No you're not. You're coming with us."
MsPolite
The Ass Kicking Beast woman
The Eisen Fleet approached the World fair at a cruising speed above the clouds so not to be by curious eyes. Upon the top of the Foreboding Dreadnought, War's Daughter a young lady in a A admirals blue Uniform, and a masked-helmet resting on a small round table, and a sheathed chain-sword, battle ready. An other female in the standard Battle dress uniform (BDU) "Amiral!" The Marine Stands at attention, saluting. "At ease." The Marine relaxes. "What are your orders Ma'am?" The Admiral thinks for a bit. over a minute pasts when she finally speaks again. " All ships move to defensive Square, Scouts in clouds above and bellow. Go to red alert, all sailors to battle stations. all children must be put on the Green house ship, and prepare a landing all Ariel fighters for combat." "Yes Ma'am" the marine said then doing a about face and leaving. Admiral Sagnant continued to stand and look to the sky admiring the beautiful blue sky:- a rarity in the now industrial World. Bella Spotted a Peregrine, a Bird of Prey that was all to common in her Kingdom; But here in a foreign land that is not her own, it's all but extinct with all but a few trying to survive. Bella Smiled, a good Omen if she ever saw one. Bella had a Good feeling about today, excitement swelled in her chest at the coming war. She could feel the wind of change coming. Her smile quickly turned into a wicked grin. Yes a bloody war to end all wars. She was ready to get her blade wet with blood, oh she was ready to burn these Uncivilized barbarians. To turn there homes to ash and gouge There fathers eyes out, and make the listen to the squeels of the daughters die, as well as hang there sons upon there flag poles of there burning cities. "hehe." She chucked slightly trying to hold her laughs back. "HEhehaha, yes they will all burn!! HEHahahahahehaaheha!" She continued laugh hysterically laughing like a war crazed maniac as she visualized The the cities of this lad being obliterated by the bombs that burned hers. The Mother of all Bomb
General Deth Glitch
Two Thousand Club
The men with Dameos set up a defensive line at the stairs leading to the balcony where he believed the king was. Two men stayed with him, his Chief Engineer and his 'First Mate'. The Chief Engineer, while an appalling shot, was not too shabby in a melee, not that he was filled with finesse, and his first mate met Dameos when she was stowing herself away aboard the Aeternian in the hopes of escaping her pitiful life, the irony being that the time she tried this the Aeternian was doing endurance exercises near the beginning of Dameos' captaincy and so while the ship was at sky for a fair number of months it was ultimately destined to end up back in Aeternia where it left. But Dameos found the stowaway and noted that the girl spoke to him confidently when he was questioning her and, while his keen eyes noted she was terrified, she acted like she was brave and challenged him to a duel, an eleven year old girl against a captain! The terms were if she won he would take her where she wanted to go and if he won he could do with her as he wished, the crew made various inappropriate remarks to this and those that were caught were indeed punished. Ultimately he won in a heartbeat and told her that "If you really want to escape your past little one, serve aboard this ship! A woman like you could achieve something one day, even if you are of the female gender." he added that if she refused he would return her to Aeternia with any money she worked for while aboard. He told her she could give him her answer any time before they made harbor and she stayed, eventually making her way to second in command and being almost like a daughter to him.
He could see the ornate doors with guards stationed outside, "Kias please return to the ship and keep an eye on it until I return, also warn the Admiralty to be on alert." He told his First Mate and then without looking back headed toward the doors "Hello, Captain Dameos" he said looking at the guard "I wish an audience with the King, it appears he may be in danger and I wish to escort him to The Aeternian."
The guard looked at him and smirked "Only the highest officers can meet with the king without prior warning!" The guard barked back as though speaking to an inferior officer.
Dameos returned the look with a scowl and removed a silver crest from his inner breast pocket "I believe this will suffice, Grunt" he said showing it to him, slaying the last word very deliberately, the crest showed that his rank was equivalent to being a vice admiral. "Now I will be removing the king from your incapable hands." The guard looked both angry and nervous, he had just been incredibly rude to a man who could ruin his life in about two seconds and as such immediately opened the doors to the room beyond, within he could see guards at every opening and all the windows and doors where shut, in the hopes of stopping any assassination attempts. "Your Highness!" he said bowing "I am captain Dameos Ferrous of The Aeternian, the situation within this building is not one I wish you to be exposed to and as such I shall be escorting you to my ship until further notice, I will also arrange for his lordship the Regent Rufus to meet us there if he so wishes, as may anyone you trust within your council." he said carefully and deliberately.
He could see the ornate doors with guards stationed outside, "Kias please return to the ship and keep an eye on it until I return, also warn the Admiralty to be on alert." He told his First Mate and then without looking back headed toward the doors "Hello, Captain Dameos" he said looking at the guard "I wish an audience with the King, it appears he may be in danger and I wish to escort him to The Aeternian."
The guard looked at him and smirked "Only the highest officers can meet with the king without prior warning!" The guard barked back as though speaking to an inferior officer.
Dameos returned the look with a scowl and removed a silver crest from his inner breast pocket "I believe this will suffice, Grunt" he said showing it to him, slaying the last word very deliberately, the crest showed that his rank was equivalent to being a vice admiral. "Now I will be removing the king from your incapable hands." The guard looked both angry and nervous, he had just been incredibly rude to a man who could ruin his life in about two seconds and as such immediately opened the doors to the room beyond, within he could see guards at every opening and all the windows and doors where shut, in the hopes of stopping any assassination attempts. "Your Highness!" he said bowing "I am captain Dameos Ferrous of The Aeternian, the situation within this building is not one I wish you to be exposed to and as such I shall be escorting you to my ship until further notice, I will also arrange for his lordship the Regent Rufus to meet us there if he so wishes, as may anyone you trust within your council." he said carefully and deliberately.
minusultra
Senior Member
Juli was going to make it! She was so proud of herself. Yes her lungs burned and her legs ached, but she was going to make it in time to see the gates open. As Juli got closer to the fair grounds the crowds became thicker and the young teen found herself having to duck and weave through people who were taking their sweet time with getting to their destination. Juli bit back her cusses and just focused on running. She could see it, the finish line was in sight! Juli's eyes shifted upward one last time to check the clock.
Mistake number one.
"Hey watch out!"
Juli looked down just in time to smack head first into a woman who seemed to appear out of no where. The collision send both ladies to the ground with a crash.
"Are you blind!?" Spat the woman as she pulled herself up and towed over Juli who had yet to stand. She could feel the eyes of passerby's on her and her ceeks became hot.
"I'm sorry! I didn't see you standing there and--" Juli began but was quickly cut off ty the angered woman.
"Didn't see me standing there? Well then maybe you should be getting your eyes checked, yes? You should be lucky I didn't rip my dress or I would surely be sending you the bill."
And with that the woman marched off muttering under her breath.
Juli let out a sigh. Just her luck, could this morning get any worse? Juli pulled herself up and dusted herself off. There was no way she was making it on time now. Crossing her arms over her chest Juli began to walk once more.
"So you wont see the gates open today. You can see it next time... in ten year." Juli smacked her palm to her forehead, "you're such an idiot Julius."
Slowly her hand moved from her fore head to the chocker around her neck. How long had it been since that mysterious man brought his ship to Parum Ignis for repairs? how long since he paid her with a chocker and matching ringlet instead of cash? Two months? It seemed longer. Juli tugged on her chocker and then once more on her ringlet. No give. The were both stuck, the second she put them on she couldn't take them off. No amount of cutting or prying could remove the matching set. was it magic? Just thinking about it made her nervous. Of course it was magic, the night behinds her shop proved that.
Juli caught a glimpse of her reflection in a shop window. Two of the gems that hung from her chocker looked shiny and new while the other three were dull and lifeless. The more time that passes, the shinier the gems got. Juli frowned hard, what did it mean? And why did that man give her something like this? Juli had been staying up late into the nights trying to figure out why but with no luck.
Juli's frown turned upright when she realized that she was standing at the outskirts of the crowd that gathered outside the gate. She had made it but... something was wrong. it was past noon but the gates were still tightly closed. Juli took in her surroundings and saw faces full of panic. What was going on?
Mistake number one.
"Hey watch out!"
Juli looked down just in time to smack head first into a woman who seemed to appear out of no where. The collision send both ladies to the ground with a crash.
"Are you blind!?" Spat the woman as she pulled herself up and towed over Juli who had yet to stand. She could feel the eyes of passerby's on her and her ceeks became hot.
"I'm sorry! I didn't see you standing there and--" Juli began but was quickly cut off ty the angered woman.
"Didn't see me standing there? Well then maybe you should be getting your eyes checked, yes? You should be lucky I didn't rip my dress or I would surely be sending you the bill."
And with that the woman marched off muttering under her breath.
Juli let out a sigh. Just her luck, could this morning get any worse? Juli pulled herself up and dusted herself off. There was no way she was making it on time now. Crossing her arms over her chest Juli began to walk once more.
"So you wont see the gates open today. You can see it next time... in ten year." Juli smacked her palm to her forehead, "you're such an idiot Julius."
Slowly her hand moved from her fore head to the chocker around her neck. How long had it been since that mysterious man brought his ship to Parum Ignis for repairs? how long since he paid her with a chocker and matching ringlet instead of cash? Two months? It seemed longer. Juli tugged on her chocker and then once more on her ringlet. No give. The were both stuck, the second she put them on she couldn't take them off. No amount of cutting or prying could remove the matching set. was it magic? Just thinking about it made her nervous. Of course it was magic, the night behinds her shop proved that.
Juli caught a glimpse of her reflection in a shop window. Two of the gems that hung from her chocker looked shiny and new while the other three were dull and lifeless. The more time that passes, the shinier the gems got. Juli frowned hard, what did it mean? And why did that man give her something like this? Juli had been staying up late into the nights trying to figure out why but with no luck.
Juli's frown turned upright when she realized that she was standing at the outskirts of the crowd that gathered outside the gate. She had made it but... something was wrong. it was past noon but the gates were still tightly closed. Juli took in her surroundings and saw faces full of panic. What was going on?
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ronnydazzler
thesis, antithesis, synthesis.
Cigarettes felt like home.
Standing beside a brick wall, sturdy and heavily decorated, with gilded trimmings in celebration of the fair, Isaac opened a fresh pack. He rolled one in between his thumb and index finger; flakes of dry tobacco fell to his feet, gathering into a tiny pile. In the near distance, he heard the brewing commotion--could feel it even. But this didn't worry him: Distractions often kept the shadows safe from the light.
He struck a match and, cupping it gently, protected the fresh flame with the worried desperation of a first time mother and her newborn child. Dragging on the brown filter, he rolled the left sleeve of his long overcoat away from his wrist, and checked the time on his watch: 11:59; The seconds beat in sync with the ecstatic suffocation of his lungs; smoke filled his chest; it surrounded him his whole life. The streets of the Volkarine Union may have been Aeterna's antithesis: But the distinguishable and discerning characteristics of both the Union and the Kingdom of Aeterna offered little insight into the corrupted heart and soul of both empires; in that sense, they were identical--stitched together from the same corrupt and greedy DNA.
But it was time for celebrations now. And everyone loves a decent distraction.
Noon.
Shaking his wrist so that his watch and sleeve fell back into their normal position, he moved forward towards the crowd gathering outside the fair's gates.
'They should have opened by now.' He smiled, rejoicing at this discovery; the opportunity to become one outlaw amongst a crowd of criminals offered him protection--quite the bonus. But Isaac felt it brewing inside his chest: the excitement brought on an hysterical coughing fit. He had no time to stifle it.
'Excuse me,' he managed between violent coughs. Several people gave him looks.
Smoke was home. And it was very important, for the time being, that he and the identity of his home remained unrecognizable, and thus unknown. The collapse of the Union would, surely, make him ecstatic, but the Ravens that watched from the sky in the night were not yet ready to fly alone. Nay, they still needed the Volkarine perch to return to.
So he lit a cigarette to disguise any trace of his identity, masking himself with a bad habit: one that felt like home. And, taking a long drag as he waited amongst the crowd, felt their impatience turn to anxiety.
Standing beside a brick wall, sturdy and heavily decorated, with gilded trimmings in celebration of the fair, Isaac opened a fresh pack. He rolled one in between his thumb and index finger; flakes of dry tobacco fell to his feet, gathering into a tiny pile. In the near distance, he heard the brewing commotion--could feel it even. But this didn't worry him: Distractions often kept the shadows safe from the light.
He struck a match and, cupping it gently, protected the fresh flame with the worried desperation of a first time mother and her newborn child. Dragging on the brown filter, he rolled the left sleeve of his long overcoat away from his wrist, and checked the time on his watch: 11:59; The seconds beat in sync with the ecstatic suffocation of his lungs; smoke filled his chest; it surrounded him his whole life. The streets of the Volkarine Union may have been Aeterna's antithesis: But the distinguishable and discerning characteristics of both the Union and the Kingdom of Aeterna offered little insight into the corrupted heart and soul of both empires; in that sense, they were identical--stitched together from the same corrupt and greedy DNA.
But it was time for celebrations now. And everyone loves a decent distraction.
Noon.
Shaking his wrist so that his watch and sleeve fell back into their normal position, he moved forward towards the crowd gathering outside the fair's gates.
'They should have opened by now.' He smiled, rejoicing at this discovery; the opportunity to become one outlaw amongst a crowd of criminals offered him protection--quite the bonus. But Isaac felt it brewing inside his chest: the excitement brought on an hysterical coughing fit. He had no time to stifle it.
'Excuse me,' he managed between violent coughs. Several people gave him looks.
Smoke was home. And it was very important, for the time being, that he and the identity of his home remained unrecognizable, and thus unknown. The collapse of the Union would, surely, make him ecstatic, but the Ravens that watched from the sky in the night were not yet ready to fly alone. Nay, they still needed the Volkarine perch to return to.
So he lit a cigarette to disguise any trace of his identity, masking himself with a bad habit: one that felt like home. And, taking a long drag as he waited amongst the crowd, felt their impatience turn to anxiety.
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Archie
Not even my final form
@General Deth Glitch
As captain Dameos entered the chamber in which the King was being held, the Colonel of the Regent's guards turned to face him and raised a pistol. This was Angen Codsworth, someone always visible in public with Rufus.
Realizing the others had let Dameos in, however, Angen lowered his gun with no apology - the prideful man of high status just raised his chin and squinted. Nymar turned to face the man, but didn't recognize him, so he got up and took some steps back, but he calmed when he listened to the captain, raising an eyebrow and widening his eyes at the idea that someone was actually bowing to him.
"Y-yes... of course" he replied, glancing at the reddening Regent's Guard captain and walking out the door as the man radioed into the regent.
As Nymar exited with Dameos and walked through the hallways, he leaned over and whispered something in his ear.
"Angen... watch out for him"
---
"Not fucking now" Rufus Mottley scoffed back, fingering his expensive and compact earset, as he approached the end of the balcony, the entire crowd looking up at him.
"What the hell is down there? Get rid of it, whatever it is" he ordered, to a chorus of "yes, sirs" from the soldiers below. The regent couldn't see from behind the raised curtain the ghastly sight of his head and two others severed and on pikes.
"Welcome, people of Aeterna and all Celestis!" Rufus shouted in his booming voice.
"Today, we unite in day of peace, a day of harmony, and a day of sharing our creations without violence or danger to anyone!" The regent assured.
"10,000 guards patrol this site to protect the ingenious inventions of the best minds of the clouds, watch your step, and watch what you touch. Let us all share in the marvel of innovation, in the splendor of industry, and in the beauty of freedom!" he finished to a chorus of applause, primarily from the Aeternians in the room, as many the others fondly remembered Rufus bombing their homelands.
His smile dropped as he left the balcony and ascended up the stairs to the main chambers, his face grimacing and his chin raising as he prepared to kill.
"Sir, they-Dameos has taken the King"
"Well he has a ship. Have my son Conrad radio him. We need to prepare for the next regency, Angen"
Just then, screams from down the hall emerged as the man standing there before disappeared. The four guards around him shivered, only the regent stood there like a statue and raised his pistol.
"And you sir?" the guard colonel asked.
"They think they can kill me. But I will kill them too"
Colonel Angen Codsworth then heard the regent tear off his soundpiece and throw it on the ground, followed by gunshots.
"Should we radio Conrad, sir?" one of the guards asked as Dameos left the room, and the squad of guards outside locked the door behind them.
Angen smirked.
"No" he said, chuckling as he ushered his men through the hallway that lead to the hangar for the regent's ship.
---
Ling glanced around the room for his Muavian contact, just then noticing that he was looking suspicious .Backing away into the crowd, he dodged a couple guardsmen fortunately had their eyes on something else - the elaborate display. The blue uniformed men took the heads down and shoved them in bags, but just then, a screech lurched over the hall of the Convention center.
"What the..." Ling mused before looking around him, glancing in every direction for a way to turn events in his favor. At this rate, someone else was coming for some thing in here, and from the heads, Ling thought he knew exactly what that was. the deaths of three men, to bring about a war to kill millions.
A ring. That's what Ling spotted, in a the distance. That had to be the one from that old sorcerer.... who could have known the man was still alive. Before thinking, Ling just assumed the girl wearing it was the man's apprentice... she had to be, right?
"Girl" he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. It would have looked creepy, after all, Ling was in his thirties. However, his Yuan bureaucrat's cloak shielded him from coming across that way.
"Something bad has happened" he said, well timed - as gunshots could be faintly heard from the higher lofts. The guards hushed people along.
"The regent is in danger. That ring you have protects people - you're the key to saving him" Ling said, one of his hands entering his cloak and grabbing his pistol in case he needed to take more drastic measures.
As captain Dameos entered the chamber in which the King was being held, the Colonel of the Regent's guards turned to face him and raised a pistol. This was Angen Codsworth, someone always visible in public with Rufus.
Realizing the others had let Dameos in, however, Angen lowered his gun with no apology - the prideful man of high status just raised his chin and squinted. Nymar turned to face the man, but didn't recognize him, so he got up and took some steps back, but he calmed when he listened to the captain, raising an eyebrow and widening his eyes at the idea that someone was actually bowing to him.
"Y-yes... of course" he replied, glancing at the reddening Regent's Guard captain and walking out the door as the man radioed into the regent.
As Nymar exited with Dameos and walked through the hallways, he leaned over and whispered something in his ear.
"Angen... watch out for him"
---
"Not fucking now" Rufus Mottley scoffed back, fingering his expensive and compact earset, as he approached the end of the balcony, the entire crowd looking up at him.
"What the hell is down there? Get rid of it, whatever it is" he ordered, to a chorus of "yes, sirs" from the soldiers below. The regent couldn't see from behind the raised curtain the ghastly sight of his head and two others severed and on pikes.
"Welcome, people of Aeterna and all Celestis!" Rufus shouted in his booming voice.
"Today, we unite in day of peace, a day of harmony, and a day of sharing our creations without violence or danger to anyone!" The regent assured.
"10,000 guards patrol this site to protect the ingenious inventions of the best minds of the clouds, watch your step, and watch what you touch. Let us all share in the marvel of innovation, in the splendor of industry, and in the beauty of freedom!" he finished to a chorus of applause, primarily from the Aeternians in the room, as many the others fondly remembered Rufus bombing their homelands.
His smile dropped as he left the balcony and ascended up the stairs to the main chambers, his face grimacing and his chin raising as he prepared to kill.
"Sir, they-Dameos has taken the King"
"Well he has a ship. Have my son Conrad radio him. We need to prepare for the next regency, Angen"
Just then, screams from down the hall emerged as the man standing there before disappeared. The four guards around him shivered, only the regent stood there like a statue and raised his pistol.
"And you sir?" the guard colonel asked.
"They think they can kill me. But I will kill them too"
Colonel Angen Codsworth then heard the regent tear off his soundpiece and throw it on the ground, followed by gunshots.
"Should we radio Conrad, sir?" one of the guards asked as Dameos left the room, and the squad of guards outside locked the door behind them.
Angen smirked.
"No" he said, chuckling as he ushered his men through the hallway that lead to the hangar for the regent's ship.
---
Su Ling
Ling glanced around the room for his Muavian contact, just then noticing that he was looking suspicious .Backing away into the crowd, he dodged a couple guardsmen fortunately had their eyes on something else - the elaborate display. The blue uniformed men took the heads down and shoved them in bags, but just then, a screech lurched over the hall of the Convention center.
"What the..." Ling mused before looking around him, glancing in every direction for a way to turn events in his favor. At this rate, someone else was coming for some thing in here, and from the heads, Ling thought he knew exactly what that was. the deaths of three men, to bring about a war to kill millions.
A ring. That's what Ling spotted, in a the distance. That had to be the one from that old sorcerer.... who could have known the man was still alive. Before thinking, Ling just assumed the girl wearing it was the man's apprentice... she had to be, right?
"Girl" he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. It would have looked creepy, after all, Ling was in his thirties. However, his Yuan bureaucrat's cloak shielded him from coming across that way.
"Something bad has happened" he said, well timed - as gunshots could be faintly heard from the higher lofts. The guards hushed people along.
"The regent is in danger. That ring you have protects people - you're the key to saving him" Ling said, one of his hands entering his cloak and grabbing his pistol in case he needed to take more drastic measures.
MsPolite
The Ass Kicking Beast woman
Sirens blare over head, echoing throw a large metallic chamber.Boots scuffle across the ground hurriedly to make clear the metal doors. Red flashing lights turn on as two bay doors slowly open, allowing the sky bellow take anything loose to be lost in the infinite blue sky. A crane hook move from the side to the center carrying an aircraft holding two people. A woman wearing admirals blue uniform with a masked helmet and a pilot look to their side to see another woman, a technician of sort counting down on her fingers and mouthing the words. "4...3...2...1..." The crane hook releases causing the aviators to plummet through the clouds which concealed a fleet. Quickly the pilot pulled up out from under the fleet making its way above the airship docks. The woman in the masked helmet looks back to watch the fleet execute a risky maneuver. The fleet, although hard to see through the clouds turn at an angle, preping all weapon system. The woman then looked to her wrist and pressed a bottom the transmitted a signal to the commanders of the ship, flashing a green light. Within a blink of a second, the cannons roared, blasting there drums I A steady rhythmic beat, as if trying to mimick the music of thunder. The fire erupts from the cannons barrels as it dispersed the cover of the clouds. The flames of war and the shells of death go zooming by at incredible speed making there way to select targets, only obliterateing Volkian Ships. Every ship of theirs, now only scraps and hell fire raining down bellow to the infinite abyss of the sky. Fire vegans to burn the rest of the docks, screams could be heard from way above, screeches of agony, cries of pain. But little ti there knowledge, the Sky Witch Descends.
******
Fyodor von Golchak, the Tribune and ruler of Gillian, is flanked by a squad of Guards all wearing pistols and rapiers, hurriedly march to their ship to take off and fly home. "Dammed Aertians, can't even keep control of a simple situation. A whole Dammed debacle.." he cussed under his breath. He then pointed to one of the guards, "you there hurry ahead and tell the captain to prep for flight. I want to take off as soon we step aboard the ship. Now get to it!" And with that the guard double times it to the ship. Loud claps and booms was heard from a distance away only to be assumed a storm was brewing. Suddenly projectiles of an ungodly velocity came crashing down into the Tribune's ship, exploding and knocking the group on there backs.Fire suddenly exploded all around, people running and screaming. The guards stood back up on there guard now. Propeller engine could be heard closing on in there location as the Tribune and guards look up to see a plane so low that the had to duck. A figure then emerged from the smoke and fire, above from where the aircraft flew. The figure tumbled down wielding a chain-sword and were armor with an admiral blue uniform. The figure was masked but the men could tell it was a woman from the body. She stepped forward, pulling a lever on her sword staring it's motor. One guard stepped forward pointing his fun at her. "Don't come any closer or I'll fire" said the guard. But in the blink of an eye the woman k. The masked helmet was gone. The motor of the sword could still be heard, though none of the men could see her. The Tribune looked worried and scared as he grabbed onto one of the guards shoulder. Then from seemingly out of no where the blade comes swiping threw a guards neck, messyly chewing it off and flinging the head, blood splurting everywhere. The men where shocked in horror as one of there comrades just died a gruesome death. Then another was impaled by the blade. The men remaking men opened fire around the newly dead guard not hitting anything. The woman revealed herself only for a second as the guards caught a glimpse of her and opened fire around her last know location. A beam of light then retaliated from some direction that could not be pinpointed, burning half of one of the guards face off. Before the reminder could process what had happened another was sawed in half and another had a hole beamed threw his forehead. Within the time frame of 5 minutes all but the Tribune lie dead. The Tribune began to run but did not take two steps before his collar was yanked and he was pulled to the ground. The woman revealed to herself and was kneeling above the frail old man. The Tribune took one final deep breath at a realization that this was his final moments. "Sooo sad you are, Fyodor. Once a great man who excommunicated and shunned my people, now about to die by my hands.." A young echoing voice spoke from the woman. "May I ask... Who are you?" The Tribune asked in a shaky tone. "Aww, I'm hurt, oh great Tribune of Volkian, that you don't remember me.. maybe if I show my face." She took off the helm to reveal Admiral Sagnant of the Risen fleet. Her cold dead eyes stared deep within the withered man's soul as she umseathed an Aeitrian noble's dagger. "Don't you remember me now? Wasn't it you who coined my title as the Sky Witch? Well no matter. It's time to die now." Bella impaled Fyodor's skull with the dagger killing him instantly and then stood up and sawed off his head as a departing gift. "Poor poor man... If only he hadn't rejected us..." We're Bella's final words before she walked towards an aircraft hiding within the smoke and flames.
Juway
Typical New Yorker
In the lower decks of the flagship Visund of Clan Bear was one capacious room the Bears might have referred to as The Hall of Getting Drunk and Shouting Insults at Your Superiors. In fact there was no official name for it. Bears usually called it "the Hall." All attempts throughout the ship's long existence to give it a proper name had fallen short, perhaps because its ambiguous designation described its vague purpose by not attempting to describe it. It was a tavern, a dinner hall, meeting hall and martial arts arena all at once, and had served as everything from infirmary to workshop in more desperate times. Anyone who didn't spend at least half of their sleeping hours in the hall was unlikely to gain much stature. Mireille had done much to distinguish herself so far by manipulating powerful figures she could easily cozy up to in the Hall; it was a foregone conclusion that she wasn't the only one with the idea.
Mireille had identified a few other spies already. This is against the rules - the spy leaves her reports in the dead drop site and follows her objectives which she receives from another dead drop site. They are not to interact with or know of the identity of one another unless instructed to work together out of necessity. The spy does not even know the identity of her handler. Mireille understood the purpose of this blinding policy and had been, for about a year now, diligently undermining it, trying to shoot through her professional trammels with a flintlock pistol.
Some targets didn't require much intuition or keen perception to identify. This one, called Kjeld, was in his early twenties, about 5'8" and seemed the nonathletic type - rare in Marauder society. He was an outsider, initiated into the clan about three years ago. He laid low for the first couple years but recently had become well-known by the patrons of the Hall as a reliable source of toilet humor, cleverly improvised drinking songs, comically awkward dancing and a variety of other forms of self-debasing buffoonery. Kjeld's personality was charismatic, endearing; he was not respected as a warrior but as a wellspring of morale he was what fresh, cold water is to a man lost in the desert. The strongest men and women in the tavern perceived him to be harmless, and so they would let their guards down for him. Mireille needed no more reason to suspect his duplicity beyond the observation that Kjeld was overtly playing the role of the tavern bard. Bards, jesters, prostitutes: entertainers of all stripes are almost always spies.
Mireille managed, one night, to tail Kjeld from the Hall to the ship's boiler room. On the way, Kjeld seemed to suspect being followed. He occasionally, without changing his walking velocity, spun around in a sudden, casual "thought I heard something" 360 degree turn, forcing Mireille to duck deftly behind cover to elude his sight. Of course a spy on the way to his dead drop site would take precautions against being tailed. Or if it wasn't a spy, it was someone who nonetheless was about to do something they wanted no one to know about, which tends to lead to information ripe for harvesting via a blackmail assignment. Mireille had planted more than a few "I know what you did" letters into the pockets of unconscious, inebriated men. A few women, too.
The room was inactive; the clan only used fuel when evading or pursuing their enemies. (When the consumption of fuel wasn't necessary, they flew great white sails emblazoned with Clan Bear heraldry and followed the wind. The fleet of thousands of longships migrating in tight formation looked like a floating city of individual buildings made in some alien architecture and topped with a few feet of snow.) Not even a lantern in the boiler room was lit and only the tiny souls of vermin and insects inhabited the room until Kjeld walked in. The sound of the wind rushing past the hull outside produced enough ambient noise that Mireille's somewhat heavy footsteps were inaudible to him. Then, when she saw him peer over his shoulder one last time and then drop some object into an open brass pipe, Mireille made her move.
He froze and put up his hands, standing up straight as he felt the barrel of a pistol press against his back, aimed at his heart. His lungs filled with air very suddenly but he only smelled alcohol; a whisky-soaked rag covered his mouth and nose. Immediately he recognized the Volkarine interrogation tactic and seemed to accept the reality of his disadvantage. He could smell only liquor, see only the dark room in front of him, feel only the barrel of a gun, hear only a whisper. The whisper hissed, "where are your other dead drops?"
"Top deck, third starboard swivel gun from the stern at midnight. This boiler room just before dawn, a loose plank in the main hallway belowdecks after noon, and my objectives arrive in my quarters in a pocket sown into my bunk." Mireille pressed the barrel of the gun into his back, rewarding his cooperation with discomfort. He squirmed and said, "too obvious, wasn't I? Ever meet a bard who wasn't a spy?" Mireille considered the possibility that he had intentionally let himself into the ambush to draw her out. She dismissed it as irrelevant; if he had a move to make, her throat would be slit by the time she left the room. If he didn't have any cards to play, then the conversation would continue as planned. Any spy in his position, though, would have something clever to say.
"Save the small talk. You're as green as the sky is empty if you think you can convince me of anything but the following facts: number one, you're my pawn because I know who you are and you don't know who I am. Number two, I will be reading your dead drops before your handler can get to them so if you say anything about this to raise suspicion, you may as well include in that report your own confession of treason. Number three, if you cease to be useful, I will dispose of you. Any questions?" Mireille loved the Q&A session more than the speech. Kjeld stayed quiet for a few seconds. Then he said, "if you allow it, I will leave reports specifically for you in a new dead drop. I have some information that might be useful for counter-espionage. Just tips that you can verify at your leisure." Mireille considered his offer. As far as she knew, she was the only member of Clan Bear's counter-espionage team, and in fact no one in Clan Bear was yet aware of her efforts. Recruiting another double agent could multiply the fruits of her labor. She responded, "behind the painting of King Egil in the corridors in the quarters section, at dawn. This is your chance to make yourself indispensable. Walk." Mireille kept the gun to his back and whisky-laden cloth to his face as she escorted him to the exit of the room. Kjeld stepped outside the doorway and she removed the cloth from his face. He politely kept his gaze focused ahead and walked on into the empty corridor. She watched him leave, gun pointed at him all the while in case he decided to turn around, but he walked upstairs without attempting to get a glance at her. Mireille made her disappearance through another escape route and, after disposing of the rag and washing her hands, went to her quarters to rest and plot. She'd made much headway but hadn't yet found the opportunity for her masterstroke.
Mireille had identified a few other spies already. This is against the rules - the spy leaves her reports in the dead drop site and follows her objectives which she receives from another dead drop site. They are not to interact with or know of the identity of one another unless instructed to work together out of necessity. The spy does not even know the identity of her handler. Mireille understood the purpose of this blinding policy and had been, for about a year now, diligently undermining it, trying to shoot through her professional trammels with a flintlock pistol.
Some targets didn't require much intuition or keen perception to identify. This one, called Kjeld, was in his early twenties, about 5'8" and seemed the nonathletic type - rare in Marauder society. He was an outsider, initiated into the clan about three years ago. He laid low for the first couple years but recently had become well-known by the patrons of the Hall as a reliable source of toilet humor, cleverly improvised drinking songs, comically awkward dancing and a variety of other forms of self-debasing buffoonery. Kjeld's personality was charismatic, endearing; he was not respected as a warrior but as a wellspring of morale he was what fresh, cold water is to a man lost in the desert. The strongest men and women in the tavern perceived him to be harmless, and so they would let their guards down for him. Mireille needed no more reason to suspect his duplicity beyond the observation that Kjeld was overtly playing the role of the tavern bard. Bards, jesters, prostitutes: entertainers of all stripes are almost always spies.
Mireille managed, one night, to tail Kjeld from the Hall to the ship's boiler room. On the way, Kjeld seemed to suspect being followed. He occasionally, without changing his walking velocity, spun around in a sudden, casual "thought I heard something" 360 degree turn, forcing Mireille to duck deftly behind cover to elude his sight. Of course a spy on the way to his dead drop site would take precautions against being tailed. Or if it wasn't a spy, it was someone who nonetheless was about to do something they wanted no one to know about, which tends to lead to information ripe for harvesting via a blackmail assignment. Mireille had planted more than a few "I know what you did" letters into the pockets of unconscious, inebriated men. A few women, too.
The room was inactive; the clan only used fuel when evading or pursuing their enemies. (When the consumption of fuel wasn't necessary, they flew great white sails emblazoned with Clan Bear heraldry and followed the wind. The fleet of thousands of longships migrating in tight formation looked like a floating city of individual buildings made in some alien architecture and topped with a few feet of snow.) Not even a lantern in the boiler room was lit and only the tiny souls of vermin and insects inhabited the room until Kjeld walked in. The sound of the wind rushing past the hull outside produced enough ambient noise that Mireille's somewhat heavy footsteps were inaudible to him. Then, when she saw him peer over his shoulder one last time and then drop some object into an open brass pipe, Mireille made her move.
He froze and put up his hands, standing up straight as he felt the barrel of a pistol press against his back, aimed at his heart. His lungs filled with air very suddenly but he only smelled alcohol; a whisky-soaked rag covered his mouth and nose. Immediately he recognized the Volkarine interrogation tactic and seemed to accept the reality of his disadvantage. He could smell only liquor, see only the dark room in front of him, feel only the barrel of a gun, hear only a whisper. The whisper hissed, "where are your other dead drops?"
"Top deck, third starboard swivel gun from the stern at midnight. This boiler room just before dawn, a loose plank in the main hallway belowdecks after noon, and my objectives arrive in my quarters in a pocket sown into my bunk." Mireille pressed the barrel of the gun into his back, rewarding his cooperation with discomfort. He squirmed and said, "too obvious, wasn't I? Ever meet a bard who wasn't a spy?" Mireille considered the possibility that he had intentionally let himself into the ambush to draw her out. She dismissed it as irrelevant; if he had a move to make, her throat would be slit by the time she left the room. If he didn't have any cards to play, then the conversation would continue as planned. Any spy in his position, though, would have something clever to say.
"Save the small talk. You're as green as the sky is empty if you think you can convince me of anything but the following facts: number one, you're my pawn because I know who you are and you don't know who I am. Number two, I will be reading your dead drops before your handler can get to them so if you say anything about this to raise suspicion, you may as well include in that report your own confession of treason. Number three, if you cease to be useful, I will dispose of you. Any questions?" Mireille loved the Q&A session more than the speech. Kjeld stayed quiet for a few seconds. Then he said, "if you allow it, I will leave reports specifically for you in a new dead drop. I have some information that might be useful for counter-espionage. Just tips that you can verify at your leisure." Mireille considered his offer. As far as she knew, she was the only member of Clan Bear's counter-espionage team, and in fact no one in Clan Bear was yet aware of her efforts. Recruiting another double agent could multiply the fruits of her labor. She responded, "behind the painting of King Egil in the corridors in the quarters section, at dawn. This is your chance to make yourself indispensable. Walk." Mireille kept the gun to his back and whisky-laden cloth to his face as she escorted him to the exit of the room. Kjeld stepped outside the doorway and she removed the cloth from his face. He politely kept his gaze focused ahead and walked on into the empty corridor. She watched him leave, gun pointed at him all the while in case he decided to turn around, but he walked upstairs without attempting to get a glance at her. Mireille made her disappearance through another escape route and, after disposing of the rag and washing her hands, went to her quarters to rest and plot. She'd made much headway but hadn't yet found the opportunity for her masterstroke.
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General Deth Glitch
Two Thousand Club
Dameos charged down the stairs, the king between him and his Chief Engineer. Upon reaching the bottom his crew formed around them to provide protection until suddenly he could hear sounds of gunshots and, closer at hand the sound of blade on blade. He and his officers drew their swords and pistols and the other sailors also drew their swords. His exquisitely fashioned weaponry embossed and engraved with much heraldry as a gift from his father, was also designed with practicality in mind and as such the five barreled revolver was soon scanning the crowd. As the cogs whirred and gears ground Dameos passed a corridor just to find a group of men waiting for them, they rushed the group and a fierce battle ensued but Dameos did not slow, leaving half his men behind to finish that particular skirmish he continued on his way, reaching the great doors which had apparently been closed since he entered, locking those that arrived early in, with potentially suicidal magi!
Dameos looked at the engineer and formed a semicircle against one of the access panels as the engineer got to work, the engineer was hard at work as the king sat next to him, unsure of what to do and exhausted from running further then he had ever needed to travel in a long while, being used to traveling in luxury with the regent. Dameos and his men fanned out in formation, each man about a meter apart, guns raised and swords drawn, Dameos was in the center of the arc. Then chaos erupted for a second time, their foe, catching sight of Nymus, rushed the group again. Soon Dameos was out of ammunition, as were his men, and they were met with blades and sometimes little bursts of magical anomalus that Dameos had no real ideas how to counter but, it was also apparently doing very little, perhaps this mage was inexperienced, either way he was alive so he was to keep fighting "How is that door looking Haelric?" Dameos screamed to his engineer over the clash of steel on steel and the thud of his boots on peoples chests. However the men kept coming, those of his men that had survived the ambush earlier arrived and fought their way through, just in time to replace the men who had fallen in this battle. It appeared that where he was, right now, was going to be the center of attention for the time being 'That's what I should expect for rescuing a king' he thought as more foes fell upon their position but, just as it seemed they were to be over run the palace guards arrived and aided them in their efforts, atleast those that hadinot yet met with anyone else who would no doubt give them orders to the contrary for a king not in their control was a threat, not that Dameos yet knew this. The guards soon bolstered Dameos' battle line, allowing them a safer defense and, soon, Haelric responded with "I believe I may well have achieved that which your desired Captain, sir." he said in his posh Aeternian noble accent, himself being a bastard like Dameos.
If they were not in such a rush Dameos would have no doubt stood and watched them opening with awe and, despite the urgency, Healric still tried to as they ushered the king through the quickly widening gap that was the door way, no longer locked in unending combat Dameos reloaded a shot in his gun and fired into the sky, making the crowd cower down and remove themselves from his path but less then a second after he fires the shot he hears thunder and looks up, seeing what looks like lightning in the sky just off from the docks. As he continues towards his ship, through the pristine streets that surround the fair and, sending a crew member off to warn his father, quickly made haste to his ship.
They were all exhausted and, for parts of the journey, the men had taken it in turns to carry his royal highness, non of them being sure if carrying the king was something they would be rewarded for or executed for but all of them knowing it was the right and necessary thing to do. Dameos sent them inside before him and took up position on the gangplank as Healric ran off to tend to his folk down in the belly of the ship, then the heavens, quite literally, opened. chunks of metal and debris began raining down and Dameos screamed for everyone to get below deck, for the ship could take a battering so he planed to sit out this apparent act of some deity and ordered the ship to cut all ties to the land and prepare for a state three: no contact. A state three, also known by the Aeternian crew as a 'No contact' was when the ship was to spend extended periods at sky with no contact to anyone or anything, using clouds to move and was often used when they were scouting or spying enemy craft, it was not normal to happen this close to home.
As great sections of metal collided into the hull like a hellish hail storm Dameos had his quarters made up for the king and kicked his first mate out of her bed, resigning her to sleep in a hammock tied in her own living quarter, next to where Dameos would be no doubt snoring through the night. He then set off to the bridge where, despite some small chips, the thick glass that covered the front half held and he could see that this was no act of god but half a dozen of so ships falling out of the sky. His officers were already on deck and were pulling the ship to battle conditions and awaiting either further orders or more sign of the enemy movement. "Kias, did you warn the first admiral of the events at the world fair?"
"Indeed sir, he had all crews on duty report and all further shore leave cancelled until further notice, I believe most were on board the ships hit by the falling craft" she added "however It also appears that whatever further plans they had have been halted as no movement of any sort has been detected since this fall, but we have received no word of the fair itself, is the king safe?" she asked just as his royal highness wandered up the stairs himself.
"I am fine, but mighten we have a little word captain?" he responded
Dameos looked at the engineer and formed a semicircle against one of the access panels as the engineer got to work, the engineer was hard at work as the king sat next to him, unsure of what to do and exhausted from running further then he had ever needed to travel in a long while, being used to traveling in luxury with the regent. Dameos and his men fanned out in formation, each man about a meter apart, guns raised and swords drawn, Dameos was in the center of the arc. Then chaos erupted for a second time, their foe, catching sight of Nymus, rushed the group again. Soon Dameos was out of ammunition, as were his men, and they were met with blades and sometimes little bursts of magical anomalus that Dameos had no real ideas how to counter but, it was also apparently doing very little, perhaps this mage was inexperienced, either way he was alive so he was to keep fighting "How is that door looking Haelric?" Dameos screamed to his engineer over the clash of steel on steel and the thud of his boots on peoples chests. However the men kept coming, those of his men that had survived the ambush earlier arrived and fought their way through, just in time to replace the men who had fallen in this battle. It appeared that where he was, right now, was going to be the center of attention for the time being 'That's what I should expect for rescuing a king' he thought as more foes fell upon their position but, just as it seemed they were to be over run the palace guards arrived and aided them in their efforts, atleast those that hadinot yet met with anyone else who would no doubt give them orders to the contrary for a king not in their control was a threat, not that Dameos yet knew this. The guards soon bolstered Dameos' battle line, allowing them a safer defense and, soon, Haelric responded with "I believe I may well have achieved that which your desired Captain, sir." he said in his posh Aeternian noble accent, himself being a bastard like Dameos.
If they were not in such a rush Dameos would have no doubt stood and watched them opening with awe and, despite the urgency, Healric still tried to as they ushered the king through the quickly widening gap that was the door way, no longer locked in unending combat Dameos reloaded a shot in his gun and fired into the sky, making the crowd cower down and remove themselves from his path but less then a second after he fires the shot he hears thunder and looks up, seeing what looks like lightning in the sky just off from the docks. As he continues towards his ship, through the pristine streets that surround the fair and, sending a crew member off to warn his father, quickly made haste to his ship.
They were all exhausted and, for parts of the journey, the men had taken it in turns to carry his royal highness, non of them being sure if carrying the king was something they would be rewarded for or executed for but all of them knowing it was the right and necessary thing to do. Dameos sent them inside before him and took up position on the gangplank as Healric ran off to tend to his folk down in the belly of the ship, then the heavens, quite literally, opened. chunks of metal and debris began raining down and Dameos screamed for everyone to get below deck, for the ship could take a battering so he planed to sit out this apparent act of some deity and ordered the ship to cut all ties to the land and prepare for a state three: no contact. A state three, also known by the Aeternian crew as a 'No contact' was when the ship was to spend extended periods at sky with no contact to anyone or anything, using clouds to move and was often used when they were scouting or spying enemy craft, it was not normal to happen this close to home.
As great sections of metal collided into the hull like a hellish hail storm Dameos had his quarters made up for the king and kicked his first mate out of her bed, resigning her to sleep in a hammock tied in her own living quarter, next to where Dameos would be no doubt snoring through the night. He then set off to the bridge where, despite some small chips, the thick glass that covered the front half held and he could see that this was no act of god but half a dozen of so ships falling out of the sky. His officers were already on deck and were pulling the ship to battle conditions and awaiting either further orders or more sign of the enemy movement. "Kias, did you warn the first admiral of the events at the world fair?"
"Indeed sir, he had all crews on duty report and all further shore leave cancelled until further notice, I believe most were on board the ships hit by the falling craft" she added "however It also appears that whatever further plans they had have been halted as no movement of any sort has been detected since this fall, but we have received no word of the fair itself, is the king safe?" she asked just as his royal highness wandered up the stairs himself.
"I am fine, but mighten we have a little word captain?" he responded
minusultra
Senior Member
Okay now Juli was getting nervous. The mood in the air was making her uneasy and something told her she should turn around and get herself home. But curiosity had gotten the best of her and she just had to know what was going on. So she would stay a bit longer. Just until she knew.
Mistake number two
Leaning forward so that she was standing on her tip toes, Juli squinted to better see what the guards were stuffing in the bags. Were those heads?! Juli fell back to flat feet and swallowed hard. Whose heads were those? She couldn't see from this distance. Juli decided that this was the time to leave, but before she could move an inch a screech shot through the air and panic erupted through the crowd. Now things were getting hectic and guards were fighting to keep order and get people away to safety. They were under attack! That was the only conclusion Juli could make. Calming herself, Juli was about to allow herself to be taken away with the crowd when she was stopped by a hand gripping her shoulder. What the hell?
Panic filled every inch of Juli body and all she wanted to do was scream, but the look on the mans face that stood before her told Juli that that would not be the best idea. So she just stool there, wide eyed and scared.
"Girl," the mysterious man started. "Something bad has happened."
Before he could speak shots rang from above. Guard readied themselves for attack and men, women, and children ran passed Juli in complete anarchy.
"Let me go!" Juli snapped. was he trying to get her killed? The man seemed completely unfazed by everything that was going on.
"The regent is in danger. That ring you have protects people - you're the key to saving him" The man continued as if this was a completely normal thing to say to a stranger you had just met.
"My ring...?" Juli repeated looking down at her right hand. Juli remembered that night behind her shop. She had lifted her arms to shield herself from falling scrap metal, and after feeling a boost of energy run through her veins, the metal was blasted away. So that was the ring after all. Did this man know the person who gave her the matching set? Was she in trouble for using it? The sound of more shots brought Juli back to reality.
"Okay look," she said lowering her voice. "I can't help you. I don't even know what this is or how to use this and all I want to do is go home. So if you could let go of me that would be great." Then Juli saw it, then gun in his hand. Juli could feel the tears. "Please don't shoot me," she choked out. "If I could give this to you trust me I would but I can't. So just let. go!" Juli tried to sound firm but lets face it, she didn't.
Mistake number two
Leaning forward so that she was standing on her tip toes, Juli squinted to better see what the guards were stuffing in the bags. Were those heads?! Juli fell back to flat feet and swallowed hard. Whose heads were those? She couldn't see from this distance. Juli decided that this was the time to leave, but before she could move an inch a screech shot through the air and panic erupted through the crowd. Now things were getting hectic and guards were fighting to keep order and get people away to safety. They were under attack! That was the only conclusion Juli could make. Calming herself, Juli was about to allow herself to be taken away with the crowd when she was stopped by a hand gripping her shoulder. What the hell?
Panic filled every inch of Juli body and all she wanted to do was scream, but the look on the mans face that stood before her told Juli that that would not be the best idea. So she just stool there, wide eyed and scared.
"Girl," the mysterious man started. "Something bad has happened."
Before he could speak shots rang from above. Guard readied themselves for attack and men, women, and children ran passed Juli in complete anarchy.
"Let me go!" Juli snapped. was he trying to get her killed? The man seemed completely unfazed by everything that was going on.
"The regent is in danger. That ring you have protects people - you're the key to saving him" The man continued as if this was a completely normal thing to say to a stranger you had just met.
"My ring...?" Juli repeated looking down at her right hand. Juli remembered that night behind her shop. She had lifted her arms to shield herself from falling scrap metal, and after feeling a boost of energy run through her veins, the metal was blasted away. So that was the ring after all. Did this man know the person who gave her the matching set? Was she in trouble for using it? The sound of more shots brought Juli back to reality.
"Okay look," she said lowering her voice. "I can't help you. I don't even know what this is or how to use this and all I want to do is go home. So if you could let go of me that would be great." Then Juli saw it, then gun in his hand. Juli could feel the tears. "Please don't shoot me," she choked out. "If I could give this to you trust me I would but I can't. So just let. go!" Juli tried to sound firm but lets face it, she didn't.
NateALis
I PEED MY PANTS (My avatar)
Da faq
ronnydazzler
thesis, antithesis, synthesis.
This was cool.
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