Eostia: Harem Quest

by EostianScribe

The Gods have given mortals the power of The Gamer as a pass time. A hobby. A means to compete and relax. One goddess, however, sees it as a means of salvation; starting with one world. As such, she rolls the dice... (Harem, Citrus and Eventual Dark Content Warning)

72. Act-II-Epilogue: To Be Prepared

[ - Author's Address - ]

Well here we are... the final piece of the long, long, long road that was Act Two. So seeing as I did it last time it's time for another Author's Address to everyone who has read this far to say the same thing I said last time.

Thank you.

Thank you to those who have offered ideas and suggestions, no matter if I have used them or not. It has helped spur along some of my own ideas that I have used until now.

Thank you for sticking with this story through an Act that bloated well beyond what I thought it would. I am well aware some of Act Two felt like it dragged om and I hope to avoid that in the future; at the very least there won't be nearly over fifty pieces to Act Three.

Thank you to those who have and continue to follow this story; I know Kuroinu isn't the biggest hub on FFDotNet or AO3, but I am glad you're here and reading.

Thank you to those you leave reviews with kind words and offer your patience for both updates and my mistakes.

Just, once more, thank you to everyone who has read this story up until this point. Thank you.

As last time I will offer a reading suggestion for you to enjoy; The Vengeful Dead by stenv. It's... not been updated much, save a promise to return in October but it is an interesting one where the zombie apocalypse focuses on coming down on the bad guys. It's a different one, to say the least. It only has three proper chapters, sadly. So, with that done...

[ - Author's Note - ]

Okay; to the poll... Which doesn't have that many responses; likely due to how short this one is. I also think that having them back to back to back didn't help either... Oh well... So, Best Banners of Thorn! What do we have!?

Well at the bottom of the list with a sad zero votes is Houses Aquwis, Redhull and Stoneshard. Aquwis and Redhull are there because I needed two more naval based ones and ran with that. Stoneshard? The 'obviously evil' type of banner. As I recall it's one of the first who's outline I made myself and didn't copy from Google Images.

Tied at fourth is another three way; Houses Trademan, Usagi and the High Consul of Thorn Emblem at two each (9.09%). Of them Trademan is my favorite; I like the four pointed anchor there. Usagi was meant to be a Samurai based house (Duh!) and I wanted a 'Rabbit on the Moon' thing somewhere. As for the High Consul Emblem... It's one of my least favorites; I kept it as not every emblem in real life is a banger.

At third is House Kabutomushi with three votes (13.64%). I also wanted a cool, awesome looking beetle emblem as well as a cool, oval looking shape. It worked so well.

At second is House Niryu with six votes (27.27%). I just had this idea of a shield with a ying-yang in the middle and pulled apart slightly. It came out well, but I think it could have been better.

And finally, at number one with seven votes (31.82%) is House Okami! I liked the idea of a mirrored wolf's head and it looked awesome! I wasn't going to make it an Eastern territory originally but I changed my mind as I got to that part of the story.

With all of that done what do we have? Well the culmination of James' projects, the gear Lulu was making arrives, we touch base on a few people we've seen along the way in Act Two and...

Well...

They're heeeeerrrrrreeeeeeeeeee!

Enjoy!

[ - Act II - Epilogue: To Be Prepared - ]

I would argue that the most important thing that decides a war is preparation. People say 'you go to war with the army you have and not the one you want' and that is partially true; an army's composition can be changed as a war drags on and new tactics implemented however that takes time. It's more akin to 'you start a war with the army you have and adapt and change as battle wages'. As such it's best to get the army you need before war comes; be it by your hand or another's.

If you have much of what you need before a war starts then you don't need to hold the enemy as you build up forces. In addition a nation with a powerful, able army is less tempting a target then a nation without. War is a costly thing in lives and coin, after all, so one should only willingly employ it in defense or when absolutely required and military investment in times of peace can expand upon that peace or restore it if someone wishes a war.

~Dominic James Pencraft, The Eostia Historia

[-]

We would return home a few days after I had reported to King Aston. Prim had arrived to relieve me as Alicia's emotional support and in my opinion she was better suited to the task. Once home I was put back to work on a few things; mostly in preparing the limited mages we had for possible combat. Between that I did what projects I could; starting with the mythril staff I took from Ryu. When I first used Observe on it the given name was 'Mythril Segmented Staff', which was interesting. Then 'Mythril Tube Staff' when I had the lead and mechanical parts removed. Now I'd need to name it something else with the work I was doing to it. Starting with my first modifications; adding two, large spell stones to it.

I had a pair of grade three stones that were each noticeably larger then a baseball. These would, each, approach the power of the one in Makoto's blade to give a idea of their strength but still not as powerful as it was and even then it was because of how much larger they were. I would reform them to have them go down and fill the inside of the tubes and each of the rounded ends with the ends of both sticking out and rounded, as smooth as the metal around them. I even recolored them to nice, blue colors before enchanting them and I made it... mostly work.

The one downside was I couldn't use staves well due to my class and in order to use this new weapon to it's full potential I needed to be able to do so. I had thought I had two choices then; one of which was taking Multi-Melee Master until I realized that would only give me access to one handed melee weapons and staves were two handed, meaning I'd have to buy it and it's upgrade to use staves; or seventy five Trait Points in total. I only had sixty and aside from being fifteen short I was reluctant to invest so much into something I likely wouldn't make full use of. Thankfully my other choice did pan out; the Bo-Man trait as used by Ryu was only fifteen trait points so slapping down that many Universals was easy.

This new staff would replace my spear as my secondary weapon and I took sometime to both test it and to show it off. Mother in particular was very impressed with what I had done and how flexible a weapon it was. In addition I removed the small stones at the segmentation point, added stronger and larger (Also blue) ones to the inside of it and using the mounting points for the chain device to anchor them as I reformed them inside the tubes which I applied the 'attach to back' spell, along with the one that kept the two segments together but also added a Levitation spell to both add some more effects but also quickly recover a segment if dropped. In addition to all of that they would act as counterbalances when it was segmented. I was happy with it and after some prompting from Saxon I would finally name it as the Shining Gemini.

After a few more days the real project began however; Louis had gotten me a hundred and seven pounds of spell fiber and the maids (Paid extra, of course) formed them into long ropes. The lengths were uneven but ranged from four feet to nine. The bulk of the lengths were shorter once I told them that that A) the length wasn't that important and a modest length was for the best and B) it was just easier on them. Now it was back to the wagon as I started to lay down ropes of spell fiber, sliding lengths of the material under the gaps in the beams as well as laying them between the beams, doing my best to spread everything out evenly and overlapping what I could. Once done I took a lot of resin made by Elurnd and coated it all to glue it down. I made sure he made enough and more for my needs and he came through. I was able to pour it into place before using a brush to paint it into other spots it needed to be. It took five hours to dry into a strong, flexible layer that would hold it all together but once it had it was about time as I brought with me some notes of what I had planned and made some last moment checks...

So of course there was an interruption...

My voxlux started to ping and I was forced to pause and draw it out to look at the face of a guard, calling me. "Yes? What's going on?" I asked as the man saluted in the image.

"M'lord, there's a carriage on route. Looks like it's from House Fiorire."

"Huh? Prim should still be in Foeh..." I let off as I mused. "Which direction is it coming from?"

"The south, M'lord." He let off as I frowned before something came to me.

"Ahhh. Understood. Inform Sora to greet him and inform her I'll be along shortly." I replied.

"Understood." He let off as the call ended as I moved over to the sheets once more and double checked what I was planning on before nodding. I was a bit surprised when I heard the carriage arrive; that was... faster then I thought as I moved to walk around the manner towards the front. Before I could get to the front Sora was already bringing the Grand Duke of Ur, Samuel Fiorire, about as I blinked. Once we were close enough to each other I stopped to wave.

"My apologies for not greeting you straight away myself; I had thought I had a few more moments before you arrived." I said, bowing softly as he chuckled.

"Ahhhhh, don't worry about it my boy. Seems I caught you in the middle of your work." He said with a grin. "I was on the way home when you summoned Prim away and this was a fine place to rest for a day regardless, so I wanted to pay a visit after all that had happened. I knew Beardsley for many years myself and considered him a bit of a friend; a reliable man. The truth is... hard to swallow..."

"I can imagine." I said, waving with my hands, starting to walk to the wagon once more as he started to follow. "Honestly that Albert turned his coat in another surprise. I took him as a bit of a man set in his ways but mostly honorable. It's frustrating."

"I know... Houses Fiorire and Arcturus have always been close and he was like a brother to me, in spite of his flaws." The Grand Duke said as we reached a table in the back; not the one I had my notes on. I would call one of the maids to send lemonade; I'd need something cooler then tea.

"I can only imagine... I suppose it's better we find out now then in the middle of a Garan attack." I said as I sighed.

"Indeed... So... what's with the giant wagon?" He let off as he looked to it.

"Oh; just my newest project. I was about to start enchanting it, really." Once we had returned from Feoh more work was done on the wagon. We adjusted the rails on the back to be on a hinge with a lock on the ends; small spells stones were set to not just lock and unlock it as well as lift or lower it on it's own. In addition I set a pair of white spell stones to the back at the beams that were the size of baseballs; grade fours. Matching ones were at the sides ahead of the wheels. The two foot ends of the beams now had a bench added to it with a step besides them to help someone get up to it. In front of the bench was a six inch table with a back board; two inches tall. The middle was cut out to have a brass control stick in the middle, not unlike a classic fighter plane with a lever on it with a small, white spell stone on the tip. Next to it was a brass throttle with a horizontal throttle with a small trigger on it as well. Off to the side of the throttle I had a baseball sized if a low grade seven spell stone that was white in a dome. "It's something of a mid-scale project."

"Hmmm... Indeed." He said as he looked to it. "How long until it's done?"

"Hmm... An hour and change, if it all goes well." I replied with a shrug.

"I see... Why don't you hop to it; I'm curious to see what exactly it does..." He said as I stood and chuckles.

"Sure. With luck you'll even get to ride on it." I said as I chuckled. "Give me a while."

Given the Grand Duke's blessing I started to get back to work. Given what I had made anyone who knew of my little toy wagon and what I did with it would know what I had planned. I set my hands to the somewhat rubbery resin as I started my enchanting as I tried to keep my excitement in check. While I asked one of the maids to deliver the lemonade it was Riri who showed up and, after a moment, was pulled into a conversation with Samuel as I worked.

Miria and Aeris both would find their way back as I worked and then Makoto and Tiffany. Finally, a little over an hour later, I was done. With help from Tiffany and Makoto I would add another layer of planks over the top. There would be more to do for finishing touches and we left the last two planks in place but not nailed down so I could access the spell fiber mass as needed. Once done I directed them to move off the wagon as I moved to have a seat in the middle; the pilot's position.

Pressing my thumb to the stone on the control stick I activated the whole thing as the stone flashed. Now active I performed some basic tests to see how well it responded. Grabbing the throttle I pulled it backwards slightly and in response the wagon shuddered and started to roll forwards. Everyone who was watching perked up a bit as I let the throttle move back to neutral then pushed it forwards. Sure enough it reversed smoothly as well. Next I pulled it back and turned the stick one way then the other and the front wheels turned to match; it was working well. "Okay... So far so good... Next is the real test." I let off.

"Does it do what I think it does?" Miria asked as she grinned. The Grand Duke was in the dark but everyone else was pretty sure of what it did. I nodded... and the voxlux pinged as I pulled it free. Once more; the same guard.

"Is something the matter?" It was rare for one of the guard's to call twice, back to back no less.

"There's another carriage on approach, Sire." He let off. "I'm not sure of the emblem though; it's a monochrome, crowned skull with... hearts in it's eyes."

"Wait... That's House Adelle." I let off as everyone in ear shot stiffened.

This was... unexpected...

[-]

Skyguard City, High Kingdom of Ken
Inside the White Citadel
The Chamber of the Seven Shields

"I see I am the last for a change." Kaguya let off as she walked into the massive meeting room. The large, open and bright room was always a welcome sight... and coming here was an excuse to get away from the Seindai. Ever since she began the changes to the rules around celibacy the priestesses have been enjoying the new freedoms liberally and all of the elders opted to see why everyone made such a big deal about brothels...

It would be a fight to ensure moderation...

"Indeed. Please, join us." Celestine said as Kaguya moved to take her seat. Of the Seven Shields only five were present; Alicia's seat was empty. Prim's was also empty but a voxlux was set up to face the rest of the table; the Shield Princess of Ur joining the meeting remotely with her image projected over it. Once Kaguya was seated the High Queen began to speak. "I apologize for calling upon you all early. Given what we are expecting to come we need to use this brief calm as best as we can. We now have three intact letters written by Black Storm agents. One by Beardsley and two by someone who seems to be a leader within the movement."

"Yeaaaaaah, we're finally making headway..." Maia let off with a sigh. "But we all know the reality of it; we still don't know the real scope of it. So; what did we learn?"

"Didn't you read the reports?" Claudia said as she gave the mercenary a stern look only to get a shrug.

"It's a boring read... And I was running after a lead of my own." The commander of the Dawn Templars blinking as Maia kept speaking. "A bunch of bandits scored a huge stockpile of weapons in southern Albia. And when I say huge I mean huge. Like one hundred swords, axes and spears alone."

"How did a bandit gang get their hands on that?" Prim let off from the voxlux, blinking as Maia shrugged.

"According to what we know; they were looking for a base of operations and found a blocked off cave." The redhead explained. "They popped in to check it out and made a huge score. Not just weapons; gambeson and chain mail too."

"It's not a part of Albia's stockpiles?" Claudia asked as Maia shook her head.

"It was in the middle of nowhere and hidden. The Baroness knew nothing about it and no signs of Aberrant."

"Mmmmm..." Claudia let off as she cupped her chin. "Well; someone left it... It could, indeed, be left by the Black Storm as a means to quickly arm themselves or to send men in, seemingly unarmed, and arm them in a hurry."

"Sadly we've no idea who put them there, but we confiscated the lot of them." Maia let off. "The Rubies are holding them for now; we might sell them off."

"The crown may be interested in buying them, in that case." Celestine said as she nodded. "For the most part we are still dissecting these letters. As you know we've discovered a second agent; Foeh's Prime Minister Beardsley." She said as everyone frowned for a long moment. "Needless to say that such a high ranking, trusted man in Eostia is a traitor is... unnerving, to say the least."

"What about the other dummy?" Lulu asked with a huff. "This Varro guy?"

"Ahh, yes." Claudia said, looking to her notes. "We know nothing yet about Varro Batzorig so we-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Maia let off, cutting her off. "Did you say the guy calls himself Varro Batzorig?"

"You know him?" Claudia let off, blinking in surprise.

"Never met him; mostly 'cause he's dead." She let off with a huff. "He was the leader of the Howling Hounds, one of the better known merc groups out there. They were killed some... thirteen... fourteen... years ago... or so?" She let off as she thought. "But yeah; he was a well known guy. Vult used to work under him; he's one of the few who survived it's destruction."

"Interesting..." Celestine mused. "You say the Hounds were well known? I assume mostly among mercenary orders?" She asked as Maia nodded. "I see. The use of the name makes sense then; if the name is well known by those in the sell swords trade it would attract the notices of others when used; perhaps enough curiosity to meet the letter's writer if called upon but obscure to most outside of those who are or would hire them. As such it is a near perfect alias if the desire is to gain the notice of such."

"It also means that whoever took the name may or may not be related to Varro or the Hounds." Claudia added as she frowned in thought. "We should have Maia ask Vult about the guy sometime; learn more of him. At least that gives us a lead."

"It should be noted we also have a pair of suspects who might be related to the Storm..." Prim let off from the voxlux... and they could see her shiver as she spoke. "Conti and Ponti Mortadella. While there's no direct proof the circumstantial evidence is significant."

"I was told the Black Watch is looking into them, yes." Celestine added as Lulu leaned to look at Prim's image.

"Why do you look like you don't like them?" The halfling asked.

"Because I don't... They look at me in a weird way." The princess let off as she huffed and pouted. "And they keep looking at my feet! And asking how big my shoes are!"

There was a long, long moment of silence before Kaguya spoke up. "By the tone of your voice they are not cobblers then."

"No." Prim sighed. "My father uses them as a means of securing additional weapons and supplies as well as interesting odds and ends. They're Zenith based traders and pride themselves on getting anything that anyone could want; for a price. They are good at their jobs but they just... I don't want be judgmental, but they act weird!"

"I am... sure if there's dirty dealings then the Black Watch will find it." Claudia let off as she frowned. "That said we have to ask; if they are a part of the Storm are they supported by Zenith who is helping the storm or acting independently? Or are even aware of who they serve?"

"Any of those is possible." Celestine said as she looked across the table calmly. "The Prime Senator holds no love of Eostia but he holds a love for profit. If he were to support Eostia's fall either he seeks to gain from it or prevent some form of a loss. At least the Plutocracy as a whole will not act to oppose us; although agents within might. Once we have agents with voxluxs in place within then perhaps we will have a better picture. For now let's assume it as possibility and not truth."

"I wonder... will the Storm act if Garan attacks?" Lulu let off, crossing her arms over a flat chest. "I mean... they want to conquer Garan first, right?"

"I would imagine they would press in after an incursion when Garan is recovering." Claudia said as she looked back. "But without an understanding of what their plan is I cannot say; there's no telling how they even plan to bypass the Dread Field."

"That has always been the one thing stopping us from ending that stupid war, isn't it...?" Maia sighed as she leaned her head back, hands moving behind it as she moved to kick her feet atop the table's edge, crossing them at the ankles. "But if they had a way to bring it down or slit the Dark Queen's throat..."

No one replied for a bit as the words were left to hang for a long, long moment.

"We must assume they do have a means to defeat the Dread Field or bring it down." Claudia began. "Or somehow reach Olga Discordia directly. Working from there if a group were to attack Garan and conquer it no noble in Eostia would oppose the action. After all; why assist your old enemies? I know a few that would willingly join them..."

"All the more reason we must secure an audience with Olga Discorida by whatever good means we have." Celestine said firmly as she look to her closest aide. "Not just to end this war but to secure her assistance when the time comes. If possible I would sign both a non-aggression pact but some other pact that would have us ally together as needed. If we could secure even a base alliance then this Storm might be reluctant to attack Garan; or at least be forced to alter their plans."

"Mind, elves in general are known to be overly prideful and don't hold love for humans." Maia pointed out. "Dark Elves less so. Getting Olga to make peace is going to be hard enough but making her an ally..?"

"I understand this can be a difficult, if not nearly impossible, endeavor but try we must." Celestine replied. "No; succeed we must. Anything less could be a disaster for us..."

"Mmmm..." Lulu let off with a huff. "So... Something I guess needs to be brought up but kept secret here..." She said as she lifted a hand. "In regards to James."

"Ahhh, you sent off that gear you were making for him, right?" Maia let off with a grin. "Maaaaaaaan, I oughta get ya to make me some orichalcum blades!"

"Yeah! But that's not it." Lulu let off as Maia blinked. "Ahhh, it's an actual secret thing... Like, really, actually, meant-to-be-secret, secret."

"He's a dragonborne." Celestine said casually as everyone turned to look at her in shock... save Lulu who pouted.

"YOU KNEW!?" Lulu bellowed out as the High Queen smiled.

"It's easy when you know what sort of eyes to look for."

"Why didn't he tell me!?" Prim let off as Lulu sighed.

"Well, it was Edda that outed that and... he didn't tell anyone..." Lulu replied as she looked back to Prim. "Said he didn't think it was a big deal."

"It's a big deal!" Prim's voiced shot back.

"He does come off as an oddly humble one, so I am not that surprised..." Kaguya said with a sigh.

"Well I guess we'll need to change that, won't we Sister-Bride!" Prim let off with a long giggle.

"Ahhh... yes... This will be an... interesting arrangement..." Kaguya added, blushing a bit as Celestine gave her a calm, honest smile.

"On that matter, congratulations on the engagement." She said with a smile. "I am a little surprised that James was reluctant to take a second wife. If that speaks to humility or a desire to ensure those around him are sure of their wishes I do not know, but I am glad."

"I mean hell, he's good in bed." Maia let off as the room went silent for a long, long moment. "I'm not ashamed."

"If we're done with this..." Claudia said with a sigh. "Let's get into the reports..." She let off as Celestine nodded.

The High Queen couldn't help but wonder; how many wives was James willing to accept... After all she still recalled their conversation when they danced, seemingly long ago now...

[-]

We all moved to the front to greet our new guests as the carriage rolled into the gates of the manor. Said carriage was very... Adelle. By that I mean the trim of it looked like bone and painted white, the panels were black and looked like they made of plastered, leather skins and bore the House Adelle emblem near the back. The door looked like a fanged, white skull with large eyes as windows and bore spikes on the top of it. The horses pulling it and carrying the knight's in escort were all wearing skull shaped helmets and were all black furred. Merlin and Saxon came out to join us as the carriage came to a park; the latter seemingly worried... Still there was a question in my head... Why were they here? This was well away from Hakla, after all.

Unusually the doors of the carriage didn't swing open to the side; rather the upper part of the skull door swung up, the bottom swung down and unfolded stairs as Blake von Adelle stepped out first and extended a hand to help his wife, Melinda, out. They waved and walked over as Violet walked out after, holding a heavy looking, black sack that she slung onto her back over a shoulder as she walked over, followed by her sister Lilac who held some sort of long, wooden case in her arms as she hopped out and ran over. "Apologies for the unexpected visit, my lad! It's been awhile!" Blake let off as Lilac ran in our direction.

"Nice to see you too, Blake." I said, about to add more... when Lilac's foot caught on a slightly loose stone and started to stumble while refusing to let go of her cargo. Knowing what was coming I moved as she caught herself mid-step... only for the dullahan's head to come off which I manged to catch before it hit the ground as everyone, save those who came to Hakla with me, gawked at her.

"You are a clumsy one, Lilac..." I said as her body walked with over her head giggling nervously as I set the two pieces of her back into place. Merlin gave me a look as I sighed. "Long story." I told him. "Blake can give you the details but she was made like this in an emergency."

"It must have been one major emergency..." Samuel let off as Blake came close enough to clap his daughter's shoulder then take my hand in a too-enthusiastic shake.

"Ahh, my lad it's good to see you!" He let off as he looked about. "Hmmm, not a fan of the decor but I love this place! Nice and cozy."

"Blake von Adelle, welcome to our home." My father began as he adjusted his hat for a moment. "May I ask what brings you by our realm?" It was worth noting that both Houses Noxdecus and Adelle were Libertarians so were allied... kinda.

"Ahhh, yes. Well we had business with young Shield Princess Lulu at Ansur when I learned our mutual friend had a commission with her that had been just finished." My eyes perked up at that as he grinned. "Well she was set to ride to Mungale to deliver it but was called to Skyguard City to a meeting so I offered to bring it in her stead; I had heard rumors you were planning to make something sizable and I was hoping you'd showcase it to us."

"Ahh, I was in fact about to test it." I let off as Violet moved to set the large sack she was carrying at my feet. "I'm confident in it, of course, but I need to put it through some paces."

"Of course, of course." He let off as he moved to rub his hand together. "Well... Why don't you change first?" He let off as I blinked. "If you're going to show off something magnificent my boy then do it in style!"

"Hmm... That's not a bad idea at all..." I let off before lifting up the sack and taking it inside.

[-]

Mercenary War Camp
Imperial Territory of Sideriver
Southeast of the Empire of Dominious

"I see..." The massive man who acted as the leader of this band of sell swords; the handle of his massive blade sticking up over his right shoulder. To the bearded mercenary reporting to him the shadows of the tent did little to hide familiar features to him. "So; Shamhaza was tasked to kill someone by Beardsley and ended up being killed by his target... And then he went out and sniffed out Beardsley's involvement and killed him too, eh?"

"Not fully sure on all the details, but it seems that way." The mercenary said as the leader's cloaked, head mage, glasses ominously shining in what little light was there, was reading the book he took from the bug fanatics bag. "If it was his hand or not I don't know; I only know for sure they're both dead as dead gets."

"Annoying..." To the other side of the room a lanky man flipped a knife idly with one hand, tossing it up and then catching it as he side. "We kinda needed him to break into Fortress Feoh... It'll be more of a pain without him..."

"I have to concur." The man in the cloak said as he adjusted his glasses. "We'll need to find someone of a similar position or status. More over he was a key part into helping us gain the weapons we'd need for the coming invasions."

"I admit..." The towering man let off as he turned and walked into the tent a bit deeper as he had a thoughtful tone to his voice. "This is a disruption to the plan... but we can tolerate it. One doesn't go to war thinking every battle will be won or you won't get hurt. But we will need to find new allies and friends. My understanding is the... House Blitzhaus was allied to Beardsley. Once we have the chance we should contact their head; the Crowns will likely have the contacts we need."

"And if they ain't got'em?" The bearded underling let off as the towering man chuckled.

"We'll find someone. A man called a minister or an unhappy servant called a butler; we can find someone." The man said as he looked to an old flag. It wasn't full sized and was covered in a light layer of dust but it was something of a collectible. A deep red flag with a black circle in the center; large enough to touch the top and bottom of it. Inside was a silver, crescent moon with a small opening at the top and just to the right with a matching outline of a wolf, head raised upwards as it howled, a darker gray, flame like pattern traveling down it's side. The old flag once used by an outfit called the Howling Hounds. "A hound can sniff out it's own, after all..."

[-]

Everyone went to the wagon and hung out around it as I changed so I entered the back of the manor from the backdoor to greet them in the new armor and... dear lord, it was as light as my old gambeson. That was amazing! The first to notice was Miria due to her ears and she gave me a grin as she looked to me, followed by Riri then Sora and Makoto. "James-sama, you look wonderful!" Said bodyguard let off and let everyone else know of my approach.

The armor in question was a nice, rich blue in tone made of layered scales with a well padded under-layer. The torso of it was like a tunic in shape, coming down to my thighs with a set of gauntlets with the right one having a double layer and the left one boasting a triple layer of scales on the back. There were scales went over the back of the fingers as well for extra protection. The legs were the same story with a codpiece bearing a double layer on the front with the boots having a double layer over the shins and top of the feet. A thick, black leather belt with pouches were set to the right side for easy reach and to avoid taking up room where my weapons would go.

A curved pair of pauldrons were set over the shoulders (Double layered) and in the center of the breast plate was a small mythril plate holding the blue spell stone in place; a matching one on the back of the left hand. I was surprised the tailor went all out like this; I guess Lulu really gave him a good budget. I had to guess so as the padding layer bore mythril chain mail where the joints were for added protection as well as a slight, mythril gorget around the neck. A layer of white cloth was set around the shoulders; falling over the top of my chest and back with a gold trim. Under it a half cape extended over my left arm that covered my upper arm and tapered down over the left hip in the same colors but bore the emblem of House Noxdecus on it proudly. Additionally there were two, mythril plates set to my upper arms under the shoulders directly set to the scales and they were both painted in the house emblem in case something happened to the cape or it was removed.

I already loved it. And then there were the stats!

(-)

Armor Type: Arcane Dragon Scale Armor
Slashing Resistance: 60 (-50%)
Piercing Resistance: 60 (-50%)
Blunt Resistance: 60 (-50%)
Magical Resistance: 70 (-50%)
Scale Regeneration: 2 Square Inches Per Hour (Each) (-50%)

Weight: Light
Agility Penalty: 3 (-0.2 Per Con
Other Bonuses: +10 to Mag, +24 to Mnc +6 Damage to Dragon's Breath, Regeneration of scales (-50%)
Other Penalty: -50% to All Resistances (-4% Penalty per Month)

Created by treating an under layer in the means of an Arcane Robe and an outer layer made of Dragon Scales with patches of mythril armoring this is one of the strongest armor types short of orichalcum and Mana Armor in spite of being very light. It bolsters the magic of the user but also synergizes with the mana of any dragonborne; allowing them to use their unique abilities with greater power.

Currently the scales of this armor are not fully imbued with mana but will absorb mana in the air and reach full power over time.

(-)

Sweeeeeeeeeet!

Sure; it's power wasn't at full yet, but it was still a huuuuuuuge improvement over my old gambeson, even at it's current state. Three times the slashing resists, over seven times for the rest, three more Mana Capacity and five Magical Power and more Dragon's Breath Damage! And all of those numbers would go up a little until they all doubled their current status! To put this into perspective; when this thing finally reached it's full charge it would be a match for my mother's Mana Armor and would only be outdone by newer, modern Mana Armors. Hell; my circlet was a piece of Mana Armor and it wasn't as good; although it's protections mixed with the fact it won't block my view made it ideal over most helms.

"I concur." My mother added as I reached them. "You look like a noble knight now. Ahhhhh, my baby boy is so handsome!" She let off, clasping her hands together.

"Ha... thanks mom... Now then..." I let off, looking to Lilac next who picked up the long case from the ground and moved to set it on a table as I looked to the case. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Of course it is!" Blake said smiling and moving to pat my shoulder. "Come now... Open it up and have a look; I had the chance to work a little of my own magic on it. I took the time to personally adjust the stone to be as excellent a focus as possible." He let off which surprised me. Sure; I made sure I could use the main stones of the Shining Gemini could be used as a focus but someone with Blake's experiences could made a finer one, I'm sure. Which made me remind myself to let Blake have a look at it before he left. Either way I moved to the case and flipped the latches and opened the case and saw...

A work of fine art.

It was, of course, orichalcum and looked like a weapon made of pure, shining gold. The blade was about twice as wide as the one on the Unicorn's Horn. The back edge stayed straight and the front edge was curved near the end giving it a very sharp point. There was a thin fuller along the middle of it and bore a series of runes in it with a blue paint in it which, using my magical senses,I could tell was painted with something made that had powdered spell stone in it and was enchanted to further enhance the blade; Blake's doing, clearly. But it was the D-Guard that got me.

Somehow Lulu made it look like a pair of dragon's wings wrapped before it with the back legs and knees held together acting as a cross guard, feet over where the blade and grip met and the tail going around one side and back around the other as other half of the guard. The front hands gripped the blue spell stone just over the wings with the chin of the head set to the stone's top (With two horns at the back of the head going straight back and pointed out slightly and one by the chin in addition to two fangs from the lower jaw, looking just like Oveorth) with the bottom of the grip connecting to the back of the head. When the sword was held in an inverted grip the dragon on the guard would be right side up and damn I owed Lulu for the work. I expected just a good, quality weapon not a goddamned masterpiece.

(-)

Name: The Dragon's Claw
Type: One Handed Sword - Saber/Rapier
Stats: +3 Str, 5 Mag, +10 Mnc
Damage Bonuses: +20 Piercing, +16 Slashing, +6 Magical

Buy Value: 340 Platinum, 58 Gold, 7 Silver, 9 Copper
Sell Value: 300 Platinum, 40 Gold, 4 Silver, 2 Copper

Forged by Lulu, Daughter of Sarsar from House Ironheart she took inspiration from the dragon she once met. Creating his image upon the D-Guard it is a blade meant to be used by a mage willing to fight in close range combat with the blade and at a distance with the spell stone as a focus.

When in use the gem grants the user +20% mana regeneration. This weapon is 200% more resistant to damage and wear.

This weapon is classified as a Legendary Weapon.

(-)

Holy crap! Lulu can just crap out legendary weapons!?

That little girl is skilled.

Inside the case and by the blade was a sheathe for it; blue in color and a brass colored cap at the bottom, rim on the top and strap plate on the sides connecting the two with a plate just under the top in the shape of the House Noxdecus emblem. I took the sheath out first and set it to my hip before picking up the saber at last. As I did so I stepped back and moved to a spot where I had some room. I would first turn the blade horizontal and set my finger by the guard and rested it there; adjusting towards the blade by a little over two inches. It balanced... Nice... Picking up the blade I moved into a quick pattern; three slashes, followed by a series to thrusts transitioning into another pair of slashes.

It was weighted almost perfectly. The balance point wasn't as far back as the Unicorn's Horn so the thrusts weren't as controlled but the slashes bore more power and force thanks to more weight being in the blade. I'd need to train with it but I was sure I could adjust to it. I just had two major upgrades and they were both amazing. I swung the blade low to the left then right before sheathing it with a flourish. "I'll have to send my regards to Lulu for the amazing work. As to you Blake; I can feel the work you did."

"Ahhh, my pleasure, my boy!" He let off, moving to adjust his monocle. "I was merely overjoyed to work on such a piece; doubly so when I heard who it was for. Speaking of..." He said before looking to the wagon. "I understand this moves on it's own but I imagine that with the amount of power I feel in it it does more then that..."

"Indeed... It's something I've yet to really test." I said, finally moving back to the wagon and climbing in, moving to the pilot's seat. "It does need a good little run before-whoa!"

Before I could do anything Makoto, Tiffany and Miria all climbed into the back as Riri hoped to my side on the front bench. "Okay, let's go!" Miria let off, standing behind me and gripping the railing.

"Hey! Untested prototype!" I let off as I looked up to her over my shoulder. "I don't need everyone on it until I can put it though the paces and-is anyone even listening to me!?" As I tried to explain things like basic safety all of the Adelles had clambered onto the back as well, as had the Grand Duke, Sora and my mother as my father moved to settle into the other side of me on the bench.

"We're confident in what you can do. Now..." Merlin said with a chuckle. "Off we go!" He said, clapping his hands twice as I sighed. He said that in way too childish a tone. Regardless I grabbed the throttle and pulled it back; the wagon shuddering softly before rolling forwards.

"Fine. If we crash you can't blame me for any injuries." I spat out with annoyance; mostly to cover how I was now a bit worried. Sure I was confident myself but I wanted to be cautious. I had options if it was just me... with so many other people?

Fingers crossed...

Using the control stick I guided us around the manor towards and then out of the gate and passed confused guards, rolling us to the road and pointing us down it and away from Argon City as I paused the motion for a moment. This was a flat part and well kept. It was the best place to try this; we didn't need momentum for it but I felt it was... appropriate. "Here goes nothing..." I let off, pulling back on the throttle gradually until we got up to speed; the device stopping at a quarter turn as it was meant to. It was hard to tell but I think we got up to about twenty five miles an hour which was a fast clip...

Then my fingers moved to grip the lever on the stick and then squeezed on it until it pressed to the shaft and now I could move it in two new direction; with the one I chose being back. And as I did the wagon shuddered softly before it did as I hoped it would... and rose upwards into the sky!

"OH MY GODDESS!" Samuel let off as Miria whooped behind me.

"My word!" Blake added like an excited child, grinning as he looked over the edge. More over I moved my finger to squeeze the trigger on the throttle before pulling it back another quarter turn and the stones in the rear of the wagon kicked in; both firing a modified Vortex Tunnel spell behind us which began to boost our speed even higher as we pressed up further into the blue sky. "This is... This is astounding!"

"Higher! Higher!" Liliac let off, holding onto the railing and bouncing on her feet so much I was worried her head would pop off (Again) but I did keep going as we powered further into the air.

"I don't feel much of a breeze despite the speed we're going..." Merlin let off, grinning himself like he was a child as he looked over the edge as we started to turn, flaying over Argon City now. I was keeping up the turn before aiming up towards Iron Road.

"Yeah. I added a number of spells to make sure safety was ensured." I replied as I chuckled. "There's a barrier around us to deal with the wind force and in case someone fell out as well as guard against weather and prevent at least some buffering from the wind." I replied as Riri was standing up next to me, hands on the dashboard before her. "I limited how hard it could turn so no one slides out. If I let the stick goes it'll go level and straight. I programmed it to use wind spells to compress air inside the shield if it starts thinning too much..."

"My word... You put so much thought into this..." My mother let off... as we reached the clouds and rose over them. Finally I leveled out as the wheels skimmed a cloud, carving a pair of paths through the white fluff.

"Well I needed to add as much as I could to make it safe." I said as I reached to the stone by the throttle. "Map." I let off as the stone glowed... and projected a rounded circle over it that showed the region of Mungale we were over... in a satellite view!

"Wait... How did you get a map like that!?" My father asked in surprise as I chuckled; you could hear Blake shift over to look at the projected map.

"Remember; the boosters have a scry spell woven in." I said as I smiled. "Using it I can get an image of everywhere it covers from high up and even zoom in. Look." I said as I pointed at a small arrowhead that was green with white trim. "That arrow is the wagon's location and orientation. I also used a few maps to add the locations of various towns and cities within it as well. As an example..." I set a finger to the stone once more. "Locate: Iron Road City." I let off and the rim of the projected map flashed before the map zoomed back and set a red pin that was a circle with a single, long point on the bottom and set it in place. It wasn't fully accurate; it was about a mile west of the city but given what I was working with that was still damn good. "Some adjustments need to be made as it's still an early version."

"And we're going so fast too!" Violet let off, grinning widely. "This is what speed is!" I chuckled once she said that.

"Oh, I haven't pushed the throttle down all the way yet." The wagon shifted as I said it.

"You're... joking, right?" Tiffany let off as I just smirked. I pulled the throttle's trigger and gave her another quarter turn.

It was hard to tell just how much speed we gain but as the wagon went faster I think the miles per hour reached triple digits. "OH MY GODS!" My mother let off as I turned the wagon. I made the turn gradual to be sure the spells I put in wouldn't let me over turn and it didn't; just as I wanted.

Needless to say it was quite the ride as I highlighted the manor on the map and turned back to land. I, of course, made sure to make it so the landings would be soft as I brought it back to the manor and landed it, rolling it back in past shocked guards who saw us take off into the sky as we waved to them.

"Well... I have some adjustments I think but overall..." I said, grinning as I rolled around the manor back to where it was and parked. "I'm happy with it."

"My son..." Merlin let off with a grin. "I'd be proud of it."

Achievement Unlocked: To The Sky!
Create a small, flying vehicle

[-]

I would make some slight adjustments before the last planks were nailed down fully. With that some finishing touches were added; long planks were added to the insides of the rails on hinges with chains that could connect to them via hooks and loops that could act as benches for passengers with some light padding in blue on the top of them. Padding for the front bench was added, thanks to Saxon and the maids, to make it more comfortable and given a nice, golden color and Miria, Makoto and Riri broke out the paint.

When they were done the main body was a rich blue, the wagon's spokes white and it's rims gold. The rails and benches were white save the top beams which were gold. Then one last bit was added. At the back left another, seven foot tall, two inch by two inch beam, painted white was placed to stick straight up with a flag set to it; the sky blue, light gold and white of the Eostian flag with the emblem of House Noxdecus over the sky blue panel. All things considered it was a good addition.

Knowing what was coming from Garan, or at least what was likely to come, Merlin decided we should take a moment to relax before anything came up... As such Houses Noxdecus and Bijoux along with Riri and Aeris opted to go for a small picnic...

Six thousand feet up in the air.

"We're up so high!" Karen let off, looking over the edge. For the location we parked near the Mungale/Ur border in the southwest of the former; a small lake in Ur was visible in the distance with a large town by it's shore, as were several forests, flat grassy plains, a river that fed the lake and fed from it. We were just under the cloud layers; in fact we parked near one as a means of avoiding too much sun.

"Indeed..." Uncle Fredrick let off next to her in an oddly soft tone; a hand around her hips as he looked off to a town in the distance. "It all looks so... small from up here." As one would expect with how boisterous he was he was very vocal as we rose up into the sky but now he was much quieter. "Like I could reach out and cup it all in my hands and break it all without meaning to. It's something..."

"Even I don't come up this high that often." Aeris mused as Riri refilled her tea cup. She would add a dash of honey before nursing it, sitting cross legged on the blanket that was laid out over the floor. "It's rather relaxing."

"James, you've outdone yourself." My father let off with a chuckle; sitting on a side bench with an arm around my mother. Cress and Miria were kneeling next to him on the same bench, arms on the railing and looking out to the distances. As for myself I sat on the floor, back to the railing by the pilot's bench. I chuckled a bit and sipped my tea softly; a half eaten sandwich on a plate next to me.

"Thanks. I'll likely make little changes here and there down the line but I'm fairly happy with it." I let off. I always already planning the full sized project and working on how much spell fiber I'd need; as it turns out it was a bit more potent then I had thought so a hundred pounds of it was overkill by around fifteen to twenty pounds or so. Part of it, or so my guess went, is that I had estimated the amount I'd need before I maxed out Levitation and got the Hover Upgrade that cut the spell's mana cost by a significant margin.

Oh well.

That said I wouldn't underestimate what I'd need for the full sized one either; I think I'll need around twenty five hundred pounds worth of spell fiber for that one. Maybe twenty six to be safe. We'll see.

"I know we're here to relax, but I can't help but think of how useful this would be come war." Saxon said with a wide smile as she sipped her own tea. "Rapid resupply and troop movement from the air. This will be difficult to intercept; it's faster then a harpie." I chuckled a bit and yes, she was right. At high speeds it turned like a brick but it could out fly anything in terms of pure airspeed.

"Well if Garan comes a'knocking it'll be very useful for shuffling anything around as needed." I said as I patted the floor as Riri moved to kneel next to me; her own tea cup in hand. I ruffled her hair softly, getting a giggle from her before smiling and looking up at the cloud above us. A lot has happened these past few days... and that's not even going into what happened on the road trip. I wonder...

How are the people I met along the way doing right now..?

[-]

Grassland Plains
Duchy of Greenwave

"Bloody hells!"

"Faster! Faster! We need to run for it!"

Eric Vonders was, once upon a time, a member of the Scouring Boars. Once that is until the group was disbanded rather... forcibly. Thankfully he knew of some of their old stockpiles and was able to cobble together a few men to form a new, small band of highwaymen; the Black Toll. They had a very good racket going the past month...

Up until now as they rode off on a stolen, two horse wagon as one of them fired an old, worn bow from behind them as Greenwave cavalry, some of Eostia's finest and led by a woman in copper toned Mana Armor, chased after them. There was a general rule with women in armor inside of Eostia; the less the armor covered it's wearer's body the higher a chance it was enchanted or a type of Mana Armor and the higher a chance the wearer could kick your ass. The woman reached back and pulled out a javelin from a holster on her horse's side, pulled back and launched it at them; catching their bowman in the chest who fell off the wagon, clutching his wound. "Shit!"

"Go faster!"

"The horses ain't going faster!" Eric, at the reigns, called back as the other three men looked back at the woman and the knights as they got closer. In fact the woman's horse came close enough that she stood in her saddle then moved to stand on the seat of it. It took the men a moment to work out her plan and by the time they did she had used a Combat Art to clear the distance by leaping from her steed, landing on the wagon.

"I'll get her!" One of the men let off; not bothering to draw a weapon as he charged with both hands; smart enough to know grappling would do more damage to a Mana Armored foe then a weapon's strike. In response she ducked under his grip and set a shoulder to his hips along with a hand, another hand to his thigh before standing up and dumping him over her back... and off the wagon. "Raaghhhhhaghhhh!"

The next man drew his club and moved to attack but the woman was faster, spinning and lashing out with a low leg kick; sweeping him off his feet and to the floor of the wagon as the other man moved to attack she was still in motion; jumping and grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and falling back, feet planted to his abs before falling back and kicking up with her feet...

"Ohhhh fuuuuuu—grahhrgahhhgahhh!" He let off as he hit the ground from the moving wagon as she kipped up to her feet; the second man getting up with club in hand as she drew her blade before slamming the D-Guard into his temple, knocking him out before she set the edge of the blade to the driver's neck.

"I am Valora Onglave of House Onglave. You will stop this wagon or be removed from it as it's in motion." She let off as the man gulped... and pulled on the reigns to slow them down. Eric Vonders whimpered under the woman's gaze; the Black Toll coming to a quick end...

[-]

Castle Classa Courtyard
Cricketsong City, County of Classa

"Everyone is training quite hard, aren't they?" Andromeda Highreign, Countess of Classa let off as she leaned on the balcony as she smirked down to what was below her in the courtyard.

"Indeed they are mother... Given the reports there is a need." Her daughter, Harriet, let off as sat upon a chair, the straps of the bottom of her outfit undone to allow one of the maids to lap and suckle at her sex. "They all want to be ready for Garan's coming. As such they are quite motivated."

"Hmmm..." Andromeda let off as she looked off to the training.

Wooden weapons and shields were used as the knights and solider fought in mock battles; half the units in red tabards over their armor and the other half in blue. They maneuvered in the enclosed spot in mock battle; even setting up a series of logs as a 'river' that was too deep to cross. Blunted arrows and weak spells were slung across as she looked on with pride. They really were putting on a show, as far as she could tell. She smirked a bit. Well; she knew how to inspire them further. She would pull her whip from her side and, with her magic, made it's crack echo in the courtyard; all eyes turning to her as the battle paused.

"Who so ever is the most valiant solider today shall find him or herself bound in my play room for the night!" She let off and using her mana to make her voice carry further. No one moved for a moment. A moment later the battle resumed with more ferocity then before. "So easy..."

[-]

Castle Ironheart
Bladewing City, County of Ironheart
Dempsey Draken's Office

"GY GOBBA BEA A FEHDAH!" Inside a well sized and furnished office a hard to make out cry was let off. The man with a chin shaped not unlike an eggplant danced about in a wide circle, arms over his head as they pumped up and down as he slurred out a holler as he grinned, the plush, blue carpet under his feet ignored as he repeated himself. "GY GOBBA BEA A FEHDAH!" Most people would be unable to make out the words but the two sharing the space with him could translate it well.

I'm going to be a father.

"Inndiid you are mae boii!" His father, Dempsey, let off as he smiled to his son as he stood by his desk, looking through a wine rack for something appropriate; his own voice slurring in emotion as he tried to control himself. "And giben how far ahong she is the ghance of a miscarby is whow! I can't bait to huld my birst grandhiild!"

"GY GOBBA BEA A FEHDAH!"

Sitting by the desk with a soft smile sat Nimah, Jason's wife... and one who practiced infidelity by necessity; Jason was unaware it wasn't his child in her belly... Lingering guilt had kept her from announcing her pregnancy until now, before she would start to show a growing belly and using the worries of a miscarry as the reason she held off for so long. That said...

Jason was so... happy that she felt a bit more guilt for needing to cheat on him... At least the child she would birth would be healthier then he would be otherwise and she knew enough that Jason would love the child. He and his father didn't need to know the truth and could be happy in their ignorance...

Now; to resist the sight of the strong, sweaty men training in and around the castle...

[-]

Great Atlas Rive
Mid-River Near the Borders of the Empire of Dominious,
Eostian Barony of Cauldone and Kingdom of Camafram
On Board the Defiant Wench

"Keep it going lads, keep it all going." Captain Brava Kincaid let off, waving her blade as she kept her flintlock held in her off hand. Across the wide planks men lifted boxes of cargo from the hold of a captured Dominious ship into their own hold. Other men from the ship were on the deck, arms bound behind them as various members of her crew moved about the decks of both ships, weapons out and directing the work and making sure the plundered ship's crew behaved.

There was an unspoken agreement pirates had with most crews they plundered from; surrender and be nice and in the end you'll be freed and unharmed when the... transaction was done. Make the pirates work for their coin and heads could roll off the deck. Thankfully no heads had rolled today; save a few officers who wanted to fight the much larger Defiant Wench who were tossed overboard by their own crew. Given the amount of slaves on the ship she wasn't going to cry for them. She was tempted to burn the ship and leave it's crew aboard it because of the slavery but it would send the wrong message to those she went after down the line.

"A few of the girls we liberated want to sign on." She heard, her first mate, Airlie of the Planks, let off as she moved next to her, holding a clipboard in her wooden, left hand. Ever since the meeting with Lord Noxdecus in his quarters the shaking in her fake limbs had ended Her agility and dexterity on her left side went from a hindrance to on par with her natural half. "Some don't, of course. What will we do with them and the men we saved?" Despite their recruitment efforts they were still a bit short on enough crew to run the ship as well as it should have been. Even so the power of the new ship had proven a deciding factor in their current efforts.

"We'll sail to Whitedawn, of course." Brava said with a smile. "Eostians pay for liberated slaves, after all. Almost a full silver a collar." She could feel more then saw the presence of another of her crew and knew who it was. Even so she stayed silent for a moment before speaking. "Of course if a wench wants to enjoy a freed lad she can; so long as he agrees."

"Yes!" Brava smirked as she heard Pippa Gell pump a fist behind her before running off. The pirate captain giggled softly.

It was a good day to be under the black flag...

[-]

Southeast County of Alterun
Forest

Explosions. Everywhere explosions. For Pintooth the Goblin his life was all about three things; killing humans, fucking women and eating food. Not on that list was what was going on right now.

An ogre found half of his body scorched to cinders from a fireball. The one troll in their group, a small and young one at a mere eight feet in height, had a shard of ice the size of a man slammed to it's chest. Two of his fellow goblin's lost their heads to bladed wind.

The knights flanking and slaying them were bad enough but that woman... That one woman... It was the stuff of nightmares as he fled, ducking behind trees and leaping over bushes to get away, the sound of a howling laugh behind him.

"OHHHHHHH-HO-HO-HO-HO-HO-HO-HO-HO-HO-HO-HO-HO!"

Pintooth that day would get away and in the coming months would speak to his fellow Aberrant and tell them the tale; the tale of a powerful sorceress who howled like a mad dog as she slaughtered and slayed their kind, who drank and bathed in their blood and was interested in one thing only; the extermination of their kind to the last.

At the same time Nikita DeSagesse was unaware of the tales told of her by a goblin; she was only seeking to drive the Aberrant out of Alterun before Garan arrived while learning more about how to fight these creatures in preparation to face the Legion.

[-]

Lakeside Resort
Barony of Bria
Private Room

"S-seriously?" Sitting at one side of the table a young, strapping lordling off as he swirled the glass of wine. "Three members of the Church?"

"Oh yeah, I mean even the religious-"

"-have needs they need to fulfill." Ambre then Ambra, the Venus twins, let off as they smiled and giggled. They had the 'special' wine broken out; after all House Blitzhaus seemed to be on the rise so a possible attachment or two couldn't go wrong...

They just hoped that this time they didn't have a mage before them who checked for little things to drop anti-contraception spells and that this time they'd be good and knocked up soon...

As for Channer von Blitzhaus he was just enjoying his good fortune as he started to return home; good wine, a pair of curvy twins and a private, lakeside room with a high chance of a night's worth of fun; what could go wrong?

[-]

Unknown Location
Barony of Longroad
Road Between Towns

"Right... Time to drop the report..."

"Just hurry it up!"

Two cloaked men moved to the small landmark as they were off on their 'scouting mission', looking about. The pair were Agents of House Bludhorn who managed to make contact with the Freebirds and had begun their infiltration. They had been sent on a job to ask about convoys of slaves going through the long territory and report back. A simple job to build trust.

Their target was, in fact, a slave merchant under contract to House Bludhorn; another house would have been better to kill two birds with one stone but in this manner they could ensure the silly little rebels didn't connect them with their true masters.

Off the side of the road was a strange tree; it's trunk grew at an angle to one side, turned to the other and then slowly corrected to go straight up. How the tree grew like that neither knew but it was a useful landmark. Fifty feet from it was a large stone with a long crack in it; deep enough to slip a letter into it and angled that the elements were unlikely to get into it. Kneeling the first man pressed a letter into it; it would be picked up later and sent to Anvil. "There. Now then, let's-"

"So, the report we got was right." Both men jumped and turned to look behind them; the heavily armor and full face plate of Cameo Tacetnox greeting them as she just seemed to fade into view from nowhere. "Bludhorn is very upset with us then."

"Shit!" One of the men let off, backing up. Did they fight? Run? Surrender? There was a moment of surprise before a soft whistle signaled their end; two arrows hitting them in the back of their necks and dropping them both. Cameo would walk over, drawing her blade and stabbing both through the heart; ensuring they were dead and did not suffer long.

"I am still surprised that we have sympathizers so close to the Duchess herself." Cameo let off as Anaya Ailelibre walked out of the shade of a tree, shouldering her bow.

"Same... But if they want to help, I won't argue with it. Now; there's that Aberrant camp up north. We'll drop them off there; make it seem like they were ambushed." The blonde agreed as a shadow passed over her.

"Allow me." A deeper voice said as the giantess known as Madadh leaned over and easily picked a man with one arm each. "I am... surprised... I rarely saw those who opposed slavery in Anvil..."

"I imagine it's a culture of fear." Anaya let off with a huff. "Duchess Bludhorn is a viscous woman so few will want to oppose her publicly... but if they can do so in secret? I imagine more people in Anvil disagree with her then anyone knows..."

"The hard part will be to ease those fears so something can be done." Cameo added with a sigh. "Perhaps we can inspire some hope to fight that fear. In the mean time, let us deal with the trash, shall we?"

[-]

Walker City, Schmitt and Westman Armory
Duchy of Steel Lock

"Now ain't that a sight..." Bolt Mignite let off as she walked around the thing before her. The Houses of Schmitt and Westman were founded by a blacksmith turned gunsmith and a alchemist who enjoyed making explosive powders and gels. Together they began to make guns of all sorts; flintlocks, revolvers, rifles and cannons. And in the large back room she was looking over one of those cannons with a grin. "Long, big and hard... just how I like'em."

"It's a cannon dear, not a penis."

"Oh, shut up, Ma! I'm enjoyin' this!" Bolt let off as her mother, Brandy looked over the cannon as well. The cannon was made of steel and bore a three and a half inch opening with an inch of steel around the opening. The whole thing was five feet long with two, large wagon wheels as a base with a long tail that could be hooked to a horse for easy transport. What made it interesting was it was a shell loaded cannon with an odd means of loading; it had a six cylinder chamber.

The chamber was off set to one side and the shells were loaded from the front. A large lever was used to turn the chamber after each shot to fire. One issue was each shell didn't discard itself but the chambers had a hole in the back; both to let the cannon fire the shells but would also let someone with a stick to shave a shell out. Pre-loaded it could be rapid fired but even afterwards one chamber could be reloaded with ease. That would lead to a much higher rate of fire then usual.

"Ya went and tested it?" Brandy asked as the gunsmith in question; a mustached man in a fine, black great coat who nodded the brown hair on his face matching that on the cropped hair on his head.

"Yes, M'Lady. Seems good so far but obviously she needs more rigorous use to see if anythin' shakes loose." He said as he regarded her. "We wanted to offer it to the Duchy's use. We've heard Garan is supposed to come a'knockin', so with luck it does some good and we learn what needs fixin' then."

"Right then..." She let off... as her daughter bent at the hips, one hand taking long strokes of the cannon's barrel. "Let's hope it does some good then..."

[-]

Courtyard Shrine
Castle Arrona
Barrony of Arrona

Daichi knelt before the small shrine with his hands on his thighs; the shrine's foot print being four foot by four foot with seven foot tall pillars at four corners holding up a small roof. The shrine itself was a stone pillar with the story of House Kabutomushi ascribed on it and a stone table where a painting of the recently deceased would be. A painting done two years ago of Rei sat there; the girl in her favorite, pink and flowered kimono and smiling. The painting, enchanted to ward off the elements, would be given a place of honor within the castle proper, of course, but until then it would be placed where all could easily see it. He sensed his other daughter's, Hinata's, approach before she reached him. "Am I needed?" He asked as she stopped behind him.

"Not yet. Lady Kaguya merely sent us a message." Hinata said softly as she looked to the image as well. "She said Shamhaza was a part of a conspiracy to undermine all of Eostia and another such agent was found and slain. She says she cannot part with all of the details yet but this group is hiring those in power to turn their blades on the Alliance."

"I see." The man huffed, frowning softly. "If this organization seeks to slay innocents like Rei then they must be stopped. I will assure Kaguya that when the time comes my blade will sing my daughter's name as it culls these... monsters..." He sighed as he stood up, clapping twice and holding his hands together on the second one before bowing his head. "You know... the other day... I thought I heard her voice... She said to me 'a change will come when enemy may become ally'..."

"You... think sister spoke to you?" Hinata said as he crossed his arms with a frown.

"I do not know... It may have been her..." He began before turning to face his daughter. "Or maybe one of the gods choose to whisper in my ear in her voice. Or maybe...Perhaps I simple heard something she would have said or wished..."

"It does sound what she's say, yes..." Hinata agreed as her father bowed to the shrine as she mimicked him before they turned to walk to the castle.

Behind both a small bird would land atop of the shrine and chirp.

[-]

Fortress Feoh, Kingdom of Feoh
Training Room

It wasn't often that Alicia and Prim trained together as they had much different focuses; one in the realm of the physical and one in the tomes of the magical. And yet that's what they found themselves doing today as the blonde swung a wooden blade to her opponent as Prim held her off-hand up; a concentrated Arcane Shield over it blocking the weapon as she backed up before thrusting her other hand out; wand held in it as she used a short ranged wind spell to force Alicia back before following up with a weakened Scatter Bolt.

Alicia would leap up and twist into a back flip to dodge the spell and cross the distance, landing behind Prim who tucked and rolled forwards before Alicia swung for her, coming up to her feet and using a spell to form a lash of mana and swung at the princess knight who dodged the first strike and batted the second aside with the practice weapon as she closed the distance once more. Prim aimed the wand at Alicia, ready to cast but this time the blonde was just too fast; her off-hand gripping her wrist and lifting it up before moving her own weapon to her cousin's neck... who quickly pouted in response. "Huuuuhhhhhh... I can't beat you, can I?"

"Don't sell yourself short, sister." Alicia let off with a soft chuckle as she panted lightly. "You've become... pretty strong, you know?" She said as she reached out and ruffled her cousin's hair as Prim pouted more before breaking out into giggles and a smile.

"I guess, yeah..." She let off as Alicia flexed her off-hand, Prim looking to it before gripping it as Alicia flinched. The armor was repaired but Prim had heard what happened. "Does it still hurt?"

"No. Not even a scar; Tiffany heals well." Alicia said with a sigh. "It's all phantom pain..." She said as Prim took her hand in both of hers.

"Alicia..."

"It still hurts, what happened..." She said softly as she looked to her own hand as she closed it around Prim's fingers. "And I don't understand it, not really... But what I know is there's a sickness in the world caused by things like this Black Storm and the Crowns... I'm not so good at fighting enemies in the shadow, that's the Black Watch's job but once they're in the open... I will defeat them... I must." She would look up and blink as Prim giggled at her.

"That's like you, isn't it? If you can't do anything about a problem you gain strength until you can." The Princess of Ur said as she smiled to the blonde Princess of Feoh. "But you can't solve every problem by hitting it."

"I know... It might be my biggest weakness." Alicia said with a sigh. "I think... I think that's the worst thing about this. I know I need others to make up for my shortcomings... That's what really bothers me about this; I trusted Uncle Beardsley because he bore all the strengths I lacked... What if I find someone else to make up for them and... I wind up with a repeated situation..?"

"Alicia..." Prim said as she pulled the taller girl into a hug. "It's okay... There's always a risk in trust, isn't there? But as such in combat; you have to risk yourself to gain an upper hand, right? If you fail to risk-"

"I fail to gain... You make it sound so easy..."

"It's not. But... you have to try." She said before letting go and moved to step back, flourishing her wand once more. "Shall we?"

Alicia chuckled softly and smiled back at her. She always envied how in touch Prim was with her own emotions and how well she expressed and handled them... If only she too had that strength on her own. As always... she relied on others to gain the types of strength she lacked... "If that's what you want... en-garde!" She let off as she charged at her cousin as the next match began.

Neither saw the door was opened a crack with a voxlux held by a maid to the opening and broadcasting to another held by a sickly king, watching his daughter and niece in their training with a soft and sad smile; enjoying what simple joys he could in his condition.

[-]

High Kingdom of Ken
Fortress Ken, Skyguard City
Private Quarters of Claudia Levantine

Claudia squirmed and mewled as she hung from the ceiling; nude, with her hair down and reaching her hips with ease. The bedroom was luxurious but much of the room was hidden in the darkness as only candlelight lit the space. Hidden in the ceiling was a pulley over which a rope ran through, hanging down and attached to a set of padded, leather cuffs that bound her arms above her. She mewled and moaned at the hands kneading and massaging her breasts as they had for over half an hour as a tongue lapped at her neck. "K-Klaus... My love... Stop teeeeaseing me!" She squealed out as her nipples were pinched then twisted roughly.

Years of marriage had given her husband a highly intimate level of knowledge of her body, all of it's most sensitive spots and, more importantly, what drove her wild. Among those things a loss of control and the shedding of the mask of the the Commander of the Dawn Templars, Eostia's strongest woman and it's most prominent knight to be what she was in the end; a woman with needs in the forms of love, comfort and pleasure. Among those pleasures was the strange thrill of sexual submission to one she trusted above all else.

"Maybe all I want to do is tease you, have you considered that?" Klaus replied as he pressed himself to her back. His cock, stiff and hard, was pressed to her ass. She was well aware while Klaus wasn't small that there were larger men (His father, given rumors she heard in the ranks) but she well knew you didn't need something the size of a militia club to get off good and well. A hand moved to give her plush ass a firm smack as she squealed. Klaus enjoyed being rough with her; while not the physically strongest man about that didn't change the fact he knew how to strike her just right with just the right amount of force.

"P-Please... Klaus... I need you in me!" Claudia begged, rocking her ass back into his length as he chuckled, smacking her ass once more. Even so his hips moved and soon she felt his manhood poke her sex and press into her, making her moan out and shiver on his penis as he drove into her. "Yesssss!" She hissed out as he started to rock hard into her.

There was little else to say as the pair would rock their hips into one another, love making in full on going. After all both knew what was likely on the horizon, much as they wished otherwise...

If you couldn't spend time with those you loved most then was life worth living?

[-]

Skyguard City, High Kingdom of Ken
The Higher Bar Pub & Inn

"This is highly unneeded..." Kaguya let off with a sigh, nursing a glass made mug of tea. Sadly the locale lacked tea cups and eastern teas like she preferred but the mug was large and needed few refills and the black tea was a nice change of pace. The bar, despite the name, was more of a middle, working class establishment with a wall of hunting trophies as a display. An air of civility was there; if tongue in cheek as each mounted head had a bow tie around the neck. It was a curious touch to the currently well occupied place.

"Come'on Uya!" Maia let off with a laugh as she swirled her own glass; a strong whiskey. "This is the first time we all got together since you opted to share with us how you got hitched!" Maia let off, although keeping her voice down as she knew well it wouldn't be a good idea to let that detail get out yet. "We gotta have a little fun!"

"It's an excuse for you two to get drunk." Kaguya replied as she looked to Lulu in the middle of downing a mug that seemed more suited to be in the hand of an ogre as opposed to the hand of a halfling and full of a mead that was vanishing far too fast.

"Ahhhhhhhh!" Lulu let off as she finished downing the mug and refilled it from the barrel she had set up on a chair next to her. "Yup!" She chirped out as the now engaged woman sighed.

At least she was honest...

"Besides, it's not just that. You're shaking things up!" Maia let off, moving to set her feet on the table as she shook her now empty glass to a passing waitress who nodded. "That's also worth celebrating." She said as the waitress walked off and returned with a whiskey bottle. "You can leave that on the table." She let off as she flipped a silver to the girl who caught the coin, nodded, refilled the mercenary's glass before setting the bottle to the table.

"Given the... circumstances there's less of a fight against it as there would be, but there is a lot of work to do." Kaguya let off as she sipped her tea for a long moment. "Mostly as I worry everyone is... overindulging a bit much. With luck the novelty will wear down and things will settle but it's always hard to tell. Honestly; keeping the donkey from crashing the cart might be harder then getting it moving to begin with..."

"Mmmmm, isn't that how it always is; no matter how hard it takes to get it moving?" Lulu added after a moment as she took another long swig. "I mean still-hey!" She let off as a loud crash followed as her barrel of mead hit the floor, cracking and leaking onto the floor. She pouted at her now draining drink supply before looking up at the person who had knocked it over; a swaying, dusky skinned woman with visible muscles and scars running up and down her arms in addition to one under her eye. "You're paying for that!" The halfling Shield Princess let off as she moved to stand on her chair, hands to her hips.

"Ehhhhh!?" The rough looking woman let off; standing at six foot three the woman was almost a foot and a half taller then the Princess of Ansur as she looked to Lulu, to the barrel as it leaked on the floor and then back to the halfling. "Ahhhh, a half-runt like you wasn't gonna finish it anyway." She let off; the barest hint of a slur to her voice.

"You." Lulu let off, glaring up at her firmer now. "Are. Going. To. Pay. For. My. Mead!" She let off firmly as the taller woman laughed, Maia rolling her eyes as the scarred wench reached over and ruffled Lulu's head under the hat.

"You're cute, but you should stop before you get huuuuuuuuurt!" She let off as her arm was grabbed before she was flipped over the halfling and the chair and slammed with a heavy impact to the floor with a echoing impact. "Garahhhhh!"

"You were saying?" Lulu let off as the sound of chairs scuffing sounded as they were pushed back.

"Hey! That short bitch can't do that to the boss!" A male voice boomed out as Miaia finished her glass before standing as Kaguya sighed.

"Please don't cripple anyone." Kaguya said as she calmly sipped her tea as several rough, mercenary types closed in as the thrown woman got to her feet.

"No promises." Maia chirped before smacking a fist to her palm and Lulu hopped off her seat. Once they were away Kaguya cast an Arcane Shield around herself as a dozen and a half mercenaries charged two Shield Princesses. The eventual result, as told by onlookers, would be a one sided affair with a clear set of victors; Maia and Lulu.

Kaguya simply enjoyed her tea as she tried to pretend to not enjoy the show her friends put on around her...

[-]

High Kingdom of Ken
Fortress Ken, Skyguard City

Celestine enjoyed the view from her balcony quite often. Calm, peaceful and often a good place to collect her thoughts. From the position she could see off to the city by turning to her right, sparse forests to the left and vast fields straight before her. She could even see with a Telescopic Vision spell a farm there with the owner leading cattle about and he was paying extra attention to one of of the cows; likely she was pregnant and would soon bring new life to the world.

So many simple joys in the world... that she was often kept at arm's length from due to... numerous things. Nobility seeking her favor and wishing to mold her to fit their wishes. Lower classes who could only saw the goddess and not the woman until the title. Politicians who saw only the power and not the heart. There was too much in this world she wished to see and know yet most would keep her in a gilded cage due to greed or unwanted prostration. In reality over the last ten years she only had five moments where she could say she experienced true, heightened joy; two of them being one of her boys writing to her about how he managed to become a true merchant and thanked her, attending Claudia wedding to Klaus and seeing them exchange vows.

It was true her boys gave her moments of joy and brightened her day each time they saw her and she them but there was something... different from that and such moments of pride and happiness that made true, lasting memories... Things you could remember decades down the line though the day to day drudgery, tiny smiles and good moments. And yet she had two of them very close to being back to back.

The first being at Prim's birthday party when a baron's son offered her a dance to pull her away from demanding nobility for a moment and talked to her not as a queen but as an equal with words that still rang in her mind now and then.

'The Goddess Reborn is still a woman, and for all she's done she deserves to be happy. Be it with a consort for a good time, or a husband for a long time she should have someone to love and be loved by, no matter who it is. You are not so unreachable to those who really care.'

'Is that so? Are you offering yourself in such a role?'

'I'm not that presumptuous, but if you did reach I would be more then willing to reach back.'

And then came the Mungale Fair and all the sights, sounds, new foods, new games and new experiences for her. Sure, the joy was muted by the many, many people dumbfounded on how to handle her appearance but that same baron's son was there to act as a guide, a go-between and host. More over he spoke to her not as a subject or a servant or a sycophant... but as an equal, a fellow person.

Oh, she was not unaware of the effect their initial meeting had on him; it was one reaction she was used to although he adapted quicker then most. Then again he likely knew little of her character directly; relaxing before her once more sure of it. How he helped her at the dance was clear proof that he could see beyond her title and the fair was proof he could see the woman...

And then there was the fifth moment of joy; swimming with him in the lake at Bria as he dragged her into a brief bout of play... and she let herself express some of her past and feelings onto him, something she rarely did outside of Claudia and Klaus. Honestly; had Tamah Rigald not arrived when she had... how much would she have unloaded unto him? So short a time spent yet...

She giggled softly to herself. "James Noxdecus... What makes a man like you as you are?" She asked herself softly as she smiled up, looking to the clouds beyond. "You are they key to the future of Eostia, I know it... but what else shall you be?"

[-]

Blazecrown, North of Angglash City
The Black Citadel
Kingdom of Garan

The screaming carried upwards, even to as high up where she stood. The Black Citadel, otherwise known as the Dark Citadel, was a masterpiece of work. She was told that the paradise of their kind, Nidavellir, up in the north held many buildings like this but the lack of needed materials prevented the construction of more in Garan. A dark, tall wall of a dark purple, nearly black obsidian like substance was surrounded by a series of sharp, angular spires around a tower made with connected octahedons (Pyramid shapes joined by their bases) set around an obelisk that rose over one hundred an fifty feet into the sky. The outside spires made the citadel look like a segmented pyramid and the front gate was triangular in shape. There was a, relatively, small courtyard below her and what she saw was common in the lands of Garan.

The rape of human women by the Aberrant.

Nearly all of them were unresponsive to the rape and even the Aberrant children they birthed as they birthed them. Between constant rape and being directly next to the origin of the Dread Field, as the humans called it, left them just short of comatose. Of course they weren't the source of the screaming; that would be the other targets of rape; the Halfborne...

Halfborne like her.

There was... mixed feelings of it. No dark elf should ever lay with a human, willing or not, nor should they dare give birth of a half breed... and yet, for her, such a stance was a hypocrisy as she wouldn't exist because of it. Or perhaps she would; but as a Pureborne...

"Tsk... Humans complicate things." The five foot eight woman let off, pushing off the balcony's banner and walked inside. She had to be somewhere else, after all. She strode forth; short brown boots were worn over long, steel blue stockings that went over the knees and bore long tabs up under the folds, attached to red straps that connected to the torso pieces with a black set of tiny, thong panties with thin straps under it. Said pieces was an off black pair of panels that covered the sides of her body over the ribs and cupped her Double D-Cup beasts as the bounced softly. A steel blue jacket was heavily cropped to over her chest with sleeves that reached short of her elbows. Her hands were in short, brown gloves with white trim. A black half cape was over her right side with a deep, brown inner liner, held by a brass button on the right side of her jacket and by a brass strap over the left which held onto her jacket.

Her skin was lightly dusked compared to many Dark Elves and her rose colored eyes set to a stern face stood out compared to many of her peers. Her blonde hair was pulled to the left side of her head in a long, thin ponytail that reached the middle of her shin and a small and curious tattoo was set on her abs under her belly button. Her pointed ears twitched in annoyance as she huffed. Why did humans need to exist... What could did they ever do for her..?

'There was that one boy.' She grit her teeth at the unwanted thought. Sure, some stupid, naive fool freed her once. That didn't make up for-

'And the human slaves you served next to tried to offer comfort too.' She grit her teeth harder. Yes, but it still did change that they were all-

'And the Dark Elves do the same to the humans.' She snorted once more as she tried to banish those thoughts. Well that was a proper way of things!

'Was it?'

...

She strode forth, going higher and higher up the Citadel before going down the hall towards one of the most important places in the structure; the quarters of the Queen of Garan. She walked past two of their honor guard; clad in orichalcum plate, their faces were hidden by full slabs with breathing slots and nothing for vision beyond enchantments that rendered it invisible from the inside. The guard didn't bar her passage but neither did they salute her as a Commander of her standing should have been.

Another small insult to the Queen's Favorite Pet Halfborne...

She opened the doors and strode in, not stopping as she moved to the back of the room. Nothing inside was of true importance; it was a sitting room for rare, private meetings. Instead she reached to a statue of what she was told was a giant; the golden thing two feet tall and bore a face like what was on the Banner of Garan. She reached for the head and pressed a finger on the back of the skull, holding it for six seconds. The wall behind the statue shifted and then slid back in segments; forming stairs. She would walk forth, walking up to the highest floor of the building.

The Queen's private and hidden room. A place where she could retreat to as needed and less then four knew it existed; an honor she was given. The room was circular and as she reached the final step the wall would shift back into place as a floor hinged up to cover where the gap was. The floor was made of black marble and bore a curved book shelf in the back around five feet from the wall made of fine, oxageth wood from the far, far north; a nearly black wood with ashen gray grains. Such lumber was used for all the furniture in the room; the plush, deep purple couches, the curved tables and the seats by them, the shelves with odd knick knacks upon them, a table meant for something she never asked about...

And one, overstuffed seat by the southern wall; spells upon all of the room's walls making them fully transparent to let the room's owner to gaze down upon the lands below and lord over them; the right of a Trueborne. A silhouette of the woman in question was seated there, looking outwards. She could see her clothing folded on a table nearby; she often preferred to be nude in this room. "So then, Chloe... tell me... what are the wishes of the Highborne Houses?" The voice of the woman came to her; sound woven as silk as Chloe knelt down behind her as she should have.

"The Matrons of High Houses Drakepyre, Goldtomb, Reclusia and Choaxis have expressed their eagerness to prepare an attack." Chloe began as she kept her voice even and steady as she reported. "House Nightsong seemed on the fence but their heiress has tipped the balance. All five are in agreement. They request permission to carry on the will of Pure Council and resume the war."

"Indeed... the Pure Council's war..." The queen said, silken words spitting a strange vitriol as Chloe winced. The queen's voice, silken as it was, was always even and cold; emotion rarely entered it as befitting the living goddess a Trueborne was, much like those who stood on the Pure Council, or so she was told was the leadership of Nidavellir. She started the first syllable of a question but bit it back. It wasn't her place, a Halfborne's place, to question-

"You have something to ask, Chloe?"

"It is not my place." Chloe said quietly as the queen's ear twitched.

"Indulge me in your curiosity. What is your question?" She winced. It was not her place to ask... and yet it was her place to do as told. The queen's wish was as good as a command from the heavens themselves.

"Do you disagree with the Pure Council's will in this war?" She asked softly. There was a long pause and for a moment she worried she had upset her queen.

"...Once upon a time I did not..." She replied standing up to her feet as Chloe kept her eyes low. She knew the queen did not care if she looked up to her; but the naked form of her queen was too pure a sight for anyone lesser then a Trueborne! "But we've been at this for seven hundred years... Tell me, do you know why I was tasked with leading this expedition to crush the humans?"

"I... presumed you were the best suited to command the armies to-"

"It was to remove a political threat I posed to others."

"What!?" Chloe let off eyes snapping up and blushing before averting her eyes; the queen's hair didn't fully curtain her from view.

"Did you think the Pure Council immune to pettiness in politics? No." The queen said, sighing. "I had a friend once. A good one; a fellow Trueborne. They called us equals. I'd call her my better. She was set to rise above all other Trueborne to lead the Pure Council... and then one day when she went to her favorite spot in the forest she was raped by a goblin and then exiled."

"But... Nidavellir is meant to be a safe paradise... no Aberrant are said to live there..."

"Exactly..." Came the curt answer. "Think you a goblin survived that much of the Reaches and our defenses without assistance?"

"No..."

"I was meant to be the one to birth the next Trueborne..." The queen said softly. "To bathe in our god's essence and bring another of his kin... my kin to life... And so my rivals pitted me to a test; to go forth and slay humans in the former so called Imperium nations until none were left... I came as prepared as I could and yet... And yet I was... unprepared for the scale of the task set before me... A task that has dragged on for seven centuries... That old hag knew full well what would happen and yet no one else understood... I doubt even she would know what level of difficulty would arise... And now I am stuck. I can stay and fight a meaningless, pointless war to accomplish an endeavor that has already failed and can never be made to happen... or return, be disgraced and even cast to the Highborne or worse."

Chloe winced at the words. "I am... sorry... I should not have-"

"I bid you ask. Do not apologize for doing as I bid." Chloe's lips shut at those words as Olga sighed. "Even this 'Dread Field', made by a notable Highborne for the purpose of driving humans back, was deemed as unneeded by the Council. The woman who made it designed it as such because she did something my peers did not; respect the human capacity for survival and barbaristic violence. And for her foresight in these manners she was executed for the crime of smearing the will of the Pure Council..." She walked closer to the stone wall, invisible from the inside and set a hand to it as she glared outwards to the world beyond it. "She was the only had one with the knowledge to create it and it took me a hundred years to work out how to make it spread out as far as I have... Had we a thousand of them we could have pushed all of the humans into the sea... And yet the pride of Council meant this fine weapon cannot be replicated. Our greatest potential weapon now a mere wall to hide behind."

"So... We are then stuck in a forever war..."

"I take no joy in swatting insects. Or rather; I had once. Tis a chore now..." She said as she sighed. "But the Pure Council's will be done. Send a call to the Matrons and the Generals. We return to war and the fighting begins in three weeks time; no sooner, no later."

"Yes my queen!"

[-]

Character Details

Name: James Noxdecus
Social Rank: Baron's Heir
Title: Dark Horse of Eostia
Class: Mage Knight
Level: 30/100
XP: 16186/30000
Achievements: 62
Platinum: 202 Gold: 18 Silver: 4 Copper: 2

USP: 0
RSP: 4
SSP: 15

UTP: 45
RTP: 0
STP: 0

Regular Stats

[S] Con: 69/200 (2087/6000 XP)
[P] Str: 96/200 (371/9000 XP) (+13 from Equipment=109)
[S] End: 67/200 (3382/6000 XP)
[P] Dex: 104/200 (814/10000 XP)
[S] Agi: 69/200 (3389/6000 XP)
[P] Acc: 103/200 (1275/10000 XP)
[S] Mag: 84/200 (4127/8000 XP) (+16 from Equipment=100)
[P] Mnc: 92/200 (3901/8000 XP) (+31 from Equipment=123)
[X] Lck: 54/200 (372/5000 XP) (+4 from Equipment=58)

Sexual Stats

Sta: 23+37=60/100 (4224/6000 XP)
Rec: 31+14=45/100 (3983/4000 XP)
Pow: 28+26=54/100 (2651/5000 XP)
Ple: 28+21=49/100 (3567/4000 XP)
Wil: 27+22=49/100 (2337/4000 XP)
Rap: 70+14=84/100 (3567/8000 XP)
Cap: 23+23=46/100 (171/4000 XP)

Regular Traits

High Born
Your reputation with the Middle Classes and High Born is increased by +15 due to your birth. In addition your schooling grants you +500 XP

Noble Allowance
You gain 2 Gold per Day.

Gift of Steel and Silk
Your starting equipment is replaced with equipment one level higher

Appraiser
You can tell what a magical item or weapon can do by a simple examination. Gain the [[Appraise]] Skill

Spell Weaver
You can imbue items with spells and other abilities to make them better. Gain the [[Imbue Magic]] Spell

Muscle Wizard
When training your magic you also train your body. For every 5 points of Mag add 1 to your Str (Rounded Up)
-Upgrade: Now gain 1 Str for every 4 Mag

Tap For Mana
You know how to use magic to it's fullest. All magic costs 5% less mana.

Hit and Move
Your strength just makes you faster. For every 5 Points in Str gain 1 in Agi (Rounded Up)

Strength From Resilience
It seems your resistance to damage fuels your might. Gain 2 Str. Additionally for every 5 points in Con gain 1 in Str (Rounded Up)

Dual Cast
You can cast two spells at once with relative ease; but each spell costs 10% more mana.

Best Seen and Not Heard
Your sneaking skill is boosted by your Agi Stat as well

Arts and Crafts
You can make any sort of art or object easier. +5% Value, Durability & Damage from any items you craft

Armor Clad
You wear armor well and it seems to be better on you then others. Agi Penalty of any armor is halved. +3 to All Resistances to any armor you wear

Bo-Man
You are an expert in the use of bo staffs and staves of all sizes. +Bo Staffs & Staves to Primary & Secondary Weapons

Sexual Traits

Chick Magnet
Almost every woman has an attraction towards you. Some can explain it, some cannot. Every female you know gains +25 to all Romance Values. There's a random chance of a Desire increase to women around you.

It Keeps Going and Going...
Gain 1 Sta for every 5 Con (Rounded Up). Additionally gain 1 End for every Even Numbered Level Up
-Upgrade: End gain applies for every Level Up now

Lady Luck's Lover
Raise your Lck by 50% of your Ple

Sex is Power
Anytime you gain Sexual Stat Points as a reward you also gain Regular Stat Points equal to half the amount (Rounded up)

The Speed of Sex
You gain 1 Rap per level up. Additionally, gain 1 Dex for every 6 Rap
-Upgrade: Now gain 1 Dex for every 5 Rap

Relations: Brides

Name: Prim Fiorire
Ttle: Girlish Shield Princess of Ur
Class: Wizard

Stat Bonus: +5 to Acc, Mag & Mnc. +3 to Con, End & Dex. +5 RSP
Trait Bonus: Prim's Pure Love ~ +4 to Magical Damage & Healing +2 to Magical Resistance
Bridal Bonus: Prim's Hero ~ All of your Resistances are increased by 3. Additionally any armor you wear gains +2 to all Resistances +2 to all Primary Stats. +1 to all Secondary Stats

Name: Kaguya, Sun of the East
Ttle: Blessed Shield Princess of Thorn
Class: Cleric

Stat Bonus: +5 to Con, Dex, Mnc, Str & Mag. +3 to Acc. +5 RSP
Trait Bonus: Kaguya's Calm ~ +6 to Magical Healing +4 to Magical Resistance
Bridal Bonus: Kaguya's Chosen ~ All of your Resistances are increased by 1. Additionally any armor you wear gains +1 to all Resistances All Holy based spells gain +3 to their effects

Relations: Concubines

Name: Carmen Shard
Title: Blade of House Fiorire
Class: Spell Blade

Stat Bonus: +3 to Dex, Acc & Mnc. +1 to Agi & Mag. +2 RSP
Trait Bonus: Bodyguard's Duty ~ +5% to all Stats when defending another person

[ - Author's Note - ]

Whew... Act Two well and truly done... That was a monster of an act...

When I started I was aiming to place James at Level 25 to 28 when the Act ended... Before I was worried I'd be short of that... instead I over shot it... Oh well, it's not by a huge margin. And hey; I can always scale things up a tad if I need to, we don't want them too easy, do we?

On another point; I've gotten repeated complaints about the Imgur Gallery isn't working correctly. While the Gallery is still visible when I use my account if I don't use it I get a 404 error. What I have started to do then is grab a free hosting site and make a simple website to act as a gallery instead. It will take time to make but I have enough knowledge in basic HTML to pull off. It'll just be work is all.

As for what the Shining Gemini does... well, I need to have something to keep you interested, right?

As for the new equipment and the wagon I do hope it lives up to what you were expecting! Between his new armor and the circlet he's well armored and with his new weapons he'll have plenty of new offensive power.

Next time Act Three arrives and war... war never changes...

Until it does.

Until then.

~~Eostian Scribe