The White Darkness
By Helbaworshipper
The Roland Kingdom Arc: The Puzzle of Power
The Roland Kingdom was a barrier that the wasn't sure he could crack. With the inclusion of the King Weilhausen around the camp, it felt oddly uncomfortable. Still, he tried to remain as civil as possible while training his abilities when he could. It was about a week or two after the men had become a staple that the man had seemed to… be nicer in approach?
"Am I interrupting your meal?" A voice he wasn't sure was being civil or cautious. He slowly looked up from his meal. The king himself was standing at the table.
"No," he nodded that the man could sit down. "I simply thought you wouldn't deign to talk to me."
"I have my own opinions," the man's gaze calmly looked over him. "I simply know only what your father insisted on. Your mother refused an invitation to allow her passage to the kingdom."
"I doubt she would have let Wakamiya collapse without her."
"So you say." The man seemed to be surprised at his reaction. "Is that why you let him make decisions?"
"I had no real control over the situation beyond what I could learn. My mother was the only tutor that could really be found." He put his hands slowly in his lap, thinking about what had happened.
"I'm guessing that the plan had been to remove Alice's tutor." Kyo looked a slight bit surprised. "They tried to bribe a few of the Weilhausen's to tutor Mayura once. They wouldn't dare for a Wakamiya situation considering our positions." He slowly put a book down. "Frei mentioned that your teaching is limited. While I expect you won't need it, he wanted me to offer some advice. You're going to be on the front lines."
"Just because of that?" He asked, not sure what to think. Didn't Frei not him want to save Alice? Still, sitting down at the table and looking at the worn book, he couldn't quite tell.
"I'm not sure what's going to happen, but as long as Wakamiya is willing to fight, then what is the point of making the current King weaker?"
He realized he was in that strange plane after a few moments. The fog around the area was not as nearly thick as before. The last time he had been here it had been to meet Lotsuan. Now, however, he felt as if it was more empty than before. Whatever had populated this place had felt massive, as if one couldn't be alone.
"If one does not move forward, curiosity will catch them." The guardian's voice surprised him a moment as he turned. "It would be best to keep walking." He slowly began walking, a bit concerned that if he stopped that the guardian might attack him. He wasn't being held hostage, but he certainly didn't feel nearly as safe as before. He saw the scenery changing as he thought he saw… It looked like a broken down kingdom. Was this…
"Roland kingdom?"
"Yes," the masked figure simply nodded as it moved ahead of him. "This is what remains of the origin of the powerful Roland Kingdom."
"Is there a reason you're leading me here?" Kyo's voice as soft as he passed what seemed to be empty streets. Each street more empty than the last. He couldn't tell why the one leading him wasn't answering until he saw what seemed to be a very foreboding door. Not one that made him wary of death, but… the power behind it. As it opened, he saw something he hadn't expected.
It was a garden. Not just any garden. It was the garden he had spent all that time with Alice and his own mother. As he entered, the door back simply had left and he was now looking at a younger Alice and the woman he had been seeing quite often. He slowly approached the woman who sat with her half-filled cup.
"Why am I here?" He asked as he looked over at the familiar Alice figure. He knew Alice wasn't there if the Guardian did not follow him in.
"Is there always a reason?" The woman's tired voice commented. "Do you wish to be with her forever?"
"I… Did I generate this?" The woman nodded lightly. "Perhaps if I had been able to understand back then."
"No one truly knows what the future is." She lifted a hand as one of the roses came over as if on a string. "Before you make a true decision regarding what you wish to do… face what is truly on your mind." He blinked for a moment as he noticed another figure in the distance. In her usual calm gaze, Kayna was heading towards him. A part of him started to really understand. Seeing Kayna normally filled him with trust. Yet now… Seeing her only reminded him of the sight of his father's death.
"Is death the only way?"
"Never," his mother's voice was faded, but she was still somehow present. "However, is that the only way that she sees it?"
The plans for the attack on Roland Kingdom seemed to be rather heated. Kyo had entered the talks after his dream to a rather strong argument that Weilhausen should of course take the major amount of enemies. In fact, by the time he had entered the tent, Chris was practically in a shouting match with the man. Well, from what he could tell it was getting to a brawl if one said the wrong words. He slowly took a seat and glanced at the map.
"They've been at it for some time." Mayura spoke, standing next to him as she seemed to be doing various strategies in her head.
"I can tell from King Weilhausen's commentary. Is Frei outside because of it?"
"He said that it wouldn't matter if he was here for this meeting."
"Considering it'll take a few more meetings, I can see that." He felt a bit wary of the tension already as he noticed the woman's eyes. She looked a bit more exhausted than before, but it was expected. "Is she alright?"
"Mom is having a hard time figuring out what to do about the kingdom." She sat for a moment with one of the pieces. "Even if we contribute to the battle, the recovery is going to take a long time." Her hand slightly squeezed on the item in her hand.
The conversation was calming down a bit. Chris and Billy seemed to be settled in the chairs while King Weilhausen's face seemed still a bit red. They finally caught that Kyo's presence was inside the tent. Chris simply nodded in acknowledgement.
"The state of Wakamiya's armies have not been accounted." King Weilhausen's voice was softer than usual. "Can it be anything formidable?"
"Not enough to make it's own force. If we combine with what is left of Seno's armies, we might be able to form a second force."
"It's at least viable."
"Considering we'll need to keep the weaker ones at bay," Chris sounded a bit tired. "It'll make sense to at least make three forces."
"We've got two problems." Mayura continued as she adjusted one of the items. "We have at least two maram masters that we know of. Eric is a mystery. And the state of my sister..."
"Alice most likely isn't going to outright attack us." Chris commented as he looked at the figure that represented her. "Alice is going to be able to fight, but she isn't outright killing anyone."
"Then we need to figure out Samuel and Kayna." Kyo looked at Kayna's piece for a moment, thinking about what his mother had said. "If anything, I need to take care of her myself. I'm not asking for her to be kept alive, but I want to be sure if she has anything that would even allow her to..." He felt his hand slowly go around his other hand. "If she needs to die and I can't, I'll let someone else know."
"Fair enough," Chris answered back slowly. "For now, it'd be best if Mayura Seno took strategic lead of the weaker forces." He looked at her carefully. "Despite your situation, your war strategies are done well enough. I'm going to at least approach Samuel since it seems he might know what might actually be going on with Eric."