Diplomacy The Crowning Of Ession: AC Capital Change (Bosph to Ession)

[Marcella Fiora]

S I S T E R⠀ M A R I A N A
OBJECTIVE: Attend the Meeting; Mingle
TAGS: Pietro Demici , Solan Halcyon & Open!

'Shrine of Shame'​

"My.." she wasn't expecting such fanaticism from her shy associate~ yet the crusade was a place where anyone could surprise you, whether it be ideologies or the people themselves. "Let's not forget that a softer hand can, too, be an effective way to combat the bogan~ war doesn't fix everything," she spoke from experience, leaning into her desire as a priestess to enlighten and guide rather than destroy and murder.

"Whether it be simple actions; encouraging a community to look after each other or simply

helping those who ask, it's sometimes the little things that keep the Bogan away, small acts of love and kindness from the people who matter most, the many people under our care and those without a voice.." Sister Mariana believed this with all her heart, though she understood that war had it's place and was occasionally a necessary evil for the sake of everyone.

Her eyes shifted from the Squire to the menagerie of politicians squabbling amongst themselves in the hall, "they get so caught up in what's right or wrong, good or bad, the best way or the worst way, the only way is with the people and that we encourage those people to embrace the values of Ashla and that the best way forward is together, regardless of your ideology.."

Her emotions were intense, and it was showing. She hadn't been with the Ashlan Crusade that long compared to her counterparts, yet she truly found comfort in Ashla and it tore her apart to see politics get in the way of what was truly important. Yet her little tirade had attracted the attention of some of the backbenchers sat nearby, she smiled shyly as she tried to subdue her emotions, not wanting to draw any more attention to herself.

It was totally unbecoming of her to share her views in such a manner, yet her colleague had sparked something inside of her; and she felt better for letting it out. She just hoped that she didn't raise her voice too much to attract attention to herself. Clearing her throat, she returned her attention to Shani, "Anyway, what do you think's going on?" she wondered, nodding towards the Kaiser and the Cardinal having a private chat amongst themselves.

 

[Solan Halcyon]

​

TAG: Marcella Fiora

Shani frowned slightly. She almost certainly had said too much, and could’ve just compromised her anonymity as a shadow. The implication the clergywoman has picked up frightened her even more. Surely she hadn’t come off as a radical, had she? Such an indiscretion had to be rectified.

"I’m afraid I may have misspoken." The Togruta tried to put on a polite, if slightly strained smile as she put together a better way to say it. "I’m saying that while there are those terminal sufferers of the Bogan, that we truly cannot deal with but by a merciful death, this permanent violent footing leaves us vulnerable to Bogan infecting our own selves.” her eyes grew dark and distant as she reminisced the days before Master Corsanis had rescued her, how far she had fallen, and how easily it had been for her to justify the fall. Her voice grew somewhat pained as she continued.

"I… I know firsthand how easy it is for righteous feelings of anger or d-disgust, indignancy and hurt, can transform into ugly manifestations of blind hatred and unbridled rage. And that in a young, terrified girl. How much more would such a fall ruin a proud crusader or self-confident ruler." The thought was chilling, her fall as an untrained midager had nearly caused the destruction of those she loved and cherished most, and had seen even those that pushed her to that point petrified in fear. It had taken the serendipitous and happenstance arrival of the Grandmaster of the Blades to bring her off the edge, and take her in to be trained by the order. How much more would it take to to stop a full fledged force user - or, god forbid, one of the very leaders of the crusade angrily shouting at each other right now, that unwittingly allowed normal emotions to be twisted by Bogan’s malignancy. It seemed even now their arguments were splitting the chamber when the crusade most needed unity.

"My sword is for defense, only one seeking to harm others will see it turned on them. Only those invincible to redemption will see their blood spilt by it." She was as much trying to reassure herself that she’d never lose herself again as she was trying to explain her meaning to her companion in this conversation. "Those whose good is turned towards evil will always, eventually, turn their swords against those they call brethren. It is that which I fear. That my brothers and sisters would allow themselves to fall so far they would refuse the second chance that I accepted."

The conversation turned again, and again Shani was amazed that someone was truly interested in her opinion. She tried to search the force to read the emotions of the room, but as expected the leaders hid theirs quite well. Looking towards them, she would have to hazard a guess. "His Majesty the Kaiser and His Eminence the Cardinal have staked out very different positions on the direction of the crusade, and our Lady Eina as well. I am uncertain, but if I were to intuit, it would be that… that there’s a dispute, either over our direction, or the authority to decide that direction. I can only pray about his doesn't divide the crusade.”

 

[Marcella Fiora]

S I S T E R⠀ M A R I A N A
OBJECTIVE: Attend the Meeting; Mingle
TAGS: Pietro Demici , Solan Halcyon & Open!

'Shrine of Shame'​

"Oh.. Oh no.." she had realised how her tirade could have been misconstrued~ how embarrassing. She listened as the Togruta explained herself, feeling terrible after every word as she clung onto them, simply wanting the pain of embarrassment to end. "I.. I understand, it wasn't meant to come across as an attack," she seethed through her teeth, feeling bad, "I simply needed to get it out of my system~ I don't find many opportunities to discuss this.. if any, so I thank you for listening regardless."

As the pair finally moved on from their scathing discussion, their attention returned to the Kaiser and Cardinal once more. An eyebrow was raised at Shani's observation, "you can tell all that from here?" she wondered, wondering if it was a space-wizard thing, "either way, if that's the case then that's my point; where's the unity? Ashla is meant to bring people together, not separate them, regardless of who you are~ wouldn't you agree?"

 

[Solan Halcyon]

​

TAG: Marcella Fiora

By now Shani was outright beating herself up inside. Of course she horrifically mistook the priestess’s comments as a lecture against her. It was just more proof of how terrible she was at this sort of event. If Togruta could blush she’d probably look like Shaak Ti at this point. Thankfully she could not.

"Oh.. oh…" the second word was drawn out far longer than the first one, "I really must apologize. I was terrified I had come off as a warmongerer. I may be a zealot but I prefer to destroy my enemies through love and understanding, when it is possible.” Shani was able to at least calm herself down enough to put on a genuine, understanding smile at someone who had eagerly listened to here and was eager to be listened to.

"After their speeches from earlier, I can sense the tension rising in the room. Our emotions, good or bad, affect the way Ashla flows through us." the Togruta closed her eyes for a moment, feeling how the emotions grew tenser the closer people were to the debate going on. This was disconcerting. The resurgent Sith demanded a unified Ashla. To redeem those that would be redeemed and purify those who would not. "Yes. The greatest of Ashla’s blessings to us is each other. Without unity, without all who are in Ashla’s light standing together, the entire universe would succumb to Bogan. And that is a dark fate I would wish on no one."

 

[Khione]

Location: an unassuming world
Tags: Cord Starfall

Equipment:
Piloting - Torr'Chir
Eyes of Khoine
Pulsiva flight suit
2x Cartridge Revolvers
Retractable Neural Stinger

Accompanied by five squadrons of eight Chir'Shada Starfighters
Single Path Engine equipped light cruiser of the Emerald Nebula

Squadron quipped with a mixture of proton torpedoes, disruptor torpedoes and Witchfire Missiles

Khione looked at her scanners curiously as the fleet of Cord Starfall appeared out of hyperspace, just as her cruiser approached the initially attacked Ashlan vessel and with a cutting laser began burning the symbol of the Brotherhood and the Avatar of War into the hull of the crippled ship. Several other arms began removing sections of panelling in order to store them to help fund the Emerald Nebula's war effort. That ship though, was mostly crewed by the older members, or those deemed unsuitable for piloting operations due to whatever reason, the real command went to Khione, so when the Jolly Roger made communication, it was diverted to her.

"This is Cord Starfall of the Jolly Roger, I wish to Parley."

<<I do not know that word Jolly Roger? I am Khione of Emerald Nebula>> Her galactic basic was broken but understandable. Several of her fighters now formed up on her for support as she orbited the combat zone talking to the newcomer. <<This salvage is claimed, but you may strip carcass one we leave. Leave our emblems as a message to Ashlan Kruistog>> she spoke again into the communicator.

Out in space, the three Ashlan vessels, two crippled and one now under heavy attack did not appear to be targeting the fleet of the Jolly Roger, whether that was because they recognised some ancient Jedi code, or because their attention was focused so heavily on their current attackers that the new comers were unnoticed was anyone's guess.

A single message did make it out from the heavily damaged second vessel in the convoy asking for immediate assistance but it was unclear whether it was directed specifically to Cord Starfall or a more general distress signal.

 

[Vaxis]

Tags: Inkara Liet

He sat himself down, almost not acknowledging what she had said without anymore than a nod. The pair had built a rapport, perhaps more so than what was consider befit of a pair of Jurors. Yet, the Dark Sentencer simply didn't care. He and Inkara had undergone more missions together than most of the Jury combined, so he simply let their thoughts fall to the wayside. One needed a solid partner on the hunt, after all, and Inkara was the best partner one could hope for.

"Essia... I must admit, it does have a ring to it."

The statement was followed by a soft chuckle as the Nagai motioned for the server. Her demeanor was rather reserved, for one that worked in such an establishment. Perhaps she had not been used to serving the servants of the cloth in such a way. Vaxis paid it no mind, for he cared not about the cloak of holiness that both he and Inkara wore... whether or not they were in uniform. Their guise may have fooled many outside of Ashlan Space, but on Ession, everyone understood the nature of their station.

"The greater question is... how many have called on you, in this time of celebration?"

Vaxis knew Inkara better than that; the woman had what one might think as insurmountable standards... yet, they had both had their... experiences while on the hunt. Something the Kaiser might find less than ideal, yet the nature of the Juror was one of individuality. They were some of the most devout to the Papacy, yet were given the freedom to operate as they saw fit. That was both their bane and boon, at times, and in the times of the former, it was Vaxis' task to see justice done.

"I assume you said no to countless louts."

Not that he felt Essonians as lesser, but he knew well the minds of those with too much to drink.

 

[Marcella Fiora]

S I S T E R⠀ M A R I A N A
OBJECTIVE: Attend the Meeting; Mingle
TAGS: Solan Halcyon

'Shrine of Shame'​

Her militant counterpart's made her laugh a little, "well I'm just glad that I have someone to 'freak out' with," she smirked, attempting to lighten the mood and distract from that awkward conversation, "I appreciate that we've managed to have that conversation however, discussion is healthy and it soothes the soul to converse form the heart, no?"

Listening carefully to Shani's response, she couldn't agree more, "indeed, I worry that they'll tear themselves apart with their disagreements, they surely must know the danger they place the common people in by their petty squabbling, surely?" frowned Mariana, growing concerned at the thought of a fractured nation.

 

[Solan Halcyon]

"T​

TAG: Marcella Fiora

The Togruta let out a sigh of relief as the conversation seemed to calm down quite a bit, moving away from deep, philosophical and theological topics, "Indeed, keeping thoughts bottled up for too long can be taxing on mind, body and soul." She was still a bit shy and somewhat tense inside, but at least the worst part of the awkwardness had gotten out of the way. Watching the people mixing about, Shani took a minute to drink in the emotions filling the room, desperately praying that Ashla's grace calm these people down.

"One would hope, though experience has proven to me that few know what danger they pose until it's too late." Shani certainly hoped she was wrong, and would rather see the crusade taken in a unwanted or unexpected direction than to see cracks form along the fault lines of division.

 

[Cedric Grayson]

Pietro Demici , Emiery Athelon, Heinrich Faust , Marcella Fiora , Solan Halcyon , Stilicho Drumarch

Exhaustion bit at the corners of Cedric's gaze as he stared Pietro Demici down. The cardinal made valid point, more or less, but the usurpation of authority was an issue nonetheless. Perhaps if he'd been consulted and a meeting among the leadership was held to discuss what was to come next, they might have come to an agreement on the matter.

As things were, Cedric's thunderous expression remained. "The system of the Kaiserreich was designed so that one particular grouping would not gain dominance over any other under the purview of the throne," the monarch explained, "The will of the people entrenched in the hands of the Ministers, the axe of war reserved wholly for the hand of the Kaiser. In this matter, I think I have been more than lenient in providing the various ministries and their compatriots with free reign to manage their spheres as they see fit. When have I ever approached you with anything beyond the slightest hint of disapproval, and offered anything more than private council?"

A brow was lofted. The eyes of many were upon them, but Cedric spoke in the quiet. "I have respected your sphere, Cardinal. Wholly. You have not respected mine - that is the issue, not one of fervor. If one arm of the Crusade becomes a phantom limb and moves without the rest of the body understanding, it will maim the body in mutual confusion."

The words of Eina L'lerim-Vandiir echoed in his mind. Cedric's frown deepened. "Speak of a devil and he shall appear. Confusion, Pietro. That is what this move inspires."

The Kaiser closed his eyes briefly to respond to the girl. <You are to understand that decisions of war will not be made without consulting me and nothing more beyond that. There are no changes.>

The Ashlan patriarch cracked a thin smile as he regarded his old compatriot. "I do not disapprove of moving to the aid of our allies. We will discuss such. Mind any future announcements of conflict before discussing it with leadership. Mind my existence, Cardinal."

 

[Lothaire]

Lieutenant again.

Lothaire's smiled faltered only for a moment, the briefest flicker of annoyance flashing across his face before he relaxed into his usual lackadaisical grin. Disinherited or not, he still held the title of Prince, though few seemed inclined to acknowledge that much. It seemed the old man had been quite effective in reducing any proper support for his only son. Just another matter by which Lothaire would have to prove himself to the Crusaders, be it by blood or otherwise.

"The church will do whatever it wishes," Lothaire grunted, arms folding about his chest as he peered dagger at the Cardinal. Where his father's disapproval was a tempered paternal thing, Lothaire's challenge was an open one. He offered the Cardinal a budding grin that was in conflict with the threat in his hooded gaze, eyes like pools of emerald acid, burning with a fire that might well disintegrate Pietro Demici if the youth stared long enough. Or at least, that was how Lothaire felt.

"If they aren't consulting the old man on war declarations, they'll do whatever the hell they want. Not really a matter of whether they can be reined in or not; more a matter of time as to when they find the confidence to bite the hand that feeds. Can't invest a man with the power of God and expect him to be happy with his station." Others held their opinions, but Lothaire spoke his freely with little care or heed given to the thoughts of those that might hear them.

He paused for a moment to listen as Emiery Athelon recounted the initial purpose of the Crusade. Lothaire was not ignorant to such things. Since his earliest days, he could remember the priests and teachers droning on about the eternal crusade against the forces of the Bogan. The need for its utter extermination. He wasn't certain if he wholly believed such a thing to be possible, or even reasonable to suggest, but Lothaire knew the handful of things he couldn't touch without rocking the boat too much. "I'll do what's required Master Athelon," the youth assured. "I have more invested in this than anyone else." Not wholly true, but it was to the boy. The Crusade was his birthright - if it went to shit, so too did his future. Such was the pact of kings.

"If it's another war, I'll be there." The youth shrugged, "And..." a pause as he let Heinrich Faust speak. "It's good that there are some still loyal to the throne here. Seems the folk are dancing to the church's tune." Lothaire glanced about the room, his grin sharpening into a smirk as he observed the various groupings. "What remains to be seen is whether that dance becomes a bloody one."

 

[Eina L'lerim-Vandiir]

Lady Eina L'lerim-Vandiir
The Light of Ashla
Champion and Avatar of Ashla || Empress Regent of the Eternal Empire​

Objective: Discuss the Future.
Location: Temple, Ession
Equipment: Sverð Fyrstr (swords) | Ljósspjót (spear) | Skrúð Engill Fyrstr (armour) || Empyrean gland | OPBC-01m || Current appearance
Writing With: Isla Draellix-Kobitana | Pietro Demici | Cedric Grayson | Stilicho Drumarch | Open

[ Valkyrjan ]
<"High Nelvaanian"> | ["Essonian"] | ~ telepathic communication ~ | << comm. channel >> ​

~ Thank you! ~ she replied to Pietro.

The woman could not say more than that, since Uncle Pietro only said that they would support her in the same way. Truth be told, Cedric didn't say anything else either. Or at least Eina didn't understand, because she didn't understand politics and wasn't good at it. So far, everything has been going smoothly over the past few years. She didn't know what had suddenly changed, but it was none of her business. She had always been just a guest here, and now that she had to take her mother's place, probably temporarily, she especially felt it.

The girl nodded towards the ruler, she did not find the man's words reassuring. She didn't understand the ambiguous words, but she did understand the way the man's body language and aura spoke while he was talking to Uncle Pietro. And based on those, she wasn't sure that everything would be like before. But yet, the former Valkyrja nodded politely to the ruler.

["Thank you for your answer, Lord Grayson."] she told him.

And with that, she retreated back to the wall, she really had nothing more to do here, she looked in Isla's direction; she wondered what she had to say about what was happening now...

 

[Isla Draellix-Kobitana]

Location: Conference Chamber
Objective: Discuss the future
Tags: Pietro Demici Lothaire Eina L'lerim-Vandiir Emiery Athelon Marcella Fiora Solan Halcyon

Spoiler: Isla's Personal Gear

Admiral's Sabre
Ashlan Rosary
Kaldrweave military uniform
Personal guard of Ashlan Praetorian droids
Overseer Biochip OPBC-01a
Diamond snowflake necklade

Personal Diplomatic Transport -
Bucephalus Class Fast Diplomat

Wearing: this and this made of Kaldrweave

Isla caught the eye of Eina L'lerim-Vandiir and smiled, she couldn't easily speak to her but made a small hand gesture of the Sister's of Ashla as a sign of sisterhood with her friend.

Isla listened to the dressing down that Cedric Grayson handed to Pietro Demici and shook her head before deciding whether to add in a response of her own. She did not understand the anger that the Emperor had right now. She approached and spoke quietly but purposefully "My lords, this is not the forum for such discussion, a disunited front only gives fuel to the detractors who say we are sliding towards that which we fight. You are right of course my Kaiser, the axe of war is yours to swing, but you trusted us, in your absence, to lead, and that we have, In your name and with the greatest respect to your vision. Our enemies too have their own axes of war and by the deaths at Odessen, Tython, Panatha and many more they have swung it."

She bowed her head respectfully at the Emperor she had known him since the founding of the Crusade and she both loved and respected the man, she knew she had overstepped here, but even in those early days he respected her honest voice. "We should celebrate the successes, mourn our losses and put our strength forwards."

She looked too at Pietro, the strong leader she had worked closely with for years while the Emperor had been absent, they had built a nation together and now the Emperor returned to squabble over the spoils. Whatever happened going forward could end up being a diplomatic nightmare and could tear the Crusade apart if not handled properly. As the prime minister it would be her duty to ensure a stable government as the nobility disagreed, but as the Grand Admiral she was also front and centre in any military actions.

​

 

[Lucretia Lister]

Lucretia walked through the streets, looking for Maw insurgents. She had encountered scattered numbers so far. A hold out or two, in out of the way sections as she looked for her son, but nothing she could not handle.

She hadn't really even resorted to her Force Powers all that much, content to wield an old DLT-19, spraying bolts powerful enough to punch through heavy armor. That was until she came across the next block and found loads of dead Crusade soldiers, and ducked as she was fired on, the blast powerful enough to send her backward with a metallic shriek, gashes of wounds bleeding dull green blood as she got behind cover. Explosive Blaster FIre.

She took a peak, a gash across her face. She pulled her head back as another bolt was fired, smashing apart the ground behind her. She saw where it came from, and opened fire on the tower it had come from, moving very quickly through the street, before another blast hit close and smacked her, blowing her through a building into a window.

The Force Spawn had sustained multiple lascerations and was bleeding heavily, and crawled as another explosive blast nearly collapsed the ceiling above her. She kept crawling until she was out of the building and began looking for a power source.

She spotted an overturned speaker with a still sparking Generator and crawled to it, drawing it's energy into herself and repairing some of the most serious cuts and burns and damage to her legs after a half an hour. The rest would have to be addressed by her armor, which reflected everything around it as she now sought out an alternative method of triumph against the Sniper. She would need an equally big gun and the advantage of surprise, because right at the point the reader might have started to wonder just why there was no airstrike, she saw a starfighter streak in, trying to end this post before it started with a well placed missile strike, two explosive shots would ring out through the air, taking out the missile fired, and the wing of the Ashlan fighter who sent it, which started careening into an area close to her.

"Some right vinegar in this one..." she remarked, watching the fighter crash in the distance. Out of courtesy she decided to see if anyone had survived, she crept through buildings, trying to avoid the Sniper's range. He was dug in good. All her best spells wouldn't flush him from cover.

She at last came upon the downed fighter and she heard coughing and immediately rushed over and pulled the cockpit open.

"Easy there... easy there..." she said pulling the pilot out, laying him on the ground where he continued to cough.

"That Sniper...what the hell kinda gun is that?" he coughed.

"Particle beam based, is my guess. Or perhaps they mounted a scope to a fusion cannon..." she mused. "I'll needs bigger gun."

She looked at an intact starfighter cannon and got an idea...

A half hour later...

"So what unit you with?" The pilot, named Kander, asked. He was a rookie, barely in his twenties.

"I'm more of a freelancer..." Lucretia answered, using tools from his intact kit to cut open the damaged starfighter's hull to extract the laser cannon.

"We been getting more of those..." Kander expressed, leaned against some debris. They were out of view and range of the sniper and they couldn't be easily seen on the ground.

"They've been pretty busy from the looks of it, this sniper..." Lucretia noted.

"They're good, whoever they are. They took out a whole squadron. We tried to hit them four separate times with a Turbolaser. They always seem to know when the strike is coming. But how are they moving their gun around?" he pondered.

"Maybe there are multiple guns..." Lucretia theorized. "Only one way to find out."

Lucretia worked faster as she heard another shot fired...

 

[Emiery Grayson]

THE NETHER KNIGHT
THE ORDER OF ASHLAN KNIGHTS
GRAND JEDI TEMPLE - ESSION
Heinrich Faust | Oraada Laabre | Lothaire | Stilicho Drumarch

The young Grayson boy’s annoyance, brief though it was, didn’t slip beneath her notice. The outward appearance of it was apparent for a sliver of a moment, but the feeling behind such expressions never vanished quite so quickly, appearing before and lingering after the visual. She gave no indication that she was going to pay it any mind, nor that she had ultimately been testing him, and within she noted how easily it got under his skin to not be addressed by his preferred title. He would have to not let such things bother him, and yes, prove himself.

At the very least, it was good to know that they all appeared to be on the same page as far as the Cardinal was concerned, and it was apparent that she was the the most practised of the three of them at keeping her distaste and opinion reined in. Even Heinrich had his limits, and the boy… well, he was young. He would learn to manage his excesses, or he would stand little chance of ascending very far, whether the destination was where he pictured himself or not.

“I am glad to hear it,” she replied to his assurances, thereafter also giving space for the Grand Marshal to speak his piece, and the follow up from the young Prince, “Despite the purported views of the majority, Prince Grayson,” she finally relented in her manner of address; she wasn’t malicious, “The populace would not be so keen to tear apart this nation so easily, not after how they have suffered. And - “

Whatever she might’ve said next simply died with the approach of the Vanguardist General, Drumarch. Her attention shifted as she looked toward the front-liner that joined them, a man whose ideology had run along similar lines to her fervent drive when she was young - well before the Crusade, and in its infancy. The fire that she had only given air to scant minutes before.

“General Drumarch,” she greeted, “Disinterest to an extent, yes,” she replied with a faint smile; disinterest in certain outcomes, it was - flicking a brief glance towards the others in their group, Emiery looked again to Stilicho, “but to ignore it entirely would be to the detriment of all.”

She withheld a faint sigh at the events of this gathering thus far, how some of what had come to light had slipped beneath even her notice, and turned partially to the other member of their group who was also bereft of hair atop his head, although for different reasons from the General, and gestured towards the young man.

“May I introduce the young Prince, the Lieutenant Lothaire Grayson,” then she turned to the young Togruta with a similar gesture, “and the newest of our Ashlan Knights,” she paused for a scant second, “the Knight Oraada Laabre,” and she continued on, looking to the General once again, “Now... surely you didn’t come all this way solely to listen to syrupy rhetoric, General. Are you recruiting?"

 

[Inkara Liet]

SEARING LIGHT OF ESSION
THE HOLY JURY OF ASHLA
CROWN DISTRICT - ESSION
Vaxis

His response to her question was of the sort she’d come to expect from him, because she hadn’t really been asking a question that warranted a specific response, or any, other than the chuckle that followed it. She settled back into her seat, retracting the glass of liquor along with her, and sipping when he further replied with his own question and assumption.

He knew her quite well enough to be exactingly on-the-nose. Inkara said nothing to the question itself, and loosed the sharp breath of a muted snort at the supposition that followed. There were a handful of different kinds of people, as far as she had gathered, when it came to her and the duality of her station. Variances of knowledge or lack thereof, fear, stupidity, disgust, and the worst of them all - the ambitious.

“Out of the several different kinds of ‘louts’ I have had the experience of turning down,” she paused for another sip, “over the years, I’m not sure which is my favourite - the rare young, polite man that also knows not who and what I am, or the one that knows exactly who and what I am, yet their sense of ambition overrides their sense of reason.”

One was almost endearing. The other could be hilarious, though not always - he had seen both and those in-between approach her enough times that she didn’t feel the need to continue on this line of thought, and changed the subject, pointing at his face with one slim finger.

“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked at your mask, and thought that you might have the right idea,” then she retracted the finger, “but I know that didn’t start until quite some time after I stopped dragging my heels and stopped quasi-resenting you for depriving me of throwing my life away.”

And depriving her of falling into a path of vengeance that she might not have been able to come back from. Those had been difficult feelings for a teenager to work through. A lot of conflicting feelings, all at once, at the time. A few notes of a small laugh bubbled in her throat, as she put a finger on exactly when she gained her own appreciation for the helm he wore.

“It was after the…” she paused and looked down into her drink, then placed it back on the tabletop, and shook her head, “...I know that we… I mean, I desired to never talk about it again, but…” she flicked a glance up at the Nagai, then shook her head again, “...never mind.”

You would think she would be over an embarrassment that was nearly as old as the Crusade itself, by now. She wasn’t that young Knight anymore. She needed to do this. Slowly she curled a hand back around her drink, blew out a soft sigh, and tried again.

“It… ah, still fits. The dress.”

She had only put on more muscle in the intervening years, and given she had never married, and had never bared any children? Well, of course it still fit.

 

[Heinrich Faust]

Heinrich Faust: Grand Marshal of the Ashlan Crusade

Tags: Oraada Laabre , Emiery Athelon, Lothaire , Stilicho Drumarch

"Your father is a dear friend, and I will remain loyal to him till the bitter end. I'm sure you'll find others that share the sentiment, despite the fire we see in the room today."

There was no hiding it now. Heinrich had grown weary of the Cardinal's fiery speeches and endless calls for another fight. He hadn't been present for Tython, and though the allied forces had triumphed against the Maw, Heinrich couldn't help but to feel a certain sadness for all of those lost in the planet's defense. Maybe it was the horrors of war finally getting to him, or perhaps he had just grown weary of the fight. Whatever it was, Heinrich was in no rush to jump at the Cardinal's bidding.

"As for the dance, I agree with Emiery. The people would be hard pressed to see the work of the Crusade undone so easily. Though... there certainly is change on the horizon..."

His voice trailed off as the General approached, prompting Heinrich to greet the man with a slight bow of the head.

"General, it's a pleasure."

A slight chuckle followed at the mention of rhetoric. It was no great secret that Heinrich didn't care for politics. Reading between the lines of one's words tended to give the Grand Marshal a headache. He would rather be in the Grand Temple, meditating and training young knights in the ways of their order.

"Honeyed words indeed, though such that will likely shape our future, I imagine."

His hand gently squeezed that of Oraada, his anxiety quelled for the moment as both her and Lothaire were introduced.

"It's good to see that someone is here to represent our troops, whether or not they partake in the rhetoric."

Isla was there as well, of course, but her military focus had always been the Grand Fleet. Magister Kaarz would have certainly been a fitting representative of their ground forces, but he had been busy overseeing the movement of resources to the new capital. As for the General, there was much Heinrich had yet to learn about the man.

"I wonder, General, what are your thoughts about our next steps?"