Member
|
Post by weirdsound on Sept 19, 2016 19:26:42 GMT
This initial post is reserved for info-dump once the game starts. Ida's Sheet:Kiwi, feel free to read this thread, but do not exploit anything you learn here until you come across the information in character. Goliathus, feel free to whisper anything you don't want Kiwi knowing, and to request that I do the same.
|
|
Member
|
Post by weirdsound on Sept 19, 2016 19:31:47 GMT
One Day Prior to the Reign of Queen Ida:
Heatran’s Crater is a sacred place to members of the Harem, a town built on the spot where the ancient demon god chose to blow itself up, killing hundreds of thousands, rather than face capture and subjugation by mortal hands. In the years since the place has become something of a legendary haunt for demons, witches, and mortal criminals, but you had never imagined yourself visiting, much less ruling over the place. Fearing that Leonhard or one of his sons might try to force political concessions out of you before you could even take your throne, your mother sent you to Magikarp Pass as soon as word came that you were to inherit the place, and you have spent the last couple weeks laying low in an Inn with your two traveling companions and advisers.
Keai, a young demon assigned by the Harem to mentor you as soon as they learned that your spirit form was that of a Latias, has been doing her best to enjoy the downtime, but you can tell that she is a nervous wreck. Since you were a young child, she has been your teacher in Witchcraft and Demon lore, and over the years she has become one of your few friends. Aside from a few tutorials and lessons to ensure that future encounters would go smoother than your 13th birthday did, you and Keai have never been physically intimate, but your friendship is dangerous enough without such trappings; You know that she is under orders to keep you focused on Heatran’s Revival should the prophecy come to pass during your lifetime, and are aware that her life is likely forfeit should she fail. In turn, Keai knows where your priorities really lie. Although she is well versed in song, dance, and history both mortal and divine, Keai considers herself a demon first and an artist second; Her true form, that of a fairy aligned Mellotta, is both powerful in combat and capable of seducing most mortals regardless of species, gender, or sexual preference.
Your other companion has been with you for less than two years, but has already earned your trust. Rêve Congelé is the younger brother of a wealthy King to the West. He spent the first decade of his adult life wandering the world as a Pokemon Trainer, before deciding he needed a purpose and joining the Redemptive Reflection. Through the Reflection, which largely condemns the actions of the Dewlan Kingdom, he made the acquaintance of your mother, who in turn offered him your hand in marriage. You found your new betrothed to be a trusting soul you could easily manipulate, and within a matter of months he had decided that you were a ‘redeemed demon’ and made you the primary object of his worship.
You find your now former fiance to be annoying at times, as not only is he head over heels in love with you, but he would much rather conquer, rule, and redeem the Dewlan people than destroy them. Still, he is worth having around; Rêve is a mighty trainer who specializes in the Ice Type, and although you doubt the Fate of the Dewlan Kingdom will be decided in an honorable Pokemon Duel, the fact remains that the man owns tournament victories against the entirety of the Dewlan Elite Four, their champion, and even the tyrant Leonhard himself. On a perhaps related note, the Dewlan royal family has stopped calling upon you since your engagement was announced about a year ago. Rêve’s Pokemon roster is anchored by two mighty spirits, Pureté a Diance made of Ice Crystals that has been passed down through his bloodline for generations, and a greater frost demon named Eternité who mocks the form of Ho-Oh, god of reincarnation. Although far too naive to be much of a politician, Rêve is well connected to leaders across the empire through both his kingly brother and his time spent as a wandering trainer.
Aside from your two regular companions, you had requested aid from The Cult of the Green Mothers, and it is only now, on the day before you were scheduled to report to the Crucible and take the throne that the nun you had ordered arrives. Mother Maria Desierto looks nothing like you expected her to; The tall and lanky woman is clearly no younger than seventy, but her body is well toned and covered head to foot in scars and tattoos, some of which look fairly recent. She wears a headscarf, but aside from that adorns herself more like a wilderness explorer than a nun. A nasty looking crossbow hangs from her hip, and on her shoulder sits a particularly mean looking Spearow with a haunting red and white glass eye. She greets you with a wordless bow, and hands you a letter of introduction that seems a bit worse for the wear.
The letter is little more than a list of the women's qualifications, written in particularly coarse language; far from the formal courtly penmanship you are used to. Her lineage is far from noble, but she was born into wealth as the daughter of a merchant. She married a man of a similar background, but was forced to divorce and join the Green Mothers when she miscarried her first child. After her initial training, Maria wound up in Quin’s Keep, the major trade hub of Magikarp Pass, raising Pokemon to pull and guard her father’s caravans, and occasionally driving or guarding wagons herself on short trips within the Kingdom. Shortly after Maria turned thirty, her father made a major donation to the crown, and as a result, the Nun was tapped to raise Pokemon for the royal household, a position she held for many years.
Nine years ago, one of the Bo Dynasty princes falsified evidence against Maria’s chastity, and had her expelled from the Crucible to be replaced by, in Maria’s own words, ‘a younger model who was willing to screw him’. Since then, Maria has wandered the empire running wagons for the family business, of which she is now 1/3rd owner with her nephew and her niece’s husband, and studying the reproductive habits of rare Pokemon species in the wild.
As you finish reading the letter, the old nun gives you a sideways glance and amused smile. “Alright. I’ve got one day to smarten you up on local issues before ya become Queen, child. What would you like to know?”
|
|
|
278 posts
|
15 likes
|
Feb 11, 2020 18:33:13 GMT
|
Member
|
Post by Goliathus on Nov 19, 2016 21:48:17 GMT
Searching for a sign Guide my hands unto your will Let me be the one Watch the blood of martyrs spill ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Light that flickers in the dark Forge the way through blackest night Strangled silence makes its mark Pierce the heart of tyrant's sight | In another twenty four hours, she would become Queen Ida, the ruler of a kingdom in this land still too new to her. She had worked so hard in the past few years for an opportunity like this and she would soon be holding her own fate. Even until now, she could not help but think this was just a dream, even though she was already present in Magikarp Pass for past two weeks, the longest she has been away from her homeland, both in distance and time. She was normally an indomitable character, possessing the amount of willpower to bend the world's toughest wall yet she was feeling nervous at this time, something she did not feel very often. A whimsy feeling danced in her stomach throughout the weeks and Ida was not certain about what it was. Was it the Petal Dance of pure joy or a Quiver Dance of a her fear and nevosity? She has all the reasons to be happy, all she had been doing in her whole life was to prepare for an event like this and to make the fullest of this when she was given the chance. She felt like a soldier, a thousand days of nurturing all for a single day of reckoning. Of course, that line of thought only applied to a peaceful land. In where she was originated, soldiers would find a lot of action in quick succession, especially those of the mightly Dewlan Kingdom. If all she wanted was this moment, why was she so afraid of it? She could not tell, not at all. Maybe because she was still so young and she just felt she was not fully ready to become the one woman to control the fate of a nation; perhaps it was just a part of human, to fear power, to remind herself of her own limitation and keep herself humble. No matter how much she has demonized herself, that part still lied inside her, deep inside her, small and frail but with a strong beat. Just like many things in the world, she did not understand fully about it, and she was skeptical about it being helpful to her. In her eyes, Tyrant Leohard was strong because he has cut his ties from humanity a long time ago. She needed to do the same to achieve the same height as her mortal enemy, it was the only proven way she witnessed in her life, and she found the idea of innovation stupid when she only has one chance and limited time to get it done -- she did not expect herself to live long.
The few weeks in Magikarp Pass was peaceful, arguably the calmest weeks of her life, far away from all the source of chaos. Sure, the kingdom of Magikarp Pass was in turmoil with the recent death of their former king but there has been no internal warfare of any kind so far. That was peaceful enough for her but at the same time, boring. As her mother specially instructed her to lay low, she has been doing just that, with no more than six hours out of the inn in a day and preferably not in a six hours long session too. The one thing she enjoyed though, was being a civilian. Human being always wanted something they did not have and Ida was no exception. She wished she had a peaceful and quiet life and without the time restraint of going out of her living place. Rarely would a noble wanting to become a civilian, a downgrade in their eyes, but the queen-to-be envied their simple, carefree life. Even just by imagining their simple life, she could feel the rage building inside her. Life was no longer a joy to her, she just knew way too many things behind the scene and the dark side of life was definitely not for the faint of heart. It was the ugliest thing she ever knew in her seventeen years on Earth.
Among her companion, Keai was definitely reacting differently than her usual self for some reason. She has never seen the great succubus, a mythical demon Ida always associated with Keai, in such a wrecked mental state before. She seemed more paranoid than her and she was not even the queen. Her task would not be different from the years before either. The only worry Ida could think of was Heatran's Revival. The both were well-aware of each other's goals and such and they both knew Ida would put her own priority over the order's. They did not tell each others that they knew but Ida has long came to the conclusion that she could never hide anything from the powerful succubus. Keai could read her mind like a book and if that failed, she could always go back to seduction, the succubus' most dangerous weapon. She would ask Keai why she was so nervous, like she did a few days ago, but the demon did not feel like sharing.
Her other companion, Rêve Congelé, was much easier to handle and a super valuable asset for her life goal. At this point, he was like the elite general of her kingdom, the right hand of her reign, who could easily handle any threat she would face in the near future if needed. Aside from personal strength, Keai has decent connection to other empires and would make political moves easier on her reign as the queen. Ida was not a fan of depending solely on him though. She was eager to improve herself and Rêve was a great ruler to gauge how far she has come. For now, she put herself as 10% of Rêve at best, still a long way to go. Her former fiancé, who she promised to stay in contact in the dark, perhaps "underground partner" was a better term, has a different vision on the Dewlan Kingdom issue at the moment. Rêve's view certainly has its own merits and arguably more humane and reasonble than hers. However, the young queen-to-be's goal was driven by her own rage and lust for revenge, not by ideology. Ida could care less about what the world said about her planas long as she could get it done. She was very confident she could eventually sway him from that or at least lied to him until everything was done. After all, she was a student of the great Keai and it would be a sin to fail such a simple task.
There was also the third companion, who she just met a moment ago. Mother Maria Desierto, oh how little she felt she was in front of the holy Mother, not necessarily because she was a demon - although that was definitely a factor - but the Mother was so...pure, even if she did not resemble a stereotypical nun. Mother Maria added "strength" to her resume as well and her well-built body certainly made her look younger than her age. The Mother's rough penmanship did not lower her position in Ida's heart. Rather, Ida saw it as a sign of humbleness, intentional or not. She folded the letter back into the state when the Mother gave it to her and laid it gently on the tiny round table besides her. Her Vullaby, curiously looked at the letter for a second, before Ida reattached the Pokemon's focus back to her with some gentle patting on her hair. Ida still was not sure if "hair" was the right term or those were technically "feathers growing on a Vullaby's head" but she much preferred the former. Her Vullaby was a solid fighter, arguably the best in her little roster when it came to sheer force and battle will but she was also the naughtiest and most active of the three. Ida let her out of the capsule everyday so she would not be too bored although by doing this, she was forced to take care of the Vullaby, who has a tendency to leave Ida without a notice and wreck havoc somewhere else. It was one of her toughest task in past few weeks, to make sure she was laying low without causing any trouble in the town.
"Everything you can teach me today, Mother Maria." Ida said in a very humble tone, rarely she would use such a tone unless she was trying to deceive by playing the victim or being the inferior side, but she genuinely saw herself a mere mortal over the Holy One. Her status of a queen-to-be would not change anything. "As I am from a land far, far away, I must admit I have very limited knowledge on this land. But I am very eager to learn, if you are willing to share, Mother." Her hand still brushing the Vullaby's hair and the Bird was calmer with that soothing touch. Perhaps it has something to do with her typing, as the Vullaby did not look very comfortable in front of Mother Maria in their initial meeting. |
MADE BY VEL OF GS
|
|
Member
|
Post by weirdsound on Nov 26, 2016 0:30:51 GMT
Mother Desierto nods and offers you a brief smile, clearly pleased with your attitude, but the bird on her shoulder snarls and caws at you until its master pinches its beak shut. You note Vullaby recoils at the Spearow's screaming. Perhaps it is not the nun making your Pokemon uneasy.
"Very well. The first lesson then is to be more specific. You just gave me a license to prattle on all day about the breeding and nesting habits of the local Tallonflame population... but I think I'll spare you that." The old woman offers a mischievous smirk as she playfully wrestles the bird on her shoulder, trying to keep its beak held closed.
"I think the most important thing you can take away from today's lesson is the position of great strength your kingdom holds." The nun's eyes narrow as the conversation becomes serious, "Your army will be tiny, so many never consider Magikarp Pass a force to be reckoned with, but I would argue that if you so desire, you could in short order easily become one of the most powerful queens in the whole empire. Many depend on goods that pass through the customs house at Quin's Keep, and a simple change in trade regulations that your people wouldn't even notice could easily make or break the fortunes of a small Kingdom."
Mother Desierto casually pulls a crossbow bolt from her satchel and begins to fiddle with it using her free hand as she continues to talk. "Even better, your kingdom is largely above reproach. Few could afford any sort of economic sanctions against your kingdom to punish your behavior, and war against Magikarp Pass would be a fools errand in spite of its small army; Your key fortifications at Quin's Keep and the Crucible have never changed hands in battle, and they have been tested by the likes of Heatran and Lugia. Even better, anybody stupid enough to try and make war against you and disrupt the imperial trade network will likely anger other nations who do business with yours."
The Spearow continues to struggle, causing the nun to drop the bolt she was playing with on the table and control it with two hands. She briefly pauses her address and squawks loudly at the bird Pokemon, as if speaking to it in its own language, and at once the Spearow calms down enough for Maria to release her grip. "...Sorry about that. Anyway, you and your husband will have it even better than most. The Emperor clearly has bought into the prophecy if he has named you to the throne over his own blood, so as long as you appear committed to preventing Heatran's rise, Lugia will be very hesitant to offer you any sort of reprimand, and might even feel forced to intercede on your behalf if you find yourself in any trouble."
These words prompt Keai to stand and stare the nun down. "That is useful information indeed, your holiness." She says aloud, before telepathically sending you a different message altogether. -The woman is either mad or naive. You can get what you want much quicker by unleashing Heatran.-
The glass eye of the Spearow abruptly glows a brilliant gold, and the bird swings around its head to stare down the Sucubus. "Arrrrrrk! This woman is mad!" the bird squawks with authority, "mad! mad! Naive! Naive! Better off unleashing! UNLEASH! UNLEASH! GET WHAT YOU WANT! RAAAAAAAAWK!"
Both Keai and your Vulaby recoil in unison, as Maria offers a soft chuckle. "The divine emperor specifically requested of mother superior that she send somebody who can keep you in line, girl, but I fear he misunderstands the purpose of my order. The scrolls of Shaymin state that a Green Mother must raise a Larvitar with the same attention and affection that she would use to raise a Cleffa, and that the pride she feels when a Clefable she raised saves a life must equal the pride she feels when a Tyranitar she raised ends one."
"The Word!" Spearow hollers as its master finishes up her recital of scripture. "The Word! The Word! Raaaaaawk! Unleash!"
The nun offers you a pat on the shoulder, and kind smile. "You called me mother, so it is my duty to see that you grow up healthy, successful, and strong, my child. Wisest queen, strongest demon, defender, destroyer, champion, traitor, beloved, or hated, I care not what you become, so long as you become great. Do we have an understanding, my daughter?"
Mother Desierto reaches into her satchel once more, and offers your now rather shaken Vullaby a piece of dried meat as she awaits your response. Spearow begins to glare at Keai, who nearly wilts back into her chair. Your long time mentor clearly was not expecting such competition from your third adviser.
Rêve, clearly blind to some of the context, breaks the tension by offering applause. "Bravo! Bravo! What a speech your holiness! I'm sure you will be quite an asset to my Ida!"
|
|
|
278 posts
|
15 likes
|
Feb 11, 2020 18:33:13 GMT
|
Member
|
Post by Goliathus on Nov 29, 2016 2:17:30 GMT
Searching for a sign Guide my hands unto your will Let me be the one Watch the blood of martyrs spill ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Light that flickers in the dark Forge the way through blackest night Strangled silence makes its mark Pierce the heart of tyrant's sight | Ida merely give the Mother an affirming nod on the Talonflame comment, her hand still stroking the aggressive Vullaby's hair gently, making sure the Bird does not do anything reckless. Despite the Mother's joke, Ida is genuinely interested in the local Pokemon for a lot of reasons and mainly two. One, she still has a long way to go in forming a powerful Pokemon team, which means she will likely be looking around for new Pokemon on her spare time in near future. Two, Pokemon are valuable resource in warfare and a local breed is the easiest to get to and mass breed for military purpose.
The queen-to-be is certainly disappointed by the lack of quantity of the kingdom's army. Sure, the Magikarp's Pass is a heavenly position when it comes to defense and even an inexperience tactician like herself can see the value of all the valleys and hills when it comes to defense. However, she is looking to be on the offense and a tiny army will do her no good. She makes a mental note to strengthen the military strength - not like she will not do that with a bigger army - when she is officially on the throne. "That's good news. Money cannot be buy everything but one can do nothing without them. Strengthen the kingdom shall be easy if I can keep the economy strong. The control on custom seems like a good way to control the amount of certain trade good to the surrounding kingdoms, I can see a good treasurer able to find extra golds from it." Ida replies on the part she does not care as much, keeping the important thoughts to herself and also making sure she does not stay silent for too long.
Ida tries to avoid making eye contact to the Spearow, as if to show she does not mind the Bird Pokemon's weird behavior, but the Mother's Pokemon is acting way too much to not take her attention away. Her heart shocks for a second as she sees the Mother forcefully dominates the Spearow with two hands. She tries her best to stay calm, not giving away to fear so easily, but her paused stroke and a faint line of sweat down her cheek are both tells to a keen observer. Ida was about to reply her mentor but the Spearow's golden madness completely halts her attempt, even stunning her for a few seconds there. This Bird...can read mind? As if the mother alone is not scary enough of a presence, her bird breaks through her mentor's mind barrier as if the wall is made of paper. How scary, Keai's unease is perfectly justified.
It is her Vullaby's aggressive shouting that draws her back into the scene, unfreezing her from the stunned state. Peering to the side, Ida sees the silvery hue on her Bird's wings, "Hail, Merla!" The Vullaby is still looking to go, prompting Ida to quickly put her hand before the Bird. "I said hail!" The young queen-to-be takes the opportunity to make a large hand motion, swiping the sweat off her forehead with the back of her arm before reaching to the Bird on the side just in time.
Ida remains well-seated on the next part, absorbing the philosophy of the Green Mother in silence. Despite the Mother not being the typical holy nun, her position in Ida's heart remains unaffected. In fact, Ida much prefers the Mother's zen, nature-based philosophy than those who put justice and moral over others. "Yes, Mother," Ida replies, simple and humble. Far from naive, she does not discount the possibility of the Mother testing her loyalty to Lugia, so she does not say too much. "I appreciate your Druidic view and the emphasis on growth."
It takes a while before Merla eventually peaks the dried meat down to the ground from Desierto's hand. Ida goes back to casually stroking on the Vullaby's hair and allowing the naive Rêve to break the tension in the room. Then, she joins again. "As you requested me to be more specific, Mother, may I know how are the people dealing with the former King's death?" |
MADE BY VEL OF GS
|
|
Member
|
Post by weirdsound on Nov 29, 2016 5:09:11 GMT
Maria shrugs. "The Bo Dynasty always tried to stay above petty local issues, and as such had few interactions with their own people. Most commoners saw their King in a more romantic or symbolic sense. They know their local Lord Governor and Ranger Officers have far more say over their day to day affairs. As such, the public mourned deeply for a few weeks, and then moved on."
Mother Desierto leans back in her chair. "The Crucible, your seat of power and home to a few dozen important bloodlines, is another story all together. Interim power has fallen to Royal Champion Shi, who I don't think is presently sound of mind - he married into the royal family, and as such lost his wife and his only daughter to the assassins. From what I understand, he alternates between drinking himself silly and making empty threats to execute anybody who looks at him funny."
Keai frowns, and looks up at the nun, lines of shock and fear still on her face. "Surely you jest, or at least exaggerate. If there are several dozen high bloodlines living at the Crucible with Shi, somebody will have dealt with him by now."
Rêve, still smiling, wags his finger at your mentor. "I know Shi. He is a trainer of frightening skill, and a chemist of unparalleled talent in making items to boost his Pokemon. He is one of three living men to own multiple championships in Lugia's annual tournament, and the only living trainer known to wield an Astrologer's Stone. He is not somebody easily 'dealt with'"
Maria shoots Rêve a glance. "Don't make him out as unbeatable. He is the strongest trainer at the Crucible, but I would hesitate to even call him the strongest trainer in the Kingdom. Heck, you are Prince Congelé, right? I'd imagine you have an outside chance of beating him."
Rêve shakes his head. "Magikarp Pass is home to several trainers who outclass me, and Shi is one of them. Just because I command more spirits than he does, and a good number of his Pokemon are weak to ice, does not mean I beat him. He is out of my league." This admission is scary. You have seen Rêve toy with some of the strongest trainers at your mother's court like they were children who had just received their first Pokemon. "I wouldn't worry about him though..." Rêve quickly adds as he at long last notices the general unease at the table, "I know Shi fairly well. He is a good man, loyal to both his Kingdom and his Emperor. If anything he will be relieved to give up power and have time to properly mourn his loss. He should even be fine with the demon stuff - if I recall correctly one of the elite four who serves under him is a demon worshiper."
"Indeed," the nun agrees, as she fishes another strip of meat from her satchel, this time for her Spearow "if anything, Shi playing tyrant will have kept some of the other inbred dipshits at the Crucible in line. Most would not dare directly oppose the interests of the throne, but the Crucible has no shortage of bureaucrats who inherited their position and make up for in ambition what they lack in brains."
|
|
|
278 posts
|
15 likes
|
Feb 11, 2020 18:33:13 GMT
|
Member
|
Post by Goliathus on Nov 30, 2016 12:59:40 GMT
Searching for a sign Guide my hands unto your will Let me be the one Watch the blood of martyrs spill ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Light that flickers in the dark Forge the way through blackest night Strangled silence makes its mark Pierce the heart of tyrant's sight | Ida is a little sad to heard about the former king's disconnection to the civilians. She thinks it is a good idea to make up a memorial day, just so the the local people can buy into her being respectful to their former king, but that plan is apparently better in the dust bin. Knowing this is still useful to her, it will be easier for her to buy the hearts of the people if she is willing to be closer to them and she is definitely doing that upon her ascension.
The queen has more and more questions as the conversation unfolds in front of her but she sees no gap for her to cut in among the heated exchanges between the advisors. For once, she is happy to have Rêve among them. His naivety and neutral position is extremely valuable as a wall between Keai and Maria. The prince can easily place himself in any topic between the two and all Ida has to do for now is to just sit back and listen. Admittedly, she does feel her inferiority against the whole wide world the more she learns about others. Over the weeks, she thought she is strong enough to handle the position of a queen and she should be able to handle things decently well but the harsh reality is apparent at this point, everyone with high position, perhaps slightly lower than a queen, are much stronger than her. It does trigger her inner spirit to improve but she somehow wonder if how fast she can be to climb to the top of the power pyramid. Sure, she is seventeen, young and developing, capable of improving and learning new things at an optimized rate. Yet, the seed of despair is planted deep inside her and her tendency to doubt herself is feeding that seed all the nutrient it needs.
Keeping her ears in the discussion, Ida derails herself from the three advisors to check on Merla, who is still in the process of eating the meat. For an aggressive carnivore, Merla is especially slow when it comes to consuming food. Ida does not know why exactly, she just figures maybe Merla understands how to savor food like a human being. "Enjoying yourself now, Merla?" She whispers the redundant question, arching closer to the Diapered Pokemon. She has ceased to touching her hair and chooses to give the Pokemon a little massage on her shoulder blade with both hands. "I am happy that you are trying to protect me...but things isn't always so simple in human's world." Merla does not even bother to look at Ida and just continues to work with the meat. Ida knows the Pokemon does listen, they have been with each other for quite a while now, and Merla just is not that keen on staying in eye contact with the talker.
As the discussion has slowed down, Ida joins the conversation again. "Royal Champion Shi looks like an beneficial asset to have on our side. As long as he is loyal to the kingdom, it should not be too hard to get his support." Ida says, the most confident she has been since the introduction of Mother Desertio. "However, I would prefer to keep the demon stuff in the dark. I see no point in giving away that piece of information nor do I expect everyone to be fine with it either. It might as well be known that I have no affiliation with them. On the other hand, I would like some information on the demon worshiper." He looks at Rêve on the last sentence. Among the three, Rêve seems to know Shi the best.
"I also have a lot of questions and I don't mind you all explain them to me as if I were a five years old child. What exactly, is the Crucible? Is there anything I should be aware of of the important bloodlines? Have any of you heard any rumor on the assassins, their organization and so? Anyone among the rank of Lord Governors and Ranger Officers I should be particularly aware of? I have more but let's start with these few." Ida continues, switching her attention to different advisors from time to time. Rêve and Maria gets more attention than Keai overall as Ida does not think Keai have too many questions to these answers. Keai certainly has her fair share of knowledge but not many that are useful right now. |
MADE BY VEL OF GS
|
|
Member
|
Post by weirdsound on Nov 30, 2016 21:24:32 GMT
Mother Desierto leans back in her chair and gives her Spearow a pat on the head as her face contorts into a frown. "I do not think it will be entirely possible to cover up your connection to the Harem. Lugia knows you have at least some affiliation with the order, and it stands to reason that if he tipped off mother superior, he will have tipped off others as well. At the very least, you will have to assume that those advising your new husband and the small handful of nearby inquisitors are aware that something is up."
Keai nods solemnly. "Not ideal... but far from an insurmountable obstacle. I'll get to the bottom of who knows what, and we can go from there."
Rêve offers a bemused smile, before demonstrating both his nativity and wisdom with a single statement. "Just tell them the truth, my sweet, demonhood is your birthright, and you affiliate with the Harem merely to learn their techniques and hone your strength. You are neither wicked nor stupid enough to do anything that might help them unleash Heatran. Use your demon form often and for benevolent purposes, get rid of the few hardliners who are not okay with it, and any danger will soon pass."
The nun shakes her head, and responds to Prince Congelé with a scolding caw not unlike a sound you would expect her Spearow to make. "I don't think it would be quite that simple... but I suppose your idea is not without merit either. You will have a good number of Drowish subjects, a handful of whom are demon worshipers. I'd talk to Bahay-gagamba, my queen, the demon wielding drow on your elite four that the prince mentioned. She might have better advice on the matter than anybody here would. I was told that you will be bunking with the female members of your Pokemon League until they complete the investigation into your predecessor's death and deem the royal residence safe, so you will have plenty of opportunity to speak with her."
Your stomach twists in fear. You see the color drain from Keai's face, and assume that yours would look the same if you could see it. You are well aware that Heatran killed the greater demons that the Drow beneath Magikarp Pass once worshiped, and that many of the deep elves, especially those that cling to the worship of their fallen pantheon, still hold a grudge. That fact that you are to be sharing a living space with such a Drow sends shivers down your spine.
-Bahay-gagamba is the Harem's chief enemy in these lands,- the Succubus hurriedly warns you via psionic message, -The local inquisition is weak and corrupt, but Bahay-gagamba, her demons, and the drowish witches that serve under them are devoted to preventing Heatran's return.-
Spearow's eye glows gold once more as it again glares at Keai and begins to shriek. "The local inquisition is weak! Corrupt! Is the chief enemy! CHIEF ENEMY! RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWK! Her demons! Her demons! Drowish Witches! WITCHES! DEV-"
"Oh shut up!" Maria interjects, before shoving the bird from her shoulder to the floor, causing it to squawk once and quiet down. She then turns to Keai. "Try projecting images. The little jerk is trained to intercept all psychic broadcasts and identify the source, but he can only parrot words. I'd rather not infringe on your privacy, but he dose not like going into his Pokeball one bit."
Rêve smiles, again oblivious to much of what is going on, and brings the topic back to the drow at hand, offering an entirely different assessment of her. "They have you in the league apartments with Bahay-gagamba? You will love it Ida. Those apartments are nicer than your mother's palace, and I imagine you can learn alot from her. She works with the Redemptive Reflection, resettling redeemed demons as objects of worship for her people, and carrying out raids against evil as the local inquisition kinda sucks."
Keai glares at Rêve, and frowns. The thought of Bahay-gagamba harming you must have been bad enough, you can't imagine your mentor is pleased that Rêve wants you to befriend her enemy. "I suspect getting too chummy with a Drow would be a great way for Ida to piss off every human supreamist in the Kingdom, Rêve."
An awkward silence falls, which you eventually break by asking some questions, starting with the Crucible. Rêve's face lights up when you mention the place. "The Crucible is a mighty fortress in a tiny alpine valley surrounded by impassable peaks. The only way in is through a system of fortified tunnels, or by air. It was built by the Timeless, a race of old earth people, and is supposedly many times older than humanity itself. It is home to the royal residence, court, bureaucratic offices, treasury military academy, Pokemon league, and entire regular army of Magikarp Pass. It is also home and holy site to the remaining Timeless population!"
You know a bit of the Timeless from your studies of Heatran's lore. They are, or were, worshipers of the Divine Demonslayer Regigigas, the being responsible for bestowing mortals with the power and knowledge to defeat the Demon God. They again sided with the Demonslayer when it made war against Lugia, and as punishment were stripped of their means of reproduction and damned to eventual extinction. Keai once told you that a handful of them still remain, as the Timeless do not age, including a few of their strongest warriors and brightest minds, but that they are now cowards who fear death and extinction and rarely venture from their holy site high in the mountains, which you now assume must be the Crucible.
Maria bends down to scoop her Spearow back up, and brushes some dust off the bird as she ponders your question about important bloodlines. "The Crucible is one of the oldest royal seats in the entire empire. Most of the 'important' bloodlines there merely hold bureaucratic or symbolic posts earned by the deeds of an ancestor hundreds or even thousands of years ago. The only real active faction at the Crucible is not a bloodline, but a group of scholars and military officers who answer to Crocus Castrum, an ancient Timeless champion who can take the form of a legendary beast. Crocus Castrum and his followers want to expand the military, reclaim the lowlands to the south that used to belong to Magikarp Pass, and rediscover the Timeless' means of reproduction."
She eases the Spearow back onto her shoulder and continues. "The two bloodlines you do have to worry about exist outside the Crucible. I'd be most concerned with House Rugiabo, who descend from the bastard son of the Emperor and a Bo Dynasty queen a few hundred years back. Their birthright is a fortress that houses several hundred Breath of Winter Knights and the spirit form of Articuno. Their current patriarch Dú Niǎo claims he is a legitimate heir to the Bo Dynasty, and as such the time of Heatran's revival is not upon us. He is very upset that Lugia, his own ancestor, snubbed him for the throne in favor of you and your soon-to-be husband. Worse still, Rin, your husband, called on the Blue Knights to advise him, and Lugia forbade him from advising the boy himself."
She sighs, and seems to drift off a bit before Spearow snaps her back to attention by biting her ear. "Youuuch! Oh. Cut that out! ...Right. Rugiabo. Dú Niǎo is a master of courtly intrigue, and his sister, Lady Pòsǔn the Hideous, is the most distinguished knight in your kingdom. I know them both well - I raised their Pokemon. Lady Pòsǔn especially, she is my daughter as you are. I spent the better part of a year tending to her wounds after one of the Evander boys raped her and had his magmar disfigure her human form. That said, if they are intent on taking the throne, I doubt I can dissuade them. They are both strong willed and stubborn..."
Keai seems to perk up when the nun mentions the word 'Evander', a name you have heard her use several times in the past. "The second Bloodline I'm sure the Holy Mother was about to speak of is House Evander. They descend from a disgraced officer of the Red Inquisition, who was banished from the Imperial Capital to command the understaffed and under-supplied Inquisitor's tower just west of Magikarp Pass. They largely resent Lugia, and have acquired a vast wealth by taking pay-offs from demonic orders that want to operate in the area. Some of them are actually members of The Harem in secret. Their official patriarch, Shawn Evander, is a distinguished graduate of the University of Wounded Walls and presently the Lord Governor of Heatran's Crater, the very town in which we sit."
The succubus offers you a sly grin. "The Evanders are status obsessed, and have aggressively married into prominent local bloodlines, as well as bloodlines tied to power in various spiritual orders. They were actually my previous assignment before you were born Ida."
Your mentor had told you in the past that her initial assignment was seducing highborns to birth demons of noble blood, but that she was pulled from that duty and given to you after none of her first four offspring turned out to be demons. Did Keai just admit that she is kin to the Evanders?
Rêve laughs when the Evander penchant for marrying up is mentioned, and transitions into talk of the Lord Governors. "They even had their Blood in the Bo Dynasty before the assassination. Lord Governer Evander is actually Champion Shi's maternal grandfather. He also is a very powerful trainer in his own right, the university trusts him to tame the most wild and exotic Regi-Golems they manage to dredge up, but he isn't a fan of battling Pokemon for sport, so nobody knows quite how strong he is. Decent guy though. Whatever horrible things might be said about his family, the Lord Governor is little more than a humble scholar. He delegates many responsibilities to his sons and nephews."
Maria nods. "Oh. That makes sense. Scholarship. I heard the university tapped him to advise King Rin, who is of the scholarly bent himself. The gods know I wouldn't trust his political advice. As for your other Lord Governors, Chǒujiǎo is a graduate of the military academy and a solid human being, but the man is too naive to understand that he is little more than a puppet to the Scholarly Archpsions and Grandmasters in his town of Quin's Leap. By tradition, the Lord Governor who rules the wildlands east of the maw is a bandit lord who buys the title from the crown. King Bo just appointed a new one by the name of Tūjiù two years ago. I have yet to meet him, but I understand the locals have taken to calling him Tūjiù the Orcfucker. Lastly, the Lord Governor of Quin's Keep, your largest and most important city, is Jiang Zhuān, who I am sure you have heard of."
Lord Governor Jiang Zhuān is one of the strongest wandering trainers on the Imperial Tournament Scene, rivaled only by several of Lugia's offspring and the legendary King Adam. According to Rêve his strength comes from the fact that he takes payment from The Caravan of Clear Skies and allows the merchant order to rule his holdings in his stead. This affords him the funds to purchase rare Pokemon and artifacts to equip them with, and loads of free time which he uses to do little more than train and travel to tournaments. You turn to Rêve, expecting him to have more to say about the man, and are not disappointed.
"If you are living with the other female members of the Pokemon League, you will get to know his daughter. She is only two years your elder, and already a member of the elite four. She'd make a great friend for you."
I would advise against getting too close to the girl," Maria cuts in, "Jiang Zhuān is popular among the people, but absolutely despised by the elite residents of the Crucible. Saying anything positive about him or favoring him in any way will earn you enemies. They dislike the fact that he lets a bunch of commoners rule in his stead, they hate that he is allowing his once proud bloodline to die by producing only a daughter and neglecting his wife, and they are appalled that he shows no discretion in picking his friends; If you are a strong trainer or spirit, you have his respect regardless of the order or kingdom you are affiliated with."
Rêve purses his lips, and answers in an indignant tone. "Hey! That last bit is the mantra of all wandering trainers! We are not knights or politicians, and cannot be burdened with the same responsibilities in picking our friends and rivals. The fact that Zhuān has earned the personal friendship of Mewtwo should be celebrated, not shunned!"
You can tell your ex-fiancee is about to go off on a rant, but he is momentarily silenced by a loud chirp from Maria's Spearow, and the bird's master quickly jumps in to answer the rest of your questions before he can continue. "As for the assassinations, the investigators are being tight lipped. You will have to ask for a briefing once you assume the throne. Your Rangers, up to and including their highest officers, are mostly commoners, and as such you can dispose of and replace them as you please. They are all competent and trustworthy. They are between eight and eleven hundred strong depending on the season, and are largely tasked with keeping order on the roads and sniffing out poachers. The last king largely left them to their own devices, so I could see some of them offering resistance if you get too hands on in ranger affairs."
|
|
|
278 posts
|
15 likes
|
Feb 11, 2020 18:33:13 GMT
|
Member
|
Post by Goliathus on Dec 3, 2016 16:09:03 GMT
Searching for a sign Guide my hands unto your will Let me be the one Watch the blood of martyrs spill ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Light that flickers in the dark Forge the way through blackest night Strangled silence makes its mark Pierce the heart of tyrant's sight | Ida keeps herself quiet for a long part of the discussion as her advisors go back and forth, trying her best to listen to every detail and keeping a note on all the names appearing in the conversation. Absorbing these large amount of information in a short time is not easy, not even to a young seventeen years old mind and she has no special capability like eidetic memory or anything when it comes to these. Soon enough she has a hand up on her forehead, pretending like she is thinking, but she is actually trying to calm herself from all the bad news and involuntary sweating. She is disappoint about her link with the Harem being a public knowledge but that is easy to live with as compared to actually living with a vengeful Drow from the Redemptive Reflection. Ida finds merit in manipulating the Redemptive Reflection for her own gain but attempting that on the best Redemptive Reflection in the kingdom is nothing but stupid, unless this Bahay-gagamba is as dumb as her underground lover. The odds is not on her side for this. Her mentor's second attempt on psionic message is just...stupid. She cannot believe the smart succubus would still try such a move when it is known the Spearow can read her.
"Things are not always so simple, aren't they?" The queen-to-be finally breaks her silence. "If my connection with the Harem is already a public knowledge, my best choice here is to play it slow and in the dark. Prince Congelé," She finds it is best to be formal in front of someone who does not know their relationship although the prince calling her "my sweet" is kind of a giveaway. She just hopes the Mother does not bother enough to spot that. "Things aren't always so simple. People tends to judge a book by its cover, not everyone is going to contribute their time and effort to look into everything, and affliction with the Harem will always be bad by the book, and no reason of any kind will change the mind of many. However, as you are a member of Redemptive Reflection, Prince Congelé, I think you should talk to Bahay-gagamba and see what she knows."
"I don't particularly care about the league apartment, how much time is needed before me and my husband can finally return to the Crucible?" She asks, turning casually to the Mother. The Crucible sure sounds like an interesting place. She never imagines living so high up in the air nor has she associate herself with sky before. Coming from Heatran's Harem, she has been earthbound more than anything. Just like the demon depicted in mythical and fantasy story, which is unlike the demon in real life, fire and brimstone is her call and the sky, with its bright colors of white and blue, is a forbidden place to the demon kind. Yet, the fictional demons have wings, so sky should be not be as oppressive as a place as it should be. She remembers a fiction she reads when she is very youth - a much simpler time and a time where she is looking for things to kill time rather than find ways to save time - 'Fallen Angels', telling the stories of a few fallen angels(so demons) and their attempts to go back to heaven. "Damn me again, take my wings!" is an iconic quote before Sephiroth becomes one-winged. Thinking about her past surely puts a genuine smile on her face, a rare feat of her today's self.
And the smile quickly fades away as soon as she "wakes" up from her little innocent bubble. "The Timeless might be after their prime but they are still very powerful beings with immerse knowledge of the world. What are the obstacles if I were to help them to reclaim the lowlands?" Ida asks. She has a lot of plans to expand the military so that part is settled. Expanding the border is never a bad thing and if she can convince the Timeless to help her after that, even better. "House Rugiabo and Dú Niǎo are huge concerns," Ida thinks of exchanging her throne to Dú Niǎo for eventual support in the future. A fair plan considering she care less about the throne than revenge on Dewlan Kingdom but Dú Niǎo can just be one evil S.O.B. who backstabs her. There is also a possibility of her ending up in love with her position as the queen. There are too many fictional and real life examples of people obsessed over positional power to suggest that she is definitely not fully immune to it. "But I think if we can maintain a good relationship with Lady Pòsǔn the Hideous, then we might have an easier time keeping Dú Niǎo in check for at least a period of time. Stubborn as they may be, I assume they have a fair grasp of chivalric code and they are to obey it?"
"The Evanders, on the other hand, seems like potential allies to us. They can have as many marriages as they want, and I have no problem giving them a fair amount of power as long as they are still under me." She continues, turning toward Keai. "But Lord Governor Evander's position as the advisor to my husband make things awkward. I have no reason to do anything bad to King Rin but I don't want him to know everything about me either." She tries to take a peek at her underground lover to see if he is sensitive to the comment about her 'newest lover by name'.
In the mean time, Ida's Vullaby has had enough of the boring conversation that she knows she is not to interrupt and decides to just find her own piece of entertainment around the room. Merla also pays close attention to the Spearow, not liking the Pokemon one bit, and even now she has an unexplainable urge to attack it. Ida knows Merla fairly well and she has the Pokeball ready behind her in case the bird decides to get out of the room through the window or door. Merla can be sneaky at time, when she is desperate to find something to do. Keeping an eye on the Pokemon distracts herself from the conversation for a while but the queen quickly comes back into it. "The other Lord Governors all seem compatible to their position and I am especially curious about Orcfucker. What is our relationship with the orc?" Ida certainly do not mind having orc as her allies -- the more, the merrier.
"Jiang Zhuān sounds like a person we can get to our side if we want the support of people. Perhaps we can find way to help him subtly, gaining the favors of the people while keeping the issues with the elite to a minimum." Ida ignores the ranger portion, having no important response on that piece of information. "The next question might be out of topic from our current discussion. Is there a presence of The Seductive Force around here?"
|
MADE BY VEL OF GS
|
|
Member
|
Post by weirdsound on Dec 3, 2016 21:52:00 GMT
Prince Congelé nods in response to your request. "You are the queen, m'lady, and have Lugia's backing. I reckon things might not be as complicated as you think. Regardless, Bahay-gagamba is the closest thing I have to a friend at the Crucible. I'll have a good long chat with her for you. Is there any message you would like me to get across? I outrank her in the reflection and outclass her as a trainer, so she should have little choice but to defer to my wishes."Maria pauses and thinks for awhile before asking your question about the apartment. "The league apartments are also at the Crucible, so its not like you will be far from your seat of power, but I cannot say how long you will be there. Those investigating are being tight lipped about the whole situation, so you will likely have to ask yourself once you assume the throne. Personally, I'd wait awhile anyway before you move in with Rin. Wait a few months so you don't appear to be dancing on your predecessor's grave, and plan a proper wedding and coronation feast. I'm sure Champoin Shi will legally declare you a married couple in the eyes of the state before handing over power, but it will look better in the eyes of the gods and your people if the two of you have a proper ceremony before you start sharing a home."
The nun starts fiddling with one of her packs as she moves to your question about the lowlands and the Timeless. "Don't mistake Crocus Castrum's agenda for the agenda of the entire timeless race. Most of the other timeless are content to passively serve the crown and avoid trouble. Those who follow Castrum are almost overwhelmingly human."After several seconds, Maria produces a map from her pack, which she spreads out on the table. She offers a quick key to reading it before giving you the answers you seek. "Red is yours. Purple is Lugia's. White belongs to a neutral kingdom, and black a hostile one. Anything south of the mountains on this map used to belong to the Kingdom, and as such Crocus Castrum wants it back. As you can see, Taking back the lowlands would mean making war on two other nations: Gyrados Falls and Farfetch’d Cliffs. In theory, it would be a simple matter of opening the royal treasury and renting a bunch of Black Knights to take the lowlands, but there would significant political costs and complications to either war.""We already have poor relations with Gyrados Falls," the nun explains, "they are trying to dig a mighty tunnel beneath these mountains and challenge our nation's control over the trade route. There is already a major divide within the Caravan of Clear Sies over weather or not to support the tunnel. Making war against Gyrados Falls could easily blow that schism wide open, causing a major spiritual order to fall into a civil war that would be felt across the entire empire.""What you see of Farfetch’d Cliffs on the map is the western edge of a large and powerful Kingdom. They keep few troops on their western border, but would have no trouble organizing a significant counterattack to take back whatever lands we steal from them. Farfetch’d Cliffs is also a close ally of King Adam and his order of human supremacists. We could make powerful enemies by antagonizing them."Mother Desierto passes the map over for the others to look at, and nods in agreement to your assessment of the Rugiabo situation. "I'd just keep a physician and some antidotes handy when you dine with them is all, they are polite and chivalrous on the surface, but they are far from above using poison to solve their problems under the table."Keai smiles in response to your view on the Evanders. "It should be easy to cut the Lord Governor out of our interactions with his family. He takes a 'the less I know, the better' view of his families shady dealings. I'd conduct your business through one of his sons or nephews. Shouldn't be too hard for me to figure out the right contact."Rêve seems fixated on Merla's antics at the moment you mention Rin, and offers no strong reaction. Several seconds later however, he reaches into his pocket for a Pokeball and sends out a chubby little Spheal that he keeps specifically as a playmate and sparring partner for your Pokemon. The little arctic Pokemon barks, claps, and waves to draw the attention of your bird its way. Maria's Spearow nervously eyes the ice type, and shifts itself to the nun's other shoulder to get further from the Spheal. Maria offers a wide smile and amused laugh at the antics of the Pokemon in the room, before speaking about the Orcs. "The Orcs live in these mountains. The entirety of this mountain range east of your Kingdom, a good twenty-five hundred miles worth of peaks and plateaus, is Orc Country. They are masterful Pokemon trainers and fierce warriors. Orcs are divided into hundreds of small, prideful, and independent clans, most of whom hate their immediate neighbors. Most Orcs view a healthy rivalry with humankind as a sacred duty, as their patron deity is Ho-Oh, divine rival of the emperor."Keai smiles, and quickly launches into one of her history lessons. "Magikarp Pass was once an ally of the Orcs. The last Queen Jiang and her husband, a Timeless Champion known as the Thief of Lightning aligned with and helped organize the Orcs against the rise of Lugia's empire. The songs say Queen Jiang and the Orcs kept the emperor out of the mountains, and that it was only due to the treachery of her spymaster, who would be named the first King Bo as reward, that Lugia was able to spread his empire into the east lands."Prince Congelé nods. "I've heard those songs. I've also heard that the Thief of Lightning still lives at the Crucible to this day, which is why Lugia never visits the royal court in person... Tracking him down might be tough though. The timeless consider themselves observers of history, not participants, and many of their best and brightest will deny their past out of shame or refuse human interaction all together. If you want to learn more about the Orcs, I'd travel to The Temple of the Fang at the town Quin's Leap, which is the headquarters of the major orders. Hell, I'd visit anyway just to study Pokemon Training under Master Fang. Both Champion Shi and Lord Governor Jiang got their starts training under him."You know the Temple of the Fang is a spiritual order devoted to preserving Orcish writings and Training Techniques. Every few years they would send scholars to your mother to try and purchase some texts from her personal collection. As far as you know they never succeeded. When you ask about the seductive force, Rêve holds up Maria's map and points to the large peak just north of the town of Quin's Leap. "This mountain here has many names. Locals call Quin's Peak. In my homeland it is the Mountain of the Minds, due to its connection to both the psionic orders. On the upper slopes of the Mountain, you can find Cloudlace, one of the most respected and infamous Seductive Force temples in the empire, and Cloudsong, a Righteous Force temple that is its equal in stature and fame."Maria nods in agreement. You note her lips purse a bit when she speaks on the matter. Perhaps she is no more a fan of the seductive force than you are. "Archpsion Po of Cloudlace is much beloved and well respected. Typically the Archpsion appointed to lead either temple is a former student of the emperor, which Po is, but Po is also the first Archpsion of either temple to be born in Magikarp Pass in over seven hundred years, so his position is a matter of national pride. Po also wields a good degree of political influence; He is one of the scholars pulling the strings of Lord Governor Chǒujiǎo, and a good number of your Ranger Officers, male and female, are regularly and openly intimate with him."
|
|
|
278 posts
|
15 likes
|
Feb 11, 2020 18:33:13 GMT
|
Member
|
Post by Goliathus on Dec 7, 2016 8:27:29 GMT
Searching for a sign Guide my hands unto your will Let me be the one Watch the blood of martyrs spill ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Light that flickers in the dark Forge the way through blackest night Strangled silence makes its mark Pierce the heart of tyrant's sight | Ida shakes her imaginery head at the Prince's naivety. The people before her is indeed very right on this -- ignorance is bliss. "For safety measure, it is always best for me to assume things are as complicated as possible rather than the opposite. I can't think of any specific message for you to carry, just try to make me come across as a reasonable queen as best as you can." At this point and time, all Ida wants is to not feel as pressured when she eventually stumbles upon Bahay-gagamba in person.
"That's fair." She switches her attention to the Mother. "With how you put it, I see no alternative but to bunk at the league apartment for a few months." Logically, they can spend the few months of time to build up their relationship with each other and it totally makes sense for them to wed after. On the other hand, Ida does not care about her relationship with King Rin aside from what potential reward she can reap from this relationship, something she will eventually know in a few weeks of time in her slowest estimation. They are bound to meet with each other eventually and probably spend some time together as the next royal leaders of the kingdom.
"The other Timeless are bound to help the crown by what you mean so they are already with us. All I want now is for Crocus Castrum to join me too." She says before investigating the map in detail, paying attention to the various named spots and the colors. After the mother is done explaining the geographical overview and a summary of the kingdom's relationship with the neighbours, she speaks up again. "This is easier than I thought. If the lands belong to Magikarp Pass no matter how long ago, then we have rights to it and if we have rights to it, we have an universal accepted reason to go to war." Ida continues, clearly she has spent her fair share of time researching all sort of things about warfare.
"Farfetch'd Cliffs is a neutral kingdom at this point and time, plus with all the connections and so, it is incredibly stupid and unwise to try and wage war against them. Gyrados Falls sure sounds like a much easier target and will satisfy Crocus Castrum all the same so it is definitely the target of choice if we were to attack. Plus, they are trying to challenge the great source of prosperity of our kingdom. That alone is enough for me to want to go at them. I say we make friends with those in the Caravan of Clear Skies who support our side in the argument and see what benefit we can get from them. As they would say, it's business as usual." Ida shows no compassion to the businessmen of Caravan of Clear Skies. To her, businessmen are all about profit and it is only fair to treat them the same way, extorting whatever she can from them within the limit to not anger them. "Is there any big name I can meet among the Caravan of Clear Skies?"
She continues after getting her answer. "As long as they have to act chivalrous on the surface, it's fine. We can take advantage of their lack of freedom on this part and try to not get beat on the dark side." Ida pauses to restructure her following responses before turning to Keai. "It is definitely easier to cut the Lord Governor out of our interaction but the Lord Governor himself is the Lord Governor. Plus, I really like a knowledgeable man. I would like an opportunity to meet the man himself but I won't deny the easier option either. You should find out the right contact and we will see what we can do on that side."
In the mean time (again), Merla is getting bored of the dull environment...until she sees the little Spheal waving at her. Cheerful in her charge, the Dark Pokemon dives right at the Spheal and rolls around with it. Their unlikely friendship goes way back in time and Merla is pretty much used to the body temperature of the Spheal by now. That does not mean Merla is not afraid of cold and Ice type attack, just that she is at least more comfortable around it. Ida shoots a gladful gaze, with a underlying hint of seduction, toward Rêve for picking up on the need to keep Merla entertained.
The gaze lasts for a few seconds and the queen-to-be quickly goes back to the discussion at hand. "Speaking of Orcs and their excellence in Pokemon training," Ida quietly observes Mother Desertio to see if she has any reaction to the orcs. The Green Mothers are well-known too for their ability to train and care for Pokemon and she cannot deny the possibilities that the Mother might not like the orcs' presence so much when she is in charge. "what are our army composition and structure? Do we utilize a lot of Pokemon in our rank or do our soldiers mainly relies on weapons and technologies?" Ida has a lot of plans on the military rank and such. She wants a military so strong that she can challenge the Dewlan Kingdom and forming such army will forever be her priority as a soon-to-be queen.
"Such deep root we have with the Seductive Force. I guess it will take a lot of effort to get these, pardon my language, whores out of our area." Ida, a whore herself in her own perception, sees no need to hold back on the w-word. "With a national disgrace in charge of the Force, I assume making enemy with them will lead to massive problems around the nation?" She asks, not necessarily rhetorical. "No matter, I will just bite my lips and live with them for now. Now, back to the map, what information do we have on the Human Kingdom of Spade? What are our relationships? Any interesting tidbits? I also see a massive lacking in water surface around this kingdom, aside from the...Lakeland Highway System? Do we have to buy waters? Or maybe drill very deep into the underground to find some?"
|
MADE BY VEL OF GS Intuition - Read the Mother on the orc subject: K87OGR6k4d6 Perception - Read the Mother on the orc subject: 1d6 4d6·1d6
|
|
Member
|
Post by weirdsound on Dec 8, 2016 7:43:50 GMT
Maria shrugs when you ask about getting help with the Caravan. "You'd want Wąż for that, the man Jiang Zhuān lets run Quin's Keep in his stead. Wąż is against the tunnel, as are most of the influential Caravan investors within the city, but I'd imagine he'd need convincing to actually support a war. Wars tend to interrupt trade. Most of the anti-tunnel caravan investors are content just assassinating the engineers behind the tunnel, and diverting water from above to flood out their work sites."
She then moves to talk about the local water system. "We have no shortage of water here. Snow melt and alpine springs keep us nice and wet. The reason we don't show the water on our maps is because the timeless tamed it for us thousands of years ago with a system of animated drainiage tunnels and canals. We can move water almost anywhere we want, within the Kingdom, or on the Gyrados plateau, the lands just west of our border and above Gyrados falls. As you pointed out, the Lakeland Highway System does trace the shape of the lakes that are usually there, but they can be drained and relocated in a heartbeat."
Rêve grins when you mention your desire to meet Lord Govenor Evander. "I bet I could arrange a meeting for tonight. He lives right here in town. If I leave soon to make the arrangements, his chefs might have enough time to even prepare a dinner befitting their new queen! I'd bet e..." The Prince would have likely continued talking, but he melts under your seductive gaze as soon as he notices it, leaning back in his seat and grinning like a fool.
You fail to detect any negitive reation from the nun when you mention the Orcs. If anything she respects Master Fang and his Temple greatly. "Your rank and file soldiers are all based around the Crucible and the Fortified Tunnels, and their gear and Pokemon are designed to give them the upper hand in those environments. The ones in the tunnels wield heavy armor, polearms, crossbows to fight in enclosed spaces. Those at the Crucible wear little armor at all, and depend on their own mobility and the automated defenses. In terms of Pokemon, your army uses a lot of Rock Types. The timeless possess revitalizing earth magic to revive ancient stone Pokemon from fossils without resorting to Necromancy. Those in the tunnels use Pokemon who are both Rock and Water type, and can call in flood waters to give their Pokemon an edge. Those on top use Pokemon that are both Rock and Flying type to gain the edge on almost any attacker who might come from above."
She pauses for a second, before continuing. "There is a garrison of about three hundred men here at Heatran's Crater. In theory, the garrison belongs to the crown, but in practice, they answer to the Evander Family. Its a ragtag bunch with no standard uniform or skill set; You got talented ex-rangers who discovered that the Evanders pay a bit better, disgraced knights from various orders looking for a paycheck, some master martial artists, psions, and trainers from the dojos up at Quin's Leap, and even a handful of witches."
The Nun pulls a Pokeball from her pocket and spins it like a top on the table, staring at it intently as she continues to speak. "House Rugiabo controls a good four hundred Blue Knights, who again, answer to you in theory. At any given time, most of them are tied up patrolling your underground holdings, and rooting out the undead. They are trained to use both light and heavy armor, depending on their enviroment. They are given great freedom in picking their Pokemon Rosters, but most keep several revived fossils like your troops at the Crucible do. The also have some magic users; A handful of counter-necromancers to help deal with undead, and most members of the Rugiabo bloodline have control of ice and wind; some are even Articuno Spirits."
"The timeless are supposedly holding out on some pretty impressive weapons," Mother Desierto concludes, "but I doubt they would ever mobilize for war without the ability to replace their losses. Crocus Castrum supposedly trains some of his most loyal human followers to use timeless gear, but they keep a tight lid on what the exact capabilities are."
Your use of the w-word snaps Rêve back to attention. He opens his mouth to scold you, but thinks better of it and talks about Spade instead. "Spade is a large and expansive desert kingdom, and the home of the Black Knights. They are the reason the Dewlan Kingdom hasn't made it this far Southwest; Not even Leonhard wants to mess with them. Their diplomats span the empire, trying to provoke wars and drum up merc work for the knights, but they actually prefer to play peace keeper in their own backyard."
"They are very dependent on foot imports that travel through Quin's Keep." Mother Desierto adds, "If you face a siege from the south, they are the ones who are going to end up starving. We can import enough food from underground to feed ourselves in a pinch."
As she talks, you begin to hear a comotion in the next room, where the innkeeper runs a bar and restraunt. First shouts and yells, then a familiar low rumbling whine. The same sound Rêve's Glalie and Diancie make when they mega-evolve. Prince Congelé recognizes the noice as well, and springs to his feet. "Trouble! Ladies, stay here and protect the queen!"
Without another word, your ex-fiancee sends out his Mamoswine to help keep watch over you, before drawing another Pokeball and bolting out of the room. Maria rises as well, readying her crossbow and recalling her Spearow in favor of a Machamp, while Keai pulls out her flute. Spheal notices something is up, and hides underneath a sofa.
You can hear Prince Congelé shouting with somebody in the next room. You can't make out words, but you can tell he is more exasperated than angry or frightened.
|
|
|
278 posts
|
15 likes
|
Feb 11, 2020 18:33:13 GMT
|
Member
|
Post by Goliathus on Dec 10, 2016 5:43:28 GMT
Searching for a sign Guide my hands unto your will Let me be the one Watch the blood of martyrs spill ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Light that flickers in the dark Forge the way through blackest night Strangled silence makes its mark Pierce the heart of tyrant's sight | "We offer permanent solution, or at the very least, a long term solution. If we can argue that they will end up spending less money overtime on supporting our war than to hire assassin again and again, we might have a chance in convincing them. We can also make an argument that their business will grow even stronger if we can take out their opposition in their order itself. Businessmen are rarely selfless and I am sure we can convince them with mutual benefits. But we will still need to strengthen our army before doing anything rashly, so we will see how things unfold in the next few months." Ida pauses to readjust her seating stance. "Our water system is certainly impressive. No way anyone can attack us from water if we can just take them away and restructure them in any way we want." Ida then turns to the Prince. "I can wait, no need to expose my presence here before the tomorrow." Ida is willing to say more but the Prince is probably not in the mood to listen so Ida goes back to the nun on the military structure.
"Our ranks are certainly capable of defending our territory but we are also severely lacking in offensive power. A lot will need to be done before we can even think of going to war with Gyarados Falls. I don't like our near-mono preference on Pokemon either. Mother, I reckon you will be doing a lot of works on the military front on training and breeding all sort of Pokemon. We shall discuss deeper into the local population of Pokemon when we have a chance, my brain will need time to process all the information today before it can move on into Pokemon usage in our military and local zoology." Ida continues. She sure looks unhappy and even worried on the military portion of the discussion but she does not explain her concern for now. As she never considers the Evanders and Rugiabo's personal armies to be hers, she skips over that part without anything to mention. "The timeless weapons are forbidden relics at best, such great power will not be controlled so easily, nor do I expect them to lend some to us. The best we can do is to be friendly to Crocus Castrum's loyal followers and see what we can get from them. Not a thing to do in hurry, I would focus more on restructuring the local military for now."
"As for the Black Knight," Ida sinks into deep thought for brief moment. "They are dangerous and possess destructive power. No way we are able to take them on without burning every resource we have but we don't want them to be hostile with us either. As long as they are dependent on foot imports, we shall be able to keep them in check." The Black Knights is an order that Ida has thought of contacting but she eventually chose the Green Mother. She certainly does not regret this choice, Mother Desertio has been amazing so far, but nothing comes close to sheer military power to the Black Knights. She also does not realized the Black Knights are located just north of Magikarp's Pass until now and learning that now certainly tilts up her heart rate. Her moment of deep thought is mainly used to keep her breathing normal, to not give anything away, even to her closest advisors.
Then, the unplanned interruption happens. Driven by her keen sense of danger, Merla stops playing with her Spheal friend as soon as she heard the shouting and yelling and keeps herself right by Ida's side. As she is Ida's most experienced combatant, Ida has no reason to not keep her out. Without a target, Merla is silent and resorts to just standing by Ida's side for now. As for Ida herself, she almost stands in shock when the things happen and only by willfully restraining her body that she remains seated and calm. Her mind is on the work right away, finding the Prince telepathically and trying to gauge what is in his mind, hoping to get a clue as to what is happening next door. The young queen-to-be says nothing to Keai and Mother Desertio, knowing that they are more capable than her in handling this kind of situation. She highly doubts this is their first time. |
MADE BY VEL OF GS Edit: I mistakenly edited the post and deleted the roll when I am taking the format of the post. 4d6yJ2EciZh
|
|
Member
|
Post by weirdsound on Dec 10, 2016 7:33:20 GMT
It is hard to get a good read on the prince's thoughts through the wall. What you are able to pick up, however, is that there is a bar fight going on in the next room, Rêve knows one of the participants, and that he doesn't think you are in any real danger. After about a minute, Prince Congelé manages to talk everybody down, and you hear the sound of several Pokemon being recalled to their Pokeballs.
When Rêve returns, he is followed by a stranger; A medium sized man wearing a golden robe that would be quite impressive if it wasn't in such a poor state of repair. The newcomer is clearly very, very drunk. He leans on a thick golden staff to help keep his balance, and is followed by a man-sized purple reptilian Pokemon that seems poised to catch the stranger should he stumble.
There is a brief silence, interupted only by Mother Desertio muttering something under her breath, before Rêve speaks with a voice dripping of sarcasm. "M'lady, I present to you Shi, champion of Magikarp Pass, protector of the throne, leader of the Royal Pokemon League, temporary head of state, and apparently now instigator of bar room brawls."
The man offers a low bow in your direction, before unceremoniously flopping into Rêve's chair. "Sorry about that princess. I was looking for you, and decided to stop for a pint or five... then I noticed some local hick at the bar trying to force himself upon one of the servers, and decided to step in... with excessive force!"
Shi smiles, and leans so far back that his chair tip over. The purple Pokemon quickly hurries foward and catches it, stopping it from falling over. The Champion, seemingly unaware of this, pulls a flask from his pocket and takes a good long swig before continuing. "Anyway... to business m'lady. I just got a letter from 'is Holiness Lugia instructing me to hand over power to you in private, rather than in front of the whole court. The hand-off would customarily be where your advisers present their artifacts to you, but Lugia... *hic*... Lugia thinks it would be good if the entire Crucible didn't witness Heatran's Harem giving you a present."
The Champion takes another long sip from his flask, before concluding. "You are to come with me to Metal Corpse Keep... my grandpa's place. He is the local lord governor, and adviser to your future husband. Rin is already there, so we can do introductions, artifact presentations, and the quick and dirty version of the wedding and coronation."
Rev sighs. You can tell he isn't happy that Shi is making such a fool out of himself in front of you. Mother Desierto is biting her tounge; You can tell she wants to give the Champion a good scolding.
|
|
|
278 posts
|
15 likes
|
Feb 11, 2020 18:33:13 GMT
|
Member
|
Post by Goliathus on Dec 12, 2016 9:27:30 GMT
Searching for a sign Guide my hands unto your will Let me be the one Watch the blood of martyrs spill ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Light that flickers in the dark Forge the way through blackest night Strangled silence makes its mark Pierce the heart of tyrant's sight | Ida seizes her mind power as soon as she has a basic understanding of the situation and that she is under no threat. She is very careful, arguably overcareful at times, as she takes no chance in exposing her mind capability to anyone, friendly or otherwise. This place might be safe at the moment but she will never deny the possibility of someone better than all of them has been spying around or be able to detect psychic residues further away than her or Keai's sensing range. Without danger, she simply sits at ease, quietly awaits the Prince's return to the room.
Her attention is all on the stranger as they come into the room. Assessing the stranger's outfit, Ida sees what appears to be a high quality robe. She can imagine the man exuding an aura of majesty if the robe and the man are not in such a poor state. The young queen-to-be is surprised when she learns that the pathetic drunkard in front of him is Champion Shi. She obviously understands what alchohol can do to even the greatest man alive but she certainly does not expect the great champion to sink to this level. Still, she keeps her face straight, not wanting to appears as too condescending. To be fair, the man probably cannot comprehend anything when he has the alcohol percentage of a vodka around his body but Ida is more concerned about her advisors' perception of her, particularly Mother Desertio.
"Nice to meet you, Champion Shi, Prince Congelé has been singing your praises just moments ago and I did not expect for you to come by to this end of the town personally." Ida does not know the man at all but judging by the previous dynasty's preference to rules from above, quite literally, those with high ranks might not like mingle too much with with the locale. Ida does not say anything about the incident, having no interest in interfering with unimportant matter.
What does matter to Ida is her association with Heatran's Harem is apparently a public knowledge among the high ranks. Gritting her teeth, she sits still on her chair, trying to calm herself down before speaking again. "I certainly appreciate the courtersy the court is showing upon an order that is not widely accepted. Please give us few minutes to prepare and we will be on our way, best to not keep everyone waiting for us." Ida will change into her best looking outfit that she is supposed to wear tomorrow and they will be on their way. |
MADE BY VEL OF GS Pokemon Edu. - Information on the purple reptilean Mon: 6EyuUSIt2d6 2d6
|
|
Member
|
Post by weirdsound on Dec 13, 2016 0:35:19 GMT
You are fairly sure the purple Pokemon is Nidoking, the final form of a Male Nidoran. Although Nidoran is a fairly common species the empire, they require the use of a rare stone to reach their final forms, so few trainers actually have the privilidge of wielding a Nidoqueen or Nidoking. You have seen Nidoqueen before, it is the prized Pokemon of the tyrant Leonhard, and Shi's Pokemon is the same general size and shape, while possessing the pronounced horn and purple coloration of the Nidorino belonging to your mother's spymaster.
Shi shrugs, and looks you up and down with large emotive eyes. Without even needing to resort to telepathy, you can tell the man is trying and failing to drink away great sorrow. "I may have been raised in the Crucible, but I have deep blood ties to the western part of the kingdom, especially this town, which my grandfather still rules as lord governor. I'm not a fan of the food at this particular inn, but I am a regular at several other taverns here at Heatran's crater."
Taking another long gulp from his flask, Shi staggers to his feet. "And the court knows nothing about your ties the Harem, for now. m'lady. Lugia learned from a spy at your mother's court, and only shared this information with your husband's advisers and myself. Rumors will get out eventually; The Harem has many agents in these parts, and not all of them are great at keeping secrets, but unless you screw up and expose yourself big time, you can always refute those rumors."
You find the fact that Shi can see through your concerns even while completely wasted to be a bit shocking. Perhaps underestimating him would not be wise.
(That should conclude your initial RP. Please hold for main IC thread launch. Feel free to start private RPs with your advisers at any time.)
|
|
Member
|
Post by weirdsound on Dec 21, 2016 20:28:37 GMT
List of Retcons/New Information: -Rêve's brother, King Acier Congelé, is likely to try and renegotiate the marriage agreement between you and his brother sooner rather than later. His kingdom has a powerful military, but is separated from yours by great distance, so attempting to use him as an ally in warfare might too big of a logistical hassle. If you want to use your hand in marriage to bargin for other allies instead, you might want to move quick. -The Evanders no longer have ties to your counterpart. -Your advisers know that Brinn has spent her recent years as a bandit with ties to the Wolves of the Fey Road, and has asked that order to provide an adviser. -Brinn has also requested the aid of The Caravan, and has been given Wąż, the powerful investor who runs the major trade hub of Quin's Keep, as an adviser. Wąż unpopularity within the crucible will likely give you a headstart on winning the nobility, but in turn the power he wields will give Brinn a significant upper hand should you clash with her on economic concerns. -Champion Shi fears that Wąż's presence might be enough to start a riot at The Crucible, and that is why he has moved the proceedings to his grandfather's house. -The Keepers of Prophecy are the third order that Brinn has called for aid. Keai informs you that the keepers could be dangerous; Some among their ranks travel through time, and may know more about Heatran than even the Harem.
|
|
|
278 posts
|
15 likes
|
Feb 11, 2020 18:33:13 GMT
|
Member
|
Post by Goliathus on Jan 10, 2017 15:41:36 GMT
Searching for a sign Guide my hands unto your will Let me be the one Watch the blood of martyrs spill ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Light that flickers in the dark Forge the way through blackest night Strangled silence makes its mark Pierce the heart of tyrant's sight | Ida is expecting more aggression from Queen Brinn that does not come her way. A little surprised by how well the fellow queen is handling herself in the court, it takes her some time to come up with an appropriate response - lies take time to create - but that is moot with Queen Brinn calling an end to the ceremony immediately after her response.
"I don't mind sharing a common area with fellow Queen Brinn," Ida strikes first, trying to leave the impression that she is generous and forgiving, "But if the arrangement is set, I will take the male suite...unless someone has an issue with it." A chance to get closer to Shi and also to be away from the very dangerous Bahay-gagamba? Too good of an opporturnity to miss.
For the night, Ida decides she has learn more than enough for the day and it is better for her brain to work on all the information while she is asleep. She lets her Pokemon out for some playtime with herself and then it is straight to bed. The letter is the only thing that tempt her for the night but she let the feeling slides along with the letter, into a drawer near her bed.
(I will RP the second day after the update in the main thread.) |
MADE BY VEL OF GS
|
|