Lords of Sea and Storm IC

[Aevylmar]

Opening Music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5-0bhR0gEQ)

Tianrasia, Ascendant Fire 17, RY -113

The morning had dawned unseasonably grey and foggy the night that the convoy sailed into Tianrasia. The ships had lain at rest in the abandoned harbor at Moritan the night before; the nighttime journey was judged more of a risk than resting at a city that the Contagion had left months ago.

The core of the convoy consisted of merchant ships, of course. A handful of them still carried the fine timber, rice, or metals that Tianrasia had gobbled up before the arrival of the Great Contagion. Other ships with wiser - or more cynical - captains brought hard bread, smoked meat, and cheap alcohol of all varieties. All the ships brought passengers, some of whom had had the insight to bring food of their own for a long trip, and others of whom had lacked this key insight and were being gouged gloriously. One galley carried no trade goods or profit passengers; its cabin was occupied by one of the last scions of Gens Adara. Her engineers had slept on the deck that night, and as the convoy approached Tianrasia, several of them were dicing for the remainder of the reduced wine ration. They had nothing better to do, after all.

Another captain scanned the sunrise eagerly. He firmly told himself that it wasn’t that he minded bringing Russ - ah, the Most Honored Bianfu Xujia. After all, as the Dignified Bianfu Chissoku had told him approximately four times a week, he was greatly honored by being allowed to carry a Terrestrial Scion of the Great House of Bianfu and, of course her (mortal) retinue. It was simply that between the Most Honorable Bianfu Xujia’s attempts to avoid the Dignified Bianfu Chissoku and the Dignified Bianfu Chissoku’s regular edification on propriety, he was ready to, with proper respect and all appropriate dignity, slit his wrists.

The horse transport had been a lucky find for Ruvana Aria. The original captain had been caught by Raksha scouts nearly four hundred miles west, but his first mate knew enough to do the job. Storms - first a piece of luck; second a gift from the storm mothers inclined to favor their new allies - had sped Aria’s ship and its precious transport on their way east to the safety - ‘safety’ - of Tianrasia, but their stock of remounts had been steadily decreasing. Five of the soldiers (strangely, almost always including Aria) stayed under the deck with the ever-worsening horses, changing in shifts. The rest slept or ate or watched by the deck, ever-watchful for Tianrasia and the opportunity it brought to get out, stretch, and exercise the horses.

They had met the western flotilla only a handful of days before they reached Tianrasia. The vast ships of the easterners were another wonder in an age of wonders to the islanders, but the people were - people. That they would travel together was inevitable; the sailors who manned the transport ship and the border riders who inhabited it were used to dealing with border folk like the islanders; a quick exchange of fish for woodworking expertise was made, and they travelled together the final leg of the journey.

The eastbound flotilla had only met the westbound convoy the night before, resting at the same harbor before joining them for the final approach. This had, naturally, led to the cabin-inhabiting passenger of one of the most reputable transports, despite her hopes, being unable to meet with the distracted Aria or ever-busy Kilea. Arys Cygnus had spent the trip alternating rereading the roster of Terrestrials and military officers with focused, frustrated military practice. Several of the sailors had considered attempting a visit to her quarters; the sight of her practicing military drill had, however, thoroughly scared them off. Some of them wondered if she was actually hoping to find pirates to kill as an outlet for that relentless energy, but if so, she’d had poor luck on the journey - except for the convoy and a few distant specks, they’d spotted no ships.

No-one could say who spotted land first, but in the weeks and years to come, people would quarrel about it. One merchant captain said that he had seen it but had been too distracted with a sudden coughing fit to join the call. An islander spear-fishing claimed that he saw two suns; one in the sky, as always, and one rising from the sea. One clever smith took the opportunity to swipe his fellow’s purse and got a split lip for it.

But what they all saw was the same: The golden walls of the ancient city rising into the sky to a hundred feet beyond sea level. The shining towers, engraved with the written blessings of the gods of the sea and the warnings of the gods of the storm. The artificial hill; Zyantian had needed room for underground machinery, and so the Old City of Tianrasia was built sixteen feet above the natural land level; the three harbors crafted to hold fleet after fleet without ever noticing the lack of space.

But what they did not see was a single living soul. No lighthouse was lit to signal them; no sentinel calling out greetings from a great horn. No ships rushed out of the harbor to challenge them, to demand a harbor toll or ask of news or - anything.

But the call reached every ear, whether it was Russet sternly under guard in her cabin, Cygnes making one final review of her files, Aria in the belly of the horse transport, Xeifan tinkering with her perfect armor, or Kailea deep in prayer. The call came in two languages but a hundred accents, filled with every emotion from hunger to love, joy to a sudden and irrational terror:

“Land ho! Tianrasia!”


”The precise identities of these “Lords of Sea and Storm” remain unknown, though we are certain that they included at least one member of the Shogunate aristocracy, but it cannot be doubted that they understood the magnitude of their situation. To take absolute control of a city with the intention of repelling a full Raksha invasion is not for the fainthearted, and we have little doubt that they had already arranged a full strategic plan to supplant the mortal overseers of the city by the time they entered the city...

[Maugan Ra]

Smiling, Aria finishes checking over the large black warhorse she'd been examining and pats him on the neck fondly. "Hear that, Ash? We'll be back on land soon, and then you can stretch these legs of yours."

The horse snorts, as though to say 'about time', and Aria cannot help but grin at his visible irritation. Chuckling slightly, she turned and headed for the deck, eager to lay eyes on this new city.

The sharp ocean breeze caught at her long brown hair as she stepped out onto the deck, and she breathed in deeply, glad to be out of the tight confines of the lower levels. She was grateful to have access to this ship, she couldn't deny, but even so she'd be much happier once they had ground beneath their feet once more.

With a quick nod, she stepped up to the forward rail of the ship, accepting a small spyglass from one of her soldiers and training it on the approaching port. Her smile quickly vanished, to be replaced by a frown as she panned the view back and forth across the approaching dockyards.

"Where is everyone?" she whispered to herself.

[Mechanix]

"Land? Well, about damned time."

Xeifan rose slowly from the floor, stretching her sore limbs. She squinted at the shape of her armor in the dark cabin - she'd been staying in the dark for too long. She didn't really need to work on it, as she hadn't made much use of it lately, but it was a way of taking her mind off the boredom of the trip and the anxiety of high waters. She didn't really like ships.

She stepped out of her cabin, the glare of the sun forcing her eyes to close, and walked hesitantly towards the deck. The sight of the city was awesome indeed, and it took her breath away for a moment, as she stood in marvel. It really was all she had come to expect, and perhaps more. What glorious sight! Still even in this tumultous age some stalwart monuments remained of the glory of the Shogunate and the Realm before it.

Except, of course, for the lack of people. She didn't realize it until one of her men called her attention to it, too taken by the sight of the architecture itself. But now that she'd noticed it, it was worrisome indeed. She frowned, thinking for a while, and asked one of her own crew:

"Find me the captain and prepare the knife. I want to know if this is normal, and if not, wether a flying reconaissance might be wise before we venture further."

[Arpista]

"Land ho! Tianrasia!"

Arys Cygnes set down the paper she was reviewing - a list of every commissioned officer in the Dragon said to be stationed in Tianrasia - carefully on top of the stack of similar papers. Lifted it, tapped the papers together and put them carefully in their case, her hands tense with suppressed energy. Locked the case with a small, iron key, lifted it in turn and set it into the chest under the table. Locked that as well, and slid the keys back onto the thin iron chain around her neck, which she dropped back under her shirt before taking a quick glance around the cabin. Only then, with everything secured, did she let herself turn to investigate the call of land. Her stride lengthened as she headed for the door; by the time she was up on the deck she was all but running, though she snapped it back to a strict, military stride before any of the sailors had a chance to see.

A strict, quick military stride.

Before her, Tianrasia rose from the water; golden walls and shining towers, engraved with blessings, a true work of art. Still standing, Cygnes noted, and her heart lightened slightly. To come all this way and find Tianrasia fallen... You would have made do. But you don't have to. She stopped there, eyes scanning over the battlements as the ships sped closer. You don't have to. Or do you?

No people. No lighthouse light. No sentinels on the walls, as best she could see from this distance. No approaching ships. Empty or hiding. Calculate. Cygnes bit her lip, staring out over the water.

Either the people are gone, or they are hiding. Why would they be gone? Fair Folk, Contagion, war leader of some sort. A war leader or the Fair Folk would have occupied Tianrasia, and the Fair Folk would probably be obvious about it. Contagion? Could reduce them enough they couldn't manage here. Possible but unlikely. Move on.

What if they're hiding? Why? Either of their own will or someone else's. Whose? Fair folk, warleader. In which case we are sailing into an ambush. Of their own will, then. Deliberate or incidental. If deliberate, could be an ambush - knowingly or unknowingly - or just hiding. Why? Either they're hostile, or they think we're pirates, may be hoping we'd go away. We don't look much like pirates, but you never know. Or incidental - could just be infrastructure or social order are sufficiently decimated that they don't have any guards on the walls, don't have anyone to send out to check incoming ships. Would be stupid, but given a situation of total collapse, also not unlikely. Which gives me three possibilities. If ambush, care is needed. If hiding, they'll see who we are when we show up, just don't alarm them. If empty, nothing we do matters. Ahead of her, the golden walls of Tianrasia were swiftly drawing closer. She turned her head slightly, fastening quiet, intent eyes on the captain.

"The city looks empty. Either they are suffering serious problems with infrastructure or organization, the city is empty, or we are heading into an ambush. May I recommend caution?" She gave the man a polite, respectful nod before turning her gaze back to the city, searching the golden walls for any sign of life.

[Aevylmar]

Aria

The soldier who gave her the spyglass shrugged. "I don't know, sir. Should I ask the captain to head for the nearest harbor, or slow his pace?" He sounded completely certain that she knew the answer.

Xeifan

The engineer gave her a semi-hemi-demi-salute and headed over to the captain, who was at the steering oars of the ship. A quick exchange of words and the captain handed off steering duties and joined Xeifan.

She was mortal, a Southerner by birth with skin like weathered bricks and hair like sand, but she knew her way around a deck. A shame about the... opinions.

"Back before the plague? they'd have a warship or seventeen asking us a dozen questions each and taking a double toll on all our nonexistent profits. Today? Who the hell knows?"

Cygnes

The captain turned in response to her arrival, scratching his balding head as she gave her suggestion. "As you say, princess." He turned to give orders to the oarsmen, shouting out commands in quick, harsh Seatongue, and the pace slowed.

[Mechanix]

"Right. The plague. Even so, this isn't normal at all. Even if the population was quarantined, there should be vigils or..."

She trailed off, thinking of the implications of this absence of people, her mind racing in too many directions at once. The truth was, she had no idea what was going on, and there were only two ways to find out. The first one was to simply wait for the ships to come to the harbors, but she rejected that idea immediately. There was a possibility of danger, ambush, maybe even - dragons forbid - Contagion. And besides, it was time to show these people that she wasn't just another wealthy passenger. She was the Blood of the Dragons, a Prince of the Earth and this - this ship, this crew, this city, this region - all of it was now, or would soon be, under her responsibility. She needed to send a message, to show that whatever happened, whatever dangers lied ahead, she was in charge.

"Captain, I would ask you to slow your ship. I am going to perform a reconaissance." With a decided look on her face, she turned and waved to a few of her engineers to come with her, and went back to the dark room where she had stored her most precious cargo.
"Time to put her to the test, people," she said with a fond look towards the Glass Knife. "I hope to hell the sea air hasn't damaged her. This is our first field test in the region! Now help me put her on, I've got an Exalt's job to do."

[Arpista]

The Exalt smiled and dipped her head in gratitude to the captain, replying softly, "Thank you." Then she turned, returning her gaze to the high golden walls.

Archers on the walls would give you flashes of movement through arrow slits - if these walls had arrow slits - maybe. Ships in the bay, hiding behind the walls? What would betray... Ah. Cygnes cast her gaze out and down, towards the water near the bases of the shining walls, looking for any flash of spray too far out to be coming from waves striking them, splashes that might betray a ship hiding just out of sight beyond them. She followed it with a glance up to the walls, searching for any sign of movement, any cover behind which an attacker might be hiding.


Attempting to spot the ambush that probably isn't there! If allowed...

Perception+Awareness [roll0]

Stunt: [roll1]

[industrious]

Russet

"Come on," she mutters to herself. "You can do this."

There were at least two of her minders on either side of the door, another in the hallway, and one on the deck below hers in case she decided to jump out the porthole like she did two days ago to get out.

And that was just the ones she knew of directly. They were in other places, too, she knew. Waiting.

Now, it seemed there would be no other option.

"Excuse me?" she called out. If they wanted her to ask in Realm, she'd ask in Realm. "Please to be the young-woman-of-childbearing-years unleash Creation."

There. Just as elegant and pleasing and beautiful to hear as they insisted.

Obviously.

[Aevylmar]

Everyone

The fleet slows, turning as it approaches the Merchants' Harbor. Soon the majority of the ships are bobbing in the sea as their captains trade glances back and forth.

Xeifan

"Got it." The younger engineer looked up and down the length of the armor, an awed expression on his face. "Time to take the beauty for a real flight."

His partner nudged him. "Let's get started."

Xeifan is now putting her armor on. This will take a bit.

Cygnes

As Cygnes scans the sea and walls with a polished eye, the lack of information continues to pile up. There's nobody she can see. There are a handful of ships in drydock in the Merchant's Harbor, but they seem fairly thoroughly unmoving, sails and (in many cases) masts stowed.

She catches a glimpse of someone looking through one of the windows on one of the warehouses at the edge of the dock, but no more than a brief glimpse before he vanishes again.


Russet

The two minders at the door exchange glances freighted with hidden meanings along the lines of "But it was your turn last time!" and "I'll owe you one." Then the minder on the left speaks, her elegant elocution freightened with the purest Realm accent.

"Most Honored Bianfu Xujia, you may wish to rephrase your sentence. Creation does not need to be unleashed, and the statement 'Please to be the young-woman-of-childbearing-years' is grammatically incorrect. It should be "Please, young-woman-of-childbearing-years, an inaccurate description of all the individuals in this room save for yourself."

[industrious]

Russet

Stupid tutors. Stupid minders. Stupid marriage.

And fighting in her quarters was terrible, too. "Sometimes enclosed spaces happen" was not an excuse for sparring with her own personal crazy ninja.

Dragons take her, she wanted to be off of this ship. Or at least away from her minders.

"I, Most Honorable Bianfu Xujia, need to be undone from this ship."

There. That was definitely the right way of saying it.

No, she wasn't going to affect that stupid high society accent.

"Or Most Honorable Russet is going to figure out a way to escape again."

That last bit was in Seatongue, good honest Seatongue, and there was no need for any fancy honorifics there. And it was just enough volume for them to "overhear."

[The_Snark]

Stories said the Children of the Dragons lived in palaces of pearl and jade far to the east, as extravagant as any god. Kailea herself had seen the truth of their great ships, taller than houses and sturdy enough to ride even storm swells without fear of being overturned. Of course, the huge ships were very impractical in some ways; the deck was too high to fish from, and she did not see how you could ever drag one onto the beach to see it properly cleaned and stowed. That did not make them any less impressive to see. So she had prepared herself to expect something similar when they reached the 'city' the eastern sailors spoke of. She was not prepared for... this.

Golden cliffs, towers higher than any tree, all of it so huge and wondrous she could barely tell what they were. This was the place, certainly. The sailors on the greatships were all calling the city's name, and some of her people had taken up the cry too. That was a tradition of sea people everywhere, welcoming the sight of land and home. Except... the ships were slowing to a halt, throwing the rafts tied to them (like outriggers on a canoe) into mild disarray. Laka, the oldest surviving fisherman from her tribe, began shouting at people to grab onto the ropes to right them. Kailea stood to get a better look; surely the spirits would not be offended by that, not so close to land. Was the water too shallow for these boats? Had they seen something she missed?

"What is wrong?" she called to Ruvana Aria's ship, cupping her hands to her mouth so she could be heard. "Why do we stop?"

[Arpista]

Observer. Hiding.

Cygnes leans on the rail as-if casually, calculations flashing once more through her mind.

Afraid? Perhaps. Spotter for ambush? Perhaps. No ships. No troops on the walls. Either the ambushers are hiding under the water, or have some way of making themselves invisible, or there is an option I have overlooked, or they are not here. There comes a time when even the most paranoid commander has got to admit the ambush may just not be waiting. Arys Cygnes turned her head back to regard the captain.

"I am seeing no signs of attackers, though I spotted at least one living person - staying carefully out of sight, as best he could. I would theorize that Tianrasia's defenses are severely depleted, but probably not preparing to attack us - although it is not impossible." They could also be dematerialized ghosts, or... "Thank you for your caution, I recommend you maintain it. Once we reach the dock, we will likely wish to reassure the Tianrasians as to our intentions. Until then I will keep an eye out." Well, she was definitely staying on the deck now - no sense in ducking below, even to fetch her things, until she was certain about that ambush. She turned, briefly, to glance at the other boats, then back to the city.

My intentions I know - what about those traveling with me? Irrelevant, I cannot find out now. Once we land. Immediately as we land. The walls are still standing, at least, and no one's burned the docks, and there are still a few ships... that's all good news. People hiding, not so good. No guards? ... Reasoning on insufficient data. She dragged her attention back to the golden walls, drew a long breath. Let it out. Patience. We will arrive soon.

[Aevylmar]

Russet

The minder on the left looked back to the minder on the right, and then let her speak. "I believe what you meant to say was that you would like to leave the ship. While this is currently impractical, as there has been a delay in our arrival, it would certainly be acceptable if you wished to leave the cabin, go onto the deck, and look at the city."

[Aevylmar]

Aria's Ship

The captain turned to hear the sound of Kailea's voice. "We were expecting them to send ships out to meet us, but there's no-one on the walls."

By the time he's finished his sentence, the ships closest to the head of the convoy have started moving again. He rolls his eyes. "Or apparently we're going in anyway."

Xeifan

The engineer sighed as the ship began to move once more, with the armor only halfway to being assembled around its repairer. "Looks like we'll be getting in soon anyway. Do you still want this on?"

[Mechanix]

"Please do go on. If anything, it'll help make an impression when we meet the Tianrasian. We have to show we are no backwater lords or barbarians, but worthy heir of the city's wonders."

Also, I like to fly, she did not add.

[The_Snark]

Oh, of course. All the women and children should be running out to greet the ships—and all the men too, if the ships are foreign, which these are. That is a custom shared by every tribe Kailea has ever heard of. She should have seen that sooner. Would have, if the city had not looked so unlike the villages she was used to.

"Perhaps they think we are raiders?" she called back up. "If they have lost too many warriors to the plague, they may choose to hide rather than defend their homes. We could shout and make noise to show we are not trying to take them by surprise." She paused, seeing the obvious flaw in her reasoning; nobody could be surprised by a fleet like this. "That is how it would be done where I come from. I do not know the customs here; how do you show that you come as a friend?"

[Aevylmar]

Xeifan

They both - all, there's a third one who's sitting around waiting for something to do - grin proudly. "Just as you say, my lady," says the eldest.

Kailea

He pauses for a moment, considering, then called down again. "We aren't really supposed to do anything. In normal times a warship - or a patrol of 'em, given how many we are - would sail out of the harbor, to collect the Shogun's tenth of any goods we carried and check that we weren't pirates or smugglers. I've done that job a time or two, and then once we arrive, the people in the harbor district might take a look. Or they might not, a lot of ships come into a big harbor like this." He sighs. "But now there's nobody around."

[Maugan Ra]

"Nothing for it, then. Stay with the other ships, and we'll handle whatever we find inside as best we can." Aria says to the Captain after some consideration. She turns to the nearest of her soldiers, though by this point 'extended family' might be a better term.

"Let's get everyone up on deck, just in case this turns out badly. Keep the weapons sheathed, though - don't want to scare some terrified local into attacking."

[Mechanix]

Put on the skin-tight black suit with its mesh of starmetal filaments. Extend your Essence into it until you can feel it breathe as a second skin. Strap the breastplate that will protect your vital organs from a deadly blow. Bite your tongue at the sharp sting when your shoulderblades are pierced by the upper plates to allow for better essence-condution. Slowly introduce your hand into the gauntlet offered by your assistant.

She knew the routine by heart now. Her body slowly encased in magical metal, her mind expanding and caressing the marvellous construct, then slowly bringing it under her command. The pain of the first contact, and the breathtaking exhilaration of the suit's functionalities coming under her control. It was an almost sensual experience. It ended with a brief moment of blindness, as she put on the helmet - and then light, as the jade lens revealed her surroundings and she could see everything, a world both material and spiritual, essence patterns moving freely through the air.

She took one long breath, as the essence of Mela imbued both her and her Artifact, and flexed her fingers; the hand responded as naturally and swiftly as if she'd been wearing nothing at all. She smiled at her crew, though they could not see it; with the eight of the armor added, the normally medium-sized woman was now as tall as the tallest person in the room.

"It's working perfectly. Thank you for your assistance. Now, it is time for me to move on to the stage."

[Aevylmar]

Main Tianrasia Theme (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMnEY2eBj4A)

Aria

He nodded, with a smile, and then a call down to those below. "Aria wants us on deck!" There was a sudden scramble; horses were returned to their seats as quickly as safety and custom would permit, armor was, if not polished, de-horse-haired, and within the minute the line of twenty ragged soldiers was complete, from Tipsy Vallei on the far left, who could shoot an arrow better drunk than most men could sober, to Tall Kian on the far right, who never spoke if he could help it. There were others, of course; Runny Jen, "Old Arc" - she knew each of them, knew their names and knew their histories, knew what accents they used and , knew how much they could resist and what unstoppable pressures could break them.

Their clothes were ill-fitting; their armor worn, their bows shot and shot again, arrowtips bent from a thousand firings. But the clothes were well-mended, the armor strong, and bow and arrow could still strike through Raksha mail. They were soldiers any general would be proud of, and they were hers.

The ship sailed for the harbor, and the ragged line stood on the deck, swords sheathed, bows still in cases, as they waited for their matriarch's orders.

Xeifan

The armor was light, fitting easily around her form and hindering her not at all as she left the quiet storage room where the Glass Knife had been held. The sailors gave her curious glances as she stepped onto the deck.

The world around her was quiet, but she could see, she could hear, better than ever before.

Then she made the mistake of looking towards the walls. They did not blind her, of course, but... they were so fascinating. The lovely tracework underlying the orichalcum plates; the Essence-channeling apparatus that could pump no or nigh-endless energy through the Elsewhere matrices... all the things where, no matter how well she traced them, she could not see where they went, could not trace it.

And, not for the first time in her life, she felt the quiet, bitter knowledge that every Terrestrial artisan has felt when they saw the ruins of the First Age:

I may repair this, but I cannot make another like it.

Everyone

... And the first ship in the convoy - the ship of the new acting governor - drifted into harbor, overwatched by a great arch, hanging with gleaming spikes and chains; a portcullis hundreds of feet wide, to stop any enemy fleet that might dare approach. A series of careful capsules gilded with orichalcum and touched with adamnt, to be raised or lowered above sea level with magitechnological lifts, could provide harbor for ten such fleets.

The first Tianrasians had started to leave shelter as the ships passed the arch. If Aria's men had seemed ragged, they would have been the healthiest men there. There was a great abundance of finery among the dockhands and general sight-seers who quietly, cautiously approached the ships, but all of it was ragged and torn, little-mended, little-washed; a wool shawl thrown over a rich noblewoman's silk qipao; a dockhand in trousers, no shoes, and a gloriously-embroidered tunic with one sleeve missing.

They were all impoverished, that much was clear; some of them still had solid frames and real muscles that spoke of once-prosperity, but there were no bulging guts or double chins among the crowd. Those, though, were the best. As for the worst, it was clear they would not survive long; ribs showing through thin cloth, arms like sticks, failing voices calling for bread. Yet the streets where they walked were paved with jade; even the more modern warehouses by the harbor were made of good granite and touched up with marble.

As their rescuers made their way to their berths, the crowd drifted towards the docks. No unsightly dirt or blood or grime marched where they stood, as Gaia's Wheel drank up the waste of the wasted citizens.

Such was Zyantian's Triumph, the great city of Ryanno Eiyo; such was the land that Cygnes had been sent to govern, that Russet had been sent to find her betrothed. Such was the city of glorious machines that Xeifan had hoped to see; such was the ultimate fortress that Aria had fled to, and such was the safe haven for Kailea Seven Blossoms and all her people. Such was Tianrasia.

End Prologue.

Chapter One: The Nation In The Night

[industrious]

Russet

The palanquin was one befitting a member of Gens Bianfu. Even a disgraced, adopted, societal nightmare as Bianfu Xujia. Fine silk in the colors of the Gens (jet and gold); the roof of the palanquin's gold thread thread intricately woven between the black to form dazziling mandalas and arabesques. On either side, the silk was translucent, the features of the figure within hidden though the one so honored to be borne while their presence undeniable. Russet's minders heaved, and the perfectly balanced mahogany wood lifted with ease, bearing their escort to her betrothed, and shielding her from the public all the while.

Well.

That was the theory, anyway.

To be fair, the palanquin was dazzling. And balance or no, her minders were doing a wonderful job bearing it. Very good that they were, too, because a sudden halt or bump could dash the form within to the pavement.

And frankly, Russet had grown fond of those pillows. Less so that terrifyingly ornate and ostentatious formal gown (not that Russet would ever admit to knowing the word "ostentatious," of course).

There is a slightly dirty figure near the front of the crowd, dressed in plain clothing grayed from overwear, and looking more comfortable doing so than she ever would in anything with more gemstones on it than she had eyes. She stares at the palanquin with wide eyes, and nudges the man next to her.

"So...what's this again?"

[Mechanix]

This city. It's glorious.

She basked, there was no other word; she basked in the majesty of Tianrasia, its beauty and wonder. She was awed, and she was humbled, and for the first time she understood what the demon had told her: these legends of greatness beyond compare where not for her to equal. She could not, she could never achieve such greatness.

She shied away from the sight. Around the ship the crowd was slowly gathering, and she thought - beggars in clothes of king. A fitting state in a world gone mad. What was this in their eyes? Fear? Hope? Despair? Apathy? Even her enhanced senses could not devise it. There was no machine to read the truth of one's soul.

She breathed slowly, trying to control her anxiety. She had never been one for public appearanced and crowd-pleasing speeches. But as she looked around at the wary sailors, at the crews still slightly afraid that some contagion lingered in these wretches's haven, she saw that no one advanced forward, and she knew - now was the time for the Princes of the Earth to show their colors.

She stepped to the front of the ship, clad in black metal, and she gathered her strength - both mental and physical.
The armor answered.
She took flight.

It was a mere jump, but it carried her aloft, above the ship, above the sea, above the docks; she rose silently into the air, watching the sky, feeling gravity surrender to her will. The armor had no fruster, no essence-wings; it worked by starmetal-induced gravity shifts, and it felt like falling softly forever. She closed her fist, and lighting crackled through her hand, tickling her skin; she raised her hand and unleashed the bolt of essence, a whirlwind of air and in its core, lightning, pure and unbridled, rising above the roofs and into the air. There was a sound of thunder.

Only then did she look down upon the crowd, and she did not find the words. So she came down slowly, until she was no more than a man's eight above her own ship, and she said:

"We are here."

[Maugan Ra]

One of the soldiers opened his mouth. Aria didn't even need to look around at him.

"No, Vallei, you can't have one of those."

Pause.

"Because you don't get paid enough."

Pause

"No, you cannot have a raise. Well, OK, but we have to drag this place back to prosperity first."

Silence, as the ship pulls in to dock.

[The_Snark]

As the ships drifted towards the docks, it began to sink in: they were here. The journey which had occupied Kailea's every waking moment for the past few weeks was over. It was time to start... whatever came next. Building a new life, she supposed, though it was hard to imagine living behind those towering walls. They would be very fine to have when the storms came, but she would miss seeing the sea.

"Look, Haseo," she said, beckoning her son to join her and putting her arms around his shoulders. He was shorter than her, and still young enough that he did not mind embracing his mother in public. Especially not after the past few weeks. "We made it. This is going to be our new home."

If the people here welcomed them—but she did not want to burden her son with her worries.

[Arpista]

As the great gate passed above her, Arys Cygnes turned her attention from the very impressive if poorly maintained defenses that obstinately insisted on hiding no assassins to the throngs of people. Her practiced eye glanced over them, sorting them. No one looked important or formal enough to be an official party sent to greet them, which was natural enough; only the most prepared governor will manage to appropriately greet a completely unexpected embassy, and with no one remaining to send an Infallible Messenger or Wind-Whispered Words to, and hence no messages that traveled faster than her own ship would, Cygnes was precisely that. She drew another breath, glancing over them again as she looked for anyone who looked particularly noble - not by clothes, but by face and bearing - or honest, or best of all competent. Someone she could, at a minimum, get to tell her what was going on. Surely among the crowd, someone had to be...

That was when she saw the black metal of the armor, saw the wearer turn, gazing, and jump. Heard the roar of the thunder and, softer, the echoing words.

"We are here."

Who is - he? She. What side, what Gens, loyal or otherwise? Did my job just get done for me or complicated thoroughly? Drat it all, I needed to talk with her sooner... The Fire Aspect drew a breath, and raised her head, pushing the calculations to the back of her mind. For now, she knew better than to ignore a cue like that. She tilted her head respectfully to the other Exalt, then straightened, and responded in a loud, ringing voice.

"We are indeed." A red glow shone on Cygnes's forehead, red as the deepest embers, and from behind her came a gust of wind, blowing out her hair and dark red cloak in a sudden blast. "I am Arys Cygnes, sent by the authority of the Shogun for the defense of this town. Are there any here who may speak for the Harbor's Guardians?" What is going on here?

Investigation+Perception to spot someone who Cygnes thinks can help her? [roll0]

Also using Subtle Elemental Trick for special effects. One mote from peripheral, assuming I'm right that low-level peripheral anima is not destructive. If not, please ignore the caste mark and make it personal!

[roll1] Potential (unlikely) stunt.

[Aevylmar]

Russet

The man shrugs and spits on the still-stainless pavement. "Dragons know, I don't."

One of the women behind him volunteers. "I heard that the dead young lord was getting married. Maybe his bride didn't hear about the plague - what is -"

There was a crack like thunder.

Kailea

Haseo squeezed his mother and looked around excitedly. "I see! Look at all the funny people! And what they're wearing! Where are the gods? Are they funny gods too? How is she flying?"

There was a crack like thunder.

Cygnes

She scanned the crowd, looking for that gleam of skill. She saw a few men in the remains of formal uniforms, legion or guard or palace staff. One of them, who looked much less ragged than the others, met her gaze. He opened his mouth to speak, and there was a crack like thunder.

The Crowd

The thunder rolled, and the crowd looked up at it. An expression of joy sprouted on some of the faces; others remained unchanged, but the effect was electric as the crowd broke into a babble of constant argument. One word echoed through it, going back and forth past Russet.

"The Shogun! The Shogun! The Shogun!"

The ex-soldier rolled his eyes and tried to move through the crowd towards the ships.

The Ships

With the first ships - including those of Bianfu Xujia and Arys Cygnes - having reached the dock, the unloading of supplies, sailors, and passengers begins as the rest of the fleet moves into the dock.

Aria

Kian grinned a quiet, smug grin, and Aria knew precisely what it meant.

"We have reinforcements."

People are actually kind of distracted from Kailea and her own refugee fleet by OMGTHESHOGUNNOTICEDUS, so nobody's really noticed that there's ships that aren't carrying Terrestrials.

[industrious]

Russet

"Wow."

Russet, despite her perky disposition and lack of formal education (save for the hurried tutoring), was not an idiot. She wasn't smart, but she wasn't an idiot.

"Wow."

And living in the manse of Gens Bianfu meant that magitech wasn't something totally unfamiliar to her. She had absolutely no idea how it worked, but it obviously did.

"Wow."

Still...

"Wow."

She hadn't seen anything like that before.

But there was business to attend to. Well, not business, exactly, but information to get.

"So...this young lord. What's he like? If, you know, he isn't dead? Because dead things are generally bad things. Or at least kind of creepy."

[Mechanix]

Her father would have cursed her for not taking advantage of this first impression to set herself up in the mind of the commoners as the "most important" member of their fleet. But her father was not here. Xeifan looked around her, taking advantage of the slightly elevated view to take in the ships, their crews, and the most prominent figures among them. She had no intention of making her life harder by denying anyone their proper authority.

The flaring mark on the brow of another, and the words carried with more presence and skill that the dragon had graced her with, identified another Dragon-Blooded among them all. Xeifan answered the nod, rose slightly and flew towards the ship, swiftly coming down on the deck a few paces from the Fire Aspect. She took off her helmet and shook her short-cropped hair.

"My lady Cygnes," she said with some hesitation, bowing slightly towards one she assumed was more highly placed in the complex hierarchy of a Shogunate at war. "I am Xeifan of Gens Adara. Are you the one to be in charge of the city?"

The phrasing was clumsy and betrayed a lack of familiarity with the chains of command, but she hoped to get her message across.

[Aevylmar]

Russet

The woman snickers at Russet, then sobers again. "He was a young lord. They're the same everywhere, all high and mighty. Apple of his mother's eye back before the plague carried her away."

She studies Russet. "You're not from around here, are you?"

[industrious]

Russet

"Nope."

She's a terrible liar. So she doesn't.

"Got got in with the ships. Turns out sailing is much harder than I thought."

Really, she felt bad for the Captain. It wasn't his fault that her minders were stodgy, unyielding, and exacting of proprieties. But the man told amazing stories, and if she wasn't going to sleep and wanted to see him on deck...

"Hi. I'm Russet."

[Maugan Ra]

"Damn right we do, Kian." Aria says with a grin as she takes in the rapidly assembling forces. She straightens up. "Right. Let's get this show on the road. Tavai, Londas, go put those silver tongues of yours to work. Find us a place to stable the horses and barrack ourselves, preferably near together - Dragons knows there should be enough vacant property around here. Maris, Heather, Xian, I need you to talk to the locals, get us some general overview. Whoever's in charge of the remaining military would be a fantastic start. Everyone else, let's get disembarked."

She turns and walks for the gangplank as the various members of her little band rapidly disperse and begin the controlled chaos that accompanies any military operation. "Oh, Kian, Vallei, you're with me. Let's go speak with my fellow Princes of the Earth." she calls back just before she steps off, unsurprised to note that both of them had already been following her in expectation. They'd be junior officers, back when there had been enough of the unit to justify clinging to a formalized rank structure, and anticipating a superior's order was a necessary skill for such men to develop.

The crowds parted almost unconsciously in front of her as she walked along the quay to the other ships, reacting instinctively to the gentle aura of command that true officers often developed. In Aria's case, it wasn't cold disdain or arrogant aloofness that asserted her nature, but a kind of warm compassion. Help me to help you, her attitude seemed to convey, by standing aside and letting me do my job.

She managed to reach the deck of the other ship just a few moments after the flying one in armour, and listened to her words quietly while carefully moving out of the way of the bustling sailors. "Huh. An officially appointed agent of the Shogun. Well, that's a surprise."

Her voice, in stark contrast to her power-armoured neighbor, is not remotely refined or courtly, though there's enough of a residual accent there to show that she must have received the proper training at some point. Nor does she bow, not even the shallow nod of a superior acknowledging a lesser, or indeed show any visible deference in word or attitude. It's not a visible insult, though, no sneer on her lips or mocking tone in her voice, simply the casual impropriety of one who simply does not care one way or another.

Kian elbowed her subtly in the side, and she nodded in sudden comprehension. "Oh, right, sorry. Ruvana Aria, commander of the Fourth Dragon, Eighteenth Legion... or what's left of it, in any case. Pleased to meet you."

The cut of her clothes supports the claim, as does the magnificent jade longbow hanging from her back. The two soldiers flanking her, though bereft of artifact weaponry and the like, are still clad in the same sort of attire, and study the surroundings with an attitude of experienced caution that signals their nature more strongly than any amount of words. Rangers.

[Aevylmar]

Russet

The woman smiles. "Mara. Good to meet you. So, how many new, uh, Princes of the Earth, were on those ships? Did you get a count?"

- - -

The Most Dignified Bianfu Chissoku was certain of some things. When members of the Great Gens of the Shogunate were being introduced to each other, one of the things that one is supposed to do as a mentor and servant to your patron is to help give a proper introduction.

"Ahem." She coughed quietly, and began speaking in High Realm of the most exalted stripe, going completely over the heads of almost the entire crowd.

"Also here in Tianrasia, for the purposes of being introduced to her betrothed the Eminently Dignified Ryanno Sei, is the Most Honorable Bianfu Xujia, Chosen of the Dragons."

She made a tiny motion with her hand, and one of the more junior minders raised the curtains around the palonquin, revealing a set of very comfortable pillows in a very formal dress, wearing a very formal diadem, with nobody resembling a Bianfu Xujia anywhere in sight.

"XUJIA!"

[industrious]

Russet

"Nice to meet you, Mara."

Chissoku had far too much lung space to be healthy. Seriously. How could those things even fit in there?

"And apparently, one less than however many there should be unless I take care of this. Nice to meet you, Mara. Come see me at the palace!"

And with that, Russet waves goodbye as she walks towards the palanquin. And it's not like she's trying to, or anything, but it isn't the proper, formal sort of walk that she had been forced to practice. It's the casual sort of stride of a carefree person possibly on their way to the nearest watering hole. And if she's wiping the dirt off her face quickly, nobody can see her before she's finished.

Russet is slim and average in height, with long, flowing hair the shade of glowing embers; today, it's been braided after a great deal of compromise (Russet wanted nothing done with it, Chissoku wanted something extremely elaborate, and the stylist wanted to not get another black eye. Or fired). She's pretty, even beautiful, but not classically so. Her features, taken individually, are not striking; together, though, they bring to mind a simple joy and simplicity...with perhaps more than a hint of mischief in her amethyst colored eyes. Around her wrists are thin yet solid bands of black jade, and she is dressed in a white, unadorned silk ji.

"Hi, there!"

Nope, not going to bother with Realm, Chissoku. Sorry, but I know it's not proper to correct me in public. I think?


Russet scratches the back of her head, and some of her hair comes free of her braid. Her lips thin in irritation, and with great reluctance, she grabs the diadem (way too gaudy and I don't even know how much I could sell that for) from her pillows to place it on her head. And then sticks out her hand to one of her fellow Exalts. Or, at least, one of the less-stuffy looking ones.

"Bianfu Xujia. Pleased to meet you! Call me Russet?"

[Maugan Ra]

Aria takes the offered hand in a strong handshake, smiling. "Pleasure to meet you, Russet. Call me Aria, everyone else does." she says casually, reaching up with her free hand to idly brush a strand of her long brown hair away from her face. "So... sent out here to be married? Sounds rather ridiculously impractical."

[industrious]

Russet

"That's what I said! Or...thought, anyway."

She shrugs.

"But when your adopted Gens says sail, you say what course?, and I came with a friend, so things shouldn't be too bad?"

"So how come you came here? Because you didn't come with Arys, since you introduced yourself to her..."

[Maugan Ra]

"Hmm? Oh, right. I'm frontier military, cavalry commander. These are some of my men - the rest are around here somewhere." she says, indicating Kian and Vallei, both of whom nod politely as they're introduced.

"We've been fighting the Raksha for the last Dragons-know-how-long, pretty much a constant fighting withdrawal. Eventually we figured we couldn't keep doing it like we have been, so we broke off and came here, hoping to help set up a bulwark for when the invasion eventually arrives."

"The possibility of a decent bed and some proper food wasn't entirely irrelevant either." Vallei offers.

"We both know you mean proper drink, Vallei." Aria comments, to which her subordinate just shrugs and grins.

[Mechanix]

"I never thought we'd be so many." Weifan was growing slightly nervous at the presence of all these Exalted around her; she had not thought to be alone, but never that she'd make idle chat with half a dozen of her kind. There was certainly, in this handful of people holding informal conversation, enough power to lay waste to this entire city - at least, if you counted the troops they had with them. Not that Xeifan had any troops though. In fact, she was slightly nervous about all this military power gathered around her. The critical condition of this city was growing more obvious by the moment.

"So, hm. You're from Gens Ruvana? And you're from Gens Byanfu. I'm trying to remember if I should hate you on account of your ascendence, but I don't think so. Family grudges, uh? Hard to keep track of sometimes." The informal chatter of the two Chosens made her relax slightly, and her own talk was becoming just as natural, if still nervous. "I hope we'll do great work together. And that I haven't acted stupidly in throwing that bolt of lightning. Did I? I didn't want to scare the commoners.
I didn't know... I didn't know the situation with the raksha was so terrible. I come from the center of the lands. I'm a crafter, not a warrior. Will we be all right?"

[Maugan Ra]

"Gens Ruvana, yes. Though the grudges don't matter very much - There's a distinct chance that with the exception of a cousin or two being fostered back on the Isle, I'm all that's left of the Gens." Aria says in response, shrugging. "There hasn't been much chance to keep track of what happened to everyone over the past year or so, but a lot of our lands are now... well, in the Wyld. Price of building your fortunes out near the frontier, I guess."

"Still, we'll probably get along. The locals don't seem too bothered by it - outright pleased, actually - so you did fine. I've got a few of my men trying to track down who's still left around here from the local power structure. Where we go from there will depend on what they find."

[Aevylmar]

With a determined expression on her thin face, Bianfu Chissoku politely storms towards Russet. "I am most sorry to interrupt your Most Honored Dignities, but it is of the highest importance that the Most Honored Bianfu Xujia be escorted to her husband-to-be as swiftly as possible. We are reliably informed that the Most Dignified Ryanno Sei has not fallen prey to the Contagion that has robbed so many of the nobility of Tianrasia of their lives, and so it is of the utmost importance that this alliance must be made and consummated."

[Maugan Ra]

"Really? Why?" Aria asks with a raised eyebrow. "Does the future of Creation hang on Russet getting it on with this... Ryanno Sei as soon as physically possible?"

Behind their commander, Kian and Vallei both try their absolute best to hide their smiles. They are not very successful.

[Arpista]

I couldn't have managed it better myself. Yes, yes, yes. I think we will work well together. Cygnes dipped her head to Xeifan, responding politely, "My lady Xeifan, I am indeed. I am blessed by your presence; I had not been expecting such company. Are you also here to protect..." She stopped, interrupted by Aria's arrival.

Military. Practical. And wants to talk to me, excellent. A bit confrontational; I can work with that. Cygnes returned the other Exalt a quick nod, neither too deep nor too dismissive, but businesslike. Military. The other Exalt did not seem to want to waste time, which she could appreciate. "Arys Cygnes, Acting Taimyo, Mithril Isle. We finally got things in shape enough to be able to send resources out to the provinces, though I'm afraid not very many. It's a pleasure to meet you, commander. How bad is it? What happened to the Eighteenth Legion, and -" She cast her eye over the ships, trying not to let dismay show in her face. That really was not a Dragon. Really was not. Is that all there is of it, would be insensitive, though. "- What needs doing about it?"

Which, of course, was when Chissoku spoke up.

One never distanced a potential ally. Cygnes listened politely, dipping her head in respect to him, and managed not to smile at the yell of XUJIA! She nodded politely to Bianfu Xujia, running an instant calculation in her head.

Young Exalt, versus unexalted kin. Offending the Gens is bad, and I speak on behalf of the Shogun. On the other hand, I need her help...

"It is a pleasure to meet you," she started, and then fell silent as Aria spoke, listening to the chatter. She only spoke up again at Xeifan's obvious alarm.

"We will be all right. Tianrasia's walls are strong, and we have, at present count, four Princes of the Earth, plus whatever native forces Tianrasia possesses. Commander, do you know how long we have until the Raksha arrive? Does anyone know the local situation?" She glanced around surreptitiously for the ex-soldier she'd spotted, then smiled reassuringly at Xeifan. "And no, you were just fine. These people need a symbol - at a guess, these people need hope. You made an excellent one. And trust me, no one in powered armor - especially a suit like that one - will be powerless." She lets a little admiration drop into her voice. "Your work?"

She didn't, for the moment, respond to Chissoku. This was a problem she had best stay out of.

[Maugan Ra]

Aria makes sure none of the civilians are in ear-shot before replying. "Honestly, Taimyo? The Eighteenth is gone." she says bluntly. "The contagion alone took out a swathe of the troops and command staff, which was bad enough, but it also meant that when the invasion started, the chain of command was in no shape to get the Legion mobilized in time to make a proper campaign of it."

She sighs, and runs one hand through her hair. "As an example? When the invasion started, my command was roughly three hundred strong - already under-strength for a Dragon of troops as it was, on account of the plague. Now, I have twenty men left alive and sane, and I can't imagine most of the other units did much better. The Raksha are... endless."

She brightens up after a moment, visibly shaking herself out of it. "As it stands, I'd wager we've got maybe five years before they get this far. A lot depends on how things stand in Tianrasia at the moment, but the walls are strong and there are at least some of the populace left. Give me a couple of days and I'll be able to present you with a workable plan for defending this place."

[Aevylmar]

Chissoku gives Aria a highly indignant look. "For obvious reasons, the Terrestrial bloodline of Tianrasia must be reinforced, thus granting additional stability to the current regime. This state of affairs -" she points at the crowd - "Cannot be allowed to stand."

[Maugan Ra]

"The current regime can bite me, for all I care." Aria returns dryly. "Unless that's you, Taimyo. In any case, making babies can bloody well wait until we at least have an idea of what the situation is like, and I don't think we can afford another Terrestrial tied down with pregnancy right now."

Kian coughs pointedly, and Aria sighs before turning to Russet. "Not that it's my call, naturally. Sorry for speaking to one of yours like that."

[Mechanix]

Xeifan blushed at the suggestion that she might be the one to have crafted the armor, but remembered that these people likely knew very little of her art; the flattery was unintentional. But she had come to know this suit as well as any lover over months and years of repairs, use and maintenance. To suggest that she might be it's creator made her heart skip a beat. She cleared her throat to hide her embarassment.

"Yes. I mean, no, of course. This is a very old item, dating back from the early days of the Shogunate. Perhaps even older. My family has held onto it for generations, but... Yes, it was I who dedicated the ressources and efforts require to put it in use once more. So, in that sense, you could say it is my work. Though I remain the faithful servant of my Taimyo, I would be honored to keep this armor and make use of it myself, as I have grown familiar with its utilities, though I am no soldier."

Of course the thought that a member of another Gens, Taimyo though she may be, might commandeer the Glass Knife was unthinkable, and her father would have paled in anger to hear her even suggest the possibility. But Xeifan was eager to please, and too self-conscious to think of herself as a warrior, though she was probably as trained as any Chosen who hadn't made warfare their carreer could hope to be.

"My Lady Cygnes, though I could not reproduce such a marvel as the Glass Knife in time for any combat we might encounter, it would be in my power, given the time and ressources, to restore the wonders of Tianrasia, if they are such as I have been told. Should the city possess suits of lesser quality, such as Ashigaru or Gunshoza models, I might also be able to equip your soldiers, or those of the, hm, honored Ruvana Aria. Crafting these suits myself would be possible, if given time and ressources, but that might not be a possibility. Though it has been made clear to me that Tianrasia possesses at least one Workshop-Manse of high grade, which has been promised to me as, hm," the price for Gens Arada to accept to send away their last scion, she did not add. "in the arrangements leading to my venue. It is my hope to take possession of said Manse in as short a time frame as possible, in order to start working for the benefit of the city. If that is no bother."

[Arpista]

"Understood. I am sorry." Cygnes takes the news of the Legion's disappearance with equanimity; she bows her head for a moment in respect, then looks back up at Aria, her mind already jumping ahead. There had been so many deaths; even now, a few more would not shake her. "Do you have the core to train a new force from? I was assuming I would use the local forces - my first step was going to be gathering them together. But if we have battle-ready troops, that makes it significantly better. And we'll be fighting the Fair Folk - I've a little experience there, but you've far more, so you'll want to be in direct command." And pray I'm right I can trust her. "And you're right, finding out the current situation is absolutely the top priority. We need that information to plan -"

She stops as Chissoku speaks, then takes a careful breath. "... Thank you for that exemption, Commander. I understand your frustration, but I assure you, the Shogun is doing as much as she can. We, too, were destroyed by the plague. My Gens... remains in three people alone. We have not sent significant forces not because we would not, but because we had none to send."

She looks to Chissoku. "Ah... Most Dignified, you are entirely correct; the current state of affairs is thoroughly unacceptable. As such, I would be honored if the Most Honorable Bianfu Xujia would grace me with a few moments of her time. While I realize the importance of your errand, the Most Honorable Bianfu Xujia Russet may be essential for the preservation of the city, and I would be honored if she would grant us time to discuss it."

She turned to Xeifan, smiling - this smile took no effort. "No bother at all, but an immense help. I am honored by your offer. As you must know, crafters are at least as essential as soldiers to the winning of any war - what soldier can do his job well poorly armed, without proper protection or shelter? If there is anything you have need of, merely inform me; I will do my best to make sure you have it. And I would be most grateful for your assistance. If you have time, I would love to discuss your precise capabilities, so we can work out how best to fortify the town in the time that we have -" she glances towards the others. "-Ah, but perhaps that should be in a council of war, once we have discovered a little more about the situation. What would you all say to that?" A general smile, including the group - with, perhaps, not a wink, but a slightly more friendly expression to Russet than her minder, if she noticed, might approve.

Manip+Presence vs. Chissoku to make her get out of Russet's hair while she talks to us. [roll0]

[roll1] potential stunt.

[Aevylmar]

"Certainly, Most Exalted Taimyo. I shall be waiting for when Most Honored Xujia needs me." She bows deeply and formally to Cygnes, nods frostily to Aria, and quietly withdraws.

That resonates with her motivation, so she's not going to defend. One-die stunt.

Also, I'm getting dinner. I'll be back within an hour; have fun while I'm gone; if you need to know a setting detail that isn't in the books, make something up. I approve of improvisation.

[Arpista]

Cygnes nods politely in response. "Thank you, Most Dignified." I should really ask her name. Later. She turns back to the others, waiting.

[Maugan Ra]

"I have a core of troops, yes. Most of my men fell in the fighting, but those who are left, I can work with. I know them, trust them, and with them I'd be able to build an experienced and capable officer corps for the army. I'll have to wait and see what the surviving forces here are like, but it will probably work out."

She looks to Xeifan, nodding. "The Taimyo is right. Anything and just about everything you could do in the way of establishing and repairing infrastructure here would be useful. Hell, if we don't set up decent medical, technical and logistical organisations here it won't matter how good my troops are."

"Still, a council would probably be useful. We'll need to discuss that somewhere else though, rather than on the ships. So, Taimyo, I'd recommend we make a move to the palace or something. Somewhere we can get an overview of what this place is like."

[industrious]

Russet

She shrugs at Weifan's question.

"Seriously, I am not the one to be asking about that.

Once Chissoku departs, Russet's body sighs in obvious, genuine relief.

"You have no idea how good it is to be away from her. Finally. Unclear about the war council situation; that isn't exactly the part I'm the best at. Or, in case you haven't realized, the socializing and the hobnobbing and the being rich. "

[The_Snark]

"The gods wouldn't come out to greet visitors, Haseo," Kailea admonished, ruffling his hair. It was good to see him acting like a boy again; he'd been very quiet in the days after his brothers passed. Apparently weeks confined to the boats had given him some of his energy back. "I'm sure we'll meet them soon enough."

The thunder took her by surprise; she reflexively clutched him closer. No threat. "She is flying because she is a child of the Dragon of Air," Kailea said in a softer voice as they pulled up to the docks, watching the armored figure descend to the forefront of the crowd. The rafts and canoes were being cast off to allow the greatships to come alongside the docks. "The Shogun in the east has sent Dragon-warriors to protect this place. And us too, since we're going to live here! Now, go find Madhi and Laka, okay? Makahine has to go talk to the chiefs here."

She kissed his forehead, then stood and made her way to the front of the raft. The huge wooden docks were much too high for their boats, but the harbor held little fishing ships as well as the tall ships, and the men were lashing ropes to a smaller pier meant for one of those. Kailea hopped from raft to dock and began to climb the steps, wondering as she did what their welcome would be. Ruvana Aria's warriors and sailors had welcomed her people's help, as was only sensible. What would the chiefs in this city make of hundreds of refugees come to beg shelter?

She made her way to where the Dragon-children were conferring, halting a few feet away (far enough not to intrude) and waiting patiently to be noticed.

[Mechanix]

Being directly adressed and asked about her crafts sent Xeifan's mind in overdrive, and she started talking before she'd even realized it.

"I have been trained in the traditional crafts of Wind, Fire, Earth, Air and Wood, as have been most crafters of notice, my lady. But my specialization lies in Realm-technology; I have spent my apprenticeship working on the stored magitech of Gens Adara, repairing power armor and other such devices. When the Great Contagion struck us, I was able to provide my house with sealed armors that allowed us to avoid contamination even as we burned the many corpses of the dead." Don't think about Aman don't think about Aman don't think about Aman. "Though I have not performed the trials of Sorcery, I have read all volumes of Master Si-Jen's Book of Thaumaturgical Wonders," - this might not seem like much, but the Book was ill-named; a sprawling, twenty volumes attempt at writing an occult history of Creation, it had taken its author's entire life to finish and was one of the authoritative work in its field - "and have studied the crafts and history of the Demon City with demons of the First Circle summoned to my service. I have also been taught extensively history, geography, science and all manners of lore under the teaching of sifu Xihuatl, honored be his memory."


It was only then that she realized that she had probably babbled nonsense for all anyone cared. She caught herself before launching on a rant about her expansive knowledge of glass-stained windows or other such frivolities.

"But of course that is of little matter right now, as I am fully aware. Please apologize my rambling. As far as this city is concerned, I am fully trained in repairing all Shogunate and Realm technology. The twenty men under my guidance are highly competent crafters, most of which I have personally trained, and a few servants and handmaids. I can organize and guide teams of workers and improve their capabilities, and know the basics of personal combat. The Glass Knife - the armor I am wearing - is capable of self-sustained flight, invisibility, spirit- and essence-sight, long-distance reconaissance, and targetting assistance. With it, I am the equal of any veteran Air Aspect infiltrator, with all due respect, my lady. I hope that you will not find me a burden."

Then a pause in her uninterrupted speech.

"...may I help you?" she asked as she finally noticed the other woman standing on the side and waiting for her to stop.

Just a thought, but - what language are we currently speaking? XD

[Maugan Ra]

"Kailea Seven-Blossoms." Aria says warmly to the new arrival. "My apologies that I didn't manage to speak too much with you before we got here. Too distracted - you would not believe the stress the horses are under in closed spaces."

She steps back slightly, visibly gesturing for the new arrival to join them. "Wood-aspect as well, I believe, and the leader of these refugees. That's right, isn't it?" she says, mostly for the benefit of the others gathered here.

Assuming that Aria would have at least learned the name of the refugee leader her men were traveling alongside, and that she was dragon-blessed, even if she never actually got around to speaking with her personally before they arrived.

[Arpista]

Cygnes nods at Aria. "Agreed, once we get a little more information on where, precisely, the palace is and who, precisely, is there." She nods to Russet, and takes a calculated risk. "Socializing and hobnobbing have amazing similarities to combat, in some ways. Tactics matter far much than sheer force -" like the title of Taimyo "- and as a general rule, the more you know beforehand, the better. Much of the point of a war council is to share information, and I would be honored if you would attend." She turns to listen to Xeifan and, for the first time, as Xeifan explains about her actions during the Contagion, the calculated, poised Taimyo loses her composure. She ducks her head and takes several deep breaths, visibly bringing herself back under control, before she can meet the crafter's eyes again; when she does, her own eyes glitter with moisture.

"Would that my Gens had had a crafter as skilled as you." She swallows. "Ah... forgive me for saying this, but right now, 'burden' is... highly inaccurate. 'Godsend' is rather more likely. Tianrasia, as you can see-" she waves around the city "-was once great, but is not what it was. By the sound of it, you are precisely what this city needs." She takes a quick breath, falling once more into the calm role of commander. "And as an infiltrator as well, I have every trust that you shall be as useful in times of war as in times of peace. Thank you." She turns politely to dip her head as Kailea is introduced, noting Aria's friendly tones. Five. She smiles at the new arrival. Dragon-blooded, but no Gens name. From outside the Shogunate, or changed her name, or using a false one? Unlikely, leading refugees. ...Refugees. Well, if they're as loyal as Aria's and Xeifan's, that's a blessing. If not, another Dragonblood is still well worth the price. "Greetings, Kailea Seven-Blossoms. It is a pleasure and an honor to meet you. I am Arys Cygnes, Acting Taimyo - that is, temporary military commander for this region, sent by the Shogun to protect it and, if necessary, restore law and order." Might as well give them the full command. She glances around at the crowd. We'll see just how necessary.

Assume Cygnes has been responding in whatever she was addressed in? Realm for Chissoku, of course. What would she have been addressed in?

[Maugan Ra]

"Very well, Taimyo. In any case, there won't be a vast amount I can add to the council at the actual palace until I have something in the way of a preliminary report." Aria says, her attitude switching back towards that of the businesslike soldier as she looks out over the city. "I'll leave Kian with you for the time being, so I can get caught up when I return, but I'm going to go see what I can find out around the city about what state the military and the defenses are like. Once I have an idea, I'll track you down and make a report."

With that, she nods to her subordinate (brother) and heads off down the gangplank again, already calling out orders and requests for information from her soldiers.

Yeah, mostly an abstraction of 'Aria takes a look around town, tracks down the different military unit leaders etc, and takes a good look at what the defenses are like'.
Basically, finding NPCs and useful information so I can make a report to the council later. I don't know if I need to make tests or anything...

[Mechanix]

"There is no higher praise than that of one's superior, my lady," Xeifan said with a dry throat. Godsend? Oh god, she hoped she hadn't oversold herself. With the high picture she'd drawn of herself, failure would be humiliating as well as unacceptable. Suddenly the pressure of the crowd and the company of Dragon-Blooded was overwhelming to her, and she could not stay longer in the presence of so many equals and betters, so many who could judge her and witness her failure. I must not fail. She had to go, take a breath, relax.

"If you allow it, I will now take a bird's eye view of the city, get a better idea of its organization and points of interest. I shall return shortly, and find you if you are holding a meeting. My lady Cygnes, my ladies, honorable Chissoku," she greeted, and without further delay she took off.

She did not push the suit to its highest speed, as she wanted to enjoy the relaxing sensation of flight; she rose slowly but steadily, taking in more and more of the picture, until she could take in all of the glorious, breathtaking scenery; there she stopped in stationary flight, and gazed, away from the world and all its worries. It felt so strangely nice, to be up here, and yet to be there, to see the people in the street, close enough to touch them and yet so far away.

Going for a Perception + Awareness roll, I don't know if it is the most appropriate.
[roll0]
Potential stunt dice: (I think the common practice is to roll 3d10 and count left from right the number allowed for the stunt?)
[roll1]

[Arpista]

I was planning to do that.

If I can trust her, politics are more important. Can I trust her?

... I'll join her later, if I get a chance. It's my official duty, anyway. She looks trustworthy, but I'll not tell the Shogun I let the city go to pieces because I didn't second-check my character judgments. She nods to Aria briskly. "Thank you. I'll see what I can do to help once I get the immediate situation settled." She turns back to Xeifan. "Certainly, that sounds like an excellent idea-" And the Exalt was gone. Interesting. A bit too quick. Nervous? ... She's very, very polite to me. Has she dealt with Shogunate politics before? Yes and got burned, or else no. From the outskirts, maybe?

... Or maybe you just keep forgetting what level of title you're throwing around. I shouldn't have been Taimyo in a hundred years. If we hadn't lost everyone who should have the title...

Waste of time. Refocus. She's nervous, extremely polite, and an infiltrator. Potential security risk. But she told me she was an infiltrator, which lowers probability, unless it's sheer audacity - which doesn't strike me as accurate for her. Probably just not used to dealing with titles at this level -

Or used to dealing with them, and not in a nice way. On their side. Not enough information. Later.

She turns her attention to Kian. "What supplies will your people need, immediately and long-term?"

[Maugan Ra]

Kian salutes the Taimyo properly before speaking. "Immediately, Taimyo, we're probably good. We're long-patrol skirmishers by preference, and we have enough food and the like left for another week or so at least. Some room in the stables and feed for the horses is really all we need for now, and we've got men on that."

He considers for a moment. "Long term, assuming the commander's plan is acceptable, weaponry is likely a priority. Bows by preference, with iron-tipped arrows, for the new recruits. Fortunately, our supply demands will likely be quite low, as we can roll survival training and foraging into the same activity depending on what the local terrain is like."

[The_Snark]

"We all have our people to tend to, Ruvana Aria." Kailea bowed deeply to the soldier, smiling. "We owe you a debt for bringing us to this place safely. Thank you."

She turned to Cygnes as the others left, trying not to stare as the armored one leaped into the sky. Such a great gift she had been given. "Your welcome warms me, Acting Taimyo," she said, bowing again. Courtesy never did any harm, especially when you stood on someone else's doorstep. "This city is blessed to have the Shogun's protection. But if you are leader here, I am afraid I must ask a boon of you."

[Arpista]

Competence. Oh, gods, how I missed competence. Cygnes gives the young man a brilliant smile along with a strict, military nod. "Thank you. That sounds like an excellent plan." She turns back to Kailea. "Military leader only, although I am authorized to assume political command in case of there being no legitimate authority. I am not certain yet whether this may be the case. Please, tell me what you require."

[The_Snark]

"We have no home," Kailea said simply, gesturing out at the harbor. The canoes and rafts were still tying up, smaller by far than the sailing ships but much more numerous. "The sickness came, and we could not stay. I would ask that your people give us sanctuary for a time. We have nothing to offer in return but strong backs and willing hands, but those are yours."

[Arpista]

And one set of them belongs to a Dragon-Blood. Cygnes dips her head. "I understand. As far as I am concerned, you may stay and welcome; the city will have lost quite a number of people, and strong backs and willing hands are always useful. But you do understand that I cannot make any promises without knowing who the local authorities are, and whether they will uphold them?" It strikes me as a good deal, but I don't know the situation yet. "In the meantime, anything more you could tell me about your people - who they are, what they are trained in, what way of live they are used to, what supplies and immediate provision they will require, and so forth - would be useful. I intend to locate and speak to the local authorities as soon as I can, and the more we know, the better a job we can do of getting this city back in order - hopefully, for your people as well."

[Aevylmar]

The Docks

With the Terrestrials talking quietly together and the business of unloading well under way, the purposeless crowd begins to transform into several different more purposeful crowds. Some of them go up to help unload the ships; others vanish into the city to spread rumors about the new arrivals.

Aria

Aria and her soldiers leave with the crowd. The Merchant's Harbor district had its own wall; not especially high, but enough to separate it from the rest of the city. The gate was open and unmanned.

Running east-west along the length of the city was a road wide enough for six carriages to pass without any collisions. Overlooking it on the west side were houses, many of them abandoned, shops, most of them abandoned, and a square military barracks, clearly completely abandoned.

The soldier who Cygnes had spotted earlier pushes his way towards Aria. His face is scarred and hair bleached from the plague, but he seems otherwise healthy enough. "Sir!"

[Maugan Ra]

Aria turns to regard the soldier, her green eyes quickly assessing him with practiced ease. "Ah, good to see you, soldier. Ruvana Aria, Dragonlord of the Eighteenth, here to do whatever I can to help out." she says by way of introduction. "Who would you recommend I speak with to get a good idea of what the situation's like around here?"

Efficient, businesslike. Friendly banter can wait for later. Right now, I have a job to do, so let's see if I can work out how hard it's going to be.

[Aevylmar]

Xeifan

As she rose and rose higher and higher, Xeifan saw the city spread out below her, her Essence-enhanced sight picking up more and more details as she scanned Tianrasia.

She hovered at the western edge of the old city, over the harbor. Two wide roads divided the city into four quarters, surrounded by the First Age fortifications.

South of her the ground rose to a cliff; on higher and higher tiers as the approached the wall were rich mansions, many of them abandoned. Soldiers in military order seemed gathered outside one of them that possessed a commanding view of the region, but they were the exception to the rule - the district seemed almost completely abandoned.

The northwest quarter seemed poor but bustling. She couldn't pick up a precise view, but astonishing numbers of citizens thronged through the far northwest, especially up against the city wall, but the areas near the main road seemed completely abandoned.

The northeast was... worse. About half a mile north of the crossroads was a glorious structure of a mold that she had rarely seen - a real, genuine, First Age factory-cathedral rising out of the ground like a jade mountain - but it was completely abandoned, and rose out of an ugly grey mist that covered almost the entire southern half of the quarter. The northern half of the quarter weren't quite as desolate as the south, but did their best to come close, and a great many buildings had already fallen into decay.

The entire southeast quarter was a walled citadel within the main city, cut off by (less dramatic) walls of its own that ran along the main roads. She could spot greenery inside the southeast quarter, along with palaces of jade and orichalcum that put everything else inside the walls to shame, but it was marred by patches of that same bleak mist. Along the eastern wall ran much more serious, modern stone buildings.

Outside the eastern wall, ruins stretched for several miles where there should have been urban sprawl, extending the city beyond Zyantian's planned limits. The remaining buildings - all stone - were marred and seared by flames. Only along the northern and southern coasts, and in one massive barracks on the eastern edge, where a second (stone) wall ran, was there any surviving wood construction or population inhabiting it. The barracks seemed packed; another center of population in the ruined city.

Further east, outside the wall, she could see farms at a great distance, with little dots that might have been farmers or sheep or wolves in them, but she can't tell details where she is.


She's free to make a low-difficulty Int+Occult roll to figure out what the mist signifies.

Aria

He salutes. "Gochei Tiba is acting field-force commander for the old city, working out of the Seaside district. He sent me here to keep an eye on the harbor. If you'll come with me, sir, I'll take you to him."

For those of you who haven't read the Lookshy book in a while, Gochei means a leader of 25 men or so, so 'field force commander' is two orders of magnitude greater.

[Maugan Ra]

Aria returns the salute, then gestures for the soldier to lead the way. "By all means." she says, following him at a brisk pace, Vallei at her heels.

A Gochei, as acting field-force commander? Well, the last few years have been difficult for everyone... evidently they had the opposite problem to me, with the senior command staff dying off.

[Mechanix]

My god. So much beauty and sorrow. Ruins... And yet, magnificence. Desolate places with not a soul, but walls of orichalcum standing proud. This is the work of my life. This is...
The realization struck her, and it was at the same time exhilarating and painful, a sting to her heart and a door opening in her soul.
I will never leave this place.
What of her family? What of her inheritance? She could not think of it. It did not matter. All of this... The wooden house and stone walls, the barracks and shops, the... Oh, my god... The Factory-Cathedral...

She closed her eyes for a moment, dizzied by the thought, and shook her head, chasing the thoughts. I have work to do. She looked at the city, as the strange mist, and she focused her thoughts. Had she ever seen anything like this before? It surrounded the Factory-Cathedral, which meant it might be related to it. On the other hand, it did cover the whole southern half, which was the most desolate part; this seemed to indicate a correlation between the two events - between mist and ruin. It was however absent from the rest of the city, which further corroborated the hypothesis of a link with the Manse...

So, in conclusion...

Intelligence+Occult:
[roll0]
Potential Stunt:
[roll1]

[industrious]

Russet

Right. People are doing things. Important, bureaucracy and military-leadership-y things.

Eep.

It isn't that Russet is afraid of those things. It's just she has absolutely no experience with paperwork or actual, real soldiers.

Probably best she just stay out of everyone's way until she's needed.

Wow, that's a sad thought.

[The_Snark]

"Of course, I understand. Thank you." Kailea bows briefly, hands clasped in front of her. "I hope you will tell me when you have found who leads here? I would like to speak to them too, so that my people can leave their boats." The rafts had been built to live on, but they would soon become curious or restless, and she didn't know whether coming ashore without permission would cause trouble. Did these people guard their homes fiercely? Would the city leader—she needs to ask what his proper title is at some point—take offense, or pretend to take offense so as to secure a better bargaining position? She doesn't know. The taimyo seems friendly enough, but one cannot be too careful in these matters.

"We come from the islands west of here—Captain Ruvana could show you on her map, but I don't know your names for them. There are three hundred thirty four of us on the rafts, mostly fishermen and gatherers. Some warriors, but..." She shrugs. "Not like your soldiers, I think. Just fishermen who know how to spear men as well as fish. We have food, and enough water for a few days, but the sun and the salt has made some people sick—they need shelter and a bed that doesn't rock under them. And the women have been at sea too long already."

"Everyone is sick of the rafts," she adds, in case this wasn't obvious. Kailea herself is looking forward to bathing in fresh water once everyone is settled in.

[Arpista]

Cygnes nods to Kailea. "Certainly. In fact..." She pauses. Doesn't think her people can come ashore - because she's local, or because she's not? "Perhaps I am ignorant of some local custom, but I would expect that your people could leave their boats - although, unless you can pay for lodging, getting shelter and beds may take a little longer. In light of which..." She paused, glancing over at Russet.

'Also here in Tianrasia, for the purposes of being introduced to her betrothed the Eminently Dignified Ryanno Sei...'

'You have no idea how good it is to be away from her...'

Uh oh.

Arys Cygnes kept her polite smile as she began thinking very, very quickly. She's engaged to a surviving scion of Gens Ryanno, so he's almost certainly the local legitimate authority, ie the one we need to talk to - unless he has an older family member surviving. Or unless he's not Exalted and someone survived who is. Which is unlikely - no word from them - but not impossible - this place is a mess, they might have tried to fix things instead of bothering sending for help, or a new Exalt might not be able to, or - (You've gone over this before. Stop. Focus.) Either Ryanno Sei is the local authority, or a member of his family is. Russet is engaged to him, and does not want to be. Russet is useful, but not as useful as an Exalted Ryanno - but Aria's attached to her, and Aria is both useful and dangerous. Unless she was playing politics like me, low but extant probability. Ryanno Sei wasn't introduced as Exalted, so he probably isn't, but he could have Exalted since Russet's kinswoman last received news - this is the kind of mess you would Exalt in, and he's young. Or he could Exalt, or he could have Exalted kindred. I need to know before I can make any decisions, but potential Exaltations there's just no way to know about. I'd rather have him and Russet, but I can't... or can I?

'When your adopted Gens says sail, you say what course?' Russet does know how to follow orders. On the other hand, she is obviously unused to being an Exalt. 'Call me Russet' - and that's specifically not her Gens name, so Lost Egg, probably. She may get more assertive as she gets more powerful... still, it's worth a try. Mostly depends just how much she doesn't want to be engaged to him. She hasn't been emphatic so far, which leaves some hope. So let's act on that possibility. Cygnes nodded politely to the young Exalt and went on, in explanation to Kailea, "Gens Ryanno leads here, or used to. Since the Contagion - the sickness - we have lost a great many people, including, as best Sorcery could determine, all the leadership of Gens Ryanno. However, it seems one has survived. As such - Russet, would you accept my company on your trip to find him? I can naturally wait until your meeting is concluded -" a pause, a warm smile, "-as you prefer," I can provide a distraction or stand back, as you would rather, "-but it does seem we are going in the same direction." She glances back at the other Terrestrial. "I do not know if you wish to come at once, or to see to your people first. I can tell you that, by law, if Ryanno Sei is the eldest survivor of his family - and an Exalt, or there are none other - he is the leader. And - if I were in his shoes, I would wish to speak with any Exalts new-come to the city. If you prefer not, I'll send you a message. Where should I contact you? The rafts?"

[The_Snark]

"I would be happy to come with you, Acting Taimyo. If you will wait but a moment, I will tell my people that it is safe to come ashore." Kailea dips yet another short bow and hurries off, wondering as she does whether it really is safe. If she lets everyone wander off, how will she gather them in again? What if Ryanno Sei says to leave, or offers them a home down the coast, but her people are scattered through the city? She's never had to guide an entire tribe to a new home before—no chief or godspeaker in living memory has. She doesn't know how it is supposed to be done.

It takes less than a minute to reach the part of the harbor overlooking the smaller docks. Kailea leans against the stone railing, cupping her hands and calling down to one of the men on the rafts. "Laka! They say we may come ashore for a while. Do not let more than a few go at a time, and make sure they know to be back within a few hours so that others may have a turn. We sleep with the rafts tonight, unless we are lucky—I am going to talk to someone who may be able to find roofs for us."

[industrious]

Russet

"No! I mean, no, I don't mind."

Oh, hai, Russet, time for you to meet your fiance. You know, the person you have to get married to. And spend forever with. Forever.

Okay, so it probably isn't that bad. Zeren only saw his wife, like, twice a month.

Also, get it together. You're finally with other Exalts, so you shouldn't be so timid. Probably.

...I wish Crazy Ninja Girl was here. Then I'd have at least one person I knew was on my side. Ish.

Russet blushes, and looks Cygnes in the eyes.

"I would be honored if you accompanied me, Taimyo. I believe the first meeting between my betrothed and myself is to be private, but afterwards, I know you have stately affairs to attend to.

There. See? You actually did learn something from your elocution tutors.

I can do this.

[Aevylmar]

The Ships

Laka waves in response to Kailea. "Got it! Everyone will be glad for a walk, but we'll be careful, don't you worry."

Assuming nobody says otherwise, my assumption is that the three of you will be proceeding to the palace quarter, thus synchronizing your timelines and allowing me to visit Aria's trip.

[Mechanix]

A Shadowland. Of course.

The opposite would have been surprising. So many deaths in so tight a space? There was bound to be necrotic essence corrupting the place. The presence of a shadowland could mean a lot of things for this city, none of it good. Most important was the damage done to the geomancy and therefore the cathedral... She had to examine it for herself, see what damage had been done and what was reparable. Also, see if this was a "spooky place" shadowland or a "the dead come back hungry" shadowland.

Xeifan breathed slowly, preparing for what might be a harrowing encounter. Since it was day, ghosts were not a danger, but to go there and witness a destroyed, possibly irreparable wonder of such scope... She feared it might be more than she could take. The Air Aspect steeled herself and turned her armor invisible on the off chance that something hostile might linger in the place, and she descended into the mist. Once on the ground, she would observe her surrounding briefly to evaluate the damage, then venture into the Manse.

[Arpista]

Cygnes nods to Kailea. "Of course." She hopes, as the other woman hurries off, that she has made the right decision. If she were in charge, she would want to talk to Kailea at once... unless, of course, she happened to be of a particularly formal disposition, as Bianfu Xujia's guardians were. And they were coming here to meet the Ryanno survivor... but that meant nothing; formal marriages were hardly always between like-minded people. And if he's too set on formalities, I can always make introductions. As Acting Taimyo, it's entirely appropriate.

She smiles back at Russet, allowing a faint touch of approval to show in her own eyes as she meets the girl's. Stop that. She's not of your Gens, it is not your place to teach her.

Still - she did do well.

"Of course, Most Honorable -" the smile grows slightly "- Russet. In that case, shall we wait for Kailea Seven-Blossoms" she wasn't quite sure what title to use, and reminded herself to ask before they actually saw Ryanno Sei, "and then proceed to the palace?"


I am happy with jumping to the palace! If possible, Cygnes will politely ask Kailea what form to use in introducing her during the walk. Titles are Important!

[Aevylmar]

A bit over an hour after the ships arrived... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z29K-rStSs)

- - -

Seaside District (Aria)

- - -

He marches off with the determined stride of a native, and Aria and Vellei follow after. The three walked along the main east-west street (the Merchant's Way, proclaimed a sign), before heading south through smaller streets, into what old maps called the Seaside District.

The Seaside District was built up a hillside cliff (possibly artificial?), with concentric circles of rich and expensive housing steadily ascending. Higher and higher tiers rose, growing richer and richer as they ascended; all of which were abandoned and many of which were starting to fall into decay. The occasional hungry scavenger (human or non-) could be seen at a distance, fleeing through streets or leaving a house, but there were no residents.

The soldier lead Aria up to the highest tier. He and Vallei were both tired and panting by the time they made it to the highest tier; Vallei from lack of hill-climbing experience, the soldier from sheer lack of stamina. Aria was fine.

The highest tier, under the titanic wall, was overtopped with a citadel. The top of the hill had been a garden, with a ring of multi-story mansions built around it.

Now, though, the lower windows on the mansions had been boarded up, as had all gaps between them, and scattered archers peeked from the windowslits. Thorny rosebushes had been planted or left to expand just outside the windows, and only a single door allowing entrance into any of them. The buildings had then been built up with timber and nails from other houses on the ring below, until they gave a considerable view of the rest of the district, and an inner watchtower had been constructed in the garden. The entire structure stretched to perhaps ten feet under the height of the main city wall.

The soldier waved to those inside to show his friendship, and then saluted Aria again. "Gochei Tiba is inside, Dragonlord."

- - -

Shadowland (Xeifan)

- - -

She flew east north-east towards the factory-cathedral, and then descended into the cold, clammy mist. Her sight failed as the mist covered her eyes; her visor saw only the grey, lifeless essence of the underworld. Her fall was soundless, lightless, lifeless, eternal. Her skin burst out itching, as the air-essence she respired became mixed with the ash-essence of the Underworld.

After a year, or maybe two, her fall ended and her feet touched the ground. She could see through the mist more clearly now. She stood on the southern side of what a once-golden plaque on the wall, gilding scratching away to show the lead beneath, proudly proclaimed to be the Foundry of the Sun. The building was a huge marble shell built around the main manse, channeling stable Earth essence into the inner construct.In theory. She could sense tainted void-essence in place of the stable earth; see the slab of marble changed from eggshell to tombstone. On the south side of the street was the decaying ruins of a block of apartments.

She had landed in a crowded east-west street. The cathedral tilted tilted over the street, as though they were about to tip over and bury her under a weight of rubble. Hurrying, starved figures in dusty greys or faded blacks walked past or through her without ever noticing that she existed. Black iron suits of armor carrying sword and shield stood guarding the stairs that led up to the cathedral's grand doors; she supposed that the armor might be worn, but not a man in all the crowd was still alive. There was a quiet whisper coming from the dead, low-voiced chatter back and forth like the waves of the salt sea.

Nobody notices you because you're cloaked, but this is daytime, so the ghosts are all immaterial to you anyway.

- - -

The Procession (Cygnes, Kailea, Russet)

- - -

There was not a band, trumpeting 'Hail Bianfu Xujia, mighty is she!" This was because Chissoku had not had the funds to hire one, and there weren't any appropriately formal bands, anyway. She had done her best to meet the formalities nevertheless: A quick negotiation with Russet (before Cygnes could get involved) determined that Russet would ride in the palanquin, but she would not have to wear the fancy dress.

There was nevertheless a procession, if not a very fancy one. Cygnes walked, accompanied by Kian. A group of bearers carried the palanquin, with Russet in it, and the senior minders walked behind it, as the long procession approached the gates of the Palace District. People watched from depopulated houses and occasionally cheered, but to Chissoku's disappointment, they mainly just cheered "Shogun!" or "Taimyo!" or "Cygnes!" over and over again, instead of the name of her principal.

(The youngest minder, the little one who didn't talk much, had been with them when they started, but very soon she vanished, and immediately after that, she had never existed.)

The Palace District was a full quarter of the old city. Smaller, less dramatic walls of sensible stone ran along the two main streets, firmly cordoning off the regions allocated to some combination of the Ruling Clan and the bureaucracy.

The actual main palace was built into the northwest corner at very near the precise center of Old Town, but there were no clearly-visible doors into it, and so Chissoku did her best to direct the procession over to the large gate just beyond it, but so far as she could tell - as far as any of them could tell - the walls of the Palace District were abandoned and unmanned, just like the walls of the city.

Perception+Awareness rolls are acceptable but not important.

[Maugan Ra]

An odd place for a military leader to camp. Far too far away from the rest of the city, and at the top of a hill as well. Still, not bad as far as an improvised fortress goes...

Still, Aria kept her reservations to herself... for now, anyway. She didn't yet know the full situation, and until she did, she was in no state to judge. So, without even a moment's hesitation, she strode inside, sharp eyes flicking back and forth to analyse the situation.

[Arpista]

This is going well.

Cygnes had deliberately not interfered in the discussion between Russet and her minder; the girl was an Exalt, and unless invited or hostile, one did not interfere with another Exalt's personal business. Cygnes certainly wasn't hostile, and she didn't consider Russet's you-have-no-idea-how-nice-it-is to qualify as an invitation... at least, not when the girl was quite clearly capable. So she spent most of the walk talking to Kailea and smiling and nodding to the cheering crowd. She would have liked to stop and talk to some of them, but Bianfu Chissoku's parade made that rather impractical, so instead she scanned them with sharp eyes, looking for anything out of the ordinary, anything that might tell her the condition of the city... or anyone she might want to talk to; any such person, she would make a mental note of and nod specifically to, with an expression that said as clearly as words meet me later. As they arrived at the palace, that same sharp inspection was turned on the walls. Odd to lack a gate - a measure of security? Her eyes flashed over the walls, looking for cracks or shadows where there should be none. Not that she intended to use the information, of course, she wasn't attacking this place... but she might be defending it, sometime down the line, and besides, knowledge was always useful.

[roll0] Perception+Awareness. Cygnes is likely to always make those checks when she can. Maybe that's something she should raise...

[Aevylmar]

Aria

Striding inside with Vallei and the local at her heels, she could see that the once-opulent entrance room had been completely cleared; it was ill-lit, and her eyes took a moment to adjust. a pair of soldiers, also with plague-scars and colorless hair, stood near the entrance, bearing the arms and wearing the armor of Legion soldiers. Despite their marks, they seemed reasonably well-fed, well-armed and armored. They both saluted Aria as she entered, before pointing her in the appropriate direction, which happened to be one from which quite a lot of shouting was coming.

"You call that a shieldwall? I could get donkeys to do a better shield-wall! Hesiesh! I'd expect desert nomads not to know what a 'shield wall' was, but you bastards are from Tianrasia - I'd think you know what a wall was supposed to look like!"

She emerged out of the hall into the garden, where an almost-line of men - boys, really, they must be new recruits - had lined up. A blocky, muscular man with a short, square beard going grey and almost no hair, wearing full, real, unpolished-but-in-good-condition armor was in the process of making enough noise to cause premature deafness.

"Do you know what happens to troops who try to line up and find their line a gods-damned circle? They get stabbed! I've done the stabbing! Now straighten the hell up!"

He turned to a frazzled underofficer. "Take care of this." The underofficer obeys, and the individual who must be Gochei Tiba turned to her. "And who are you, lady?"

Cygnes

Well, she's fairly certain that there's a wall...

Look, she was busy talking to Kailea, all right?

[Maugan Ra]

For all that Aria presently looks rather scruffy, her outrider's uniform well-worn and the jade breastplate visibly battered, for all that she's been on active duty for months and can feel the fatigue in her very bones, she is still an officer of the Shogunate. She still remembers the proper behavior, and given the presence of the new recruits still within visible range, she'd be damned if she was going to start off her new position here by handling it poorly.

So, the moment Tiba stopped talking, she drew herself to attention and snapped off a sharp, parade ground salute. "Kazai Ruvana, reporting for duty, Commander." she says sharply. They both know he's not a Taimyo, and that she officially outranks him in normal times, but these are most decidedly not normal times. This man is the acting Field-Force Commander, and right now that means she respects his assumed rank in front of the men. "Just came in with a supply and refugee convoy."

[Aevylmar]

He returns the salute equally sharply, scanning her appearance carefully. Whatever he sees clearly impresses him. "Glad to have you, sir. Has anyone appraised you of the situation yet?"

[Maugan Ra]

"Not yet, no. Literally got in... An hour ago, maybe, and came straight here." Aria returns. "I was hoping to get a situational report off you."

[Aevylmar]

He nods. "If you'll come to my office, I'll give you the full overview."

He takes off walking, trusting Aria to follow after, but continues speaking, now quietly enough so his soldiers can't hear. "Short version: Nobody's in charge; the eastern half of the city burned down; the larger half of the army is ruling the remains; the navy's turned pirate, the god's probably dead, and the hospital's a shadowland."

"I hope you brought a hell of a lot of supplies."

[Maugan Ra]

"Yeah, that's about what I was afraid of. ****." Aria mutters as she follows the Gochei. "Personally, I didn't bring a great deal - my men and I, all twenty or so of us that survived the Raksha, pretty much just fell back here in hopes of finding somewhere to recover. Apparently, we have work to do."

"Still, we have somewhere to start. There were more Dragon-Blooded than just me with the convoy. There was a member of Gens Cygnes, apparently here to be a new Taimyo, who seems to have her head on right. There was an engineer named Xeifan who is apparently a specialist in repairing old broken crap that no one else holds out hope for - turned up in a set of flying power armour, of all things. We even have a priest, or shaman or something - calls herself a god speaker, whatever that means, but she should be good for helping get some divine support back here if the local god has up and died."

She sighs. "So, that leaves us with the issue of sorting out the military side of things. Looks like I won't be sleeping much for the next while. Fun."

"OK, longer version, then. You said half the army is ruling what remains of the city. What happened to the other half? Dead, deserted, turned bandit?"

[Aevylmar]

"Good. We need a Taimyo with her head on right, and someone who can fix the machines might help."

He enters one of the buildings, revealing a surprisingly luxurious meeting-room, with a long table surrounded with chairs. A map is on one wall. He offers her a seat, then takes one himself.

"My mistake. Half the surviving army is running the new town. The 28th Legion used to be stationed here - five thousand infantry, another thousand horses, two thousand archers, a dragon of artillerists..."

"There's a thousand left in fighting shape; the rest are dead or deserted. A few more, if you count the new recruits. I've got almost a full wing of veterans and a talon that's half raw recruits and half men near-dead from plague, and the New Towners have the rest. Most of the other real troops are with the pirate witch; a full dragon of foot soldiers and half that many archers."

He starts counting on his fingers. "There's the remains of the palace guard in the Daimyo's district, but they're jumped-up constables; the pen-pushers are stuck in there with them, but that's still four forces - us, the pirates, the guard, and the easterners."

"For a fifth, there's some mercenaries running the False-River district; I hear they've got a militia, but they shoot anyone going near, so nobody's managed to find out just what's going on with them."

[Maugan Ra]

"Hmm. OK, that'll be something of a priority, getting everything organised under one leader. Hopefully the new Taimyo can prove herself quickly - easier to get folks to follow someone competent."

Seated by the table, Aria props her head up with one arm under her chin, and studies the map on the wall. "You mentioned a 'pirate witch'? I take it she's basically pinched the Navy and a bunch of the infantry to go off marauding with?"

[industrious]

Russet

Russet doesn't have to do much on the palanquinn. And that's kind of the problem. The ride is bumpy, and the curtains make it impossible for her to see out, and she can't do anything but sit and that's boring and...

"Ohmydragons you're here. But we can't spar at the moment. So...what's up?"

Well, at least she wasn't alone. And Crazy Ninja Girl was both a great listener and someone actually interested in what Russet had to say instead of just how she said it.

[The_Snark]

It doesn't take long for Kailea to decide that she had been blessed when she met Arys Cygnes. The taimyo is a treasure trove of knowledge when it comes to the titles and forms of address used here, and she takes no offense at Kailea's ignorance. And there's a great deal of ignorance to fill; the Dragon courts are as touchy as any spirit court, to hear the taimyo tell it, much concerned with matters of honor and status and filled with feuds that Kailea knows nothing of. Merely greeting someone a certain way might could cause trouble, if someone else objects to their assuming a certain title, but not greeting them by their chosen title would surely offend... Winds have mercy. At times she finds herself doubting; surely the situation here can't be as complicated as Arys Cygnes makes it sound? Her explanations are laced with ifs and just-in-cases, which can't possibly all be true at once. But any part of it might be important, and so Kailea listens attentively.

"And how should I address you?" she asks as the procession nears the gate. "Is Acting Taimyo proper, or should I say Most Honored?"

Perception + Awareness, because why not? 1 success (see OOC).

[Mechanix]

Ghosts. An entire neighborhood full of them. That's... That's probably not good.

Memories flashed through Xeifan's mind, of her very own shadowlands: of shambling ghosts, still moaning in pain from the contagion that had killed them, pointlessly going through their houses and streets; of streets and neighborhoods and towns depopulated almost overnight, turned from cities buzzing with life to mist-filled desolation. And the empty eyes of the dead, their incessant whisper... And what came at night from these small patches of underworld. Ghosts mad with wrath and hunger, ghosts that could wield magic.

She gritted her teeth and ignore the cold sweat that was slowly descending her spine. She couldn't stay here forever; she had work to do. The Air Aspect moved towards the cathedral - if the ghosts were forced to remain immaterial, they wouldn't be able to stop her from entering, even if they somehow pierced through her cloak. The Manse was more important than anything else, anyway. The shadowland was a problem that could wait.

[Arpista]

Cygnes smiles brightly at Kailea. The godspeaker, if inexperienced, is at least an apt pupil, and the Fire Aspect has been honestly enjoying the conversation - in fact, she's become sufficiently caught up in it to be quite nearly blind to the outside world. Bringing Kailea along was definitely a good idea. With how careful she's being to learn, Cygnes finds herself in the remarkably unusual position of not foreseeing any diplomatic issues at all - well, unless the perhaps-Acting-Daimyo takes offense to her title and presence, but none caused by Kailea, which takes a weight off her shoulders. And honestly, all politics aside, she's beginning to heartily hope the priestess and her people find a home in Tianrasia. She likes her.

"That depends on the context. If you are speaking to me in the context of my military duties, or you wish to be particularly formal, then Acting Taimyo is correct. On the other hand, if you are speaking of me as a private individual - while still a dragon-blood, and in a formal context - and you want to emphasize it, then Most Honored is correct. In an informal context," she hesitates a bare moment, not quite sure she should say it, then decides to take the plunge, "... speaking as a friend, Cygnes is correct. In general, it depends upon the context. You should generally address an unknown dragonblood with no expressed preferences by a relatively formal title until you know the individual well enough to have a clear sense of what he or she would prefer." She pauses, a few particular individuals springing to mind. "... That said, in some cases, that can take about five seconds. If someone walks up to you, shakes your hand or bows over it, and introduces himself by his first name, he probably wants you to call him by it. It's..." Simple would hardly describe it. She settles on "Not as confusing as it may sound. In practice."

[Aevylmar]

Aria

He sighs. "After the plague killed all of the real officers, the senior captain was Baeles Umisume. She's god-blooded, might be a sorceress, and charmed all the other captains into doing what she says, along with any soldiers she could find - which means raiding trading ships, stealing food and craftsmen from villages, and - once - raiding the docks, before we concentrated here." His face is grim. "She killed my men. She needs to die."

- - -

Russet

Crazy Ninja Girl, near-invisible at the other end of the palanquin, shrugs. "Waiting. Guarding. Hunting. You?"

- - -

Xeifan

Xeifan has a problem. It is really quite a simple one, but that doesn't really help.

The gates of the great cathedral are shut. Nobody is currently going in and out. She may be invisible, but the guards just outside are going to notice if she opens them.

Feel free to roll Perception+Awareness to look around for other doors you can enter quietly, windows, etcetera.

- - -

Cygnes, Russet, and Kailea

Since nobody else is doing anything, Chissoku walks up to the gate and signals one of the lower-ranking minders, who pounds on the gate.

"Bianfu Xujia approaches, to join her betrothed, Ryanno Sei, in the bonds of matrimony! Open the gates!"

There is a pause. Nothing happens. She repeats herself.

"Open the gates!"

[The_Snark]

"Many things are," Kailea agrees. "I must thank you again for your advice, Cygnes. I would feel lost here without you." She touches two fingers to her lips, then holds them out towards Cygnes in what seems like a ritual gesture of some sort. And hopes she didn't read too much into the Taimyo's offer of her name.

That done, she looks to the gate, which remains firmly shut. "Is something wrong? I cannot see anyone coming to greet us, or even to look... Could it be abandoned?" The walls of the city had looked the same when they first approached, of course. And yet, in the wake of the plague it seemed quite possible. Villages and even entire islands had been left barren; why not palaces?

[Arpista]

"I am glad if I have been able to help." What does that gesture mean? Cygnes dips her head politely to Kailea in response, smiling, and hopes fiercely that that response is correct.

The gates provide a distraction. The Fire Aspect turns and surveys them. We've arrived. And I didn't notice. Idiot, Cygnes, idiot. She glances around, looking for any flicker of movement past the gates that might indicate life, then turns to the gates themselves, looking for traces of use or disuse. Dust, perhaps, between the edge of the gate and the wall, where actually opening the gate would dislodge it, or... Heedless of her dignity (no; evoking a soldier's dignity) she drops briefly to one knee, glancing down at the road below their feet for prints that might suggest the presence, or absence, of traffic in and out the gate. When she looks up, her voice is calm. "It is possible that we have the wrong gate, or that the inhabitants are not at home. It would be uncustomary-" read: Someone is very unconventional indeed, or something is seriously wrong "-for the dwelling of a Most Eminent member of the nobility to be empty, which suggests that either we have the wrong gate or Ryanno Sei is not living in the palace. Or..." She turns her gaze again to the gate, then raises it to sweep what she can see of the area around it, thinking very quickly.

---

"... Or..." Her eyes move back to the gate, and the calm, analytical Taimyo stiffens slightly. One hand rises to point at a number of relatively dull smudges on the gate - some the black of ash, others rust-red, still others the white of crushed bone. "... I think we have the wrong gate. This one's been opened, but I believe it was for the purpose of removing corpses." Unless we're dealing with the walking dead. "We might want to look for another one."

[The_Snark]

"Ah." Kailea follows the taimyo's pointing finger, recognizing daubs of ash and... clay? Rust? She can't tell. Is that customary here, to have a door for the dead? She doesn't know. Best to be cautious. "Yes. Entering this way would be a poor omen, I think."

"Perhaps we can ask someone who lives nearby? They must know where the main door is..." The crowd gathered at the docks is long gone, but the procession nonetheless attracts what little attention there is to be had on the streets. Kailea glances around, hoping to spot somebody watching from a window or tagging along after the palanquin. Or, failing that, a house that doesn't look abandoned.

Perception + Awareness? Not sure if it's necessary for this, but just in case: [roll0]

[Arpista]

Cygnes nods approvingly. She'd not thought of the omen but... well, you could read it either way; new glory either overcoming or tainted by old defeat. More important, no one had used it much since, indicating that there likely wasn't anyone waiting on the other side. Unless she was missing something...

If so, little time to worry about it.She nodded to Kailea, looking around as well. "Good idea."

[roll0] Same! Not that it really matters, I expect Kailea got it, but just in case.

[Maugan Ra]

"Hmm. Yes, I expect we can arrange that." Aria says, considering the matter. "Find and eliminate her, consolidate everything back under one banner, move from there... going to be a busy month. Year. Lifetime."

Sighing, she stands up. "Right. I'm going to go track down the new Taimyo, see what she's managed to get set up. Or what new problems she's uncovered. In the meantime, I'll check on my men, see about getting them barracked near here, then start working out what to do about this unholy mess."

"Thanks for the help, acting-Commander. I'm glad there's at least someone here who seems competent. I just hope we can find others."

[Mechanix]

Riiight. Well, maybe she could kindly ask the huge black armors around the doors? It was broad daylight anyway, it wasn't as if the ghosts could actually do anything to her.

Probably.

For all her occult knowledge and training, Xeifan was much less comfortable around ghosts than she was around demons and, to a lesser extent, gods. Due to the traumatic events of the Contagions, shadowlands brought bad memories, and she associated ghosts mostly with sorrow and fear. She had never been truly in danger because of one, but few spiders were dangerous and mortals still freaked out on seeing one. She was allowed to have her idiosyncrasies, dammit.

All right. Checking for another entrance.

She stepped back a little and jumped in the air, granting herself a better view of the whole of the manse; her visor provided several useful details about her environment that were actually distracting her, so she turned them off and focused on the manse. Windows, perhaps..?

Rolling Perception + Awareness + Armor bonus = 9
[roll0]
Potential stunt bonus:
[roll1]

[industrious]

Russet

"Oh. You know. The usual."

It's good to see Crazy Ninja Girl again. Even if she still had the bruises on her ribs from last time.

"Going to see the person I got set up with. Hoping he's not a jerk. And I met a bunch of other Exalted, and they all seem to know more than me, and one of them was looking at me really funnily even though she got rid of Chissoku..."

[Aevylmar]

Aria

Tiba salutes, again. "It'll be good to be back to sanity."

As she departs, she can hear him muttering tiredly "And back to Gochei..."

End scene. What's Aria doing first, once she leaves the fortress?

- - -

Xeifan

The building was built, quite inconsiderately, to channel the essence of Earth by being as cavern-like as possible. Caverns do not have windows and so, with the exception of a few tiny cracks or arrow-slit-sized-windowlets for breezes to go through, neither does this. She can spot inconspicuous side doors (small so as not to disrupt the now-defunct Essence feeds) and a trapdoor on the roof, but they're all closed. And they might be locked.

One-die stunt. It's a Stealth roll to get in without anyone noticing that a door just opened and closed again.

- - -

Cygnes & Kailea

Chissoku turns at the two Terrestrials with an expression of shock on her face. "If I may beg to venture an opinion," she says in Realm, "I suspect that they would not remove corpses. Even if they followed the modern custom of not including a mausoleum in the district, a grave-gate would be considerably smaller and decorated with a pattern of flowers beside the keystone."

Her voice does its best to drown out the sound of quickly-marching men on the other side of the gate, and as she finishes, the bolt slides back and the gate opens. On the other side of it is a band of ten or fifteen soldiers, equipped with an eclectic but well-made collection of weapons and armor.

"You don't look like ghosts or robbers," says the one with the fanciest armor.

- - -

Russet

Crazy Ninja Girl quietly continues listening, without saying a word. Her presence is somehow soothing; it may have something to do with the fact that it is very difficult to imagine anything more dangerous than she is.

[Maugan Ra]

Taking a deep breath, and steeling herself for the doubtless numerous trials ahead, Aria begins walking back through the city towards the docks, Vallei at her heels.

Heading back to the dock region to check on her men and collect Ash, her familiar. Then off to the palace to make a report and the like.

[Mechanix]

Xeifan rose slowly towards the roof, and landed near the trap door. All right, the door might be locked, but she wouldn't know till she tried, would she? She crouched towards the trap and felt the tingling of essence in her fingers as her bracers came to life. Not that she truly needed them, but they were so finely attuned to her body that they started their work whenever she prepared for fine manipulation of anything - like lockpicking. Which had proved somewhat annoying on more than one sleepless night - but that was another matter entirely. In one swift move she opened the trap and swept into the door like a breeze.

Do I really have Stealth 1? Oh, well.
[roll0]
Potential Stunt:
[roll1]

[industrious]

Russet

Crazy Ninja Girl quietly continues listening, without saying a word. Her presence is somehow soothing; it may have something to do with the fact that it is very difficult to imagine anything more dangerous than she is.[/QUOTE]

"...and that's why the Captain never lends his sextant to anyone. Who knew sailing was so dangerous?"

She closes her eyes, opens them again.

"I'm scared of getting married off."

[Arpista]

Then what is the ash doing there? It's at about the right height... Cygnes starts to answer, but the opening of the gate distracts her. She nods politely to Chissoku in lieu of reply, and turns to face the guards. "That would be because we are not." She clips out an annoyed as you were just informed - no sense making trouble - and continues, still in Seatongue, "I am Arys Cygnes, sent by the authority of the Shogun to see to the defense of this city. This is Kailea Seven-Blossoms, Priestess and Godspeaker for the Three Moons Islands tribe, and this -" she gestured to Chissoku, the minders, and the elegant and concealing palanquin - "is the matrimonial procession of the Most Honored Bianfu Xujia," Russet "-here to join her betrothed, the Eminently Dignified-" she paused, tilting her head. Less risky to ask here. "- Eminently Honored? - Ryanno Sei." She wondered if Russet was still in the palanquin. "We, also, are here to speak with him. Is he within?"

[Aevylmar]

Aria

Arriving at the docks with Vallei, the scene hasn't changed much. By this point, only the captains and a handful of solid men remain on the ships.

- - -

Russet

Crazy Ninja Girl pauses. (S) "Don't worry."

- - -

Cygnes

The fancily-armored guard pauses. She opens her mouth to speak, and then closes it. (S) "Ryanno Sei is with his mother. She took him... weeks ago. Do you mean he's still alive?

[Arpista]

Ghosts.

Idiot idiot idiot idiot idiot. Ashes and rust and grave dust on the door, why didn't you see it? Because our ghosts didn't do that, that's why. Our ghosts -

Focus.

"I was informed so, yes. I do not know how up-to-date the information was." Cygnes glances towards the palanquin, raising her voice slightly, but keeping it in Seatongue. "Most Honored Bianfu Xujia? Your fiancé has apparently been taken by his mother, or rather, since all our inquiries suggested that Daimyo Ryanno Eiyo was dead, by her ghost. Would you care to join us in discussing what to do about it?" We're going to need that council of war sooner than I thought. She looks back to the guard. "Did he go willingly? Do you know where she took him, or what the possibilities are? Am I correct in assuming she is no longer alive?" I don't know what else could stop her from receiving Infallible Messengers, but it's worth checking on the off-chance. The Dragon-Blood draws a quick breath. If she is, everything is about to get very, very complicated. She glances over to Kailea. How much of this are you following?

[industrious]

Russet

"WHAT?"

The curtains to the palanquin are torn open, and Russet's face peeks out.

"Is he okay? "

No need for a procession and formal presentation if there isn't some sort of noble on the other end waiting. Russet parts the curtain remnants, and leaps nimbly down to join the conversation properly.

"Did you have anything to do with this," she calls back to the palanquin.

[Aevylmar]

Palace Gate

There is no-one in the palanquin. There is very definitely no-one in the palanquin. There was never anyone but Russet in the palanquin. If you thought there was, you were clearly wrong.

The guard officer is clearly too overwhelmed with the flurry of questions to find anyone to immediately respond to.

"Ah... Would you all care to come in?"

[Arpista]

Cygnes quirks a brow. She thought Russet was talking to someone...? One of her companions, maybe. Interesting to find out who, later; whoever Russet thought could be behind this was well worth learning more about. For now...

"I would, yes. I would also like to speak to whoever is in charge, in his absence. I would also like a report on the incident, please." She glances back at Russet. "I do not know. But-" a lightning-quick calculation, "-I would gladly offer you my aid in trying to make sure he is."

[The_Snark]

Kailea looks politely baffled as the woman attendant addresses them, not wishing to interrupt despite her total lack of understanding. Perhaps the woman only wants to speak to Cygnes? There is no chance to ask for a clarification, as armed soldiers arrive inside the gate. Speaking honest Seatongue, thankfully; Kailea would hate to ask Cygnes to translate everything spoken inside the palace. She prays Ryanno Sei will not insist on his own tongue, when they find him.

Or if they find him. Kailea looks back and forth between Russet, Cygnes and the soldiers, concern evident on her face. There are questions to be asked, but the taimyo has already asked most of them, and all are better addressed indoors.

[Maugan Ra]

Aria tracks down her men easily enough, finding the area where they've just finished unloading the horses and what few supplies they were able to bring with them.

"All right, folks, listen up. We've found the local military, up that way." she says to them, hiking a thumb back up at the hill they just came down. "Vallei is going to brief you on the rest of the situation on the way up, but for now, you're to go and find Gochei Tiba up there and get settled in. Whereas I, dragons help me, get to go play nice with the politicians and command."

That done, and her men on their way up to the barracks regions, she walks over to Ash and pats the large black warhorse on the flank. "Hey boy. Feel good to get off the boat?"

The horse snorted, which she chose to interpret as something along the lines of 'of course it does, foolish human', and she grinned at him. "Glad to hear it. Now, come on, let's go find where the new commander has gotten to. The palace, I think."

With that, she swings herself into the saddle with the ease of long practice, and they set off to regroup with the others.

[Aevylmar]

Palace District

Chissoku is too busy being shocked and horrified at the obvious breach of etiquette involved in kidnapping to cast more than three pointed looks of 'you ought to get back in the palanquin' at Russet, before giving up and arranging for the other minders to transport it through the gate, fortunately before it closes and the process of proper relocking begins. This, unfortunately, takes quite a while, and it is just as the last lock is turned and the last bolt is thrown back into place that Aria arrives at the main gate.

The Palace District - or at least the northwest corner thereof - is an extensive collection of sculpted paths, elegantly-mowed gardens, enormous and lovely palace complexes, works of impressive art, and so forth and so on. Chissoku looks on almost approvingly.

- - -

Xeifan

No-one seems to notice as she slips through the trap door, nor as it closes behind her with hardly a sound.

After passing through a brief series of grim, soundless, lightless air ducts, ever making it towards the center, she found herself at the edge of the cathedral proper, at a spiritual decontamination room on the second floor entrance.

The walls are made of various first-age alloys with ingredient lists that sound like attempts to break the Shogun’s budget and covered in murals that depict what may once have been the Primordial War, but is now a grotesque dance of the dead and the dying. The precious cleansing reagents and tools have been stripped from the chamber, which has been converted into a guard room: Another two of the black-armors stand there.

Unfortunately for them, the doors into the room were open, perhaps in a futile hope that the dull breeze would touch the air around them, and Xeifan can effortlessly slip past, into a balcony overlooking the main body of the cathedral.

It's... a desecration; a monstrous castle made out of a ruined temple. The sorcerous assembly lines have stopped. The holy forging pools have been drained. Shadows on the ground floor flit from forge to forge, all cast up in the ruins out of what was once a crafter's paradise. A monstrous armored shape, red lines drawing essence - blood - both - over black plates, quarrels with a faint shade; voice echoing in the gloom.

One man also stands on the balcony, some distance along from Xeifan, who looks real, living and solid; or at least his armor does - an archaic variant on the Gunzosha in rich blue and silver with a starmetal lens over the eyes, a golden sunburst on the chest, a firelance of gleaming jade across the back. He is surrounded by a pair of black-armor bodyguards who silently follow him as he scans the scene below.

He raises his head with interest as Xeifan enters the factory-cathedral.

Feel free to roll Stealth, Mechanix, but your cloaking systems are, while moving, insufficient to stop him from noticing you.

[Arpista]

The Palace District survived the Contagion well, Cygnes observes, glancing around with quick, practiced eyes that recognize the style and taste of the designer, make a mental note of it, and leave the admiration of elegance aside, replacing it with more immediate concerns of defensibility. An elegantly-mowed garden can be trampled across far more easily than a wild one; grand statues and impressive works of art can provide cover for approaching hostiles, not only from arrows but even from the defenders' sight, not to mention the effect of the enormous complexes - this was a palace, not a fortress. Difficult to protect, then. Still, it had good walls. And good people?

The Exalt's eyes flit over the group of guards. Good armor, but terribly random. Not a unified force, or they hadn't been. Volunteers? Or a regular force that had simply claimed those higher-quality pieces of armor left available by the plague? Stop wondering, start finding out. By her armor, the woman who'd told her about the heir's fate must be an officer, and they were obviously not going anywhere until the gate was properly shut; in the meantime, Cygnes turns to her. She's already introduced herself... "While we wait. To whom am I speaking?" As she waits for a reply she watches the closing of the gate, taking careful note of the many locks and bolts. Yes, definitely strong walls, and proper security. So how did they break it? A dematerialized ghost could wander through easily, but whatever had left those smears of ash and bone had been thoroughly material. And you couldn't drag a material prisoner immaterially through a gate, either... if he was dragged. With his mother, the Guard had said. Cygnes draws a deep breath and looks around, not just watching now but listening to the sounds of the city. This is deeper than it seems. What am I missing?

Perception+Awareness if I may? Ideally hoping to notice Aria before she gets locked outside and we go off... but also curious about details like whether the door looks like someone broke it down. [roll0]

Potential stunt: [roll1]

... The amount I'm using that, I should really raise it.

[Maugan Ra]

Assuming that Cygnes hears Aria coming and gets them to hold the gate open for a few moments while she enters. Or open it again to let her in.

Aria rides in through the gate just before it closes, sitting on a large black warhorse. She nods to Cygnes.

"Taimyo. I have that report... you want it now, or later?"

[Arpista]

OK! Cygnes will do so.

(S) "Commander. It appears the Most Honored Russet's betrothed has been kidnapped. By the ghost of his mother, the Daimyo." Cygnes draws a breath. "That said, yes. I'd love to know what resources we have to deal with this with, and how many other fires we have to fight - beforehand, afterwards, or concurrently." Whatever doubts she might have about the woman, right now she had to admit that seeing her - and her aura of calm competence - was a profound relief.

[Maugan Ra]

"Kidnapped by his dead mother? Huh. That's a new one." Aria says, an amused smile on her face. "Anyway, resource wise, we've got maybe four hundred troops, under capable enough leadership. Of those, I'd only especially trust a wing or so of the veterans in a straight fight with decent foes, but they could likely all be fielded in a pinch. It's less than the city should have, but a damn sight more than I was expecting."

"Anyway, problems... Oh yeah, we've got a bunch of those. There's an armed militia force holed up in an isolated district, but they're shooting anyone who approaches - I figure that's probably plague-induced quarantine paranoia. More seriously, a full dragon of the actual troops were commandeered by a god-blooded sorceress and turned pirate, raiding up and down the coastline and even attacking the city at least once."

[industrious]

Russet

"Well that just figures."

Like Malfeas I am not getting back in that palanquin alone, Chissoku.

"You sail for a really long time to get married to a person you've never met because of the Gens you weren't born into and then he turns out to be kidnapped by the ghost of his dead mother. This could be a play or something."

Dammit, Crazy Ninja Girl. One day, I swear I will turn around, and you'll still be there.

"And there are a lot of problems in this place. My marriage can wait. Um. Militia, then Pirates, then my betrothed? Or maybe pirates, then militia, then my betrothed. Getting kidnapped by a ghost sounds like you need to have lots of troops with you when you face them. I think?"

Real subtle, there, Russet. Real subtle.

[Mechanix]

Tears filled her eyes, and for a moment Xeifan could not see anything, her head taken by a dizziness that forced her to find support on a nearby railing. Oh god, what ruin. What destruction. How could she ever hope to solve this? This wonder of the ages, this cathedral of geomantic power, reduced to such a state, broken and diminished and soiled... She found herself short on breath for a few seconds, and how to come down to her knees, legs weak beneath her. Only the sight of the armored man drew her from her panic attack; she glanced at him, and surprised startled her so much that her armor rattled on the ground as she crawled back, ruining the purpose of the stealth devices in the first place. She looked at him, increasingly worried.

The most sensible solution would be to stay put and hope the man in armor hadn't noticed anything. But after all, she was an intruder in this place, and she seemed to have been spotted; it would probably be wiser to just come out and hope to talk peacefully with whoever was this person. After all, he had power armor; this meant that he was quite probably an influent member of the city. And one who would venture so far into a shadowland... Was there truly no Dragon-Blooded left in Tianrasia? She could not imagine that this was a mere mortal; not with a jade lance and such beautiful armor, followed by ghost-armors.

Xeifan's throat tightened and a chill went down her spine. No. She must not be afraid. She was an Exalt, come here on peaceful business with full justification for her presence here, and the might of the city behind her; and she was absolutely certain that she also had the better armor. Yes. This had to count for something. Xeifan rose slowly from her crouching position, and dismissed the cloak.

"Hm," she coughed, clearing her throat. "...hello?"

Well, that was not quite as eloquent as she'd hoped, but she did not know what to say.

[Aevylmar]

The man in powered armor turned to look at her. He may have smiled, under the helm; his posture certainly indicates cheer. (R) "Hello to you too."

He tilts his head, as his bodyguards/escort draw swords and glower facelessly at Xeifan."Should I assume that you're one of the new Terrestrials in Tianrasia?"

Waiting for Maugan Ra to fix his post (or until Thursday evening/Friday morning) before I say anything in that path, so just responding to Mechanix.

Also, the guards aren't attacking, but a powered-armor wearing woman just appeared out of nowhere, so they're a bit worried.

[Maugan Ra]

"I'd have to agree with Russet. Handling the militia first would be my reccomendation, if only because there are several hundred of them within walking distance, and we'll have to deal with them sooner or later anyway."

[Arpista]

Four hundred troops. That will make things a lot easier.

Cygnes nods calmly. (S) "Thank you, commander, that will help a great deal. And - thank you, Most Honored Russet, for your willingness to prioritize the city's welfare. It is most sincerely appreciated. - Also good tactical sense. If we are facing ghosts, we will need large quantities of salt, strong allies and an army would certainly be nice. Militia first, I think - they'll probably be easier, and I'd like to have them when dealing with the god-blooded-" She stops abruptly, something tugging at her memory. "God-blooded... Baeles Umisume? Her record did not mention sorcery, but if she is... that would be useful. We need a sorcerer. History of insubordination and - remarkable success, so she'll be... interesting to deal with..." You're thinking out loud a bit more than displaying trust requires. Cease. "If negotiation is practical. We will definitely want troops at our back before we try any such thing. So - militia. If you don't mind, though, I'd like to get a proper report on the kidnapping first. It shouldn't take long-" she glances at the guard "-I trust, and the more facts we are in possession of, the better. More immediately, the more we know about the ghosts before we run into them, the better. And if I was them, I'm not sure I wouldn't choose to investigate us... we are new Terrestrials in their territory after all, and not of their Gens... potential usurpers, especially me..." The Exalt's eyes narrow, and she feels a sudden chill. Come think of it...

... Don't be demoralizing. But - Aria needs to know, blast it. Just in case. "Has anyone seen Adara Xeifan? She said she'd be back shortly... I wonder if she's found something interesting? I don't suppose anyone here can send messages efficiently..." She's an Exalt. She can take care of herself.

I hope.

So, Cygnes does not have Wind-Whispered Words Technique, and she's hoping someone else does. Lacking that, she'll probably trust that the Exalt in the top-rate spy armor is much more likely to be safely investigating something Interesting than In Deep Trouble, but... just in case, she wants to see if they can send a message.

[Mechanix]

Tread carefully. You are alone in a potentially hostile place, and you do not know the capabilities of this man.

Xeifan forced her body to relax slightly, attempting to show confidence and mastery of the situation; she would probably have failed, had the armor not concealed her body language enough that the point was mostly moot anyway.

(R)"I am indeed. I was told that there was no Blood of the Dragons left in Tianrasia; it seems I was mistaken. Pleased to meet you; I am Xeifan of Gens Adara. Are you a..." the word did not come easily to her. "...a necromancer?"

[Aevylmar]

The Palace District

The officer coughs politely. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but perhaps you should speak with my superior before making any plans? I was told to report to him if any official arrives, and to bring you, if possible. The precise words were 'Anyone with more authority or sense than a child of three', and I believe at least two of you qualify," she said, voice and face completely grave.

The "Forge of the Sun"

The armored man held out his hand. "I am please to meet you as well, Adara Xeifan, though I am not a necromancer nor a sorcerer. My name is Ryanno Sei.."

[Arpista]

"Yes, please." Cygnes says immediately. She does not smile either, but there is still a flicker of humor in her eyes. "I appreciate your assessment."

[Maugan Ra]

Aria nods to Cygnes. "Baeles Umisame, yes. Though simply recruiting her may be a problem - she killed at least a few of the soldiers here when she last raided, and the garrison commander took it... personally."

She looks over at the officer as he interjects, and nods, smiling. "Sounds familiar. And while I have met some very precocious three year olds in the past, yes, I expect we probably qualify."

[Mechanix]

"Oh, I-I'm sorry, I d-did not meant to assume-" she stuttered while trying desperately to remember how much of a faux pas it was to call someone a necromancer. "It's just, well, the ghosts, and the fact that you are inside a shadowland... You seem familiar with the place."
Fortunately, he doesn't want seem to want to cut my throat and feed my blood to his ghost-manse. That's a relief.
"I, hm," she added, hesitant. "I heard your name somewhere, didn't I?" Ryanno, Ryanno, Ryanno... Right! "Of course! You belong to the family that ruled the city, is that it? Rules, I mean! You still rule it. I did not mean to imply that... Oh god I am a terrible diplomat. Please forgive me."

She would never be able to describe this mess to her Lady Cygnes. Why her, of all people? The helmet concealed her blushing, but that was about all it did to help her crushing embarassment.

[industrious]

Russet

"Oh, I like him already."

Russet sees a problem with the statement, though.

"But do I actually have authority here? I mean, I'm supposed to be married to someone I haven't met whose supposedly an Important Person here, but I'm don't have any positions or anything, so...? I mean, I'm Exalted, but that just means I got picked by the Dragons, right? Cygnes, or Most Honorable Cygnes, or you know what I mean, ...I'm sorry, etiquette isn't my strong suit. Should I go with you for the strategy-ing or not?"


Being official and being formal are both things Russet has negative Intimacies towards, so she's not being as high Charisma/Presence as she could be due to lack of experience and confidence.

[Maugan Ra]

"OK, lesson the first." Aria says to Russet, smirking a bit. "You have authority by virtue of being awesome. Etiquette is vastly overrated in my book, and if you're going to help fix this city - which you are, since you're apparently destined to marry into the nobility here and I will not accept you just sitting on your arse all day afterwards - you need to be involved from the get-go."

Aria is perfectly aware that her life experience as a career soldier and frontierswoman is showing, and that it will probably give any number of refined and proper individuals - possibly including Russet's handler - a heart attack. She is also aware that, quite frankly, she just does not care.

[Arpista]

Not offended. Oh, good. Another point for Aria, if not necessarily for on her side, at least for effective.

And killed some of... "I do not blame the garrison commander," Cygnes states, "in the least. I would... not be pleased, myself. Nevertheless, we may need her. A Sorcerer is probably too useful to simply -" Kill. And do you really want to say that in front of everyone here? That you would happily execute her if she wasn't so useful, for killing those men? That only pure utility holds back your hand? "- write off. Although the same principle makes her a dangerous opponent. We will need to speak with her and see. I do not know if reintegration is possible - if she's turned completely pirate, I doubt it will be. If she's trying to take care of her troops by any means necessary, perhaps upset the city she feels she is protecting isn't willingly supporting her..." There had been a lot of demotions in that record. And commendations. A very skilled officer, constantly demoted for insubordination - could, would, resentment grow? Maybe. Maybe. The Fire Aspect pauses, one hand tapping against her armored thigh; she resists the temptation to reach for the comfort of Eternity. Whatever it symbolizes to her, reaching for a weapon at present would create entirely the wrong impression. "... In that case, we may be able to negotiate. We can at least see. In the meantime, let's talk to this superior."

She turns to Russet. "Most Honorable Russet, you are the closest person to authority in the government proper currently present - both Commander Ruvana and I are military, properly speaking, although my orders included governmental functions if they were not being filled, but that is irrelevant. Furthermore, you are one of, to my knowledge, five Dragon-bloods presently in Tianrasia. You should most certainly come with us. I would-" she hesitates, turning to Kailea "-request you do the same, if your duties permit. I would welcome your voice." And I probably need your help. She turns to address the group. "This place has a number of serious problems, and fixing them will take everyone who is willing to help. So I agree with the commander." She nods to Aria.

[Aevylmar]

Palace District

It is not the fanciest building that the guard officer leads them to, but a quiet, simple stone block, with regularly-spaced windows, placed and colored as to fade into the background, surrounded by multi-tiered geneteched constantly-flowering cherry trees.

Pair-by-pair the guards take leave of the forces, until eventually the officer leads them through the door of the building (where the last two stand sentry outside) and towards a reasonably pleasant office, where a blue-haired young man with a painfully neat appearance sits at a desk, surrounded by stacks of paperwork taller than he is.

"Greetings and salutations, Niwa," he says without looking up, and only then raises his eyes. He seems to lose his train of thought.

"Ah - welcome, most honored lords!" he stands up and bows double. "What may I do for you?"

Xeifan

Sei shrugs, politely avoiding calling attention to her dismay. "Don't worry about it. It's an obvious assumption to make, and, really, we aren't ruling Tianrasia any more - nobody's ruling Tianrasia, unless you came with an army."

He leans against the balcony, treating the now-quiet ghosts as if they weren't there. "So, did you come with an army, or is it just one talented artificer scouting out the shadowlands?"

[Mechanix]

Xeifan blushed again at the suggestion that she was "talented" and being compared to a scout, rather than a crafter who relied on her tools to do most of her job. Then again, she probably was a scout for this very reason. After all, through her personal magic or her armor, what mattered was that she got the job done. She quickly tried to change the subject from her to avoid further embarassment:

"We did! We did come with an army! The Honorable Cygnes has men, I think, and Aria of Gens Ruvana is a... I don't remember her rank, but she has I think a few hundred soldiers? She was in a horse transport. I don't know about an army, but if that is not enough they will probably be able to help train the survivors here, and... Having five Chosen of the Dragons is a good thing in itself, isn't it? I am sure together we will be able able to help Tianrasia. Two of us are fighters, probably - not me, though - and... Kailea of... I left before she could tell me what she was doing here anyway. There was also the last one, Russet of Gens... Xianfu? Bianfu? She was here to marry someone very important, I believe.

I had never thought things would be so grim. This - this Manse, this wonderful thing, tainted... This is a tragedy. And all those poor people who are now ghosts too, of course."

But mostly the Manse.

[Arpista]

Cygnes nods to him politely, her stance military but practical. "I'd like a report on the situation, please - specifically, the whereabouts of Ryanno Sei - and any other survivors of Gens Ryanno, for that matter - and how he got there. I'd also like any available information on the general situation of the city. My name is Arys Cygnes, and I've been sent as acting Taimyo - I can provide you the paperwork now or later, as you prefer. I was planning to coordinate with the surviving Ryanno heir, but I arrived here to be told he'd been kidnapped...? Or have I misunderstood?" The ghost is not the person, but the ghost resembles the person, and shares many of the person's goals. Daimyo Ryanno Eiyo, what did you want? She keeps her eyes on the... superior? Secretary? Just who is... "And may I know to whom I am speaking, please?"

[Aevylmar]

Xeifan

Ryanno Sei listens quietly. "I'm glad to hear that you brought reinforcements. Tianrasia needs reliable leaders. And you say that this was... Bianfu Russet? I had thought a lady named Bianfu Xujia was coming; my niece had been hoping for word of her arrival."

His voice becomes hesitant when she gets to the Manse.

"This Manse hasn't worked since the First Age; the geomancy changed when the Anathema were killed. There's a smaller crafter's manse in the palace district that still used; I heard that it was sold recently?"

The behemothlike powered armor below shouts something extremely profane in what you suspect is the extreme barracks dialect of Seatongue, grabs the shade it was speaking with, and throws it generally skywards. Sei facepalms.

"I'm sorry, but it looks like I may need to sort that out. I'll make sure to see that a formal embassy gets sent."

Without another word, he leaps over the balcony and vanishes into the gloom.

The Palace District

His eyes close for a moment and he mouths a heartfelt prayer.

(R) "My name is Kanryo Yori. I'm the Third Logothlete of the treasury, currently acting as chancellor. And thank all the gods that you're here, Taimyo!"

He takes a long breath. "The Most Eminent Acting Daimyo Ryanno Sei, youngest son of the Most Eminent Daimyo Ryanno Eiyo, has been kidnapped by the shade of the Most Eminent Daimyo Ryanno Eiyo using military force and a surprise assault to kidnap the Most Excellent - most Eminent Acting Daimyo Ryanno Sei when diplomacy failed to deliver him into her hands." He inhales. "The Most Eminent Acting Daimyo responded to the use of force with the following statement -" and his voice changes to a thoroughly aristocratic dialect - "You need not worry. I am certain this misunderstanding will be sorted out with all due swiftness."

"That was weeks ago, and we still haven't heard from him."

[Mechanix]

"All right, I..." and then he was gone. Puzzling.

At least the place was safe. The ghosts weren't cannibalistic monsters bent on rending the flesh of the living upon obsidian altars. Maybe she shouldn't be so scared of them!

She caught a glimpse of the enormous armor down below. Yeah. Not today.

So much for using the Manse, then. At least for the while. She should check up on the rest of the city, but... That had been a pretty taxing experience, and she had learned important stuff. An important member of the ruling family was here and seemingly ruling over the ghosts! Also the Manse was broken. She had to relay that to her Lady.

Without further ado, Xeifan made for the outside, where she would track down Arys Cygnes to do her report.

[Arpista]

Readjusting...

Either he believed it, or he was playing morale. If it was morale, Kanryo won't be able to tell me - if it was morale, it worked. If he believed it, we need to reconsider.

"All right. A pleasure to meet you, Acting Chancellor. I'll want to talk to you about government and organization later, particularly with regard to troops. So the Most-"Excellent or Eminent? - He's Exalted. Well. This is very good, and very bad. "-Eminent Acting Daimyo felt that he had the situation under control, but you haven't heard back from him, and you're worried. Perfectly reasonable. I think our first step should then be to attempt to contact the Most Eminent Acting Daimyo, or possibly the shade of the Most Eminent Daimyo if the former is not practical. Other opinions?" She glances around at the other Exalts. "Oh, and may I confirm - according to the information I was given before I set sail, the Most Eminent Acting Daimyo had not yet drawn his Second Breath. I gather that is no longer the case?"

On the bright side, if he's Exalted, we have one more Exalt - and he's much less likely to need rescuing. On the less bright side, if he's Exalted, then an Exalted scion of Ryanno is much more likely to get prickly about a scion of Arys waltzing in and seizing military command, Shogun's orders or no. This is about to get political...

Or maybe he'll be as sensible as everyone else has seemed to be. Don't jump to conclusions. The future will be what it will be. Focus on now.

[Aevylmar]

He hesitates.

"I am afraid that he has still not drawn his Second Breath, or if he has, that he has done so in the Underworld."

"The main Shadowlands are centered around the hospital, across the Soldiers' Way. In my powers as acting chancellor according to the Codex of Chancellery Tradition, I withdrew salt to eliminate those shadowlands that formed within the Place District."

"And, begging your pardon, Taimyo, the only troops that have remained loyal are the fifty survivors of the Palace Guard. All other soldiers are believed to be renegade along with their surviving officers."

[Arpista]

Cygnes nods, accepting the information without outwards reaction. Blast. Well, there's still the chance he will. And a sufficiently willful mortal can still be powerful. "Thank you. Under the circumstances, I approve. Did the shade of the Most Eminent Daimyo Ryanno Eiyo take this as an attack or declaration of war?"

Renegade. But Aria said... Of course they rallied to the dragon-blooded general and not to some bureaucrat. From their perspective. "I'm glad to hear the Palace Guard has remained loyal. Commander Aria Ruvana -" she nods to Aria "- has recovered a significant number of the renegade troops; we'll speak to the others shortly. What else should we know about the situation?"

Actually, I should probably wait for Aria, Russet and Kailea to go further...

[Maugan Ra]

"Varying definitions of loyalty, I think." Aria explains. "It happens sometimes - the veteran military deciding that the civilian authority they are meant to answer to does not actually know what it is doing. More frequently in highly troubled times."

She coughs. "Certainly, they did not express... great respect for the capabilities of the palace guard."

[The_Snark]

Earlier

Kailea nods at the taimyo's request. "Of course, Most Honored Cygnes. I know something of ghosts; my people do not often have dealings with them, but our priests pass down what we have learned over the years. I hope it may be of use."

But the man they are meeting speaks the Shogunate language, not the Western tongue. With no hope of following the conversation, Kailea busies herself studying faces. Cygnes is outwardly composed, of course; she has the feeling that the acting-taimyo almost always is. Men (and women, she supposes) like that make good chiefs. The neat man at the desk is obviously glad to see them, which she interprets as a good sign, but also worried, which is not. Ruvana Aria is calm, mostly. The one called Russet... Kailea looks her over more carefully, trying to decipher that expression.

Russet is hard to figure out because I don't think Industrious has posted in this conversation yet. Will edit impressions if needed!

Oh, uh, suppose I may as well roll Perception+Socialize to see if Kailea gleans anything beyond the obvious: [roll0]

[Arpista]

It is all Cygnes can do not to cough politely herself. Yes, Commander Ruvana. I know. The palace guard probably also knows. And telling them what a low opinion the soldiers have of them will really help with smoothing things over. All she does, however, is smile politely. "Unfortunately true. Hopefully, our presence and the safe return of the Acting Daimyo will help in restoring harmony."

Which is about as long as it takes her to realize how confused Kailea looks. Of course, she doesn't speak Realm. Cygnes switches quickly to Seatongue. "This gentleman is Kanryo Yori. He's..." she searches for words. "A treasury official, Third Logothlete-" she switches to Realm for that one word "-acting as chancellor, so in charge, by the correct forms of succession. He's just told us that the kidnapping was in fact military - a surprise assault, when diplomacy failed - but the Most Eminent Ryanno Sei, who is the Acting Daimyo, was not overly upset and assured them that the misunderstanding would shortly be sorted out. This was two weeks ago, however, and the Acting Chancellor is naturally concerned. He also confirmed that when last he encountered the Acting Daimyo, the Acting Daimyo had not yet drawn his Second Breath, which unfortunately may impair his ability to defend himself - though the fact that the shade is his mother and he was not worried is hopeful news for his safety. The Chancellor tells us the main shadowlands are around the hospital - those here, he salted, in accordance with traditional policy. We are now discussing troops - there are fifty men of the palace guard still loyal here, and they consider the troops Commander Ruvana just gathered to be renegade. We're working that out. In the meantime, I suggested that we attempt to contact ideally the acting Daimyo, otherwise the shade of the Daimyo-his-mother, peacefully. Perhaps after we have acquired troops, however. I would welcome your advice. Ah - sorry about the language - I will try to translate as we go."

She turns back to the Chancellor, and falls back into her native tongue. "Apologies; the godspeaker is newly come to Tianrasia, and does not speak Realm yet. That reminds me, her people will need a place to stay. I planned to speak to the Acting Daimyo about it, but as it appears that will take some time, could arrangements be made in the meantime? She said there were... three hundred thirty-four, as I recall. Island folk, mostly fishers." And back to Seatongue. "The Acting Chancellor is probably the one who can help you with settling your people. I've mentioned the matter to him - I hope you do not mind, but I thought it best, as you indicated they needed shelter as soon as possible." She wants Kailea staying here, oh yes.

Sorry if Cygnes is running away with Kailea's project! She's just seeing it as a quick opportunity to help out a fellow Exalt and demonstrate her good will. Also, next time, should I just say "Cygnes summarizes?" Writing a Cygnes-voice summary was interesting, but I can see it would get very tiresome to read, especially over time.

Edit: Kailea might catch Cygnes being just slightly frustrated at the beginning there.

[Aevylmar]

"Thank you. Under the circumstances, I approve. Did the shade of the Most Eminent Daimyo Ryanno Eiyo take this as an attack or declaration of war?"

(R) "Ah…" He twiddles a pen absent-mindedly. "That did not arise in the conversation."


"I'm glad to hear the Palace Guard has remained loyal. Commander Aria Ruvana -" she nods to Aria "- has recovered a significant number of the renegade troops; we'll speak to the others shortly. What else should we know about the situation?"


"Varying definitions of loyalty, I think." Aria explains. "It happens sometimes - the veteran military deciding that the civilian authority they are meant to answer to does not actually know what it is doing. More frequently in highly troubled times."

He raises an eyebrow. (R) "Were these the soldiers that had looted the Seaside district and driven out the inhabitants, the pirates who have been raiding villas and villages all across the isle, or the Tyrant of Eastgate's new royal army? I do not think that the actions of any of these forces can be justified under any variety of loyalty."


"Apologies; the godspeaker is newly come to Tianrasia, and does not speak Realm yet. That reminds me, her people will need a place to stay. I planned to speak to the Acting Daimyo about it, but as it appears that will take some time, could arrangements be made in the meantime? She said there were... three hundred thirty-four, as I recall. Island folk, mostly fishers."

He smiles, switching briefly to clumsy Seatongue to include her in the conversation. (S) "Weaken always use more settlers. They could ease silbe settled in a fistfull of fishing and farming villages along the coast of one district, replacing now-deceased or defled inhabitants."

[Arpista]

(R) "Ah…" He twiddles a pen absent-mindedly. "That did not arise in the conversation."

Uh huh. "And in the actions taken by the local ghosts since? How have they been behaving? Are they united?" I need to know this one. Are you dodging, or just ignorant?


He raises an eyebrow. (R) "Were these the soldiers that had looted the Seaside district and driven out the inhabitants, the pirates who have been raiding villas and villages all across the isle, or the Tyrant of Eastgate's new royal army? I do not think that the actions of any of these forces can be justified under any variety of loyalty."

First or third. All right, make looted and driven out into "comandeered" and make "Tyrant of Eastgate" into "someone has to organize this chaos." Still doesn't sound very good - we'd better talk to him fast - but it's manageable. "...I see. Nevertheless, in a disaster like the Contagion, things break down. If we can return the soldiers to their duties and restore discipline, that will naturally be the ideal solution." I am not throwing away an elite cadre of fighting men because you disapprove of their behavior. "We will, of course, need to settle any disputes that have occurred in the meantime, although... properly, we would want the Daimyo for that, so that may wait upon his recovery." Although we have Russet. What is her status? What she makes of it, probably. She turns back to Kailea, translating quickly. "He says the question of how the shade of the Daimyo took the salting of shadowlands did not arise, so I've asked of the ghosts' behavior since. And we're discussing the soldiers - apparently, they've all taken rather extreme actions. We'll need to discuss it with them personally and try to reintegrate them. My job is to fix this city, not mete out due punishment for actions taken in a state of social collapse." Possibly too emphatic - but you're saying it in front of Russet, and much of it will be her choice, not yours. Making sure she knows the arguments for your preferred outcome could be useful. She considered, then continued in that language, "My next priority, I think, is talking to the militia. Commander Ruvana, Most Honorable Russet, Kailea? Would you prefer to join me, or do you have your own people - or projects - to see to? If not, I would welcome your company."

[The_Snark]

Kailea's smile contains equal parts gratitude and embarrassment for Cygnes' translations. "Thank you, Acting Taimyo, but I fear I would only be a burden if this 'militia'," she pronounces the unfamiliar word carefully, "is of your people. I will have to learn your language quickly if we are to settle here, it seems. But the ghosts... I could be of more help there, I believe; I could even summon the shade of the old daimyo if you think it wise. She may be offended, especially since I am not of her blood, but we would not have to enter tainted ground to speak with her."

The smile she bestows on Kanryo Yori, by contrast, is sunny and entirely genuine. She isn't about to hold his awkward speech against him, considering she speaks not a word of his native tongue. "Thank you, chancellor. A home along the coast would suit very well."

[Arpista]

"Ah... a militia will mostly likely speak Seatongue - it is the speech of most of the people. But the choice is yours. I would not recommend summoning the shade of the Daimyo, however. She would-" Cygnes stops, fighting the urge to say something unwise. "... Likely be very offended, and offending her is extremely risky, especially while she holds the Acting Daimyo. I would prefer to take the risk of tainted ground. However, I am most grateful for the offer; it may well be useful in the future. There will be many ghosts."

[Maugan Ra]

"I'll come along, yes. This is probably one of those things that we need to get resolved quickly." Aria says, deliberately not showing much in the way of a reaction to the talk of loyalty or lack thereof.

[Aevylmar]

"And in the actions taken by the local ghosts since? How have they been behaving? Are they united?"

He hesitates. "Neither I nor any of my men have had encounters with the ghosts since the kidnapping. I really can't help you."

It is around this point that Niwa, who had quietly bowed herself earlier, returns with a presently-visible Xeifan in tow.

"Taimyo? She wanted to talk to you?"

All the PCs in one place, however briefly. Cherish the moment.

[Arpista]

That hesitation.

Can't, or won't? Cygnes is silent a moment, studying the man intently, putting together clues. The hesitation, the emphasis on the authority backing one specific action. Probability of coincidence equals...? She quickly ran through her memories of the last few minutes, checking and reviewing; had that tone been a little too casual, had he been fiddling with the pen only absent-mindedly, or nervously? Dangerous to suspect the man, especially since he'd been nothing but helpful up to now, but... our ghosts showed up at once. And these ones - including the Daimyo's shade - just grabbed the Acting Daimyo and ran?

I need to know.

Her concentration is broken by Xeifan's arrival; she turns, smiling. Oh, good. See? No reason to worry. "Ah, certainly. Thank you kindly. Welcome, Most Honorable Xeifan. How did your look at the city go?"

Perception+Investigation to see if he's telling the truth - Cygnes finds his story highly implausible, however nice he's been so far. [roll0] plus potential stunt [roll1]

[Mechanix]

Xeifan removed her helmet and breathed out slowly, slightly shaky on the ground after flying in a straight line from the Manse. She walked at a brisky pace towards her Taimyo, and bowed nervously.
"Fairly well, My Lady Cygnes. However, I am afraid I am a bearer of ill news. I had a chance to take a look at the whole of Tiransia, and... Well, I assume you are aware of some of what I am about to say, but nevertheless. The rich souther district is almost entirely abandonned. The poorer northwestern quarter still has a large number of inhabitants, though they seem to stay away from the main road for some reason. The expansion of the city beyond the eastern walls has been burnt to ruins. Far to the east, there are farms, though I cannot tell if they are still inhabited." She sighed, passed a hand over her forehead, and politely asked a nearby servant if she could get a glass of water.
"...more importantly, a large part of the southern city is now a shadowland. This includes parts of the inner citadel and, most importantly, the Realm-ear Factory Manse that was once the pride of this city. I had time to investigate it, and it is currently unusable, and presumably tainted with necrotic energies by the shadowland. The shadowland itself is, for lack of a better word, bustling with ghosts. The majority of them did not notice me, but they were in great number, and what looked like empty animated armors - ghosts themselves - stood guard around the Factory-Manse, leading me to believe that there is a powerful hierarchy organizing the dead in the city. This is corroborated by my meeting with a man whom I assume is a living Dragon-Blood, for he was wearing Gunshoza armor and a jade direlance, and acted as if he were in charge of the ghosts. He was quite friendly, and I believe related to the ruling aristocracy, as his name was Ryanno Sei, I believe."

[industrious]

Russet

"WHAT?!"

That...was not a good way to make a first impression. Russet blushes, opens her mouth, then closes it.

"...sorry. Um. That's not good. Right? I'm not the only one kind of freaking out here? I thought ghosts were supposed to be rare, and not-organized, and definitely not led by a crazy mother-in-law-to-be. Or the person who's actually supposed to be in charge of living people."

[Aevylmar]

Cygnes

He's concealing something. Something very important, probably having to do with the ghosts.

And there are still shadowlands in the Palace District. Didn't he say he'd gotten rid of them?

Xeifan

There being no servants in the room, the guard officer - Niwa something - opens the door, signals one of the guards outside, and then returns to listening.

Yori

His face goes white at Xeifan's testimony, and then she mentions the name and he smiles for a moment, caught between two conflicting emotions. Panic wins out.

"Taimyo! I - I gave the order to salt those shadowlands! I have the paperwork showing I gave the order! If it didn't get done, it's because the people who were supposed to carry it out were dead, and their replacements were too busy!

New map time, for the tiny handful of people who care about maps, this one talking about what Xeifan saw:

Tianrasia Map, Revised. (https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1369VG2zZUAxB4adCMbI96BVmUTBd3ULnHeHeFLnBMpk/edit)

[industrious]

Russet

"So let me get this straight."

Official was not Russet's strong suit. She couldn't tell you what a Taimyo was to begin with, for starters, much less their duties and obligations.

Thankfully, this problem was solved for her; the man standing before her had already confessed to not doing what he was supposed to.

"You told us that you salted the shadowlands. And then Xeifan here actually goes outside your cozy little office and tells you that guess what, there are still shadowlands here, and a distinct lack of salt. I mean, paperwork is just stuff on paper. What matters is that it's actually stuff that is right in the real world...you know what I mean. Just because I'm not a fancy educated person doesn't mean I don't know when I'm being messed with. And because I'm not a fancy educated person, I tend to solve my problems by punching them in the face."

She moves to the desk the Chancellor is sitting at, and sits down on top of it, staring at him closely with purple eyes and a fake-peppy tone on her lips.

"So! Got anything you want to tell us? I'm all ears!"

[Aevylmar]

He gives her a frustrated, terrified glare. (S) "I'm - not - hiding - anything! I thought the shadowlands in the Palace District had been salted! I'm an overpromoted clerk trying to do every job in the city and I only survived because I'm friends with Sei and I ****ed up!"

Chissoku looks shocked at this barracks-room language. (R) "You should not speak that way to the lady Bianfu Xujia, logothlete!" Her gaze promises equal reckoning for Russet.

Niwa drops her helmet with a metallic clatter. "Xujia?"

Russet gets a two-die stunt. And a negative intimacy from Yori.

[industrious]

Russet

"Russet. Or Xujia, depending if we're being strictly formal or we actually want to be friends. Friendly. Buddies. Anyway, if you have something to say to Bianfu Xujia, hold on, because Russet Crowned in Amethyst just messed up bad."

"Yori..."

She hops off the desk, and kneels by him. Yes, it's against most-okay, all-of her Gen-tastic training, but she isn't heartless. She punched from the hip, and sometimes you don't always hit when that happens.

"...I'm sorry for bullying you. I just get frustrated when people try to hide things from me and try to go behind my back when about stuff relating to me. I just got here, and Sei, who I'm supposed to get married to, is not where he's supposed to be. And I don't want his friend to be mad at me because both of us are worried about him. Unless you're not, in which case, I don't know if I should be?"

Russet takes a deep breath, exhales through pursed lips.

"Chissoku, get some of my civilities teachers or someone over here to help him out with his clerking-related duties? Or protocol ad things are probably going to be mishandled, not by me this time, and then the world will end. Or something."

The Dragon-Blood rubs at her temples.

"I am so not cut out for official-dom."

[Aevylmar]

Yori sighs, offering her his hand. "Don't worry about it. Just... Thank you. Now I understand why he was so worried."

Chossku bows politely to Russet. "Certainly, my lady. I shall leave you in the hands of the Most Honorable Taimyo." She sweeps out of the room, collecting her retainers as she does.

Niwa picks up her helmet, returning to a more official posture.

[Arpista]

"Why who was so worried?" Cygnes asks quietly, keeping her eyes on the official.

Ryanno Sei. Ryanno Sei is alive and well. Good, good...

She switches fluidly to Realm as she turns to the Air Aspect. "My lady Xiefan. Ryanno Sei is the Acting Daimyo of this city; we were informed that he had been kidnapped by the shade of his mother, the Daimyo Ryanno Eiyo. I am extremely glad to hear you spoke to him - and he seemed to be in charge? Not under compulsion? Did he mention any way to get in contact with him?"

Her gaze sweeps to Russet, and she shifts back into Seatongue. "Normally, you are correct about ghosts. With the Contagion... When an entire society dies, its people may maintain their structure in the underworld." Don't go into it. You cannot afford to get upset now. "We encountered it multiple times in the process of clearing the Blessed Isle." She starts to go on, then stops. Not now. It will make it hard for Russet. The kid's making a good start; let her have it. And besides, he may only have been hiding the favoritism that got him his job... maybe. Possibly. "... I think asking your companions to help is an excellent idea, by the way, Most Honorable Russet." Her gaze drifts to the chancellor, and her speech reverts to Realm. "It would be prudent, next time, to check whether your orders actually get carried out - particularly such important ones. But I understand that you are overworked. I think we had better investigate why they did not." Or whether they did not. "It may shed some light on the ghosts' lack of direct communication. Or objection." After a moment of consideration, she translates that last bit for the others. (S)"We may want to look into why the shadowlands weren't salted - the ghosts may have been active more indirectly than was realized." Back to Realm. "To whom did you give the order?"

Botches are fun!

[Mechanix]

All this was going too fast for her. She'd only been back after leaving the other Exalted on the ships, and obviously much had went on while she spent an hour circling in the skies; in the grand picture of the day, the only important part for her had been this short meeting.
No. She rejected the thought of being useless; she had brought valuable information. She was a worthy servant to her Taimyo. She breathed slowly and looked around her, trying to get a sense of the situation.
"Pardon me, Honorable Taimyo. I seem to lack knowledge of the current situation. Was Ryanno Sei not supposed to be there? He did not seem compelled in any way; in fact, as far as it can be said with the armor concealing his features, he seemed cheerful, and not surprised to see another Chosen - though he was glad that we brought military reinforcement with us. He left me to solve a conflict between ghosts before I could ask a more thorough explanation; had I known this was so important, I would have stayed. I apologize for my lack of foresight."

[Aevylmar]

"To whom did you give the order?"

Yori sighs. "I sent it to the present Gentleman-Preserver of Geomantic Elegance of the Department of the Grounds, with an included requisition form from the Department of Granaries and Storehouses, which could be processed by any living clerk. Ah... Shall I see about tracking this down now?"

He looks eager to leave his office to the rapidly-arguing demigods and get on with his work.

[Arpista]

Can I trust him? If it was a mistake, he can find out where he went wrong. If it wasn't...

Then he runs, in which case we're rid of him, or he tries to fake it and we catch him - and I can prove it. Yes. Let's go with that option.

(S)"As far as I am concerned, yes. But you should really consult the Most Honorable Russet." Cygnes nods politely to her, then turns to Xeifan. Right, of course, she hasn't been here. Briefing time, then.

(R)"You need not apologize, either for the question or for your actions; bringing us the information was extremely important, and if you are missing information you need, I need to know that so I can give you it - first principle of most commands. I'll make this brief - stop me if you have questions. When we arrived here, we were informed that the Acting Daimyo, Ryanno Sei, had been kidnapped by the shade of his mother - that she had used force when negotiation had failed - that this had been two weeks ago, and his people here did not know whether he was alive or dead. We were just determining how to resolve this situation when you arrived. In addition, the military forces seem to have splintered into four factions. One group set themselves up quite illegally in the Seaside district and stand accused of looting, another are led by someone referred to as 'the Tyrant of Eastgate' who may be setting himself up as ruler, in the absence of any official authority not kidnapped by ghosts, another are led by a god-blooded captain called Baeles Umisume, said to be a Sorcerer - though it's not in her record, so I suspect it is fairly recent if so - who stands accused of looting and raiding, both up and down the coast and an attack on the city. In addition, there's a militia enforcing a rather emphatic quarantine - avoid them if you don't want to be shot, at least while visible. Not that I expect it would do much, but still. I'm inclined to find out the details before I act on any accusations - in a time of crisis, with everything falling apart, extreme and... unwise actions can often be taken, and especially in those seeking to preserve the common welfare, a certain amount of boldness is worthy of pardon. So long as we ensure that such actions are not taken again." The Taimyo paused a moment to catch her breath. What else? Oh, yes. "This is Kanryo Yori, Acting Chancellor, who was just telling us the situation when you arrived. He has agreed to make provision for Kailea's people, and was just telling us about salting the shadowlands." In a tone no more accented than the rest of the summary; Cygnes wondered whether the girl was practiced enough to get the implications. Which he either lied about, or failed to do. Be wary of relying on any information coming purely from him. (R)"That's all I can think of - ah, except that Commander Ruvana has recruited some of the troops to our cause - Eastgate or the seaside district troops, I am not certain which." She nods politely to Aria. (S) "Which, by the way, commander?" Back to Xeifan, and back to Realm. "Questions?"

[Mechanix]

"N-no question, My Lady. Thank you for this thorough explanation. If I may attempt to sum this up - the city is without official leadership and divided into four factions, plus the shadowland? That is certainly a problem. Has no attempt be made at diplomacy with the ghosts? With such a powerful presence and what I assume is the only Exalted in the region under their command, salting the shadowland might prove not merely impossible, but self-destructive, starting up a civil war." This was not political acumen Xeifan was showing here; her memories of the Contagion and of the failed attempt at salting shadowlands turning into all-out war between the living and the dead were quite vivid. "Or so I assume, but I am no politician or general. If I may be of any use whatsoever in solving this predicament, I remain your faithful servant, My Lady Cygnes."

[Aevylmar]

Yori glances at Russet for confirmation that he can carry out his bureaucratic tracking attempt.

Niwa coughs politely. "If I may, Most Honorable Xeifan, there are five factions. The Guard still defends the Palace District, and our blades are at your service."

[Mechanix]

This time there was no helmet to conceal her blushing. "Yes, that is what I meant. Four factions beside this one. Or... Oh, well. I apologize. I am assuming the palace district is safe, then? Good. I guess the Honorable Commander Aria and all other military personal will have to take back the city bit by bit... My god. So much work." She closed her eyes, frowned, strengthening her resolve. "But we are the Blood of the Dragon. Failure is not in our nature." She stood up, more firm, more resolute, ready to do whatever needed to be done. "My Lady Cygnes, do you have any orders for me?"

[Arpista]

Yes. Oh, yes. Truly the Blood of the Dragon.

Cygnes nods firmly; she does not smile broadly, but she cannot quite keep the sparkle out of her eyes. (R) "Indeed. You are quite correct about the shadowlands. What is your experience with diplomacy? Alternately, how would you feel about... if Umisume is a Sorcerer, she'll have a good chance of spotting you through invisibility, but the others not so much. How would you feel about taking a look at Eastgate, see how they seem to be functioning - justly or unjustly, treating survivors well or ill? Any other observations you could make about the extent of the shadowlands - particularly ones other than the primary - as well as how the ghosts are treating people around them would also be useful. Before we can decide on what terms we shall deal with them, we must know on what terms they will deal with the city - and past performance provides at a minimum a strong signal for the future." Also a chance to check their word, if I ask them the same question and see how their answer compares to Xeifan's. She wonders if she ought to mention that. Probably not. "I will be heading to talk to the militia, then to Eastgate to talk to the army forces there, assuming nothing urgent comes up; you should be able to find me at one of those locations, or else - here, likely." For the first time since her arrival in Tianrasia, Cygnes feels confident - not struggling to stay on top of things, but actually in control. Certainly, there are plentiful problems, but she has plentiful resources too, and the pieces of the puzzle are coming together. And best of all, now she has someone she can trust. "Which reminds me. The ruined Factory Manse - is that the one you were promised? If so, how difficult will it be to repair? Surely a ruined manse is of less value to the ghosts than a functional one is to us... Something to keep in mind. For diplomacy with the shadowlands." After all, strengthening your allies is half of - anything. Besides, a working Factory Manse would be incredibly useful... if they can manage it. She pauses. "... if it is not the one you were promised, I still want to know how difficult it would be to repair. Factory Manses are incredibly useful. And we're going to need all the resources we can get."

She turns to Niwa. "Thank you. While you're here - how much do you know about the state of the city? Is the Contagion fully gone, or if you don't know, is there anyone who would?" Also, I'll need a room for my papers and chest, but that can wait. I can always sleep on the boat if I have to. And she doesn't want to bother the guard with a matter that clearly has nothing to do with the Palace Guard.

[Aevylmar]

(S)"As far as I am concerned, yes. But you should really consult the Most Honorable Russet."

Yori looks at the Most Honorable Russet. Her silence is conspicuous.


"Thank you. While you're here - how much do you know about the state of the city? Is the Contagion fully gone, or if you don't know, is there anyone who would?"

Niwa holds a parade-ground stance when Cygnes speaks to her. "Yes, Taimyo. The contagion is gone. It swept through the city, killing everyone it would kill over a month ago, and the Gaia's Wheel Engine would have destroyed any remnants of the disease."

[industrious]

Russet

Oh.

He's waiting on her.

Her permission.

Her leadership.

Hers.

Her responsibility.

Her fault if something goes wrong.

"Yes," she can hear herself say from a distance. "You have my permission to depart."

When Yori is away, she turns to Niwa.

"What did he mean by being afraid of me? I'm not that scary...am I?"

[Aevylmar]

Niwa looks at Russet, and Russet realizes that Niwa sees Bianfu Xujia.

"I can't say, Most Honorable Russet. How could anyone with the power to end his career and life at once be terrifying?" Her voice is completely bland.

[Arpista]

Cygnes smiles. The expression may be slightly edged.

Has the courage to stand up to Exalts - good, good. And that's a lesson Russet needs to know. She nods approvingly at Niwa. "Thank you. That will be useful for dealing with the militia and their... enthusiastic quarantine." She pauses. "... I don't actually blame them. The Contagion is..." She shakes her head. It can kill us. "Still. It's gone. Time to tell them that."

[industrious]

Russet

"But..."

She isn't the bad guy. She isn't the bully. She isn't the bad guy.

She isn't the bad guy.

She isn't.

She can't be.

Russet sits down in Yori's chair. It creaks.

[Arpista]

(S) "Power is a part of Exaltation." The Taimyo's voice is unusually gentle. "There is no avoiding it. The responsibility that it brings - that can be avoided, but the consequences are usually extremely unfortunate. I do not think you want to do that." She spreads her hands. "Which leaves learning to use it. That takes time. Training. But it is doable. Mistakes can, and should, be fixed. You are doing well with this one, I think. But power is frightening. Those willing to speak the truth to your face-" she inclines her head towards Niwa "-will always be a valuable resource. Sometimes, unfortunately, a rare one, though the just use of your power will help with that. But some will always be afraid.

"I am sorry."

[Mechanix]

"Ryanno Sei did mention another crafter's manse that had been sold recently, by which I assume he means mine. He said it was still functional, so I will be able to take up my duties as a crafter shortly, for which I am thankful. In the meantime, investigating the Eastgate sounds like something I could do. When things are less hectic and I am sure to access the Manse-Factory safely, I will provide you with a more detailed estimation of wether it can be repaired." So much to do. Xeifan massaged her temples and let the others talk for a bit, finishing the cup of water that had been brought to her. All this mess, this frantic running around, was a bit too much. Russet seemed to feel it too - she looked compassionately at the young woman. "I.." she began, but stopped, hesitating. She sat next to her, trying to find her words. "If I may... When I was a child, I stole something from my parents' cellar. A servant got punished for it, because no one thought I could be responsible. I... I learned that day that even a careless whim, a childish action could destroy a life when it comes from one of us. We are blessed, Chosen by the Dragons. This brings a great responsibility; each one of our actions has grand, sometimes terrible repercussions. We must be careful of all our words and actions. This is why being invisible is so comfortable to me." She smiled weakly.

[Maugan Ra]

"Being scary can be useful, but if you don't feel comfortable doing it that way, there are other methods." Aria says to Russet in sympathy. "Setting a good example, be willing to help people with their problems, showing that you care for them... all sorts of ways. Just got to find the one that's best for you."

She glances at Xeifan. "That said, yes, there are always consequences for our actions. And if you screw up, other people pay." she says softly, some distant pain in her eyes. "I try to look at it in the inverse - no one else has the potential to help as many people as we do. It's the one thing that keeps me sane, usually."

[industrious]

Russet

"Thanks, girls."

She takes a deep breath, and tries to hum this tune that helped her practice kung fu. Not an actual mantra, maybe, but the shadow of it.

"Niwa. Umm...thanks. Really. That was good, and...yeah. That was good."

"So...we should probably formally announce ourselves. To the people at the Palace or something so everyone knows we're here and you're taking charge. See if anyone comes to us, first. That's how you know you're actually in charge.

[Arpista]

Cygnes simply nods in response to Russet's thanks, and responds to the Exalt in the same language.

"I'm not sure we want to slow down that much. We've introduced ourselves." She nods at Niwa, at Yori's desk. "Hopefully, we can trust them to pass it on. Eliminating confusion here is important, but less essential than eliminating it for the potentially-hostile military forces..." She pauses, seized by a thought. "Unless - you're leaving some of your people here, yes? They seem very skilled at formalities. It is not inappropriate to send an emissary with announcements, when one must oneself keep moving..."

[Aevylmar]

Niwa nods politely to Russet. "May I suggest, Taimyo, that the Most Dignified Bianfu Chissoku would be uniquely suited to the protocol of this occasion?"

[Arpista]

Cygnes smiles approvingly at Niwa. (S)"A most appropriate suggestion; she is, in fact, the very person I had in mind. Most Honorable Russet, do you suppose you could spare her?"

Yes, gladly, was her guess at the answer, unless the girl's most recent experience had put a little steel into her. But one did not commandeer other people's attendants without asking for their permission.

[industrious]

Russet

There were two problems with the (tempting, so very tempting) idea of foisting Chissoku off on the bureaucracy. The first one being that she didn't want to foist Chissoku on anyone; she really should be the only one to have to put up with her. The second one being that admitting that she did might reflect badly on her Gens.

...Wait. That wasn't really that much they could do about it, though, due to being hundreds thousands dozensa long way off.

"Sorry, bureaucracy." she mutters to herself in Old Realm.

"...An excellent idea, Most Honorable Cygnes."

Stumbling over the title again gave her an idea.

"So...here's an idea. Since we're the only Exalts left in the city, we need to put up a unified front. Us referring to each other with titles and addresses only separates us, why don't we drop the titles, at least when we're talking directly to each other? So, we insist on them for everyone else, because they aren't, but we show everyone that we are all equals as Exalts? I mean, we aren't, but since we come from so many different backgrounds this keeps people from dividing us. Like Chissoku."

[Arpista]

The Fire Aspect smiles briefly, warmly, at Russet's agreement. Then she tilts her head.

An interesting idea. Propaganda uses in both directions. Disrupts my use of names, but Kailea got the point, I think, and it's not a great loss. It will promote unity... Do we want to distinguish ourselves from everyone else, though?

(And yes, she meant it about inexperience, just saying that straight-out. Still...)

"An interesting idea... Russet, though I didn't quite catch the end of that? I would certainly have no objection to any Exalt in this room using my name." Which was incredibly reckless if they didn't return the favor, but sometimes you had to be. She smiles at Kailea. "Although naturally, I would say the same to any friend." She considers, glancing around the room. Niwa still present - yes, let's talk about unite-as-Exalts-above-the-common-people in front of the sensible, capable, mortal Guard Captain. She meets the woman's eyes a moment, with a slight smile; not supercilious, but warm, before looking around at the other Exalts. "How do others feel?"

[industrious]

Russet

"Thank you Cygnes! Oh! And Captain...you can call me Russet, too, though you might need to ask for everyone else? I'm just...it's not because of the whole solidarity thing. It's because you can totally call me out if I ever act like I acted with Yori again. Please? Because that's not who I want to be, and I don't want to be that way at all. "

[The_Snark]

Kailea feels very much the outsider as she listens to the conversation, even though more than half of it is in her native tongue. She doesn't know the customs here. She can't offer herself as emisssary to the daimyo's ghost or the renegade soldiers—she has neither the right nor the knowledge to speak for Tianrasia—and she doesn't know enough to help Kanryo Yori with his papers. And the idea that her blood and power are frightening is just as foreign. Of course God-Blooded and Dragon-Blooded have gifts that most people don't, but she's neither a warrior nor a chief. She doesn't fight. She doesn't pass judgment. Her people know her: she pleads with the spirits on their behalf, she presides at weddings and births, she cares for sick children and elders. During storm season she helps bring the catch in just like anyone else, and dances at the festival afterwards. Her children play with theirs. How could they be afraid of her? Why?

Things are very different, here in the Dragons' empire. Her heart goes out to Russet, clearly upset over it, but she doesn't understand the problem well enough to offer much comfort.

Cygnes' smile draws her back into the conversation a little. She returns it, and transfers it to Russet a little tentatively. "I am afraid that is not a fair trade, since I have only one title to speak of, and all of you have many. But you are welcome to call me Kailea, and I will call you by whatever name you prefer." She pauses. "Although... titles can be cumbersome, but some people are very impressed by them. It might be wise to use yours when dealing with Ryanno Eiyo and other spirits."

[Aevylmar]

Niwa smiles politely at Russet. "Thank you. Ah... I'm sorry for not introducing myself, but I'm not a captain. Second Lieutenant Niwa Zuka."

She turns to Kailea. "If I may, Godspeaker, I do not know if that would be necessary for the Daimyo. She relied on bonds of kith and kin to win her position; I do not think she would have great respect for a title claimed beyond the ability to enforce it."

She hesitates. "Though it would be wise when... if... you meet Rai-Zhi-Rya, or her replacement."

And on these words, Chissoku sweeps back in, a pair of minders at her back. "Greetings, Most Honorable Taimyo. Most Honorable Kazei. Most Honorable Bianfu Xujia. Most Honorable Xeifan Adara. Officer." She completely ignores Kailea. "Xujia, I have sent for your possessions and arranged the use of a room in the daimyo's guest suite; as your marriage has not yet been performed, anything closer would be unseemly. I have requisitioned several offices for your staff; we should be prepared to assist the logothlete before tomorrow. Is there anything else you wish, before you retire?"

[industrious]

Russet

Oh.

Well, this, at least, is a perfect opportunity.

"You are forgetting someone, Chissoku. Godspeaker Kailea, whose tongue I am speaking so that she is included, is also present in this room."

Kailea was nice to her. She wasn't going to let Chissoku snub her. And if she was able to use the woman's own protocols against her...well, that was just a bonus. A really big bonus...okay, fine it was a reason. She wasn't perfect.

"I also believe that Cygnes has a task for you as well."

Come on. Tell me about proper protocol with the Shogunate replacement-person. And then Cygnes gets to tell you we're buddies, and maybe you'll realize protocol isn't everything.

[Arpista]

Cygnes nods politely to Russet, accepting the younger Exalt's use of her name without even a wince. Instincts cry out, and are silenced; memories pull at her, and she ignores them. Russet is right. It is a very sensible tactic.

Niwa Zuka. Good to know the woman's name, less good to know that the Daimyo won't care a handful of copper coins about her title - but still, better than not knowing at all. Second lieutenant? Is there a captain, or has no one updated titles? She opens her mouth to ask - and then Chissoku walks in.

The sound of her name unaccompanied still grates, but the words that go with it make up for it. The Taimyo nods. "Indeed, I regret that official introductions may have been lacking. This is Godspeaker Kailea, who has brought her people here to seek refuge after the Contagion; Kailea, this is the Most Dignified Bianfu Chissoku." And thank goodness Niwa and Russet between them told me her name. She turns back to Chissoku, dropping directly into her formal speech - after all, Russet had recommended using titles with outsiders, and besides it's clearly the only way, with her - and continues, "We have need of an emissary to announce our presence here and the situation, as under the circumstances we must needs continue on to announce ourselves to the armed forces and assume command. The Most Honorable Russet has kindly approved the suggestion of yourself as said emissary, given your obvious experience with appropriate protocols. Will you accept this charge?"

[Aevylmar]

The outmaneuvered Chissoku looks back and forth between Kailea, Russet, and Cygnes.

"My apologies, Godspeaker. I will of course accept this charge, Most Honorable Taimyo. Thank you for your kindness in appointing me to this task."

She sweeps back out again, assistants still in tow.

[The_Snark]

Kailea smiles at Chissoku as they're introduced, spreading her hands to show she takes no offense at being left out. Russet and Cygnes are kind to include her in their discussions, but really she's just a petitioner here. Understandable that she might be overlooked.

As the noblewoman leaves, Kailea turns back to Niwa. "Thank you," she says seriously. "I would not like to put a foot wrong with the daimyo, when we meet her. If I may ask, who is Rai-Zhi-Rya?"

[Aevylmar]

Niwa turns to Kailea. "You're welcome. She is, or was, the city-goddess. She was administering the hospital during the Contagion, but hasn't been seen since."

[Arpista]

Administering the hospital during the Contagion, vanished. Alright, we're almost definitely down one city goddess. On the other hand...

Godspeaker. Cygnes doesn't know much about gods; they were never her field. But Kailea, clearly, does. Maybe she knows enough to figure out what to do about a missing city goddess. She'll definitely be much more use there than assisting in calming down the people not of her culture, who don't speak her language; she learns fast, but... easier to work with skills you didn't learn five hours ago. "If you'd like to see if you can contact the local gods then, Kailea, and figure out the situation there, that would be excellent - as your responsibilities to your people allows, of course. Second Lieutenant Niwa Zuka - a pleasure to be introduced. Is there a captain around, or are promotions simply delayed?"

[Aevylmar]

Niwa's response is quick. "Thank you. To answer your question, the captain is dead, and there are no officers above my rank alive, but there is a senior lieutenant, Gadona Lu. Regrettably, he is in poor health and does not often leave his chambers."

[Arpista]

Cygnes nods. "Thank you." Loyalty to win, prerogative to consider. One cannot simply promote someone else's underling - even if she uses the excuse of Russet. "We'll likely want to speak to him later, see if we can sort out that situation... perhaps once the Acting Daimyo is safely home. In the meantime, we should go see about the militia. Russet, are you joining us? Kailea - I'll hope to see you soon." She nods politely to the godspeaker, looks back around. Aria, coming with she presumes. Xeifan has her own assignment - she spares a smile for her, before glancing back to the commander. "Shall we?"

Sorry for slowing things! Cygnes is now ready to move on.

[industrious]

Russet

"Fair warning. If they don't believe that the Contagion is gone, I will be punching things."

See? She was learning. Slowly.

[Arpista]

The Taimyo takes a quiet breath. To her credit, her voice is mild enough.

"I think we should give them a reasonable amount of time to accept and understand that the Contagion is gone - after all, it may be... a somewhat new idea to them, and given the risk to them if they accept the claim falsely, one worthy of a significant amount of consideration. If they refuse and open fire on us, a demonstration of strength certainly might not be amiss, thank you."

[Aevylmar]

Niwa raises a hand. "My apologies, Taimyo, but I wish to correct my statement. She has not been seen, but to the best of my knowledge she is not deceased. Her sanctum remains hidden, and her benefactions remain in effect."

She considers. "Taimyo, If the Godspeaker wishes more detail on the gods of Tianrasia, I could inform her, or forward her to an expert, while the rest of your circle investigates the militia, or whatever other business you have?"

[Arpista]

Cygnes smiles at the Second Lieutenant with real gratitude, adjusting her estimations upward; a living city god is much more useful than a dead one. "Excellent news. Please do so; that sounds like a fine plan to me, assuming the Godspeaker approves." She glances to Kailea for confirmation. She is kind of drafting the woman, but... it's her city too, now.

[The_Snark]

Kailea hesitates. "Of course, I would welcome the chance to learn more of your gods..." Oh, would she. Surely someone would have mentioned by now if any of the local spirits hated foreigners, or demanded sacrifices of anyone moving into a new home, but quirks short of blood sacrifice might be overlooked. "... but I do not want to leave my people waiting too long with no news; they will start to worry. I know you must see your city secure before you can make any promises to us, but..."

She bites her lip. As best she can tell, nobody here can give her people homes and promise that they'll be safe to live in; Cygnes and Russet are too new, and the guards and clerks haven't been outside in too long. The walls outside stand tall and strong, but the people within are crumbling. She hopes Cygnes and Russet and the others can fix that soon, but it may take some time. Until then...

No. If the tribes are to settle here, then maybe she had better start making sure it's a good home, too. Russet and the Taimyo have offered her the hand of friendship; time to repay them.

"I will stay for a while," she says with a decisive nod. "But before we speak of gods, I must ask - you mentioned a hospital? Is there any chance that we could move our sick there from the rafts? The Contagion has passed, but some of us are still weak, and the voyage was not kind to them."

[Aevylmar]

Niwa's response hesitates a moment. "There are two hospitals in the city, a larger hospital-manse across the road from the Palace District, and a smaller one near the Daimyo's residence. They are both shadowlands. We've set up some unused apartments as places for people to rest, but we have no doctors. How many of your people are ill?"

[Arpista]

Situation under control. Cygnes nods decidedly to Kailea and Niwa. "See if there is someone you can send to your people?" she suggests. "To set up short-term accommodations, perhaps, and to keep them up to date?" But it's more of a general suggestion. They're on the right track now; they'll be all right.

Time to do her job.

Ready to move on!

[Aevylmar]

Everyone But Kailea

As Kailea returns to her discussions with Niwa, the rest of the circle leaves the building, heading for the gate.

It is presumably at this point that Xeifan takes off, falling invisibly towards Eastgate. The remaining three - Russet, Cygnes, and Aria - make their way towards the False-River district in the northwest with the traditional speed of a small group of Exalts who want to be somewhere they're not. The people of Tianrasia do their best to simultaneously gawk, get out of the way, and occasionally ask each other "Who are those people?"

But there are enough who know who they are, and are interested, and are following, who manage to keep up. By the time the three reach the border of the False-River district, there are a couple dozen people staying some distance behind, watching.

Xeifan

Nobody seemed to notice as she flew invisibly over the eastern wall of the Old Town for the second time, though her Essence Sight did pick up the usual near-blinding glare of enchantments. A set of steps lead downwards from the gate; New Town was a story or two physically below Old Town, not being part of Zyantian's original construction.

New Town had, as had previously been mentioned, burned down. Occasional stone buildings remained standing, and she could spot pairs or trios of soldiers keeping watch from those standing buildings which offered a commanding view of the smoking ruins.

There were, she saw, shadowlands; small patches of the unhappy mist scattered hither and yon across the desolate ruins. On the other hand, patches of settlement were clearly visible on the northern and southern coasts of Old Town, even if they were some distance away to look, and there was a large fortified compound, clearly well-occupied, by the eastern gate of New Town.

False-River District

The False-River district was named that because, for whatever reason, Zyantian had decided he wanted a canal running through the city. The water was, indeed, clear, pure, and presumably had all the miasmas cleaned out of it by First Age engineering. The regular street grid ran bridges across it as if it wasn't there, with guardrails all around the canal to stop people from falling in. The false-river itself ran in a half-moon arc from perhaps a quarter-mile north of the harbor district to just south of the naval yards, a distance of perhaps a mile and a quarter.

It was also the center of an area of desolation. The buildings on either side had been knocked down by what may have been men with hammers or might have been siege weapons, leaving a desolate area of little cover for perhaps twenty yards on the city-side of the canal and closer to forty on the inner side. An extremely crude wall had been constructed (by nailing boards between houses, or, in some case, nailing boards between carts between houses) that ran the length of the false river on the other side of the area of desolation. Many of the bridges over the canal had been scattered with caltrops or at least random spiky things that would do as improvised caltrops.

There was a set of identical signs set in the cleared area, on the far side of the bridge, several dozen yards apart from each other, written in crude but passable Seatongue with characters large enough to read from the edge of the cleared area.

"QUARANTINE. CROSS AND DIE."

There were no people visible on the wall.

Feel free to make Perception+Awareness checks to try to spot people hiding on the other side of the wall. Or for any other reason, really.

[Maugan Ra]

Aria, seated on the back of her loyal horse once more (and feeling much better for it - familiarity is often a source of comfort) takes in the sight of the giant signs and chuckles slightly.

"I like it. Simple, easy to remember, no room for misinterpretation."

Meanwhile, her gaze is raking the crude fortifications with all the intensity of a trained and veteran sniper, looking for targets... well, things that might be targets. Best not to jump to conclusions.

Perception+Awareness: [roll0]

[The_Snark]

Kailea has to think. She should know every one of the people she's looking after, but there are hundreds, many of them all but strangers to her... "Two dozen? Three? Even if there are no healers, it would do them good to be under a roof and on solid ground. The sun and the waves are very bad for some kinds of sickness. And," she adds, "if you have wounded or sick I can visit them as well. I am not a miracle worker, but I have some skill as a healer."

[Arpista]

Cygnes nods. "Agreed."

The wall is haphazard, but looks solid enough, and the guards (there must be some, otherwise 'cross and die' loses much of its effectiveness) thoroughly out of sight. The Taimyo stops just at the edge of the cleared space - visible herself, but not far enough forward to prompt a volley (she hopes), and tilts her head, scanning the wall. If I were a guard, where would I be? Not behind the boards, that was clear - nailed boards gave a poor angle of fire, minimal cover, and perhaps more important for the sharpshooter waiting hours and hours for a potential target, no place to sit down - at least unless otherwise fortified. The wagons were more likely, since they gave you some height to shoot from if need be, but they'd be awkward to climb in and out of. So why use them, when you had...

... places made to be inhabited?

The Taimyo's eyes rise to the houses, scanning the windows for any flicker of motion, or even an unusual shadow that might indicate someone standing beside a window, just out of sight. After all, the archers needed to be able to see if they were going to shoot. She focuses on upper stories - height does give a significant advantage, after all, and well.

It's where she'd put them.

5d10 Perception+Awareness!
3d10 Potential Stunt!
Seriously considering spending willpower, but that's probably better saved for social combat. Now to see if my luck holds...

[Aevylmar]

False-River

Aria: You can spot a shadow in one of the windows and faint motion, as though someone was trying to get a glimpse outside without revealing their position.

Cygnes: They're everywhere. The play of shadows and light, the position of objects, faint motions - you can't be certain, but you'd guess there are at least thirty, maybe as many as fifty, bowmen scattered around the carts and houses under cover, all along your arc of vision.

Kailea

Niwa smiles. "We should be able to make room for them, and I would be grateful for your help."

[Maugan Ra]

Aria's eyes narrow as she takes in the sight of the defenses, before she swings herself off the back of her horse and approaches the Taimyo. "I've got this. If only because they might shoot at us by mistake, and it's practically my job to get between the senior ranks and incoming fire." she says in a quiet voice, exceptionally aware of the gathered crowd of hangers on that they've managed to attract. That done, she turns and walks forwards.

Stepping out onto the bridge, Aria takes just enough steps forwards to clearly distinguish herself from the gathered crowds behind, stopping short of the first of the caltrops. She takes a deep breath, and then looks directly at the building where she saw the shadow of someone watching.

The air crackles slightly with unleashed energy, and suddenly Aria is surrounded by a brilliant emerald glow that casts shadows all along the canal front. Above her head, the coiled form of a massive dragon takes shape, raising it's scaled head to glare at whoever is enforcing the quarantine. And when she speaks, it is with the ringing tones of a veteran officer, equally well suited to the parade ground or the battlefield, so that her words are clearly distinguishable to everyone on the far side.

"Hear me! My name is Ruvana Aria, mistress to Gens Ruvana, Kaizai of the Eighteenth Legion. In my veins flows the blood of Dragons and Heroes, and by that name and blood I swear to you that the Contagion has passed."

"The time for cowering behind walls and slaying any who approach has passed. Now is the time to rejoin your kin, and together rebuild this great city from the ruins that have consumed it." she pauses to let that sink in, sweeping a glare along the length of the barricades before continuing. "If there is one who would speak for you, let them come forth and meet with me. For if they will not, then I will cross this bridge and tear down those barricades you hide behind, and woe to those who would seek to stop me."

[Arpista]

Cygnes nods to her. "I try not to be that kind of senior rank, but - you're the expert here. I see multiple. Be careful." She leaves it at that; Aria is an accomplished commander, and probably has more experience with this sort of thing than she does.

She remains at the edge of the cleared area as the other Dragon-blood strides forwards and speaks; only when the last echoes of the ringing speech have died away does Cygnes take a single step forward, into the cleared area behind Aria. She does not speak, nor let her anima flare; she leaves the heavy jade armor she wears and the double jade blades across her back to do her speaking for her, as well as her stance - not overtly menacing, but present, silently supporting the Kaizai.

[Aevylmar]

And as the echoes of the speech fall away, there's a sudden babble of distant conversation from inside the house with the best view of the street. After a few moments, one woman walks out the front door. She's six feet tall, maybe seven, thoroughly muscular, wearing a sealed leather suit with what looks like surplus legion armor over it, and carrying a sword, shield, and javelins.

She stops a considerable distance away, well on the other side of the street.

"Hey! Dragon-girl! My name's Rakkna, and I'm senior sergeant, and that means I can tell you to stay back on your side or we'll put an arrow in your eye."

She hefts a javelin. "You want to talk, fine. It'll give us more time to get archers in range. But you put one plagued foot on our side and we shoot you."

She's speaking Seatongue, with a faint harsh accent that vaguely reminds one of the barracks-dialect of Realm.

[The_Snark]

"Thank you. Is there someone we can send to the docks with a message, or shall we go ourselves? We could talk on the way," Kailea offers. "I do want to hear about your gods, but I would rather not delay this too long."

[Maugan Ra]

Aria spreads her arms wide and turns around in a slow circle, as though inviting the sergeant to take a good look. "Do I look sick with plague, sergeant? I know what a soldier struck with the contagion looks like, I've buried enough of the poor bastards myself. Good men and women all, loyal soldiers of the shogunate. And then when the Raksha invaded, I had to bury some more, as we held them back for months and years of solid fighting."

She takes a deliberate, provocative step forwards, towards the barricade. "I did not go through all of that so that when I got here, to Tianrasia, I could find the citizenry for which I fought and bled and damn-near died cowering behind a barricade. I did it so that we would have a chance to rebuild this city, and rebuild it's people, and put the horrors of the past behind us."

Another step forwards. "Now, sergeant, are you going to do you damn duty and take a chance on the future of this city, and these people? Or am I going to have to come over there and remind you of what it means to be a damned soldier?"

[industrious]

Russet

"...Wow you people are stubborn."

...she did not mean to say that out loud. Honest.

But if they were just going to stand there and talk at each other, they wouldn't convince each other. You needed to show some people things, or they wouldn't ever believe them.

...Like how she discovered she wasn't actually that good at Martial Arts before a certain someone (who is somehow connected with all of this, she knows) came along.

And, she supposes, she learnt this from that same source. Or at least, got the idea from her.

Everyone else is focused on Aria, and slipping away from People Supposed To Watch Her is nearly routine by now. The streets, even of this new city, are no stranger to Russet, and it's surprising how easy it is to be the girl on the streets she was. The area under the bridge makes her think of yawning; the flowing water a variation on a soothing and familiar lullaby.

So when Rakkna is suddenly knocked to the ground, it's Russet, having gotten behind her (take that, Crazy Ninja Girl; I can do it too). A roundhouse right to the face tends to do that. And frankly, punching someone as a solution to a problem is welcome after all the Official Channels and Dinners of State (okay, Dinner, singular) and Proper Etiquette.

"Like we freaking said," Russet states, arms folded. "The Contagion is gone. Or at the very least, you're contaigion-d now, too, so you better come with us. And then after not dying horribly for a few days, you can come back and tell all your buddies that too."

Russet bends down on the ground, finds a rock approximately the size of a fist. She then stares at her pal for a second, shrugs, and licks it, before grasping the rock.

Throwing stones would only escalate things. Rolling them...probably wouldn't. If she broke their containment, and they didn't die, then it was proof that the Contagion was over. Or good enough, really.

Everyone else is too caught up with the talking parties to notice when she acts. Except when the rock nudges against the sergeant's leg, of course.

"...Also, that rock is totally full of contagion. Or, well, it would be, except it isn't because its freaking gone. But if it is, then since nobody else is around right now, you're the only one infected, so you should probably get to our side of the street. And then after you don't die for a little bit, you can come back so that everyone else can see the Contagion is freaking gone."


Dex+Stealth, to hide the "attack," I guess?: [roll0]. Spending a Willpower for a success.

Stunt: [roll1]

I assume that I don't need to roll an attack for what's essentially bowling?

[Aevylmar]

The Office

"It's at least an hour's walk to the docks. I'd rather send one of my men." Niwa sticks her head out the door. There are, some distance down the hall, guards. She coughs, and they stand to attention. She's speaking in Realm, and after a moment, the soldier hurries off and she returns to the conversation with Kailea. "I asked him to send a message to your people telling them we have hospital space here. Now, what do you want to know? If I can tell you, I will. If not, I have summoned a priest."

False-River

Rakkna calls back, leather mask covering her face. "Hey, I'm not one of your ----ing sergeants! I'm with the ----ing Derrick's Demons, and we were keeping the plague out of here while you were riding your fancy horse up and down in the middle of ----ing nowhere!"

Then Russet whacks her. She goes down but in an instant she's up again, sword out. "That's what the suit is for: Contagion-proof. Guess what you're not? Sword-proof."

Her voice rises. "Shoot the rat!"

Roll join battle.

[Maugan Ra]

Aria sighs. "Well, this seems like it was basically inevitable."

Join Battle: [roll0]

[industrious]

Russet

She's practically beaming at the pronouncement, which is really a terrible thing to do, but she hasn't gotten a chance for punching in ages. Russet cracks her knuckles, then her neck, and rolls her shoulders to get the circulation going.

"Oh, this is going to feel so good."

And the silly, kind of wacky girl moves, and the world moves with her.

She is surrounded by flames, writhing, twisting, like leaves set fire and carried by the wind. They caress her form; she inhales and they enter her body; she exhales, and the flame is within her. The corners of her eyes are tinged with flame, and Russet carries herself with an utter confidence that had heretofore been sorely lacking. Around her wrists, letters of liquid gold flow from what had been plain black jade bracers.

"I am Russet Crowned in Amethyst," she declares to the soldiers beyond the wall, to the sergeant facing her with blade drawn. "And this quarantine is over. By your hands, or by mine."


Humble Sage Audacity(I act on tick 0) + Form Charm. Out of Peripheral motes, because Dragon-Bloods don't need to hide who they are, and currently at 8-10 (spent 9 motes).

Next action at tick 3.

[Arpista]

Well. I was right about her.

That's Cygnes's first thought, listening to Aria, as she stands silently back. The officer is good; she knows what she's doing, and if the soldiers maintaining the quarantine are being difficult, that makes her no less certain that they'll fall into line. Aria is taking exactly the right tack - enough calm logic and not-pushing to keep from panicking them, and enough moral righteousness to maybe, hopefully, convince them that just taking the safe way out isn't the best answer -

Where did that blur come from?

What is -

Oh, ****.

The world slows as the sergeant rolls back to her feet. Calculations flash as Russet's anima flares, and the woman's rough voice yells. Annoyance is pushed aside; tactics first. "The wall is made of wood!" Cygnes shouts, in the loud, ringing voice of someone used to making herself heard on battlefields. "The last thing we need in here is another fire!" Well, no, the last thing would be the actual contagion these people feared, but... "Stay away from it - and 'ware archers!" Blast blast blast, this was the same kind of inexperienced untrained - you can't fight a squad of archers alone, girl - who had even sent her out into -

You did.

No averting this fight now. "Stand down," she calls to the sergeant, "by order of the Shogun! I've had the Contagion and lived, several years back - we're not going to give you it!" It won't work, of course - even as she speaks, she's moving forward, reaching up to pull Instant and Eternity off her back and into guard position - but she has to try. This is such a stupid battle. They need to recruit these people, not fight them!

[roll0] Join Battle.

[Aevylmar]

There may be things happening in the wall, but nothing the three Terrestrials can hear over their own shouts.

The leather Rakkna's wearing starts to heat up under the flame of Russet's anima, but she ignores it, focusing on one sole mission: Cutting the Terrestrial to shreds, which she does while muttering obscenities under her breath. Time seems to bend as she raises her blade; three strikes are swung at superhuman speed and without loss of defense.

She pulls away from Russet and her fire after her swings.


Roll for one archer's action.
[roll0]

Rakkna's using Principle of Motion and the First Melee Excellency.
Attacks:
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]

Anima flux dice: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3930403/

Tick 0: Archers, Russet
Tick 1: Rakkna, Cygnes
Tick 2:
Tick 3: Russet, Aria
Tick 4:
Tick 5: Archers, Rakkna

[industrious]

Russet

Oh, Dragons, she's missed this.

The sergeant is good. Like, really good.

"You are really, really good with that sword!" Russet says, in complete sincerity.

The blows ring against her bracers, echoing and the blade chipping slightly against imperishable jade.

"I mean, when this misunderstanding is done with and over, we should totally spar sometime. Because I totally need more than one partner, or I get into a routine. Even if that routine usually ends up with me on the floor way too often."

Russet is chatty. Especially when talking. She relies on instinct when she fights, so her mind is always free to talk ("prattle," if you were being mean) about whatever she liked. And frankly, she liked Rakna's technique.

The last blow arcs in, and Russet whistles at the power behind it. The girl brings both her wrists together, braces for impact...and at the last moment, steps forward and seperates, grabbing the Sergeant's wrists, and pushing her away.

[Arpista]

Well. The good news is Russet seems to be able to keep herself alive. The bad news is, she's about to be attacked by quite a lot of archers (who we needed to recruit), and between her and Cygnes is a long caltrop-studded bridge. (If she wants to put herself between the foolish girl and the arrows... No, she'll decide that later.) Get to her first. Across the long caltrop-studded bridge, in the face of archers...

Burn the houses, drive them out. And set the district on fire, no thank you.

Distract them from Russet. How? And is that really smart?

Get in range. Across the caltrop-studded -

Get rid of the caltrops.

The swords swing down into guard position, and as they do, Cygnes raises her head and draws a breath. Faces the bridge. And breathes out, a little breath, barely a slight stirring of air... infused with just a touch of Essence, Essence that calls to the winds around it, sweeping towards the bridge. Breeze after breeze adds itself as it moves forwards, until what pours past Aria is a steady current of air that catches the caltrops and sends them skittering aside, against the edges of the bridge or off the other end; a few fall into the water and are gone, brief glints of metal in the clear, pure waters.

Behind the wind moves Cygnes; steadily, not running, but not stopping either, towards Aria. Russet dodges well; she has no doubt Aria does, too, but... protect your archers. Russet is melee. Aria isn't.

Besides, it gets her closer to the fight.

Flurrying two miscellaneous actions - drawing weapons, and then 1m on Subtle Elemental Trick to blow the caltrops out of our way, assuming that's an accepted use of the Charm - if not, I will rewrite my action. Also, trying to get in range to use Loyal Hound Defense on Aria if needed - although given her DV, I doubt it will be.

[Maugan Ra]

Aria raised an eyebrow at Rakkna's sudden turn of blurring speed. God-Blooded, huh? Impressive. Still, I think we want them alive.

One hand rises to the quiver on her back, carefully identifying the different types of arrows there by the individual designs of their fletching, while the other unslings the artifact bow. She draws two arrows, and glances at the Taimyo as the rising winds blow the caltrops away.

"Non-lethal, I take it?"

With easy, practiced grace, she fits the two arrows to her bow and draws back. A moment to sight along their length at the target, and then she releases. Most archers would focus their efforts on compensating for the driving winds around them, but to the blood of the dragons, the elements are an ally to be courted, not an obstacle to be overcome.

The shots fly swift and sure, carried on the driving winds to strike their target from unexpected angles and with unrelenting force.

OK, so flurrying three actions here - drawing the Powerbow, and then firing two fowling arrows at Rakkna. Base damage of 7B in total. Also throwing two motes of the First Archery excellency at each shot.

First attack: [roll0]

Second attack: [roll1]

[Arpista]

Cygnes nods calmly to her ally. "Precisely, thank you." Her tone is even, steady. Good. And Russet doesn't seem to be trying to kill them either. Of course, I doubt being beaten unconscious will endear them terribly to us, either... maybe if...

[Aevylmar]

Rakkna raises her shield against the arrows, but they fly straight and true and strike her. They do not, however, do very well against her well-made armor, inflicting bruises at most.

Russet's fire is a different story. The leather suit blisters and boils under the heat of the inferno; she can only guess the sweltering inferno it must be to the wearer. Rakkna sways, but bitterly holds her feet, still standing.

Cygnes's action is fine, but there's no reaction necessary by me, aside from giving her a stunt die. Aria gets a 2-die stunt, but Rakkna's soak reduces both attacks to 2-die ping. The roll gets one success. (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3932348/)

Russet's fire also inflicts four dice of damage, but with three successes. (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3932351/) It is currently Russet's turn.

Tick 0: Archers, Russet
Tick 1: Rakkna, Cygnes
Tick 2:
Tick 3: Russet, Aria
Tick 4:
Tick 5: Archers, Rakkna
Tick 6: Cygnes
Tick 7:
Tick 8: Aria

[industrious]

Russet

Russet dances upon the bridge, whirling and spinning, her feet barely touching the ground, and even then, only for a second. She weaves and bobs, almost as if she was severely inebriated.

And when she strikes, she blurs into motion as sudden as firedust; the girl darts forward, hand like a claw aimed at Rakkna's face, seeking to grab hold of the leather, and either burn or tear it from her.

"There," she says. "No more containment. And no Contagion to need containment. As fun as this is, we don't have to fight. "

She backs off, then, so that the heat from her anima doesn't burn or boil the sergeant.


I have no idea how to model this. Possibly a disarm? Using Tiger and Bear Unity, in any case. Adding 3 sux.

Attack Roll: [roll0]
If it's a punch [roll1]
Stunt:[roll2]

I'll move two successes to the success bank.

[Aevylmar]

And the mask comes off, showing a face that would be ugly even if it wasn't covered with burns, the scalp and the back of the neck covered with a thin fringe of red hair. A face which is holding its breath.

Rakkna smirks as similarly masked archers pop out of cover in the house windows and launch a coordinated barrage of arrows at Russet.

... I'd interpret it as an attempt to destroy an object which is being held by someone, actually. A disarm suggests that all you need is to send the object flying and pull it from the grip of the holder. In this case, you need to actually break the airtight seals on the mask. On the other hand, damage is unrolled against objects and soak on leather isn't that high.

Also, dice. The Coordinate Attack roll was a crazy high success, so Russet is being shot at by four archers, with surprise, three of whom have the full aim bonus, while suffering a -4 DV penalty. Rakkna is aiming an attack on Russet so it will land once Russet has a wound penalty.

These guys are extras and don't count 10s double, which does not change the fact that Russet has a -4 DV penalty.

Surprise rolls:

Archer #1 (No Aiming): [roll0]
Archer #2 (Aiming): [roll1]
Archer #3 (Aiming): [roll2]
Archer #4 (Aiming): [roll3]
Attack rolls:
Archer #1: [roll4]
Archer #2: [roll5]
Archer #3: [roll6]
Archer #4: [roll7]

[industrious]

Russet

"Seriously? That doesn't count, can we be real, here? She's totally violating quarantine."

Russet's anima flares even higher as the archers appear; she immediately turns to face them. And in true form, address them.

"Hey, archers? Is she violating quarantine...wow, that's a lot of arrows."

The intense heat from Russet's helps immensely against them, though, as the delicate fletching ignites. The arrows tumble and bob around her, and almost absently, she catches one in mid-flight.


Using Tiger-And-Bear Awareness to negate surprise.

[Aevylmar]

... And as she deflects the arrows, Rakkna drops her sword, places her foot on it, and hurls a barrage of javelins at Russet, moving again with superhuman speed. She shouts as she does.

"Hold 'em here! Hold and the captain'll be here to finish them!"

She's throwing javelins at Russet because aura. Again, three attacks, each with 2m on the excellency..

Rolls:
First: [roll0] (aim)
Second: [roll1]
Third: [roll2]

Tick 6: Cygnes, Rakkna
Tick 7:
Tick 8: Aria, Russet
Tick 9:
Tick 10: Rakkna
Tick 11: Archers

Edit - Russet got a 1-die stunt on her last action.

[Maugan Ra]

Aria frowns. "Sounds like they're expecting reinforcements, Taimyo. I can take care of the archers. If you can incapacitate the sergeant, maybe we'll have better luck with this 'captain'."

[industrious]

Russet

Russet throws her stolen arrow at the first javelin, deflecting it off course. For the next two, she merely claps her hands together as they approach, sending shards of wood flying through the air.

"Seriously? This is stupid. Nobody has the Contagion. We're on the same side here. We're trying to help you, dammit!"

As she assumes a guard position once more, Russet asks one more question.

"Why are you fighting?"

[Arpista]

Maybe because you're attacking them.

"I'm not so sure we will, if the captain shows up to find these unconscious." She raises her voice, continuing to advance past Aria. "You did throw the first punch, Russet. And the Contagion has an incubation period - meaning it doesn't show up immediately. We don't have it, but this is not the way to prove it." She advances steadily, studying the sergeant's movements, the way she turns, avoiding the heat of Russet's anima, the slight stiffness from the burns... it'll need to be quick, and blunt, and from a direction she's not expecting, if she won't stand down. Blast it, I needed her. "I'm giving you a chance to stand down. I do not wish to attack you, but I cannot permit you to kill Russet. Russet, if they do stand down-" unlikely as it seems "-please fall back and refrain from provoking them further. I remember the Contagion. Their alarm is not unreasonable."

Entire Gens, wiped out in a manner of weeks. The Shogun... No. No, not unreasonable at all.

Continuing to try to get in range, aiming as I move. Also continuing to try to talk, because Cygnes still wants to recruit these people.

[industrious]

Russet

"Really? It isn't an instant thing? Because I thought it was an instant thing."

Her usually cheery voice sounds strained.

"We've all lost people because of the Contagion. But it passed. And it's over. And we" If there are tears, then Russet's anima is too hot for them to last long. There are no tears. "are not going to live our lives in its shadow."

Breathe in. Breathe out.

"There is always an ending."

[Arpista]

"I did not notice when I became infected," Cygnes replies simply. "Nor did the medic who treated me notice when he did. I do not believe it is instant." She pauses, looking at the... child. Girl. Right. Her voice is just a little gentler. "We are not going to spend our lives living in fear, no. But sometimes, dealing with the consequences takes patience and persuasion, and giving people time to get used to ideas. Adjusting to something as big as the Contagion being gone isn't necessarily an instant thing, either."

I had years. And I was one of the better ones. Focused on functioning through stress before it started. Ideally situated, almost, to keep moving.

I suppose... Russet wasn't.

Her fingers stroke Eternity's hilt, tracing the spiraling designs around the hearthstone socket. "There is always an ending." Even to the Shogunate? Perhaps, but not yet. I will not permit that. "But bringing about the one you want takes time and work. We can do it. But we will need patience." She looks back at the sergeant. "Russet is standing down. Please, do so as well. You can see the reasons behind her actions - she meant to demonstrate the plague was gone. We are not infected, and neither are you. We can fall back, now, while you think about that - and we can, if you prefer, come back in a few days to show you that we are still here and not touched by the plague. We can do a number of things. But please, stand down. There is a limit to the amount of conversation practical amidst flying arrows."

Not a social attack, because you cannot make them in combat. Alas. But hopefully, maybe, a start at talking them down...?

[The_Snark]

"Anything you can tell me will help," Kailea says simply, relaxing as the soldier leaves to carry word. Laka or Nahele or any of half a dozen others can oversee the business of choosing who should go and stay; her people don't need her watching over them every second of every day. "Our home lies far to the west; I do not know any of the gods here. Except for those who are everywhere - you pay respect to the Ocean Father, of course? And the Dragons, I would guess. Who else?"

[Mechanix]

All right. Two possible paths from there - either coming down and presenting myself as a fully-armed Exalted with lots of friends and demanding a diplomatic interview with whoever's in charge, or infiltrating the group under the cover of invisibility and leaving with none the wiser once I have enough information.

She didn't have to think about it too much to know what she was more inclined to do. The small groups of soldiers seemed isolated enough that she could probably target one, take out one of them and interrogate the other, but she did not trust herself to do so non-lethally; her jade chakram was sharp and deadly. Instead, she would have to work on her intuition. There were small shadowlands (so the occupiers probably had some manner of contact with ghosts, though not necessarily peaceful) and settlements, perhaps civilians... All in all, this was a strong position to hold. The New Town faction was strong and could cause a lot of problem to her Taimyo in the future.

The fortified compound was the most dangerous place to investigate, as it was bustling with armed guards, but it was obviously the one where she would have the most chance of fulfilling her mission. Presumably the "Tyrant of Eastgate" would be here. She took a moment to steady herself and focus her thoughts, then went right ahead to the fortified compound, flying high overhead. First: getting a good look at the place. Then: going in...

[Aevylmar]

False-River District

It is abundantly clear that neither Rakkna, who even now gathers strength for another blow, nor the desperate archers drawing arrows from quivers, intends to surrender - at least, not so long as Cygnes and Russet are still on their side of the canal, or Aria's bow is pointed in their direction.

Kailea
Niwa relaxes, leaning against the wall. "We worship the Dragons, yes. Many of us also worship the Ocean Father, and the goddess Rya-Zhi-Rya who is Tianrasia's patroness, and Mar-Rak-Kan who is the patron of the island. In the countryside, they pray to the local gods of forest and hill and field; many of those are the patrons of individual families. My family prays to the mountain-goddess Katiririe. But there is a cult popular among Dragon-Bloods that you should be aware of."

She remains still and her voice keeps a quiet, level tone, neither supporting nor condemning. "It is called the Immaculate Faith. According to its doctrines, the Elemental Dragons are the only beings worthy of worship. To pray to a god is to bribe it into betraying its duties, as the Faith demotes deities to the role of natural functionaries. The doctrines of the Faith specify that the Dragon-Bloods are the most enlightened beings, and therefore have a divine mandate to rule. The former Daimyo followed its precepts, as did much of her family, and she has many followers in the city. Including her son."

Xeifan

The compound directly guards the physical east gates of New Town. Loaded carts, carrying what looks like grain, move through the gate at irregular intervals.

The physical structure is fairly simple. A stone wall perhaps fifteen feet high and topped with spikes surrounds a building-and-courtyard complex including large, two-story barracks which could house thousands - probably not tens of thousands, but Xeifan doesn't have the military knowledge to get very precise - of people. Some of these are occupied by soldiers, others by civilians, but the compound is bustling, with people going inside and outside of most of the buildings and there's a group of soldiers drilling in the courtyard. Stands on the streets of the city and on the outer edges of the courtyard sell fruit, or nails, or shoes, or any of the things that people want to buy and other people want to make money from selling. There's no clear sign to show that any of the buildings would be the Tyrant's headquarters.

The far wall is also occupied; soldiers guard the occasional stairs up onto it and guard the wall itself, and the siege engines mounted on it are on platforms that Xeifan would guess were designed to turn a full circle, so they could fire either outside or inside the city.

Surrounding the barracks on opposing streets are buildings, most of them wood, some stone, which are also occupied by civilians. Regular patrols of troops in full, crisp legion uniform walk the halls of both the compound and the streets outside. Most of these soldiers carry swords and shields; others carry bows. They all wear some sort of badge with a π symbol.

You could roll something to try and figure out which building was the Tyrant's headquarters. Perception or Intelligence plus Socialize or War, would work, but I'd be willing to accept arguments for some other ability+attribute combination.

[Mechanix]

My, but this is a full-fledged city. Lots of guards in full gear, people going to and fro, an active market... And that place would be extremely difficult to take from an army. This is worrying.

Hovering above the fortification, Xeifan took a moment to analyze the movements of the population. She'd had cursory military training - all but mandatory in her family - but she relied more on her ability to read and interpret people's movements on a large scale: studying a fort from high up had the cold, dispassionate distance of mechanical studies, removing the messy and confusing bustling of life all around her. There, in the silence of the air, she could freely read their clockwork movements to answer a simple, factual question: where is the Tyrant?

Rolling Intelligence+Socialize!
[roll0]
Stunt!
[roll1]

[Aevylmar]

Xeifan

Though the barracks look the same from the outside, there seems to be somewhat of a focus of activity around one of them - in particular, activity of well-dressed or high-ranking people. Xeifan is fairly certain that that's where the Tyrant is. Have a stunt die.

[Mechanix]

Entering the barracks directly would be too dangerous, as she would risk bumping into people or making too much noise. Instead, the Air Aspect approached the barrak by the side, peering through the windows one by one - if she could find the Tyrant in one of the rooms, she would have a better idea of where to go, and might even be able to slip through the window, or to listen to his conversation from the outside.

Perception + Awareness, in case it applies:
[roll0]
Stunt:
[roll1]

[Maugan Ra]

"We falling back, Taimyo?" Aria calls, another arrow already knocked to her bow and ready to fire. "Doesn't look like we'll get anywhere with this. Fall back, maybe wait for their captain?"

[Arpista]

"Good plan." If Russet will listen... Cygnes raises her voice. "Russet. You've made your point - now they listen, or they don't. Time to fall back."

[industrious]

Russet

"...Fine."

She bows at Rakkna, not ironically but because she was good with that sword, and really, the two of them could totally be friends at some point.

"Bye Rakkna! See you when the incu-whatsit is done, and you aren't dying horribly!"

...Was the backflip too much? Really, she wanted to backflip, so she backflipped, but was that a taunt? And it was practical, too, what with all the caltrops.

[Arpista]

"Thank you."

Cygnes does not sigh in relief. Really, she doesn't.

She just retraces her steps over the bridge, sliding her booted feet slowly backwards to check for any remaining caltrops while keeping her eyes on Rakkna and the archers - she wants to know if they shoot again, just in case she needs to parry quickly.

Incubation period. Of course, if they're really paranoid, they'll just kill her - or send her to our side of the bridge. Hopefully the latter. But there's no way they can let her stay among them if she might be infected. That would be wildly, insanely reckless. I wonder if I should point that out to Russet?

Well... it might still work, if they send her to our side of the bridge. I suppose we should have asked for an envoy in the first place, to show our good faith... Perhaps. How have they been living here isolated for the last few years anyway? The False-River district borders the ocean, but it doesn't have any harbors, and those impressive sea walls didn't look conducive to fishing. Another question, for later. Just how long has the Contagion been gone here, anyway...?

Aborting Aim and replacing it with Guard.

[Aevylmar]

Xeifan
Xeifan can see quite a few soldiers playing dice, sleeping, talking, sharpening swords, eating, and so forth and so on. She cannot, however, see anyone with enough shiny metal, artifacts, and/or fanciness of uniform to be the Tyrant of Eastgate. Also, the windows are regrettably small; thin, angular slits intended to let light and arrows through, but not people.

Then there's a sound of cheers from the front of the building, as the door opens a small group of people exit, one of whom has a uniform which is at least fancy enough to be Tyrant of Eastgate. She's wearing gilded articulated plate; the kind of thing that you'd need to be a world-class craftsman to make. Tall, of athletic build, surprisingly attractive, dark hair close-cut, she is the absolute center of attention for the soldiers. She carries a shock pike built to short-spear size and a masked helmet carved in the shape of a dragon.

Behind her are two other figures. One of them is almost certainly a bodyguard; he's six and a half feet tall, more muscular than most bears, bald, ugly, and is wearing somewhat less fancy armor. He's got a slashing sword and a shield and is following close behind her.

The other one is a woman who tends to fade into the background; short, neither pretty nor ugly, neither especially thin nor especially fat. She looks rather like a scribe or clerk, except that she's in military uniform and clearly used to it.

False-River District

Rakkna growls but does not pursue as the three Exalts fall back, staying where she is, and the arrows from the house stop. There is a pause of perhaps a minute, and the sound of large numbers of men running reaches the canal, followed by the men in question.

The leader is presumably also god-blooded; his skin and hair are slate-grey, his face doesn't look quite right for a mortal, and he has four arms, a pair on either shoulder. In his right pair he carries a short jade powerbow; in his left, a shield and spear. He is not wearing the same leather-protective suit as Rakkna, just a hastily thrown on buff jacket. His scale of militiamen, except in that they are pure mortals, were equipped a dressed similarly; a sword-belt, quiver and bow made up their equipment, a buff jacket as armor.

He scans the field. His voice is pleasant and soft, a contrast with his appearance. "Rakkna, what happened and why aren't you wearing your mask?"

She points towards the smoking ruins on the floor, and then towards Russet. "Her."

He looks at the 'QUARANTINE' sign and then to the Exalts, and raises an eyebrow.

[Mechanix]

Pretty armor, Xeifan reflected, the craftswoman in her instantly attracted by the make of the item. Expensive articulated armor had to be made specifically for the measurments of the one who wore it, which seemed to indicate that this woman - the Tyrant, likely - had a smith of considerable talent working for her. She also had a shock pike. All these elements combined to paint the picture of an extremely powerful and influent woman, with followers of great talent - possibly even an Essence-user of some kind; likely not a Dragon-Blooded (though the implications of her helmet were frightening) but perhaps an enlightened mortal, or a god-blooded. This was a formidable character.

Which meant getting too close might result in her detection. The armor did not provide for perfect stealth, and the acute eyes of essence-gifted beings had more than once pierced through her dissimulation. Xeifan simply took a stationary position on the roof of one of the barracks, where her immobility would make her harder to detect, and let her eyes follow the woman. Rash action was unadvisable; she was here to gather intelligence.

[industrious]

Russet

"Hi there, Captain guy-person. So, the Contagion is gone now and you can start with the moving on process."

...Russet does not say those words. She very, very clearly, and forcefully does not say those words. This sort of thing was probably (definitely) Cygnes's job and she shouldn't need to say anything.

She still shrugs at his look, and points to Cygnes. Diplomacy in action, she was.

[Maugan Ra]

Aria, who has spent the pause leaning against one of the nearby semi-ruined buildings with her bow propped up next to her, glances at Cygnes. "You want this one, or should I try?"

[Arpista]

Cygnes considers the question carefully.

There are manifold dimensions to consider. Political, interpersonal, tactical...

... two-heads-are-better-than-one-ical...

"... Together?" she suggests. "Unified front. I'll say my piece, feel free to chime in." Aria can probably do a much more convincing job of warning them about the Fair Folk; she's been fighting them, after all. Cygnes turns to the commander, raising her voice to echo clearly across the bridge.

"We were trying to convince your sergeant that the Contagion is gone, and we aren't plagued - which it is, and we are not. My colleague, Russet Crowned in Amethyst - or Bianfu Xujia, depending on context - got impatient and decided to demonstrate it, being unaware that the Contagion takes a while to develop." Cygnes spreads her hands. "I will give you my word, we are not plagued or lying. I know the Contagion, and as best I can tell, it is not present in this city. For my part, I had it and recovered. You cannot catch it twice." She draws a breath. "We came to ask you to let down your quarantine and rejoin the city. The Contagion is gone. You are no longer in danger." That just leaves... who I am, who Aria is. Who he is. ... oh, and the Fair Folk. "From the Contagion, at any rate. The Fair Folk are coming. And if Tianrasia does not stand united against them, we are all in very great danger." She tips her head to Aria. Introductions can wait. At least until I have more of a feel for him. On the bright side, he doesn't seem paranoid...

[Maugan Ra]

Aria takes her cue smoothly, carrying on when the Taimyo left off. "I don't know how much of an eye you've been keeping on the world beyond your quarantine, but there is danger beyond that of plague now." she says, in a clear and honest tone. No fancy words here, no elaborate fantasies or deceptions. Just the simple, straight forwards truth. "The Wyld is encroaching, the Fair Folk invading in greater numbers than ever before. I can only assume that they are taking advantage of the weakness left in our defenses by the contagion. Hundreds, maybe thousands of miles have been lost already, swallowed whole by Chaos incarnate. My family lands amongst them."

A breath, to regain momentary control over the memories evoked by those words. "I travelled back here, with my men, to help rebuild. Tianrasia must be made strong, and healthy, and above all unified if it is to have a chance of survival, let alone victory. We already have what remains of the city's administration and military working with us. It is our hope that we can add you and your people to that alliance, and start rebuilding what the contagion very nearly broke forever."

She glances at the Taimyo. "Precisely how we go about that is yet to be determined. But before anything can happen, we need to at least be able to speak."

[Arpista]

Cygnes almost speaks; almost reaches out. I'm sorry. ... She doesn't. Not the time, not the place. She only nods to Aria, reinforcing the woman's words.

But, for just that moment, there's a certain quiet sympathy on her face.

Doesn't really matter since we're not in Social Combat - but wanted to mention for that speaking-the-unvarnished-truth hearthstone, Cygnes is being honest here. She really does want an alliance for the specified reason, she really does think the Contagion's gone, etc.

[The_Snark]

"Truly?" Kailea blinks. "How odd." She considers the idea; it only grows odder the more she thinks about it. "I do not mean to offend, but is that... wise? I cannot think that the storm mothers would look kindly on such a belief. Truth, I don't think any god would. And there are some rites that only a chief can perform, so..."

She stops herself. It's very rude to question someone else's beliefs. Even if Niwa doesn't follow this cult, some people here do, and Kailea does not believe in criticizing people behind their backs. "Well. The city is still standing, so I am sure it all must work somehow! I am just not used to it."

"Tell me," she changes the subject, "did you know Rai-Zhi-Rya very well?"

[Aevylmar]

Xeifan

The Tyrant of Eastgate, accompanied by her bodyguards/assistants, strolled in to the sound of acclaim. More and more soldiers started flooding into the courtyard, forming actual ranks.

You'd guess perhaps a thousand or even two thousand soldiers, in ordered ranks, listening to her. They're all wearing Legion armor, carrying Legion swords; some have shields, others have bows, some are fresh-faced, others are veterans. Some are scarred, others are not. Drill varies, but loyalty is a constant.

She speaks, and her words ring through the air. "This morning, a fleet of soldiers sailed into the Merchant's Harbor under Taimyo Arys Cygnes. She's got three, four Terrestrials, horse archers, and probably Tiba's bandits, too. She says she's in charge, because she's got the Blood of the Dragons. Is she right?"

"NO!"

"Who's been keeping New Town running? Who's been keeping the food coming in? Who's been fighting the pirates?"

"YOU!"

"Wrong!"

She paces up and down the ranks with the attitude of a professional showman.

"US! The Eastgate Army! You held the line. You kept the world running. If Taimyo Cygnes orders you to lay down your arms, are you going to do it?"

"NO!"

She nods calmly. "Listen to me, and we'll make it through. I want double patrols. Everyone needs to be ready to march on a moment's notice. If she invades, this war is not going to go well for her."

"VA-RI! VA-RI! VA-RI!" The chant rises higher and higher, until their determination seems to shake the world.

False-River

He looks at the three Exalts, at the scorching mist around Russet, at the bow and breastplate of Aria, and at Cygnes's arsenal.

"Rakkna, come back behind the lines and get those burns treated. We've lost already. Either they're right and the Contagion is gone, or they'll break open the barrier and we'll all catch the plague, whatever we do."

He walks out towards the now caltrop-free bridge, lowering bow and spear. "I am Captain Erthis, the leader of Derrick's Demons and commander of the False-River Militia. What do you want from us?"

Kailea

Niwa smiles faintly. "I am afraid I did not. She preferred to stay in her sanctum or in her temples, writing poetry and creating art. She left to visit the hospital sometimes, to help the doctors, and except on those occasions, left only for required ceremonies. Our spheres rarely crossed."

[Mechanix]

Right. Bad new. Hearing the name "Tyrant of Eastgate" had led Xeifan to assume that they would have to fight an oppressive warlord whose subjects would be all to happy to abandon. Apparently, 'Vari' was in fact a beloved ruler with considerable oratory skills. Loyal soldiers in considerable numbers, well-equipped, and wealing to go to war against the Chosen themselves... This was a terrible start. How many soldiers were there in Tianrasia? How many could Aria train? The Air Aspect tried desperately to remember fragments of what she'd seen and heard while around the other Dragon-Blooded, hoping to form a coherent picture of their own forces and answer the dreadful question: could they win against such an army?

Rolling Intelligence + War to make a guess as to how would go a fight between the two sides.
[roll0]
Stunt
[roll1]

[Maugan Ra]

"Information, mostly." Aria says, relief at the fact that they need not fight coloring her tone. "What your situation is like, what's been happening in Tianrasia, that sort of thing. "

She begins returning her bow to it's case. "If nothing else, what sort of problems you're currently facing would be a good place to start. And what might be necessary to fix them."

[Aevylmar]

Xeifan

The Tyrant has a very impressive army; on the other hand, you have quite powerful Terrestrial exalts, two kinds of strengths difficult to compare. If the battle was resolved by a direct 'soldier's battle', her army would rout your soldiers easily; on the hand, use of powerful charms and effective snipers to eliminate leadership would probably shatter the army's morale, leading to a victory for your side.

The real unknowns are how many essence-wielders she has and if she has the support of the local gods. If she has a decent number of god-blooded lieutenants and the gods of block and road lend her army blessings, then attacking them would be suicide.

False-River District

He shrugs. "We're fine. Food supplies haven't run out yet, no serious internal conflicts. Our only problem was maintaining the quarantine, and that's over now, for better or worse. The question is how much you need soldiers, and, if you don't need them, if you've closed the harbors yet."

[Arpista]

"We have not closed the harbor - I do not believe the Fair Folk are yet that close. Is there another reason we should do so?"

Cygnes watches the man carefully. "And yes, we do need soldiers. Not urgently, I hope - though I have only recently arrived in the city, and there may be threats of which I am unaware. But when the Fair Folk arrive, we will quite urgently need every soldier we can get. And the sooner we start work on unifying and training our forces, the stronger they will be when the Fair Folk do arrive." And oh, there is so much unifying to do. "... A pleasure to meet you, by the way, Captain. I'm Arys Cygnes. Acting Taimyo, meaning the Shogun sent me to help with the defenses and get things organized." Not trampling on your prerogatives, no. Some situations called for heavy use of the title; this one, she was fairly certain, was the opposite. The Captain seemed to respect strength and focus on the way things really were, which gave him a significantly reduced chance of caring about titles.

That was all right. If all that she had had going for her had been the title, she would never have been awarded it in the first place.

[Aevylmar]

False-River District

He smiles. "A pleasure to meet you as well, Arys Cygnes. But you are an officer of the Shogun, and I am a mercenary captain. I know of no other reason why you should do so, but my soldiers have trained this militia, and we have been well paid for it. And so the question we would like to know is simple: Will you pay us enough so that we should stay and train more troops for you and fight under your banner, and if not, may we leave and find someone who will outbid you?"

[Arpista]

Keeping unhappy mercenaries in town was good for exactly one thing: causing the person who was doing so extreme headaches, at minimum. Cygnes smiles back at the captain. "The harbor is open; I can and will not prevent you leaving. I would much prefer if you stayed, of course - we'll have to discuss how much I can pay you, and what you can do. I'm still working out what resources I have to work with, here - would you be willing to stick around for a couple days, until I've got the civilian side of things back in working order? And of course, I'd need to know precisely what I'm paying for. How many people do you have, trained how, what your specialties are, would it be a long-term retainer or specific tasks..." Whatever else these mercenaries are, they seem to be competent. And this one, at least, she's pretty sure she can work with.

And oh, they need competent soldiers.

[Aevylmar]

False-River District

He shrugs, which is quite something to see. While he talks, you can see Rakkna removing her various levels of armor while one of the militiamen pours something highly alcoholic onto her burns. Her swears serve as mild counterpoint to his calm words.

"We have twenty senior soldiers remaining who have been acting as sergeants; six demon-blooded like myself and Rakkna. The militia consists of eight hundred, of whom seventy are sworn into the Demons; I intend to make the rest the offer to join once we lower the quarantine; we might get one in four. Our senior soldiers are professionals." The boast is quiet, simple, and proud. "The rest are in training. Heavy foot archers and infantry. We expect monthly pay, quartering, combat bonuses when we can't loot, all non-capital crimes before we signed up pardoned, the right to recruit, and the right to run our own company and choose our own officers. We can discuss precise pay later."

[The_Snark]

Kailea nods, not really surprised. Most gods prefer to live apart from people; this is the way of things. It would have been more surprising if she did know the goddess personally - but Niwa Zuka lives in a magical city straight out of legend, so who can say? "I see. And she has not been seen in - how long? Has she missed any of the ceremonies she would normally attend?"