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| Azula Quest Repositorium; In which is gathered the HISTORY OF THE WORLD, or just the relevant posts. | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Feb 8 2013, 11:32 PM (4,473 Views) | |
| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 8 2013, 11:32 PM Post #1 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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Azula. 15 years old. Fourth month, fourteenth day, of year 100 ASC Master Firebender [23/6] -"Butterfly Wings" Fire-flight [3/???] -"Rocket Boost" Advanced flame propulsion [1/???] -"Dragon's Breath" burning exhalation [3/???] -"Advanced Fire Stream" focused fire spout [2/???] --"Hunting Dragon" Flame Spout Seeking Missile [1/???] -"Flame Wall" basically that. [1/???] -"Pinwheel Shot" distance projectile [1/???] -"Butterfly Swarm" razor-fire butterflies [1/???] -"Lava Bending" Fortress Killer [1/X] -"Inner Fire Reinforcement" Self-buff [2/???] -"Edge Enhance" Sword-buff Flames [1/???] -"Voice of Command?" ...not what it says on the tin? [1/1?] Air Bender [4/?] -"Cold Sky Fire" Lighting manipulation(bending?). [4/???] --"???" Force Lightning Taser? [1/???] --"???" Electro-Net. [1/???] Advanced Etiquette [2/2?] Spiritualism [3/3?] Leadership [6/???] Politics [6/???] "Agressive Self Defense" [3/???] -Unpleasant Surprises [2/?] Strategy [4/???] Logistics [2/???] Second Child Arts [1/???] Somewhat Cultured [4/???] Basic Trading Knowledge [2/???] Creepy child. Praise the Sun. Fire Good. ... Jealous. So jealous. Once burned, twice....? Tea-sipper. Ruby Butterfly. Divine Right of Kings? Cap'n Jin. Toph Customer, or some other pun. Old Man of the Mountain: Not Your Buddy. Lotus Initiate. Raijin Approves. Fuujin... not so much. Edited by Chibi-Reaper, Feb 15 2013, 09:22 AM.
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 8 2013, 11:34 PM Post #2 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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The world is cold and harsh and bites against your tender, wet skin. You howl at it, your rage and confusion at this new everything taking voice in a choked and shrill wail. Fear is not included in the cocktail of emotion. You are not afraid. There are words of amusement and affection from around you, and a massive hand pats down on your back. Your howls come to a slow halt. "A strong child." a voice sounds. "Strong indeed. She needs a strong name." There's muttering. Or soft voices. Too far away, or your ears are too weak, not loud enough. You can't hear. "After her grandfather, the mighty Fire Lord himself, Azulon." The voice decides. "I name you... Azula." The world is cold and it burns. Exhausted from your outburst, you fade into slumber. --- Your first year will pass before you know it, the only question as to how it will be spent. The voices, and the people attached to them, leave you for now mostly to your own devices. Learning how to use your body is one path, learning how to focus and sharpen your mind another. But you are small, and the world is so big... perhaps, just for now, you will sleep and simply grow? [ ] Move. [ ] Think. [ ] Sleep. [ ] .... ??? [Write-In] |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 8 2013, 11:37 PM Post #3 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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>[X] Think. And watch. The people around you. What do they do? Why do they do it? >-[X] There is one that shines like the sun to you. His fire, his charisma, his strength. Study him most of all. Your body is small. Weak. In time, that will change. But you can afford to leave the learning about how it works properly until there's something more to work with. Your mind, however, is fertile grounds. You learn the words spoken around you, and you come to fully understand conversations that, by all rights, you probably should not. You watch as people do things. Doorknobs unveil their secrets to your watchful eyes, and latches keep no mystery safe from you. If you wanted to bother trying to leave your crib of your own volition, yet, there would be few obstacles to bar your progress. But there's more. People bring you food and toys. People quietly clean you and your environs, dusting and sweeping. People cook, and people mend and sew. Because they are servants, and because they are commanded to do so. And the people who give those orders are given orders of their own in turn. Onward and upward, you follow the line of command, of control right to the top. HE does nothing because he is commanded to do so. HE acts because he wishes something done, or gives orders for others to carry out his will. He is absolute. Your grandfather. The Fire Lord. Azulon. Even seated placidly upon his throne, he burns like the sun itself, indifferent to mercy and cruelty, shining the light that feeds the world and in the same breath steals water from its parched throat. You cannot tear your eyes away, despite that the woman, your mother, gives a hushed rebuke, entreating you to not stare so directly and improperly at the Fire Lord, to show a little of the decorum the boy, your brother, it seems, displays. Exasparated, more than anything else. More than that she is speaking from any expectation that you will listen, or understand to listen. "Is she not... named in my own image?" Azulon rumbles, interrupting the woman's chastisement. "If there are any who deserve to gaze upon me with impunity... give her to me." The woman hesitates. The woman lingers. But the woman hands you over, and you find yourself held in powerful hands, staring into eyes of burnished, polished gold. You reach out desperately, with one tiny hand, and manage for just a moment to touch his nose, before your strength gives out. He seems neither pleased nor disappointed by this. "... This one." He says, after several long moments. "She is blessed of Agni. It is only a pity that she was born second." "Born second." Father rumbles. "... But born lucky. Where it is no secret, that with the unexpected complications, Zuko was lucky to be born at all." "You say that as though these things are so very different..." Azulon muses, before stretching out his hands, and you inside them, to Father, offering you back. You don't want to go yet. You're not ready... You can't, after being shown the sun in its full glory, so easily be carted back into the night, can you? .... One day. One day, you will shine with that same grand incandescence. A year passes, in which you continue to work your mind to its limits, beginning the slow work of tempering it to steel and honing it to a razor's edge. Your favorite times, always, are the ones where you attend the solar court, and bask in the light of the Fire Lord. And he... Does not favor you. As such. Not measurably. But he does tolerate you, where not one other being in the court looks upon him directly, without being called upon. You suppose that itself is a mark of favor. But... Yes. One day, you.... --- How will you choose to focus your efforts, for your second year? [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 8 2013, 11:39 PM Post #4 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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>[x] Praise the sun. >[x] Fire. You eat, and you grow, and despite the woman's occasional subtle urging to speak, in cooing nonsense noise, or play with other children, your focus remains on the sky. The sun. The burning orb of majesty hanging from the daylight hours. Warming the earth and water with its simple presence, being brushed aside for only the briefest of moments by a curling breath of wind or splash of sea foam before its return, inevitable. It's not normal, you can hear the woman whispering to father, sometimes. She doesn't play, like the other children, she doesn't cry to be held, she just stares at the sun. It's not right, she says, for a child to have such a focused gaze, rather than having it wander about, finding everything fascinating and worthy of attention all at once. It isn't normal. The woman likes the Zuko boy better, you think. There's a little spark of jealousy when you think of that. You wouldn't even care about the affection she could offer, normally. But he has it. So you want it. Stumbling efforts to take it are too little too late, seeming to only unnerve the woman further, cement her feelings on you. Have you seen, she asks, the way she looks at her brother? Such venom, you never saw in a grown man. It isn't right. The arguments are quiet, and one sided. Father sits unmoved through the woman's complaints. Once, he slams his fist into the table, mightily enough to shake the whole room. A candle falls, near to where you are sitting. You reach out, and catch the flame as it falls, coming away from the wick into your hand. It is small, and warm, and bright, and for a moment you coo at it. Then the rest catches up. Like a viper, the flame bites down on your palm, searing, blazing, using you to feed itself, you can't help but cry out. Father's great hands come down on yours, smothering the life from the flame, and leaving only the lingering pain behind. "Fire is not a happy pet." He rumbles soothingly, inspecting the burn mark. "It is a wild beast that must be mastered, falter for even a moment, and it will turn away from your enemies to rip out your own throat." "This... it is not normal. She's two, Azula is only two years old and already, she hasn't even learned to walk or speak yet, Zuko hasn't even hinted..." the woman babbles. "If you are so disturbed by the sight of talent in one of our children, then by all means. Go. Tend to Zuko. You have not disguised that he is the child you favor." Father rumbles, waving her off as a servant scampers in, bot of burn cream in hand. ... The sun, Father. They will always be yours. You guess it's just in your nature to covet the things you don't, perhaps cannot, have. Your eyes would almost be burning marks into the woman's retreating back, if you could. Father doesn't coo nonsense words at you, or hint that perhaps you should go and play. He gives you his focus, and a respect that was lacking from the woman as he slowly eases you through speech, and ignores crawling on your belly like a lizard entirely as he teaches you to walk. But in spite of it, there are other things that Father must focus his attention on, and once the basics of movement and speech are imparted, the rest will have to be left to others. Tutors. You have grown, it seems, out of the time when your actions are entirely your own. There is little choice in the matter of sciences and history and literature. You will have those classes whether you like them or not, it seems. But for the rest. ---- Welcome to the wide world of education, little Azula. A bit earlier than the norm, but your father has great hopes for you. You are too young, still, to attend the Academy, but your father will arrange for the finest tutors that can be purchased, cajoled, or otherwise pressured into service. Pick Two things to focus yourself on, this year.. [ ] Cultural Studies [ ] Economics [ ] Theology and Spiritualism [ ] Introduction to Fire Bending [ ] Basic self-defense [ ] Strategy [ ] Logistics [ ] Etiquette [ ] Politics [ ] Leadership [ ] SOCIAL LINKS SOCIAL LINKS SOCIALLINKS focus on your relationship with [Family Member]. Results may vary. |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 8 2013, 11:40 PM Post #5 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] To bend Fire to your will. [x] Hey. Zuko. Listen. Hey. Listen. Hey. Listen. The instructor has his doubts about you, and doesn't hesitate to work with his first impression of the two year old girl waiting for him in the practice grounds. It takes a bit to convince him that, no, there isn't any mistake. He still tries to push off his duties by giving you a brief explanation of how it works, and then telling you to go sit on the ground and breathe, with no futher explanation, while he reads poetry. You're not feeling the respect due your position, here. So, after about a fortnight of this, once it clicks in your head how to make the fire appear, you just get behind him and belch out a cloud of immolating fire, without warning. His screaming warms your heart. And anyway, he's a firebending instructor. He'll get back up and start moving again. Eventually. He was still moving when he crawled out of the pond, anyway. Your next tutor is much more affably deferential to and respectful of you. For the most part, however, the year still passes with lessons of control. Control of the breath, which fuels the flame, control of the body directing it, control of the fires themselves. Control is the most important of first steps, and is repeated and driven home with every lesson. Burning emotions of wrath and pride fuel the fires, but they also make them unstable, as dangerous to their weilder as to enemies. It's still not how you would like, but with the instructor at least now taking you seriously, you abide. And you don't set this one on fire. Even if it is six months before he pronounces your breathing acceptable for a novice and starts to work with generating and controlling little match-lit size flickers of fire itself. That aside, the boy demands your attention. Or rather, you are going to pay some attention to Zuko. Not because he's worth the time, but because you're going to make him pay attention to you, he doesn't get a choice, and the woman won't have one either. He's a couple years older than you, and as such outmasses you by a lot. He still doesn't much appreciate you showing up when he's trying to ape the kata he's seen, clumsily and without focus. No heat or fire behind it. No precision. Well, it's not like your body is quite developed enough to work with martial forms, anyway. You help him out by catching his shoes on fire, when he steps totally wrong. He doesn't thank you. How rude of him. "What are you doing?" He wails, stupidly, once he sloshes out of the pond. "Play with me." You demand, having decided that this was probably the best way of going about this, even if it was the standard one. "... No. I don't wanna play with you. I'm busy." He grumps in response. You're a little flummoxed. You didn't really see things going like this, somehow. You frown, eyes narrowing. Zuko will be fine, he dunked his head under the water really quick. He may need a trim, though. "Play with me." You demand again. "N-" He says, then cuts himself off, maybe seeing something in your eyes. "... Okay. Let's play... hide and hunt. I'll be the hunter, so you go and hide reeeeally well, for when I come to try and find you, alright?" That... you guess it's a game, yes. All right, then. You leave him to count, and retreat to somewhere.... simple, you decide. Zuko doesn't seem that bright. For the time being, you'll just wait in your room, the first place anyone with half a brain should look. It doesn't dawn on you until after the servants have both brought in and carried away dinner, and the sun set, that he's not actually looking for you at all. Clever boy. ..... You don't sleep particularly well that night. In the middle of the night, there's a loud noise from outside your room, leaving you sitting upright, snapped awake. You call out, after a moment. At first there is no response. Then, one of the servants lurch in. Her smile seems a little strained somehow. "Apologies, little mistress." She murmurs. "I did not mean to wake you. I have simply dropped some things, and made a mess." ... Well all right, then. She'd better clean it up, hadn't she? "Yes, little mistress. By the time you wake... nothing at all will remain, no trace." She breaks off into a short cough, then bows and sees herself out. When you wake, and under the light of day, you notice that your floor and that of the hallway outside it has been freshly scrubbed, shining in a way entirely different from the faded luster of the stonework before. You also notice a few spots of red, on the corner of your sheets. You do not notice the servant who accidentally awoke you last night. That one is gone, as though she never was. --- Year focus, pick two. [ ] Cultural Studies [ ] Economics [ ] Theology and Spiritualism [ ] Fire Bending [ ] Basic self-defense [ ] Strategy [ ] Logistics [ ] Etiquette [ ] Politics [ ] Leadership [ ] SOCIAL LINKS SOCIAL LINKS SOCIALLINKS focus on your relationship with [Family Member]. Results may vary. |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 8 2013, 11:41 PM Post #6 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] More Firebending. [x] Etiquette. By this time, your body has developed enough to go through the forms of martial firebending. It's... exhilarating, really, as fire burns to life around you, though a little part of you seems to die for a while, with every fire that goes out. But, one of the first lessons, before even properly starting flames, was on how to put fires out. You cope. The instructor, for his part, is impressed. With your precision, aptitude... he calls you a prodigy of firebending. You don't know how much of that is down to your family, and what he's being paid, but you enjoy it enough to practice on your own anyway. You try a bunch of other things to fuel the fire. When it comes down to it, emotion of any sort seems to trigger response in the fires, and it's only control that keeps it in your grip. Once, for just a moment, the fire that flashes outward is an intense and searing bluish white.... no matter how you try, you have not yet been able to replicate this. It might be that pride and anger really are the best emotions for this, or maybe not. You can't say for sure. But it stands to reason that it's easier to burn things, or people, if you're angry when you do it. A question to the instructor prompts his assurance, with a shudder, that it really does help. That there is nothing, when you aren't angry enough to call the fire down, like the smell of burning bodies. Skin, flesh, hair, all falling beneath the fire's hungry touch. With such a vague description, you really have no recourse but to try it yourself. One of the castle mousers has had kittens, recently. You've heard the servants talking. They're going to be drowned anyway. So it's not like you're hurting anything, using them for your own reasons. The smell is acrid, harsh, and strong. Yes. There is nothing at all like it. It smells like... power. You like it. --- Your Etiquette lessons go in a different pace. Father himself is the one who holds them. They begin with a large, steaming pot of water, poured over crumbled and dried leaves. "It is crimson pearl lotus extract tea." Ozai says, dispassionately. "Do you like it, Azula?" ... Yes, you think you do. It's very good. "It's boiled leaf juice." Ozai says, dismissively. .... You... don't like it? "It's fine if you like it." he grunts. "Your Uncle certainly doesn't hesitate to rub his refined palate in everyone's face. As is his prerogative as the heir, of course. But that is neither here or there. Whether you care for it or not, etiquette begins and ends with tea. At every table of political importance, no matter what noble or rich merchant graces the seats." He nods. You can still detect some sort of simmering discontent, though... "Such people have a taste for their teas, and so it is wise to either develop a similar palate of your own, or pretend enough of one to get by. It sets others at ease, and allows discussions to proceed amicably as our terms are outlined and they accept them. Though, of course, this is more the sport of the firstborns." Hm. ... And if they aren't amicable? Ozai smiles, now. With teeth. "That is a situation that the second-born are more suited for, according to tradition." He says, slowly, with a little bit of relish in his voice. He doesn't go into further detail, though, and your classes progress with the identification and sampling of various teas, when father is not out on business. He always returns from those trips pleased with himself, and if you look closely, sometimes members of the court are giving him more of a black look than usual. Sometimes, they wear mourning bands. ... It does help to like tea, considering it seems to be pretty serious business. You can imagine that this would be unpleasant if you did not. --- You have grown, as have your time-management skills. You can now divide your focus a little further. It will undoubtedly help, as with this new year, you have been judged as old and fit enough to attend the Academy outside of the palace, in the capital itself. Having had a head-start with tutors, normal classes should not be any issue for you, but tutors are now a thing of the past. ... The classes are much the same, but they will be held by instructors of the Academy. Pick two focuses: [ ] Cultural Studies [ ] Economics [ ] Theology and Spiritualism [ ] Fire Bending [ ] Basic self-defense [ ] Strategy [ ] Logistics [ ] Etiquette [ ] Politics [ ] Leadership And pick one Social action: [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 8 2013, 11:42 PM Post #7 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] BENDING. [x] More Etiquette. [x] Fading Fire. --- You fly through the firebending lessons. It's to be expected, of course, given your previous tutoring, but it seems like the speed at which you clear the classes was, itself, unexpected by many. It's when you display your mastery over students twice your age, who can barely call forth glistening sparks of flame, that it is admitted that there is nothing left the Academy can officially teach you, here. The teachers are ecstatic to give you some of their free time to teach less official lessons, however, as your father sends out for something special. By the end of the year, your fires burn blue, and unusual and unique twist to the fires, leaving respect sent your way from all corners. Your father mumbles something about cold fires, but otherwise holds his peace for the moment. Etiquette lessons are more broad and in depth than Fathers'. They cover formal dinners, speech, courtly mannerisms and decorum... It fills your head, and leaves it throbbing, with all the details. It isn't as though you're stuck with your own brain to work with, though. There seems like, at times, there is no end to the hangers-on and sly-eyed, hungrily smiling children eager to get a moment of your time, to help the prodigous fire bender of the royal family, to bring up, perhaps, one little matter or another that they'd like your opinion on, perhaps you could bring it up to other members of your family... Or to find you alone and pull you into an empty room, hissing softly that their father was dead because of yours, as their grip crushed at your arms and they drew a blade. But firebending draws from the breath. You don't need, when it comes down to it, to move your arms. Questions about a scorched skeleton with a knife in its hand are dropped almost as instantly as they are raised, as the wheel of rumors and gossip turns to more juicy matters. You can't stay alone. You don't care how many you have to burn, but you're here to learn from the academy, and you can't do that if you have to spend too much focus getting ready for the next unsubtle strike, and the one after that, and the next... In the end, it's the ones who aren't seeking you out that are safer. Mai is the first daughter of a very minor noble, so small in the grand scheme of court that his family has never really caught much of anyone's attention one way or another. Even so, she is, you are told, the very top scorer in certain self-defense and other exams. Ty-lee is a chi-blocker, from a family of chi-blockers, too vital a resource to offend lightly, but in the grand scheme of things, not particularly important, as the law forbids that they leave the country in times of war, and so they cannot participate over much in the battles. Instead, they are used for... internal matters. Neither are benders, which eliminates much risk from the outset. And where an enemy might take the opportunity to strike at a single opponent, they might be given pause at two or three. It's a matter of convenience for you, more than friendship. And somehow... it feels almost fated, or something. Like the three of you were always meant to meet, by some ordained plan of the spirits, and nothing that you could have done would have avoided it. Strange. All of that aside, though... Grandfather is growing old. The weight of his position is wearing at him, you think. There's little else to explain how with every year that passes, he seems to have aged a decade, aside from the burden of the crown dragging at him, or the malicious games of spirits. It can't be just the faint whiff of illness you sometimes catch near him. Fire Lords do not die of sickness. Not of something so petty and ignoble. That isn't right. But even with the fires within him glowing dimmer, like a slowly dying star, the man still blazes. If anything, his physical weakening, his fading fires, they only make his mind sharper, and his hands clutch tighter at what he holds, like fists of steel wrapped in wrinkled velvet gloves. He gives you little regard, for the most part. But when father's talks turn to discussions of your firebending, you can tell that the old man is pleased, even without words. He offers a single lesson through the year. Just one, spanning a period of time less than an hour. But you think that your firebending progressed more through that one lesson than with every other class of the year combined. --- Pick two [ ] Cultural Studies [ ] Economics [ ] Theology and Spiritualism [ ] Advanced Fire Bending [ ] Cold Fire [ ] Basic self-defense [ ] Strategy [ ] Logistics [ ] Politics [ ] Leadership And pick one social action. More detailed might be better. [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 8 2013, 11:43 PM Post #8 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] MORE BENDING [x] Not Palpatine. [x] Illness of the King. --- With the murder attempts... not planned assassinations, no more, in any case, than angry girls seeking a target of opportunity... out of the way, there is a little more time to focus on your bending. Father has called in a pair of ancient twins. Not even benders, a fact that you find almost insulting. But not quite. Because despite that shortcoming, Lo and Li know exactly what they are doing, and how to coax every last bit of effort out of a student, and into progress. And if you leave behind more than a little blood on the patterned stonework floors, and have to bind and tuck out of sight the clean wounds left behind by blades, then so what? It's the price paid for perfection. And you have your father's lessons to think of as well. The cold fire, lightning, requires perfect calm. Both of your emotion, and of your chi. It needs the purest stillness of your spirit, gathering, building, and waiting to be released at exactly the right time upon your target. The slightest error, and all the gathered power fizzles away uselessly. You need that perfection, for this art. Most of the year has passed before, gasping, you twist your yin and yang energies around them, and the power boils forth in a flash of crackling light, striking with a loud explosion. Father clasps your shoulder and pronounces the technique mastered. You can call the lightning. All that remains is practice to reduce the time it takes to do so. ... Is that it? There... should be more, you think, that can be done with something like this. As a tool, it's refined enough, an un-blockable lance of fury that can only be dodged before the arrow has been loosed. ... No matter. Through the year, you find your way into the secret passages of the castle. You get the feeling that you aren't supposed to be here... You don't let that stop you, though. It offers you a prime opportunity to peer in on things you would normally not see. Like Grandfather meeting with his physicians and a Sage. "Respectfully speaking, Lord... it is not that your illness cannot be treated, but that it adapts to the treatments nearly as fast as they are applied." "It is no mundane sickness of body." The Sage rasps. "It is the anger of the spirits, taken hold in your very flesh. Ever do they rage at those of your noble line." "Yes. I am aware. And so?" "... If the spirits might be appeased, if such means can be found...." "I am well aware of what would appease the damned spirits." Azulon coughs. "... Call off the war. Relenquish my throne. Go and live in a monastery. Am I not right? I will not. Confound and blast the damned spirits. Let them rage as they please, I will endure it. Doctor!" The head physician fiddles with his collar for a moment before answering. "If the disease cannot be thoroughly treated, Lord, then... even with the best of care, all that can be applied are holding measures... delaying measures." "Yes, I am aware." Azulon snaps. "I do not suffer your presence so that you can dissemble and sidle around the subject. How long." "... Er, well. Normally, for a Firebender of your advanced skill, I would presume that you had plenty of good decades left in you. At least sixty, perhaps seventy or more years. As things are, and judging by the rate of decline..." He trails off, but Azulon waves him on, irritably. "... I would estimate... ten years. As a generous guess, with possibly a year or two variation one way or the other." "... I see. Very well then." Azulon declares, accepting this, or seeming to, with stoicism. "Begone." ... It's after he's alone that he sags into his chair, breathing slightly ragged as his knuckles go white. --- Pick two [ ] Cultural Studies [ ] Economics [ ] Theology and Spiritualism [ ] Advanced Fire Bending [ ] Basic self-defense [ ] Strategy [ ] Logistics [ ] Politics [ ] Leadership And pick one social action. [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 8 2013, 11:44 PM Post #9 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] MORE BENDING. [x] An introduction to the spirits. [x] Watching a setting sun. --- Lo and Li do not hesitate in your education. There is no room for error, only perfection is allowed. The classes are beautiful, almost, in their simplicity. There is a right way to do things, and untold numbers of wrong ones. You know that you're doing things right when you don't bleed at the end of it. The fire takes new forms in your hands, threads of flame coiling across to strike like a whip, short blades swinging like knives of flame, precision, perfection... You are still not a master. Not quite yet. But close, so close you can taste it... The classes on the spirits are, comparatively, relaxing. Not easy. There aren't hundreds, or thousands, or millions of spirits. There are hundreds of trillions of little spirits, in every tree and blade of grass, in every blooming flower and every breath of wind and mountain stream. Officialy, mind, the only important ones are the spirits of Fire. Agni, light of the world. The burning sun itself, the source from which firebending draws its power, the patron of the nation, father of dragons. The trickster, Agni. He bears many faces. It's a small part that strikes you as important. The source of all firebending. The spiritual power running in the veins of Fire Benders. Not... quite, not entirely, all your own. The instructor clams up at your questioning, and assures you that you have misinterpreted his words, and that of course, Firebenders are the height of the Fire Nation's glory, and nobody would imply that a firebender is dependent on anything aside from their own skill and expertise in the art... Nobody would dare. You think you could get the man in a great deal of trouble indeed, if you pressed him further in front of the class. It would be amusing. But it would serve no purpose. The man's relief is almost palpable as you let the matter slide, and then trap him into a discussion over tea, later. He is much more careful with his words. He's slipped up once, and he won't risk his neck again, pushing beyond the official line. Imply, however.... Benders, of all sorts, are blessed by the spirits, as they say. It's more than just words. Without a little bit of spiritual presence touching you, a little bit of energy from a spirit, fused to your own, you cannot bend. It is why the time of the Eclipse is so dreaded and disdained. Because, for a brief period of time, those unfortunate enough to be within the eclipse's grip are cut off from Agni, the very source of their power, and not all the skill or personal might in the world will make any difference. The other, lesser, he hastily mentions, disciplines are less centralized in a single great spirit. Waterbenders would draw their energy from the Ocean and Moon, Earthbenders from the very earth beneath their feet, connection growing thinner and more tenuous when transported out into the ocean, where the earth beneath may lie beyond miles of thick water, Airbenders... He shuts his mouth tight about what spirits of the air the extinct Benders might have drawn on. Probably for the best. There is little more to be learned from his official class, simply rehashing and going over the nation's dogma. The superiority of fire, that Agni blesses our cause. Father seems to think that the single official class is enough. Grandfather does not quite agree, when news of your studies is brought to his ears. "Beware the spirits." he says, somberly, as father does what he can to conceal his lack of patience with the talk of mysticism. "For they are quick to anger, and their vengeance in the world is subtle." He breaks off into coughs, alarming you. ... Father, by contrast, grows intense. Like a predator circling a herd beast with a broken leg... He recovers, and sends you both off. For now. It is later, that he calls for you as he did, once, during your firebending practices, and speaks to you softly of the spirits. How only the most powerful, few, but only comparatively few, mere thousands and tens of thousands to the massive numbers of weaker spirits, might incarnate themselves in physical form, but that this does not stop them from floating through the world, invisible, un-touchable, supernatural little wisps. Their stock in trade is misfortune, when offended. If a child stills in the womb, and does not draw breath on birth? Unfortunate. It happens. If a pebble, settled precariously on the side of a mountain, finally gives in and falls and begins a landslide which buries an entire division? Unfortunate. It happens. When unusual weather prompts a flood, sweeping away and drowning someone. When a spirit touches the mind of a man, easing him into a descent into madness, when a spirit agitates beasts at just the wrong moment, when a spirit draws plague in its wake, or when spirits focus their wrath, targeting one with a wasting disease that cannot be healed... He sounds bitter at this last. But this, he says, is how the spirits normally function. Petty, and vindictive, and they do not truly understand humans, calling everything new and different wrong and hating it, to turn their wrath. And in most cases, subtle, so very subtle. Misfortune. Things that could have been accounted for, if they had been thought of in planning. Simple, tragic turns of events that none could prepare for, as a stone turning beneath someone's boot in a battle. Or a flood, or landslide, which often strikes the target of the spirits' wrath, and many others besides. In most cases, those tormented by the spirits never know to consider it anything more than simple bad luck. The lessons from Grandfather, on the spirits and their vengeance... It feels like you've had an entire extra set of classes on the spirits, though brief. ... Father won't be as enthused by this as firebending. But Grandfather has given his go-ahead. If you wish it, there is a Fire Sage that will pass his teachings on to you, among your other pursuits. --- Pick two [ ] Cultural Studies [ ] Economics [ ] Studying beneath a Sage [ ] Master Fire Bending [ ] Basic self-defense [ ] Strategy [ ] Logistics [ ] Politics [ ] Leadership And pick one social action. [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 8 2013, 11:45 PM Post #10 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] MASTERY [x] Sagacity [x] shaman... asi... something. --- Lo and Li are no less strict than ever. But this time, this time... you do not bleed. Tendrils of fire whip through the air, clashing knives out of the sky as you dodge and weave, rolling, and pushing yourself with your own flames for that little extra boost of speed, just a little more distance in a leap. Your chi sings internally as you spiral up around pillars, leaping from wall to wall... There. The opening you need. You are too far away. That won't do. Fire surges into life, propelling you forward with fury and speed, and you're grateful that you aren't particularly fond of any of the tapestries in this hallway, because everything behind you is being bathed in flame as you surge forward. And stop. Not on a dime, but close enough, as you halt between the twins, arms stretched upwards and to your sides, a blade of burning blue in either hand, searing gently against the sagging flesh of their throats, and it would be so easy now to take vengeance for all of the blood you have left on the floors in the course of these lessons, and just make the flames surge, just stretche a little further, just pull. But that would not be the perfect control you were striving for. "Almost perfect." Lo, or Li, even now you can only tell on the best of days, cackles. "One hair out of place." "Almost perfect is not good enough." the other hums. "Not even for a master. There is always room for improvement." She said it. Master. ... Which isn't to say that there is nothing left to learn. There are Master Benders and there are MASTER BENDERS. You are far and away beyond the average army recruit or imperial firebender by this point. But you have no doubt that there are even now Firebenders who would, if given cause, outright crush you simply through experience and power. Several of those in your immediate family, even. Father. Grandfather, oh yes, even diminished as he is becoming. Uncle, the Dragon of the West, gone off to lay his siege to the supposedly impenetrable walls of Ba Sing Se. Well. At the very least, little zuzu cannot, can never hope to compare to you, with his little streamers of flame. Such a late bloomer. Such a shame. Such a pity, that he was born first. Well, he has his uses. Even if you cannot learn the chi-blocking yourself, and a bitter pill that was to swallow when you brought it up to Ty Lee, only half in jest... no, no bender can learn that skill. To twist your chi in such a way that it would stop the bending of others, even if you could, it would first require dousing your own flames. Perhaps, or perhaps not, for good. There is, it seems, no way of telling for sure. And that is a cost that you would never consider, not when you have Ty Lee herself to do that sort of thing for you already. But even so, her practice needs a target to test itself against. And brother dearest is always ever so happy to assist... It's not like he's not getting anything out of it, either, even as you watch and memorize how she moves, recording the knowledge carefully so as to remember, if need comes, how the attacks go and how to avoid them. He's certainly learning how to dodge, to some degree. And how to take a fall. Your lessons in other fields progress, under the watchful eye of Fire Sage Shyu, the youngest and, by several measures, least important Sage to have minding other things. You learn the spirits distaste for salt and iron, and how to draw a maze that, in theory, will confound and limit the movement of any spirit that manifests in the real world to any degree. You learn that there are spirits which are born in the world itself, bound to items of the world, which have simply existed for a long enough period that a seed of spiritual power has appeared in them. You learn that spirits hear their names, if they have one, when they are spoken, and if spoken in the wrong place they can be considered an invitation to emerge. You learn that, despite this, most spirits do not move far from where they know. The spirit of a grand mountain may look down upon a village in the valley being sacked and burned, and so long as the mountain sheperds, who it knows, are not touched where it can see them, it will not lift a finger. The valley is not the demense of a spirit of the mountain's peak. You learn, more than that, how spirits behave. Think. A spirit is alien, wholly. It does not forgive. If appeased, it will forget that it had been crossed in the first place, and usually return to its own business, ignoring the human world. For the most part. But it does not forgive those who have crossed it. The easiest, and most dangerous, means of appeasing a spirit in normal situations is to swear an oath before it. Dangerous, because oaths given, promises made, debts owed, to spirits... they have weight. If you promise a man a loaf of bread, in the evening, and then realize that it is your last and you will go hungry if you hold to your word, then you can change your mind. Offer only half the loaf, and something nice to make up for it later, or back out of the deal entirely and ignore the scorn thrown your way by the man who will go hungry tonight while you are fed. A promise given to a spirit, however, is not lightly broken. Men, strong master benders, mighty lords who had entire legions bow before them, have been destroyed by breaking an oath of such a nature. Aging decades in a night, wasting away, simply being driven utterly, irrevocably mad, or being burned to death from the inside out by their own fires in chastisement. Brokering deals with spirits is dangerous. You cannot say something, and then turn later and change your mind. In the same breath, it is both simpler, and infinitely more difficult and dangerous than human politics. And Grandfather is being tormented, even now, by hundreds of floating spirits of illness, of decay, of slow and lingering death, clawing vengeance for temple nomads decades exterminated by Sozin out on the Fire Lord of now, taking their fury out slowly, just one coughed up drop of blood and gunk at a time. There are safeguards. Measures taken. Of course there are. The greater spirits of air could never crash down on the palace in the fury of a storm, to rip at the walls until not one stone stood atop another. No matter how the wind of the temples might howl at lost monks, the wind there is not the wind here. It might throw an unwary traveler in red off of the temple ramparts, if he were unwary, but there are limits to the influence of even the greatest spirits. But to blow other spirits in the right direction, seeking out the one they held accountable, never mind that the Fire Lord then is not the Fire Lord now? That, they can do. It can also be guarded against, to some degree. If you know, in advance, that attacks will come from such a vector. Almost anything can prevented if you know, ahead of time, that something is coming. Rooting things out, once they have settled their claws and teeth deeply into place... that is a different matter, sometimes. And the spirits take great delight in finding new and fiendishly subtle and unexpected ways of bringing their wrath to man. Speaking to spirits, at all, is dangerous. You still want to try. But Agni... No. Shyu blocks that suggestion, hard. You are not ready. Shyu does not believe he would be ready. The Fire Sage expresses his concern that if the Sun itself came down to speak to you in even a fraction of its full resplendence, neither of you would survive the time it took for greetings to be spoken. Its mere presence, at such a distance, would burn not just your flesh but your very spirit to cinders. But while they are usually far more advanced in their studies than you, Sages are, in fact, brought to stand before some manner of spirit through their training, and you are nothing if not a prodigy. A Master Bender. The matter is brought before Azulon. The matter is discussed over the course of several days. And a field trip of sorts is arranged for you, to go to a volcano near the Capital. Azulon calls you aside personally before you go, and even as Father scoffs, warns you to be wary of everything which you say and do while in the presence of a spirit. ... Father does not, when all is said and done, believe. He counsels you, as you walk to the carriage, to look for the trick behind it. And to try to work out, later, how to replicate any fancy parlor tricks of the sages that you see, which might be put to some real use. It's a little startling to realize just how thoroughly he disbelieves in spirits existing at all. Certainly, you've never actually seen one yourself... But the Sages all believe in something, and uncle Iroh is known to have great respect for the spirits. ... And, most importantly, Azulon. Grandfather knows that the spirits exist. And when it comes down to it, if you have to balance the assurances of your grandfather that something exists against the assurances of your father that they do not... You believe. As Grandfather does. No matter what Father has to say. And if something in the weight of the world seems to have shifted in an unexpected way, and things seem just very slightly different, when you make that decision, it doesn't matter. The carriage takes you to the volcano, and you follow Shyu's path, winding past hot springs and bubbling mud pits on your way. Not to the caldera, and the main basin itself. You are not here to seek an audience with lady Amaterasu. No, you go instead to a different vent, with a small marker stone placed before the lip, and many, many meters below, red hot and flowing stone bubbles in its own little pocket. Even here, you have to bend the heat away from yourself, a little, or it would be stifling and difficult to breathe. Shyu waves you cautiously forward. This was your idea, and so, unless things go catastrophically wrong, it's your show. You decide what will happen next. You take a deep breath. The spirit may or may not be polite. It may offer bargains, exchanged oaths. Perhaps you will get the better end of the deal, if so, or perhaps it may offer things which seem worth the exchange, but are not, or offer things which seem useless, only for you to realize years, maybe decades from now, that they are things which you would very much have liked, only to no longer have the opportunity to get them... You calm yourself. More polite is better. More formal is better. Flattery, good. And you speak, stretching out your Chi in summons, bending without bending, an invitation. "Yosei of ruby wings. Madame Butterfly, grand spirit of this place. Rise up. I, Azula, daughter of Ozai, son of Fire Lord Azulon, son of Fire Lord Sozin, would ask an audience of you." For a moment, there is nothing. Then, far below, the magma bubbles more intensely. Flows upward. An orb of molten rock lifts, dripping slowly down back into the vent below, until all of the stone has fallen away, leaving only a spot of crimson light in which you can see... dimly, only very dimly, a faint outline reminiscent of the wings of a butterfly. "As you have called, Azula, daughter of Ozai, son of Azulon, son of Sozin, so have I come. Speak, then, mortal." the spot of light says, voice echoing as though from the bottom of a long well. "For what purpose have you sought me out? The vanity of royalty? Or do you come to propose a compact? Is there wisdom you seek in the molten earth? Or would you offer your body in sacrifice, as a vessel to serve my purposes?" Shyu stiffens, but you are not that much of a fool. You have no intention of simply letting some random fairy take your body for its own. --- [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 8 2013, 11:47 PM Post #11 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] Negotiation. "My grandfather, Fire Lord Azulon, suffers under a curse of the spirits." You state, outlining things clearly, without requesting or offering anything. Yet. "I seek to know what it would cost, for aid to be given to my grandfather, Fire Lord Azulon." Shyu is shifting uncomfortably. "Azula..." He hisses, softly, but is interrupted as the spirit speaks. "Such a... selfless... goal." the butterfly hums. "Poor Azulon. Grand Azulon. Great blaze dying down to cinders. Yes. Yeeeesss... I could aid him. But not without cost. And not while I am here, and he, there." "Azula..." Shyu hisses again. "I will consider-" you say, clearly. "... the costs you might offer." "Give me your body." the fairy cajoles. "In one stroke, both payment, and means of transportation..." "I will not." You reply, sternly. "... Hoo... dearest grandfather is not so very important after all?" "I would be a fool to agree to such terms." You say, sternly. ".... Hoohoho. And perhaps not. But regardless, I would spread. I would grow." The butterfly says, wings fluttering. "... If you will not give yourself to me, then you will bind yourself to me." "Azula." Shyu hisses again. "Beware what you speak. It is a sages duty to restrict the spirits to the places where they hold sway. To prevent them from gaining too great a hold in the realm of man." "It is not without its benefits..." the butterfly says. "Do you not fear, little bender of flame, the times when the sun grows dark, and Agni, great Agni, turns his eyes away from the world? Do you not know that great lord Agni, the mighty Sun, does not stretch his hand out to you humans who choose to step into our world? Bind yourself to me, and you must carry me with you, but never will we be separate...." "The Eclipse can be endured." Shyu says, harshly. "And none step into the world of the spirits without the gravest of cause! Azula, close your ears to this cajoler. Its temptations... they stray dangerously close to heretical, to crossing a line which would leave you a traitor not simply to the fire nation, but to all of humanity, the whole world. A Sage's duty is to men..." He shakes his head, taking a different tack. "Take a spirit to your chest, and like a viper, you can never know the hour at which it will strike you." He affirms. "You will never escape from spirits, for always, it will be right there, awaiting a careless word, or an offer meant, but not taken, in jest." The fear is clear in his voice. Are all Sages so terrified of the spirits? And... "Is there not some agreement with Agni, the very sun in the sky, which allows us to bend the fires at all?" "Yes!" Shyu snaps, confirming what had only before been implied and edged around. "An agreement long paid, details lost to the annals of history, those who made it dead so long that even their bones are now rotten away to dust. There is no need to make another. The temptations that the spirits offer are false, and can only ever lead to regret! Offer them no oaths, make them no deals. There is nothing it can offer you that is worth any price it might ask. Close your ears to the spirit and turn aside from its offers. It is why I brought you here!" ... Brought to hear the offers of the spirits, and deny them. Yes. That makes sense. Traditionally, ritually, refuse anything the spirits might offer you. A Sage's duty is to humans. Yes. But from the beginning, you never studied the spirits to become a Sage, did you? You sought this knowledge for how you could use it. "I can drive away the spirits which plague Fire Lord Azulon. This is the truth. If you are willing to pay the price?" "Do not listen to it!" Shyu urges. "The line of succession is not broken. Azulon is not yet dead. And there will always be another Fire Lord!" --- [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 8 2013, 11:48 PM Post #12 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] Further Negotiations. "Binding. Explain the details of this, if you wish me to consider the offer." You demand. A small heat wave rises off the fairy before it settles. "It is simple. I will join myself to you, from this day on, I will ever be with you, and within you. Wherever you are, there I shall also be. If I wish, I will feel the world as a human does, through your actions. Else I will simply be at your side, close at hand. In turn, you shall draw upon me alongside great Agni, or in place of great Agni, and as his power swells with the human bending of fire, so too shall my power grow as you work flames to your will. And I shall spend a great part of my own power driving off the spirits which torment precious Azulon. Once gone, his body will begin to heal from the ravages left in their wake, and defenses may be set to prevent their return." "Outlining, then, the proposed terms. Under these conditions, you will bind yourself to me, and fuel my fires, as does Agni. You will experience things through my body, but by no means will you attempt to take possession of it. You will heal my grandfather-" "I will drive off the spirits which torment him." the ruby butterfly corrects. "After this, he may heal naturally, or be healed by humans. In that sense, he will be cured. But healing is not among my powers. I will not offer to perform a task of which I am incapable." "... I see. But you will drive off the spirits, and remove them as obstacles to my grandfather's being healed." You correct yourself. "Are these the terms, as you state them?" "Yes. Yeeeesss..." the butterfly hisses, as a low, drawn out breath. "And should further deals need to be brokered... I will be close at hand, will I not?" "Azula, think of what you are doing." Shyu hisses. "This is not... quite... the sort of thing which would force me, in accordance with my vows, to end your life in order to preserve the safety of the people. But it treads close, perilously close. If you do this, then no Sage in all the nation will take up your lessons again, not for all the gold in the kingdom and not for all of the Fire Lord's favor. We do not seek out deals with the spirits. Azulon is not worth this!" "Your words, Fire Sage, tread dangerously close to treason to your ruler." You point out, softly. "I am trying to prevent you from doing something which you will almost certainly regret. There is no turning back from a bargain with the spirits! We place ourselves between the spirits and the people we defend from their whims and interests, we do not, by any means, broker deals with the spirit world for our own gain. It is forbidden!" Shyu says, softly. ... It's not for your gain, though. This is... not even for 'the Fire Lord'. It's for your grandfather. Perhaps there will be another Fire Lord. Will there be another Azulon? --- [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 8 2013, 11:48 PM Post #13 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] Final Contract. "... You will make no bargains with others, through the course of our arrangement." You say, firmly, watching Shyu's teeth grit. "You will not take idle words as offers to bargain. If I choose to make a deal, following this, I will thrice declare my intent to bargain, and terms will be discussed thereafter. Upon my death, all contracts and deals brokered with you are considered complete, nullified, and voided. Are these additional terms acceptable?" There is a long, slow, hiss, as of gas venting from a hidden place. "I will abide by your additional terms. Are we in agreement?" "Azula!" Shyu barks, in desperate command. You nod. "We are in agreement. The terms are acceptable." You say, plainly. The spot of crimson light flares, and shoots forward like an arrow, piercing you without pain or spilled blood as Shyu cries out in dismay. It burns, through all your blood, and you can feel the spirit settling into place in your very bones. "Yes. Flesh.... it has been too long, even if it is not my will that directs it..." the Ruby Butterfly hums, from inside you. You tense. Nothing happens. You are still in control. You are still Azula. Far below, the bubbling of the magma pit goes silent, and dark, hardening into black stone. Already, you can feel the air near this vent cooling. ".... Fool girl." Shyu sighs, as a burning on your chest reveals a mark, scored there as though by fire, but without pain, in the shape of a butterfly. "There is no turning back from this, once done." "If it was purely for my own gain, then I would not do this. If it was for the sake of any other person, no, even if it was for the sake of every single man, woman and child in the fire nation, then I would not make this bargain. But for Azulon, for my grandfather..." you shoot back. "All men die, whether through the whims of the spirits, or simple age." Shyu sighs. "If you cannot accept that, at times, you must let go of the attachments of the world... no. You would never have made a true Sage. There will be no further lessons." "Never mind the rambling of cowards that do not dare risk themselves in pursuit of their goals." the fairy murmurs. Shyu does not speak to you again. He does not even look directly at you, or completely acknowledge your presence, on the trip back. Turning his eyes away from what he sees as a failure. But you did not fail. You take an audience with grandfather, the moment you return. "... Do you trust me?" You ask, as the butterfly floats out of you, hovering between cupped hands. Grandfather squints. He can't... see it. Not quite. A tiny, flickering candleflame of something, vague impression of a shape, but... while he respects, and fears, the wrath of the spirits, he himself never undertook any form of Sage training, he does not know how to properly look, and the Butterfly is no more than partially incarnate in the world of humans at the very most. Sages could see it. Others, opened to the spirit realm. But even normal benders, even grandfather, can only see the results of a spirits actions and not the spirit himself. He cannot see the butterfly in your hands, not properly. No more than he can see the wisps of foul smoke sneaking within him with every breath taken, lingering within and without his very body, and leaving ruin in all they touch. Not like you can, now. "What do you speak of?" Azulon rumbles. "... I have sought the power to drive out the spirits which torment you. A bargain with a spirit, a cost I am willing to pay. Do you trust me enough to let the spirits of disease be driven out?" Azulon considers. "... Your power is not sufficient to harm me, even were you to will it so. And spirits keep to their word. Yes, I will allow the spirit of flame to drive out the spirits of illness. No more than this." "Thank you, Grandfather." The Ruby Butterfly flaps its wings, and floats forward, sparkling with flame as it grows, just a little. Over the course of the next several days, Azulon's physicians are startled at the beginning of his recovery, where all hope for healing had been thought lost, and the embers of what was once a mighty bonfire have begun to burn once more. ... Father does not seem pleased with that. Though, he does seem to be happy that you have, in his words, played upon Azulon's insecurities and good fortune to secure your position. He truly does not believe, not a bit, in the spirits. The Fire Sages, for their part, maintain a grim silence but do not speak out against you. For Azulon's part... he does not censure them for not making attempts to broker such deals with the spirits themselves. The Fire Sages are not, apparently, required to take such pro-active options. But he does seem to consider them cowards, now. Useful cowards, to be sure. But too bogged down by fear of the spirits they contain. The year comes to a close, with uncle Iroh sending gifts of rare Earth Kingdom tea, and letters reporting the progress of the siege. Azulon seems pleased with it. You think, that while you are far and away the Fire Lord's favorite grandchild, Iroh remains, as ever, his favorite son. The Butterfly whispers to you, in your ears or in your mind, unseen by others, and delights in sensation. Hot tea, spring-water baths, rare and fresh fruits and fine meals.... it revels in these, equally as much as it does a slight papercut, or jostling bump when your footing shifts, and your elbow taps against a corner. It hungers for pain as much as it does pleasant things. And always, it seems, its first counsel is to resort to your bending to solve any problem which arises. Well, it's not as though you didn't already have a little inclination to just burn your problems, but hearing it in stereo is... new. --- Pick two Yearly Foci [ ] Cultural Studies [ ] Economics [ ] Bullshit crazy Fire technique (Run it by me, may take longer than just one year, depending) [ ] Basic self-defense [ ] Strategy [ ] Logistics [ ] Politics [ ] Leadership And pick one social action. [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 8 2013, 11:51 PM Post #14 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] Butterfly Wings. [x] Leading Men. {x} Grampere --- Ty Lee is stunned and delighted by your aura. She says that it's something like a field of wildflowers with butterflies floating through it, only everything is on fire. Beautiful, but deadly. You like the sound of it. The Ruby Butterfly doesn't much mind either. You spend a lot of your free time focusing on something special, though. It takes more than half the year, but by the end of it, you can fly on shimmering blue wings of fire, shaped like a rare and exotic butterfly. There are a few mishaps. But nobody liked that shed anyway. The fairy is pleased with the technique, as it strokes the spirit's vanity. For classes, you learn how to give orders, directing soldiers and displaying your authority. As well as delegating that authority, giving others important tasks to see fulfilled through whatever means. Grandfather teaches you how to cheat. He calls it 'the Divine Right of Rule'. A flowery enough name for it. But it's a special way of manipulating your own inner fires, shining out to be felt, though not seen, by those nearby. If you fan your flame in the right way, then the inner fires of others will begin to flicker in time with it, lending... a little something extra to your words and actions. A sort of oomph. Gravitas. A hypnotizing and enrapturing sort of charisma that nudges others to push themselves harder at your direction. You wonder if he taught Uncle Iroh this. You don't think he taught Ozai. During the year, Iroh sends more gifts. Zuzu, being a boy, or something, recieves a finely crafted dagger. You get a doll. You get a doll. You barely keep yourself from incinerating it when you see that he's made up for this gross error in judgement by sending along a small, expensive looking box of rare eastern jasmine tea along with it. You'll forgive him the doll this once. Near the end of the year, though, sad news comes. Iroh's son, Lu Ten, has fallen in battle. And Iroh has completely flipped out over it. You guess you can understand a little. But going to the point of abandoning the siege entirely, sending his armies to the retreat to go home, and then completely disappearing from the world's eyes, it seems a bit... Extreme, somehow? But the whole palace mourns, no matter how well or poorly they knew Lu Ten. From Azulon himself, down to the meanest scullery maid. ... You feel... driven, somehow, to the secret passages. You haven't been in them for quite some time, but somehow, the urge rises in you to walk through them. To stop in just the right place, and listen. As Ozai callously demands the title of heir be transferred from Iroh to him. And as grandfather blows his top at the demand, and the insinuations of cowardice and implications of the retreat meaning outright treason on Iroh's part. "You know nothing. You understand nothing." Grandfather snarls softly. "How can you possibly understand what Iroh is going through right now?" "The family line running through Iroh is dead. My brother only had one child, and he is too devoted to his dead wife to even consider re-marrying." Ozai says, pressing his luck further still, and how can he not see what a bad idea this is, grandfather looks prepared to unleash his fury and burn Ozai to nothing.... You have to watch, and see if he does. "The line of succession ends with Iroh. He will bear no new children. But my line lives!" Ozai entreats. "A living wife, two children, and I will have no hesitation in siring more. Let me step out of Iroh's shadow. Make me the heir, and let Iroh retire quietly and do as he pleases with the rest of his life, he has served the nation well enough-!" "Enough! You dare. You dare come before me and make such demands, as your brother's very heart bleeds with the deepest of sorrow!" Azulon snarls. He breathes deeply, and you realize that, no, he will not be striking out in his anger. Not with bending, at least. But there would be a price to be paid for Ozai's folly. "You stand there with a living son, and demand that I rip away all Iroh has left from him." Azulon says, coldly. "You have not suffered as Iroh has suffered. You will learn. Ozai. If you will be heir, I command this. You will understand your brother's sorrow. You will know it, fully, deeply, and intimately." ... Your skin is prickling. The butterfly is silent, through all of this, with not even the slightest comment, as you watch Azulon gesture. "You would be heir, Ozai? You come to me, making demands in your hubris? You will sacrifice your son upon the altar of your ambitions." Azulon says, voice as cold as the deepest frosts of winter. "... Kill my son." Ozai says, seeming almost stricken. "You will understand the sorrow of losing a first-born son. And it is as you have said, is it not true? You have two children. And it is no secret which either of us favors." "He is still my son." "And did you not say, even now, that you were willing to sire as many children as you needed?" Azulon's gaze hardens. "But you will rue this decision, Ozai. You will sacrifice your son, and become heir, and may the taste of your success be ever bitter in your throat and twist at your guts in the night.... Your son will pay the price of your hubris. In the future, may you choke on your greed. Understand, now, what price comes with demands made of a Fire Lord in the depths of sorrow." ... Oh yes. Grandfather is angry. Angry beyond anything you have ever seen. Even being the favorite grandchild.... You don't think it would be enough, if you went to him now, and asked if he might change his mind on this decree. Not while the fire still burns white hot in his eyes and in his heart. You'll just become one more target. He might regret making this order later. But certainly, not before it's far too late. ... You feel a little betrayed, honestly. Zuko is your plaything. That's how it has always been. If there was some misfortune or annoyance to heap upon his head, then it's been you to set it there. And now, Grandfather is just ordering Father to break your toy? Even if Grandfather is the greatest, obviously the best person in the world... ... It's his right, you suppose. And with Zuko out of the way, you are the eldest child, so if Father does become the Heir, you're right next in line for the throne. ... You still feel. A little. Somehow. Conflicted? You just don't know, really, what to do with this set out before you, as father rises, and turns, and slowly, so very slowly, walks outward and to the door. And there should be a million comments that stupid butterfly could have made by now, so why isn't it saying anything? --- [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 8 2013, 11:52 PM Post #15 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] Lurk in the tunnels and watch. [x] .... Wait.... Let me check my... [x] ... [x] Right, lurk in the tunnels and watch what happens. --- Theres several things you want to do. Chase after Father and challenge him to Agni Kai for your toy's ownership. He'll crush you at this stage of things, but you could try. Genius of firebending you might be, but you've not even had ten years of experience as a bender, not even five as a Master, yet, behind you. You might put up a fight, but in the end, it would only be his lack of intent to destroy you that saw you surviving such a battle. Find that woman. Send her off with Zuko. Hide him, until Grandfather's anger has cooled. Maybe it would work, but crossing him right now, his full fury would come down on you if he knew. You would not survive that, you know. You could not hope to survive direct battle with your Grandfather. Confronting him directly, that's even worse, suicidal, crazy. Crushed, destroyed, the moment you spark his temper in this state, you are done. Being the favorite grandchild won't save you. You've never seen this sort of wrath fallen over Grandfather before. So you... You aren't paralyzed with indecision. This is a tactical judgement. You're just waiting. To see what happens. Waiting for anything to happen. In the court, or in these passages, either. Nobody comes. Grandfather is stiff and his fires are burning around him with the fury of the noontime sun, and you're growing tired and... Smell. What is that.. smell? Acrid, but sweet, a faint whiff of smoke where smoke shouldn't be, with a spicy undertone of some kind, disguised and concealed, and.... You feel woozy. You'd like to sit down. You'd like to... sleep... "What are you doing here?" A soft voice murmurs. "You mustn't be here. Not now. Especially not now." Familiar. Though you can't... quite... place it, for some reason. You're picked up, when did someone get here, you didn't notice, you were just suddenly so.. so very. tired.... You are in bed. You can't recall anything between there, and here. Mother's hand is on your head. Why is that woman's hand on your head? You don't understand, what is going on... "Sleep, Azula. Sleep. In the morning, everything will have passed." Mother whispers, in the darkness. ... You can't muster the strength to rise. Your whole body feels... heavy? "And Azula." She whispers. "There is one thing you must know, before. I... I never hated you. I was afraid. But... I forgive you, Azula." You drown in black slumber. --- When you wake, with the dawn, you feel... strangely tired. Your head is foggy, and pounding. You don't feel like you had a proper night of rest at all. When did you go to bed last night....? --- [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 8 2013, 11:53 PM Post #16 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] What. THe. fUCk!? You're so tired, and your head hurts. Surely it wouldn't hurt anything too much if you just laid in bed for a little longer. Maybe. Just for a bit. You rise anyway, and stalk through the oddly somber halls of the palace. Through the halls, through and around, until finally you find a gathering of people. In the court. Sages, and nobles, and servants bearing witness, before your Father. And. No. No, no no. This is not real. You are dreaming. There is nothing in the world with those spirits driven away, that... "... This was the last I saw of my wife." Your father's voice echoes. "Before this, however, she said that she intended to speak with Azulon in private, over a small matter of conflict between us. When I later entered the court, having heard no word from either of them, I found things as I stated." The Sages are consulting with a blazing fire in a pot. It flares up. "... Agni's fires have recorded truth." A Sage states, grimly. "Let it be known before all. The lady Ursa stands accused of crime most foul, of treason to the crown of the Fire Lord, and of failing to remain and defend her deeds. Is there anything further you wish to say, Prince Ozai?" "One thing, alone." Ozai says, back straightening. "In my father's last words to me. In his last orders. He decreed clearly, and without doubt in his words, that I was to become his heir. Fire Lord after him." The Sages turn, wide-eyed to the fire-pot. It flares. "... Agni's fires have recorded truth." A Sage states, as first they, then the rest of the onlookers, fall to their knees. "The Fire Lord has met his end. May the reign of the new Fire Lord, Ozai, be long and prosperous." ... You can't. It's the truth, but also. You can't. Breathe. Air. You need... Zuko was not in the crowd. Zuko is sitting, alone, lost look on his face, in a side garden. How. How dare. He. How dAre he. Still be alive. How daRe. How Dare he live. How dARe he, when the best person in the world, How DaRE, you CAn't, hOW dAre. The fire is singing in your ears, and the butterfly is urging you along. HOw dAre he still be alive, how daRe she pick him over Grandfather, hoW, How daRE, how DAre, hOw dARE HOw daRe how dare how dare how dare he how dare, what right does he have, how dare-! You cannot think. This, it has to be how Grandfather felt, when- You never see Ty Lee coming, and it looks like Zuko will never learn exactly how close, just now, you came to spitting in that woman's face. "Let it fade, let it fade, this is not the time, not the place-" Mai hisses as the two of them hustle you away quickly. You. You cannot speak. The fury is too strong. You try to say things, but no words form, only sounds and incoherent rage. Mai slaps you. She, she dares. "Listen and burn me later if you must, but control yourself now!" she hisses. "Your father has just become Fire Lord, if yet un-crowned. Zuko is his first born. He is his heir. No matter what grievance, what fury, you must wait, because right now? If your brother goes missing, people will notice." You can't Bend. How dare they conspire like this against you when you cannot think, when you can't. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. Control. Yourself. It is all you can do not to try to take someone's throat out with your teeth, and it looks like they can tell that, as they stand before you, waiting. --- [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 8 2013, 11:53 PM Post #17 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] The most private of grief. It takes several minutes before you are no longer prepared to murder everything that crosses before your eyes. You stumble to your feet, and to your chambers. Not safe, not totally secure, but the best place you can think of, with your retinue pacing carefully behind you. You close yourself in. Then, alone except those two, you scream into the pillows, howling out at the world your fury and sorrow and frustrated grief and the vengeance that you will seek, that you must have, some day, letting loose in a way that you haven't since the very day you were born. The mirror doesn't survive your sorrow and fury. Dolls are smashed apart, feathers stuffing pillows torn out and scattered blindly, and your knuckles are bruised and bleeding from smashing at the walls and the floor, but you can't, you have to hurt something, you have to destroy. The grief of kings cannot be sated with just tears. If you could bend, less would have survived your wrath, and when you finally collapsed, choking with grief and blind from tears, it would certainly have been in nothing more than ashes. Ty Lee whispers to you, comforting, as she holds and strokes your hair, but you can't understand words right now, they're just noise that makes no sense. You faint from the exhaustion of your bitter rage and sorrow. They're still there when you wake. They won't speak of this. Nothing of what has happened here. ... And damn it, but they're right. You can't kill Zuzu, no matter how much the little snot deserves it for daring to be alive when the very sun has fallen from the sky. You can't say anything about what you've seen. Not now, especially. Ozai will suffer from it, yes, and maybe you can force him to carry out Grandfather's last order, spoken in rage that must have been like your own. But you don't need to have taken classes in politics to know how mind numbingly stupid challenging father is right now, in any way. He'll kill you. He'll have to kill you, he'll have no choice. Maybe he really didn't even have anything to do with it, just left and drank bitter wine at the decree, and it was all Ursa. But there's no way that he could just sit back and let himself be linked to regicide in any way. You can't win a direct battle with him, but he can't afford to let you speak of what you saw, if he knew you overheard it. Kill Zuko, his heir, and he will have to kill you in turn. He won't have a choice about it, a strike directly at the line of succession like that. Even if you could match his experience and power, killing him now, like killing Zuko, would be foolhardy in the extreme, never mind the butterfly's urging to burn and give in to the desire to loose your rage in flame. Right now, with the crown settling on his head, Ozai holds the Fire Nation together. Remove him, and with Iroh, the rightful heir, gone. Disappeared, no man knowing where he might be. Leave the crown and the throne just up for grabs, because powerful firebender, genius firebender you might be, nobody would yet think of you as a serious possibility for heir yet, especially with Zuko still in the way and muddying the waters... It would be a bloodbath. The entire nation, all the nobles turning aside and ignoring the war efforts with Earth and Water to turn on themselves like a pack of rabid dogs, civil war erupting with every little princeling and ruler of a province or region with even a dozen benders calling it home, just a hundred armed soldiers, stepping forward to consider how best to fight their way to the top as the states war on each other, every last noble seeking to unite the nation once more. Under his banner, of course. With himself at the top. Chaos and pandemonium. Just a few months of that would set back the expansion, the war effort, by decades as soldiers are pulled from the front lines to fight for honor and glory at home. You... could do that. You could bathe all the Fire Nation in blood, with just one simple act or two, a few words. And destroy Grandfather's dream of conquest. Or at least, damage it greatly. ... No. You can't do that. You bury your hatred, and smile through grit teeth, and the world continues to turn. --- Pick three Yearly Foci [ ] Cultural Studies [ ] Economics [ ] Bullshit crazy Fire technique (Run it by me, may take longer than just one year, depending, write-in option) [ ] Basic self-defense [ ] Strategy [ ] Logistics [ ] Politics [ ] Advanced Leadership And pick one social action. [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 8 2013, 11:54 PM Post #18 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] Leading from the Front [x] Dancing with Serpents [x] The best Defense? [x] Game Nights ---- A leader's job is to direct their men. Through battle, to glory, or to death. But the hows of it are strategy, and planning out the details well in advance. The field of strategists, and not of leaders. You lead from the front, the head of the charge. And a Fire Nation leader learns best through experience. There is a little pirate problem, near the village of Shu Jing, the province of Sword Master Piandao. Generally, he would handle the matter himself, but he is willing to respectfully bow out when there is a lesson for one of the royal family, to be learned as all the best lessons are. With the spilling of blood. You are placed in command of a unit of two dozen soldiers, and spend several weeks, first in travel, and then in locking down the hidden camp and outpost of the pirates, and making sure that they are all present, at the right time. And then you charge, in a storm of fire and fury, delighted laughter of the butterfly echoing through your ears alongside screams of the fallen. There's no real way of telling the pirates' allegiances, though you would like to think they were dirt cast off from earth, or scum floating from the waters, rather than once citizens of Fire. But no matter what, they were outlaws, criminals, and wretched filth preying on the trade lines. Now they are ash on the wind and fallen bones. None of your soldiers died, even, with you burning arrows out of the air as they flew. Were wounded, certainly. But no casualties. You can only wish that classes in the capital were so simple. Silver, forked tongues, flattering in one breath and passing along biting rumors in the next, a throne room filled with vipers, always looking for the right moment to bite. It would be so much simpler if you could just burn everyone and say that this was how it would be. But no. The key to politics in the fire nation is that everyone is out for, first and primarily, themselves. If that means making a quiet alliance with one person against another, or if this means spreading tales of what you saw one night, when someone met with someone they should not have, for indiscretions that deeply tarnish their reputation, then so be it. Insult and rumor are weapons as deadly as open flame, in the court, and can crush a minor noble as easily as a division of spears and a unit of benders. The key to it all is what people want... and how they can most easily, or most safely, get that. Mai's biting tongue is both ill suited to politics, and unusually helpful in cutting right through to the heart of matters. It's surprisingly useful, to be able to apologize for something your underling has said, but then press onward with it in mind... She's also a great source of aid in classes of self defense. And, as ever in the Fire Nation, the greatest defense is a suitably placed offense, waiting for just the right moment. The first of the lessons leads to several more. Anatomy. Where, exactly, to put a knife... or, a blast of fire, to achieve the greatest effect. Where just a simple cut will sever vessels beneath the skin and fat, and leave your attacker seeking medical aid, or bleeding out on your floor. Where to strike, and make it hurt. That there is no such thing as fair in battle. It's startlingly new, in some ways. Nobody had ever, for example, thrown a handful of sand in your eyes, before, during your bending practices. Nobody would toss thin bladders of oil to burst and grease the floors, where you need to land. Nobody would have dared make a fool of you in that way, and suffer the consequences. It's a humiliating sequence of weeks, in many respects. But you can't look at it and say 'none of that was useful'. Not quite. You suppose that people who can't bend need every advantage they can snatch up. It will be good for you, in the future, to keep this in mind. Though some day, you think you might just look back on these lessons and smile, just a bit, when you hear the news that Mistress Shin has... suffered an accident. Perhaps. Father is busy these days. But as those classes draw to an end, he takes you aside to note that, if you wish, there is some private tutoring that can be undertaken, with a certain person. Rin. A commoner servant, no matter that she is head of the housemaids. .... It's raining, the first day that you turn your attention to Pai Sho tiles. It's one of Iroh's hobbies, you understand, and if he was Grandfather's favorite, then there must be something to it. The rules are simple, when you have them all memorized. Interesting sets of plays to be found. And, as you well know, when Mai graciously concedes defeat, you love to win, no matter where that victory is achieved. .... And, as you discover, when Ty Lee smiles apologetically, after a series of moves that could only have been considered random and fanciful flights of madness, no sense behind them, to suddenly win the game in a single clean stroke? You hate to lose. You don't vent this displeasure, though. In total, even so, you play far more games with Mai than with Ty Lee. Little ZuZu has no patience for the game, storming out before the last few tiles can even be played, and cement the clear victory. You relish, somehow, that win more than all the rest. ... The Fire Lord has no time for games, and it seems that father mildly disapproves of this means of spending time. Not enough, however, to speak out against it. ---- Pick three Yearly Foci [ ] Cultural Studies [ ] Economics [ ] Bullshit crazy Fire technique (Run it by me, may take longer than just one year, depending, write-in option) [ ] "Self-defense" lessons(choose) -[ ] Dirty Tricks -[ ] Basics of [Weapon] [ ] Lessons under HeadMaid Rin [ ] Strategy [ ] Logistics [ ] Politics [ ] Minor Military Activity(choose) -[ ] Bandit Purification -[ ] Battle at Sea, Pirate Elimination -[ ] Scout a relatively safe region -[ ] Crush Rebellious Peasant Militia And pick one social action. [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 8 2013, 11:54 PM Post #19 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] The cold 'Fires' [x] Servants Unseen. [x] Battle with Brinebeard [x] Mai and Ty Lee. --- "I do not like your lightning." the fairy hisses sulkily by your ear, refusing to remain inside of you as you manipulate the energies to call the bolts. "Does the cold fire offend you so, Butterfly?" You wonder aloud. "The world of Men has changed, greatly, for such a skill to fall under the grip of Fire." she grumbles, clearly displeased. "Once, the lancing tongues of death, falling from the clouds of the deadliest storms? This was the sole dominion of the Air, and the residual memory of the ones who once used that power even now taint the flavors of its energy. I am a being of fires so great that even earth melts and flows like water. Fire, and I may tolerate earth. The stench of wind-wielders clings to those bolts like foul rot." .... interesting. Eventually you begin to work the cold fires more to your will. They come forth more easily, and move more fluidly, crackling at your direction and striking like whips, to loop around and take hold of things as one arc of energy after another burns deeply into the target. Less direct impact, but if you don't want to kill someone right away, and don't mind waiting and lowering the intensity, if you can slowly pump arc after arc into their body until they explode in a shower of gore... well, at least, that's what tests on dummies suggest might happen. You can't wait to see if it holds true with brigands. Rin's lessons, by contrast, are something of a disappointment to you. It doesn't strike you as right to sneak about. To be graded, on passing through a room, by how few people take note of your passing. You are FIRE! You BURN! You want to be seen, to have people look upon you and know how insignificant in comparison they.... You aren't so good at sneaking around. And it burns at you, to dress up as some common servant, and bring trays of tea to lesser nobles, and see if anyone wonders if something might be slightly wrong about it... Rin mentions that it's a shame you were born second. You hate to realize that there is something you are not good at. You get over it, and appease the still sulking butterfly, in the same stroke as you collect Mai and Ty Lee, and set out on a voyage on a cargo ship. The cargo is steel, and Fire Benders, and you sail the trade route to Yu Dao on the continent waiting for an attack from a specific pirate, who has been plaguing this stretch of waterway. Brine Beard's ship sails out from the shadow of mount Makapu as you pass, its crew filled with bloodlust and greed to take a haul from what appears to be a fat trading ship. His frigate is built of wood. Wood burns. Your cargo ship carries no catapults, or blasting jelly, but a dozen elite fire Benders more than make up the slack, and when it turns out that not a single bender numbers among the cut-throats and brigands of the sea, it's almost too easy. Few last long enough for the burning wreckage of their ship to get close enough to board, a desperate maneuver to extend their own miserable lives for just a little longer. Those who do, regret it. Mai doesn't seem to revel in the hunt the way you do. Her hands tremble, a little, when all is said and done, and she barely manages to collect her knives. You don't understand, reveling in the scent of victory, how the smell can make her feel queasy, or why Ty Lee's face is so very green. You just don't get it at all. You won. This is a good thing. And people die all the time! .... You don't understand, but they're important. So you offer a grudging apology for dragging them along anyway, since you didn't realize they wouldn't enjoy it as much as you do. You don't apologize to anyone, and they know that. It might be why, in spite of green cheeks and trembling fingers, that they seem... a little closer to you, than before. ... Near the end of the year, uncle Iroh returns from his retreat, a spiritual journey around the world. He takes time to adjust to the many... surprising changes which have occured at home. He gives the butterfly sometimes flitting around your head more than just a second look. It's over a week after he has returned, however, that he calls you to a private chamber. The room is darkened. Of course, he has to be here, so you call out as you step in. The door swings shut behind you, and powder is flung into your face, burning at your eyes, making them water as torches spring to life, and... Salt? Salt, flung in your eyes. There are markings along the floor, in salt and powdered iron. A maze for spirits, you recognize, and as the white dust is flung behind you, a trap. What could he possibly think...? "Spirit." he says, grimly, voice thick with sorrow and regret. "I request that you relinquish your hold upon the remains of my niece." ... What. --- [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 8 2013, 11:55 PM Post #20 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] Explanations. You kick the spirit trap, petulantly, scattering salt and iron powder in the wake of your shoes. Iroh mumbles something that sounds dangerously close to a sutra, as he slaps a long strip of paper onto your head. You snag it and burn it. "Uncle!" You snap. "What kind of a fool do you think I am. The spirit is bound to me. It does not possess me." Iroh is given pause. He seems... uneasy, though. "... That is not the sort of thing that a Sage would approve of." "I am not a sage!" You take a deep breath. "... And grandfather needed my help." "... I am listening." Iroh says, slowly. You explain. The deal, what you got out of it, what the Butterfly gets out of it, even as she's seething with anger over this whole situation and attempt, and what you did for Grandfather... He seems to understand. ... But Iroh does not seem to agree, which sets you back a great deal. Of course you made the bargain. How could you not? And yet... from the look in his eyes, you think if given the same choice, he wouldn't have bargained to aid Azulon. You rally a little bit. "... Are we alone?" you ask somberly. "Ah... well, the palace is crafted of ancient stones." Iroh says, reasonably. "And the servants come and go with no warning. There is no real way, no matter where you are within, to be sure you are truly alone." ... And that is that. You aren't really sure you wanted to try starting a civil war today anyway. You play a game of pai sho, are trounced mercilessly, over tea. And then you go your separate ways. .... It's only a matter of a few months, the new year has already begun for a while, when you hear the new word. Little Zuko has been allowed somewhere he shouldn't have been, the War Room, when you know for a fact that he's no kind of strategist yet, and he's thrown a fit over something. And he has been challenged to Agni Kai over the insult, of not keeping his mouth shut.. Though details are scarce. There is only a couple short hours before the battle is to be held, and for some reason, Father is urging everyone he can to attend, not just a few ceremonial witnesses. --- [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 8 2013, 11:56 PM Post #21 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] Ozai's Plan Well. There's obviously one person who knows what's going on. Zuko has given offense in Father's War Room. Apparently he doesn't grasp that a successful strategy sometimes requires minor pieces to be sacrificed, for any one of a number of reasons. He seems smug, when he allows that while he thinks he will be facing the General he insulted, Ozai himself will meet him on the field. That.... annoys you, greatly. But there's only one thing to say, really. "Can I fight him instead?" You ask, almost hopefully. A chance to burn Zuzu even a little bit, have it officially sanctioned? Too good to be true, almost. Father laughs, as he pats your head. "No." He says, simply. "Prodigy of a Master Firebender that you are... A battle between the two of you simply would not have the dramatic resonance, than of the Heir, striking a blow of passion and determination against the Fire Lord himself." ... What? You... must have misheard. Are your ears playing tricks on you? That. It sounds an awful lot like... Father plans to throw the fight. You can feel the blood pounding in your ears, and the Butterfly is screaming its fury. Not at the details, of the men involved, but that this spiritual ritual before the eyes of Agni himself would be so desecrated... Father does not believe in the spirits. "Azula." he speaks again, suddenly somber as he ushers you off. "You must not speak of this. I command it. Zuko must not learn of this. His reaction, when he faces me against expectations... it must be genuine, or there will be those who doubt." He is. He's going to throw the fight with Zuko. How, how dare... you bite back your rage. "... Zuzu is intimidated easily." you say, instead. "What if he panics?" "Bah." Ozai says, waving the possibility off. "Zuko is my son. I have faith that he will react properly, when I have gone to such lengths to arrange all this for him. There is no greater gift that can be given to the heir, than the respect that will come from a show such as this." His gaze hardens. "But he must not know before-hand." he repeats. "That is critical. I trust you with this knowledge, Azula, but all the same, I will be having Rin watch you and your friends for a little while. Just to be sure no accidental slips of the tongue spread to the wrong person. Keep it just between us, hm?" You're a little stunned as you walk away. The Agni Kai is an ancient, almost sacred tradition of your people, of ritual combat between firebenders. You can't believe he plans to, to just... --- [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 8 2013, 11:56 PM Post #22 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] The best laid plans of mice and men. You can't believe that Ozai is going to throw the fight. It would be... Just. barely. Plausible. Officially, Agni Kai are not supposed to be to the death, after all. It's until one party is burned by the other. If that burn kills, then... but it's just to burning. And no matter how skilled, there is always the possibility that one party might get off a lucky shot. A blow blessed by the spirits, as it were. It's the whole damn point of the ritual. Two firebenders lay their grievances out, and Agni himself, supposedly, looks down from the sky to decide who is right, and bless them with the first strike against their opponent. Even a bender without training at all, in theory, can get a lucky shot off against even the Fire Lord himself. And they're just going to make a mockery of... You have to control yourself. You've known, for a long time, Father does not believe in spirits. Mai and Ty Lee would rather not, as it happens, go to watch ritualized gladitorial combat, for some reason. You can't imagine why. Well, it's not like you're eager to force them along to watch this travesty. Message delivered, you move along. You seat yourself near Iroh. Uncle doesn't seem to know what, but he does have an inkling that something is off, as far as you can tell. Zuko is full of fire and bluster as he takes the field. And all of that just winks out, like a candle doused, when he sees who he is facing. There's a moment of panic on Zuko's face. Dawning horror. Then he hits the ground, in full prostration. You have only the briefest moment to note the dawning dismay on Ozai's own face, before everything just falls apart. You wouldn't notice, if you didn't already know. But through it all, Ozai is pressing, demanding... almost begging for Zuko to just get up, to fight him, to prove his honor before the crowd of nobility. Zuko doesn't get it. All he wants to do is surrender, and he doesn't seem to understand that Ozai never intended for that to be an option, or why. Your knuckles are white, around the grip of the rail, as the Agni Kai is all but blasphemed. What could the sun, great Agni himself, possibly think, looking down upon... on this? Finally, Ozai can't take it any more. He cracks. And some of his fury is shown, at this grand plan gone so horribly and perfectly wrong, as he rants at Zuko, and his hand clamps down on his face. The words are lost on you, with gorge almost rising at this whole debacle. But, at the very least, Ozai never had his chance to throw the fight. His fury lingers after, though, as Zuko heals under the supervision of physicians, face marred with scarring that will never go away, after this. A constant reminder, both of his own shameful cowardice, and in Ozai's eyes, when the grandest of schemes fell completely through. It seems like he can't stand, even nearly a full day later, to even be in the same room as his son. And more than this, he's been proven, through the Agni Kai, to be in the right of things. Which means, more than just the burn dealt in Agni's Justice, Zuko must soon be punished for his disrespect. Vipers of the court eagerly await news of the situation, with poisonous intrigue and fascination. --- [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 8 2013, 11:57 PM Post #23 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] Aftermath. You don't feel like invading Zuko's infirmary quarters right now. And the butterfly, right now, is in something of a frothing, private fury. Conversation will go nowhere, it's not capable of conversing right now. Iroh, though. He's retreated to his own quarters, mulling over a pot of tea. He doesn't really seem enthused at your visit, but doesn't turn you away. Subtle, idle conversation doesn't work. You both edge around the subject, never coming out and saying anything directly. Never mind politics. You have to know what he knows. "... Do you understand why this happened, Uncle?" Iroh stares you down, eyes narrow. He seems to be... daring you to say something unwise. Like 'Zuko deserved it', or 'better if he'd died'. But that's not what you are here to say. Not quite. "Uncle. Father does not believe in spirits." You say, slowly. It takes a moment, before Iroh's eyes slowly widen. "No. I cannot believe that. He would not dare, before the eyes of Agni himself-!" "He would!" You insist. "Because he does not believe in Agni. He looks at the Agni Kai, and sees only a tool, to be used. And what greater boost to the reputation of the heir could there be, than to strike a successful blow against the Fire Lord, in Agni Kai?" Iroh slowly bows his head, rubbing at his temples. "What did you think was going on, with father putting on such a show?" "... I had thought my brother begun to slip into madness." Iroh admits, softly. "He keeps his plans close to his heart, but I could think of no reason to maim Zuko before the entire court. And madness... yes. Our family is prone, as some histories tell. And what was I to think? I return, my father is dead, succeeded by my brother, and Ursa is gone and none will speak of her..." You bite your tongue. "... Even so. Fool." Iroh groans. "He would have disgraced tradition so, before the eyes of Agni?" "If Zuko had fought... father would have thrown the fight." You confirm. "So... not mad. Merely... foolish." Iroh sighs. "... You have given me much to think upon, niece." He says, somberly. "While I wandered the wilderness, I recieved a new vision from the spirits... but now, I must contemplate the results of the last. Please, leave me to my thoughts for a time." He ushers you out, and there is a soft noise of the doors to his chambers being locked behind you. By the next day, father's wrath has, to some level, cooled. Enough that it is no longer so dangerous to approach. Fortunate, as he has summoned you to him. "... I cannot bring myself to look upon Zuko's face." He says, voice thick with disappointment and tempered fury. "So you will deliver this message for me. Zuko will leave my Fire Nation, and he will not return, until the day where he drags the Avatar himself before me." ... That. Is harsh, as judgements go. Given its outright impossibility. The avatar has not shown his face in the world, nobody has been able to find him and people have looked, from all nations, in nearly a hundred years. But also, gentle. Ozai would, at this point, be well within his rights to have Zuko publicly flogged until he stopped moving, or burned with coals, or simply and outright executed, in the wake of the Agni Kai and its results. Just exiling him... You don't think it's really even a punishment, primarily. A show of one, certainly, and enough to sate the vipers of court. But more than anything else? It's Ozai saying 'Go, go out into the world, and do something impressive enough to make up for your miserable failure here, so that I can change my mind about your exile.' Because there is no way that little Zuzu could possibly be expected to actually find a lost legend like that. A sham. His agni kai was a sham, and his punishment in its failure.... Well, not an entire sham. Not completely false. Zuko still has to earn his forgiveness, after all. Really, even as thick headed as he is, Zuko will probably have it done in a month. Capture and Earth Village, show down with some muck-bending master in the backwoods, claim territory in the name of the Fire Nation. Poof, done. ... Well, assuming that he can read between the line's of Father's decree at all. But that shouldn't be so hard. You got it right away, after all. --- [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 8 2013, 11:57 PM Post #24 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] Just the Facts. Iroh is sitting in with Zuko, when you arrive. Zuko doesn't speak. But at the declaration, his groans do shift in pitch, somewhat. Well, he screwed up, you don't hesitate to point out. Obviously, he's going to have to do something impressive if he wants to make up for it. ... Iroh sits up a little straighter, then rises, dusting off his robes. "Azula. Would you come with me, for a moment?" He says, leading you out, and to a courtyard. "I am told you have already reached mastery of firebending." He says, jovially enough. "Quite an achievement. Usually, it takes at least ten years of focused training... but, enough of that. Watch closely, niece." Iroh looks around, and selects a sapling, dying of disease but not yet dug out of its spot and replaced. He nods, and breathes in, deeply. And then breathes out, expelling flame and fury. And out, and out, and minutes pass as the flame is sustained, roaring outward as Iroh holds his position. Then, finally, it comes to a stop, leaving behind only a few embers and not a trace of the sapling that was once there. "As you well know. Firebending comes from the breath. It was this technique of mine which, among other things, earned me the title of Dragon of the West. Try it. Gather the chi in your belly and lungs, hold it, and then as it is released, let it ignite." The instructions are simple. You're still a little startled when you exhale a small lick of surprising flame. Iroh chuckles. "And so, I have passed that knowledge on. But there is always more to improve. Develop your chi, and feed the fires.... and, I will admit, it does not hurt the technique to already have very large, healthy lungs." You breathe the fire again, sustaining it for just slightly longer, perhaps a little brighter and hotter. You can feel your understanding of the flame deepen, just a little, in its wake. "And so. I must make preparations to depart, with the Fire Lord's decree given." Iroh sighs. "There are still those who owe me favors. I will be able to acquire a ship, and provisions, and it will not be difficult to claim a detachement of soldiers as my own personal guard, even if no such aid would be offered to the prince in exile." --- [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 8 2013, 11:58 PM Post #25 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] Arrangements. "... Have I shown you the technique I invented?" You ask. The wings burn into existence. Uncle seems reasonably impressed. But by this point there is little time to fritter away, he has work to do, to prepare for tomorrow. He does get things done, quickly. You have to be just as fast. Or at least, have a servant hot-foot it at your direction. Parting gifts are required. When the dawn comes, you pass along the swords without a word to Zuko, who looks like he's ready to collapse where he stands. His talent isn't in bending, but he might as well remember something he was good at, you recall that you heard of a few lessons under Piandao or something... Uncle receives a literal barrel full of lowland Green tea, and, in mocking memory of his last gift, a beautifully crafted porcelain doll, skin white and false make-up delicately in place, tiny robe falling off her shoulders. "I'm told that to have a woman on board a ship is an opening for ill fortune, and so avoided whenever possible." You say, dryly. "Perhaps this will fill the hole in your spirit left by the absence of fair maidens of fire." Iroh coughs, like he's trying not to laugh at the brazen ribbing, though some of the soldiers just look a little stunned and appalled. "Yes, I am... familiar with this crafter." Iroh manages after a moment. "I am told that his work is... represented in the finest of life-like detail." he finishes delicately. Well, it definitely cost enough, it had better be a good doll. Zuko is wobbling by now, and you can see Iroh's attention turning to him. "... Is there some way I can contact you?" You ask, almost a little desperately, because soon, too soon, Grandfather's favorite only just returned and now he's leaving again... "... Master Piandao is a good friend of mine, political maneuverings set aside." Iroh says, after a long moment of thought. "Send any letters you may have for me to him, and I am sure that they will find their way to me sooner or later." ... And that, as they say, is that. Iroh ushers Zuko onto the small boat, soldiers piling on to act as crew, and the ship pulls out of the harbor and away into the open ocean. ... argh! You just feel, so... frustrated, over how things have gone. And there are still classes to take, and lessons to learn, and things to do, but... but. You just want to burn something, right now. Take a group of soldiers, head out, and burn a bandit camp to the ground. More than this. Embark on an extended campaign of battle, leaving scorched boot marks in the grass in your wake as you, you personally, conquer cities for the glory of fire. You could do that, you think. Set your schooling, at least for now, aside and go, speak to the generals, look at maps, choose a path of conquest and fight... You breathe, deeply. --- [ ] Return to your schooling. There is much yet to learn. [ ] You've had enough. ONWARDS, FOR GLORY! There are always private tutors, after conquest. |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 8 2013, 11:58 PM Post #26 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] Back to school. You'd like nothing more than to educate the Earth Kingdom peasants, or Water raiders, on what the frustration of a princess of Fire means. But no. No, the war isn't going anywhere. It will still be there, and in the meanwhile, you can always go on a smaller expedition. You breathe deeply, and only burn an old cabinet, stored but unused for some time, and forgotten in a side room. ... Ty Lee mentions, later, that she's thinking of joining the circus. It's not.. a political move, true, and would get some frowns from other nobles, particularly given her training, but you don't think there are any rules against it. Mai, grudgingly, lets on that her parents are calling her home, soon, and she can only pretend she hasn't received the message yet for so long. Well. You see. That's how things are going, then. --- Pick four Yearly Foci [ ] Cultural Studies [ ] Economics [ ] Bullshit crazy Fire technique (Run it by me, may take longer than just one year, depending, write-in option) -[ ] Or just train up a previous technique. [ ] "Self-defense" lessons(choose) -[ ] Dirty Tricks -[ ] Basics of [Weapon] [ ] Lessons under HeadMaid Rin [ ] Strategy [ ] Logistics [ ] Politics [ ] Minor Military Activity(choose) -[ ] Bandit Purification -[ ] Occupy a small village -[ ] Scout a relatively safe region -[ ] Crush Rebellious Peasant Militia And pick one social action. [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 8 2013, 11:59 PM Post #27 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] Wings of Fire [x] Fair is a fight you win [x] The Grand Pai Sho tournament of Shu Jing [x] The designs of war and warriors [x] The give and take of agreement --- The fairy calms as you focus your mind on the wings. Not... forgiving, or ignoring, Ozai's tresspass. Simply... turning attention elsewhere, and forgetting that he had tresspassed in the first place. The butterfly lives, forever, in the now. In any case, there is more to flying, to having wings, than just flapping them and moving through the air. You have only just begun to master flight. Your instructor in self defense is a fire-bender of some small talent, and calls on you for a demonstration. It's the effortless work of moments to sweep her arcs of flame out of the air with your own fires. And then, with a quiet realization of dawning pain, you look down to see that there are little knives buried in non-vital places. You're bleeding. You pull them free, angrily, and are splashed with cold water from a cup before you can direct your anger, shocking you into silence for a moment as the lecture continues. The amount of power required to sweep aside another bender's fire, and to turn away or melt to nothingness physical blades... they are very different. A hidden knife flung in the same sweeping arc as flame, if the opponent misses its presence, can end the battle right there. It is not what could be called honorable fighting. Some would call it cheating. But in the end, your opponent is just as dead, whether you kill him in honorable combat, or bash in his skull from behind with a heavy stick. ... You are shown out early to the infirmary, that day, with the teacher's compliments. It seems that seeing a Master Bender bleed, from such a simple trick... really drove the lesson home for them. You want to kill that woman so badly... you restrain yourself. If you break your stitches, they'll have to be put back in. Instead, you turn your attention to flinging knives at straw dummies. Because for all that you were humbled in its wake, you can see the point in the lessons. ... You are not very good at throwing knives. Mai gifts you, quietly and without words, with a small pouch of spinning darts, the many-pointed throwing stars called shuriken, which beginners use before turning their attention to more formal knives or spikes. And it does burn, a little, inside, but you take them all the same. Simpler to use, and as the woman said, just as dead if they're hit with a stick. One of these will sink into tender throat-flesh just as easily as a knife. They have to leave soon. Before they do, you've made arrangements. Piandao seems as pleased with this idea as you, it takes comparatively little effort to talk the swordsman into the idea. It's a grand tournament, of all the greatest players of Pai Sho throughout the fire nation, and anyone who can play enough to consider entering. You will participate, of course. ... You don't win, though. You don't even come near it, finding yourself crushed in the middle of the pack. Well, you did better than Mai, anyway, who had to bow out after only her second match. Ty Lee, by contrast... Ty Lee. She doesn't win, of course, but she takes third, claiming an intricately woven bronze medal on a pin. Second place and the grand prize, respectively, go to an elderly woman in a thick and comfortable robe, and an ancient man that looks ready to crumble into dust at any time, respectively. ... you go your separate ways with the two of them after this. But you'll send letters. They promise they'll send letters, even as they have to take care of family matters. They'll keep in touch. Piandao passes on a quiet roll of paper before you leave the island. Technically, keeping in contact with an exile is very close to treason. But just getting letters from an uncle, passing letters along to him, that can be overlooked. ... Zuko is the opposite of subtle. Iroh passes on that he refuses to accept read between the lines interpretations, all of his fires burning to really find the damn Avatar. How thick does that boy's skull have to even be...? Iroh puts it more tactfully, of course. Zuko 'Needs Guidance'. He is 'very direct'. He is 'difficult' to advise. Headstrong fool charging off after impossible dreams because he refuses to stop for just a moment and think... And why do you even care? Except that every little failure reminds you that this is what got chosen over Azulon. This. Zuko. The search begins, so uncle relates, at the Air Temples. Of course it does. Almost all empy for a hundred years, with nothing but dust and bones, and of course Zuko is going to poke his head around to see if just maybe everyone managed to miss a master bender flying back in to sit on his ass and chant sutras for decades. Why are the idiot's failures so frustrating? It's all you can do not to just burn the stupid letter and have done. You focus your attention back on your studies. Several months pass before another letter comes in, noting that Zuko hasn't really found anything in the Air Temples. Of course he didn't, the avatar would have to have been an idiot... ... In the meantime, however, you learn military actions. Directions of cavalry, and spear walls to break charges, the risks and gains of hiring untrustworthy mercenaries with no allegiances, the tools of war, from simple catapults to grand airships, and the use and directions of even the meanest of benders to great effect. Sozin was a master of changing the course of battles with just the smallest application of effort, waiting patiently for the wind to change before starting a small fire in tall, dry grass, and letting the fire spread at its own direction until it reached the Earth fortifications and consumed them in the course of minutes. Outnumbered by far, and he still claimed that victory. It's thrilling, a bit. Politics are less so. But even so, you learn the fine arts of a cunning tongue, mingling subtle threat with overt flattery, and how to properly give people what they want, within reason, to in turn receive what you seek. There are a few who push too greedily. You have to remind some people that marriage into the royal family is not something that can be easily bought. Certainly not for a crate of earth kingdom silks, no matter how rare or how fine the thread count. Especially when the one making the ill thought offer was hardly a Bender at all, counting on money to get his way, more than power. Zuko is not the only one who can get himself into Agni Kai's, and insult is, of course, the perfect cause to call for one. After, the serpents of the court step just a touch more lightly around you. Another important part of politics is that you must be taken seriously, by all who would speak with you. You think you have managed that much. Father's temper has grown these days, with month after month passing, and no real news of Zuko doing anything spectacular. Or, indeed, much of anything at all. --- Pick four Yearly Foci [ ] Cultural Studies [ ] Economics [ ] Bullshit crazy Fire technique (Run it by me, may take longer than just one year, depending, write-in option) -[ ] Or just train up a previous technique. [ ] "Self-defense" lessons(choose) -[ ] Further dirty Tricks -[ ] Basics of [Weapon] [ ] Lessons under HeadMaid Rin [ ] Logistics [ ] Politics And pick one social action. [ ] ??? OR. [ ] Follow the family tradition, and go to war. |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 8 2013, 11:59 PM Post #28 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] To war. Blast it all. You've had enough. If there's nothing for Father to dwell on, outside of pressing matters of rule and state that already seem to wear greatly upon him, than Zuko's incredible failure to grow something to fill the space between his ears, then you'll go ahead and do something to make people talk. It'll be your pleasure. The generals are startled at your invasion of the war room. There's a glint in some eyes, possibly wondering if there will be an excuse to echo the past of the prince in the present of the princess. "I intend to take the field of battle." You say, calmly. "Advise and direct me, gentlemen." There are a few moments of hesitation. But you have the sort of commanding presence behind you, and Grandfather's quiet assistance, that Zuko never really had. They bow, and maps are spread. "... Why not here?" You say, pressing your finger down on a mark, at the southern pole continent. "My lady Azula, given a ship, and a crew of Fire Benders, the battle of the south pole would be over in a day." General Bujing assures you. "But." General Shu intervenes. "It was the wisdom of your grandfather, Azulon, that for now... the south pole remain un-touched." You are given pause. "Explain." You say, rather than anything else. "It is true that all the warriors of the southern water tribes have left, to bolster the defenses of the Earth Kingdom, and harry our navies." Shu explains. "But the northern water tribes are at this point mostly slumbering and withdrawn inside their city of ice. We believe they do not truly understand how far the southern tribe has been weakened. And so, they wait. If news comes to them, however, that the defeat of the southern tribe is complete, then they will be roused from their slumber. And we will be put into a battle on two fronts, without need." You nod, very slowly. "We can support such a war." Bujing grumbles. "But we do not need to hurry to a disadvantage. The Northern tribe can wait until the Earth Kingdom, which they care nothing for, has fallen. We can endure the pecking of a couple boats of hooting barbarians with bone clubs until that time." Shu points out. You grudgingly agree. "So, then." You say, calmly looking at the maps. "There are several options. Here... striking out from Whale Tail island, through the southern coasts. Kyoshi Island is neutral, and there is no need, for now, to press their neutrality. But pressing through the coastal regions to the north of the island, through Chin Village and sweeping up towards Earth General Fong's fortress, or bypassing that nasty mess to carve through the east, taking Gao Ling and the smaller villages along the way to Tu Zin, the abandoned township in the stretch of desert south of the mountains." Shu muses. "The flames of war are cooler there, an offensive push would be unexpected. The earth nobles of those regions would not be prepared for defensive actions... Or, of course, you could join the offensive pressing south-east from Gaipan into the Si Wong desert, or mop up the pockets of resistance to the southwest of Gaipan, or push south through the forests to Omashu." "Of course, there is much work to be done east of the mountains and rivers surrounding Pohuai Stronghold, and re-taking land lost when General Iroh lost his nerve and abandoned..." General Bujing pauses to cough, perhaps not liking the look in your eyes. "Much ground was lost, when the Dragon of the West sounded his retreat, is what I meant to say." Bujing restates himself, more politely. So. You have a number of options, it seems. --- [ ] North from Whale Tail, through Chin Village and bringing the battle to Earth General Fong. [ ] East from Whale Tail, through Gao Ling and to Tu Zin, claiming all the coastal land along the way. [ ] South East from Gaipan into Si Wong. [ ] Crush resistance South West of Gaipan [ ] Press South from Gaipan to Omashu [ ] Re-take land stretching east from Paohuai to the great walls of Ba Sing Se. |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 9 2013, 12:00 AM Post #29 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] Conquest Rising. Your course is clear. The southern coasts of the Earth Kingdoms are filled with rich farmland and fishing. Their food supply spreads across a great deal of the earth kingdom, though of course, if there is one thing that much of the kingdoms do not lack it is farming ground, of one type or another. But, yes, this region has gone all but untouched, from the very start of the war. Too long, by far. It's time to redirect that food into the supplies of the Fire Nation. Not glamorous, but you like to think that, even though it won't be enough to starve earth soldiers into surrender, it will have effects that spread through all the kingdoms, and leave other campaigns working a little easier. The ship that shuttles you to Whale Tail island is fairly small, a bare-bones crew on a tiny boat built for speed. The vessels that you board from there, by contrast, are much larger. Two full military transports, each carrying a full hundred firebenders, admittedly of lower skill level than yourself, but sufficient as common soldiers, and a legion of infantry each. Whale Tail, unfortunately, is not properly geared to house cavalry, or to deploy larger war machines than the catapults on the transports. It will do. It will be plenty. Gao Ling is a city of merchants. From the briefings brought to you, it seems that it has no real nobles at all, the city was built by merchants, for the purpose of trade. A trade city, as it were. It has no mighty walls, and houses no fortress castle, as other notable cities might. It does have a school, where earthbending is taught. And, apparently, some form of polite bloodsport with the local 'rumble' tournaments, which draw in benders, and simple onlookers, admittedly, from some distance afield. So, it isn't likely that there will be no resistance. As far as an organized, standing army, however.... you are forced to wonder, when it comes down to it, how exactly this city has remained un-captured through the entire war. No strategic importance, supposedly. You guess that must be so, when there are such vastly influential targets as Gaipan to be captured. No matter. ...Too far inland to have a harbor, more's the pity. There's a certain sense of... style, you think, inherent in sailing a pair of ships right into a city's boundaries, and disgorging its cargo. The cargo, being soldiers. Lots of soldiers. No matter. You'll make do. .... One thing that you learn, very quickly, when you make landfall, is that armies move very slowly. The marching of the legions seems to move at a crawl. Left to your own devices, you could be there almost right away... But the arrival of one bender, Master Firebender or not, will not drive home to the people that they are conquered. So instead, you march. For over a day, you march forward, until you reach the edges of Gao Ling itself. Peasants stop to stare, or break and run, their disbelief in this turn of events total. Did they think that the war would never darken their doorstep? You stop in the middle of the central markets of Gao Ling, probably the closest thing the trade village has to a town square, or a council building for elders. "People of Gao Ling!" you declare, at the top of your voice. "I have come to claim your town, in the name of the Fire Nation! Who here will contest my rule of your city? Who here will dare to stand against me? Bring forth your rulers! Or bring forth your warriors!" ... You move your head just in time, as a fist-sized chunk of rock passes through the air. Yes. You expected this. "Master Yu. Of the..." you pause, in distaste. "... Earthbending Academy. I expected your arrival. You will contest my rule?" "Naive princess. I will crush your pretty skull." He promises, even as his students cower a little bit. All bluster, and no substance. You did not come here prepared for a fair fight. ... There is another. He is not unexpected either. "And Xin Fu. Proprietor of the local gladiator arena. I would have expected you to simply flee and begin showcasing your talents elsewhere." you lie, calmly, needling at the man. He doesn't say a word, but crosses his arms. There's only one man at his side. "Hahaha... The Boulder isn't the kind of coward that's going to run away from a little invasion." The man bellows. You sigh, theatrically. "Really. Is a change of allegiances such a very terrible thing, that you so eagerly rush to your doom over it? Just surrender. And after a few days, a few weeks, a few months of wasting away under the ever so tyrannical rule of the horrific fire nation, you will realize... nothing has changed, really. Everything will continue on, much the same as before." You smile, grimly. "I come to conquer. I come to rule. But if you would rather seek comfort in your graves than be quietly ruled, well... that can also be arranged." Battle is met. It takes only a few short passes to know that it will be brief. Yu's students have no spine in them. All it takes is a little flash and the slightest taste of heat, and they break and run. They cannot have been fully trained. Here more because their instructor demanded it, than because of any real desire to fight you off. Master Yu, Xin Fu, and the Boulder, which cannot really be his name, are not quite so easily put down, or driven to flee. Victory will take a little time. But that is how it will end. Even with their might combined, you don't really need to get involved, the sheer, collective weight of two hundred firebenders, not all Masters, but properly trained and for the most part, Elite, quickly wears on them, and with enough numbers that a handful can close for a few attacks, then fall back as others take their place, steadily chipping away at the stony defensive maneuvers of those three... No, the end is clear. You don't really need to involve yourself at all. But you think you will, anyway, and a crackling blue flame comes to life in your hand. Then, a twisting and rolling boulder of spikes and blades surges out of the ground, mangling nearly a dozen of your Firebenders in its wake, crushing dozens of foot-soldiers before they come to their senses and leap out of the way. A figure looms out of the kicked up dust. .... A very short figure. "I! Am Toph Bei Fong!" it declares, milky white eyes focused on nothing in particular as she points in your general direction. "And I contest your rule. I will stand against you! You call for those who have power in this city, you call for warriors? I am the sole daughter of the Bei Fong, and I am a Master Bender of Earth! I stand before you as both!" --- [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 9 2013, 12:00 AM Post #30 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] Battle. Your mind spins. Killing her would be easiest. A Master Bender, of the kind of caliber you're seeing, even despite her age... oh yes. Definitely easier to kill her in one clean blow, than to batter her into submission. But. Bei Fong. If you were just here to burn this city to the ground and march on, it would be one thing. But you aren't just here to take Gao Ling. You must keep it as well. You won't be able to do that so easily, with the Bei Fong mourning their daughter. Damn it. The hard way, then. Make her submit, and then worry about terms of surrender. That talk comes after the fight. "Toph Bei Fong. I see, and answer, your challenge to my dominion. Soldiers of the Fire Nation! Pacify those other Earthbenders. This one is mine!" There's a roaring cheer as you leap forward, fires burning. The first pass goes about as expected, fire glancing off of stone, spiritual edge chipping away at spiritual armor. As does the second. And so does the third, when the counterattack comes, and you pivot around it, spinning and bringing your hand down with a blade of flame and back back back, nearly crushed your arm between jaws of stone, but not on the retreat for long. Kick out, kick up, leap as the ground beneath you splits apart and smashes up, and the smirk shows that she knows where you're going to land. Instead, you flap your wings. There is just an instant of bewilderment as her attack pierces nothing but air. But in the heat of a battle to the death, she can't afford to be confused for longer than that. She's instantly on the defenses, as you press the attack with arcs and blasts of flame. Blind. She really is blind, she's not throwing up her defenses when she sees an attack coming, it's when she feels the heat of the flames closing in, less than a fraction of the time that sight would allow. And she can't see you, as you float through the air and bombard her with flame. It's delicious. The frustration and anger on her face. You can't help but savor it, as you slowly grind her away by inches. Yes. Yes. She will know her folly, as she feels what it means to stand against the will of Azul- But you forgot. It's in the heated moments of desperation, that a sparking moment of innovation grasped for and held with just the tips of claws is the most useful and needed. She stomps at the ground, and all the world seems to fill with kicked up dust, rising up to the roofs and above, floating in the air. You can't see a foot in front of your face. So the limitations are the same, n- ... no. Not the same. Earthbender. She sees through the dirt! Your comprehension comes almost too late, as the girl appears before you, fist clad in bulky stone, no time to move or react before it swings down. A clean hit. But also a miss. This is a new strategy of desperation, obviously. She can see through the kicked up dust... but not clearly. She knows, in a general sense, where you are. But not exactly. So instead of crushing your skull in its wake, the fist of stone merely crashes down to smash your collarbone with a mighty crunch. Pain. Lots of pain. But you have faced pain and injury before. She's too close, and her defenses are all dropped in the wake of what was supposed to be an attack that would finish everything in one blow. And you are not down. Your knee rises, driving into her lungs, forcing her up as the gauntlet cracks. She spits up a little blood. Not enough. not enough. Another attack, and another, and another, driving you both further upward into the air, as the dust settles to the earth, taking her further and further away from her domain as the last traces of dirt fall from her hand and the cloud of dirt settles back into place on the ground. Not enough. She's still swinging wildly, trying to fight even when she can't see, and she's too far away from the earth below to have any hope of bending it. But the fight isn't out of her. You need her to stop fighting, or she won't understand that she's lost. The butterfly's glee turns to distaste as your emotions go cold, the heat of battle dispersing into a zen nothingness. Your palm crackles as it slams upward, into her belly. And she screams, as the cold fire ripples through her body, just for a few moments. And finally, she goes still and limp. Like your arm. You can't move it, not without a twisting sort of agony. But you've won. That's enough. You catch hold of her ankle before she falls. Much as it would satisfy you to simply let her go, and in the end, die at the meeting with her own element, you still have use for her. Below, you can see that the battle has also come to an end, as your army cheers. The Boulder could rename himself the Pincushion by this point, still and breathing raggedly, spears pinning him in place. Xin Fu is held in place, teeth grit, and with a sword set at either side of his neck, both waiting for the slightest move of resistance to scissor off his head. Yu is unconscious, lying on the ground, but still guarded. You float just a few feet above the earth, daring exhaustion but not risking the slightest chance of your prey awaking in contact with the earth, and your fight beginning anew. --- [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 9 2013, 12:01 AM Post #31 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] Aftermath. There's no more fighting to be done. You call for the physicians, to tend to the injured. To all of the injured, which prompts grumbling acceptance from your soldiers. There is no need to be savage about this, when you have already won. Though there is no need to be foolish, either. None of the earthbenders, at any time, will be coming into contact with the earth. You direct some number of the foot-soldeirs to building suspended jail cells for them. Of wood. You flap into the air as you leave the men to their business. "I am Azula!" You howl out over the roofs of Gao Ling. You can see the citizens watching in mingled terror and awe of you, following your demonstration of both numbers and personal might. "Daughter of Fire Lord Ozai! Son of Fire Lord Azulon! Your city is conquered!" You burn with your declaration, and the populace trembles. "Kneel." You command, bringing the full power of your presence to bear, as knees tremble in the crowds. "KNEEL. Before. Me." ... One by one, peasants drop to their knees, unable to do anything else. --- The final tally is in, as the earthbenders have been moved to their hanging gaol cells, wounds tended to and with cushions to support them in their prisons. Ten of your firebenders have fallen in battle, with another dozen having taken wounds sufficient that they will have to be removed from the front lines to recover. Forty seven of your infantry are dead, with nearly as many simply injured to one degree or another. Most of both can be laid at the feet of the young Bei Fong, in her introductory salvo, before her focus turned to you, entirely. Well, she'll be doing no bending in there, though the soldiers mutter dire imprecations, and speak of, perhaps, an execution to soothe the angry dead. You will light ceremony candles, of course. And the fallen will be cremated properly, to have their ashes shipped home to be interred, and names carved into ceremonial stones, of course. Anything else would be foolish, even if you did not believe in spirits, sparking discontent in the men and destroying morale. And here and now, the Bei Fong approach, drawn and weary, and... incensed. "How... how dare you do this, to my helpless daughter." Lao Bei Fong hisses, as Toph rises from her unconsciousness, groaning in pain but not yet able to move well. ".... Helpless?" You drawl, slowly. "In a bender capable of matching her might against me... for a time, at least.... I find your assurances of helplessness suspect, to say the least." "My daughter is blind." he spits. "Crippled, and frail, and she must be protected. To batter her so severely as you have, the cruelty of your nation, it knows no bounds." You sigh, slowly. "... I see that this discussion of your surrender is not going to proceed smoothly." You note, speculatively. "We are Earth. We will abide, and wait, but we will never submit entirely to your bondage." "He has said his peace." the fairy says, urging. "He will not submit. Let him burn instead, and his ashen bones stand as example to the next you speak with..." "We will endure!" he rallies, even as the citizens of Gao Ling do not quite meet his fervent gaze. "We will wait for our opportunity, and rise up, and cast off your shackles once more. I promise you this." --- Pick-and-choose timery, with Azula commentary. [ ] Give him his daughter, as a show of good faith. -You know? Perhaps a delicate touch is required here. Release the man's daughter to his custody, away from the prison cells, and per-phaahahahah, you can't say this with a straight face. Give this man too much rope and he'll hang himself with it. Return Toph to him, and either he will run for unconquered Earth Kingdoms land, or there will be uprisings and resistance movements crawling out of the woodworks in a year at most. Still an option, of course. And it gives you an excuse, later, to come back and burn out the rot.- [ ] Hostage situation. DOUBLE HOSTAGE SPINNING LARIAT. -Use Toph as an insurance of the Bei Fong's good behavior. Better yet. ALSO use the Bei Fongs as insurance of TOPH'S good behavior. Genius! All you have to do is keep her close to you, since you're probably the only one here who could finish her off if it comes down to it, and install a couple Elite Firebender 'guards' for the Bei Fongs.... yes. Traditional conclusion to this sort of thing, even. They're obviously all going to hate you for it, mind, but that's how life goes.- [ ] Intimidation. -In this situation, you can always... suggest that things might go poorly for not just them, but for all the city, if they start causing trouble. Imply that it's not just on their heads that the burning coals will fall, and you won't have to do any of the work of keeping them in line, the fear of pain and fire will drive the other citizens to do it FOR you.- [ ] ??? -What, I'm the princess. You think you have a better idea than I do...? .... let's hear it, then. I do hope it's very good.- |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 9 2013, 12:02 AM Post #32 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] Terms. "Blind. Perhaps." You say slowly. Delicately. "But crippled? Frail? I think that the blood of the Fire Nation that even now stains her hands would suggest otherwise." Lao snorts. "Nonsense. My daughter, regrettably, could not be capable of slaying such beasts." ... Not even people. The man has no respect for your soldiers, or care for his situation. Your temper is rising. Don't burn him. Don't burn him. Not yet. "Men say such things, when they realize they are no longer in control of their lives." You sigh aloud, as he bristles before you. "No, you seem not to understand. Perhaps you will keep your vast estate, or a part of it, or perhaps the governor I call will evict you from your current... rather palacial residence, and you will be forced to spend some of your gold in finding a new and more suitable home for yourselves, rather than, perhaps, wasting it in treachery to your new rulers. But that is neither here or there." You smile, slightly. "I believe I will introduce you, now, to a Fire Nation custom that you might be familiar with. I believe some of your nobility practice it as well. The term is hostage." The man hisses, loudly, in his anger. "I see you are familiar with it. Very good. Because, you see, whether or not you rule here, you are very wealthy. And that leaves you with the opportunity to... cause unwanted trouble. Certainly, all your material goods, all your gold and finery, can be confiscated for the glory of the Fire Nation... but there is always the possibility that there might be just one cache we had missed, or just one moneylender who owes you a favor." You shrug. "In reality, it might be... kinder, yes. To simply let you build yourselves the most marvelous, grand mausoleum... and then have you occupy it. Simpler, by far. I'm sure my men would be pleased. But then... nobody has ever accused me of kindness. And so." You raise a finger, and point meaningfully towards the cages. "Your daughter." You say, simply. "Will be gracing my hospitality, as an assurance that you... find more important things to spend your money on, than treason. Perhaps a new wing of your mansion? Or perhaps an old one needs to be refurbished. In any case... I believe you understand that, traditionally, your misbehavior will directly result in... some of her return." "You would not dare." he seethes. You very slowly arch a brow, contemplating the man before you. "Would I not?" You ask, dryly. Try me. Press me. See what happens. It's only a fool that prods a slumbering dragon. The man starts to crack. "You... you can't do this!" He rails. "You can't take my daughter from me! You, you wretched... do you even understand the expense in raising and caring for a child? Ten years, of the finest food, of the finest clothes, of the best education money can by, you, you can't just take that away from me! Dozens, I still have dozens of contracts to consider, to narrow down to the most suitable husband to carry on my businesses before she has reached marriagable age, you can't just-!" An angry noise sounds from one of the cages, but cuts of sharply. Aftereffects of electrocution, you would suppose. He doesn't seem to realize. Even so, you cut him off with a raised finger. "I believe, Lao Bei Fong, that you are very much mistaken about just who is dictating terms here. With my army occupying my city, and everyone who would oppose me either defeated or limited to angry words.... You will find, in fact, that there is very little indeed that I cannot do." "You... you little..." "Guards." You bark, sharply, and soldiers step forward to your call. The Bei Fongs look bewildered, outright shocked and appalled, that these brutish people in armor would dare lay hands on them. It doesn't stop them from being secured, no matter how they shrill and flail. "I do believe this little arrangement will work well for the both of us. To keep the situation in mind. I believe Toph will go along with it as well, knowing, as she will, that at every hour of the day, a pair of my elite fire-benders will be close at hand, to... assist you. Naturally, much the same as your actions could lead to... discomfort, on her part, her own... well. Should she cause problems. Become violent. Do anything... foolish, like attempting to escape this little arrangement." You smile. There's a little wisp of fire, looping and dancing around your twitching fingertips. They seem hypnotized, mesmerized by it. "Let us just say... your own situation may heat up. Uncomfortably. Guards, escort Lao Bei Fong and his wife home, if you would?" You take a deep breath, as you listen to the pair of them being carted off. There is a solid thump of some nature, and Lao's protests become much more subdued. You affect not to notice. The smell of crackling air and fire charring through dirt and skin and flesh still lingers in the air, so near to the prison. Smells like victory. --- You have to remain in Gao Ling for another two months, of course. Your own wound needs healing, injured troops need to be shuttled back to recuperate at Whale Tail, and along with the dead, be replaced, control of the city must be solidified and defenses erected.... it takes very little time before first scouting parties, then small raids, from Fong's outpost to the far northwest begin pecking at the defenses. The Bei Fong have silenced themselves, unwilling to speak out while you hold their daughter. Though if she isn't a case of blasting jelly waiting for a spark, you've never seen one. Even so, the reminder of the guards always present at her parents sides... that is enough to keep her, grudgingly, in line. You don't know the man sent to take up governance of this town. Some minor noble, this sort of position is reserved as rewards for those who have pleased the Fire Lord, but never for anyone of too great prominence in the Nation. You pass along what you know of the situation, though, this city and the surroundings, the infrequent but more rapidly occuring attacks from Fong, and of course, nearby Chin village. Well, you hardly needed to tell that, though. Nobody likes Chin Village. You send along a pair of messages to Whale Tail, to be delivered by bird from there, one a status report sent directly to your father, one a less formal letter to your uncle. Toph Bei Fong... You have recovered more swiftly than her. Even at this point, her body trembles often without cause, aftereffects of being struck down with lightning, even if it were tailored enough to not kill, outright. "Air and Earth are as staunchly opposed as Fire and Water." the fairy hums, once you have managed to get through the urging to simply end your problems with purging fire. "Where one of Air would recover from such injuries with comparative ease, Earth rejects its touch, lashing out at the stinking remnants left behind after enduring the jolt." ... Her body will not be so swift to recover, as it would with normal wounds, then. Even now, she walks with the aid of a stick, watched closely by guards even when kept at your side, as you patiently wait for the battle to erupt anew. You'll have sign of it, as you have gifted her with a pair of specially crafted wooden shoes. They are loud, and noisily attract attention to wherever she is at the time. And, of course, they block the flow of chi to the earth. It might yet be possible for her to reach through them and bend anyway, but only with her power dwindled down to the barest fraction of its full might. There is a great deal of anger lingering about the girl. A very great deal, directed in multiple directions. At herself, at her father... and, of course, at you. You wonder which anger is the greatest...? No, that is a simple question, of course it will be her quarrel with you that weighs the greatest on her mind, as obviously her failure to end things decisively makes up the most part of her inwardly-focused resentment. She may not be pleased with her father's words... but, in the end, that is simply how the Earth Kingdoms work, for the most part. It would have been a surprise, but she would have accepted her father's will. Hrm. Yes, you think that five hundred soldiers should be enough to garrison the town, paired with fifty firebenders. Probably more than is required, by far, but you have Fong's prodding to consider. He may not be able to divert much of his forces from the fronts to the north, but you can at the very least ensure that he will not be able to send enough. There are two ways, now, to progress in taking your campaign forward. By sea, which would progress more swiftly, but perhaps miss hidden forces slipping behind your lines on the land, or by land, which would be... a ponderously slow marching of infantry. You must consider, before you commit to a course of action, here. --- [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 9 2013, 12:03 AM Post #33 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] Coastal raiding. By sea. You don't have the patience, yet, to force a march for weeks when you could cross over to the next peninsula and take the next couple of villages in a matter of days. So of course, it will have to be by sea. Toph doesn't take to it well. Of course not. Earthbenders, as a whole, hate being on the water, with such a long stretch of liquid between themselves and the earth. It's why you keep them on prison barges, normally. ... You suspect, however, that such means might not be quite sufficient to keep this one contained. So, with you she stays. ... you spend a little while burning the painted marks deeply into a set of wooden pai sho tiles. Not the ceramic ones, and most definitely not the fancy white and black marble tiles. Not against an imprisoned earthbender. Wood is safe, though. As far as you know, not even the avatar could bend wood. "Do you play, at all?" You wonder aloud, as you set up the table and an assistant prepares tea. Toph grumbles something inaudible, and you arch an eyebrow. "Now, now. There's no need to be callous about this situation. While I have you gracing my hospitality, I might as well keep things as pleasant as possible." You say, dryly. "... Y-you know what you could do?" she grumbles. "You could unlock these d-damn boots." You consider this, inspecting the wooden foot prison, binding up past her ankles in sheathes of oak. Latched and locked in place, yes. "That... I am afraid I cannot do." You deny, as the girl scowls. "You've already killed too many of my men. I'm afraid that I cannot bring myself to allow you the opportunity to endanger them." "Not worried about y-yourself, huh?" You chuckle, but don't reply. As far as the Pai Sho game goes, things work out.... far from as well as you had hoped. Fine motor control is still a factor in things, and the fact remains that the girl is blind without her earthbending, so sitting in a wooden chair, wearing wooden 'boots', and working with wooden materials, she can feel the burned symbols with her fingers, but she cannot 'see' anything. There's more than a few points where she makes illegal moves simply by dint of her hand moving to the wrong place, or dropping a tile off the table entirely. Well, by that time, the troops have all been ferried across, though. From here, marching resumes. Only for a few days, though, the two villages down at the end of the peninsula are comparatively miniscule. Barely a few hundred citizens each, almost all dirt farmers or fishermen, with a very few barely-trained earthbenders. Tilling the land more than anything else. Surrender is almost immediate, and unconditional. All you have to do is march your army through, and the peasants decide they don't really feel like dying today, when the turnips still need tending and the barnyard fowl need to be fed and have their eggs collected. You leave some of the soldiers behind, to build garrisons and such, but you get the feeling that the hundred or so soldiers in either town will mostly end up spending their time alongside the peasantry and shoveling buffalo-cow manure than anything else. Really, the biggest headache is moving your troops down the craggy slope to the sea to board the ships once more. That alone takes a couple of days, moving the men through the terrain there. But still, nothing really noteworthy, right up until the ships pull away from the coast and start to swing around towards the next target. You are met, in the evening, by the sight of a small Fire Nation war-ship, heading west along the coast of the southern island. There doesn't seem to be any patrols scheduled for this region, and when the captain signals to it, there is no answer. You take a telescope, and peer through it to watch the activity on the vessel, a number of armored figures in the colors of the Fire nation, moving rapidly, with the occasional flash of dark skin as... Dark skin? It hits you as the ship's catapult is raised from the depths of the holds, pointed in your direction and already loaded. There's barely a moment, as you cry out the warning, before a great stone is launched. Water tribe wretches. This is a transport vessel, not a fighter, you can't make the kind of speed and maneuvers that it can, you can't dodge that rock at this point, it's going to impact.... You grab the captain and Toph by their collars and leap out of the way, as the stone crashes down into the command rooms, barely dodging being crushed by tons of stone in the process. Damn it, your tea, your maps, your tea, the steering... Not enough power behind that to pierce the hull, despite that it crashed through and into the holds below, you can hear the screams of a few very unfortunate soldiers, but you're dead in the water now, floating on the tides. This ship will have to be towed somewhere for repairs, it's a good thing you have another... Damn it, you can't lose your focus right now, as catapults are raised, and fire, but miss the smaller vessel by in some cases only a span of a few feet as it nimbly works the waves. "W-what the h-hell is going o-on?" Toph snaps. --- [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 9 2013, 12:03 AM Post #34 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] Water Battle. "Water tribesmen. In the uniforms of dead Fire Nation soldiers, controlling a captured Fire Nation vessel. They don't plan to capture this ship, though. I don't suppose you are a strong swimmer?" There's a little stricken look on her face. "... I thought not. Captain, keep an eye on the prisoner. I have business to take care of..." A lucky shot of burning coal crashes into the next boulder, sending both out of their arcs and crashing into the sea. You focus, ignoring the fairy's complaints, and aim carefully. The catapult. One bolt. Another. A third... not quite yet. You need to catch your breath. It's exhausting, to do more than one in short succession and you can feel the drain as the world wavers a little bit. No. Stay standing. There's no time to lie down. There's commotion and, you guess, screams, from the distant ship. You try with a third shot for one of the barbarians, but compared to the massive catapult, targeting at this distance... You graze one of them, but don't score a solid hit. You're pretty sure that there's serious effects from that anyway, but... You squint. The savages are scattering, going over the side with tiny canoes and paddling for the island. No way that you can hit them with your own catapults by this point, it would take a one in a million miracle shot to aim one that accurately. But the ship. The ship isn't stopping. They've done something to it, set it going and... Damn it, there is no way you can get the transport out of the way by this point. "Brace for impact!" You call, as the ship cuts through the water like a knife. There's a huge crashing noise as it smashes into your transport, through the hull, engines still forcing the small boat forward and deeper, tearing apart both boats in the effort. There's explosions. The smaller vessel's stock of blasting jelly. ... this transport is already beginning to sink. Spirits damned water tribe barbarian scum... No, you have to focus. There's not much time... --- [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 9 2013, 12:04 AM Post #35 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] Abandon Ship "... We're going down." You say, somberly. "Captain, sound the evacuation and drop the escape vessels." "Down? What do you mean, d-down?" Toph asks insistently, as the captain blows a horn and barks orders, but otherwise remains present by what remains of the bridge. "I mean that once the water tribe savages could no longer bombard us safely, they rigged their entire stolen ship as a weapon, to pierce our hull and explode. A tactic that they had to have prepared well in advance, for it to be carried out so smoothly, on a moment's notice." You grumble. "If they spared a moments thought for the possibility of prisoners at all, I'm sure they decided that their sacrifice was noble, and necessary, to bring down a little of the Fire Nation's fleet." "... N-no way." "The water tribes do not take prisoners, as I understand from the reports." You continue. "Possibly because they simply cannot afford to keep them, I suppose. I haven't made a great study of their primitive culture. In any case, I estimate by the rate at which the lower cargo holds are flooding... twenty minutes, would you say, captain, before she's beneath the waves?" "Call it a good fifteen, less if there's any more blasting jelly ready to go off, or the impact sets ours off." he grumbles. ... Quite. You suppose you could call out and make reassuring speeches and helpful directions, but really, the captain already has that well in hand, and your own intervention at this point would just be... distracting, confusing. Soldiers uncertain whether they should stand and listen, run to your orders, or run to his.... there is a saying, you believe, though the words escape you. Something about too many chefs working on the same dish. No matter. It isn't long before the last river steamer drops into the water, every man that still can evacuate the transport having done so. The waters are licking up dangerously close along the decks by now. "You should be off now, princess." The captain says somberly, putting his own small telescope away, in place among his pockets. "And not you, captain?" you ask, even as Toph insists that, yes, leaving would be very good. "Tradition, ma'am. Captain's ship is his life. When the ship goes down, the captain goes down with it." he answers, just a touch of regret in his voice. "... your name, Captain." "Jin. It's Jin, princess. We never were introduced formally." "I see. There is a time for tradition, Jin. But I still have need of every man in my service." Your wings alight. "... Consider this an order, captain Jin." You say, extending a hand even as Toph clutches at the other. "Take my hand." .... The fly across to the other transport is a strain, but though your shoulders may hate you, you think it might well be worth it. Captain Jin was, at the very least, loyal enough to you to follow your commands even against tradition. And, you think, this flight is the first time you've seen honest, naked fear on the little earthbender's face, though she covers it as quickly as she can. "Don't let go. You'll make a mighty splash." you tease, and are answered with an almost crushing grip. ".... I won't drop you. Neither of you are any use to me dead." She's still a little pale as you land on the bridge of the second transport, body trembling, you think, not just from the aftereffects of the cold fire. "For a pretty face, your words are not up to par, I think. Effective, but... crude, so very crude." the fairy sighs, within your mind. It doesn't take long to get the final total. Both transports set out with nine hundred soldiers and one hundred firebenders. Four hundred and twelve soldiers and sixty three benders made it off of the transport. The rest, it seems, are, much like your tea and your things, lost to the depths of the ocean. Some of the men saved the ship's records and honors, though. You might not be able to give the men a proper pyre, but you will light ceremonial flames in the wake of this. Those tribesmen, if you catch sight of them again, have much to answer for. .... maximum capacity of these transports is supposed to be twelve hundred. You are currently well outside that generous estimate. Better than swimming to shore, by far, but tensions will soon rise in the cramped quarters. Fortunate that you don't plan to go far. The men endure, for a couple of days, before you crash into the village of Gonfa with barely restrained fury. Gonfa. Population, six, perhaps seven hundred. The worst resistance you face is a single earthbending child who throws a rock from the ground at your head. You catch it in hand, and crush it into powder. Staring meaningfully at the boy as you do. There is no other real resistance. You think, perhaps, that you consider making more arrangements and adjustments to the plan, here, before you press forward once more. It will take time, of course. But it was impatience that pushed you to go by sea, where you found unexpected trouble... --- [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 9 2013, 12:04 AM Post #36 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] War Council The captains look over the map, with a couple of lieutenants present. Toph is also included by simple dint of the fact that you can't really justify not having the master bender under your constant watch. The argument proceeds well into the night, and she simply falls asleep on a raised net of cushions, sprawled and drooling. One thing that is agreed upon is that the entire force cannot remain here. There are just too many men, and the supply lines aren't yet set up yet. Try to occupy this town with the whole force, and inside a month there won't be any food left, even if every herd-beast is slaughtered and all of the surrounding wilderness is hunted to the point that not a single beast remains. The question of what to do about it, though, is where things differ. Captain Jin advises sending the majority of the forces back on the transport, as the rest hold this town, then wait for reinforcements and further naval support before pressing on. Though, he admits, it may take some time before the navy can spare warship escorts from more intense battles elsewhere, or devote them fully to your service rather than pushing forward to root out the hiding place of the tribals. But with your forces minimized, down to a hundred or so soldiers, and between one and two dozen firebenders, the resources of the area won't be stressed unduly and you can simply hold tight until the supply lines overland are formed and reach Gonfa, which will also take time. If you are waiting for more boats, though, then you might as well wait for the supplies as well while you are at it. The other captain disagrees, pointing to the north and noting that while the sand benders of the Si Wong desert do not usually leave the sands, a less-defended supply train over the land would be the ideal target for them, if they learned of it. A quick strike southward through the valleys there, or there, at a slow moving trail of wagons, and then retreat into the desert, and they'll feast on rations meant for the soldiers. He advocates sending some of the troops back by transport, but an equal amount back over the land, securing the supply trail themselves and setting up small outposts near the valleys to watch and signal for any assaults from beyond the mountains, before preparing for a vulnerable supply train to come overland. This, admittedly, will take even longer than Jin's plan, but he argues that it is the price paid for securing the rear, ensuring that the soldiers will continue to be fed as they progress, and there will be no unexpected surprises of expected shipments of rations not appearing. The lieutenants have different plans. They are very similar, in that both suggest without remorse to simply strip the resources of Gonfa bare, and then press on. It's a captured town, to be sure, but it is hardly a Fire Nation colony yet, they argue, and you are in no way beholden to the security of a town you might not even keep. If they wish, there are, after all, still two other settlements on the peninsula to the west, they can easily migrate there. The plans differ slightly after that, as both suggest pressing on immediately. One, however, advises keeping the army together, taking first one, then the other, of the two remaining targets in this region. The other suggests dividing your forces, and pressing forward on a forced march to take both the coastal and inland sides of the nearby mountain range at the same time. You do not back any of the given plans immediately, but you know that you have to decide soon. ... The tea of this town is barely drinkable. Strong as a Bull Antelope's kick, and with all the flavor of dirt spiced with ground peppers. An earthy drink, to say the least. The peasants don't seem to mind it, though it makes you shudder a little to drink, when you write out reports and subtle accusations to cover your own errors with, even as you direct attention to matters of significant importance. But you can't put off the decision for long. --- [ ] Jin's plan: withdraw majority of forces by sea, wait for supply route and warships. Will take a while. [ ] Captain 2's plan: Withdraw by both sea and land, clear out and prepare routes for supply train and build defensive outposts in northern vallies. Time consuming-est. [ ] Lieutenant 1: strip all resources from Gonfa, press onward, take further towns one at a time. You'll lose points among the dirty earth kingdom peasantry, but who cares about them? [ ] Lieutenant 2: strip all resources from Gonfa, press onward, divide forces and take both land routes at once. Fastest option to finish the campaign, assuming nothing goes wrong. |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 9 2013, 12:05 AM Post #37 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] The Long Haul. In the end, you have grown wary of haste. You decide on the other captain's plan. Gen, you discover, is his name. The first week after the troops divide and leave you with the minimum to hold the town is a tense one. Not because you're afraid the settlement might rise up, you've got enough to destroy it if it comes down to that, could do that yourself you think. No, Toph is the concern. Even knowing the consequences, if she tries it, now would be the best possible time to make a break for it. There's no way she could possibly outrun a messenger bird, of course. So if she tried, she would have to kill every last soldier stationed here, and yourself. She wouldn't be able to manage it, of course. If she tried, you would be bound to kill her, even before sending off orders to enact punishment on the Bei Fongs for it. But if there was ever a time to try for it, it would be now. The attempt never comes. Instead, after a few more days, she starts limping and then, grumbling, comes to you. "Take the b-boots off." She doesn't so much ask as demand. "You know that I can't do that." "Damn it, not even so I c-can see properly!" She snaps. "They're g-giving me splinters." ... Ah. Yes. You guess that could be a concern. You have a physician handle the details of getting the shoes off, and then removing tiny slivers of wood with tiny metal grippers. You keep a close eye on her as things progress, waiting patiently for just the slightest sign of her attempting anything untoward. It never comes. Instead she just groans and stretches, curling her toes. The shoes are brought back in. "Wait. ... w-wait, just five minutes-" she complains, shuffling a little backward on the cot. "Give her a meaningless gesture, now. It will stick in her mind, later, as she recalls your... kindness." the fairy urges. ... You guess you can see the way that works. She does seem a little relieved when you wave the physician off, letting him know that you'll handle that shortly. He seems uncertain, but bows and excuses himself. "Good. Goood. Now... place your hand-" No. The shoes go back on after not just five, but ten minutes, in which you carefully watch for her to so much as stretch a toe down to the floor. But despite your misgivings, your prisoner behaves. --- Three months pass before the supply route is running properly, and soldiers are moved back in. Less soldiers than before. Less by far. From what information you have recieved, the war efforts to the far north have taken a turn for the worse, with the earth kingdoms rallying in the wake of Iroh's continued absence from the front lines to push back, and hard. Many men are needed to hold what ground can ge held, and gather for a push back, preparing to once more take the fight all the way to the walls of Ba Sing Se. Two war-ships break off from the troop of six to deliver your soldiers, as another four continue on, eastward, to hunt tribesmen. You consider your comparatively meager assets. Two smaller war-ships, built for speed, but not so much for capacity. A total, with the men here and the new ones delivered, of five hundred foot soldiers and fifty firebenders. The opportunity has passed, but nevertheless, Toph has remained quiet this whole time, the occasional need to have the shoes removed for a splinter plucking aside. Certainly, she suggests, and often, that she would be happier with their full removal... but of course, you can't agree to that. You just aren't sure what she is thinking, behind those blank eyes. It's a little annoying. You aren't sure why it's grating on you that she is behaving as a model prisoner, as it were, but even so... In any case. You've recieved a number of messages. Your father is... less than pleased, about your big naval loss, though the generals have assured him that these things just happen sometimes, and nobody can really always prepare for them. Iroh mentions passing through the coastal regions north of Ba Sing Se. The guards have passed on that Poppy Bei Fong has begun to show visible signs of pregnancy. Ty Lee really did run off to join the circus, it seems... she's sent you tickets, redeemable at any time. You can't imagine her parents, or the home guard, are particularly thrilled about that life choice. Mai grumbles about her parents. well, actually just about her perfectionist mother. She doesn't seem to really have much to say about her father, either way. It seems like it's only grown worse for her in the wake of her mother's new pregnancy, as the woman has become ever more demanding, or something. You stretch, and lean back from the papers as you sip at a cup of steaming liquid. .... The local blend sort of... it grows on you. Like a sort of horrific fungus that you claw at and scrape at with knives, and burn but it doesn't go away, certainly. But it does. You can stomach it now, at the very least. Better than the local alcohol, at any rate. You've seen what goes into the making of that, and you still feel green around the gills. Still, you have to decide how to go about finishing this campaign. You've been away from home, in a backwater town of dirt farmers in the middle of nowhere for far too long. You can probably expect some kind of actual resistance from the towns, this time... no getting off easily, like before. --- [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 9 2013, 12:05 AM Post #38 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] News. The fairy has much to say on the topic of 'seducing' your captive. Unfortunately, the majority of which is in a far too literal sense of the term. The rest, bits and pieces, don't seem to help much. It seems like, for the most part, you are on your own. .... If Grandfather's little trick worked on Toph, that would make things so much easier. You can feel something like an inner flame, responding to your own, but... small, so small, flickering and hidden inside what seems like a great stony mountain. If you can turn her to your side, of course, it isn't as though there aren't earth-bending citizens of the Fire Nation. Mostly in the colonies. And the utility of having a master bender at your beck and call... more importantly, as far as propoganda goes, having such a powerful earthbender subservient to you... But you're stuck doing this the hard way. So many ways that it could go wrong... "I should congratulate you, I suppose." You muse aloud, as the sun sets, re-reading the note again to be sure there is no mistake. "I have recieved word that your mother has begun to bloom with the flower of your father's seed." "... What?" Toph says, not seeming to understand what you're saying. "You will soon be an elder sister." You clarify. There's a long moment of silence. "... huh." Toph says, slowly. "You are not surprised." you note. "Not r-really. I mean... n-not like I was gonna inherit. They've b-been trying for another kid, it's not like I c-could miss that. Man, that they g-get it right now, though..." You hum thoughtfully. "Yes. ... It does raise questions about our arrangement. A less charitable person might... consider the possibility that they were making preparations under the assumption that you were either already lost, or would soon be." "... I don't think they would t-try anything stupid." she says, after a moment's thought. You frown. "... You know, I don't quite understand you." You admit. "The principle of your bending style is to strike at the right moment. I would think that that moment has already come and gone. We both know that whether I can justify taking those boots off, they won't stop you from bending for long." "M-maybe." Toph replies noncommitally. "From m-my side of things, I'd always heard about the crazy Fire Nation m-monsters burning down everything in their way, snatching up everything in a m-market to fuel their war machines, and p-put the farmers in armor to draw fire." "... You are probably correct in that estimation, when it comes to general Bujing. He is known to be... unpleasant, both to face in battle and to serve beneath." You admit. "Maybe. M-maybe. But even if I c-can't see right, my ears work fine. And so far, I've h-heard a rock that I c-couldn't see coming, that I got pulled out of the way from, that w-would have taken my head off. Soldiers that've been f-fixing things and farming. And d-deciding not to starve hundreds of f-farmers, because it'd be efficient." ... She was awake throught that? The sneaky- "... So, you do not intend to attempt escape." You say, a little stunned. You don't think... no, you doubt that you had ever really considered that she might not just be waiting for the perfect time to strike and flee. "... I haven't d-decided." she says, probably a little too frankly. "Or w-hwat I'm saying is... it c-could be better, could be lots b-better, b-but it's not really that m-much worse than being at home. Trust me though, p-princess. I ever do decide to make a b-break for it? You'll be the f-first to know." She's got this casual smirk on her face, like... ugh. You still don't understand what the earthbender is thinking, at all. .... it would probably still be safest just to kill her, but you can't do that without consequences for as long as she's your hostage. And really, this is the most hopeful suggestion you've seen, with Grandfather's trick not working, that she might honestly turn. Maybe. If she's not just working out what to say to imply that she's considering it, and then later have an opening to bury a knife of flint in your spine. Argh. ... You should focus more on your war-path. That, at least, is nice and simple. --- [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 9 2013, 12:06 AM Post #39 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] War Planning. You gather the captains of the warships and Jin as you consider the plan of attack. It seems like those lieutenants have been re-assigned. Probably to general Bujing, he appreciates initiative of that sort. The nearer village is to the north, beyond the mountains. The other is far east, along the coast, a mostly fishing village that hasn't cleared down much of the nearby forests for farmland. Delivering troops to surround the village will work very well there. Not so much to the north, though scouting parties will of course be useful, and implemented. You really shouldn't divide your forces too much at this point, though. One town at a time. --- [ ] North. [ ] East. ... I guess it was my fault for not really making it clear what I was asking for, here. My bad? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 9 2013, 12:07 AM Post #40 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] North In the end it's decided. The town to the north is too close, to easy of a staging ground for potential raids, not even of the village, but of the supply lines passing to its west. Or if reinforcements are sent down along the coast to the east from the north, and cross over the span of desert that runs directly to the sea... The army packs up and moves easily, though it still takes several days to march around the mountains, approaching from the west. You fly overhead before the army is fully gathered, and recieve some clumsily aimed boulders for your trouble as you pass over the tiny city. You would guess, from the buildings.... more than five hundred citizens, less than a thousand. As for how many of those will take up swords and spears against you, you can't get a solid estimate, though you see some of the citizenry carrying weapons. Unlike the other small towns in this region, this one includes a small fortress castle built almost directly into the mountain at its rear. Old, strong work, where you suppose the ruler of this tiny kingdom reigns. Earth kingdoms politics give you such a headache. Ostenibly, all the small kings and princes and nobles are bound to the service of the Earth King, ruling from Ba Sing Se, in something of a reflection of the Fire Lord of the Fire Nation. Unlike your nation, however, where the Fire Lord's will is law, and reigns surpreme over all those beneath him... the Earth King seems to have no real authority whatsoever. Every little state, region, province, of the Earth Kingdoms has its own rulers who decide, of their own authority, what laws hold sway here. It leads to vast cultural differences, even between such small distances as Chin Village and Gao Ling. More importantly, there seems to be a troupe of earthbenders defending the town, behind thick stone walls, hastily thrown up but then reinforced and reinforced and secured. Barely twenty of them, no real way of guessing how thorough their training was beyond their inaccuracy with boulders. You doubt that any of them is a master. You come in for a landing at the camp, just out of range of the earthbender's stones. "News, princess?" Jin asks. "... This town will not just roll over and surrender. We will have to take it. Twenty benders, unknown number of soldiers. The walls are the biggest issue. Small, but sturdy. How long will it take to fashion catapults?" "With the nearby forest at hand, and the men focused on building them.... it will take a couple days, but we can build several small war machines on the spot, to bring the walls down. Of course, the earthbenders on their side will be doing everything in their power to stop the shots and keep the walls up." ".... there is no choice, if we siege the town. The benders maintaining the wall will have to be a primary target." You say, considering the matter. "It won't be the same as Gao Ling, where I could just move in and force all the defenders into a direct confrontation. I haven't seen a bit of whoever lives in the fortress at the rear." "There's always thick oil mixed with tar, launched in burning wooden casks." Jin muses. "It's a horrible way to die, mind, but if they try to intercept that with a flung rock, then they'd quickly learn to regret having done so. Worse from breaking apart in the air, by far, than splashing at the ground." Toph seems more than a little uneasy with the discussion of how best to smash the town's defenses and take control of it. She holds her peace, though. This is war, and in battle, people die. She should know that well enough, having fought from the other side. --- [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 9 2013, 12:07 AM Post #41 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] Preparation. You spend the afternoon drawing up an offer to meet outside of their walls, peacefully accepting the surrender of the town. You even go out of your way to suggest that an immediate and peaceful surrender could lead to no more than the adjustment of where the taxes flow, and the simple insertion of a Fire Nation advisor to make suggestions regarding decisions of state. This done, you tie the letter to an arrow, and have it shot beyond the walls. A soldier takes it into the fortress. Then, not long afterward, brings it out, snaps the arrow symbolically, and burns the letter. You find yourself a little incensed at that. Fine calligraphy takes time... ugh. No matter. The construction of the catapults will continue as scheduled. You should have plenty of iron bullets, to bring those little walls down. Toph doesn't have anything to say until the night before the assault is planned. "You aren't going t-to ask me to take the wall d-down." she says, not a question, but a statement. "I know you h-have to have thought about it. That I c-could sink them into the earth like n-nothing." ".... That's true." You admit. "But it would not be wise to ask something like that of a prisoner. Entirely leaving aside the matter of trust, and the possibility that exists where you might attempt to take the opportunity to escape, despite that you could not outrun a messenger bird... there is the simple matter of finality. Once you have acted against any of the earth kingdoms interests, in the name of the Fire Nation." You shrug. "Even in a matter so small as bringing down a wall, or opening a door, they would rightly label you as a traitor for it." You point out. "Defecting. And from there, the only way you could turn back would be to make sure that every witness to your deeds in the earth kingdoms was dead before they could tell anyone. Naturally, while fire nation soldiers might speak of it, it isn't as though anyone will believe horror tales told by the terrible invaders." You set down the brush you were fiddling with. "In direct honesty? Bringing down the walls unexpectedly would be a move that by all rights should allow an invasion to take over smoothly. Minimizing sieging time, minimizing damage and unintended casualties to the town from deflected shots gone wild, allowing a direct confrontation instead of our sitting here and pecking at their walls until they crumble faster than they can be built back up, while they try to dig a hole and pull it in after themselves. A direct confrontation, we have the numerical superiority by far. We will certainly win. Of course, we will certainly win this conflict one way or another, they simply do not have anywhere near the sort of resources or support it would take to hold us off, even if every one of their troop of earthbenders was elite and powerful. It's simply a matter of time spent, and blood spilled, on both sides. If catapults and bowmen are in range of the walls, then they are also in range of the benders within, who I assure you will not hesitate to strike out against my forces." You sigh. "Of course, bringing down the wall would be the best thing. For the Fire Nation. As far as the defenders care, keeping them up and us out for as long as possible would be the best thing, no matter how long they have to bleed in keeping us out." You resume writing, a letter to uncle Iroh. "Take care, if you are going to make an offer that you can't later retract or deny." You warn carefully, watching the earthbender closely. Everything you've said is true, of course. Her defection at this point would be ideal... but hardly required. You think that you're beginning to get the slightest handle on Toph Bei Fong, though. If you want her to turn, then it's important, more than anything, that you not make a request like that of her, that she can rationalize away as getting into your good graces. To make sure she understands, and make sure she knows you are making sure she understands, the consequences of her actions. That if she turns, there is no turning back. And then, back away, and let her make the choice. Because it must be her choice, with nothing that she can later consider to be pressure to fold her to your will. It is the sweetest of victories, in the morning, as the catapults are loaded and the men make ready to roll them forward and into range of the defending force, that Toph stops you. "W-wait. I can bring d-down the wall. If you trust me to do that." "You would still be a hostage, against your parents." You warn. "... I know." --- [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 9 2013, 12:08 AM Post #42 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] acceptance. "..." You don't need to look into her eyes, or any of that nonsense. You wouldn't see anything in them anyway. You gave her all the chances possible to reconsider. "... Very well, then. Let's take down those walls." You agree. There's a moment of still silence, once the boots are removed, the men looking on carefully as Toph Bei Fong sets her bare feet directly to the ground for the first time in months. She groans, settling into stance, and you can smell... ozone? There's a crackling flash around her, sinking into the ground, and you can see her grit her teeth as the last traces of lightning, trapped inside of her, flash and crackle away painfully into the ground. But it passes. And she breathes out. "I can see everything again." She notes, seeming a little melancholy about it. "I feel... better than ever before. Let's do this!" There's a roar from your men, and the force advances, covered by distracting waves of iron shot, digging into and falling just short of the wall, keeping attention and letting the benders inside think you fools for charging so soon, presuming the wall will be down when you get there. Toph stops, as you near the wall. She shifts, reaching out and straining a little, the long stretch of time with barely any access to the earth at all wearing on her bending, and she pulls. The walls topple, down and outwards, and sink into the ground. Leaving open behind them and earthbender with an almost hilarious look of dawning horror on his face, as the army sweeps through this hole, snatching him up without resistance, too stunned from the failure of the wall to even move. "Surrender!" You call out. "Surrender now, or send out your mightiest warriors to face me, and surrender after!" There is a howl of anguished rage from the fortress as you approach it, surrenders falling freely in your wake, the idea of fighting your forces on the other side of the wall very much a different matter than facing you here, inside their circling grasp of protection. "You! Earthbender!" the young noble calls, rage seeming focused entirely on Toph. "Traitor to your homelands, may your ancestors turn aside from you in disgust, may the curses of a thousand angry hornets sting your tongue and bite your eyes, for turning so against your own people. May ten thousand curses bring turmoil to your rest and locusts to your fields, may one hundred thousand curses drag your kin into the earth, and smite you with fevers and boils!" He howls, before whirling about and retreating into the fortress at full speed of an at least partially trained earthbender, heavy stone gates slamming shut before you, as though that would stop your advance." "Yeah. He's pissed." Toph notes. "... And fast. Going up, second floor, third... he's grabbing something, now up to the roof-" Something seems wrong. A gathering wrongness, something... You leap, flapping up into the air and coming to a stop on a roof, watching something unfold. No. You can almost see a spirit's gathering presence. "Old man of the mountain, grand spirit of fur and claw, drive out these invaders, end the life of the earthbending traitor to the Earth Kingdoms, and I will offer you my own body to see it done!" the princeling howls. You are already charging the lightning by the time the word 'spirit' crosses his lips, but not fast enough, not fast enough, even as the lancing tongue of cold fire breaks apart the small, ornate shrine of the mountain behind the fortress, the spirit is already darting forward, through and into the foolish prince. He topples back, falling off the roof to crash down into the ground, before the doors. You're only a moment behind him, calling, ordering, almost screaming for the troops to get back, damn it. "What. The fuck?" Toph says, very slowly. You almost can't bring yourself to turn. The man's body is morphing, shifting horribly, becoming larger, lankier, hairier and more muscled as fingernails grow out into thick black claws, and his teeth become sharper, longer, a mouth full of knives. "Dangerous, so very much." the fairy whispers. "Desperate acts, to bring opportunity to another. He will kill you, and your pet, to fulfil this contract as the last obligation before he may do as he pleases in the world. You must destroy his body, the shell offering him substance, before he can." ... This just turned into a very bad day. --- [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 9 2013, 12:10 AM Post #43 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] Shit shit shit shit shitshit- There is no time for apology or further orders. Your hand all but blurs as it plucks and flings throwing stars. You nick one finger a little. Doesn't matter, doesn't matter. The thing howls, and smoke rises from where the stars bury themselves into it side as its fangs continue to extend out, longer, longer. Not enough, not enough. Your hands crackle with electricity as you loop arcs of lightning around the spirit taking control of the body to suit its own ends. "Not enough. Cleaving the heart, crushing the brain, not enough. As long as the body is there, it will repair. Back then, it took the Avatar itself, when paths we crossed... destroy it, or your pet will suffer." the fairy whispers into your mind. The lightning isn't enough. It melts into the ground. Not wasting a second, you spin and leap, wings flapping as you grab Toph, swinging up to the roofs with an ungainly squawk. Just in time. Barely in time, as it rises, all razor sharp fangs and teeth and just misses savaging you both. A foolhardy soldier throws his spear, as it glowers malevolently up at you, drawing its attention as the steel head buries itself in the thing's torso. It reaches down and pulls it out, contemptuously. Then it swings its claws. Missed, just barely, as Toph shoves her hand and the ground ripples, forcing the man back and away. "He's been possessed by an evil spirit!" You howl, simplifying things for the sake of speed. "What are you idiots still doing here, fall back, salt and iron, not steel, salt and iron!" It's turned back to you, scorch marks from lightning still present against its hide. Then it moves, inhumanly fast, impossibly fast, crashing through the wall below you. You hear a scream of something including 'saber yeti', cut unpleasantly short. You're already moving , throwing toph over to another roof as you leap after, not taking the time to slow down a little and flap. "Run run run!" You hiss. ".... Princess. There... were people in that house." Toph says softly, as you flee from- There's only a moment's tingling of going too smoothly, danger, danger, for you to drag her out of the reach of gnashing, bloodstained jaws and throw another iron star into its eyes. Its face is dripping with red, not its own. Its hide is immaculate. "You and I are the target. They were just... there. And convenient. Did it heal itself, by-?" It's suddenly, and with no warning, right there in your face, jaw full of razors opening-. You breathe out in flame, forcing it back for just a moment. Then someone else's boulder, not Toph's, slams into its head, knocking it out of the way for only a moment, just a moment, as it sinks into the ground beneath it. "This way!" Jin calls, one of the earthbenders from the city's defenses at his side, black look on his face. "We've evacuated the people towards the other direction as best we can, hurry-!" You hurry. You make it just in time to save Jin, as the saber-yeti, old man of the mountain, or whatever the proper name for it is, rises from the earth and shreds the earthbender at his side to ribbons. "Go go go, northwest!" Jin howls as he breaks off, forcing the spirit to choose between him and you. It chooses according to duty, of course. Good thing for Jin. Not quite so good for you, with it snapping at your heels. "Northwest, here we are, what now?" Toph yells, surfing over the ground, dancing away always just in time to not die with every strike of the thing's, like a hurricane of knives, did it, no, just grazed, this suit is ruined and you're bleeding, but your insides are still on the inside. For a long couple minutes of intense desperation, using everything at both of your disposals to stay alive, you begin to worry that Jin might have sent you here simply to minimize casualties when you begin to tire the way the spirit does not, cannot. Then the first iron orb crashes through an empty house, burying itself deeply into the road. More to come. You look up, and call warnings, then realize something. A couple of those payloads aren't bullets. They're casks, with fuses. They explode, mid-arc, and salt drifts down on the wind like snow. The thing screams as it claws at itself, spilling rivers of red and, ironically, probably driving some of the salt deeper into its wounds. You fling another handful of shuriken, yelling at Toph for iron, bend the earth to use the iron, and bullets smash into it, prompting meaty crunches and more screams. You exhale flame. Not enough. More. Not enough. More. More, more more. You choke a little as you desperately vomit up the flames, burning away at the thing's flesh and bone. It speaks, through its funeral pyre, still standing as you gasp for more breath, but not managing to claw at you as Toph's bending rips you away from its claws. "I will. Remember. You." it says, hollow voice laden with venom. You breathe out once more. ... by the time you finish, and begin gasping for breath, there is only a few scraps of flesh clinging to a skeleton. You let, for just one crucial moment, your guard down. To your detriment, as the charred skeletal thing lunges at you, eye sockets still glowing with hate and fingerbones as sharp as swords. And then it's crunched apart between two walls of stone set with iron orbs. You don't stop breathing flame out onto what little remains for several minutes afterward. You're not trembling at all. --- [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 9 2013, 12:10 AM Post #44 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] Aftermath. Things settle down quickly, once you've ensured that there isn't so much as the slightest fragment of bone or tooth remaining for that thing to grow back from. You see to the casualty reports, once your stomach wounds are stitched back shut. Close, the physician notes. Just a hair or so further, and you would have been spilling organs, and not just blood. Too damned close. The casualty list is unpleasant as well, despite that your soldiers appear to have escaped the unexpected assault unscathed. The prince, obviously dead, and having given up his body, spirit destroyed so thoroughly that there is no chance he will return as an angry ghost. Then there is the earthbender who fell in the battle, and no less than nine, nine civilians from that first home, and another seven simply picked off as it passed by them. Sixteen in total, ranging from a man in his eighties to a newborn infant of only a few months. The saber yeti was not discriminate in what it took as it passed. You make inquiries as the burial ceremonies commence. The boxes are closed, through it all, as nobody really wants to look upon what little remains of its victims. You've seen some of it. You can't imagine how the saber yeti devoured so many internal organs in a single pass, and still followed after you at such speed, but the remains speak for themselves. As for the spirit itself... The old man of the mountain is supposedly a guardian spirit and a wrathful monster in the same breath. Local parables discuss his two forms. The first, is an aged man in a furry cloak, who is told to have been seen leading travelers lost on his mountainside down the slope, or to safe caverns to ride out rain or snowstorms. There are suggestions that, very rarely, an earthbender who meditates in the mountain for a week without food or sleep will meet with him for personal, though wordless, training. Supposedly, such benders are much more powerful than normal, as are those who learn from badgermoles. The second, is the saber-yeti, a beast of malice and fury. This side of the spirit is said to prey upon unwary travelers, and feast upon them as prey. No few of the earthbenders seeking spiritual training from the old man are said to have fallen to the saber-yeti. You would seal away all the shrines to the mountain, except that it serves no purpose. You could hide them in iron chests carved with mazes and filled with salt, but it isn't as though the spirit lives inside the shrine. It's more of a signpost, that the spirit can home in on easily from where it does reside, and a few minute's quick work with a knife against a bit of word would, though crude, work just as well as a golden miniature shrine inlaid with gemstones. ... No matter. You will suggest, in your official reports home to Ozai, that the peasant superstitions might be appeased with the visit of a fully trained sage, alongside your report of the rare and powerful beast which the princeling brought forth when pressed. Uncle will get a less edited recount of the tale. You can't wait for the supply lines to get into place here, so you can commandeer a pot of salt to keep at your side forever. You're already down by half of the shuriken Mai gave you. You'll have to remember to send something nice. .... You forget to bring the shoes back in for Toph. There doesn't seem to be much opposition to this. ... After a moment's thought, you include a note that you feel Jin's quick thinking under pressure and timely deployment of artillery during that matter with the saber yeti is worth a commendation and perhaps inserting him to the newly forming Air Forces of the nation. The rest of the army, you'll arrange for double pay for this assault. There's scattered cheering at the declaration, but for the most part, it seems like the men are spooked and just want out of this city. There have been several accidents, already, and while none of them have been fatal, some nasty wounds have ensued. They're much more receptive to your directions to build a garrison just outside of the city, then have a minority wait there while you go through a troop swapping procedure to exchange the garrison here with the one at Gonfa. ... There are a few near misses with accidents on your own part, as repairs are made. Crumbling stone and falling planks with nails. Not enough to pose a serious and actual danger to your life, but after a few separate occasions, you withdraw to the garrison outside the city, where things go wrong far less often. It isn't until after several days of commotion that someone finally brings you a report on the earthbending troupe here. Leaving aside the one that died to the spirit, only seven of the benders are accounted for and, to one degree or another of happiness with the situation, settled with working to rebuild, repair the area, and serve the Fire Nation. The remaining dozen seem to have just disappeared, though after several days of looking for hints, you find a civilian who admits that he saw them leaving the village and heading north, towards the desert. Well, no matter. At very worst, they join some other army, and fall in battle with Bujing's forces, or are captured again. With the potential subversive elements out of the way, things will probably go more smoothly here anyway. ... You are surprised, after a couple of weeks, to wake up with your bed seeming like it had been the site of a horrific spirit attack itself. Toph can't stop laughing, and you just want to burn everything until nothing remains, as Jin desperately goes down the line in the chain of command until he finds 'a woman, who knows about woman things, merciful Agni, anyone'. Sergeant Ryuuko is a young woman with a face that looks like it got held up to a metal grinder at some point, and a sharp barking voice. She assembles some quiet items in a pouch and a special... You balk at calling it a tea. A strong, bitter, steaming drink that eases the worst of things. Then she knocks Toph on the head with a spoon. "Enjoy your laughter now." She warns. "Another year or three, you're going to be going through exactly the same thing." Toph looks outright appalled and horrified at the very thought. Still, if anything, this small palace city seems in even better condition when you leave it than before you arrive, and you discover that Ozai has taken the opportunity to send off a newer and less restrained Sage to be stationed here as governor and attend to the new Fire Nation Colonies'... spiritual needs, as it is put. You have concerns, you will admit, but you let them pass as you travel back down and around the mountains to Gonfa, and from there make a few arrangements and take letters. You send off a.... charming, and relatively expensive, carved statue of a jade monkey to Mai, in gratitude for her own surprisingly convenient gift. You also send along a large-ish chest of the local blend of tea to her parents, with your compliments, and a quiet note at the end for her to pass along exactly how they like it to you. You also recieve, back in Gonfa and on the supply train proper, a somewhat shame-faced warning from the generals that the small fleet of warships sent after the water tribesmen, and all of the soldiers staffing them, numbering over a thousand once spread across all four boats have been.... Misplaced. Well, that is just the news you wanted to hear about. Wonderful. Even so, you catch no sight of them as you sweep along the coast by sea and take the last of the local villages for your own, with no more defenses than wooden walls and crude fishing spears, which you burn to nothing in equal measure. Your campaign through this stretch of the earth kingdom is complete. Now it is down to the Generals and governors, to keep it. You'll make suggestions, of cours, like placing a fortress to the northeast and near the desert... Not in Tu Zin itself, though. The place was abandoned for a reason, when all the wells dried up and not a drop further could be wrung out of the earth. Near the river instead. In any case, though, you think it should be high time that you return to the Fire Nation proper. You're sick of pepper-dirt tea. Perhaps you'll return to education, now from tutors, in the wake of your military... well, you can't call them anything but successes, despite the unexpected setbacks that befell you. You can't say you haven't gained from this expedition, either. --- [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 9 2013, 12:11 AM Post #45 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] Vacationing through the last of the thirteenth year. You pass through Gao Ling, spending a little while there as Toph inspects her parents' current situation. From a distance, of course, and across roads. You keep a hand on her shoulder, and can almost burn words into the air, mine, mine now. Their pregnancy seems to be progressing nicely. When there is finally a too-formal dinner, in a much smaller house than they seem used to, though still on the larger side of things for this town, things are incredibly stiff and uncomfortable. Well, it's good to just stop by, make sure they aren't thinking of trying any funny ideas that you would be forced to make them regret. From there, you ship down to pass by Kyoshi island, and notice a familiar boat. You redirect the course, pulling in for a landing on the island. Someone has to let uncle know that allowing Zuko to land on this stretch of coast would now be considered, technically, treasonous. The visit with Uncle Iroh, though somewhat tense as you are closely watched by the local Kyoshi Warriors, and Zuko is being his typical thick-headed sourpuss self, is much more comfortable and warmer, involving merriment, good tea, and Pai Sho games. You leave with a new set, carved this time from ivory and obsidian, volcanic glass, and inlaid with stone symbols set and locked carefully into place. You don't think he's received your letters about the whole rampaging spirit-beast thing, yet. You decide you'll let him learn about that through them, as you leave them both behind, changing ships to a much faster, much smaller, ship. You head out to sea for a while, and only then turn north, to avoid any possible unexpected naval battles with the Earth Kingdoms, or those water tribe assholes. "... I think I like these boats a lot better than the Earth Kingdom's." Toph confesses en route, playing with some of the tiles. "I'd be going nuts if I was floating out here on a bit of wood. But with metal, I can... well, it's not solid ground, but I can almost see sometimes." .... That. Is at the same time very interesting, and very worrisome. The whole point of deploying metal against earthbenders, after all, is that they cannot bend it... "... Metal ore is mined from the earth, and then refined in fires and smithies." You say, after a few moments of hesitation. "It's not too surprising that there are some similarities." .... It's left at that, though you can sometimes see an odd look on her face, as she drums her fingers against a metal rail or wall. Even so, she seldom ventures too far from her own quarters, where stone tiles have been secured into place over the flooring. The circus, currently, is performing near Yu Dao. Ty Lee seems thrilled to see you, and you can't say that the show isn't interesting enough, with what could be mistaken for death defying stunts and the showmen apparently taking their own lives in their hands to make things more exciting. Your suggestion of lighting the safety net on fire mid-act, to provide a greater illusion of danger, is taken under advisement. Still, and you can't say you're surprised by this, for obvious reasons, Toph takes a greater interest in the smithies of Yu Dao. Being the oldest of the Fire Nation colonies, this city is settled into peace unlike almost any other, with no sort of rebellious elements at all. This colony is Fire Nation, no matter how the earth kingdoms might insist that the land was theirs, and the imperialistic invaders should all go home or die, or both. It shows the greatest in the smithies, where competent Earthbenders and Firebenders alike work their crafts together to produce what is if not the finest steel in the world, very close, and easily mass produced. You pick up a short iron sword, straight and with an edge on either side, not as fine, but there are tasks for which steel will not suffice, and restock on throwing stars, of a subtly different shape. Toph walks out of the smith with a lump of unprocessed iron ore, an addition so minor that the man in charge considers it a bonus he is happy to add, for free. From here, you sail south along the coast, and from there southwest to Ember Island. The current play, when you make port and spend a time there, is a riveting romance between the lady Nawahime, and the mighty dragon Shen Lung, supposedly a pair of the progenitors of the royal line. The music reaches a crescendo as the dragon, a contraption moved around the stage with ropes hanging from above, takes human form. Later, there is a sadder thrum to the music, as lady Nawahime dies of poison, and Shen Lung takes to the skies once more in the form of a dragon, to burn out the enemies, unnamed, from their fortress island, and thence fly up and beyond even the range of an airbender, to rejoin with Agni himself in his mourning, and cause a partial and unexplained eclipse. It's reasonably enjoyable, you decide, though Toph doesn't seem to quite get it. "Wasn't he, like, still a dragon the whole time?" she points out. "And before he did his mumbo jumbo and turned into a person, wasn't she still kind of serenading and romancing, I mean, did she know that was going to happen, or...?" You shrug, not really sure of the details to that fine of an extent yourself. "... Your plays are kind of weird." she grumbles. You don't really see it yourself, it seemed perfectly fine to you. The lay of Son Gokuu, feral child grown in a lowland wilderness to become King of the Monkeys, seems to get a much better response from her, though the thrill dims a little when he grows up, becomes cultured, and takes to the noble pursuits of man. In any case, you can't stay here forever. It's time to report back home. Father is waiting, in the throne room. --- "Azula. I have heard much, of your time away." He says, slowly. His eyes trail meaningfully toward Toph, but he does not yet speak of her. "Report. In detail." ... You can tell, even as you echo the path of your conquest, that he is only half listening to your words. Eventually, he raises a hand to stop you. "I am... curious." He says. "Explain your reasoning... for the capture of Toph Bei Fong, who stands before me now." .... Well. She was useful. Both politically, and in the sense of her bending being convenient later on. You don't get the feeling that he's really buying it, though, as he stops you again. "You could not have known, in advance, that she would choose to convert and aid you." he points out, still ignoring, or feigning to, her presence in the throne room. "And in a political sense, every gain presented by holding her as a hostage could also be taken as easily, or more so, by executing her as a warning against potential rebellion." .... You can't quite find the words at the moment. But you stand by your decision, firmly. Ozai sighs, deeply. "By all rights, it is the mother's duty to speak of such things with the daughter..." he mumbles, almost inaudible, before his voice rises. "Azula. You are entering a... difficult time, in your life." .... No. No, no, Agni, Moon and Ocean, earth below and sea and storm, anyone, no. Not this. Not now. "You are facing a great number of... changes. Urges." he continues, sounding as uncomfortable with this as you feel. "You may feel... tempted, to do things that are unwise, by the promise of... erm." Yes. Choke it off. Tie your tongue up in knots, and let neither of us ever speak of this again.... He rallies, though. "But as my daughter, you have responsibilities to all the Fire Nation that you must keep in mind. No matter that things have worked out well, this time, you must not be driven by... these strange, new impulses. It is your duty to master your... emotions, and think of what is best for our people." Agni. Merciful Agni. Please, make it stop. He hesitates, then nods slowly. "I will trust your judgement in this matter. But keep this in mind." he decides. "For the time being...." He snaps his fingers, and a servant enters from the side, carrying a thin golden choker on a pillow. No... closer to a collar, but even so, decorative. "A meaningless gesture. But even so, better to keep things clear. We would not want any more incidents such as the one with young Panzu if they can be easily avoided, yes?" Pan... that one impertinent fellow that thought he could talk you into a wedding. You wonder if he's out of the care of physicians, yet. Even so, you remain wordless as the servant steps forward, to your father's direction, and clicks the necklace into place around Toph's throat, as she stares blankly ahead. Then, with a nod and a wave of his hand, Ozai dismisses you both. ".... Did that just happen?" Toph says, as you enter the halls outside. "Like... really. Did that really just happen?" Merciful Agni, you wish it hadn't. Even having to but heads with your father over whether or not to send your prize to Boiling Rock might have been better, you think. The rest of the year, what remains of it, settles as Toph becomes accustomed to your wing of the palace, wandering the hidden passages, absolutely and completely un-hidden from her vigilant toes... or something, and visiting the nearby city below at her discretion, though always with a polite escort, part guard and part guide. But mostly guide. She's your responsibility, if she decides to try something stupid. There is a small incident with an overzealous and undertrained young man in a mask, towards the end of the year. Toph is very surprised, when she catches him in stone, and rather than submit he cracks a capsule of poison from his cheek and swallows it. She's more surprised when the maid doesn't bat an eye when called, simply assures you that 'it would be dealt with', and removes the cooling remains, returning shortly after with a mop. Dinner proceeds on schedule. --- Pick five Yearly Foci [ ] Cultural Studies [ ] Economics [ ] Bullshit crazy Fire technique (Run it by me, may take longer than just one year, depending, write-in option) -[ ] Or just train up a previous technique. [ ] "Self-defense" lessons(choose) -[ ] Further dirty Tricks -[ ] Basics of [Weapon] [ ] Lessons under HeadMaid Rin [ ] Logistics [ ] Politics And pick one social action. [ ] ??? OR pick below. [ ] Go out to take the field of battle once more. ... You're looking forward to the new varieties of pepper-dirt tea already.... |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 9 2013, 12:18 AM Post #46 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] Culture [x] Money [x] Dragon's Breath [x] Logistics [x] Politics {x} Butterfly --- Your tutor in culture is a little surprised to learn that you've chosen to take lessons from him, as he'd apparently written you off by now. Even so, he gets right to work, beginning first with the fire nation itself, and getting a thorough grounding of the basics. Plays and poetry and songs and music, all driven through your head as higher culture. From basic culture... well, obviously, it begins with the simple fact of men and woman being legally equal. From there it spirals up through the dynamics of the heavy soldier population, and the bending imperative of offense, coupled with the generally higher respect and use of technology, compared to the other peoples. You have some time to delve into minutiae, such as the necklace that Toph wears even now, a mark of honorable service, marking her as something near, but not quite in, a position of family. Yours. But the dangers of it come with the benefits, nobody will question her presence, though rumors might go in multiple directions, but you cannot use her, for example, as you might turn Mai's biting tongue to your advantage. In a traditional, even legal, sense, what Toph does while she is wearing that necklace is what you do. Like the greatest of warriors in the old tales, sworn to their lord's will, an attack perpetrated by her would be treated as though you had directly ordered it to be carried out, an insult as though it had passed from your own lips. Whether that be the case or not, there are often anecdotes of unwise people getting their benefactors in a great deal of trouble. Though you can get her out of a lot more trouble than if she were acting alone. Even so, it isn't as though your resources are functionally infinite in that regard. Not unless you sat on the throne of the Fire Lord yourself, could you excuse everything and anything without question. "Is that what it means." Toph said blandly when it was brought up, picking her nose. "I figured your old man was setting up some kinda concubine thing." You shudder at the thought. Unlike other cultures, parents have no involvement in arranging matches for their children, beyond suggestions. You would be within your rights to challenge Ozai to Agni Kai over trying to force a match of any sort. ".... And here's me from the south coast, where if your parent's haven't gotten you married by fourteen you probably never will be." She says in response. "You guys are weird." Then of course, there's the wide spread belief, that all firebenders are descended from the children of dragons. And the less of the crude remarks Toph has to say about that, the better. You don't even bring up the traditional divisions of labor between children of nobility. It's all things you already know, of course, but coming at it from a feigned stance of an outsider is actually fairly interesting, as you analyze all of the dynamics. The water tribes come next, with sharply differing dynamics between the North and South poles, mainly dependent on bending. The North segregates its waterbenders by gender. Females learn healing, and only healing, while males learn offensive waterbending. There are no exceptions, and a man attempting to learn the women's arts is treated just as poorly as a woman who seeks to fight. They face ostracization, at best, more usually something closer to exile from the tribes or, so they say, quiet removal of the unwanted element, who might not come back from sledding along the edges of the ice floes one day. Foolish, you think, to divide it by gender rather than talent, but then it isn't as though you can expect better from the tribal barbarians. Apparently they have a rich oral tradition, with a deep respect for nature, but you really aren't paying a great deal of attention through this section. Singing and dancing around giant campfires, occasional tales, but not any kind of buildings for plays or orchestra. Well, the details aren't covered in depth anyway. The earth kingdoms are the most complex, culturally, due to their decadent nobility acting as a loosely allied group of many small nations rather than a number of provinces coming together to make up a unified whole. You could walk for only a few days, from one small kingdom to the next, and find things vastly different. There are a few things that are usually the same through them all, of course. The basics of the basics. Murder is frowned upon, as is theft. Your women are your property, to some level or another. The land all belongs to the ruler of the kingdom, who merely rents and loans it out to those beneath him, to make use of it. It doesn't hold true for all of the kingdoms, but you can usually bet on those holding true. "... Sounds about right." Toph says, looking, deeply annoyed by the position of women in the earth kingdoms. "Not like I can say for anything beyond the south coasts, though. And, well, legally anyway. It's basically up to your dad or your husband to decide how far he wants to go with that, under the local laws. Completely different on Kyoshi Island, though, where ladies are in charge of everything important. Heard it's different towards the north, too, dad was always scandalized by things he heard from up north where his people traded with women." She shrugs. "Basically comes down to you don't like the laws? You go somewhere else, until you find somewhere you do like them." She says, waving a hand. "Problem with that is that people aren't gonna really trust you as more than that one person that got blown in on the wind and might stroll out any time until you've put down roots for at least a generation or two." .... Hm, that wasn't something that got mentioned. You are only covering the basics, but you would have thought that it would be mentioned. Things segue fairly nicely into economics anyway, which basically comes down to the basics of trade, with notes of who supplies what. The Fire Nation, and the Colonies, good for tea. Yu Dao for fine steel. The poles for exotic furs, if you are fortunate enough that the tribes are friendly enough with you to consider trade, a rare thing for outsiders. Rare stone from the mountains of the earth kingdoms, or in some places the now empty islands housing the Air Temple ruins. Several mining settlements have failed, insisting that they can't handle the ghosts. Not even all violent or angry ghosts, just annoyed, or ghosts that won't stop talking in a room next to your bedroom, or whisper from the shadows to see you jump. Some of it has to be superstition, from the eerie environs, but some of it could be legitimate ghosts. Harmless enough to not require intervention and exorcism, you guess. In any case, lumber comes from towns near or in large forests, you could have guessed that much. There's some finer details, like salt mines and differing luxuries. The main thing to consider, however, is that the Fire Nation generally trades with the Fire Nation. The Earth Kingdoms with their kingdoms, and the tribes with other tribes. Earth and Water might trade with each other, sometimes. But if anyone from Earth or Water trades with the Fire Nation, they keep it very quiet and do not advertise the fact in their homelands, to avoid accusations of smuggling and collaboration. It's not to say it doesn't happen, though. In fact, it happens often. You just have to find the right people. Toph doesn't really have anything to say about it. You aren't sure whether to guess that her parents would trade with Fire, or absolutely would not trade with Fire, either way. Their displayed bias, not even considering your soldiers people when you took control, would have made trade difficult. Not impossible, though. Logistics and Politics, by this point, are simply details. Details, details, and ever more details, the range of a transport per day of provisions, how many provisions will feed how many men for so long, in most cases details you've picked up. But there's also little suggestions and helpful maneuvers, not all of which would have applied to your campaign, but many of which seem useful nonetheless. The details of politics sum up as memorizing who likes what. As ever, the basics are pounded into your skull like a tent peg, you get nowhere without offering something that the other party wants, in order to make it easier to get what you do. You find practice with your firebending to be much more soothing. Toph throws up large pillars and walls of stone, as you breathe.... Near the end of the year, you have expanded your use of the breath considerably, stretching its fury out much longer than you could have when you first began, the fires burning hotter, with a greater intensity... The stone is molten, in patches, in the wake of the fires, clinking softly as it slowly cools and drips down the side of the stone wall. "Make it flow. Make it move. It is the fires deep within the earth that gives the stone its flowing life..." The fairy urges. .... you pull, just a touch. There's what might be a response from the cooling stone, as a bubble stretches out and pops, or what might simply be coincidence. Huh. Toph doesn't seem to have noticed anything about it, but then, she's already strolled off to find her way to the kitchens and harass the chefs until they give her a plate of something tasty. She could simply have been to distracted with thoughts of food, after the bending, to notice. ... In any case, you have things to ask, of the Ruby Butterfly. "... I cannot recall when it was." She muses. "Or who it was. The faces of men, they run together like molten wax in the mind. I recall only that I had held the body for a time, and then there was the Avatar, and then I held the body no longer and returned to that which had been before." You... see? You guess? Hm. In any case. That spirit... "That one? I know him not. He is a being of colder stone than I am wont to tolerate, from far afield. But I know of his tricks. He offers no tutelage. One way or another, those who he appears before serve his needs. Those he devours, to fill his belly, and those who he meets, to fuel his power. Men draw what conclusions they might, when no words are spoken as the ritual passes, but they learn nothing new. Simply enter compact with that old man of the mountain, drawing of his might to amplify their own power by the slightest touch, and returning it to him swollen greatly beyond what he gave. Their power, and more, swells up his own." That is less pleasant than the thought of a spirit teaching bending, you think. ... Though if their bending is more powerful, it could still be interpreted as instruction, of a sort. Perhaps. In any case, despite the mild trickery, it seems like nobody is really harmed by the practice, despite that they enter an un-realized contract of sorts with the spirit. Unless they do something wrong and get eaten, you guess. Dangerous business. ... Your fourteenth year passes without incident, for the most part. Letters, and lessons, and slowly swaying Toph Bei Fong over to the side of the Fire Nation's cultural superiority. And then, a little into the next year, fanfare sounds. Iroh... well, technically, Zuko's ship, you guess, has been sighted pulling in towards the capital. --- [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 9 2013, 12:19 AM Post #47 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] To the ship. "Hold on. Hold on" Toph insists, rather than take your hand immediately when you ask if she wants to come along. With a twist of her hand, she pulls a seat of stone from the earth. Then she sort of stares, only not, because she's blind, for a few breaths at it. "Well?" You say, grumpily. "Just a second. I've been thinking about this for a long time, here, just...." She seats herself. Then, as a little sweat rises on her brow, the chair lifts into the air, small cloud of dust hanging beneath it as she moves, both herself and the expanding dust cloud.... Then it clunks back down onto the ground as she gasps. "Nope. Gonna need a lot more work before that's any good." She mumbles, wryly. "Let's go then, princess." "You know my name by now." You grumble. "Sure do, princess." .... You might not be flying quite as fast as you could, as she dangles from your hand. But Iroh is standing there on the deck, waving casually at you both. "Azula." He greets you. "'sup, big guy." Toph calls in response, getting a shoulder pat. "Let's skip the pleasantries, uncle. Why?" "Hrm... you may have to be a little more specific, niece." Iroh rumbles. You stare him down, and he chuckles. "Of course, of course. The terms of Zuko's banishment. They are, in fact, being followed. To the letter, even." "... here. It is here. The Avatar, I can feel, it is HERE." the butterfly hisses. At the same time, a casual voice rings out from the bridge. "I have to go." It declares, somberly. "To the bathroom." "You can't be serious." Zuko's growl responds, with a clinking of chains. "You literally just... literally fifteen minutes ago." "I know. I still have to go." it continues, flippantly. "I mean... I guess we could stay here, but..." When Zuko speaks again, it's with a snarl similar to that of an armadillo lion. ".... Fine." He says. "We'll go to the bathroom. Again. Make sure to really squeeze-" "It has been a more troublesome venture than one might expect." Iroh speaks up, drowning out the byplay between Zuko, as he appears and stalks around the corner, and the smaller boy manacled to his arm. Fine Yu Dao steel. Very well crafted. "The avatar, as it turns out, can be very... difficult, even after the incident regarding the escape attempt. Incredibly passive-aggressive. Naturally, as Zuko refuses to remove the bonds keeping him within arms reach at all times..." You put the little discomforts that must have been endured out of your mind as you focus on the key bits. "The Avatar. The... you actually found the spirits-blasted Avatar." You say, stunned note in your voice. --- [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 9 2013, 12:20 AM Post #48 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] So, now. You don't... really know what to do. Returning after doing something, that was always on the table, but... Zuko. Zuko, of all people, actually succeeding in an impossible task like finding- "... Good job, Zuko." You manage to say. You don't think you can choke out anything else. You're already pulling at your inner fires, focusing on the Avatar, inspecting and trying to tug... no good. there's fire, obviously fire, but sealed beneath a mountain in the center of raging seas in the midst of a hurricane. Trying to manipulate this boy will be hard, though he seems slightly awestruck as he looks at you. You guess you are a little impressive. You turn your attention back to Zuzu. There's a funny look on his face. Hey. Wait. He's touching you, what is he doing, why is he putting his arm around you, your skin is crawling. He thankfully pulls away after just a brief moment. "Azula. Thank you." He says, simply. He walks forward, pulling the Avatar along as the ship pulls into port. You aren't certain what just happened. But it was kind of creepy. ... Even so. You'll wait and see how this turns out. It isn't as though you have much choice. The sky Bison is unloaded in a cage on wheels, much to the Avatar's complaints that he should be let loose, and the tribal youths... around your age, actually... Follow. The boy is just manacled, under comparatively light guard and stripped of weapons. The girl, by contrast... She's all but frothing at the mouth, gagged because she would not stop screaming at her captors, with both arms and legs manacled together to prevent any of the sweeping motions that draw water in their wake, forcing her steps to come shortly and rapidly, and with the clinking of chains. Toph winces, a little, as the guards pull her forward and ignore her stumbling and anger. All of it is fine Yu Dao steel, which you know was not included in the ship's inventory when they set off. At the very least, Uncle has been pressing the limits of exile by stopping in the colonies, even if Zuko never set foot on the shore. They're forced into kneeling position in the court of the Fire Lord. "...Zuko." Ozai says somberly, as stunned and awed whispers echo through the room. "After long years, you have returned, with the Avatar." And if he, himself, is stunned by that, he doesn't show it. "The question, from here, is what to do with him. The mighty Avatar..." Ozai trails off, contemplating all the room. "Sozin's precedent would have me execute you now, but his own writings show that his hasty actions against the Air Temples were the greatest source of regret in his life, and he died early." "... What actions?" the Avatar says slowly. ... Oh boy. You don't have to be a genius to see trouble brewing on that horizon. "A wiser, but more cruel man, would still insist that your threat to our Nation should be cut short, but that you should still be kept alive. By-" "I think there is no reason to resort to such extreme measures." Iroh interrupts. Interrupting the Fire Lord. He'd better be very sure of what he's doing. "While The Avatar is a powerful symbol, it can be used in either direction." Iroh advises. "And Aang is a young boy. I am confident in my belief that he can be shown all the details of the world, how we are changing it for the better, and come to understand our vision for the future, in which all lands are united." The girl seems ready to howl, trying to chew through her leather gag. "By force, yes, for men are slow to set aside the ways that have worked well enough in the past, for those which are better. A future that shines brighter." "... And you believe that he can be swayed." Ozai rumbles. "Given enough time? I do not believe it will be a simple matter. Avatar Aang has slumbered in ice beneath the waves for a hundred years. The world has changed, greatly, in these hundred years. But yes. I believe that he can be shown. And if not, then nothing has been lost, has it? If the Avatar may be captured once, then certainly, can he not be captured again?" Iroh says, working the crowds with rhetoric in a way that Ozai... does not. Cannot, perhaps. He can see that as well, and he does not seem pleased, focused entirely on removing the threat... Zuko steps forward. Judging by the look on Iroh's face, this was not planned. "Father. This is not the time. Or the place. But if I do not speak now, I will never find the right occasion." He breathes deeply, then drops to one knee, forcing the Aang boy to come down alongside him with the manacle. "Father. I wish to resign my position as Heir, in favor of Azula." He says, simply. The words kick up a stir throughout the gathered nobles, and catch both Iroh and Ozai flat-footed. You don't think you can breathe. --- [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 9 2013, 12:20 AM Post #49 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] Fallout "Out!" Ozai commands, risen from his throne to full and imposing stature as the crowds of nobles and high-ranking soldiers swarm out of the court room. You don't know what is going on. Breathe. What the hell is that idiot thinking- "Zuko, I think you might not truly understand what you are saying-" Iroh begins delicately. "I refuse. You will not throw away your duty to our people." Ozai snaps. "I am doing my duty in setting the throne aside!" Zuko says in turn, his own temper flaring. "Your duty is to take up the throne when I die! Not throw everything away and run from your obligations like a coward!" "I am not a coward! But it's better that I step aside than that I take the throne and be a failure of a Fire Lord!" "You will not fail!" "I am not suited! I've been in the colonies, I've seen what Azula has done. Uncle said it himself, it was like they had been Fire Nation for decades instead of less than a year, she was directing troop movements of thousands with no issue, I, I couldn't even keep a crew of less than fifty men in line half the time. I would be a bad Fire Lord!" Little Zuko grew a spine somewhere along the way, to get into a shouting match with father like this. The problem is... temperament, directness, even a little bit of his thick skull. It's like Ozai is looking into a little mirror of himself saying all of this. Casting those doubts and turning them onto him. Things are going to get very bad, very quickly, as tempers heat. .... But there is a more pressing matter. "I don't care about your lines of succession and troops and colonies!" The avatar yells, as gale force winds start whipping around the room, whipping at the hair of the full royal family, Toph, and assorted prisoners, almost pulling people off of their feet. "What happened at the Air Temples!?" Aang says, much more insistently. --- [ ] ??? |
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| Chibi-Reaper | Feb 9 2013, 12:21 AM Post #50 |
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Likely to what by a wha?
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[x] Let's try to talk him down? You quickly tap Toph's shoulder, then the back of your head, then point at Aang. "... You want me to crush his skull?" Toph replies, dubiously. "What? No!" "Tell me!" Aang howls, his patience fairly well all but gone. Damn it. You put yourself in between Ozai and the frustrated airbender, even as you rage at yourself for stupidity in the same breath. You pull at your inner fires, desperately trying for even a slight advantage. "You must calm down." You suggest carefully. "No!" He rebuffs, all the outrage of a twelve year old throwing a tantrum behind his voice. "Avatar Aang." You say, more firmly. "You must calm yourself, and-" "I won't! Not until someone tells me about the Air temples!" "I'm trying to say-" "Shut up and tell me what I want to know!" He screams, voice inclining in pitch. Your temper, itself already rapidly fraying, snaps. Your inner fires whip up to a frenzy they have never before reached. "Sit down. Shut up. And Listen to me." You roar, erupting with a moment of external fire around your very body. .... the winds come to a halt, as Aang wobbles, seeming to reel as though struck by a physical blow. ........ Zuko drops right to the ground, rump first and stunned. Toph slumps just a little before shaking it off. The tribal brats don't seem budged by it at all. You hear another two thumps from behind you. You slowly turn your head, confused and at the same time almost dreading what you'll see. Iroh is sitting on the ground, looking bewildered by it. Ozai, himself, has dropped down onto his throne, and seems equally startled. Clearly, this was in neither of their plans. Then father's face twists into a black scowl. "All the air nomads are dead, boy, for a hundred years now." he spits out, venemously. There's only a moment's warning before Aang goes blindingly white. Zuko doesn't lose a second before one of his Dao come out, the edge erupting in flame (what?), and sweeping through the chain locking him to the Avatar. He leaps away, as the light erupts into fury. --- [ ] ??? |
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6:46 PM Jul 10