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16th day of prophecy, 09:30 am. Inside the royal mansion of the Rahall dynasty.

‘’Ahem, mister Shieffer. Do I have your attention now?’’

I had to bite down on my lips and choke down the following ‘’no’’ as Tsukiyomi-no-Mikoto tilted her head while simultaneously twitching her blonde fluffy ears, giving the most condescending stare I’ve ever seen on a female as her large puffy tails stayed behind her to form its usual flower, although I’ve often heard others compared it to a crown; a crown of fluff would certainly befit this tiny queen.

‘’Siegfriiiiied?’’

I’ve known this woman for less than a month; by all account we ought to be curious friends instead of lovers yet I understood very well what she was about to do; this short fluffed one took a step forward, breaking her elegant stance, balling an hand into a fist while furrowing her brows, even going as far as snarling, her sudden proximity however, made it possible to do one little thing…

‘’Eep!’’

Both tips of her furred ears exited my pinches much too soon to my liking as Tsukiyomi jumped sideway, colliding directly on the person next to me as they took an obvious step forward to ‘’welcome’’ the queen-mother, immediately encasing the 8 tailed Kitsune in a strong hug, whereupon an immediate struggle started as the golden fur of her tails fuzzed even more, breaking its flower head symbol as they swished to and fro predatorily.

‘’Do you know how long I’ve wanted to do that, Tsu? Mmmmh~ you’re so soft and cuddly~’’

When Madame Tsukiyomi-no-Mikoto stepped inside our commune room shortly after my own awakening and rather… dubious position with Leila and Sylphis I was nearly certain I’d be facing some kind of prank from this lover of mine, however for the better (and worst) her stare zeroed in on Mana whom also appeared awake the moment she imperiously strolled inside our little enclosed abode.

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Her expression is something I’ll never forget; loops be damned, I’ll engrave that face in my very soul, giving it the proud title of ‘’close aneurysm’’. Tsukiyomi was the only one else that had dealing with Mother Earth, hers definitely predated mine and there is no denying her –human- presence was the very last thing she expected.

‘’L-let go… How… I mean we don’t have time for this!’’

Curiosity isn’t something Tsukiyomi resist easily, the very first thing she did after thoroughly dropping any kind of introduction or retorts after stepping inside our room was to drag my mother out while I untangled myself from the girls who both stirred awake – only to fluster within seconds at their close proximity and embarrassing positions that had been, truly, accidental.

Yes, yes it was definitely a very nice morning.

Business couldn’t be settled aside unfortunately, yesterday murder hadn’t gone unnoticed, the entire mansion was on a sort of ‘’soft lockdown’’ to keep appearance while Gil special force and the mantis order combed the entire place thoroughly without rest for any possible hints while simultaneously condemned (the now dead) garden – Mana presence at least, calmed some of Tsukiyomi’s worry but that’d also mean I’d have to play the fool alongside her as to why the Everblue have wilted and died overnight -. News of a goddess running wouldn’t be good, even if we found the assassin.

‘’I swear to…to whatever holiness left in this world, you Shieffer will give me a heart attack.’’

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A smug grin on my part and a joyful giggle from my mother were all the answers this fluffy queen-mother needed to add a discouraged sigh a few seconds after her sentence, going as far as visibly slumping her shoulders while trying her best to pretend the little smiles curling the corners of her mouth upward were nothing important; I can’t pretend to know what relationships these two women have, but the shallowness of a ‘’business’’ relation isn’t anywhere to be seen.

‘’Phew, enough now, please’’

Tsukiyomi had retreated back into a seat, her long tails falling around her body as if drained of energy; the current room was undoubtedly her personal royal chamber given by the cat. Large, spacious, filled with modest, yet refined furniture and a gigantic bed taking most of the space gave a rather out of place backdrop to what was likely to be important business, but it also meant reliable seclusion, which I wouldn’t exactly fault to pursue given yesterday events.

‘’Ame is still resting, her wounds haven’t fully recovered so I thought it’d be best to avoid disturbing her… now I suppose both of you know what happened during the night?’’

Mana took a few steps backward while nudging me forward with her elbow while my mind wandered toward the dark haired Kumiho; she’s been so lively and strong that I legitimately forgot the bandages covering her entire body.

‘’Yeah…Is Ame eye going to be alright?’’

Rudeness be damned, I had to ask and Tsukiyomi smile alleviated all my worries in an instant.

‘’Don’t worry; she’ll heal up in time for combat, now please answer me’’

‘’Yes, Tsu. It’s one of the reasons why I’m standing before you today’’

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A slight twitch from the perky ears was the only acknowledgement Tsukiyomi gave to the goddess Mother-Earth, neither women looked imperious in their morning garb (thankfully I did insist on some proper clothes for my mom, otherwise she’d seriously stroll in the place half-naked) but the atmosphere itself grew colder, and I found myself sighing, wishing for the paradise of warmth to come back.

‘’Aye, my mother had involvement with me prior to first major battle with the church, and now she’s here with us; we know these murders happened during yesterday night but that’s as far as we can take it, I suppose the mantis took care of the investigation?’’

She nodded, then gestured for the numbers of seats in the room and finally took her usual business stance; crossing her arms on her belly while keeping herself imperious, reserved and distant, alternating her golden stare between me and Mana, I tried my best to kept to my usual cold face yet the person beside me was smiling from ear to ear, as if this situation didn’t need to be serious; perhaps it wasn’t for a goddess and I was similarly tempted to relax.

‘’They did, along with the red cloaks; they place the time of death during the latter part of Athena’s exorcism, our magical projection was enough to blanket the entire mansion, now couple that with some members of the clergy preparing Ofudas and you have a near-perfect obfuscation to mask a quick, bloody assassination. I’ve only learned about it when I woke up, thankfully Gil and Rhy have proven very competent in handling this mess’’

Something akin to a satisfied smile blossomed slightly on her features; I believe this is the very first time I hear honest praise for people outside our closed circle.

‘’A mantis saw the two of you exit the dojo marking you as prime suspects but Rhy shot down any attempts or suggestions of arrest while Gil own special forces were quick on the uptake to investigate on their own.’’

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‘’What did they find?’’

As I spoke Mana finally relaxed in her chair, facing the Queen-Mother whose fluffy tails seemed to have regained their lost vitality.

‘’Only hypothesis as to how this triple homicide was carried out.’’

She let out a sigh and unclasped her hands, rubbing the bridge of her nose in irritation.

‘’Most of the soldiers were…festive thank to a generous donation from the Tanuki, while the outside still had its guards it couldn’t be called tight or high – which made it easier for our culprit to sneak in to accomplish their deed. The mantises didn’t accept any talk or suspicious of treachery from their agent found on the scene, meaning our foe used hypnosis or charm ritual for their meat shield, that mantis also had close ties with the young man found on the scene, she probably had trouble swallowing his…execution, of sort. Think of it more as assisted suicide. ‘’

His name escaped me but I certainly remember him, for he was the one that gave me the potion of Induced Vampirism still safely nestled inside its metal case in my inner pocket, he took and quickly sought death afterward – I’m not going to judge his action, there’s obviously a whole lot of circumstances hidden under the table.

‘’I trust you know about Kyorn?’’

I quickly interject, which earned me a slight nod as Tsukiyomi shifted in her seat to change the subject.
‘’He, along with Mebuchednazi and their close retinues, ported into Rhyclan a few hours ago with a very… peculiar prisoner. We’ve gotten her under close guard, only me’ Rhy and Gil are allowed to see her and we’ve opted for people from Gwynedd to keep a close watch on her in case the demonic infiltration is bigger than we’ve presumed.’’

A fair course of action.

‘’At least the Lilim failed on this plot…’’

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Some form of relief washed over the queen-mother, unfortunately this provided a cue for my mother whom leaned forward, joined her hands together in fake prayer, immediately catching Tsukiyomi attention who groaned almost soundlessly.

‘’Tsu, three of the four seals for Machitehew perished during the night, Mebuchednazi is the only one left’’

A crisp jump propelled Tsukiyomi upward but she calmed down as soon as she was about to shoot, her expression lost its previous elegant countenance to show disbelief and anger, which was quickly swallowed down as she rubbed the bridge of her nose again, pointy canines peeking through her half opened lisps as she let out a low, intimidating growl.

‘’I see…’’

She spoke low, tone even despite the emotion, slowly sinking back in her seat.

‘’…that Anubis was the fourth one.’’

I’ve always been amazed at how fast news traveled in Zipangu, these murders must have happened in fairly remote locations if this fluffy spymaster hasn’t known about them already.

‘’I suppose the Yukionnas aren’t exactly about this turn of event?’’

I chimed in, hoping to change the subject; knowing about the seals might quench my curiosity, but the only practical thing I need to know is that one is alive. Bringing here inside the mansion might sound foolish at first glance thank to this murder but there’s obviously nowhere safe enough for a strike…I hope our pair of researchers are alright.

‘’No, they are pissed. The whole lot of them are already waiting for Gil to clear things up. They’ve have –requested-‘’

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Her tone of voice made it obvious this was nothing more than a veiled threat.

‘’He come alone, thankfully your brother know to balance his honor with proper rulership. I think he’d like to have you by his side…’’

She stopped again, eyes lingering toward Mana.

‘’..Perhaps the Shieffer family as a whole should accompany him, for now though, he’s strategizing on his end. We ought to rejoin him shortly’’

‘’We’’ as in my mother as well, of course; I don’t know if Gil even saw her outside the short time of her stay in the castle, nonetheless his reaction is bound to be very interesting, then again rumors of a multi-colored haired beauty in the mansion are probably as abound as yesterday mess.

‘’We have a whole lot ahead of us today, I can’t do everything – neither can you – so we’ve got to concentrate on stuff on our ends. Tell me what you want to do Siegfried, you know I trust you, even after you latest stunt’’

A fake expression of coldness washed over Tsukiyomi-no-Mikoto who starred dully at Mana, who, in turn, smiled and waved innocently – the Kitsune closed the subject in an irritated ‘’Tsss’’ and didn’t raise anymore comments. I could see the fatigue weighting down her body, the usual energy and happy spark of life that previously kindled her spirit was nowhere to be seen, in a way, she looked driven by stubborn determination more than anything else and I made sure to continuously ignore her slightly reddened eyes. Our group understood very well about Sylphis plight despite her attempt to hide her sadness – she lost her dad after all – but Tsukiyomi also her own father figure two days ago and obviously isn’t faring any better.

If this is to be the very last loops, Batrion will truly be gone, and she’s swallowing this and putting it in a corner of her mind, obviously trying her best to forget it.

Aah, Tsu… I’d like her to take one day off.

>What should I do…?

>>33067631
We need to find and neutralize the remaining sleeper agents.
We also need to learn the details of the dwarven genocide from someone who lived through it.
We also need to go over the strategic intelligence to determine who goes where in the coming battle.

But first, we need to find out what the yukionna want for them to stay with our alliance, and ensure this stay in this alliance.

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>>33067730

All worthy course of actions.

>We also need to learn the details of the dwarven genocide from someone who lived through it.

What about the elves?

So you'd like to participate in the coming negotiation with the frigid women?

>>33067730
Supporting this?

Maybe making peace with the Yuki Onna

>>33067790
Of course I want to know what happened to the elves, but we don't have an elf handy right now.

>>33067790
I want to talk with Gil first, and have him get a sense of the yukionna and if they're open to having Siegfried enter the negotiations; to the yukionna Siegfried hasn't proven yet that he is no longer the Butcher.
Having Siegfried waltz into the negotiations may just have tbphe yukionna simply walk out.

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>>33067918
>>33067874

We've got our course of action set at least, time to meet up with big brother.

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While our situation looked obviously bleak I felt some obvious excitement swell my heart; I haven’t had any excuse to stand beside my big brother until now and, even if my past as the butcher will never be erased (and may very well prevent me from attending) I’d like to believe I could stand by my brother side in time of needs if only once, naivety be damned.

‘’When can we go meet Gil?’’

The Yukionnas are undoubtedly important figures to the monsters population of Gwynedd; they still have an enclave deep, deep within the timber forest on the northeastern corner of the map, most likely bordering mount Fendall, to see them as leaders of that entire chunk of population wouldn’t be farfetched but I doubt even my brothers has true numbers to toy with.

‘’Yes, yes we can, I dare say he’s waiting for us right now’’

With surprising vigor Tsukiyomi was the first one to jump to her feet and immediately gestured for the door with one of her tails.

‘’Er, shouldn’t we have proper clothe when meeting a king?’’

Mother dearest had been given a pale blue kimono that didn’t quite agree with her body thank to that brilliant hair and even now she kept on fiddling with the cloth, trying her best to keep it –properly- closed despite being on the short side.

‘’Yes yes, we don’t have much time to spare’’

‘’Kay…’’

A surprisingly demure answer from this bubbly goddess, she turned toward me and gave me a wink and I did my best to pretend she didn’t successfully get a rise out of me by quickly walking to the door and opening it…only to stumble face to face with a young man, a new face and successful swordsman who proved himself invaluable for the success of the exorcism.

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‘’Ah…Morning, Zechariah’’

‘’Ooh Golden boy!’’

Right as he was about to answer the little slime coating his shoulder interrupted him, bouncing up and down slightly, the blue girl looked a little… stuffier compared to the last time I saw her, about plush sized instead of a baby toy.

‘’I’ve taken the liberty of making Zechariah and Kyorn the new bodyguards for the mansion VIP, no objection I hope?’’

The poor lad probably didn’t have a choice but he seemed fine enough, nodding clearly while announcing ‘’I’m happy to work with you again Tsu, that’s all’’ that… honestly brought a surge of jealousy out of me. A man has to be honest with himself, right?

‘’Zech, we’ll need Aurore battle ready for the day after tomorrow. Both of you understand what this mean?’’

This however seemingly put a damper on his mood as he couldn’t hide a grimace, but gave a solid nod while the slime pointed to me with her stubby arm, saying ‘’I want a taste of you!’’ that would of successfully made me burst out laughing if it wasn’t for Tsukiyomi molesting my chest with a tail as she walked past my mother to take the lead of this company.

Ah, foxes…

Then his and his little companions eyes finally feel on my mother who waved a gentle silent greeting and both of them fell in complete, stunned silence.

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--

I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a slime being this lively; they’ve always been seen and treated as the bottom rung of monster society due to their lack of intelligence, they usually make the very first summons of mages as well but that girl had a vibrant, colorful and lively personality. She became instantly attached to my mother and jumped from her swordsman guardian to the goddess (in a not so effective disguise). Our group thusly became the only light in the mansion as we made our way to the briefing room, the entire place was in a sort of ‘’soft lockdown’’ trying to prevent the news of the murder from spreading as long as possible; only when we reached our destination did that stuffy atmosphere leave, unfortunately that also meant leaving the swordsman and his slime behind.
I’ve got this hunch; they know who Mana truly is… but aren’t making a scene.

Inside the room my big brother was waiting, armed Durandal and sporting heavy winters clothes while facing his commander, the young blond haired man leader of the red cloaks; both individuals turned toward our unannounced intrusion, but my eyes quickly left him when I saw Ame sitting on one of the many seat, caught in a heavy yawn, still wrapped in bandages.

‘’A-ame!? What are you…?’’

Tsu even forgot to introduce us as all eyes fell on Mana, who subsequently tried to hide behind me… a marginally successful effort at best, at least my height helped.

‘’…doing my duties’’

The queen answered lazily.

…

>What should I do?

>>33069275
"Let's get down to business. Brother, we know that the yukionna are ready to walk out; what do they want in order to stay? Are they willing to accept my presence as a negotiator, or would they be unable to keep their emotions in check without their leader? Who has taken the reigns of their new representative?"

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While poor, poor Tsukiyomi could only sigh in disbelief my brother finished wrapping his bracers and started putting on warm gloves while stepping closer while his spymaster took off in the adjacent room, I straightened myself up as best I could as he stopped before me and my mother, his clear eyes momentarily venturing toward the smaller woman at my side.

‘’Hmm… I feel like I’ve met her somewhere’’

Another one on the list it’d seem.

‘’Zipangu truly is a mysterious, not even my red cloaks knew Tsukiyomi and Ame-no-Uzume had another member in their court.’’

‘’Brother’’

If he was my brother he’d most likely put two and two together before long and would most likely ask questions, not that I’d I wouldn’t answer but as a King he might not have the… discretion shown by other people. Thankfully my prompting caught his attention and he turned back to face me while Tsu went to sit beside her daughter, ignoring our meeting to look over her wounds.

‘’We know that the Yukionna are ready to walk out; what do they want in order to stay?’’

Gil took a step backward, rubbing his gloved hands on his broad chin while his spymaster came back with some bigger clothes, enough to completely stuff his arms, the man visibly struggled until he dumped the whole load of warm furs clothe on the table unceremoniously.

‘’They’ve been thoroughly tight-lipped about this; your guess is as good as mine, so I’m thinking they’ve got something unreasonable in mind to try and blindside me, if they’re truly power hungry whores they’ll use Cadhla death to blackmail some territory out of me’’

While his vocabulary toward his soon-to-be monster subjects left a lot to be desired I suspect dear brother held the same contempt for his own (now dead) uppity nobles.

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‘’Are they willing to accept my presence as a negotiator, or would they be unable to keep their emotions in check without their leader?’’

His eyes narrowed at this subject; the Butcher of Gwynedd will always throb like a wound in my heart and he’s a sharp man, he know perfectly well how sensible it is for me as well as the monsters who suffered during that whole mess – I do wonder if he feel some blame, as he could have stopped it with a simple order.

‘’If you want to accompany me, little brother, then I’ll welcome by my side, they’ll have to swallow it or we’ll be back fast enough to finish breakfast.’’

I see that big brother like his diplomacy a little on the heavy handed, but then again the girls made an unreasonable request right off the bat to ask for the King of Gwynedd to come alone without any other members of the Commonwealth.

‘’Who has taken the reigns of their new representative?"

‘’Jelinda, one of Cadhla lieutenant, from what little I’ve got on the girl she’s whispered as someone even more extreme than the previous matron, young too, so bound to be spirited and passionate’’

…

>What should I do?

>>33070055
I want to go to the negotiations but considering the new leader, that may be a bad idea.

I think we should go partlyas an implication of what they will face if they walk out of this deal.
Fendel also wants this deal, yes? We should talk with her to put pressure on the yukionna to cooperate with the Commonwealth.

During negotiations we should let Gil lead, and mostly stay quiet.

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>>33070288

Fendall won't be assisting the negotiations

>>33070344
Will she still assist the war effort?

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>>33070359

Yes, of course that's why she's here but she stays as a sort of ''semi-independent'' because dragons gonna dragons. She has a deal with Gil and that's about it.

Doesn't seem like we have a whole lot of activity so far, so Ill take the only answer I've got as consensus. Don't be afraid to ask questions if you've got any.

>>33070509
Before we go into negotiations can we ask Gil what his limits are in terms of concessions?
Is he willing to accept a semiautonomous self-governing region for the yukionna?

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>>33070619

I'll be answering this while progressing the plot, hang o ngood folks.

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‘’If the worst case scenario doesn’t happen they’ll be likely to ask for some kind of concession; if they ask for territory would you be willing to grant them?’’

Gil visibly disliked my sentence as he made a mid-turn to stop looking at me and Mana, clutching the handle of his hole sword tightly; the entire room grew silent as every eyes fell on the King whose eyes turned cold and decisive.

‘’It’d highly depend on what territory they want, but were they to swear fealty to me, my descendants and the leaders of the Commonwealth, I’ll grant their dukedom… but I won’t make promises yet’’

That’s about as fair as he can take it – the fact of granting a territory to monster would be a considerable loss of face given that only the Yukionnas would be participating in the war- but it could also be warped as a positive thing for the Commonwealth, something Gil assuredly see and will try to twist to his advantages, courtly infighting will always be eternal.

‘’You’ve the right to sit upon your throne, Gil Rosario, we’ve failed to guard the matron, for this you have my apology; but I know you won’t be satisfied with that, so…’’

‘’Ame.’’

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Something akin to a silent battle was quickly waged between the stares of Tsukiyomi-no-Mikoto and Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto. Queen, mother, daughter, spymaster those titles that lingered with the fluffed one seemed to hover above them until Tsukiyomi yielded, letting out a discouraged sigh while my wounded, bandaged soon-to-be wife walked away from the table to encroach on Gil and me while Mana stepped away, retreating toward her fluffy friend.

‘’I’ll be accompanying you as well, as witness of central Zipangu; these phantoms of ices ought to know monster royalty will stand and judge, I hope you’re fine with this’’

Ame seemed rather...sluggish. Her face freed of bandages allowed her brilliant eyes to shine with the inner passion that gave them inviting brilliance but the rest of her body didn’t seem to follow, I could faintly see her struggling with held-back pain form the magical bandages; Gil took a long time observing the nine tailed queen, but finally nodded.

‘’Then three royals will meet ten Yukionnas; I know how to rule human, you know how to rule monsters, let’s hope they’ll understand what’s at stake.’’

…

>What should I do?

>>33071619
Have Ame use Siegfried as support as she walks in. While it will affect her image as a royal, seeing the Butcher use himself as a crutch for a Monster maybe convince the yukionna that we have changed.

Also it let's Siegfried play the doting husband, and surreptitiously fondle more fluffy tail.

>>33071724
>Crutch and fondle.
Yes.

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…!

Opportunity, now… to creep closer, don’t ho making it obvious Siggy, one step sideway aaaand stop, big brother just turned back toward me.

‘’I’ve heard they’ve taken temporary residence inside one of the sacred shrine of the island’’

Then he look back to Ame who nods in return, allowing me to take another precious step closer to my wife, her thin, elegant set of creamy fluffy tails already within reach, the only thing needed now would be to reach with my palm and-

‘’Yes. We’ve got four of them, each treated as Orochi sacred residences of sort, they help with the seasons of our island and have thusly been dubbed accordingly; the Shrine of winter is where they are waiting, no blood is to be shed within its sanctum’’

She sighed as I reached to grasp the tips of one of her hovering fluffy tail, trapping it with my palm and sliding it over its gorgeous length as I stepped closer still, she didn’t bother to turn and look at me, merely kept her stare locked with Gil.

‘’My honest opinion though… I can’t believe their cheekiness – imposing negation in one of the holiest place of

Zipangu take some serious foolishness – our cult already dislike them intensely for this stunt. Let’s see where they’ll be taking this…’’

She wordlessly wrapped a few tails on my side and put an arm around my neck, using me as support while her dark, perky fluffy ears twitched here and there as the side of her mouth curled up.

‘’Well…’’

Gil rubbed his shin again, clearing his throat.

‘’Winter clothes are on the table, are you ready to set out right now?’’

>Am I?

>>33072411
Is there any information about the murder, political situation, situation of the yukionna hold back in Gwyneth that we can use?
What about upcoming changes to Monster regulations we expect to implement after the Commonwealth is implemented?

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>>33072497

>Is there any information about the murder, political situation, situation of the yukionna hold back in Gwyneth that we can use?

If you mean the circumstance surrounding Cadhla death, the only thing the Onnas don't know is the existence of the knife that killed her fast, otherwise they know about as much as you do.

>>33072497
>What about upcoming changes to Monster regulations we expect to implement after the Commonwealth is implemented?

the pla nwas to allow all the monsters of the Commonwealth to be fully recognized citizens/serfs according to they’re territories (ie peasants of city dwellers), meaning a literal overnight outlaw of any and all abuses of monsters within Gwynedd by the nobles and every single members of the clergy. These peoples will face trials and possibly be seen as rebels if they don’t accept this law.

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Well I think this might be the time to proceed.

>>33072845
Have the yukionna agitated for full independence before?

>>33072963

No

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To my dismay the rest of the preparations were shenanigans free, the winter clothes were big, bulky overcoats, cloaks, bracers boots, pants and gauntlets that didn’t need much time to get into, especially that ame wasn’t sorting any kimono but I made sure help her all the same, the sensitive healing flesh hidden beneath the runic bandages was obviously sensitive as she sighed a few time, trying her best to hide her painful gaps while wrapping my neck in a fluffy collar; Tsukiyomi provided the portal while Ame clutched to a specially prepared Ofuda for the way back.

‘’Careful now, Siggy’’

As always dear mother ignored all kind of decorum to wrap me in her arm, which caused a tingle to appear in Gil eyes as he undoubtedly put two and two together.

‘’Let’s hope they are foolish enough to strike at two monarchs of the Commonwealth milady, it’d make things much, much less complicated’’

Whether Ame was suspicious of this new addition or not remained to be seen but I certainly earned my share of suspicious, fleeting glance as she asked countless wordless questions, however it all soon ended as I felt a tingling sensation along my spine as I felt the magic form in the room before the golden portal tired into the fabric of reality, immediately catching the curiosity of the one King in the room as he kept on circling the phenomenon until forcefully shoved by his second in command who, quite literally, booted him inside wishing him the best.

--

‘’Oof, dammit cousin!’’

Unfortunately Gil yelled back at me without any presence of the portal as it closed soundlessly after Ame passage, immediately his face dropped and he let out an awkward cough, breath escaping in smoke from the frigid atmosphere high atop this mountain that, unfortunately, didn’t have much to a view of the country but instead allowed the infinity of the sea to stretches on in the horizon.

‘’Sorry, brother’’

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‘’Oh, I don’t mind. This cousin of ours has some balls’’

‘’Too much’’

He grumbled and turned to the horizon, taking large steps to stand beside me as the heavy snow reached up to our ankles, the total contrasts of climate was quite the clash indeed but I felt at home amidst the cold, cold air of the mountain and the snow; much of my life involved this frigid whiteness, I had to combat the urge to scoop down and scope some of it in my palm.

‘’Aahaha… dammit it’s cold…’’

A plaint behind us from the not-so-graceful fluffy tail made the tall blond warrior chuckle as silently as he could.

‘’Let’s sort out this mess, little bro’’

Aaaand… he ruffled my hair, ten year my elder, big brother and my king and he goes and do that, leaving me as sole crutch for Ame-no-Uzume who all but demanded a piggyback ride.

--

On the way to our destination, I held on to the queen without much effort; while it’s been a long, long while I last battled heavy snow I simply needed to embrace focus a few time to move this frigid material from my feet and create a comfortable path, Ame kept on insisting to cling on my back and, as always, I was very surprised by how unhealthy light she felt in my arms.

‘’Say, Siggy…’’

Her hot voice tickled my reddened ears and I stiffened my back in response, before us, Gil led the march, hand clutched upon his holy blade, looking back a few time and nodding to my and the queen before forging on.

‘’…What do you think of your brother now?’’

>What can I say…?

>>33073735
"I haven't gotten to see him ruling first hand but he has shown to not be lacking in competence."

>>33073735
"He is my brother, and he no doubt does plan for the best of his kingdom."
Leave unspoken but implied our fear that he may be too uncompromising and impatient if his authority is questioned, like the yukionna are doing now.

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He is my brother, and he no doubt does plan for the best of his kingdom."

I haven’t seen him ruling first hand but he took a careful stance during the purge and was extremely aggressive in the following civil war with his nobles, war is what I’ve come to see and know diplomacy however, is another thing altogether.

‘’Hmm…’’

Ame seemed to muse, rubbing her chin on the bulky fur cloak covering my back.

‘’That’s a boring answer’’

Those words made me stop, causing her swaying tails to curls and encircles my arms and thighs while another one rubbed its tip and my cheek and a last one beckoned me onward, thus I obeyed albeit with some frustration; I shouldn’t be letting myself led on so easily dammit..

‘’Two brothers meeting for the very first time as they served in the same country as king and noble – all I get is some impersonal answer about politics. Boo, that’s boring, Siggy. So so boring…’’

Part of me felt like protesting but Ame feel silent quickly, putting her face behind my neck, wrapping her arms on my torso and seemingly feel asleep, thoroughly relaxing on this ride, attacked by her flexible tails on my limbs. She seemed… rather out of it, perhaps her wounds were hurting more than I thought or maybe there was something else on her mind; this recent chain of murders mustn’t put pressures on Tsukiyomi alone.

--

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When the winter shrine came in view, Ame finally got off my back and our trio grew much more solemn as the cold seemed grew nearly oppressive, naked trees had somehow popped on this mountaintop, big lonely piece of white rock-like crystals had sprouted at some uneven intervals from the white canvas of snow right up until our destination made itself truly obvious; the very top of this mountain seemed to be the highest peak of Zipangu, a large, large circle where vision of the horizon was obfuscated and blocked by these unnatural piece of ‘’rock-like white trees’’ forming what looked like a druidic abode, creating a circle around a single crude mounted piece of runic rock upon which snow had piled on. The sheer reverence of this isolated place was definitely striking – for a moment I truly felt like my brother and my wife were the only one present in this world, where communions with gods could be achieved thank to the phenomenon of these glassed trees alone.

Solitude for our group however, wasn’t possible; the yukionnas weren’t visible from a distance but once we closed in, Gil straightened himself and I stopped, reluctantly taking a step away from Ame as she pushed me slightly away with one of her tails. Women seemed to walk out of the murky white trees as if exiting a veil, each of them women of identic proportions, skins and hair; blue on white exactly like Avina or that now deceased ice lady of the open-air bath. Nine of them stepped forth like that, creating a theatrical open half-circle as they stood without disturbing the snow, their feet and kimonos merely disappearing in the whiteness of the icy blanket; there was however, one woman that wasn’t a clone, standing a full feet over her peers she floated onto the blanket under her feet, doing the motions of walking despite the total absence of visible limbs.

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Jedina, just like Cadhla, was a strikingly cold, intimidating woman. Her skin had a dead shade of grayish alabaster that gave her colored peers a vivid, living contrast; hey eyes and lisps seemed to have some form of war paint, a quiet red that made me feel like mocking her attempt at living as I saw the claw-like formations of her fingers which, I realized, was merely oversized nails painted a deep, deep red that now fell to the elements, as if the coating had become a carmine cocoon over these natural weapons.

‘’Jedina, King Gil Rosario, Queen Ame-no-Uzume and Siegfried Shieffer stand before you’’

One of the woman, an aide perhaps, spoke plainly and Gil took a few steps forward, facing this oppressive circle without batting an eyelid, no in fact this conflict seem to make him thrive. His broad chest and shoulders filled with vitality and he took his time to glare at every single woman before concentrating on the chosen matron.

‘’You present a King with nine veiled woman, I ask, why?’’

If it were at all possible the very temperature of the shrine fell, I heard Ame take a sharp intake of breath while hugging a few tails together from warmth while I had to steel myself when Jedina eyes fell on me; her dull gray irises held an hypnotic charm that, but I couldn’t hold a stare for more than a few seconds as I felt myself growing colder, uncontrollable spasm had my jaw tremble as I tried my best to avoid rubbing my hands together as heat seemed to evaporate from my body, my toes inside my boots buried in the snows dulled by the seconds until the icy ghost broke her game when Ame waved her hand in front of my eyes.

…

>’’Rrr’’

The growl of the Beast felt like a plain, this is bad. This woman is –dangerous-

‘’Butcher’’

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She spat the word, turning back toward Gil who managed to half-contain a grimace of disgust.

‘’Yes. He is an ally, he fight for monsters and deserve to stand here, for his sacrifices for the Commonwealth shouldn’t be spat and insulted; let his presence here stand as statement for redemption’’

He answered with strength I’d never match.

‘’Or…’’

Ame however answered as well, which had the predator of a ghost growl back at the nine-tailed fox.

‘’I forced him to come because he is my husband-to-be. Now, proceed I, Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto, queen of center Zipangu, will stand as witness.’’

However Jedina didn’t obey right away, her eyes snapped in my directions, her mouth opened again letting out a breath so cold it didn’t become fume.

‘’Butcher.’’

She said again with a tone that ought to belong to a dead.

‘’Us ghosts of the snow will never forgive and forget; why do you stand here, amongst the people you’ve wronged so?’’

Dammit coming here might have been a mistake, again, the heat started to escape my body and I felt my teeth clattering, it wasn’t natural cold for sure and I don’t think ame or Gil picked up on this intimidation.

>What should I do…? [Also if you guys would prefer brackets choices, just ask]

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>>33075445
Damn, I liked that girl who ran the baths. She seemed like such a nice lady.

And holy hell it would seem that one misstep here and she'll kill us. Did she try to lay a charm on us or something? Ol' beasty doesn't seem to take kindly to mind fuckery and thwarts any attempts at it not made by him, look what he did to that mask. So let's see them brackets.

Perhaps it'd be best to leave the continuation to tomorrow given the lack of activity.

>>33075709
>Did she try to lay a charm on us or something?

Not quite, remember the old myths about Yukionnas, that should make it obvious.

>>33075445
"I've done terrible things in the past. My options are to either run away from that or face it head on. The only way I can redeem myself from that name is to be here and move forward. I can't fix the past but I can only try to build a new future."

>>33075776
I'm okay with this.

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>>33075776
>>33075841

Hmm I think this could do as consensus as it is definetly Siegfried honest mindset

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Melancholy, regrets and the mindless pursuit of redemptions form a dangerous, dangerous pitfall; I can’t count the numbers of philosophers, kings and priests lauding and lauding the virtues of men renewed pursuing the single purpose of ‘’redemption’’ precious men they are, every single one of them, it always come with the belief that they think their lives expendables for their dreams, perhaps it’s true but to think of my own life so easily spent would be a pure insult to the queen beside me, not even minding the one Goddess of this world whose efforts to see this through are beyond compare.

"I've done terrible things in the past. My options are to either run away from that or face it head on.’’

Athena faced her own demons and came back scarred and worst for wear, but just like her I can’t allow myself to run.

‘’The only way I can redeem myself from that name is to be here and move forward. I can't fix the past but I can only try to build a new future."

Whatever the cost, the past can’t be changed but it can influence the present which in turn shape the future; these words came out of my mouth with solid, rigid tone unbathed by the increasing cold of my body as I kept on staring inside the dull eyes of Jedina, the ghost was stealing my heath by eyesight alone, I felt my body shaking gradually as I stubbornly kept pouring out this single minded belief – I’ve literally no other choice than to carve a proper future for that is the fate thrust upon my shoulders by my mother.

‘’A future you won’t be seeing’’

Her reply was as cold as her murderous eyes, Ame and Gil simultaneously react in disapproval, with my brother turning to face the matron fully while Ame stepped forward, wrapped back two tails around my neck, both of them highlighted in blue and, upon contact with my skin, gave back some much needed warmth to my trembling body.

‘’Careful, ghost. You speak to the chosen husband of a queen’’

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Another few tails wrapped around my body, each of them magical, each of them filling my body back with its missing warmth, soon enough my jaw calmed down, eased its incessant clattering while Gil booming voices caught everyone attention, even if Ame was openly snarling at the matron ghost.

‘’Due punishment will come in time Jedina, but I will not forget his efforts and sacrifice; you wish the death of a man pursuing one of Gwynedd most admired path – we allow men, women, criminal, monsters one chance to right their wrongs, even if it’d take their whole life, even if the sins has to be passed down to their children. You will not change this, I stand by my statement of his presence; Durandal will not carve his flesh.’’

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Gil, unlike Ame and Tsukioymi, openly espoused his emotions; his face was red, his mouth spat some spit as he spoke with a strong levelled tone, his anger was very apparent yet never seemed to carry him away, it was the opposite. The King was feeding upon his feelings, projecting them outward while staying in control, keeping an hand on the pommel of his sword; the entire assembly were now focused on the long haired blond warrior-king of the North, but Jedina frozen expression might as well be the face of death itself.

‘’Now, stop your heat thievery; I came here as a King to negotiate, I didn’t obey your request and I will not apologize for I, may, decide on this use alone but I –will- have my witnesses. And if you do look upon Siegfried Shieffer and steal his life-force again, I will see you, treat you and your allies as enemies of the Commonwealth and seize your estate in the Hjalmar timber forest forthwith’’

Big brother seem to be finally calming down, allowing his palm to hover away from his pommel.

‘’Now, let gods, queen and criminal be our witnesses; lay forth your demands and let us speak like proper, civilised people’’

>Ending here for tonight folks. I’ll be continuing tomorrow, I just have one thing to ask. As this negotiation is obviously important but Siegfried isn’t quite the main actor, would you guys like for me to still leave room for actions, or primarily concentrate on the npcs?

>>33076796
Focus on the NPCs unless there's actually something we can do.

>>33076796
NPCs

>>33076898
>>33076881

Duly noted, hopefully there's going to be a little more activity. I'll do my best with Gil, I hope you guys are liking your big brother so far.

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>>33076796
Knew it, she wants Siggy to take a dirt nap, preferably after being broken physically and emotionally. And she wanted Gil to come *alone*? Hahaha, no. That could have fucked him and us in any number of ways. Does she think he's stupid or something?

Bitch is to be scanned ASAP, if she hates him this much she's liable to cut a deal with our enemies. Are all the Yukionna loyal to her to the degree that most of them would risk this treaty blowing up by betraying us just to get some vengeance? This is very important. The last matron I saw more as one who'll pay any price to see monsters treated like they should be, killing Siggy only if the right opportunity to do so was presented (i.e. if she thought she could fully get away with it blame free). This one seems like a murderous, vindictive, spiteful bitch who only cares about revenge and will be having it, no matter the cost.

Thank god Siggy being alive is actually necessary to this alliance. If it were not the condition of, "Sigfried and the Succubus, to do with as I please" would certainly be among the demands she wouldn't budge on. Poor man'd be tortured to death, after she did the same to Mylen in front of his eyes.

>>33077387

Jedina is NOT your friend. Cadhla could actually have been a friend.

As for the others, I'll give you a general so-so. She was chosen because she's the strongest of the Onnas after Cadhla, she never was an acceptor ''successor'' of sort but they didn't dwell too much on finding a proper leader, all of them are very, very upset with what happened after all and haven't forgot siggy involvements.

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>>33077481
Damn friggin' felwhore taking away our chances to make new friends, she probably planned on this happening too. We need to tell them about that knife when the opportunity presents itself. They know as well as we do that those wounds shouldn't have killed their matron and couldn't do so as quickly as they did. We need to get them thinking that, by screwing us or not cooperating, they'd be helping Deruella towards whatever her goal is. Which right now seems to be awakening the Evil Mountain. I doubt they'd like to see that happen.

I have a very, very bad feeling about this. If she intends to use blood magic to awaken it, she'll need a whole fucking lot. A truly massive tide of red.... Just the kind of thing you get from a brutal war of annihilation. Damn, she has everyone dancing on the palm of her hand doesn't she?

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>>33077688

Well she IS pretty good at this whole plotting thing because she doesn't suffer from crippling regrets...

Dreamers tend to be talented!

>>33077481
Are the yukionna's more concerned with getting revenge for Cadhla's death, or for seeing the Butcher dead?
Which would the majority of the yukionna's rather have?

>>33077838
We will find out tomorrow I imagine.

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>>33077838

I'm not going to answer this question, it's a risk that should be taken IC.

>>33077765
Oh talking to her just before the final battle will be most interesting. I can't wait to see how she justifies and rationalizes all the brainwashing, raping, corrupting, killing, and plotting. The very evil plotting that resulted in a friggin' war for Christ's sake.

Will we ever get a chance to put fryface out of her misery? She was evil and all but damn, to get brainwashed into betraying everything she believed in, harsh, wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

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>>33078039
I've got plans for Belvedere

>>33078105
Waifu when?

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>>33078168

...why?

>>33078210
Why not?

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>>33078220

That's not a reason to betray your other waifu.

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>>33078168
I don't think that's possible. She's like Jedina in how much she hates Siggy and has the added problem of being a direct subordinate to our enemy. Likely now being groomed to be a replacement for Noscrim.

So not only is she serving her now "beloved" mistress, she gets to fuck Siggy over too! Can you say "job satisfaction?" Because however false it is, I bet she's really feeling quite happy now about how it all turned out.

I bet she'd rather like to rape our mage MC. It's actually a pretty traumatic and horrible thing to do to a person and I doubt Siggy would like it. Revenge, fulfillment of desire, and lunch as she succubutt now I bet. I mean, why not rape him at this point?

>>33078403
Hate sex is great.

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Bump

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One last bump before the evening continuation.

>>33082567
How did the other Yukionna react when Jedina call out Siegfried as the Butcher?

Her saying that has likely turned the Yukionna against us, and we can't afford a war with them as well as with the Crusade and the Demon Realm at the same time. Gil can threaten all he wants, but even he knows that it would be an empty threat.

We need to find leverage with the Yukionna quickly before these negotiations collapse.
First we need to ask Jedina what are her terms.

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>>33076796
Wait a second... That devious evil bitch! She even banked on Siggy actually wanting to redeem himself or otherwise not screw this up and used that to try and kill him!

Had Siggy wanted he could have likely blocked the heat theft with his manaphage ability (don't know if she knows about it, but it is a moot point). Unfortunately, that means entering focus which would be the equivalent of drawing your sword. Doing that in the middle of a negotiation is a very bad thing, so he wouldn't do it if he was a good guy or wanting this all to work out.

Now, there is the restriction on not spilling blood in this sacred place. Oh, but what blood? He just died of hypothermia, no blood here no sir not one drop of red to be seen on this pristine snow. Fucking "exact words" loopholes.

It's a pitty we need those girls, such underhanded tactics really piss me off.

>>33086064
Do you ever read what you write? Are you aware of how obnoxious you sound?
The merits of your post aside, can you try to sound less like an annoying teenage narutard?

Page 10 bump

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>>33083551

The girls have been very reserved, didn't gave any hints of emotions at all, merely witnessing the scene.

>>33086064

Yukionnas are one of the few monsters that (along with kitsunes) were present in the world before Daiyu changed the numerous races, so in a sense these frigid women tend to have their own way of thinking.

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Given the nature of the incoming update it might take some time to properly write it all (as opposed to pure length) but I'll be doing my best regardless, even if I'm being constantly interrupted.

Regardless this thread hasn't been dropped.

>>33090538
It's cool man, we can wait.

>>33090679
If not, we'll just make them chill out.

My experience with negotiations between human and monsters is hopelessly narrow; I was the aggressor forcing my demands with a company of battle hardened soldiers at my back and of course I had my experience of the other side after some torture at the hands of these self-proclaimed rebels of the Purge. It wasn’t civilised by any means and to describe it as ‘’tense’’ would be dark humour at best. With the business of my presence and continued existence put on the back drop, Ame became surprisingly protective as no less than five of her tails had crawled on my body, touching too much places to count, oftentimes stopping to wrap themselves around a few of my limbs; it took some serious effort to bite down the temptation of causing some mischief, her eyes and attention weren’t focused on me, her expression was as cold as our backdrop as she focused her glare toward the Yukionna.

Perhaps I’ve come to understand how this woman tick thank to the loops, her sentiment of anger buried deep within her mask filled me with satisfied joy, unfortunately it’d be much better to stop indulging in my emotions… (The lack of soul links is making this increasingly harder I swear).
Where was I?

‘’The previous matron was a woman of great worth and wisdom; compliments that I will wholeheartedly pass down to my children and our agreed upon proposition still stands once the Commonwealth with Zipangu is successfully built.’’

Oh… right. It’s amazing how fast my attention is reduced proportionally to a recent attack on my life, wonderful psychological defense.

‘’Monsters living in Gwynedd will henceforth be recognized as citizens and serfs enjoying the same protections and rights as any men and women; they will serve a lord of their choosing, live in a town of their choosing, find a husband they love and marry under the sacred law of their followed religion, be it the Faith of Sky and Land or the worship of the Water Dragon and others ancestors, as seen here in Zipangu.’’
Gil ace in the hole is still safely nestled close to heart; I’ve certainly not forgotten our discussion shortly after stumbling upon each other again in the Rahall mansion but the King of Gwynedd is just about ready to –truly- secede from the church by introducing reforms of the Faith, the details surrounding this is sketchy of course and he’s been a fantastic plotter to keep it under wrap as I haven’t seen a hint of scholars making waves with the faith of old; I’ve never been paying much attention to the bishops and priests of the country as my side was war, plain and simple but Gil Rosario has been a busy man indeed, quietly ousting these me and women of faith to replaced them with people loyal to the crown.
A near instantaneous transformation of rights from ‘’public enemies’’ to ‘’citizens’’ may not seem that farfetched after all, but this leverage isn’t something that the frigid ladies knows, hell, the only ones that –do- know about this are me and Ame-no-Uzume, I doubt even Tsukiyomi has sniffed out the pillars of this incoming change.

With that in mind, I do believe I can empathise with his anger somewhat, for my big brother promised the sky and is ready to deliver.

‘’Yes – that was the agreed upon deal with Cadhla assuming we win this war; our magical might will help the combined armies to put a swift end to the crusade, unlike the purge which was a personal conflicts for many of the women here, we will provide our full might for the Commonwealth as needed, just like the three orders of monsters.’’

’That’s not enough, I presume?’’

His phantasmal interlocutor opened her hand to grasp at the rock, iced altar between them; her red colored fingers seemed to have been dripped in fresh blood as it left a few imprints upon the surface.

‘’No’’

She answered, cold and merciless, making Gil bite down his retort and tighten his jaw in frustration. For a moment his hand hovered around his pommel but instead he settled to cross his arm on his chest, his breath escape in long even drags leaving warm fumes in front of his face as he silently waited for the ghost of ice to continue.

‘’There is one more thing that’d give the claims of rights of the Commonwealth for the monsters of Gwynedd more weight; a vassal, King Gil Rosario, us monsters do not rule like human but we –will- promise the oaths of feudalism toward you and your family in exchange for a land to govern for monsters, give the wayward children a county to call home’’

Aaand of course, have a monster noble lineage to worry about. Jedina had taken a strategic silence here, as Gil merely furrowed his brows, displeasure clearly written on his face.

‘’Us Yukionnas are ghost of the past, there are ten of us standing before you today and us ten will rule with I, the chosen matron as leader. We have no family, and no lineage, in that respect we will rule like Zipangu – for monsters cannot function like human.’’

A rather steep price to pay for the loss of a matron, there’s no denying Gil would suffer a serious loss of face – especially after winning his civil war – the young warrior king however didn’t let his displeasure lead him astray.

‘’Space has always been tight with the noble houses vying for powers but I can give you and monsters a county; a place of my choosing, but I suspect you have something else in mind?’’

Already Gil was ready to give concession which was an incredible show of faith for a king – even if the Onnas proposed to be sworn vassal there’s no denying others are vying for lands after that civil war that saw many, many a nobles houses broken and stripped of their powers- the crown was in a hopeless position after all, only a few key military victory changed it all.

‘’Our abode, our refuge in the Hjalmar timber forest is the county we seek; it is a harsh winter land that breed strong, valorous individuals’’
Now this didn’t go well with Gil, his entire body stiffened in a mixture of rebelled disgust and he nearly openly snarled back at the matron but instead planted his eyes directly in hers, snapping his jaw shut momentarily before opening his mouth again with a much more demure, albeit clearly angered tone.

‘’This forest was the bloodiest moment of the Purge between the monster resistance and the army of the Hjalmar family supervised by the Shieffer house – I understand its value but that land belong to this family who stayed loyal to the crown during the civil war’’

Ah, now there is it, the fabled ‘’caught between a rock and a hard place’’ moment, this demand from the Onnas was, quite simply bordering on the insultingly unreasonable.

‘’Siggy? Can you explain some fast history?’’

Ame whispered down at me and, while Gil and Jelinda still deliberated, I did my best to keep my voice as low as possible.

‘’The Hjalmar noble house was the main source of manpower for the entire northeastern part of the Purge and faced the bloodiest opposition by the newly formed guerilla of monsters. The patriarch and his eldest son perished in combats, assassinated on the battlefield – in term of bad blood it’s about the same with Zipangu and the demons I’d wager. The story doesn’t end there, tough.’’

A took a small pause as Gil and Jelinda has fallen silent, glaring at one another.

‘’The current regent of the Hjalmar is the young lord older sister and the swore the oath of ‘’Bygone’’ following the end of the Purge; it’s one of Gwynedd respected tradition where the house and their entire family swear to not pursue vindication, to forgive their losses, so to speak, a way of saying they’ll grieve without vendetta.’’
Ame nodded and turned back to concentrate on the duo, but I wasn’t done, oh no I certainly.

‘’The patriarch and his son were scum of the highest orders, but the sisters and her younger brother aren’t; they supported the crown in its direst moment, provided vital, guarded supply lines for the royalist army. They, along with the Shieffer house, are undoubtedly one of the key reasons Gil kept his throne without dragging the monsters orders in the war’’
That doesn’t change the fact that the Yukionnas frozen refuge is just as legitimate, they’ve most likely resided in the timber forest before that area was given to said family in the first place; Gil wasn’t happy, far from it. He put his foot down and snarled back at the ghost.

‘’You want me to backstab one of the few loyal vassal that stayed by my side when I was at my greatest disadvantage? Forget the loss of face by granting you a county, this is outright disgusting; each Rosario swear to rule firmly, but fairly; how is robbing a loyal dynasty of its birthright fair, Jedina?’’

‘’That forest is –our- birthright, not theirs, Gil Rosario’’

One mustn’t forget the importance of said country; timbers may not sound that valuable but Gwynedd entire navy entered a thorough reform – this forest provided a good half of the raw material for the ships, without mentioning buildings.

‘’This whore is pissing me off’’

This low snarl came from Ame-no-Uzume whose bandaged hands tightened around her grasped tail.

>Do I keep on observing, or should it be time to speak?

>>33092059
Is the Yukionna claim on the forest older than that of the Hjalmar's?
Is it within the known radius of Fendall's practical domain?

Is the yukionna refuge in the Hjalmar forest the entire forest, or a specific portion of it? What percentage of the forest and which part of it?

Are there any alternative forests that could supply the Gwyneth navy?

>>33092059
I don't know what to think....

Politics, but I'm kind of leaning towards the king's side. this is one of his few loyal vassals

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>>33092059
Ok, in practical terms she *has* to know this is an entirely unreasonable demand. A good, smart, SANE ruler plain and simply doesn't backstab those who have proven their loyalty. Kings who do that quickly end up as corpses one way or another, no noble is going to let that fly.

So, she's basically asking him to commit both political and actual suicide. Damn does this bitch hold a grudge, it's clouding her logical judgement. Unless she just wants everyone who fought against her side in the purge dead, then this demand makes total sense.

>>33092283
>Is the Yukionna claim on the forest older than that of the Hjalmar's?

Sort of, Yukionna were actuall regular monsters before the rise of the Demon Lord and Gwynedd always had stories/legends about these women, but they only entered the political scene fairly recently (around the time of the purge).

But they've been in that refuge for close to three century.

>Is it within the known radius of Fendall's practical domain?

Not quite, Mount Fendall is pretty big and the dragon doesn't really go outside her mountain anyway.

>Is the yukionna refuge in the Hjalmar forest the entire forest, or a specific portion of it? What percentage of the forest and which part of it?

It's deep, deep within it, forming a good half of the entire forest which ahs been magically transformed. Logging camps are situated around the outskirt and haven't run into much, if any problem at all because the forest is that dense.

>Are there any alternative forests that could supply the Gwyneth navy?

No. The other forest are smaller, scattered throughout the country and note the vital timbers for their ships. They could log em all out of course but this one big forest make it muc heasier to get your supplies and replant more trees as it is in a well developed county. not located in the ass end of nowhere.

>>33092449
So, the forest originally belonged to the yukionna, and the human kingdoms, including Gil, simply drew a line on a map giving the yukionna's land to the Hjalmar's, without consulting the natives.

Sounds like typical imperialism.

We need to pull Gil back on this. The yukionna haven't attacked the logging camps yet, but if their ancestral lands are threatened, then we will have a magical insurgency on our hands against a guerilla enemy in their homeland.
With the Church and the Central Kingdoms about to become aligned against Gwyneth, he can't afford to have to fight an internal civil war against the yukionna, because even if this Crusade gets crushed, the Central Kingdoms and the Church can raise another army immediately to attack Gwyneth without the problem of a long, and vulnerable, logistical chain.

We need to ask Gil: We can't give up all of the forest, but can we come to a compromise for a certain percentage of it, and compensate the Hjalmar's with something else?

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>>33092597
>So, the forest originally belonged to the yukionna, and the human kingdoms, including Gil, simply drew a line on a map giving the yukionna's land to the Hjalmar's, without consulting the natives.

They didn't come out to say «We got a problem with this!» however, remember that making the mvassals wasn't part of the original plan, this is a new demand.

But we can go with your plan if /tg/ wishes for it.

>>33092723
What if we suggested to Gil that he compensate the Hjalmars with lands from nobles that Gwynethe doesn't need and aren't particularly loyal to the crown?

>>33092597
It's a bit more complicated than just writing it off as mere imperialism. Back in the day humans and monsters were anathema. You can't really "consult" with something that is hostile towards your existence.

Even if they weren't, the only monsters that were non-hostile (in some form) were few and far between. Assuming all monsters, no matter the species, wanted you dead at some point was a rather safe assumption (those that tried things like hugging the monster tended to end up as dinner), so there was no way that "talks" could or would have been had during that time period. They'd call ya crazy for even suggesting it, and by and large ya would be.

Besides, that's 300 years, how old is Gil's country anyway? Given how its founding involves an Elder Dragon it may predate their refuge.

>>33092723
>They didn't come out to say «We got a problem with this!»
Isn't that because if they had, they would have been summarily executed, since they're Monsters?

Blaming a person for not speaking up about the loss of their home, when they would have been shot for speaking up, is not considered fair.

>>33092772
>the only monsters that were non-hostile (in some form) were few and far between
That is only valid for Monsters from before the current Demon Lord, which came to power around 300 years ago.
Your entire argument is full of holes and is contradicted by the information about the setting we have.

>>33092772

Gwynedd is old, old. It was pretty much formed during the anarchy following the end of the War of Pretenders and falls of the various magical empires around the globe, the Rosario family came to power faily recently though, only about 100 years ago.

>>33092791

It's a risk they didn't take - Hostility toward mosnters is undeniable but Gwynedd was always moderate prior to the purge, and everyone pretty much knows about the legens of the Yukionnas, viewing them as intelligent entity, usually beyond human instead of predators.

Anyhow do we have a course of action?

>>33092836
Was the Hjalmar forest always a part of House Hjalmar, or Gwynedd? Or was it gifted to them by Gil after the war?

>>33092769
To clarify, this would be a win/win for Gil - sure he'd have to deal with uppity ice women as nobles but he would, to a degree, have them in his pocket for returning their land to them and also not have to worry about slighting the nobles that are loyal to him while at the same time weakening those that aren't loyal.

>>33092884

The hosue was formed with the forest and surrounding area as its very first county, so it always was part of House Hjalmar.

They never really had much trouble with the onnas, too. Only when the purge happened did things go sour.

>>33092819
I thought the current demon lord ascended to the throne 200 years ago. Which would leave around a century of people still dealing with most monsters seeing them as a food source.

>>33092836
How old is the Hjalmar claim? Noble houses tend to continue their reigns and retain their lands so long as they keep picking the right sides when it comes to times where the Royal Line changes.

>>33092869
>viewing them as intelligent entity, usually beyond human instead of predators.
That actually makes it even worse, though. That's on the order European powers carving up Africa.

>>33092930
When was House Hjalmar formed, then?
When the Rosario's came to power 100 years ago, 200 years after the yukionna's already laid claim to the forest?

>>33092938

200 years is the correct date.

>How old is the Hjalmar claim?

Their house actually predate Shieffer, they came to be 25 years after Gil great ancestor put his dynasty on the throne, ousting the previous noble family who vied for total independence.

>>33092906
That depends entirely on the Hjalmar's finding the trade to be equitable and liking the idea of giving up their ancestral lands.

Also, the land has incredible economic growth potential, even well into an industrial revolution, so the lands they're to be given would have to be pretty valuable to equal the value of the forest.

>>33092992
That would mean that House Hjalmar's claim to the forest is only 75 years old.
That doesn't really make the claim firm, when compared to a 300 year old claim.

>>33092938
>Which would leave around a century of people still dealing with most monsters seeing them as a food source.
That's not what that means.
That means that people would have had 200 years of yukionna and Monsters being human-level intelligent, rapey but not carnivorous man-eaters.
Between 200 and 300 years, there's not much difference. It's still 200 years of Monsters not being monstrous beasts but intelligent people.

Your argument falls flat, regardless of the new Demon Lord's reign starting 300 or 200 years ago.

>>33093003

Timber trade is pretty much the main source of income of the House. Seeing half of it gone would not be pleasing at all.

>>33093029

It may not be, but Gwynedd history is very bloody, 100 years ago a nevent similar to the Three Kingdom happened, meaning the entirety of the map and county was redrawn before the Rosario conqueror (and his family, Shieffer and Balàn) conquered the throne.

Now couple that with a another incredibly bloody civial war between those three family that pretty much happeneed right after that man death and you have a bit of an idea why Gil actually value that house, that managed to stay alive despite this mess.

We've been lingering for a while, maybe it's time for me to impose some choices, or would you guys prefer to deliberate some more?

>>33093215
My vote remains for >>33092769 but I think I'm the only one for it.

>>33093157
>Seeing half of it gone
The refuge is in the center of the forest, and the lumber camps are on the outside; Hjalmar won't have their production cut in half for decades to come.
Unless you're including potential future profits from when the logging eventually reaches the edges of the yukionna refuge.

Also, Gil can value Hjalmar's loyalty, but that's a superfluous detail here.

Did anyone even tell the yukionna that there was a plan to annex their forest?
Or was it a situation the same as the creation of a hyperspace bypass, where if the people should have checked their local bulletin board at Alpha Centauri and filed the paperwork if they didn't like it?

>>33093215
We're lingering here because there's a lot of information surrounding this decision that the character knows but that players haven't been told.

>>33093215
I'm still for the action from here: >>33092597
>ask Gil: We can't give up all of the forest, but can we come to a compromise for a certain percentage of it, and compensate the Hjalmar's with something else?

>>33093303
>We're lingering here because there's a lot of information surrounding this decision that the character knows but that players haven't been told.

Not anymore, as it stand right now I do believe I've given everything I needed for the history, claims and preciousness of the forest.

>Did anyone even tell the yukionna that there was a plan to annex their forest?

Nobody knew there was a refuge deep in the forest until the magical women made it known themselves. So no, no warning, because they didn't have a clue.

>>33093106
They still don't know about the knife and who done it right? Now may be a time to tell them about it. The proof of that knife's existence is all over the Matron's corpse. Amateurs, a real pro would have mutilated the corpse to keep it from being so obvious.

And they also don't seem to know about the coming overnight protestant reformation Gil is about to set off. Might want to mention that as well.

>>33093547
What do you expect telling them about the Knife to do?
Get them to back down on their demands just because it was Deruella that ordered their matron killed?
Who ordered the assassination doesn't matter; what matters is that it succeeded at all, and that Gwynedd is responsible for that failure.

Making some brackets choices, as always I'l lbe as fair and impartial as possible.

>>33093547
>>33093604
As INH already said up here >>33077889
it's a risk to try to determine if the yukionna's place more importance on avenging Cadhla's death or on seeing the Butcher get what he deserves.

We need to first get Gil to consider alternatives to shutting down the yukionna's demands, per these two:
>>33092597
>>33092769

Then we can risk throwing the entire negotiations into the shitter by trying to determine whether the yukionna want revenge for a recent murder or many older murders more.

>[As much as it pains me to admit, Gil has to make some concession. The entire forest shouldn’t go to the Yukionnas but the area surrounding the refuge could definitely grow to be independent with the surrounding monsters that’d only grow in time with the new rights of the Commonwealth. If Jedina will not listen to reason about this, then she doesn’t deserve to be leader – the Hjalmar will be compensated by more lands if need be]

>[Jedina mentioned the entire forest, given her general attitude can I truly believe she’d settle for less? Or that’d she’d even tolerate a human house as a close neighbour carving the resources of that precious timber? Gil and Hjalmar could make a solemn oath – in blood if need be- to protect while granting semi-independence to the refuge, but an outright vassal with this woman can’t be the way to go]

>[Appeal to the other Yukionna, what do THEY think? A matron is a matron but she’s not omnipotent]

>[Jedina talked about ‘’ruling as monsters’’ perhaps I should ask Ame about this, although I do believe my dear wife-to-be is just begging for any excuses to intervene – monsters and human don’t rule the same way, that much is certain, thus a queen opinion on this matter ought to be valuable.]

>Something else?

>>33093953
Combo consulting with Ame and Gil has to make some concession options.

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Of course I am not imposing these choices, if you guys still l want more deliberation, so be it. You can stay passive ofcourse, see where Gil take it.

>>33094088
I like Gil but he's a bit hotheaded and biased and clearly needs advisement. Not the moment to be passive.

>>33093748
>Something else
Pull Gil back to make him consider a compromise, giving the yukionna's just their refuge and not the whole forest.
While he's pulled back, also ask Ame what the difference is between human and monster rulers; just in case Gil doesn't know the difference either.
We also need to ask Ame whether asking the other Yukionna what price are they willing to pay for the one who ordered Cadhla's assassination, would be badly received or not.

>>33094088
Are you disallowing combo's? Or will you make them less effective?

>>33094246

Combos are fine, my own choices are mere suggestions.

>>33094182
Just to be clear, making Gil consider a compromise also includes compensating the Hjalmar's with profitable lands confiscated from disloyal nobles and the Church, and letting them continue some logging in the forest, or joint share of profits between the Yukionna Reservation and the Hjalmar logging camps.

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Well then it does look like we've got a course of action.

Time to continue.

>>33094464
Did anyone investigate the alcohol that Tanyu provided to the Rahal's guards?

>>33094788

Yes, it was good old alcohol without anything special.

>>33094788
Soldiers like to booze it up, especially after a victory. You wouldn't need to do anything to it, just provide it. They'd do the rest to themselves, that is, get drunk. Drunk guards aren't very good at the whole guarding thing. It dulls the senses, increases reaction times, and makes you give less fucks about everything.

Thus, if she is the agent, she wouldn't have to put in the roofies or anything, just count on soldiers to be soldiers and celebrate their recent victory. Besides, doing that would blow your cover rather quickly. Deruella ain't stupid, and neither are her followers.

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Silence reigned between the matron and King; a few minutes where my mind overworked itself in details after details surrounding each actor’s circumstances and belief as far as I understood them. Gil Rosario was a king with a strong personality, a man putting value in respect and image as all rulers should but the recent trouble in the realm (the purge and this civil war amongst nobles) make this ambition of his a vital need, for nothing less than a strong king could hold the country with the Commonwealth.

Backstabbing one of his most loyal vassals would simply be suicidal, part of me wondered thus, if the frigid face of Jedina was smiling inward. Cadhla gave me the impression of a woman silently crying for help, clutching desperately to whatever remained of her humanity, but this matron… seemed to espouse the dark side of Yukionnas tales; I don’t trust her, nor do I feel a speck of guilt, unlike her previous, worthy matron. However… her claims aren’t without foundations, if heavy handed.

As is one and only brother, I’d like to believe I can help him when he need it.

‘’King Gil Rosario’’

My voice cut into the cold with the razor sharp edge of a sword and I held his, Jedina and all the others nine ghosts stares that I could hold.

‘’Please come to us to deliberate; not once will I doubt your wisdom, but men of value ought to listens to other ruler’’

As good an excuse as any, my wounded wife-to-be straightened when I mentioned her and Gil let out a sign, fumbling with the pommel of his blade and silently agreeing, slowly making his way away from the altar toward our duo.

‘’What do you think, Ame?’’

‘’She has the smell of ambition… thank for your quick thinking, Siggy.’’

We didn’t have time for anymore exchange as Gil presence was heralded by the crunching snow, his tall broad form nearly concealing the altar and matron who was silently waiting, observing us with her dull eyes.

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‘’I know as much as you about the value of the Hjalmar house’’

I nearly added ‘’brother’’ and had to catch myself mid-sentence; Gil intense displeasure didn’t seem to cloud his judgement, thankfully and he faced me and Ame with a strangely relaxed attitude despite his reddened face.

‘’This Commonwealth wouldn’t have been possible without their help’’

He announced very simply, which made Ame straighten herself, balling her bandaged hands in fist while traveling a few of her tails on my body.
‘’But her claims do not lack merit; she asked for the entire forest and this – I’ll never agree, just like you – but half of the deep forest around the refuge ought to do. While the ruling house will lose future profit they ought to be satisfied with more lands and you’ll gain a monstrous vassal native of Gwynedd of a specie featured in the myth surrounding the dawn of our country itself’’

‘’I know’’

His own mind must have been working as fast as mine, Gil kept on rubbing his chin while looking at the ground, too concentrated on his own scheming to bother looking up, merely listening, it was as if his intense anger and revulsion had been nothing more than a mask.

‘’Matilda Hjalmar has proven reasonable enough, I can only hope it’d continue – two agricultural counties leading to our center lands for losing half that forest ought to a big enough balm for that slight. I just can’t bring myself to trust that damn woman, her mere sight revolt me and, just like you said, she never once mentioned ‘’half’’ only the refuge which somehow encompass the entire forest of timber.’’

Just now did I realize that my and his opinions toward this matter was actually the same – I didn’t need to convince him – and I had to physically resist the urge of hugging him, however there must be another problem, one that I’m not seeing if the politic was so easily resolved.

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‘’Prudent and sharps instinct are rare in mortals, doubly so in Kings, Gil Rosario.’’

Ame suddenly took the reign of the conversation, magical light erupted from a few tails which quickly exited in blue will-o-wisps, small ball of flaming light hovering beside us, circling our triangle slowly, leaving brilliant flickers of ambers that quickly died down in the snow.

‘’Tell me, how many human rulers do both of you knows?’’

Such an easy question was responded simultaneously by us brothers.

‘’Too much to count’’

‘’How many monsters?’’

An obvious following questions whose answers was an obvious traps, however my brother was the first the answers as I kept on counting.

‘’Four. Rhy Rahall, queen of Northern Zipangu, Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto, queen of center Zipangu, Mebuchednazi, queen of south Zipangu and the Demon Lord Daiyu Jawahir’’

Once he finished speaking the tall vixens wiggled her bandaged index finger back and forth before balling it in a fist.

‘’Five in total leading their own countries – but even this number might be more – monsters do not rule like human, Gil. In feudalism lands are passed down through bloods, alliance are forged through marriages; in this I obey your rules by marrying this man but my own rulership would be seen as nothing more than a grab for the throne as I do not share my mother blood, she adopted me, but monsters cannot function with feudalisms.’’

She spoke low and deliberate, oftentimes breaking her stare to look at me, then toward the Yukionna, frowning in displeasure each and every time.

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‘’The leader is eternal; a crude term would be a dictatorial rule, our own nobles do not share the lustrous lineage of your owns, nor do they even have half as much power, even as they try to grab more however they can. Monsters leads with eternal life and the one they choose as heir will inherit the throne, be they first born or orphans latched from the streets- the one true exception come with the Rahall, who follow feudalism out of necessity despite each and every single queens looking exactly like the last. A rulership of magic above all, that is how monsters managed functions in this new era, do you understand, Gil Rosario?’’

‘’I do’’

He answered swiftly, looking nearly enchanted by the nine tailed magical vixen whose charisma was enough to completely draw me in; she was a completely, thoroughly different woman compared to the vulnerable, wounded foxes in my arms a few days ago.
I must have been lulled for too long in a false pretense of security by her adorable mischievousness.

‘’Good. This Commonwealth will not be an easy thing, our people will have constant conflicts, but that’s natural, what isn’t, come from this Yukionna; make your concession, Gil and she may accepts, but I assure you that she will rebels once your old age claim your life. She want the entire forest of timber – why, I do not know- but nothing less than this will satisfy her.’’

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‘’We need them for the war effort…’’

I spat out, nearly forgetting my tone – thankfully the will-o-wisps had started to hum, my brain already understood they magical nature.

‘’Yes we do, but not that matron. Gil, as queen I have only thing to ask – allow me to speak up whence the time is right. My advice is to refuse her demands outright. She sully Cadhla memory, the others Onnas are emotional and agitated, they want retribution, which can easily come in the form of a semi-independent county, yes?’’

‘’Ame…?’’

At my voice, the tall raven-haired queen of center Zipangu turned toward me with the loveliest of smile, eyes half-closed to form a vicious line of gold; I saw fire, dark blue fox fire, burn within her throat, exiting her mouth like a demonic caricature.

‘’I will not allow a monster that threatened the life of my husband to gain lands unopposed; allow me to show you how monsters rules with upstart, brothers. Gwynedd deserve better than the poison of this whore.’’

It'd seem that my wife is out for blood.

>A Tale of Monsters 121 – End.

>>33096890
that is rather fun....

Now I'm rather excited for the next chapter

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>>33096929

Glad to have your interest good friend.

I know this isn't really a moment for Siffy t obe awesome, but... the time is jsut right to give Ame some shine.

But this is also a risk. Ame want to pull off some stunt and have Gil refuse any concessions

>>33096890
So if I'm reading this right, Monster societies do not use marriages as a means of solidifying alliances.
It's closer to the old Greek dictator concept, and a sort of "Might Makes Right To Rule".
If you can beat the old leader, you become the new leader, and you designate/adopt your heir based upon their magical/martial power, and bloodlines don't mean anything.

Is this correct?

>>33097001
>Ame want to pull off some stunt
She wants to fight Jedina in a duel for matronship of the yukionna; when she wins, she will be recognized as their leader by right of victory in a trial of combat, and will force the compromise down their throats.

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>>33097016

Quite, but that's how the first monsters kingdom were established; you have to remembers that each queens are eternals, they adopted feudalism but warped it to their purpose (mostly because it was a pretty easy government to latch onto).

Like the worship of ancestor, monsters tend to believe that ''The queen is the country'' and as such nourish cult of personalities(big big reason why Tsu pretty much outlawed any worship of her person when she was queen), the Ruler isn't questioned, even when the time are very rough.

It's not quite ''might make right'' But it is very close. Duels happen, yes, but again it's more or less teetering with many other form of rulerships, each country is unique in that respect because the Ruler is eternal, with only the Rahall facing the actual problem of their queens dying of old ages.

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>>33096890
The more I see of Ame the more I'm liking her. This is a good thing. Now I can definitely get over the whole hungering for fresh liver aspect. Not a problem with all the other points in her favor.

So the new matron actually is evil, willing to play the long game and simply unwilling to let go of a grudge...why am I not surprised. Ame's right, the people deserve better. Last thing any country needs is what amounts to the next Lenin drumming up another civil war and that's what she's starting to sound like. Not good folks.

And the beastkin practice of feudalism is strange for monster society? I guess it's because their type isn't exactly immortal. How long do they tend to live? Human lifespan? Twice that, 3/4ths that?

>>33097046
Not sure that's wise given her condition, but a 9-Tailed Kumiho who's natural elemental affinity is fire vs. Ice Bitch... Might have a shot.

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>>33097140

Generally, the cat queens have human lifespan.

Also Ame element isn't quite fire, even if it does look like it. There's another ninetailed Kitsune who is a true firestorm, Ame is... a little bit more complicated.

So I take it the consensus is to let our wife do her plot?

>>33097128
>each country is unique in that respect because the Ruler is eternal
Cadhla was eternal, then?
Are all yukionna also immortal in the sense that they don't have a set lifespan?

>>33097221
Ame is going to pick a fight and will likely overrule Siegfried; Gil also probably sees the advantage in this.

But I think that Siegfried should at least advise caution and offer whatever help he can to Ame.
The fight is likely to open up Ame's wounds.

>>33097046
What if she makes Emeth do the duel since she has yukionna in her... In a sense. Forgot if Ame knows that or not.

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>>33097229

>Cadhla was eternal, then?

She wasn't a ruler but yes, Yukionnas are immortal, they are ghost without lifespan, but not dead as well.

>>33097284

Now now, nobody said anything about a fight, but I'll take your caution to heart, Siggy does love his fluff.

>>33097315
I'm fairly certain that the duel needs to happen here, and now.

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>>33097347
The only big variable I can see in that situation, which I hope doesn't occur because of it, is whether or not this matron knows how to use Soul Blasts.

Avina's the one who told Siggy about it so it is a distinct possibility. Let's hope that, if a duel does happen, she isn't willing to use it. Or if she does, the others see her as "unfit" because they consider it to be cheating in a duel environment somehow.

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>>33097657

Already expecting a fight?

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>>33097890
I hope it doesn't come to that, I really don't because I don't like Siggy or any of our people being on the wrong end of a Soul Blast, but it's a possibility we can't ignore. When Siggy does it, he surpasses even S-Rank magi in power. If an elder yukionna does it, I don't think any form of magical shielding save what Siggy could provide by doing likewise will stop or deflect the resulting projectile. In short, it is something to be avoided if at all possible.

We really can't avoid facing them with Orion and the beast, I'd like to avoid facing them outside of those fights. Massive brute force from non-soul powered magics can still affect or break through I hope. We'll need that kind of shit for the Orion fight, force him to burn his soul until either we break through or he's an empty shell of a man who forgot why exactly he was fighting and thus stops.

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>>33098047

Well it' about time for Ame to prove why she's a queen, it's just hard to fit that with proper interaction with Siggy, but I do my best.

At least our brother listened to reason, right?

>>33098097
What is the nature of the bandages that Ame is using?
Is it some kind of Corruption-infused paste because she is a Kumiho that requires Corruption to heal?

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>>33098097
That she does. We will have to consult with Tsu and Fendal at some point. We need to put certain measures in place after the war to ensure the matron's little "monstergirl revolution" never picks up any steam.

Seriously I bet she'd abuse the human population or otherwise make them second class citizens. Y'know, treat the humans like they only had one eye. Maybe after they take an eye out, to really get the point across. She wants to bully the humans!

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>>33098204
>What is the nature of the bandages that Ame is using?

''Purified'' corrupted paste that seem into a monster body and bone to repair damages, it's more or less like the ''Holy'' of monster kind if you disregard the various potent regenerative abilities of monsters (especially Alraunes). It's the priciest form of healing. All monsters can heal with corruption, Zipangu is able to ‘’purify’’ some of it through a costly ritual (as opposed to dumping the lot of it inside a dragon, it’s possible to actually keep reserve of usable fuel that won’t corrupt the user.

Only monsters can use it, of course and it has to be tuned with their species to work, else they actually do get corrupted.

>>33098248

Stop being mean to cyclops!

>>33098338
Does this purification process use hard to acquire materials, require a lot of time and effort, or require a sacrifice of some kind?

>>33098371

Sacrifice, they have to dump the toxins in a body or the environement.

No containers have been discovered to properly hold corruption yet.

>>33098389
The toxins are magical in nature, yes?
Is a magical flame capable of burning them away? Or can alchemical magic furnace do the job?

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>>33098414
Those could potentially work, yes but the magic would either need to be ninetailed level of fire, or a very, very peculiar type of alchemical apparatus would need to be constructed; Zipangu doesn't have a mage of fire potent enough for the first option, and no scholar of Alchemy-corruption seem to be able to solve the puzzle of the second one.

Mind you this doesn’t remove the problem of the corruption itself, this merely allow the use of ‘’purified’’ fuel that is every much as toxic to human as the real thing.

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>>33098338
When a man thinks of bullying, they think of the one-eyed monstergirls. I love them, I'd treat them right, defend them from bullies, and would gladly marry one, but in the end there is an undeniable aura about them that is just gnawing at my darker impulses and attempting to draw them out. If I weren't such a virtuous man, I'd bully them. I'm sorry, it's just the way it is.

Either way, this matron sounds like she thinks of humans like they were cyclopses, and I think her virtues went out the window a long time ago.

>>33098389
Some kind of container has to be viable, and if not we need to get SCIENCE on it. Did just recruit a lilim and we have the Demon Lord after all, the should be able to come up with something given time and resources.

Also, can't Khepri roll it into solid balls and store it all underground? I know they mainly live south of the swamp but if all our plans go through immigration would become much easier.

>>33098483
Isn't holy cross-compatible to an extent? It does seem to actually heal a given monstergirl up to a certain point before it turns toxic.

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>>33098556

>If I weren't such a virtuous man, I'd bully them. I'm sorry, it's just the way it is.

There's nothing wrong with mischievious, soft bullying

As for Khepri, their balls of corruptions inevitably end up dissolving, but they are champion at moving the stuff; the ydon't get rid of it, alternatively you'd need a cosntant population of Khepri to roll and reroll to broken corruption.

And yes, holy work for monsters to a certain point, problem is though, holy would evaporate curable corruptions and Ame is still recovering, the sudden dissapearance of the runic bandages would put some serious strain on our fluffy queen.

>>33098483
>or a very, very peculiar type of alchemical apparatus
There's another project for that lazy NEET to work on.

>>33098389
So, why not? Does it attack the physical structure of things and eat through it eventually? How long does that take on average?

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>>33098788

>Does it attack the physical structure of things and eat through it eventually?

Yes, it does exactly that, other phenomenon were even wierded where they ''seeped'' through the container until it can dissapear into something that can absorb it.

>How long does that take on average?

Highly depend on the concentration of corruption a large volume will work itself out of its prison in weeks, smallers doses would take months.

>>33098870
In regards to Corruption, it being a magical substance, do the ideas of homeopathy actually apply to it?

>>33098870
So corruption can only be absorbed by a living thing?
It can't be baked into something? Such as getting mixed in with a cube of sand, then heated until it became a cube of glass?

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>>33098931

I'm afraid not, only monsters can deal with the purified corruption because corruption itself attack the soul while warping the body, you can’t simply introduce small dose to grow resistant or immune; you are either unaffected from birth, or vulnerable to its effects.
Only Siggy ability seem to be able to grant some form of resistance.

>>33098950

Nope, it can only dissapear within something alive, be it plants, mammals, animals... It has to be organic to make the liquid dissapear.

>>33098870
So basically, it wants to either get into the ground or into a sentient being and do its thing. In the event of the ground it'll get absorbed by plants which it will then mutate, giving us the prisoner fruits and the like. Delicious food that also makes you corrupted if you keep eating it. God help you if it gets aersolised like it is in the Demon Realm.

Damn, it's almost like the stuff is alive, like a plague or something, constantly trying to ensure its transmission to other life forms with an almost half-sentience.

>>33099000
Then I guess you could sacrifice some crops then lock them up in a basement where nobody will eat them. But then it might get back out once it decays. Damn this shit's persistent, looks like the only way to stop it is to blast it with holy before it gets absorbed into something.

Hmmm... could play it like they did in Metroid Prime Echoes in regards to the demon realm. Holy Emitters, tossed in to solve problem of aerosolised corruption. Hold ya damn breath as you run from one safe zone to another. Might work, but they probably already tried that and obviously it didn't work.

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>>33099133
>looks like the only way to stop it is to blast it with holy before it gets absorbed into something

Very much so, holy is extremely efficient and widely used throughout the entire world.

Gotta find a holy mage first however.