Turning your attention from the empty foyer, you took a rough gauging of the morning's time. You'd be leaving for the Valen head's estate in response to your aunt's official summons shortly. The trip had been scheduled and planned, and you'd already distributed a notice to your knights for a contingent of them interested in martial training to report to accompany you. Rinnier was probably already with them at the edge of town, but you had a little time left before you had to leave.

...Honestly you could delay all you wanted, it wasn't like any of them were leaving until you said so, but the sooner the trip started the sooner you'd get there and see what all this was about.

As it stood, Dullem had been assigned to look after Carona for the time being. Nothing urgent here needed your presence, so leaving the knight captain as a soothing force in your absence should handle anything that comes up. Ari... Ari could honestly come or go, and it wasn't something you'd decided on, exactly.

Leaving her here with the flesh-golem Aspiration would give Dullem a potent source of back-up incase something unexpected occurred, but bringing her along would give you more time to go over her Adept progress in person... To say nothing of the fact that you knew she wouldn't be pleased about being left behind again.

Finally there was the Shrine. Doubtless they wanted a personal response from you on the events of that night, and while you weren't obligated to give them one, their willingness to play cooperatively with you might take a hit if you didn't. The position and actions they'd taken in regards to Carona's recovery occupied an ethically gray zone, given their official stance of neutrality outside of Mana related affairs... And you knew of at least one Representative in the Shrine that held no good opinion of you already.

But even if you weren't inclined to spite the Gnome Dominion, you'd not met with Mim at all. The longer you went without doing so, the more curious and worried she'd get - And you wouldn't be surprised if she started finding excuses to force a meeting, official or otherwise.

...Unfortunately it would have to wait, unless you planned on delaying your departure to Clara for an unreasonably long chunk of the day; You got the feeling that once you walked up the Shrine's stairs, you'd be there a while.

Your uninjured hand strayed to the mask clinging improbably to your head. Inquiring as to whether Lily could take a more subtle form had led you through a number of possibilities before the apparition had seemingly settled fondly on this head ornament - Which at first glance more resembled a tiara than a mask proper. Smooth wooden spires curving delicately from the ridge of its band, with a prominently displayed amber droplet glimmering softly at the forefront.

The apparition needed no encouragement to spend its time perched atop your head, its thin ivy tendrils weaving through your hair to cling in place... And, to your mild consternation, meddling with your hair when you weren't paying attention. For the time being you were content to leave it there, obscuring your actual hairband - Something you'd idly been musing over the redundance of in the meantime. Yet, despite the snug fit of the crown, you suspect it'd only take a light touch to slide it down over your eyes.

Did that mean anything special? Did you have a suitably dramatic action to take on demand now? Would donning the mask provide you an unexpected battle form?

...Well, at the very least you could see while wearing it, despite the band fully covering your eyes; 'See' being a generous term for the sort of awareness the apparition fed to you that superceded physical sight. If lily's presence gave you any other perk, it would just be having an apparition loyally on hand.

If anyone had thoughts on your new accessory on your route between the headquarters and the outskirts of town they weren't about to risk offending you to blurt it out. A perk of your position, with the invisible gulf persistently wedged between you and the lay-people of Carona finally affording you a tangible benefit for once. You could dress or accessorize however you pleased and no one would call you out on it.

"Did you fall asleep in a bush?"

You shot your flame-haired Testament a dirty look.

"Don't give me that look, you stayed out all night and showed up with your hair full of twigs." One hand rested on her hip, inspecting you with more concern than the flippant tone of her dialogue suggested. "What's this about?"

"It's an apparition." You tapped a knuckle against the wood, "I named it Lily. She'll be on hand if anything happens."

"...Like that monster Ari's attached to." Rinnier murmured, casting a newly skeptical look over the mask. "It had to be a tiara?"

You make a face. "It's a mask."

"It is a tiara. I've worn them."

"Would you prefer it be a wooden replica of my face?" Your arms cross under the morning light.

Curiosity all but evaporated from Rinnier's expression, regarding it instead with suspicion, and some degree of mild unease. "No, keep your tiara."

"Mask." You insisted heatlessly, feeling the tension in your shoulders loosen as the barbless banter pulled you from your own mired thoughts. "Everything's in order?"

"Ready to leave. All the knights interested in proper combat training reported for the trip." The taller woman turned away, looking over the assembled knights with you as you stepped up beside her.

A complicated expression tinged the narrow line of her lips; Bits of emotion you'd gotten used to seeing not quite set aside while the two of you had a measure of privacy from the knights in question... And scanning the crowd, it didn't take you long to realize why.

"She showed up late." Rinnier murmured as your crimson eyes picked out Miska's familiar figure in the crowd; Almost unrecognizable in the absence of her cheer. "Wouldn't have been surprised if she changed her mind."

A vague murmur rolled in your throat, more an acknowledgement than sentiment. You didn't know what you were supposed to say here... Or what you could say. Fen was... Someone you didn't know, really. Not like your Testament had, or, obviously, his fiance. Even still, the short time he'd been around you had taken to him, been impressed with his supportive capability. You got the feeling there was a chasm where he used to be that was going to make itself known sooner rather than later.

"Have you talked to her?" Memories of her departure from the medical tent yesterday only vaguely cropped up. You were too focused on Raid and what had happened afterwards to call out to her then, and now...

Rinnier shook her head. "There's nothing to say. I'd like to think we are on friendly terms, but she's ultimately a subordinate." And here, her voice hardened with a twitch of her throat and the subtle setting of her jaw. "We all knew the risk we were taking. Your knights, especially, always expected they'd be putting their lives on the line eventually."

The two of you watched her a little longer, until Miska's listless eyes rose to meet yours. There was nothing there at this distance; No resentment or fire. None of the enthusiasm you'd come to identify her with. Her eyes flickered back to the ground, chin sinking as she busied herself with adjusting her clothes amidst the more excited knights surrounding her, leaving the moment to pass.

"Give the word and we'll get moving. The sooner we leave, the better." Rinnier chimed in.

Having an actual road would make the trip easier on everyone, but it would still take you a few days to reach the Valen estate. The last time you made this trip, it'd been with Kara and her pack. Now with freshly blooded knights. The feeling that you'd be making this trip even more from now on left something heavy in your chest.

Your maid and childhood friend was absent, one of your Testament had disappeared into the night with her younger brother, and another you'd begun distancing yourself from out of fear of what Dryad's bestowed privilege would do to her.

Memories of your forest estate suddenly filled with voices and life after all those years alone with Asche never seemed the sort that would haunt you; Now the warm din of your assembled knights before you felt a world away.

You took a breath and did your best to clear your mind.

You are Irue Valen, blood heir to house Valen. Your aunt had summoned you, and you had every intent of answering and telling her what all you had accomplished since last you met.

>Bring Ari
>Leave Ari

>Anything before you set out?

>Would you prefer to skip the time traveling, or take the few days to do something specific?

Previous Threads:
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Valen+Quest

Where things are said: https://twitter.com/Riz_QM
Where things are asked: http://ask.fm/RizQM

Assorted Supplemental:
Irue Things (up to 74) - https://pastebin.com/PchcdWpw
A List of Forgotten Things (up to 74) - http://pastebin.com/kPEscJ3h
Irue's Memoirs (Scares the QM to update) - http://pastebin.com/sWnicrK7

Arc I - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DMjxLjSbvr-xcxqX9M_ysKaBV1zkUmu5/view?usp=sharing
Arc II - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cXL1fIYb22IqQ51wWUp3-IMZa2nV5TY8/view?usp=sharing

"Really I'd say anybody catching up should read threads instead of this because of what goes on in them, so this is more for looking back I'd say." - Ebook anon

Write-ups:
Kara's Day Out - http://pastebin.com/8ZbiSKLs
Adventures with Asche - http://pastebin.com/RNviCBJu
The Reclaimed Doll - http://pastebin.com/n6miP1qT
In Your Shadow - http://pastebin.com/EfeeHFAE
Friends Forever - http://pastebin.com/Yn0QaTVB
The Woman Beneath Steel - http://pastebin.com/pMGgiHC3
Paper Flowers - https://pastebin.com/Pk0W7rEm
Merciless Compass - https://pastebin.com/8Hy0krxv
Better Strangers - https://pastebin.com/mvShXpCt

Misc notes:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OVO8ZJ-IpI

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1TarAKEt4uvucx-3y4A5d2T46FPF3dXs60an9-AMrJUA/edit?usp=sharing

Memo:
1. Work through dying before it causes issues with the Shade scar.
2. Return and investigate the Dryad Shrine
3. Bring Miska and the other "People skilled with arms, with a taste for conflict" with us to the main house.

Itinerary:
1. Discern knights with an affinity for Mana worth polishing.
2. Train the most combat apt knights.
3. Track down Asche, who left to find the descendant of the Ice Queen's bloodline.
4. Track down the Tier siblings, currently located in Resuri.
5. Expedition for resources to the north.
6. Unfinished business at the Ruined Shrine.
7. Respond to your aunt's summons.

Current Goal: Respond to your aunt's summons.
What's On Your Mind:

ITS REAL!! I never gave up hope
>Bring Ari
>Set off immediately
>Wonder if the demihumans were more trouble than they were worth

I can't post much because I actually got drafted since last thread. Other anons better pick up the slack

>>4582238
oh you were that anon. I saw the thing in my ask! I hope your enlistment goes by quickly and without much danger, anon.

Is there much of a story behind you getting drafted, or is it one of those countries where military participation is mandatory at some point?

>>4582240
We have limited conscription here and I just happened to win the lottery because I wasn't employed or a student at the time. I don't mind though.

File: giphy_s.gif (71 KB, 480x270)

71 KB GIF

>>4582217
I hever stopped waiting.
Wanted to make a "Christmas come early" joke, but then it hit me
Now to read the whole wall of text!

I loved the picture in the twit. And the artstyle looked familiar. Is the artist perchance a certain QM here?

File: Tanq_Irue.png (255 KB, 499x892)

255 KB PNG

>>4582245
Yeah! He doodles Irue occasionally. It's very impressive to see how far his art has come from the early days of Panzer Commander; Much cleaner, bolder with colors, more defined style. I think the improvement warrants more praise than he gets for it. Not the least of which because he is easily bullied by compliments.

Very good pics, the artist is great

>>4582222
>Leave Ari

>Anything before you set out?
Bring the aborted Jinn speaking stick thing, and the Bracelet in order to make / force the connection if we have to, since we're going to need it to guilt our cousin into turning around by hopefully giving him a live status update about his mother, and also catching him + guardian and whomever else is listening in up, on the Fae waking up.

Our aunt should be able to be saved by taking her into the forest in order to receive treatment from the Fae if possible, and if she is unable to be moved but still awake yet fading, the diary should be able to help make the distance
I had prepared a write up for this thread, rambling about a bunch of stuff, one of the big ideas was to Dam the bifurcation of the river to the south for a bunch of reasons totalling about seven or eight full posts,but it still needs work, and polish but won't be home to post it because of an unexpected emergency family thing till some point after new years.

>>4582222
>Bring Ari
>Spend the travelling time getting insight into Ari's character
Her personality is troublesome and I'm afraid without explicit info on her mind's workings us anons will be unable to handle her well.
>But I'd prefer this to be done in a timeskip, again because us anons are bad at people.

>>4582217
wait this is alive?

>>4582218

>Your uninjured hand strayed to the mask clinging improbably to your head.
How is that injury coming along, by the way?
>And, to your mild consternation, meddling with your hair when you weren't paying attention.
If it gets to be too much of a nuisance, we can always tie it to a belt or sash or something. On hand, without being on hair.

>You could dress or accessorize however you pleased and no one would call you out on it.
>"Did you fall asleep in a bush?"
>You shot your flame-haired Testament a dirty look.
Missed you too, you firebrand.


>Leave Ari
We're leaving a rather light force to keep the town otherwise, especially as we're taking all the martially-minded. If she gives us grief, frame it as trusting her to help keep the town from devolving while we're gone. It's the truth, and should make her feel better.

>>Anything before you set out?
We're leaving a lot to do when we get back, but seeing as everything else is ready we should go ahead and set out. Maybe leave word with someone to pass word to Mim that we'll talk to her when we get back. Dunno if it'll help, but it won't hurt.

>>Would you prefer to skip the time traveling, or take the few days to do something specific?
I feel like taking the time to clean the rust off for us anons would be helpful, and trying to feel the knights we brought with us out might be worthwhile after recent events. Especially poor Miska. Maybe we can even attempt that being personable stuff.
Also, we should test what sliding Lily down fully does before we decide we need it, and this travel time seems like an excellent opportunity.

As we're in the process of working on it, I believe it's time to remove Memo number 3.

I'm incredibly happy to have you back this century. You've been missed.
I was afraid you'd finally make it to a year between threads.

Kara cannot save Christmas anymore.
On top of everything else, it's going to be quite something telling Clara that we just lost one of our testaments, to say the least.
>>4582222
As much as Ari is suspect I have a feeling that leaving her by herself won't really address the issue. Even if we're bad at addressing issues it's probably better to try since...I'm pretty sure that we ourselves don't know if she has any other relations.
So,
>Bring Ari
>Set off immediately
Can't be everywhere at once and we can have faith in our Knight Captain, can't we?
Though I wonder if we are able to drag our local Shade adept out of his hole to help with this scar more.
I'd concur with >>4582283 on getting more into Ari's head from Irue's perspective but I don't think we can skip it. Being bad with people is only part of learning how to be adequate.
I also figure it's little trouble to bring the artifacts like in >>4582262

>>4582237
>Wonder if the demihumans were more trouble than they were worth
I don't know about them as a whole but technically the ones we really had the most attachment to anyways only counted up to one demihuman. Genetically at least, not counting that the blood takes over eventually. Supposedly. Not like Raid was ever known for telling nothing but the truth and the whole truth.

>>4582301
It would be very odd if it weren't.

>>4582361
>spoiler
The entire miserable hunt that ended in the destruction of an entire arc's worth of work? That was his last attempt to "help" with the scar. It was "only" supposed to make us have an emotional breakdown in the middle of a fight.
He is firmly on the "do not call" list.

>>4582222
>Bring Ari
>Name OakenRue
>Leave Oakenrue with orders to infiltrate and incapacitate/slowly consume/kill the behemoth without waking it up and above all to not die.

We need to address the nuclear bomb that's been ticking away for four years now? More?

>Do not timeskip
>Try to console Miska
>Try to engage with Ari

Dont try to console miska

why

We will fuck it up

>>4582444
Directly consoling will go poorly I think, but Rue is good at social manipulation stuff. If we can get a sense of her current state, then distract her or redirect her anger into something useful, we might have a chance of doing some good.

>>4582446
Very possibly. I think it's worth trying at least, but I am happy to change my vote to spending time talking with her if it will stop you from voting against me. I just don't want to spend days on the road ignoring a woman in grief.

>>4582262
>long write-up
I'm looking forward to seeing it! It's kind of amazing to me that people care enough to think about this when I'm curled up in a hole somewhere.

Threads last 3-4 weeks now, don't they? You may still be home in time. I hope the emergency isn't anything too terrible, though.

>>4582301
I have a standing promise to explain the overarching setting direction and endgame goals if I ever abandoned Valen for some reason, so the people who've stuck with it this long will have some form of closure.

>>4582351
>Injured hand
Injury is as it has ever been, but you still feel no pain from it. It's not numb, it just doesn't feel mangled; Still can't really use it, though.

>Testing Lily
Irue has done some testing offscreen as alluded to in the first few posts, but if you want to do so actively then that's fine. The general thing to understand is that Lily isn't a Relic, so she doesn't actually grant you any special abilities. She's just an apparition hugging your face. This allows her to do what she could normally do, whether by your command or her own initiative.

However, as an implicit extension to her being a mask, you have a semi-permanent connection open to her via the bracelet to communicate.
---

I think everyone's voted, but I'll be closing the window later tonight regardless. Merry christmas everyone! I will be around off and on tonight to answer questions and the like.

>>4582656
The point was more that some of the stuff that would be discussed in the write up would already be acted on or new information would come to light meaning that some things would need to be adjusted. Some of the stuff about the Damming plan was discussed in a /qtg/ at one point, a while ago.

>>4582656
This is probably a question to ask in character but eh.
Is Rinnier calling it a tiara instead of a mask a good or bad thing with regards to fashion sense? It would be unacceptable to be shown up by our testament in regards to outfits, after all, even if she is (probably) of a (formerly) higher title than ours.

After all if she's calling it a tiara anyways it ought to at least be a good tiara.

>>4582656
> but you still feel no pain from it. It's not numb, it just doesn't feel mangled;
We really need a non-shrine professional to take a look at it. Feeling nothing is generally restricted to the worst kinds of injuries.

>Testing Lily
Oh ok. I was working off this line:
>Did that mean anything special? Did you have a suitably dramatic action to take on demand now? Would donning the mask provide you an unexpected battle form?
It might still be worth testing our ability to direct Lily in a mock-hostile situation; Dryad's crew aren't always predictable, especially the younger ones.


>>4582802
>Is Rinnier calling it a tiara instead of a mask a good or bad thing with regards to fashion sense?
Well it's made of wood instead of precious metal, so I dunno if it fits into fashion senses at all. If we're lucky, it sidesteps "trendy" and dips into "exotic".
If we need to do something where fashion matters, we can always move it elsewhere.

>>4582217
ON DECEMBER TWENTY FUCKING FOURTH?!?!?!?

Decent.

>>4582220
> Letting someone touch our hair.

Wut.

Anyways guessed I missed the vote. Oh well.

File: probably someone's fetish.jpg (1.74 MB, 2000x2829)

1.74 MB JPG

>>4582844
window is open for a few hours more!

>>4582802
the mask is based primarily off of the Ds3 firekeeper's mask, which if pushed up to rest ontop of your head rather than in-place somewhat resembles a tiara. IE: the lower band covering your eyes with small, curving wooden spires jutting up from it's ridge like branches. When that lower band is resting on your forehead instead, you get the mask mistaken for an unusually proportioned tiara.

Lily could theoretically assume the form of whatever mask you would prefer given a request, but this was the default result of being asked to do so.

>Is it fashionable?
Lily is not fashionable and does not understand what fashion means. She can add flowers to it if you want.

Giving a strict answer on it though, it's not going to get you laughed at. It's a sudden and unexpected accessory change for Irue, but if anyone is going to get away with wearing a forest crown, it'll be someone in the Valen family.

It's not a crown though, it is a mask.

>>4582844
>Touching hair
Lily has gotten away with it so far.

>The grass rustled as Lily shifted, leaning forward onto its arms as it crawled across your personal space and past your lap - Wrapping its arms around your slender shoulders, holding you gently to its wooden bosom. Its hand ran along your hair in soothing strokes, mimicking your own greeting prior as it tucked you into its embrace.

To what extent this is taken is ultimately up to you. Asche remains the only one Irue has no leery thoughts about interacting with their hair - So you may treat this as begrudging tolerance, or fraying patience.

>>4582860
Could Lilly encourage an algal bloom, or grow flowers with specific properties somewhat quickly(e.g. Poisonous, toxic, or sleep inducing pollen) It could prove very useful for dealing with Maran, or just people we don't like.

>>4582885
Lily is not a bulbasaur, so you would need a seed or existing specimen of that flower for her to do anything with it.

That said, she can be influenced to permanently gain access to such things, just as all apparitions change as they mature. Ari's Aspiration is a prime example of that, seeing that it is a fleshen abomination.

so yes, with conditions or time, depending on your preference.

>>4582887
Maybe the Apothecary, Healer, or Dryad fragment could help identify and /or source some seeds of interest for Lilly, then. For an Algal bloom all we should relay need is lots of sugar, Powdered iron or blood. Since most bodies of water already have the biosphere we would be abusing to cause a bloom event.

>>4582237
>>4582283
>>4582361
>>4582436
Bring Ari

>>4582262
>>4582351
Leave Ari
---

>>4582237
>>4582361
Leave immediately

>>4582262
Bring the Jinn radio!

>>4582351
Leave a message for Mim!

>>4582436
Name the Oakenrue and leave it behind to do things to the behemoth while you're gone!
---

>>4582237
Were the demihumans more trouble than they were worth?

>>4582283
>>4582436
Talk to Ari on the way

>>4582351
>>4582436
Try to be personable and play with Lily!

Alright, closing the window here!

Fun trivia, dullem said his hometown was by the coast? Is he from ephlesia hmmm

"We'll be set soon. Have you seen Ari?" She'd no doubt expected you back last night, and your final decision to not return would have understandably left her irked. It was difficult to imagine the stringy haired girl actually holding a grudge, though.

Rinnier's brow arched, side-eyeing you dubiously. "I thought she'd be with you?"

...Not an inspiring answer, but you doubted anything could have happened to her overnight. Not with the Aspiration serving as her bodyguard the way it was. "I slept in a bush last night." The retort was offered with a deadpan, "And she wasn't at the headquarters when I stopped by this morning to pick this thing up."

You fished out the artificial Relic you'd appropriated from your most recent venture: A conceptually disgusting device that more resembled something between a newborn apparition having been aborted or lobotomized. It served a single purpose, as far as your limited knowledge of this thing went, it could only serve a single purpose. That was the only thing left in its mutilated existence. No doubt if the Shrine saw this, the Jinn Dominion would be livid.

Rinnier, thankfully, could not see it for what it was. She was well aware of its function however, and nodded briefly after glancing over it. "I'll get the knights ready to move out. It'll take a few minutes to get them organized, if you want to take a look around for Ari in the meantime."

You exchanged a nod and split off, but not before you got to watch the former princess start barking orders. It was a harsh change from the tones you knew, and it took you a moment to remember that she had stubbornly made herself part of the command chain in Teranford's royal line. Untrained as they were, the call to action put the disorderly knights into a small panic before they rushed to sort themselves out in some manner or other. If you had to guess, this wasn't the first time they'd been put through this in your absence.

...But you set that aside for the moment to try and think of where your erstwhile Testament may have gotten off to. it occured to you that this was something you'd never actually had to wonder before - She had either been with you, or been where you left her. Or, failing that, found you. She wasn't like Rinnier, who'd regularly make rounds to inspect the progress in Carona... So you had no idea where to start.

"Do you have any ideas?" You rolled your eyes skyward, murmuring the stray thought under your breath towards Lily.

...

Your brows knit, crimson eyes turning questioningly towards the forestline. Lily's cheerful, if vague, response was very certain about the direction, but... What she was trying to lead you towards was the nearest concentration of Dryad's mana. You guess if you found Ari's Aspiration, you'd find Ari, but it may well also just be pointing you right back to Dryad's Atelier.

You heaved a small sigh for the unexpected morning exercise and set off at a brisk pace.

Getting to the treeline was the hard part, and you figured from there you'd just call it off if Lily seemed like she'd misunderstood you and actually tried pointing you all the way back to Dryad's Atelier... But as you wandered through the woods, the apparition merrily updated its headings every so often, leading you on a slightly winding path through the underbrush. You'd be lying if you said this didn't deepen your curiosity, because either Ari was out here for some inexplicable reason, or Lily was leading you to something you probably weren't going to like.

...And in the end, the answer was a little of both. A thick veil of flowering ivy blocked your way, strewn through the branches above like a ball of yarn. Several balls of yarn. Brushing it aside revealed your Testament admidst Lily's proud purring, sitting against a tree with her head lolled limply to one side. You took a step forward, only belatedly glancing at the conspicuously lush forest floor when you felt something give beneath you - A tendril of flesh, one of many which taken as a whole resembled a bed of roots, pulsed weakly underfoot. The whole of the clearing was filled with it, and that made your continued entry feel weirder than you would have liked; Every step carried the faintest of squishes.

But Ari was fine, near as you could tell. Sleeping peacefully, and well guarded if your presumption of the fleshen bed's source was accurate. A faint, nauseatingly sweet scent wafted faintly through the air, tingling a familiar thought you couldn't quite place. You'd smelled it this before, somewhere, and your investigation eventually led you to a set of bulbous plants hanging from the branches up above. Glossy leaves left an ill impression against the rest of the clearing's soft grass and ivy, with thick, circular ridges crowning each of the six-to-seven foot oblong forms. It left the impression of bloated lips gaping vacantly towards the heavily overgrown branches they suspended themselves from.

You decided you'd seen enough when you noticed a web of veins quivering just beneath the hanging plant's stiff outer skin.

>Am I forgetting something...?

"C'mon Ari, time to wake up."

You knelt down, resting your hand on the stringy haired Testament's shoulder to rouse her. It only took a few moments for her eyes to flutter open - First groggily, and then with alarm as her body stiffened. The moment passed quickly, her brown eyes quickly darting from you to her surroundings and back before audibly letting her breath go.

"Master?" She sat up more attentively, rubbing the remnants of sleep from her eyes. The next few words came out in competition with a yawn she'd not quite stifled. "When'd you get here?"

"Few moments ago. What is 'here', exactly?" She'd not ask what you were doing, or even why you were here at all. Wasn't she even a little curious why you'd walked out into the woods like this?

"...Safe?" She murmured, equal parts answer and question. Her fingers spread through the lush verdant carpet, devoid of so much as a stick or stone, with obvious comfort. "It can't stretch in town."

'It' needed a name, you thought to yourself as the slight rustle of fleshen tendrils caused the grass to shiver under Ari's gentle care. You hadn't given much thought to it ever needing to stretch at all, but she had a fair point - Better it do so out here than somewhere it would attract attention.

"Did you need me, master?"

"Irue." You correct absentmindedly, making an effort to insist on fixing her terminology, if only in private. "We talked about this, didn't we? Call me Irue."

"Mm..." She yawned again, leaning into your hand with closed eyes. "Sorry."

"No, don't go back to sleep." You shook her gently again, rerousing the drowsy Testament. "We're leaving soon, Rinnier's already waiting for us."

Slightly more life bubbled up in her eyes as she raised her head and blinked owlishly. "Huh? Where are we going?"

"To see my aunt, I've been summoned. You're coming with me."

"Oh..." She yawned again, then blinked. "Oh. Oh!" Alarm quickly bled through her sleep-addled murmuring as she stumbled to get her feet under her. "I'm up! I'm ready to go! Come on, come on..." Her attention shifted off you with the latter entreaties, groping around the ankle high grass in a rush. "It's time to go, where are you...?"

"...You lost the Aspiration?"

"No!" Her voice hitched quickly. "No, it's here I just laid it down somewhere so it could... There!" Whatever she'd seen was lost on you, but when her hands dove into the grassy carpet this time, they resurfaced with the familiar flesh-covered walking stick her guardian tended to favor. More accurately, you got the feeling it had unearthed itself from the soil for her. "There, I have it, we're ready now!"

Ari turned a disheveled smile towards you, hair mussed from sleep with dirt clinging to her hands. You started to say something, but the others were already waiting on you - And there'd be plenty of time to talk on the way.

Although, while you were thinking about it...

"Have you considered giving it a name?" You nodded towards the fleshen rod she used to support herself as she wandered alongside you.

"...Can I?" She turned the question back to you, pausing in her hobbling pace to inspect the Aspiration in her hands. "Shouldn't you do it?"

>It is your responsibility, being the oldest 'child'. You'll name it (what?)
>You'd rejected it almost since it was born, and Ari clearly cared for it. She should be the one to do it.

...And since Ari is coming with you, that only leaves Dullem and a fair portion of your knights left to defend Carona if something happens. You're not fond of leaving it here unattended, but if you left it with a specific task to occupy it, maybe it could solve some problems for you? And hopefully not create new ones in the process.

>It goes with Ari.
>Leave it to deal with the sleeping Behemoth.
>Do something else with it? (What?)

>>4582237
LAWL

>name it Rook
>Leave it to deal with the sleeping behemoth
No time for archive binging. I can suggest reading when we found it in Dryad's Atelier

>>4583001
>Am I forgetting something...?
The strange space full of appropriated life makes me think of Nymph's Wood from back in the Atelier with Eleanore- a tree blessed by Dryad, either naturally or by an adept. Of course, the one we saw wasn't interspersed with (still living or reanimated) flesh, but the Dryad then was a far different Dryad to today. Either Ari's waking up further to adeptness, or the presence of Woody Fleshbeast affects a "blessing" around it because of its development, I'd say.

>>4583005
>Name
Woody Fleshbeast.
No.
I'm not certain on which to pick really. It depends on whether we want Ari to still see us as one thing or another. Encouraging independence or accepting the place of supeiority. Somehow I get the feeling that encouraging free thought from this ragamuffin might not be a good thing when they have this sort of power and, potentially, singlemindedness and sociopathy.

>What to do with Mourning Wood
>It goes with Ari.
I could go with doing something more specific with it but the one thing that I can't see ending well is letting it roam without supervision.

>>4583001
>Forgetting
Wait, is it a Faedka tree? We knew Faedka was apparition blood, but do they also grow the bottles? Also if the tree isn't Ari's Aspiration, then WTF is it? Has Dryad spread its influence already?

>Propose naming the Aspiration Rose, for the complete package.
>Give Ari the final word though.
>Take it along
I don't want it to mess with the Behemoth while we aren't there to fix things when something inevitably goes pear-shaped.

>>4583005
>>It is your responsibility, being the oldest 'child'. You'll name it (what?)
Aegis
We asked it to protect Ari and it has never failed to try its best, even when she wandered into a fucking atelier so I think this fits. I like Rose too though.

>>Leave it to deal with the sleeping Behemoth.

>>4583005
>Am I forgetting something...?
That'll be something in the now pointless arc about discovering and relaxing Dryad, but Christmas isn't the best time for an archive dive.

>It is your responsibility, being the oldest 'child'. You'll name it (what?)
To be honest, I've always been fond of Oaken/AspenRue, but that's not something Rue herself would suggest. Something inconspicuous might be a good idea. I'm really tempted to say Jim. Maybe just 'Asp'?

>Leave it to deal with the sleeping Behemoth.
This is as good of an idea as anything, and it leaves AspenRue free to be used in town defense if needed. This does mean it will need to be put under Dullem's control.

I wonder how long it will be before Lily gets a taste of our blood?

Christmas is a rather terrible time for a Forgetting in retrospect, yes. Feel free to come back to this one through-out the thread, we can count it as remembered as long as an answer floats around before the end of the thread.

>>4583261
Merry christmas Riz! I hope you got your stocking stuffed!

>>4583354
That is lewd, anon.

>>4583005
>Leave it to deal with the sleeping Behemoth.

> Name it Aegis

I see we've hit a new low. Hope you can beat it next time.

File: unknown-2.png (2.06 MB, 1264x1312)

2.06 MB PNG

murr crimbo

>>4583443
Niiiiice!

>>4583001
>Am I forgetting something...?
As far as I remember everything related to Dryad had sweet scent, Oakenbears, Faedka etc.
Are plants Nymph's Wood?

>>4583443
Nice pic

>>4583001
So far my asrchive trawl revealed that Riz really likes the words "ascent", "descent" and "luminescent", and also talking about "stubbornly long hair"

The sweet scent firmly connects this tree with Dryad. The 6-7 foot oblong bulbous plants make me think about something being born out of them. Maybe this is how oakenbears are made? Is this the site of one of the multiple mass graves that have appeared around Carona because of us?

>>4583530
>Riz really likes the words...
You can't just call me out like that, anon!

Anyway, I'm closing the window here and will get to writing. May not get it out before the skyfire rises, but I figure everyone is relaxing over the holidays anyway. Vote tally coming up shortly!

I hope everyone had a wonderful christmas, all circumstances withstanding. This year has been hard on everyone, so it's great that everyone seems to be doing well near the end of it.

>>4583443
Thank. I can't get over the spiral wood knots passing for its cheeks! ...And it occurs to me now that there's never been much of a push to put the oakenrues in real clothing.

>>4583534
>And it occurs to me now that there's never been much of a push to put the oakenrues in real clothing.
How... detailed is she?

>>4583536
It technically comes with clothes, given that it copied Irue's initial outfit as part of its body. There's nothing really preventing you from putting different clothes over its clothed wooden body though.

>>4583009 (Rook)
>>4583030 (Rose)
>>4583033 (Aegis)
>>4583060 (Asp)
>>4583374 (Aegis)
Name it yourself!

This was pretty one-sided. One of you voted to give her the final word, but once you suggest something she won't disagree with you.
---

>>4583009
>>4583033
>>4583060
>>4583374
Leave it to try and eat the sleeping behemoth!

>>4583011
>>4583030
It stays with Ari.

I didn't actually expect this to get the support it did given its past reception, but it's passed a second vote. Congratulations that one anon, your christmas wish came true!

Anything is better than just leaving it. Also fun fact we took that trophy off the big lizard we killed but I dont think it was ever used

If anything controllable comes out of the fusion attempt, it might be worth having it be planted at the site of the old Temple in order to repurpose the area as a nursery / as an attempt to cultivate a second / unbound Dryad fragment, hopefully outside containment.

>>4583534
Have a wonderful Christmas yourself! This was a shitty year, but I think something good will happen.

>>4583557
>I didn't actually expect this to get the support it did given its past reception

Neither did I! Maybe all the anons who opposed me died of old age. Welcome back by the way, I missed you!

What would Ari have called it?

>>4583557
Wait.

It's actually gonna try to fuse with the Behemoth?

Oh happy day, honestly reasonable and cautious plans haven't been working out for us. Time to crazy.

>>4583557
>I didn't actually expect this to get the support it did given its past reception
It was pitched as trying to kill it, not that silly fuse thing, thus my support.

>>4583671
That was my intention. I still don't understand the whole fuse it with an apparition core idea that's been floating around for a while now, I just want our oakenrue to somehow stealthily kill it before it wakes up. I'd rather it didn't consume the whole thing to be honest, that sounds like a recipe for unforeseen consequences. The way I imagined it was slowly and carefully infiltrating/eating away at its brain matter or some other vital area like a cancer.

>>4583695
I think the fuse thing is partially that the remains would be "free", and we sort of lack a heavy hitter at the moment. and that the selected presence used for the operation could see a boost and so could be useful when attempting form a foothold for Dryad elsewhere.

Assuming of course that the goal is to free Dryad, and hope that we can at very least focus their Wrath on those most deserving.

>>4584118
Uh

We're leaving Aegis of the Flesh Fetish behind unsupervised beside what is basically an Treant sized flesh suit.

We oughta warn Rinnier in like, a note or something.

>>4584168
But isn't Rinner coming with us, though?

Being asked whether naming it wasn't your responsibility forced a pause. You weren't really sure what your relation to the fleshen Aspiration was at this point. You had no idea what to make of it for most of its early life, and far more on your mind besides; At the best of times it had been a useful tool to leverage, and at the worst a distant consideration. At this point it had spent the majority of its life assigned to Ari as her guardian, and while it had gone to frankly admirable lengths to keep her safe, you're not entirely sure where that left your own relationship. At the very least it still seemed to like you.

If you thought of Lily as a child then the flesh-bound Aspiration would have to be its elder sibling - And if you were going to take responsibility for it now, then you'd readily admit that your parenting had been... questionable.

"How about Aegis, then?" You turned the question over to Ari for approval, resigning yourself a split-second later to the realization that she wouldn't object to anything you suggested.

The stringy haired Testament tilted her head to one side curiously. "Aegis?" She repeated it back, visibly rolling the word around on her tongue.

"It's spent most of its life protecting you." Was it wrong to characterize it by its job? Was giving it this name saddling it with the expectation it would keep protecting things? "I don't want to keep dancing around what to call it, at any rate. If it's fine with it, then I think it's fitting."

The two of you shared a look, before Ari considered the walking stick in her hands. A few moments passed, and the silence continued.

"Well?"

"I don't know." She shrugged at you apologetically. "Aegis didn't react?"

...It wasn't a rejection, at least. Maybe it was too late for giving it a name to matter to it? Aspirations were the matured form of Apparitions, you could... Maybe... Liken it to already being an adult? Teenager? Human life cycles did not map well to the Mana - You'd be better off not thinking too hard about this. At least Ari seemed fine with the name; She'd adjusted faster to using the Aspiration's name than yours.

Your attention drifted back to the clearing with some small sense of disappointment. The awkward churn to your stomach at the lack of enthusiasm was something you were going to chalk up to the occasional whiff you got of that sickeningly sweet scent. It scratched at something in the back of your mind, like it was something you definitely should have recognized. This whole place was a little familiar, now that you stopped to look at it... Had you been here before?

Wait, no, you do recognize this smell. It was fainter here, thinner - That was what threw you off. This place smelled like an Oakenbear. More specifically, it wasn't the Oakenbear itself that caused the smell, but the rotting carcasses carried within it's maw whose stench seeped out. This whole clearing smelled like Dryad's unique rot.

A frown tugged at your lips, turning your attention more critically back to the verdant overgrowth. There had been plenty of deaths following your subjugation of Carona's rebellion, and you knew for a fact Oakenbears had been an issue that Marchovic entreated your permission to deal with... With Dryad roused again, they were a danger now more than over. Was this place... Some kind of spawning ground for them? "Ari... Did you make this place, or find it?"

"Aegis made it." She turned to face you. "Is something wrong?"

Aegis... Probably wasn't manufacturing Oakenbears? "There are corpses here, aren't there?"

"..."

"Ari?" You glanced back with a wrinkle to your nose, catching the reluctant, flat press of her lips before her eyes slipped away awkwardly. "Has Aegis just been eating corpses this whole time?"

"...Should it not have?" Her answer, indirect as it was, left you at a loss. Even if there'd been a glut of them available recently, that didn't mean you wanted that to continue. "It's fine, isn't it...?" A second, more timid inquiry slipped out of her. "We need to clean them up so Oakenbears don't come out, right?"

"Yes, but..." You ran a palm over your face to stifle a groan. "There's burial rites for that. Something to at least give their relatives some peace." And you have no idea how much Aegis had actually eaten at this point. The eating itself wasn't really an issue, given that it did prevent the spawning of Oakenbears, but... "It can stop, right?"

Ari pointedly examined the ground between her feet.

"Ari?"

"I think so?" She offered half-heartedly.

She thinks so? You were standing on a mass grave right now that no one else knew existed. "Ari, you've been sleeping here knowing it was a graveyard?"

"Should I not have?" Her head raised again, this time looking up at you with earnest curiosity. "It's safe here, and the grass is soft and warm."

The grass here was really soft.

...Wait, no, you can't just agree with that. "It doesn't bother you at all?"

Still, she shook her head. More determinedly this time. "You came back here, so it's special."

"I what?" The clearing had felt slightly familiar, but you doubted you could have recognized it in its current state. "When?"

"After the mines collapsed!" Ari started animatedly, "We thought we'd lost you, but when you made it out, you came out here, and it's where we met again and made plans to go save Rinny."

She stared up at you excitedly, waiting for the memory to click... And you searched for it. That was... When your Doppleganger had escaped, wasn't it? Somewhere, buried in that black-box of memories it had left you. Or maybe it was after? You couldn't say she was wrong, but the memories lacked clarity. The line between your experience and your Doppleganger's had started to blur recently, and that trip into the woods to deal with the mercenaries certainly hadn't helped with that.

...Maybe the distinction between you returning, and your Doppleganger, wasn't that important. Not here, at least.

You scanned the area, trying to place the greater landmarks of it in your mind to something you'd recognize. A single step back, then several more as your feet found their own pace, circling with a near aimless gait until- Something felt right. Your neck craned back, and the sight of the hanging oblong plants struck a chord. Right... You remember now, there had been some mercenaries caught when you returned. Strung up from the trees by Aegis. You'd interrogated them information and then... Then...

...Left?

That can't be right, what happened to the mercenaries you interrogated out here? Had Aegis eaten them, too?

"Ari, what's inside of those things?" You felt like you were going to regret asking, but you gestured towards them regardless - One of which lowered a few seconds later with the rustling of its loosened vines. The closer to the ground it came, the thicker that stomach-retching sweetness became.

Ari didn't seem to share this repulsion, stepping up to place her hand along its side gently. "This is where it eats." She offered an explanation in what she visibly thought to be a helpful manner. "...I don't really know what gets left inside, though. It just kind of picks them up and dumps them inside?" She pointed further above her head to the plump, enflammed ridge of the plant - Its vacuous, gaping lips. "We can look if you want?"

As if to punctuate that offer, the lips quivered and seemed to widen invitingly - Assailing you with a smog so thick you could taste it in the back of your throat.

"No, that's... Fine." You retreat a step, covering your mouth to fend off the scent. Ari patted the plant, hollow on the inside you now realized, a grotesque pitcher, and it slowly rose back into the branches alongside the others.

Not an Oakenbear, but a stomach all the same. Multiple stomaches. Tracing the vines from the branches, you got the feeling they encircled the trunks of the trees... Your knowledge of agriculture was sketchy, but for once it occured to you that you couldn't be sure where the flourishing of this clearing divided between Dryad's own mana, and the influx of corpses it was apparently eating corpses for.

Mana bless... What would Elly have thought of this? Was this normal?

...Then again, if Aegis actually was adept at eating flesh and bone like that, maybe that opened a different possibility. One that stood to solve a problem both Rinnier and you had been struggling to resolve for months now. "Ari, can Aegis eat living things? Is there a limit to the size - Or... Appetite? Does it get full?"

"Um..." She blinked rapidly, the disarray in her mind almost visible through her confused eyes as she tried to sort through the unexpected volley of questions. When she did answer it was a slow process, some invisible exchange having taken place between them that she was trying to translate back to you. "...Squirrels and birds fall in occasionally, so I think it doesn't mind if it's alive or not? And it doesn't understand what 'full' means. It doesn't eat because it's hungry?"

...A bit of a detour, but- "Why does it eat, exactly?"
Lily, do you eat like this?

Some vague answer trickled down from the sweet child perched over your forehead, giving you the shared experience with Ari of trying to put to words an exchange of sentiment.

Yes? No? Maybe? She can? Probably?
She... Wants to? Is curious? If you want?

Somewhere in there were your answers, and probably more than one at the same time. You're not sure if Dryad's echoing voice was better or worse to try and casually decrypt.

"Sorry Master, I don't-" She caught herself, starting over. "-Irue, sorry. I don't understand, I'm sorry." She shrunk in on herself a little disappointedly. "It's complicated."

Alright. "Does it have to eat with those things?" You gestured back to the hanging pitchers. "Can it eat without surrounding something?"

"...Yes." Ari nodded after a moment's consultation. She peered back up at you, attempting to brush some hair from her eyes only for it to fall right back into place. "Do you want to feed people to Aegis?"

...You were certainly going to try and feed it something. You reached out to take Ari's hand with a new sense of urgency. "Come on, if we hurry we can get this started before Rinnier starts fussing at me for leaving late."

Some squeak of a response came out of her, but she gripped onto your hand quickly and tried her best to keep pace behind you.

The decision to leave Aegis here unsupervised wasn't one you made lightly, but if any of piece of Dryad had earned the benefit of the doubt, it was the flesh-bound Aspiration... Whose flesh now added a somewhat unsettling implication to its existence, given the diet it had quietly adopted at some point. It had devotedly defended Ari since you'd asked it, so you'd trust that it would do the same now.

The Behemoth was just as you'd last seen it. Sleeping peacefully beneath the old Tier estate. As obscenely overwhelming in presence as it had ever been - An engine of near unbridled destruction just waiting to wake up and rampage. There were stiff hairs protruding from its wall-like muscled form that were longer than you or Ari were tall... This thing in all was nearly the size of the Shrine itself, counting the stairs leading up.

One of these was responsible for your family's death.

It put in stark relief the idea that Kara had been the one to brawl the thing into drugged submission once before, even if only temporarily.

This was one of Wisp's blessed creatures, like your aunt's Nightmare Stompy was one of Shade's. Its raw vitality was enough that it wasn't unheard of for one to have died at some point in its rampage only for the body to continue raging - Nevermind the sheer grievousness of wounding it would take to bring a Behemoth to death's door in the first place. Rinnier had already briefed you on the lengths she'd gone to locate the apothecary who had put together the drug that kept this one slumbering, and what she learned of its steadily building resistance to the drug's effect mirrored your own suspicions of the veritable bulwark of Wisp mana residing within.

It was sleeping now, but it wouldn't stay sleeping. It was a catastrophe ticking down that you'd had no solid recourse for other than hoping Kara would be able to handle it, or.. Maybe finding the Tier sisters and gambling that they had made some progress trying to tame the thing. Now, Kara was gone, and the Tiers were no closer to being found than they'd been before.

And so, you stressed to Ari to convey to Aegis the importance of its task. To kill this thing, whose brute strength continued beyond death, without waking it. It absolutely must not be woken up - Especially not while You and Rinnier were absent.

If this thing died asleep, it wouldn't matter how long it took for the body to follow.

It was a gamble, but if it paid off...

Ari, for her part, just looked on in awe at the thing. It was her first time seeing it... But, evidently not her first time sensing it. Its mass of life had evidently been hard to miss during her attempts to nurture Dryad's affinity.

...After that, it was just a matter of leaving a message with Dullem to warn him about your ongoing plans, to pass on your promise to meet Mim as soon as possible, and you were ready to go!

You'll be on the road for a few days traveling to the Valen estate! Plenty of time to pursue some projects you've been otherwise too busy to handle. Or, you could spend your time mingling. Once the group was well under way and the pace had been set, moving about the procession was your privilege.

Rinnier had opted to use the excursion as an excuse to practice formations, or something similar; War and the command of soldiers was something Caylen studied, so you only had a basic grasp of its principles. Nothing compared to the former princess' apparent experience. She'd insisted you stick near her, at least during the beginning, so as to establish a given pace and not distract the knights overmuch.

Ari had taken to sticking between the two of you. She kept to herself during your conversations with Rinnier, her eyes wandering freely along the procession of knights - and further out to the gently rolling hills and adjacent treeline. She'd not shown any sign of faltering yet, which was a little heartwarming considering how she'd barely been able to walk when you'd first met.

...And if Kara had been with you, this would have felt like a proud showing of how far you'd come.

Instead, you felt a keen sense of empty space where the Testament should have been, and Asche beyond that. Nagging reminders that you couldn't quite stop thinking about, which would slip innocuously back into your mind no matter how often you distracted yourself. Not melancholy or depression, but... Absence. An emptiness that scratched at you.

>Talk to Rinnier.
>Spend some dedicated time with Ari.
>Wander amongst the knights.
>Seek out Miska specifically.
>Other? (write-in)

File: Spoiler Image (190 KB, 600x800)

190 KB JPG

>>4583530
This was the post that qualified for the Forgetting. many of you connected the scent to Dryad, but it's the association with Oakenbears specifically that hit the mark.

>>4584202
Also I forgot to post this on the relevant section.

>influx of corpses it was apparently eating corpses for.
Fertilizer. Goddammit.

>>4584205
>Other? (write-in)
Bond further with Lily.

>>4584205
>Wander amongst the knights.
>Seek out Miska specifically.

Let's learn from losing Kara. We need to have a persistent presence and get to know people better.

>>4584205
>Wander amongst the knights.
>Seek out Miska specifically.

>>4584210
I'm a bit confused. So the corpse-eating tree was also Aegis? A separate, immobile part of her?

>>4584460
You can think of it as an offshoot, absolutely!

Some additional context, as Irue is well versed in Mana: Aegis, as noted some time prior, isn't an Apparition any longer. It's grown beyond its initial core, and now exists as an Aspiration. What does this mean? Well, for one, an Apparition is constrained to a single body by necessity, because its "body" is its core, and everything around the core is simply what it is manifesting/animating.

As an Aspiration, the Mana become capable of existing in theoretically as many bodies as they please. This varies from Aspiration to Aspiration, as they tend to just follow their own desires. The more they amass influence in a given area, the more pervasive and all encompassing that proliferation may become - The Mistral is the Ur example of this, as it is suspected by several Jinn Adepts to be the entirety of the perpetually raging storm which covers the snowy northern wastes.

That clearing is Aegis every bit as much as the fleshen abomination that guards Ari is. If one is destroyed, the other persists... And in time, may recover its dispersed influence.

File: 980.png (210 KB, 301x330)

210 KB PNG

>>4584506

>>4584511
We succeed in planting the seeds for Dryad's eventual escape of their captivity even if we don't do anything else towards that goal.

Anything else we do now will only speed their return.

>>4584506
In what ways would a Mistral tier Aspiration differ from a fragment of Mana, like the Dryad fragment in the forest Atelier?

And would introducing the newly minted Aegis, to the ruined Shrine influence the process at all?

>>4584511
I guess, Faedka may also be made and composed the same stuff as Onions Green or something.

>>4584593
>In what ways would a Mistral tier Aspiration differ from a fragment of Mana
Aspirations have limits. That limit may be theoretically very vast, but they are ultimately individuals tapping the abundance of a given mana to empower themselves. A fragment of a Mana is fundamentally different, in that it has no such limit other than, perhaps, the expanse of its own awareness.

An Aspiration may be fought. It may be dispersed, and even absorbed by another Aspiration entirely. It can die. Fragments of the Mana embody a sliver of their consciousness, and are therefor impossible to actually resist short of banishing all of their respective mana from the area and suffering the ensuing consequences - And it is important to understand that doing so is only a method to resist. The Fragment would not die, it just wouldn't be able to reach you. It will remember you, and at any time it is entirely possible for an existing Apparition or Aspiration to have their ego dissolved so that the Fragment could assume direct control of both the body, and all relevant mana in the area. You've seen this happen!

And no, the possessed apparition/aspiration does not come back once the Fragment leaves. Its ego is dissolved, it is for all intents and purposes dead for good - And its essence is released back into the world as ambient mana.

>spoilers
I'm not really sure what process you're referring to, but you'd never know until you tried! All experiences will influence an Apparition/Aspiration, just as they would anyone else. If you do something traumatic or insulting to one, they'll react. If you build a good relationship, they'll reciprocate. Some have a naturally stand-offish personality, others not so much... This is why Adepts are capable of conversing with Apparitions and Aspirations, but they don't guarantee cooperation or beneficial results. They provide communication where others would have no channel to talk at all.

Your bracelet, notably, also provides communication.

>>4584633
Ok, so by assuming that there is likely some level of increased presence of mana surrounding the Ruined Shrine regardless of its current dormancy, introducing Aegis to the Shrine and allowing it to 'put down it's roots' in the area would hasten it growth, because of increased level the ambient mana and it's resulting ease of gathering, and to some degree assimilation.

I have no clue on how to actually free the trapped fragment other than making it angry enough to get it to do so itself, somehow. or to go about looking for answers other than maybe poking at the river / bridging (or damming it) a little bit and seeing what response we get.

>>4584654
Do we even want to free it?

>>4584658
It's only a matter of time, now after Dryad has been roused so it would be best to take advantage of our unique situation in order to limit the coming tide of death, as best we can to only people, locations, and organisations that we don't actually like to a limited degree.

>Talk to Rinnier.
Irue Valen what crimes against humanity will Irue commit today

>>4584201
>"Ari, you've been sleeping here knowing it was a graveyard?"
>Ari didn't seem to share this repulsion, stepping up to place her hand along its side gently. "This is where it eats."
>"We can look if you want?"
Christ, Ari is creepy.

>To kill this thing, whose brute strength continued beyond death, without waking it. It absolutely must not be woken up - Especially not while You and Rinnier were absent.
Here's hoping this will finally put a pin in this very long ticking time bomb. We're going to haver to throw a party or something when the Behemoth finally dies.


>>4584205
>Wander amongst the knights.
We don't spend enough time with the knights. despite them being nominally ours, Rinnier knows the lot of them better than us by a considerable margin.
Maybe after a while, we can try to get a better sense of how Miska is doing.

>>4584506
>That clearing is Aegis every bit as much as the fleshen abomination that guards Ari is.
So Aspenrue is now in part a horrible flesh-dissolving mass grave now? Dang it Ari, this is a bad thing.

>>4584792
I mean. Look at Ari's past, death is no stranger to her.

We shouldn't get too close to the knights. Have to maintain some distance.

>>4584833
How did that work out with Kara and her pack?

>>4584654
This is a solid theory, yes. Giving an Apparition or Aspiration an environment rich in their respective ambient mana will absolutely help nurture their growth.

Closing window soon! Another hour or two, maybe.

>>4584205
>Briefly tell Ari that she is sufficiently attuned to Dryad and ask her not to become attuned any further as it may be dangerous, we can go over the details later
>Wander amongst the knights.
>Seek out Miska specifically.

>>4584235
Bond with Lily!

>>4584257
>>4584460
>>4584792
>>4585227
Wander around the knights!

>>4584257
>>4584460
>>4585227
Miska is someone we know that's in a bad state.

>>4584791
Chatting with Rinnier is a reliable way to spend your time lately.

>>4585227
Remind Ari you asked her not to work on attuning any further.

That was an hour, right? Writing!

Try as you might, thoughts of the demihumans still clung to you. Some you'd come to expect, like if you could have done something better; Reviewing the circumstances, trying to realize when and where you'd gone wrong that could have avoided it. Others, more frustrating. Wondering if they'd all just been more trouble than they worth in the first place. The creeping consideration that you honestly might just be better off not having to deal with them anymore. What good had they ever done you, anyway?

...But entertaining that thought forced you to reconcile the damage it had done to Kara with any measure of satisfaction. Was it worth the cost?

You weren't fond of finding your place between remorse over what happened to Kara, and relief over what had happened to her pack. More pressing to you, or at least more palatable to consider, was what could have changed it. To that end, it was watching Rinnier's interaction with your knights that led you to the conclusion that you were an outsider. You'd chosen to remain an outsider, often for good reason - Tasks which demanded your personal attention that you couldn't entrust to others - But the natural consequence of delegating so thoroughly to those more capable of handling things in your stead was that... You were an outsider.

It was that distance which had left you ignorant of the demihuman's state, and even now left you unsure whether they had earnestly been victims of one man's grudge, or collaborators in his schemes. It was the distance which you had chosen to keep, inadvertently leaving Kara to drown when you thought you were helping; At least if Raid's side was to be believed. You still weren't sure how much of what he said was true and how much was just meant to hurt.

Having returned from Dryad's Atelier, something you'd taken for granted until now was just how... Integrated Rinnier was with Dullem and the knights. Unlike Kara, she had polished her leadership her entire life, and the results were frankly impressive. They moved to her orders without complaint or hesitation, and in turn it felt like she just had some figurative finger to their pulse. You, on the other hand, could only become more aware just how separate you remained from anyone beyond your own Testament.

...And that was something you couldn't just accept.

These were your people, and the gulf between you and them had only ever seemed to widen. This wasn't the first time you'd stumbled across this problem, Dullem had worked up the courage to talk to you about precisely this: The disconnect. The way your knights just... Couldn't understand you. Struggled to find a purpose to devote themselves to in your character. The way they'd taken to jokingly pledging their loyalty to their feyliege.

If you were going to lead them, you couldn't afford not to learn from what lost you Kara.

And hadn't Rinnier warned you? She could handle the logistics of your responsibility, but she couldn't nurture loyalty in your stead. If you were going to be someone your knights could devote themselves to and find purpose in, you had to kindle that yourself.

Something approaching resolve settled in the back of your mind. "I'll be back later." You announced, earning a fleetingly inquisitive glance from the former princess. A shrug was offered in turn, with a simple explanation as you broke off. "I want to get to know my knights better now that I'm not so busy."

"I'll co-"

Ari's voice had barely squeaked out her wish to join you before Rinnier had set a hand on her shoulder and held her in place. "No, you'll stay here." The taller Testament corrected plainly. Rinnier met your eyes and nodded after you, wordlessly accepting - approving? - of your decision. A flicker of a smile danced across her lips, but she'd already turned back to Ari before it could play out.

"I'll be back." You assure the two of them easily, "Just going to take a walk around for now."

...It was an explanation Ari was none too happy about, and she looked up at Rinnier sulkily. "Why can't I?"

"You can't just stay attached at the hip all the time. Give Irue some space."

"But... Rinny..." Ari clutched onto her shirt awkwardly, a nervous habit she'd quietly indulged in with her hands suddenly bereft of Aegis for the first time in months.

"Space." Rinnier repeated firmly. "And we need to have a conversation about your behavior."

Her arm slipped around Ari's shoulders, barring her path after you and tossing a wave in your direction as the younger girl begrudgingly seemed to settle in for a conversation she didn't want to have.

You took that as a good enough opportunity as any to start making your rounds.

Breaking away almost immediately left you brushing idly through the loose ranks of your escorting knights, most of whom acknowledged you with varying shades of enthusiasm and formality... Or lack there-of. None so irreverent as Miska, but the reactions certainly varied. The first and most pressing concern was just...

"Is something happening?"

...There. One of them had bridged the gap to actually ask. They were acting as your escort, so far as Rinnier had explained to you. Not seriously, this was little more than practice - Some general drill to keep them occupied and used to working as an organized group on outings. It was a decision you had no real objection to, but... When the person they were supposed to be maintaining a formation around started wandering around, that left a lot of them wondering how to adjust. Should they adjust? Was this part of the drill?

"Don't mind me, I'm on a walk. No need to adjust on my account."

It was an explanation you were going to be offering a lot, and after the second time you'd just started preempting the question with it.

Hey, nice to meet you, I'm your lord. I don't know most of your names, but I'd like to get to know you better.

-You were tempted to actually start conversations like that, but the question of how you wanted to do this squirmed around stubbornly. You'd initially hoped to just eavesdrop and pick up the mood as you went, but as an entirely new and novel experience, everyone in this crowd both knew who you were and cared!

Which meant you wouldn't be slipping through them as unnoticed as you had gotten accustomed to lately. Setting aside that your first reaction to not being dismissed as a nobody for once was mild exasperation, the decision of how you were going to do this was unexpectedly taken out of your hands entirely.

"Hey Ser Valen! What happened to that fang you took?"

The question caught you wholely flat-footed, turning owlishly towards the inquirer. You didn't recognize him... No, you did? You did. The higher cheekbones, the half-shaved stubble, he'd been at your side when you fought the giant snake in-


That was you.
That wasn't you?
You think it was you...

No, it couldn't have been, your Doppleganger had been the one to earn their respect. It had found its purpose in your knights.

You blinked once, the haze of memory clearing. Little pieces of the black box sorting themselves back into your consciousness and trying to find the right place; Some bits of the puzzle melding comfortably among your own, while others were too important to mistake.

It took you a moment to remember what he was talking about.

...What had happened to that thing? Was it still back at your house? Caylen's?

"If it didn't get lost somewhere, it's either at my house or Caylen's." You finally hazard an answer to the knight. "...Can't remember if it was retrieved from his estate to mine after the Rite."

"Hey, do you remember what happened to it? Did any of the others bring it?" He lightly rapped an adjacent knight on the arm.

"Uuh... Nah, Can't remember. Wasn't me, 'least. You think some of those other soldiers did something with it?"

"What, that came with that monster woman-" It was a little too late for him to be slapped to stop that slip of the tongue, but his jaw snapped shut almost immediately upon realizing what he'd said. Some awkward coughing covered the misstep, the man finally salvaging himself to continue. "I dunno what went on with them. If anyone knows, it'd probably be where we're going now ain't it?"

...You hadn't considered that your aunt may have appropriated it, but you can't imagine that she'd even know it existed, much less where it was in the first place. If no one brought it with you, it was probably still back in Caylen's estate.

"So hey, supposing we find the thing," a younger knight began conspiratorially, "You got any plans for it? Can't be that many fangs of a snake that size floatin' around. Might be worth something?"

"Ser Valen doesn't need more money." The stubble-laden knight chided the other with a confidence that belied how incredibly wrong he was. "Nobles hang stuff like that from walls and fireplaces, right? It's a trophy, not a sack of potatoes."

"Our little feyliege is always disappearing somewhere on their own though," a feminine voice teased from several paces off, throwing her opinion into the ring from somewhere safely obscured from your direct attention. "May as well make it a knife so an Oakenbear won't eat 'em!"

"Oi, you weren't even there! The fang was huge, what kinda monster knife do you think that'd make?!"

You couldn't imagine wielding something like that as a knife. A greatsword, maybe? A lance? It was massive. You doubted you could even carry the damn thing on your own, much less look respectable doing it. Maybe it could be used for raw materials and trimmed down to something manageable.

"Well it wouldn't be for spreading butter like the ones you swing about, now would it?!"

>Leave them to it and wander on. You have more of your knights to see and hear.
>Suggest your thoughts on what you might do with it. (What?)
>Ask about Miska.
>Other? (write-in)

>>4585664
>Leave them to it and wander on. You have more of your knights to see and hear.
Lily might be able to help source / create / cultivate materiel for whatever we decide to do with it.


>Suggest your thoughts on what you might do with it. (What?) We need to use it to stab Maran when we next see her, for stealing our cousin when we needed him most.

>>4585664
>Suggest your thoughts on what you might do with it
Hang it above our throne (or whatever substitutes for it) to display authority.
>Ask about Miska.

>>4585663
>You were tempted to actually start conversations like that
I know you're not good at normal socializing, but please don't.

>What, that came with that monster woman
It's a touch depressing that I'm not quite sure who that's referencing.
I wonder if we should try and gently introduce our new headwear so they don't panic next time we need to use it. They know about Aspenrue's stick form, so it's not unsubstantiated.

>snake fang
This entire conversation is great. It's good to see the knights in high spirits, even if it's coming at some light friendly ribbing.
Considering the importance of that hunt to ShadowRue and the knights, we should do something with it to show it meant something to us. Maybe a jewelry piece? Maybe a headband?
Regardless of size, we won't be able to wield it as a weapon. If it's smaller than they're suggesting, we might be able to use it as a utility knife.


>>4585679
>Hang it above our throne (or whatever substitutes for it)
So half a random chair dragged from the rubble somewhere?

>>4585686
They are probably referring to Kara,

It would probably see better use as an ornate letter opener, or something like that. Solely so whatever stops us from using weapons can't be confused and so we can't be temped to use it to hurt someone, other than Maran.

>>4585692
I think they're referring to Clara or Alouette
>You think some of those other soldiers did something with it?
>What, that came with that monster woman
Kara has no soldiers

>>4585664
>>Suggest your thoughts on what you might do with it. (What?)

I like the weapon idea, maybe we can have it carved into many knives to be awarded to those who distinguish themselves? Failing that maybe a big sword for Dullem.

>Ask their names
>Gently tease the soldier who called Alouette a monster
>Ask about Miska.

>>4585719
>>Ask their names
Names are good, but we should see if we can pick them up in conversation or tease the names out without flat asking. I don't think they'd take offense per se, but it might cool the conversation down a little if we effectively ask "and who are you again?".

>Leave them to it and wander on.

>>4585664
>>4585686
I didn't actually label it as a vote, but the stuff under
>snake fang
counts as
>Suggest your thoughts on what you might do with it. (What?)
I'd generally prefer to keep it mostly intact, but if we can't come up with anything better, carving it into something unrecognizable as a fang would be ok.
I wonder how it would go if we gave it to Lily and told her to hold onto it. Mostly it'd make us look like a unicorn
Maybe it could be fashioned into a spearhead, or even an entire spear? It was primarily brought down with spears, if memory serves.
A sword might also work.
A walking stick of our own could serve.
One of those horns used for alerts and such?
If we carve into it, the leftover bits could be turned into tokens, dice, or used for general dressing up of the knights' gear.

>>4585882
Just remember we can't use weapons at all.

Just make it a keepsake for the future, why not

>>4585889
I know. I figure if we go the weapon route, we'll pass it off to Dullem or someone that knows how to use the weapon in question.

>>4585664
>Suggest your thoughts on what you might do with it. (What?)

Carve badges out of it. Either we have enough for all our Knights, or we have some for the officers and we save the rest for future promotions.

>>4585664
Also

> Gently tease the Knight who called Alouette a monster

If she really was a monster, she'd be working for us already or dead. We tame or kill all the monsters. She's just a very, very scary human and if it comes down to it we'd rather fight another snake.

>>4585882
If you insist on a weapon, Aegis could probably wield it.

Hey, what's on our list of stuff to do?

>>4586150
I've no particular attachment to making it into a weapon, I'm just a little lacking in non-weapon ideas for the thing. It's not dissimilar from an elephant tusk. You have to get creative to make good use of it.

>>4586170
I mean.

We could also always sell it. We do need money for other things.

Maybe we can discuss it with our Aunt.

I had a vote tally typed up and then firefox crashed and i don't want to rewrite it.

Summary:
1. I need a tie breaker on pursuing Miska next or wandering to a new group of knights
2. I'm going to be busy with something today, so I'll get the update out after it's handled.

and finally, in the meantime:
>>4586150
>What's on our to-do list?

Memo:
1. Work through dying before it causes issues with the Shade scar.
2. Return and investigate the Dryad Shrine
3.

Itinerary:
1. Discern knights with an affinity for Mana worth polishing.
2. Train the most combat apt knights.( Currently In Progress )
3. Track down Asche, who left to find the descendant of the Ice Queen's bloodline.
4. Track down the Tier siblings, currently located in Resuri.
5. Expedition for resources to the north.
6. Unfinished business at the Ruined Shrine.
7. Respond to your aunt's summons. ( Currently In Progress )

Current Goal: Respond to your aunt's summons.
What's On Your Mind:

There has also been some murmuring about getting a netter grasp on Ari, but it's not been formally added to anything. Of course, you're all free to modify this list as you please!

>>4586649
Can we add to the Memo's
Remember to attempt to get a line of credit running for the support / rebuilding of Carona from our Uncle while we're there. we also need to get the rundown on what they are doing about Artemis, since they somehow managed to materialised significant in their backyard, it could probably be delegated to Rinner while were talking to Caylen and / about our Aunt.

>>4586649
> 1. Discern knights with an affinity for Mana worth polishing.

Seems like an apt time to let them know we'll be arranging this is the near future. Maybe we can stop by the Shrine on the way out and get them on board.

>>4586653
Aunt was regent of House Valen before the Testament, and somehow maintained that position after we came of age. When she finally kicks the bucket presumably while we're there, we should be be actual Head of House for real, and not need to worry about begging for money.

>>4586900
Bruh we can't even handle Corona, I'm rethinking taking over House Valen right away.

See, we might have more money, but I have a sneaking suspicion it'll come with waaaaay bigger budget problems.

>>4587089
>Bruh we can't even handle Corona
We haven't been able to properly deal with the town, ultimately, because of a lack of resources. The inability to repair things? The morale issues? The insufficient policing ability? All resource related.
It's not helped by us never staying in town to actually manage it ourselves, but those little excursions are usually made in an attempt to put out some fire or another.

>>4587089
>but I have a sneaking suspicion it'll come with waaaaay bigger budget problems.
This is likely, but we won't know until we are in a position to actually see the balance books. And it doesn't actually change anything.

>>4587102
Having our Aunt, with decades of experience and contacts and political acumen, continue to take care of the rest of House Valen while we focus on not getting the world destroyed by Dryad changes a lot of things.

There's a difference between building up a loyal core of retainers in a small town so we can transition to leading House Valen with some backing and experience and suddenly trying to deal with politics and plots on a whole 'nother level.

Look how many mistakes we made in Corona while learning. We wildly dropped the ball several times with the Behemoth, and the Demi-Humans.

Not to mention waking up Dryad and putting the world on a countdown timer. By dying. Dead. You know, normally GAME OVER.

Maybe we gotta take some time to grow.

>>4587102
I will also point out that I tried several times to get people to send a message to our Aunt to let her know the situation is more than it seemed and that we need more support because of it, that there's limits to making Corona suffer just to test us, but that got blocked repeatedly because of people's raging hate boner for her.

>>4587111
Aunt is on death's door, and her continuing to rule while sticking us in a wrecked backwater town with no support is not how you teach someone to rule a duchy. You start with a milk run, then slowly increase the workload until they're operating unsupported. Dropping them off the deep end is a bad strategy for something as complicated as governing.
If she wanted to show us the ropes, she should have included "how to rule" in our lessons growing up, but more recently she should have had us shadow her for a while, or at least had us assist her in the running of things for a time.
She pretty clearly didn't want to give up the regency, had designs on making her line the primary line, and wanted us out of her hair.

We screwed up with the demihumans, I'll grant, but they were something of an edge case. Humanoids with no empathy whatsoever and nothing special otherwise sit in an odd area politically, socially, and ethically. Kara being our first encounter with them really screwed up our perceptions of demihumans as a whole.
We've done nothing wrong with the Behemoth. We lack the expertise to use it as intended, and lacked the ideas, tools, or personnel to end it without massive risk to people and property. Plus the Behemoth thing isn't related to leadership anyway.

Have we learned anything being in charge of this hellhole? We've been absent more than present running from one emergency to another, and as such have almost entirely left the actual governing to subordinates.
I guess "learning to delegate" counts, so that's something.

>>4587117
One of the first things we did after being put in charge of this mess was to ask her for assistance of any type. Her response clearly stated that we were on our own, and that no amount of begging was going to change that.

>>4587189
>One of the first things we did after being put in charge of this mess was to ask her for assistance of any type. Her response clearly stated that we were on our own, and that no amount of begging was going to change that.
You should probably go find where that happened.

>>4587189
Someone clearly hasn't read all of the threads.

It's you.

Otherwise you would know that Cotona was supposed to be a milk run, that it's also the back-up plan to keep us out of an imminent civil war slash foreign invasion slash weird mana cult shit that previously got Irue (and her Aunts) family brutally murdered.

Also that we had quite a bit of reconciliation happen the last couple of times we talked with our Aunt.

Things have changed, but you're still acting like this is Act 1 Irue and Aunty.

>>4587189
Does our Aunt even know about Behemoth?

Because I'm pretty sure she doesn't.

If you had really learned to delegate, you would be able to see that having our Aunt handle the rest of the Valen stuff for us is easily far and away the best choice.

Especially since, I'll remind you once again, nobody else can handle Dryad who we woke up by trying to 1v1 a bandit camp and a whisp adept.

Maybe we could have not died if we had been willing to summon an apparition but nooooo, everyone is scared it takes chunks of our soul. Like. They grow back.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>4585677
>>4585848
1. Next group of knights!

>>4585679
>>4585719
2. Gotta find Miska
---

>>4585679
>>4585686
Trophy!

>>4585719
>>4586145
Marks of prestige!
---

>>4585719
>>4586148
Teasing!

>>4585719
>>4585735
Figure out names!

No tiebreaker forthcoming on meandering through more knights or focusing on Miska, and so now the dice must decide our fate.

You know who we're forgetting about? The Paladin. He should be reaching Carona any moment now. Who knows what he'll do once there? I don't.

>>4587860
It's possible he'll have seen the literal fireworks that went off during the raids and rerouted or diverted elsewhere.
That's just speculation though.

>>4587860
He would be a known quantity to the members of the Shrine in Carona, and I don't think that they would be trying to cause any trouble at all, if only so they don't draw further attention to themselves.

>abandoning our birthright after going through all that shit
Nuh uh

>>4588236
Sunk cost fallacy.

Also, it's not abandoning it, it's turning weapons of war into gifts of silk and jade.

Quite frankly, we need all the help we can get. Even with our Aunt helping us, we're still opposing at least 4 major factions. Artemis, the Royal Family, the shrine faction led by Luna, and Dryad. All of them have goals that contradict ours, to various degrees, and all of them have significantly more power than us to the point that a direct confrontation simply isn't possible.

Leaving our Aunt in charge of handling House Valen as a whole while we deal with Dryad and Artemis, for now at least, means she can continue to keep things running and at least the Royals and other nobility off our backs.

We definitely have to touch base and rework our collaboration with her, though. Shit has spiralled way, waaaay out of control. She doesn't have time for us to slowly learn how to rule anymore, and we don't have time to slowly transition power from her. The world is fucking ending, yo, our birthright ain't much if the damn place stops existing.

On the plus side, we can straight up confront her and tell her to cut the cryptic mentor bullshit, we're in a much stronger position since Dryad awoke and we're their absolute most favourite.

>>4588572
Would your preference be to use the diary, get Dryad to heal her, or leave her injured / dying if we needed to choose a path of action?

>>4588572
Using the word "fallacy" doesn't mean it actually is one.

There's no way Irue would give up everything she's been working towards. She's been looking forward to taking this position for a very long time now.

>>4588589
And so putting things off for a little bit longer and coming to a proper understanding with our Aunt and Uncle as to what is going on and what they want to happen, so we are much less likely to get in each others way, and get the support we need and plans into place before things start actually getting worse.

personally i think that the best way forward would be to support Dryad's bid for freedom, and work to focus her hate on Artemis / Luna, and once they are gone / heavily diminished sue for peace with the rest of the Mana, and support the retention of the current crown, instead of allowing them to be replaced with Artemis 'plants'.

>>4588598
>coming to a proper understanding with our Aunt and Uncle as to what is going on and what they want to happen,
I seriously doubt that'll happen based on previous experience. But hey, maybe being on death's door will loosen her lips.

>spoiler
I think you might have Forgotten why such lengths were gone to to imprison Dryad in the first place. It is ireperiably infected with an incredibly virulent disease of unclear symptoms and infection vector. The same disease that infects Artemis, and is the reason they do what they do.
If we want to save the world, we need to work towards eradication and containment of Artemis and any other infected, which is the Shrine's goal. Unfortunately, our association with Dryad will mark us as "likely infected" if Luna looks too hard.

>>4588605
We still don't know anything about the infection, and everyone we have asked won't / can't tell us what the symptoms are, and so we are really just going to have to deal with it if / when it comes up. I'm pretty sure that there is nothing against Luna and those affiliated with it from lying or bending the truth to suit themselves, for all we know this was a pretext to remove Dryad in order to remove a check / balance on Luna's position / reach for whatever reason that this at least consistent on the surface.

>>4588622
>spoiler
I'd assume God of knowledge, information, learning, and such would have a problem with lying and the bending of truth.
This is the sort of thing Rue would know one way of another.
>spoiler 2
Considering how Luna and Dryad's relationship was described prior to the imprisonment, I don't think this entire mess would have been fabricated for a power boost. Especially seeing as how the rest of the Shrine assisted, and that Luna hasn't taken advantage of not having a counterpart. Luna is not treated any differently than the rest of the Shrine in any way that we've seen, and this is the sort of thing Rue would be aware of.

>>4588631
But what if it was in the pursuit of knowledge, or information that was later found to be incorrect, does Luna and those aligned with it have a duty to correct information that they have disseminated, prior to them finding a new argument or proof that invalidates the previous line of thinking?

The assistance of the shrine would have to be on false pretences, or at least a deliberate lack of accurate information relating to the situation since it would be done in such a way to ensure that they wouldn't be infected, because otherwise it would defeat the point of removing Dryad.

>>4588631
>God of knowledge, information, learning, and such would have a problem with lying and the bending of truth.
Mana don't lie, because they don't really understand why anyone would.
Their Adepts have no law or strict dogma against doing so, and this is part of why the Luna Dominion is kept under such scrutiny by the rest of the Shrine. They are simultaneously in the best position to handle delicate information and to manipulate that information.

This somewhat answers your second thing about Luna being treated any differently. Though, whether this came about as a result of Dryad's expungement and a vigilance towards Luna's own well-being, or is just always how it was due to the danger of manipulated information having been ever present, is anyone's guess. One of the downsides to Dryad being all but removed from history is that as far as the records go, the Shrine just was just always set up with this sort of balance.

>>4588648
>does Luna and those aligned with it have a duty to correct information that they have disseminated
No. Many do, just because they enjoy the pursuit of truth and the advancement of knowledge in general, or will correct you because they are insufferable about such things, but they can just as readily choose to not comment or let a mistruth run wild. Point-in-case: They allow a false history to be taught which excludes Dryad's existence.

Also hello, I am still writing. Fell asleep last night and the conversation has been taken in unexpected directions. Working to wrangle it back into place.

>>4588659
>Mana don't lie, because they don't really understand why anyone would.
Ok, good, something we can actually trust.
Dryad's imprisonment was orchestrated by the Mana, not their followers, no? Which means the imprisonment wasn't some far-fetched power play, and by extension the virus isn't a hoax.

Well that was an.. interesting sideroad we took, but now we're right back where we started.

>>4588694
Or at very least, it has some symptom that might be somewhat detrimental to some unknown degree, and Luna at least doesn't want anything to do with it at all. Since the Valen bloodline is the designated keeper of Dryad, we might have a special dispensation so we can keep Dryad asleep, so we probably won't have to face Artemis kill teams until after it becomes obvious that we have failed the task we have been charged with.

"That 'monster' is Alouette." You regrasp their attention, even having been careful to speak softly. The last thing you wanted was to intimidate them accidentally and encourage them to keep their guard up around you.

The knight was quick to sober when you picked up on his tongue slip, swiftly uttering out an apology... Which you let him do, keeping a carefully attentive gaze locked on him as he strung his words together clumsily. First an apology for speaking ill of her, a promise that he'd never meant to disrespect her, because... Because...

Your head tilted to one side, the rest of the knights leaving the poor man to his fate, and you realized with some morbid amusement that he didn't actually know anything about Alouette. Not her role in the family, or how she was related to the Valens at all. Stunningly, it appeared he was having this same realization in tandem with you, which was making his attempt to apologize significantly more difficult.

Leaving him on the spot like this any longer would be mean. "Did you see her hat?"

"..I'm sorry?"

"Her hat." You point towards Lily for emphasis. "It's cool, right?" This was, as far as you were concerned, foolproof common ground. Alouette's hat was very cool, anyone who met her even once would realize and agree.

"Yes...?"

You nodded, a small smile tugging at your lips.

"Your hat's pretty cool too, Ser Valen." One of the tongue-tied knight's friends added, evidently sensing the danger to have been over.

"This is a mask."

"...Oh."

You held the awkward gaze of the knight who'd tried to compliment you for a scant few moments before shaking your head with a sigh. "When I was younger, Alouette looked after me a lot. I always thought her hat was really cool, and sometimes she'd let me wear it. She's very particular about it, so I have fond memories of that."

"That is what passes for a nanny in your family?" One man blurted out incredulously.

The edge of your lip twitched, unsure whether to smirk at the thought or frown over the misunderstanding. "Not nanny, no. She's captain of the guard, serving under my aunt, the acting steward of House Valen." You take a breath, rolling your eyes consideringly towards the sky. "That's her official title, anyway. She's always been more a friend of the family than a retainer, exactly."

"...Guard?" One cut in skeptically. "She's not a knight?"

"You're the only knights in the family's employ currently." You acknowledge with a confident nod.

"Knights outrank guards, don't they?" He whispered aside, visibly trying to reconstruct this information to not disturb him. "...We outrank someone like that?"

"..." Here your arms cross, lips thinning to a line as you look him over. "It's not that simple, no. You have a more prestigious title, but there's no chain of authority between you. Technically speaking, Alouette doesn't need to answer to anyone but the one she's serving, which would be my aunt. Even once I inherit House Valen properly, Alouette remains loyal to my aunt first and foremost."

This was getting off topic, though the unexpected lecture certainly had your knight's attention while you walked. Where a certain easy going cheer had been, it had been thoroughly replaced by a curious sort of attentiveness. You suppose they'd always been a little uncertain of where, exactly, their place was in the world after becoming your knights. Still... You didn't come here to lecture them.

"In conclusion, Alouette isn't a monster. House Valen tames monsters, and the ones we can't, we slay. She's human, like the rest of you." You clear your throat pointedly, allowing the sentiment to hang in the air before continuing with an affected air of dignity. "...But if it comes down to it, I'd rather hunt another snake than get scolded by her."

You waited proudly for the punchline to your teasing to take effect and rake in the reward of mirth.

"...Really?"

"'Really' what?" You blink.

"Are the Valen family monster slayers?"
"Wait, does that make us monster slayers now?"

You watch the murmurs spread, not quite sure how to explain it was a joke without ruining the strange mood. Fortunately, or unfortunately, that same woman from earlier interjected to ruin it for you.

"Biggest monster you've ever slain was butter across a loaf of bread!"
"Hey, fuck you! I killed a giant snake!"
"You sure our little feyliege didn't kill it for you?"
"You weren't even there...!"

You lowered your voice and stepped away from the now loudly arguing pair as they bickered across roughly a carriage length's of space. "...Is this normal for them?"

"Nah. We've got a little betting pool going on whether they'll- uh..." The knight stops, trailing off as he remembered distinctly who he was talking to... And you waited for him to finish, to no effect.

"Whether they'll what?"

"Ah, forget I said anything, Ser Valen. Please. Please forget I said anything, just this once?"

You cast a skeptical frown his way and let the matter be. "We're not really a monster slaying family. We do have a retainer family of beast tamers who specialize in taming all sorts of things though. They've been... Indisposed lately."

"The Tiers, right?" You looked up with mild surprise, catching a poorly concealed bit of satisfaction in their face having gotten it. "Ah, it's not that hard to find out. We spent a lot of time around their old places back in Carona; Heard about them from the locals. What happened there?"

"Rebellion. Or sabotage." Depending on whether you laid the blame at the feet of Carona or Artemis, really. "As far as I've gathered, they were captured during a night raid and taken elsewhere."

"...Damn." The knight scratched at his neck. "The whole family? Is someone looking into that? Can't imagine a noble would let that slide."

You shot the man a bemused look. "That someone is me. Putting down the rebellion in Carona and weeding out Artemis was the first step, getting them back comes next. The last information we had on them puts our investigation starting in Resuri." Assuming Asche's discovery was true. You didn't know where or how she'd learned that, but you'd also never had any reason to doubt her... Yet, the longer you took to follow up on that, the more likely circumstances would change.

"Resuri? That's pretty far... South?" The knight hazarded a guess. "Not totally familiar with this area yet. What are they doing that far down?"

"My best guess is slave trade." Which was a complicated topic, given the taboo nature of it in the face of the Crown. "As for how they got there, part of the weeding process was eliminating the mercenaries that had set up camp in the woods outside Carona who were lending their support to the old mayor's resistance efforts. Seems they had regular contact with people in Resuri by using the river to take things up and down stream."

"Out in the woods, huh... Ah, that's the thing Dullem was asking about a while back, yeah, I remember that. Old man Gehr joined on for it." His fingers snapped with the recollection. "You took out a camp of mercenaries with just that old codger?"

...No, you took them out by leading them into the claws of a murderous force of nature. "I had more help than that."

Whether or not he noticed the reluctance in your demurral, the knight just laughed. "Ha, right, figured as much. Some of the guys were betting you'd just done it all yourself by summoning another one of those giant tree monsters, but I mean, it's not like you have an infinite supply of those things on hand, right? They've gotta be pretty rare, and hard to tame at that."

"..." You loosed a very small sigh, becoming vaguely aware - with some consternation - that Lily's ivy was coiling through your hair again. You opted to change the subject entirely. "I don't think we ever introduced ourselves?"

"Don't imagine any of us need an introduction to know who you are, Ser Valen."

"...No, but I need one to know who you are." You retorted plainly.

"Eh?"

"It's a little disconcerting to talk with people without something to call them." You explain after a beat, "I know Dullem well enough, Gehr, of course. A handful of others..." Who, you... Could not place at the moment. "I'm trying to make an effort to get to know my knights."

"Huh..." A lack of words carried a grunt from the knight's mouth. "That's a tall order, Ser Valen. Can't say any of us know everyone all that well. We're a ragtag bunch, all told, most of us didn't think we'd be staying together like this when we gathered up."

Given you were already forgetting the names of knights you know you'd talked to, you had to agree... Still. "If the names don't stick, hopefully the faces will. So, humour me?"

"Vahn." He stuck a thumb to his chest, "You already met Herik," here he gestured to the second of the three knights you'd fallen in with, "The one being yelled at back there is Eim, and you've already heard Kiri. You can hear her across town."

"Can you?" You don't remember hearing her across Carona, but you'd also not spent much time there.

Vahn, however, just shrugged. "I've heard her across every town I've ever been to with her. Imagine you'll get sick of it 'fore this trip's over." Your knights seemed to be well aware of the motley assortment they'd wound up becoming before ending up on your cousin's doorstep. It was... Interesting, in a way, but you couldn't put your finger exactly on why. "The four of us came from the same town. Our families are still back there, mind... My dad'd smoke like a pipe if he found out I ended up a knight. Might need to talk to one of those Jinn guys and get a message sent sometime."

"He wouldn't approve of you being a knight...?" Your brows knit together curiously. "Why?"

"Ah, well..." Vahn hemmed reluctantly. "You're not the best kinda person to talk to about that, Ser Valen... No offense."

"...Why not?"

"He means cuz you're a noble." Herik piped up with a gruff sort of disregard for the way Vahn flinched. "The lot of us left because our town was being wrung dry in taxes each year by the territory's lord. Caught wind of a plan to take our grievances up with the Valens to try and set people straight, n'the rest y'know already."

"...Yeah, that's the gist." Vahn confirmed with a sigh. "My dad's got a grudge against lord L'Cata for what's happened, can't imagine it'd go over well finding out his son up and left to be some other noble's knight."

"And Eim's here because he's here." Herik snorted, "Town clowns to the end."

"Hey." Vahn snapped, "Screw you."

"Hope the next thing Ser Valen throws us at eats you."

You listened to the spiteful epithets hurl back and forth with an air of everyday casuality you weren't used to. It was initially offputting, but... In a strange way, it almost felt nostalgic. You took their distraction as an opportunity to wander on though, slipping off unnoticed to check in with the rest of your knights.

The day lingered on, hours of walking passing as the sun meandered higher overhead. It was still cool even at the height of the day, owing to the later seasons starting to edge their way around and the good fortune to have a decent breeze today. Though, given the Jinn Dominion's efforts to keep the weather comfortable after the destruction left by Mistral's Child, that breeze could hardly be considered a stroke of luck so much as the results of hardwork and guilty penance.

It was cheerier to consider it good luck though, and the origin of it was something you doubted any of your knights were aware of. In all likelihood Rinnier and you were the only two to recognize it, neither of you were in a hurry to disabuse the good mood of the knights as you traveled.

In the meantime, thoughts about what you actually were going to do with that snake fang floated about in the back of your mind. You'd honestly forgotten you even had it after everything that'd happened, and that left you suspicious of what else you might have picked up at some point and still had laying around that you never made use of. There had to be other things, right?

If it was worth something then selling it might be an option, but that hunt was an important event - Not just for you, but your knights as well. You'd not realized it was something that they still talked about all these months later... But thinking back, a lot of the knights you had personally worked with since would start off mentioning how they'd been there with you. Your Doppleganger had done more than secure knights and stew ingredients with that hunt, it'd wrested hope clean out of the serpent's maw for these people, and that hope bred loyalty - A gift it had passed to you, whose value you weren't properly recognizing until now.

So, no, selling it wasn't an option. A trophy then, maybe? To keep around as a memento of the hunt and what it meant?

...Maybe. But you weren't in a position to have some grand hall or special office you wanted to decorate, and given your grudge against Artemis, you doubted that would be happening anytime soon either. Something more practical then? Still with some kind of meaning attached to it... Like ceremonial daggers, maybe. Something you could use as a reward for accomplishments or prestigious positions.

It'd be a while before you scrounged the thing up, so you had time to think on it.

"Hey, Feyliege!" Your thoughts were interrupted as you walked, crimson eyes turning to the knight that'd called you out so readily. There'd been plenty who had talked to you if you wandered along, but being called out to was something you'd only really expected from Miska... And this wasn't her at all. The knight waited till he was sure he had your attention, waving his arm helpfully to draw it over to him. "Where're we going?"

"The Valen estate." They should have been informed already. It wasn't like Rinnier to skip a detail like that. "Why?"

"No, I mean we all reported to learn how to fight like knights, yeah? Why are we going there?"

"..." Your head tilted to one side as muddled questions tried to pry out where he was going with this. "Because I have business there, and you need someone capable of training you. Who did you think would be teaching you?"

"Miss Lamandra." He returned bluntly, an entirely unspoken 'duh' hanging in the air.

"...I'm sure she could, but that'd take up far more of her time than either of us would like." You allowed, wondering just how much of a hand the former princess had taken in drilling them prior. "There are very skilled combatants at the head estate who will be instructing you in building your basic foundation."

Your martial knowledge was incredibly limited, that having been Caylen's pursuit of passion for much of his life. What little you knew was constructed from having watched Alouette train her own regiment and listened to her and your cousin's sparring critique. If you were very lucky, some of Alouette's subordinates might still be around the estate to pass that teaching on - Which would be the next best thing to the woman herself helping bring your knights up to par.

And honestly, how long could it take to get good at this fighting thing? Caylen sucked at it, but you just stuck the pointy end in the other guy, the process wasn't complicated. Maybe a couple month's work and they'd be good to go.

"I can assure you, they'll be every bit as competent a teacher as Lamandra is."

"Are they hot?"

"...I'm sorry?"

"C'mon Feyliege, what are we expecting here? Some old guy? A strict woman in uniform?"

Oh. Oh! Alright. "The guards at the estate do have a uniform yes, and whoever you get will probably be strict to some degree." You relax a little, getting a grasp on what he was asking for. "I can't really say who it will be though, and I wouldn't be surprised if you were split into smaller groups and received different instructors during your time there."

"Alright, yeah, that'll work! You'll put in a good word for me, right feyliege?"

You cast a warm smile back at the man and gave him a thumbs up. "If you're that confident, I don't mind. What's your name?"

"Barret! Bee-Aye-Arr-Arr-Ee-Tee. You're the best, feyliege!"

...Alright! You made a mental note that Barret wanted the strictest training he could get. Maybe there were others like that? You'd have to ask if it was possible to make a specific group that was trained more harshly than the others... Special tactics and survival, maybe? The Valen family had plenty of rangers in its employ.

This was a really good idea, actually. "Is there anyone else interested in that?" You glanced around. "I can set up something special for you if there's a decent group for it. We've got plenty of people like that who'll take good care of you."

The offer hung in the air, a look of disbelief passing between the group of knights. Some of them looked appauled, others... Disbelief? But willingness was starting to crawl out of it - Which was to be expected, you didn't imagine many people would volunteer for something like this.

"Ser Valen, are you really going to just throw girls at them?" A question of sheer disbelief emerged from a younger girl, stepping forward with the visible nodding support of the peers she'd been moving with.

"If they're free and both sides want to, I don't see why it hurts to ask." You offered honestly. "There's plenty of women and men both who'd be capable of stepping in."

Looks of disbelief spread between them, but when you'd expected them to leave it at that, their ranks broke. "So... If I asked for a younger guy? Maybe a blonde?"

"Carla!" There was a hiss of surprise from the first girl, "I can't believe you!"

"Look, if it's there...!" The now named Carla defended herself sheepishly, holding her hands up peaceably.

"...Don't really know why that matters, but I can ask?" Asking for a blonde specifically was weird, but if it motivated them... By the time you'd walked away, you had a handful of names to pass along later for ranger training. That'd be incredibly useful if they actually took to it; Maybe you'd been underestimating your knights' enthusiasm?

Your rounds took you further afield, and slowly but surely you were making your way all the way around your knight's escort perimeter. You'd collect names here and there, and not even half way through the day you feel like you had forgotten half of them already. The faces may stay familiar, but Vahn had been right about this being a rough task... And this wasn't even all of your knights.

Speaking of familiar faces though, one met your eyes as you passed. They didn't greet you, and if anything the sudden notice was little more than a fluke of having both looked one way at the same time, but you did - You recognized that one! You raised a hand to wave at him, receiving a reluctant one in turn; A simple acknowledgement that he'd seen you, at least.

"Is everything going alright?" This had been the one you met the day after the operation, who'd given you a preliminary report on what had happened at the town square. You hadn't expected to see him again this soon.

"Uh... Nothing to report?" He returned bashfully. "Didn't expect to er... See you back here, Ser Valen."

"I'm taking a walk." You pause, the back of your mind helpfully supplying that all of you were taking a walk. Belatedly, you staple a qualifier onto the first explanation. "...To check on all of you."

"Ah. Well." He shrugged, "Here we are."

And the conversation stopped there.

You didn't actually remember his name, but he'd been shy like this then, too. You could probably drag conversation out of him though, and the small group of knights around him were doing their level best to only eavesdrop professionally to your sudden addition.

>Ask him about something (what?)
>Address the surrounding knights instead. Had they been in the square that night, too?
>You'd be better off letting him have his space. No need to force yourself on everyone.
>Other? (write-in)

Optional
>His name was... (What?)

>>4588838
>Other? (write-in)
Show him that we got our wrist fixed, mostly.

>His name was... (What?)
his name is Zane, Thread #77 post >>4112064

>>4588826
>"Your hat's pretty cool too, Ser Valen."
>"This is a mask."
Rue, you're either going to have to ask Lily to look more mask-like, more hat-like, or accept that your mask looks like a hat.

>"Are they hot?"
Asking the important questions, I see.
>You'd have to ask if it was possible to make a specific group that was trained more harshly than the others...
What goes around, comes around.

>Belatedly, you staple a qualifier onto the first explanation. "...To check on all of you."
Rue's pretty good at rapid foot extraction, considering.

>>4588838
Tact isn't something we're great at, but I feel like asking about the square risks pressing on a sore subject. It was messy, and we never came back.

>Other? (write-in)
I dunno how good of an idea this is, but I'd like to show our knights Lily to some limited extent, so they don't panic at the wrong time if we need to use it.

>>4588850
wrist is unfortunately still not fixed according to >>4582656
>Injury is as it has ever been, but you still feel no pain from it. It's not numb, it just doesn't feel mangled; Still can't really use it, though.

Good work on the name.

>>4588836
Oh come on Irue. Haven't you ever NOT READ a romace novel?

>>4588838
>Ask him about something, but out of the earshot of others
How is he holding up?
He was pretty discouraged and doubtful the last time we've talked with him, but here he is having volunteered for training.

>You'd be better off letting him have his space. No need to force yourself on everyone.

Anyway didn't read, the Valen throne is ours and we gonna take it

>>4588838

>>4588910
>>4588933
Seconding these two.

So, uh, anyone else still in 2020?

>>4590127
What do you mean, anon? It is January 1st, 2020. Of course we're still here.

I'll be closing the window to tally votes in a bit.

>>4588850
Show off our wrist! It got bandaged, but it's not fixed at all.

>>4588850
His name was Zane!

>>4588910
>>4589689
Show off Lily?

>>4588933
>>4589689
Ask how he's holding up! You didn't expect him to volunteer.

>>4589214
Maybe just leave him be.

Writing!

>>4590584
>It got bandaged, but it's not fixed at all.
Do we know of any individuals or organizations that do medical things, but aren't aligned to Wisp? Because I'm not sure how else we're going to get it fixed.

Speaking of, with Memo #3 open now, I suggest we replace it with something like:
>Get our mangled wrist fixed.

>>4590639
We can actually fix it any time we want with the mirror, but we voted to leave it until the next time we're inevitably forced to use it, so as to limit relic usage as much as possible.

>"showing off lilly"
Oh shit wtf

You fell in alongside the knight and lowered your voice before continuing. "How are you holding up?"

"You needn't worry about me, Ser Valen." He shrugged the query off with an awkward, uncertain grin. "I'm here to do my part. See you got your wrist... Fixed?"

You hold the injured thing up, sharing a look at it with the knight and giving him an uninspiring shrug. "Healer was a little busy with the others, so it's a temporary fix. Now, how about you? Last we talked you were doubting if you were cut out for being a knight at all." You retort simply. "Should I believe that's changed over night?"

The knight stiffened, his shoulders shrinking inward as he marched along. "...You remember that, huh?"

"We talked yesterday, my memory's not that bad." You sniff with faux indignance, racking the aforementioned memory for any additional details to try and support that statement. Name... He told you his name, it was... Shane? No, wait- "Your name is Zane." His head jerked up swiftly. That was exactly it. "You gave me the report on the night opoeration that finally weeded the insurgents out of Carona."

"I... Didn't expect you'd remember me at all." He admitted slowly. Loosing a weighted sigh, Zane seemed to resign himself to his fate. "Guess there's no use pretending, then."

Your brow arched. "Is there a reason to have pretended in the first place?"

"...I said some things to you last time I really shouldn't have. I'm very grateful for all you've done for us, Ser Valen. Please forget I said anything at all."

"...No?" The answer you blurted out was almost a question.

"Well. Uh." Zane grasped futilely for a response to that. "Alright."

"I'm not going to punish you for anything." You glance aside towards the now awkwardly walking knight. "If anyone was going to have doubts about this, it would have been after that night. It was everyone's first real experience being directly involved as knights."

"All the same, Ser Valen, saying it to your face is-"

"Is fine." You interject confidently. "Not everyone is going to be cut out for the same roles. It's why coming out here for training was spread as a voluntary thing. After what happened, I figured it was a good time to give people eager for more of that experience a way to sharpen their skills in advance."

"..." Zane's pace slowed, forcing you to drag your own feet and begin falling behind the escort to stay alongside him. His tongue dipped from between his lips, anxiously wetting the cracked skin.

"Zane?"

"...This wasn't for weeding out people who wouldn't be useful?"

You blinked, crimson eyes boring into the mortified looking knight. "No. Did you think I was going to abandon everyone who didn't come?"

"Not in... Those words, exactly." Zane obliquely conceded. "Ser Valen, I... I think I've made a terrible mistake."

Your uninjured hand rested against your hip, drawing in a slow breath as the two of you came to a full stop the escort procession carried on, ironically, without the person they were supposed to be escorting. "I fully intend to find places for all of you. If you volunteered for this thinking that you had to in order to not be left behind, there's still time to turn back."

"You're fine with that, Ser Valen?" Zane's eyes meekly rose to meet yours, dipping away almost immediately as they had the last you'd met. "Even after what I said?"

"I'm more curious about what kind of image you have of me to get that idea in the first place." Flat words and an even flatter expression. "How many of the others are here because of that...?"

"I couldn't tell you." Zane's embarassed apology came out almost shamefully. "Some, maybe?"

"Maybe?" You frown.

"Some of us are less confident than others in our place here." He picked at his collar nervously, struggling to actually tell you the words. "...Unsure what we have to offer, or what you want from us, and what'll happen if we can't meet it. B-But not everyone!" He hastily amended himself, "It's just... We don't have a whole lot to go on, really. Dullem has worked with miss Lamandra to keep us all occupied, but he never had any solid answers about where we'd end up at the end of the week."

"So..." You were starting to get a semblance of the distressed knight's thoughts. "When this happened, you thought you finally had an answer to that."

"It was the first order to come directly from you." Zane agreed reluctantly. "Miska and some others had spread rumours about it some time ago, but coming on the heels of that operation... This was what being a knight was, right? That kind of feeling?" He looked to you almost pleadingly to understand what he was saying.

...And you can imagine how Miska might have been particularly enthusiastic about hyping up this sort of thing. Though even if she hadn't, he made a valid point over your relative absence from their lives. This was, all told, the first real start of your attempts to organize your knights in a cohesive manner.

The procession was getting further away now, but you could see a group of the knights glancing back at the two of you. If you let them get too far away you'd probably catch heat from Rinnier later. "Zane, do you want to train for combat?"

"...If Ser Valen wouldn't be offended, I would prefer not to."

"Then go back, Zane." You gestured back to Carona, maybe half a day's walk back. "If there's anyone else back there who were worried like this but chose not to come, tell them it'll be fine. I'll find a place for all of you."

Was... Was he crying?

The knight's jaw clenched, running his sleeve over his eyes as he nodded hastily. He needed no further encouragement to start jogging back towards Carona, and you watched him go for a couple seconds longer, a complicated expression shifting across your face. How many more of this group were here for similar reasons? How many back in town had thought the same?

You'd need to set them straight when you stopped for the night.

You tapped the toe of your boot against the road; A practical upgrade you couldn't have made soon enough from the formal dress shoes you used to favor - Which proved a nightmare to walk through any degree of wilderness in, much less as much as you were prone to recently.

No sooner had you started jogging after the rest of your knights did the breeze catch your hair, sending it scattering in a golden wake behind you... Only to be reigned back in when Lily's ivy coiled around the scattered blonde and bundle it back together in a loose ponytail.

Your face twitched against the wind, eyes briefly rolling back to glower at the perched mask. The child blissfully continued to toy with your hair as the day went on, growing bolder with its efforts; It was already well beyond the point that you'd reflexively struck others for, and the conspicuous lack of compulsive violence you felt towards the innocent Apparition was proving to be a separate matter entirely from the dwindling pool of non-violent patience you were recently discovering you had for this in general.

Not to mention that if any of your knights got the nerve to question your sudden change in hairstyle, you'd be hard pressed to explain it without showing Lily off or trying to claim an interest in hairvine accessories... But, then again, if you had to use Lily at all on this trip, the last thing you wanted was your knights panicking. The last few times nature had reared its head at them, it hadn't been on the friendliest of terms.

...Maybe you should make a point to show her off a little in some discrete manner to curtail that sort of panic.

You slipped back into the ranks of your knights not much longer later, nodding at them when they cast curious looks in your direction. "Don't suppose any of the rest of you thought you had to come for training or get abandoned?"

"Got my own reasons for being here, Ser Valen." One of them, a middle aged man you didn't immediately recognize, attested. "I was one of the hostages they took that night. Dunno if I could have changed anything if I'd known how to handle myself better, but I hated not being able to do anything."

"And the rest of you?" Crimson eyes swiveled from knight to knight, searching for the same kind of reluctance Zane had shown you.

"Hey uh, our reasons aren't as good as his." Two others laughed, "But I'm pretty handy with a bow. Figured I'd make the most of it, Ser Valen."

"Didn't want to be a farmer like my parents."

You cast a skeptical look at the second knight. "So you volunteered for combat training?"

"Well I'd be a shite knight if I couldn't at least put some people on their ass in the name of my lord, ain't I?"

"...Huh."

>You've done enough for the day. Meet back up with Rinnier and Ari, call it for the day (Day: 1/3)
>Ask after Miska. Best to end the day off checking on her.
>You're close enough to finishing up a circuit around your escort, may as well see everyone.
>Other? (write-in)

Also!
>How do you want to show Lily off to your knights?

>>4590942
>Ask after Miska. Best to end the day off checking on her.

>>4590942
>You're close enough to finishing up a circuit around your escort, may as well see everyone.
For completeness's sake.

>How do you want to show Lily off to your knights?
Simply state that the mask 'Lily', like Aegis was a gift from the Fae as proof of the Valen-Fae compact, and that more gifts may turn up should they decide to grant us another boon in the future.

I'm now thinking that we should contact Aluette with the boosted Jin stick, and get her to find Caylen then deliver the status update and try and convince him to return, so he can't get intercepted / interrupted and there is someone else to keep him honest and potentially notice any hints we drop.

>You're close enough to finishing up a circuit around your escort, may as well see everyone.

>Show off Lily?
Not at all. It's better to keep the element of surprise, if we show them rumors will spread.

>>4590939
>"No. Did you think I was going to abandon everyone who didn't come?"
Oh geez. I suppose this is a side effect of us being a slightly mythical person to them.

>The child blissfully continued to toy with your hair as the day went on, growing bolder with its efforts
I suspect this isn't going to be sustainable. Ask her to top messing with our hair. If needed, back it up with a threat to move her away from our hair if she doesn't stop.

>>4590942
>You're close enough to finishing up a circuit around your escort, may as well see everyone.
Might as well finish the job.

>How do you want to show Lily off to your knights?
Have Lily briefly wave, just enough to show she's not just a mask/hat.

Whats wrong with Lily touching our hair. We put the mask on our head after all. Lettemdoit

>>4590942
>Ask after Miska. Best to end the day off checking on her.

>How do you want to show Lily off to your knights?
Let her stretch her legs, teach her to interact with people and practice her words.

File: 1509257543159.png (203 KB, 572x648)

203 KB PNG

>>4590945
>>4591901
Miska!

>>4590962
>>4590983
>>4591211
Let's finish up the circuit.
---

>>4590962
Explain Lily away as a gift from the fae!

>>4591211
Lily should wave!

>>4590983
Reluctance to parade Lily about!

>>4591901
Absolutely no reluctance to parade Lily about!

I really need to get the vote calling/writing windows ironed out more consistently. Skyfire is risen so I'll be withdrawing until later tonight.

Happy new years, everyone! Not really sure if you guys are regretting asking for casual time or not, but if you get restless give me a heads up - You can always vote to finish the journey there and skip the rest of travel time.

Happy years. I personally shit through the moment by accident, should have timed it better

>>4592377
Have a year that is better than the last one, everybody!

A casual wave saw you off from the prior group of knights as your eyes wandered the escort procession. You'd spent a fair portion of the day already, and while Miska's state weighed somewhere on the edge of your mind, you didn't think you'd be pursuing it today even if you did run across her. On the other hand, you were close enough to having made a full circuit about the formation that you may as well finish it up. At the very least having this walk about had given you a general summary of who all had come along.

The last group of knights you wandered towards raised their hands in greeting as you approached. In stark contrast to the first few groups you'd slipped into, they didn't seem all that nervous about your presence either. More comfortable with you, maybe? Or...

You flash a smile at them, holding your head high with the evening breeze tickling at your neck. "Heard I was coming?"

"Word gets around." One of them acknowledged. "Would have hated to be the first guys, though."

"Someone has to be first." You shrug haplessly. "I wanted to see how everyone was doing for myself. Get to know my knights better now that I'm not so preoccupied."

"Aye?" The knight who'd hailed you inclined his head. "Would it be rude t'ask how that's gone?"

"Better than I expected. More enthusiasm for this sort of thing than I thought there'd be. Some misunderstandings I'll be clearing up when we stop for the night later." You were used to having to crane your neck up to speak to Dullem, the absolute bear of a man that he was, but it was a little frustrating that a lot of your knights were just... Taller than you. You were increasingly surrounded by people taller than you these days. "I wouldn't have been surprised if that weeding out Carona's rebellion had scared more of you off."

The man's laugh came out more like a bark. "Nowhere to scare us off to, y'know? Sides, Ain't no other noble that's gonna get drunk with us on a month long bender; I'll be taking my chances here."

Your eyes cut skyward, taking an small, exasperated breath. "That won't be happening again any time soon."

"Aye, y'say that." The knight nodded with an undiscouraged certainty you didn't feel he should have had. "But no one drinks like that once and don't make a habit of it. Had more parties under you in the last few months than I've had last year and a half or so. Can't speak for the rest of these louts on that, though."

Hard to reconcile being a drunkard as being some untouchable figure to your knights. You resign yourself to not thinking too hard over it with a shake of your head. "What kind of noble buys loyalty with liqour...?"

"Hey, hey now! If we had more of those the country'd be a lot better, you know?"

You weren't sure how much of the grin on your face was forced. There was a weird feeling here, a sort of praise you weren't expecting... But did it have to be like this?

"There will be no such parties where we're going." You reiterate with exasperation, traces of fondness treacherously coloring what should have been a reprimand.

"I'll be right damned if we don't get shitfaced drunk at some point, Ser Valen." The man insisted confidently. "Ready to throw in all I've got for this knight business in the meantime."

"Meantime...?" Was the binge drinking his first occupation? Part-time knight? "Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Uh, Ser Valen?" A different knight interjected, adding himself to the conversation in a far less boisterous manner. "Not sure if you're the one I should be asking, but when are we getting paired off with the demihumans again?"

...And like that you're lost for words. A friend of his playfully shoves him at the shoulder, snickering at the knight who made at least half an effort to look irritated before returning his attention to you. "Ser Valen?"

"Don't worry, you won't be." You shake your head eventually. The knight blinked at the news, confusion twitching across his features. "The demihuman pack won't be cooperating with us any longer."

"Oh, I wasn't worried, Ser Valen. I, just, uh..."

"The bastard's been sweet on one of them for a month now." His friend added with a smirk. "Were you actually going to try and ask our lord for special privileges? Really?"

"I would not." Indignation slammed down like a wall on the questioning knight, "But it's been a while since they worked with us, I mean..." He looked back to you, "I'm sorry if this is out of place, Ser Valen. I was just wondering if there was an idea about when it'd happen next."

Your lips thinned, and with the lack of response the knight's question seemed to hang in the air. "Hey if you're that hard up you could have just gone to see her before we left." His friend teased. "Can't be that hard to find."

"We've been busy!" He insisted, "...I'd have at least liked to say bye before we set off, you know?"

"To clarify..." You put the words together slowly, almost regretting that you were about to ask at all. "You were friends with one of Kara's pack?"

"Kara's the real tall one, right?" He pointed skyward. "The one that'd just pick up whole support beams and wander off with them? Always talking with Dullem?"

You weren't sure exactly what she'd been up to in your absence, but you swallow and nod.

"Ah, yeah... Friends. Something like that." The knight affirmed. "We got along well."

"I didn't hear about this?" A frown creased your lips.

"...Should you have?" The knight asked honestly. "Were we not supposed to?"

"It's not that, all the reports I got suggested you weren't getting along. A lot of distrust and frustrations on both sides, piles of complaints..." You were letting your mouth run now as you tried to wrack your mind back for something you missed.

"That doesn't sound too off." The knight admitted with a sheepish, almost ashamed grin straining at the corner of his mouth. "I get picked on a bit for it, but I don't think they were all that bad. Dullem said you had us working together to try and build teamwork, or integration, or something like that right? I didn't mind it."

"Were there others like you?" You don't know if you would have been happier if he said yes or no, but the question came out all the same.

"A few of us, yeah." He nodded, and the group became conspicuously silent as he talked. Averted eyes, and more than a couple less friendly stares directed his way. "Word got around pretty quickly when some of us were getting too friendly with them, but I don't know who else was actually... Er, as interested."

"Why weren't there any reports about that?" If it was common knowledge, Dullem should have said something, right?

"I... Didn't think I was supposed to report on that?" The man suggested slowly. "Wait, are we not supposed to start relationships with them?"

"No, but-" You run a palm over your face. "The only reports I got were negative ones. If there was progress working together, why didn't any of it show up?"

You didn't get an answer. You weren't expecting one. Certainly no one here could have been able to provide one.

>How are you going to respond?

>>4593428
>You were increasingly surrounded by people taller than you these days.
We could solve that by wearing heels, I guess. Pretty sure we'd mostly make a fool of ourselves and make our feet hurt, but it'd solve the 'short' issue.

>There was a weird feeling here, a sort of praise you weren't expecting... But did it have to be like this?
Take what you can get, Rue. They've got weird ideas about us due to our distance, and we've done some weird stuff.

>"The bastard's been sweet on one of them for a month now."
Aw, hell. She'd been playing him like a fiddle, I'd bet, trying to get a line in on the knights, but this'll make the news that much harder to break.

> "The only reports I got were negative ones. If there was progress working together, why didn't any of it show up?"
That'll come down to how the info we were getting was collected and sorted before being passed to us. Complaints tend to involve people making their issues heard, or at least attempting to. Cooperation is more of a quiet thing.

>>4593431
>How are you going to respond?
Resignation. They're dead and gone, now, and to be honest positive reports of their interactions with the knights wouldn't have changed their fate.
It was their interactions with the townsfolk that was causing most of the friction, and Kara's destruction of them was almost entirely disconnected from that.
I'm still glad to be rid of them. Kara was the only one with any powers or strength byond a normal person, but they caused massive headaches.

>>4593431
>How are you going to respond?
Looks like we're going to have to investigate a little, who would they have told, we did sort of expect to only really be told about things that would have been judged to require our input, while their initiative should be relied on to get things done quickly and without fuss Since we were off doing more important things for most of the time. so it might just be a case of miscommunication, or could be signs of enemy action / influence that we should keep abreast of, we should probably see what Rinner has to say about it as well. Kara and Raid might adopt more demi-humans at some point, if they ever return so we may be able to doge some questions in the future.

>>4593494
They worked pretty well as a self contained work crew that we didn't need to spend much money on, that we didn't have.

>>4593509
>They worked pretty well as a self contained work crew that we didn't need to spend much money on, that we didn't have.

In that they were a work crew that we had some nominal control over, I guess. But simply by putting them near the other work crews they were doing more harm than good, even before the rest of the socio-political issues they caused more generally.
Plus I seem to recall they had a tendency to slack off if not watched.

>>4593525
It was significantly cheaper and faster than needing to find, hire and transport the cranes and spare man power we would have needed for things to proceed at the same rate, freeing up other skilled workers that could be used better than be wasted on the manual labour and so could focus on their skills and doing other more useful things.

>>4593431
Let them know that the Demihumans were involved with Artemis and had planned to attack Carona.

Kara stopped them, but . . . Picking sides cost her too much. She left, took Raid with her, and you don't know if they'll be back. Some choices hurt too much.

Use a tone that lets them know in between the lines that the Demi-humans aren't coming back.

Don't say the next part

Maybe they were in on it, maybe they weren't. We'll never know, now, but for the sake of what we have left the narrative has to be that they were.

>>4593431
>How are you going to respond?
Rethink our info gathering strategy. If we don't have accurate information, how can we rule anything?

>>4593593
Too bad people are illiterate. Otherwise we could start a newspaper.

We need a dedicated information gatherer. Too bad that tavern girl ran off because she thought we weren't dangerous enough to be around.

>Wave it away. The demihumans are no longer our problem, it don't matter

>>4593431
>>4593585
Seconding this, except for the part where we're dishonest with our Knights, only mention the possible artemis connection as speculation.

>>4594581
It's not dishonesty, it's a choice of which possibility to believe in.

>>4593494
Resignation! They're dead and gone.

>>4593509
>>4593593
Investigation! It's too late now, but it's still worth looking into for clarity's sake.

>>4593585
>>4594581
The demihumans were cooperating with Artemis! Or maybe they weren't. Whatever the truth is, that's the suspicion they were under and there's no longer a way to find out.

Alright! Let's see if I can get this out before falling asleep!

Faced with the knight's want of an answer, you run a hand through your hair and force a neutral expression. No point in skirting this issue, especially if he was emotionally invested in it... And you're not sure how many others would be. You certainly were. "Would you like the honest answer or the official one?"

"I'm sorry?"

The silence around your conversation suffered a slight, terribly noticeable shift from discomfort to suspicous curiosity. The scent of gossip in the air, and an unexpected offer from their lord. However, that offer was only for one of them, and you waited patiently for what choice he'd make.

"I'd prefer the honest one, if it's not too much trouble."

You drew a breath. Preparation over surprise; This was no surprise at all. If anything, it felt cheap to have presented it in such a manner that you could rationalize it away as the man having brought the answers upon himself... Because he wasn't going to like what came next. Resigned, you let the first of your knights learn the about the rest of that night. "The demihuman pack was under suspicion of cooperating with Artemis. The night of the operation to weed out the last of Carona's rebellious elements, they were apparently set to help disrupt the efforts. Worst case scenario, a number of them, at least one confirmed, had been providing information directly to the rebellion."

Was it worth suggesting that any relationship he'd likely kindled with a demihuman had been simple manipulation? A security risk? You had no hard proof of it... Only knowledge of what they were like, and a lingering, bitter uncertainty over whether Raid had done the same.

No. You could see denial welling in his eyes; needlessly rubbing salt in the wound wasn't part of your plans.

"Ser Valen there... There has to be a mistake, she wouldn't have been part of anything like that- I, I absolutely give you my word on that!"

"There's going to be an ongoing investigation effort into what happened, and what the truth of the matter actually was... But-" You shake your head, swiftly snuffing the slight glimmer of hope in the man. "-It won't change the fact that you won't be seeing them again. As of the end of that night, all but two of the pack are dead."

"She's... Dead." The unsteady echo tumbled off the tip of his tongue. He looked... Lost. Face twitching in a vain effort to express his shifting feelings. "What do you mean 'dead'? How?"

"Executed by the pack leader." A technical truth, because what you saw of your Testament told you that it wasn't something so clean and formal; They'd been slaughtered.

Ambient bitterness tinged the words still slipping through your teeth. "I was informed after the fact. It was what kept me from personally attending the square during the end of the operation." You gave that moment up to be there for Kara and you had nothing to show for it. It stung, but was ultimately just an itch in the pile of frustrations you had over how everything turned out... And you imagine the man in front of you was experiencing something far worse than an 'itch'.

"That..." His tongue tied for words, not due to a lack of them but the glut of how many were trying to rush out at once. "She- Executed? Why? She was just... You don't even know yet if-"

"The two surviving members of the pack have elected to go their separate ways from us." You continue, obligated and determined to see this through. "So whether they were cooperating or not... It's not something I can answer for sure. Whatever the answer, it won't bring them back... I'm sorry."

This information would spread around the knights well before this trip was over. You didn't need to glance to the other knights to know that this conversation was all they'd be chewing on for the rest of the night... So with your condolences somberly paid, you excused yourself. Dusk was drawing closer, and you'd spent the majority of the day meandering through your knights... Without a sign of Miska. Even if you'd resolved not to approach her today, you'd expected to have at least caught sight of her during your rounds.

More of your knights than you realized had lost something important to them that night. More than you had expected even, as news of the burgeoning cooperation with the demihumans obnoxiously teased at the edge of your mind; How had you missed that? All the reports had been... No, people filed complaints over problems. You wouldn't have had near as many reports of cases going well. To an extent that made sense, but even still... Had Dullem not realized it was worth relaying? Had he relayed it, but verbally? Had Rinnier known?

...Did it matter? The bulk of those reports hadn't come from your knights in the first place; The reports came from Carona's citizens. The only thing you distinctly remember hearing as feedback from your knights was that they had a tendency to slack off when left unattended.

Was that it?

A month and so of working side by side and the only report was slacking?

You frowned, trusting your legs to guide you while packed dirt grit underfoot. No, there had been more, wasn't there? You remember having discussed the idea of further cooperative work organizing a trip to the north for supplies. The demihumans had worked with the knights to bring in another giant serpent to supplement Carona's foodstores, and though Kara had spearheaded it... Had you overlooked the consideration involved?

There were so many other things pressing for your attention that you wouldn't be surprised if you'd just glazed over the less prominent signs of progress in favor of trying to swiftly categorize the latest hangnail in your sphere... But you needed to look into this. It was one thing if you'd been blind to it - Expected almost, seeing how often you were gone - but it was another entirely if that information had just never made it to you. And another entirely if what had made it had been primed to distract you.

It didn't matter. Not in so much as what happened couldn't be changed now, at least; the demihumans were dead, Kara and Raid were gone, there was nothing left to gain by lingering on what you could have missed. It wasn't like you could just drag the dead back to life.

Could Dryad?

A thought so innocuous that it gave you pause.

Dryad's Atelier had granted you a privilege which let you do explicitly that, but only for one person, and only once, at significant cost to you both. You had no real understanding of where the scope of Dryad's power ended... But if that privilege was an infintesimally small indication of what was possible, then entreating the Mana of Life may well allow large scale resurrection.

...At the cost of wedging open the confines of Dryad's seal that much further, allowing and hastening its seep back into the world.

There would be no closing that box again once opened, but the possibility presented itself all the same.

You cast a leery glance up, brushing your fingertips against Lily to adjust the affectionate little apparition. Nothing unusual out of her. So far as you could tell, she'd not even been paying attention to you just now- Though that changed almost immediately after receiving a slip of acknowledgement.

Excitement and warmth bubbled up in equal measure within the child, a vague curiosity over what you would be doing later radiating over your bracelet's connection. You'd probably make a point of introducing her to the assembled knights when you stopped for the night.

...No, that doesn't mean you'll get to play with them.

A quick correction cut the child's joy at the knees, wherein she continued to incorrigibly look forward to it anyway.

"That took longer than I expected." Rinnier murmured in way of greeting as you rejoined her in the center of the escort.

"Learned more than I expected. Did you know some of the knights had started actively befriending the demihumans?" Equal parts a legitimate question as it was venting, your brows knit together while talking. "Where were the reports on that?"

"I think I recall Dullem mentioning something like that once before." Rinnier placed a finger to her lips thoughtfully. "He told me some of them had been a little too enthusiastic in getting to know each other."

"You didn't think to mention that to me?" Maybe more heat than was necessary colored that question. "Why am I only finding out about it now?"

"I didn't pay it much mind." She explained coolly. "He mentioned it in passing over morning tea, I disapproved, that's all."

"It still would have been nice to know." Rinnier cast a sideward glance your way. For a moment she looked as if she was going to say something, but for several seconds longer she only watched you. "What?"

"I'm sorry."

The fight you'd already primed yourself to get into sputtered indignantly. "Sorry?"

"Sorry." She nodded. "My stance on the demihumans set aside, I know you were invested in them. It slipped my mind, and if you're only finding out now then I imagine the same for Dullem. I'd forgotten about it until you brought it up just now, honestly." She waited a beat, waiting for a response, before continuing. "If you had known, could you have changed anything?"

"I don't know." It just irked you. "I don't know if they were actually cooperating with Artemis or if it was just Maro. "They were a lot of trouble just to have around, it would have been nice to have some good news out of them."

Rinnier hummed an indistinct acknowledgement.

"Do we still have the complaints filed on them?" Your train of thought pivoted, gears beginning to turn.

"Yes." The former princess' answer came confidently.

"Do we know who filed them?"

...Here, her confidence faltered. "We should, I think. Fen tried to keep records on things like that, and anything coming from the Shrine would have it as a matter of course. Why?"

"We have a fairly extensive list of people who were collaborating with Artemis now." Understanding dawned in her eyes with that line alone, and with it a spark of pride. "I want those reports cross-referenced with those names."

"I wouldn't be surprised if Artemis had used them as leverage to disparage our position there. There'd be no easier target to complain about in a crowd than demihumans." She murmured, "But you think the reports were more malicious than inherent prejudice."

"It's not Carona I'm worried about." You sigh, "It's me."

"If the only information I'm making decisions off of is poisoned, then something like this might happen again. Will happen again." Artemis would ensure it. "I can't let that happen. It's too late to make a difference now, but I need to know."

"I'll make it a priority when we get back." Rinner's cooperation all but assured it'd get done, whether you remembered or not. Demihuman prejudice, fine. A deliberate misinformation campaign? "Although, Irue... If this is bothering you that much, aren't you on friendly terms with the Luna Representative?"

"I am..." Your hand slips back to Lily after a spike of irritation grumbled down from her.

"Wouldn't you be able to find out more conclusively from her?"

"We have an agreement that she not think too hard about my business." Could she get the answer? Undoubtedly. Would it risk her uncovering something else in the process? Probably. "Besides, we shouldn't rely on the Shrine when we can help it. They're cooperative now, but they aren't necessarily our allies either."

"No disagreement there." The former princess allowed somewhat begrudgingly. "I'm not used to the Shrine being this friendly in general. They were always rather stand-offish back home; Came with the territory of my family having a personal stake in Salamander's favor. It's not as if we're particularly well established though, so if we can outsource problems to them while they're being generous..."

"We've already done that." You remind her, "Dullem negotiated Gnome adepts willing to travel north to help find raw resources in the mountains, and the Shade Dominion have been tackling oakenbear and who knows what else."

Last you heard, Marchovic still had that note you signed months ago saying he could hunt all the oakenbear he wanted. This had become a source of consternation among certain peers.

It was getting dark, and that meant stopping for the night. You doubted there was anything particularly dangerous this close to the road, but it didn't hurt to act as if there might be... Which, largely, was a concern for your knights. Not you. You suspected you'd be forced awake far earlier than your preferred well-after-noon schedule. The alternative, you guessed, was your entire escort standing around watching you sleep - A horrifying prospect in its own right.

You'd wait until things were settled for the night before introducing Lily. Probably try and play her off as a gift from the fey and use that as an excuse for her to help keep watch; It wasn't an inaccurate description of the child's origins, but you'd save the proper explanation of Dryad's existence for some other time.

Walking all day had left the entire group eager to rest, and while slightly more athletic than you used to be, the ache in your legs was no exception. You didn't have a lot of energy left to spend tonight.

>Meditate (which Mana? Dealing with the Shade scar would obviously be Shade related)
>'A Spider's Web'
>Spend your time chatting with a Testament (which?)
>Sleep early, get up early. That's how it works, right?
>Other (write-in)

>The days blend together (Arrive at the estate)

>>4594974
>Other
Find Miska. That we haven't even seen her is concerning.

>>4594968
Did we just tell this guy that Kara is dead? She's the only female in her pack, right? Even putting that aside it really seems like he's talking about Kara. I'm confused.

>>4594974
>>4594981
As much as I want to deal with the shade scar, I gotta second this. We can meditate to shade tomorrow.

>>4594974
>Meditate (which Mana? Dealing with the Shade scar would obviously be Shade related)
to Dryad, get Lily to help us focus and hone in on the aspects we are looking for.

Am this anon here,>>4582262
and have Finally managed to returned home and will begin posting it 'as is' it currently totals eight parts. shortly. Looking back at what i have written it sort of started as an expansion on some possibly overlooked inferences that could sort of be made with the little concrete information that we had, but it rapidly drifted into assumed future planning and possible routes to achieve said goals Keeping the main Valen bloodline going, keeping as many of them alive, since they currently come to a grand total of 3, and to that end it rambles over Suring up the local Valen holdings, and securing / seizing control of any easy route to the Dryad fragment and Corona, since when it manages to free itself we're likely going to be left holding the 'bag' / get blamed when things descend into chaos.

It also happens to be based off information that was not available prior to this thread, so some of it now runs counter to 'word of god' and needs to be re written / adjusted to account for it.

I could definitely use it being entirely deconstructed and some of the issues raised / adjusted to meet the majority's feel for where we should take things.

>>4594995
Attempting to unify a Time line and figure out motives, (sort of).

Thread #11 >>41477349
Thread #12 >>41617197
"It's not just some Prophecy, Caylen. It's fate. Do you get it? Fate. F-A-T-E. It'll happen, whether you like it or not."
"I don't really believe in fate." Caylen admitted, "As outlandish as the claim is in the first place, there's too many things that just don't match up, and I don't appreciate you being so suspicious of Irue all this time."
"Your cousin should still be home, working out their Testament conditions." Maran replied sharply, "We were supposed to hold out the siege until one of those Tier girls got it in her head to go adventuring and broke the siege with her beast."
"...And now the siege is broken, they didn't have to die, and my cousin is here with... A tree, I guess." Caylen finished drolly, "What's your point? The siege is broke. It was even broken by some kind of monster thing. The rough details got filled in, didn't they?"
"Details matter!" She hissed, "Who is here and how it happens have cascade effects, they change things later. Like a ripple, it starts small and it gets bigger. Understand?"
~~~
"It's not nonsense, Caylen. Everything has gone exactly like the prophet predicted for the last ten years!" Maran hissed, "Even before then, these events have been in motion for who knows how long? Everything led up to this, as the Goddess willed. You can't write it off as a coincidence or 'destiny nonsense', the fact that something's changed is bad!"
~~~
"That I'm some champion, chosen by a mysterious Goddess who stands above all, destined to fight seven great evils and bring the crippled world to light?" He replied with a tone so flat, it could have been mistaken for a one-dimensional frame. "I told you already, but I don't believe in fate - and that's ridiculous, even if it didn't come from a pagan prophet."
> The main thing is that Artemis has definitely, and completely failed. in finding a cure , that isn't directly applying wholesale death and destruction to anything that might be infected and may be attempting to expedite the Dryad's retribution.
> An additional thing to take away from all of this is the fact that 'Behemoth', (the only thing in the Tier's estate that could possibly be claimed to be able to "end a siege" single-handedly.) can be tamed and controlled, and Artemis at very least knows that it is possible somehow, and were depending on it, pulling through for them, and that they have been manipulating things for a very long time and so are very likely the ones behind the fate of the of the Valen main branch.
[1/]

>>4594998
Part One cont.
Also Artemis deciding that Caylen was their champion seems like an absolute massive blunder on it's face since if anyone decided to ask Caylen about it, I don't think he would lie, and that could only makes sense if they decided to take ,"heir to the Valen bloodline" literally which leads me to believe "Irue" is the actually the doll, that her mother woke, Clara's write-up also further supports by implying that 'one of the Twins came out of nowhere' this, the Doll write-up confirms that the timeline make this possible, and 'Irue' is even the younger of the pair and she even felt like a doll when she had to get up in Thread # 4 . and that Artemis somehow found out about it.
Though they may just be using it to destabilize the Valen holdings early, and if Civil war was to develop, early Valen aligned efforts would likely be diverted to bring him home if at all possible.

____


We are always operating with less-than complete information. Always.
When we think we have perfect information, bad things happen.
Also at this point I feel that we are well past preventing anything from happening of if we ever really had a chance, and so we now should start thinking about what we actually value, and how they align with the various factions and organisations, to begin planing how to mitigate the consequences for them as best we can, using the influence and time we still have before things really start to go wrong.
[2/8]

>>4595000
Since Artemis is still sanctioned by Luna, somehow, how did they manage to explain this to the rest of the shrine, and get away with it, Do any other Mana's Sects have further divisions and or organisations like this, or is it Luna only kind of thing? .
After all, we don't know how the Dryad was sealed in the Atelier, why the loop ends where it does (after all if you had to feel everyone that is somewhat attuned to their mana, die in a rapid fashion over and over again wouldn't that have a significant impact on the opinion / position of the pillar's duality)or if anything could have been manipulated or removed after the seal was set up, after all we know that Luna can steal memories and Dryad was at it's most vulnerable, and how they managed to wipe the knowledge of Dryad from the rest of the Eight, and explain how they managed to get away with it.
The only way to really tell would be to have Ephlesia invaded, and see what we could find as proof, that an infection does actually exist and rework what we know from there on the fly.

if we are attempting to maintain the status quo, we should see if it is possible for a Undine attuned adept to recall information that was memory holed by Luna, since by forewarning them somehow, the Mana may be able to prepare in order to survive their upcoming encounter.


[3/8]

>>4595001
I think the best way to proceed would be to come clean to (Clara about things directly related to the "Fae" and Artemis's goals, since it would probably be a good idea to limit these things as best we can to those with Valen 'blood' only.) and( Byrn about more mundane things and those related to the civil war.) about everything and see what they suggest we do and any additional support that they could offer.
> Maran's Prophecy should be used to highlight the fact that all of their planning and efforts to keep us and Caylen out of things has failed, and that if they want to help we need to know everything.
Something else we should ask is if they could look into how the Tier's managed to get a Behemoth into their estate at Carona, since I don't think that you could move one around without being noticed (since Carona is a long way from the Teranford border, the Apothecary might have an idea of when reached Carona which might help line things up in the future.) and what they could possibly have been planing to use it for.
> Foreknowledge of the Ice Queen's Atelier, and the fact that Artemis is likely going to try to use it to legitimize a claim to install their allies onto the throne, it's also be something that could traded to the Crown as part of a peace offering.
Irue really needs to get over themselves, and stop living in the past; and start living for the future. Preferably before the world decides to kick any more of their remaining teeth in.


[4/8]

>>4595002
If she is unconscious (or dead), we should see if we can get the "Fae" to restore her life (we may need to transport the body into the forest to do so.), after all she is a Valen by blood, not by marriage so the "Warden's pact" probably covers her too
If Clara is badly hurt but still concious we could suggest that she use the diary, to revert herself for long enough to get her into the forest.
Something else that we could offer up, in return would be to provide our assent to be married off.
or at very least take on a consort, because the Valen line should not end if ('when') bad things happen, and it would prepare for this endeavour take multiple generations of 'wardens' to reverse. (If we have problems with this, I'm sure that Dryad would be overjoyed to help out.)
> This should underscore how serious we are (Even if we decide to not divulge everything) and help release some tension between the Valen and the Crown, though the only real constraints that we would need for whomever they chose to come to us not the other way around as a matter of practicality.
Also we could bring the Jinn branch with us, if it can't we should see if the Bracelet can help it along and see if we could call Caylen and Alouette to tell them about the things that have happened and that he needs to come home, if he doesn't; we're coming to get him. (We could also include Clara on the call if we wanted to increase the guilt factor, and assume by default that Maran is listening in.) And arange to call again in a few days so we can check in and explain things further
Something also worth taking into account, is that assuming that those that fled into Ephlesia from Teranford survived they are likely looking for Rinnier, so it could be possible to trade her for Caylen if Artemis holds him hostage. (She could also be targeted for "recovery" by them, if her heritage becomes known)


// I Still need to expanding on the Call's contents, and likely defences to raised questions, and what to raise first in order to flow to our advantage best.

[5/8]

>>4595004
Where to go from here Part 1.

As it stands we have two sets of choices if we should chose to Embrace Dryad and try to limit the fallout Solely to Artemis, as best we can and hope that Dryad exhausts themselves / calms down and then hope we can sue for peace in the aftermath, however unlikely; since they are likely to cry foul to the Shrine and get the rest of the Mana involved. , if we do go this we need to talk to Asche and get her to stop being such a wet blanket, without a proper explanation of why and no selling us the moment we try and do anything since it is limiting our potential and is thus is likely going to put us, and others in future in massive danger, since without a strong connection, Dryad won't listen to us.
> We can either choose to accelerate Dryad's rise and take more overt actions to accelerating Dryad's return (Rebuild & repurpose the ruined shrine into a nursery to cultivate Dryad's workforce, investigate river for more possibly active containment measures[Dam and divert the river at the fork to south in order to flood Sylv, Resuri]), or focus on maintaining stealth by focusing on more covert actions ( properly Fortify a location deeper within the Forrest to act as a panic bunker, and map out an escape route into the mountains and one further into the forest, / increase mining operations as a cover for investigating the rivers twin sources for Dyrad related protective measures )

And so if we were planing to create an opportunity to strike back at Artermis's immediate ability to operate in the area, and secure it in case of future assaults.
We should consider redirecting the flow of the nearby river by constructing a dam at the bifurcation downstream ( to the South, water should flow downhill, most of the time.) of Irue's manor, as to redirect the entirety of the flow towards Sylv, and Resuri could have some interesting implications, provide various opportunities that we could take advantage of, and reveal more information across many areas
> Various methods could be employed to facilitate its construction; Dryad's Apparitions / Aspirations could be leveraged for assistance, The Knight's and their various talents could be utilised, or either Gnome or Undine sects of the shrine could probably do it as a favor; depending on how covert we want to be.
Seeing if diverting the river that apparently serves as the boundary for the Fae's dominion has any effect on the Dryad Fragment's ability to project its influence across the river or not, since it's sort of convenient that such a demarcation exists, and yet the Dryad fragment has not extended it's reach further
> Figuring out how Artemis somehow managed to construct and maintain the seal that was used to constrain the 8th pillar of Mana, and the terms of the Valen - Fae compact are going to be critical to our attempts to either reinforce or undermine whatever is actually keeping Dryad suppressed.

[6/8]

>>4595007
Where to go from here Part 1 - Cont.

The main thing that got me suspicious was that Dryad had yet to even attempt to reclaim the Ruined Shrine, even though, literally the only people between the Atelier and the Shrine was when the Manor was populated in the entire time it's been there.


Redirecting the flow of the river will likely damage, or at least temporally invalidate or flood most if not all infrastructure that is built downstream on of either branches of the bifurcation
> You can't use a dry riverbed to transport supplies using, and increasing the flow of a river, increases the height of water which would flood infrastructure that isn't prepared for it, meaning that anyone transporting goods using the river is going to now need transport them using other methods
Sufficiently damaged infrastructure could be used as cover to provide assistance reassert temporary Valen Stewardship / oversight to flush out Artermis and their sympathizers early of the impacted Townships, or to extend aid as a political maneuver.
> Additional / excessive funds and assistance could be provided during the reconstruction period to harden the surrounding areas, and infrastructure as a precaution for potential future happenings; for example it would be worth it to install a canal lock (or series of locks for additional protection from floods) of some kind into the river so its usage can be monitored and controlled to a degree, somewhere downstream of the bifurcation in order to "delay the onset of flooding like this in the future."
It would serve a good defence, from having our land based defences circumvented and allowing whomever wanted to fast easy and barely monitored access into the heartland of Valen - Fae holdings, for a second time. (they had their cheap shot and they wasted it, mostly.)

____

Where to go from here Part 2 - The other choice

And we should focus which faction to back wile doing do our best to interfere in the Civil war, and just let Dryad happen when it happens, and hope that it doesn't kill everyone on whatever side we take. I'm going to assume that by default that we would be softly supporting the crown, by staying well clear of the Noble faction.
> If we were to attempt to take a more active role it would be best to focus on attempting to find and secure the descendants of the previous royal family so we can wait out the war and make a deal with them later, and failing that, destroying / defacing the Ice Queen's Atelier in order to hide the physical proof of their linage.

[7/8]

>>4595009
Other miscellaneous, and other assorted stuff that couldn't really put somewhere and hasn't really been touched, on elsewhere.

See if we can find the Slave Trader could help us track down and / or recover the Tier sisters, since I'm sure that further payment and covering of any expenses incurred could be arranged quite easily, and we don't exactly have time the to spare to go chasing after them, we should be able to delegate this since we helped, him move his slower stock.
> Our good report should be worth something right, it would funny if he was the one carting them around in the first place anyway, wouldn't it. Although they and their family are likely Artemis affiliated, since they turned up to our Rite hanging off Caylen's arms.
Notify the relevant Shrine personnel (likely Mim) that Kara (and Raid+ Shade scar), might turn up at some point asking for help, and we would greatly appreciate it if they did their best to accommodate their needs to help them to the best of their ability.
Solve the Behemoth situation soon, preferably before we attempt to retake the Ruined Shrine, since the Hybrid would probably be very useful if we run into an Aspiration or something, since if anything is there it's likely to be pretty powerful considering how many people died, and how long it would have been there unnoticed. After retaking the Shrine, the Hybrid would likely be a good candidate; to serve as a head start while trying to uplift / cultivate a second Fragment, assuming the assimilate / ingratiation plan works at all.


[8/8]

File: Valen map.png (576 KB, 600x800)

576 KB PNG

>>4595009
The post was missing the image that went with it, to help clarify the written description of the Dam's location.

>>4594995
I feel like you're relying on a lot of unfounded assumptions, and I completely fail to understand your logic in some places.

>>4594998
I agree with your conclusions in this post

>>4595000
Maybe there can be many heirs to a bloodline, and Caylen fits. Then choosing him is logical since access to him is much easier than to Irue.

>>4595002
>I think the best way to proceed would be to come clean to Clara
I'm inclined to agree

>>4595002
>how the Tier's managed to get a Behemoth into their estate... without being noticed
I don't think they had to hide. Capturing Behemots doesn't seem to be against the law.

>could traded to the Crown
The Crown might be working together with Artemis, or at least have the same goals. We really shouldn't assume anything about the Crown's intentions, given how weird their actions so far seem.

>>4595004
>Something else that we could offer up, in return would be to provide our assent to be married off.
Implying Clara wants that. It was heavily implied in the writeups that the marriage deal was a ploy to spur Irue into activity.
Also if we marry we lose the control of the House.

>>4595007
>Sufficiently damaged infrastructure could be used as cover to reassert temporary Valen Stewardship
As soon as it becomes known we build the dam in the first place, it's over for us. And all it takes is one Luna Adept thinking really hard about why such an unnatural floor happened. Or one of our knights having family down there and not wanting them to die. Or an Artemis spy adding two and two together.
Also what assistance can we provide to two towns when we can't even restore Carona? And do Sylv and Resuri even belong to the Valen territory?

>>4595010
>the Hybrid
Who?

>>4594968
>Last you heard, Marchovic still had that note you signed months ago saying he could hunt all the oakenbear he wanted. This had become a source of consternation among certain peers.
If that wasn't important work that needed doing, I'd be tempted to take that note back off him.

>The alternative, you guessed, was your entire escort standing around watching you sleep - A horrifying prospect in its own right.
Heh.

>but you'd save the proper explanation of Dryad's existence for some other time.
Much, much later, considering Dryad's existence is still a closely guarded secret, and being discovered to know about it results in Luna mindwiping you.


>>4594974
I want to run a Shade mediation to get a start on dealing with the scar, but I'm worried it'll mess us up something good, resulting in either us making a lot of noise or exhausting us before another day's travel.
>>'A Spider's Web'Back, devil! Back!
>>4594981
I'm ok with this, as long as we don't panic if we don't find her. We can single her out tomorrow if she's slipped away into some dark corner for the night.

>>4594995
>>4594998
>>4595000
>>4595001
>>4595002
>>4595004
>>4595007
>>4595009
>>4595010
>>4595021
>10 consecutive posts
TL;DR

>>4594974
>Spend your time chatting with a Testament (which?)
>Rinnier!!

Id read all that text you wrote but i dont got time. Unrelated note, obstacle courses suck

>>4594974
>Sleep early, get up early. That's how it works, right?

Lol. There were a couple of Anons who had raging paranoia towards the Demihumans, and that one guy who really hates our Aunt for some reason.

I wonder if they're back, now.

>>4595263
Considering demihumans are born sociopaths, I doubt their affections were anything other than manipulation.

>>4595263
Day 1 demihuman skeptic reporting.
>>4595269
Dis dude be telling how it is

>>4595269
That's what I figure.
But the people that were "connecting" with them may not see it that way, so better to let them down gently and be quietly thankful the demihumans are no longer a problem.

>>4595096
a TL;DR is pretty much contained in the first post.

Looking back at what i have written it sort of started as an expansion on some possibly overlooked inferences that could sort of be made with the little concrete information that we had, but it rapidly drifted into assumed future planning and possible routes to achieve said goals Keeping the main Valen bloodline going, keeping as many of them alive, since they currently come to a grand total of 3, and to that end it rambles over Suring up the local Valen holdings, and securing / seizing control of any easy route to the Dryad fragment and Corona, since when it manages to free itself we're likely going to be left holding the 'bag' / get blamed when things descend into chaos.

>>4595069

>>4594995 (You)
I feel like you're relying on a lot of unfounded assumptions, and I completely fail to understand your logic in some places.

>>4594998 (You) [1]
I agree with your conclusions in this post

>>4595000 (You) [2]
Maybe there can be many heirs to a bloodline, and Caylen fits. Then choosing him is logical since access to him is much easier than to Irue.

But that would imply that they have some way to confirm, that the current Main branch all died in the Behemoth attack, otherwise they would have come for 'Irue'; the mistake was probably made because Clara was/is currently the 'acting' head of the House since we are/ were under age at the time.

>>4595002 (You) [4]
>I think the best way to proceed would be to come clean to Clara
I'm inclined to agree

>>4595002 (You) [4]
>how the Tier's managed to get a Behemoth into their estate... without being noticed
I don't think they had to hide. Capturing Behemoths doesn't seem to be against the law.

If it was widely known, the Valen main branch would probably have a backup plan in place since there would be little in the way to stop it, and it should have already been in progress, since either they knew it was there and there was no body recovered when the Tier estate was destroyed, which means they now have a very dangerous Behemoth, loose and they really need to find it soon. Or they knew it was there and yet isn't so they know something is going on.

>could traded to the Crown [4]
The Crown might be working together with Artemis, or at least have the same goals. We really shouldn't assume anything about the Crown's intentions, given how weird their actions so far seem.

If they were working together they wouldn't be focusing so much on fining the Brother's descendant, and the crown probably wouldn't be going to such extreme lengths to track peoples movement in order to find the descendant first.

[1/2]