Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="talien" data-source="post: 4538456" data-attributes="member: 3285">Silence, Silver, and Secrets: PrologueA purple-haired elorii strode into the Bone Market of Nishanpur, looking around in distaste.  It had been no simple feat to enter the city with her weapons intact; the Nierite hang-up about Sarishan steel made it that much harder to smuggle her elven thinblade in.  Fortunately, coins and her natural beauty won the day.  The flirting, with humans no less, made her feel dirty.  She scanned the Market for a place to bathe.Her eyes lit upon a large, vaguely human-shaped scaffolding in the center of Bone Market. The structure was stuffed with twigs and straw. One of the Swords of Nier caught her gaze.  “Ugly, isn’t it? Looks like they’re going to go ahead with their Burning Man festival anyway.”The elorii arched a delicate eyebrow.  “Festival?”The Nierite shock of red curls flexed as he shrugged.  “Something the Nerothians do.  We’ve repealed the curfew, but you should be careful tonight.  A pretty lady like yourself shouldn’t be alone on a night like this; the whole week is a festival.”Ilmarė peered at the Nierite out of the corner of her eye.  It was a clumsy come on.  She was about to respond when the scaffolding was lit. The flames leaped high into the dark sky. Even the Nierite soldier appreciated the sight. “Not bad,” he rested one hand on the pommel of the wavy-bladed greatsword that all Swords of Nier carried with them.  “Even the Lord of Flame enjoys a pyre such as this.”Then the barrage began. Naked, ash-smeared figures emerged from the darkness. Armed with balls of snow and chunks of ice, they assaulted the burning effigy. The sizzle and hiss of the snow hitting the fire filled the air. “What?” shouted the soldier.  He whistled and pointed to other similar accoutered Nierites, who drew their swords and advanced on the naked Nerothians.  “Stop them!”“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Ilmarė made a mental note. The soldier was much more important than she thought. The Nerothians began to pelt the Swords, as well as continuing to hurl ice and snow upon the burning effigy. In some hands, snowballs were replaced with rocks.The captain nearest Ilmarė fell to one knee, clutching his bleeding head. “They hit the captain!” shouted another of the Nierites.  Military discipline turned to rage as the entire Bone Market erupted into chaos. The mob of Nerothians surged around the square, confronted by a growing number of Swords that converged on the scene to try and break up the disturbance. Ilmarė backed away from the fracas and drew her sword.  As a few Nerothian worshippers were beaten down, the mob turned angry.  Several Nierite soldiers were buried under a hail of ice and snow. Scrawny figures clad in sackcloth and ashes struggled hand-to-hand with Knights of the Red Fist in full armor. Several bodies lay motionless, reddish stains seeping through the snow. The situation quickly turned into a general rout. The Nerothians’ meager missiles were no match for the Swords of Nier with their gleaming greatswords. The crowd dispersed, scattering back into the streets and alleys. The Swords stood in the Bone Market, bruised and bloodied, staring at the sputtering remains of the burning effigy. Another soldier huffed up to the Nierite captain, who was still clutching his head.  Although she was a safe distance away, Ilmarė’s keen hearing picked up their conversation.“They broke Kham val’Abebi out of prison.”</blockquote>

Verification