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<blockquote data-quote="Lylandra" data-source="post: 8316497" data-attributes="member: 6816692"><p><strong><em>Pretorian No. 9</em></strong></p><p></p><p>Well, at least we now have some evidence that Nicodemus isn't permanently fused with our dear friend Andrei, another misdeed of the ghostly form of Miller which we readily share with Kasvarina. So there might still be hope that we can save our friend.</p><p></p><p>We then search for a safe place to rest for the night as we don't know whether the grand vision of the Dirge of Vekesh would attract any local Clergyfolk to investigate. This is why we decide to only rest for a short period for now, as there still might be more visions lingering in Resal.</p><p></p><p>This assumption turns out to be correct as Kasvarina is drawn deeper into the forest after placing the Arc on her head again after a couple of hours. The occasion is a mournful one though as we witness the funeral ceremony for Pillai. Kasvarina appears to be both heartbroken and vengeful in this vision and she is accompanied by her two daughters, who are much younger this time. It doesn't strain the current Kasvarina as much as we fear though and she finally seems to understand the source of her antagonistic emotions toward the Clergy and Crisillyir.</p><p></p><p>She only needs a few minutes to recover and then uses the crown again. This time, she walks to a forsaken chapel which turns to a sacred smaller temple of Srasama. Inside, we see a heavily pregnant Kasvarina who is about to give birth, surrounded by female members of her family, including a young Launga and a priestess. When Carlyle realizes what is going on, he withdraws, sensing that this is no place for a man, even less a non-Eladrin. Auryn stays on Kasvarina's side who gives birth to Dala and appears to be both exhausted and happy afterward. The whole scene repeats a second time with a slightly different crowd, but this time it is Launga who is being born.</p><p></p><p>Carlyle returns after the birth of her second, or rather first child to look after Kasvarina's physical and mental well-being. But it appears as if she is actually pretty energized by the experience.</p><p></p><p>“My two little stars, you were my world and our future...” she says with both a smile and tears in her eyes.</p><p></p><p>She then uses the crown for a last time and is drawn towards the town square. Her last vision is another happy memory, that of her joyous wedding ceremony with Pillai.</p><p></p><p>“See, this is what I told you about back in Flint. It is beautiful, isn't it?” Auryn says with a wink.</p><p></p><p>After this last vision, we return to our hideout as more and more people gather to see what this second ruckus is all about.</p><p><span style="color: rgb(65, 168, 95)"></span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(65, 168, 95)">(Can I say that it was cute to include these little personal details of Kasvarina? It also helped the two women bond over these family events. Oh and yes, this could have stirred something in Nic had he stayed with us. )</span></p><p></p><p>The next day, the three of us discuss on how to proceed from here. We still agree that Ushanti would be potentially dangerous, especially now that Nicodemus knows that we're looking for Kasvarina's memories. Seobriga would be too straining for Kasvarina's current psyche, and there might be a dragon in her vision so that'd include the risk of a diplomatic incident if not handled carefully.</p><p></p><p>After a while, we settle on Flint as the next step as we know that Kasvarina was present in the Bleak gate complex and understanding her role within the Obscurati would help us solve a part of this puzzle. Carlyle's teleportation magic has been malfunctioning the last time, so Auryn decides to give her hearthstone teleport a try.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: rgb(65, 168, 95)">(She got that one from Teraklir as a gift after we accepted her as a guest in our home. I don't remember if I ever mentioned the hearthstone in a previous chapter. It was Tiz' idea because Auryn had been stranded once after Carlyle left her and he wanted to give her more freedom of movement. So she has this one spell that lets her return to the place she marked as “home” with the stone)</span></p><p></p><p>Auryn's teleportation goes off with a flash of light and the group vanishes at an instant. But when we can see clearly again, we find ourselves standing in front of the entrance of Pallita. Which is obviously “home”, but not the kind of “home” in Flint where Auryn has left her hearthstone.</p><p></p><p>Of course, all three of us are pretty much surprised by arriving at that place, but are also glad that no one caught fire or something like that. So we use the unexpected event to introduce Kasvarina to her other descendant, Matriarch Galadin, and the rest of the family. It appears that some of the very old inhabitants of Pallita recognize Kasvarina as they act very formally and treat her with high respect. Galadin herself is very much surprised, but sees this as a positive one. She even jokes that as it is now, it seems like Auryn returned to bring her another daughter of hers. With the same breath she adds that of course she is very honored to welcome her famous ancestor she has heard so much about from her own mother. Auryn takes on the lighthearted atmosphere and explains that while they are on the search for Kasvarina's lost memory, her connection to her ancestor does indeed feel like that of a long-lost sister despite the age difference.</p><p></p><p>Gabriel stays a bit in the background during the family reunion. Nevertheless, he is welcomed warmly by Rajh, the Matriarch's tiger companion.</p><p><span style="color: rgb(65, 168, 95)"></span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(65, 168, 95)">(We didn't go too much into detail here, but I assume that of Galadin's three husbands, Thorandil would be the most chill as he was actually alive during the Malice and he is also a veteran of the war. Maybe he even was present during the Dirge, but we didn't try to spot him there.</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(65, 168, 95)"></span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(65, 168, 95)">Estelar would most likely burst with pride and try to impress Kasvarina, the High Matriarch. He'd also try to make sure that everyone adheres the proper protocol so the powerful matriarch would see him favorably in the future.</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(65, 168, 95)"></span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(65, 168, 95)">Kalaren... well, he'd love to cross blades with Kas. He knows very little about politics but he has heard about her legendary combat prowess. He'd also have loved to spar with Carlyle if they just had more time in Pallita.</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(65, 168, 95)"></span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(65, 168, 95)">Oh and yes, Nic coming along would have really unsettled Auryn here. Pallita is very much a secret and her family is her weak spot.)</span></p><p></p><p>We stay in Pallita for one more day to let Kasvarina breathe in the atmosphere of a wholly different Eladrin enclave. We use the time to also tell Galadin all that we've learned from the visions in the Sanctum of Ingathan. We also discuss the plan of the Obscurati and the possible transformation of the world and of course the Matriarch is very worried about the possibility of losing the Dreaming in the process. Auryn also shows her the Arsenal of Dhebisu, to which Galadin adds that nothing happens without a purpose, especially not when the gods are involved. Gabriel uses this opportunity to point out that following the path of fate and destiny doesn't have to be a bad thing.</p><p></p><p>After this conversation, we risk another teleport, this time without Kas, to go to Sid Minos to meet up with Ottavia. We end up in Alais Primos at first, but manage to hop to Sid Minos from there without causing too much ruckus. Then we don our disguises and go to pier no. 4 and look for Pretorians on patrol.</p><p></p><p>We manage to find said ninth Pretorian who is clad in all black leather and she asks us to aid her in searching for illegal substances in an abandoned warehouse. As soon as we are inside, the Pretorian drops her hood only to reveal that she is actually Ottavia Sacredotte. She promises us that this place would be safe from prying eyes. She is also very glad to see us doing well since she didn't know what happened to us after the events of Mutravir. After she and Luc had been evacuated, the two were separated and she doesn't know more about Luc's whereabouts. Which is why she is extremely worried what the Obs could have already planned for him. Ever since that day, she was sent to join the Pretorians, but she doesn't really plan to spy on them as she has very much internally broken up with the organization.</p><p></p><p>After hearing that, we carefully ask her for her opinion on the most recent events. Ottavia explains that she has had her doubts ever since their “recruitment” of Andrei while Luc was quick to believe their stories about Andrei being a willing vessel.</p><p></p><p>“I have seen what this man has done for you. He cared for free will and freedom and never would he have given up on that willingly”, she says and adds that she feels extremely guilty regarding his fate as she was the one who told Nicodemus about that fabulous man who rescued a whole train from a group of bandits with his bare hands.</p><p></p><p>Bringing the subject back to Mutravir, she explains that Luc is not a bad person, but rather very impressionable. That, and he was merely following orders when it came to the incident with the lanterns. He and her were also told that the island and the lighthouse weren't safe anymore and so the two of them got evacuated.</p><p></p><p>We get the impression that Ottavia is being really honest with us and so we tell her everything that happened between the Obs and us from our point of view, starting with the alleged abduction of Andrei. We explain that Isobel, the woman she once saw by Elanor Yanette's side is his companion who misses him very much, so yes, Andrei would probably do anything to break free. Which is what had briefly happened when Nicodemus tried to fight us. We also tell her all about we had learned during the Obscon, including the planar seal, Nicodemus' plan and our efforts to save as many defiant Obscurati as possible from Nicodemus' murder attempt.</p><p></p><p>Lastly, we tell her about our terrifying vision of the far future and hint that this is what might happen should Nicodemus' and the Obs' plan succeed. It seems like Ottavia actually believes everything we said, but alas she doesn't know how to contact Luc and educate him on his mistakes. She'll try to do her best to find and reach him though.</p><p></p><p>She also has more information for us regarding Crisillyir: She did her best to keep an eye on the Obs officers who were sent back to their home nation after we had captured them on Mutravir. Officially, she explains, they just vanished and are marked as missing people. She doesn't know much about their status and we hint that they might be questioned as the Clergy might not be too happy about the existence of a conspiracy within their ranks.</p><p></p><p>But when she also mentions a certain Vitus Sigismund and that he's being accused of disobedience and that he will be summoned to the High Pretorian to testify, we explain that this man's trial will most likely be a farce for the public and a chance for the Clergy to learn more about the Obs as we know for sure that Crisillyir is happy tho have their Godhand back. Either that or the High Pretorian is actually an Ob in disguise, but that would be something that Ottavia would be better suited for to find out. We also agree to send Vitus a message to ask him about his whereabouts in the not too far future.</p><p></p><p>Before we say goodbye to Ottavia, we hand her two sending scrolls so she may contact us should she need our help or find out something of importance. One we advise her to use for contacting Luc. We also mention a certain trusted contact for the Clergy we might use in Flint (who is of course Morgan Cippiano even if we don't mention his name). Lastly, we ask Ottavia to stay safe and keep a low profile as we don't want to cause her trouble. She appreciates our care and promises to stay in contact.</p><p><span style="color: rgb(65, 168, 95)"></span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(65, 168, 95)">(That went far better than anticipated. Seems like at least one half of the duo still has some sanity left. Ottavia is very brave and we were really happy to see her again in this episode. She, too, will have a role to play.)</span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lylandra, post: 8316497, member: 6816692"] [B][I]Pretorian No. 9[/I][/B] Well, at least we now have some evidence that Nicodemus isn't permanently fused with our dear friend Andrei, another misdeed of the ghostly form of Miller which we readily share with Kasvarina. So there might still be hope that we can save our friend. We then search for a safe place to rest for the night as we don't know whether the grand vision of the Dirge of Vekesh would attract any local Clergyfolk to investigate. This is why we decide to only rest for a short period for now, as there still might be more visions lingering in Resal. This assumption turns out to be correct as Kasvarina is drawn deeper into the forest after placing the Arc on her head again after a couple of hours. The occasion is a mournful one though as we witness the funeral ceremony for Pillai. Kasvarina appears to be both heartbroken and vengeful in this vision and she is accompanied by her two daughters, who are much younger this time. It doesn't strain the current Kasvarina as much as we fear though and she finally seems to understand the source of her antagonistic emotions toward the Clergy and Crisillyir. She only needs a few minutes to recover and then uses the crown again. This time, she walks to a forsaken chapel which turns to a sacred smaller temple of Srasama. Inside, we see a heavily pregnant Kasvarina who is about to give birth, surrounded by female members of her family, including a young Launga and a priestess. When Carlyle realizes what is going on, he withdraws, sensing that this is no place for a man, even less a non-Eladrin. Auryn stays on Kasvarina's side who gives birth to Dala and appears to be both exhausted and happy afterward. The whole scene repeats a second time with a slightly different crowd, but this time it is Launga who is being born. Carlyle returns after the birth of her second, or rather first child to look after Kasvarina's physical and mental well-being. But it appears as if she is actually pretty energized by the experience. “My two little stars, you were my world and our future...” she says with both a smile and tears in her eyes. She then uses the crown for a last time and is drawn towards the town square. Her last vision is another happy memory, that of her joyous wedding ceremony with Pillai. “See, this is what I told you about back in Flint. It is beautiful, isn't it?” Auryn says with a wink. After this last vision, we return to our hideout as more and more people gather to see what this second ruckus is all about. [COLOR=rgb(65, 168, 95)] (Can I say that it was cute to include these little personal details of Kasvarina? It also helped the two women bond over these family events. Oh and yes, this could have stirred something in Nic had he stayed with us. )[/COLOR] The next day, the three of us discuss on how to proceed from here. We still agree that Ushanti would be potentially dangerous, especially now that Nicodemus knows that we're looking for Kasvarina's memories. Seobriga would be too straining for Kasvarina's current psyche, and there might be a dragon in her vision so that'd include the risk of a diplomatic incident if not handled carefully. After a while, we settle on Flint as the next step as we know that Kasvarina was present in the Bleak gate complex and understanding her role within the Obscurati would help us solve a part of this puzzle. Carlyle's teleportation magic has been malfunctioning the last time, so Auryn decides to give her hearthstone teleport a try. [COLOR=rgb(65, 168, 95)](She got that one from Teraklir as a gift after we accepted her as a guest in our home. I don't remember if I ever mentioned the hearthstone in a previous chapter. It was Tiz' idea because Auryn had been stranded once after Carlyle left her and he wanted to give her more freedom of movement. So she has this one spell that lets her return to the place she marked as “home” with the stone)[/COLOR] Auryn's teleportation goes off with a flash of light and the group vanishes at an instant. But when we can see clearly again, we find ourselves standing in front of the entrance of Pallita. Which is obviously “home”, but not the kind of “home” in Flint where Auryn has left her hearthstone. Of course, all three of us are pretty much surprised by arriving at that place, but are also glad that no one caught fire or something like that. So we use the unexpected event to introduce Kasvarina to her other descendant, Matriarch Galadin, and the rest of the family. It appears that some of the very old inhabitants of Pallita recognize Kasvarina as they act very formally and treat her with high respect. Galadin herself is very much surprised, but sees this as a positive one. She even jokes that as it is now, it seems like Auryn returned to bring her another daughter of hers. With the same breath she adds that of course she is very honored to welcome her famous ancestor she has heard so much about from her own mother. Auryn takes on the lighthearted atmosphere and explains that while they are on the search for Kasvarina's lost memory, her connection to her ancestor does indeed feel like that of a long-lost sister despite the age difference. Gabriel stays a bit in the background during the family reunion. Nevertheless, he is welcomed warmly by Rajh, the Matriarch's tiger companion. [COLOR=rgb(65, 168, 95)] (We didn't go too much into detail here, but I assume that of Galadin's three husbands, Thorandil would be the most chill as he was actually alive during the Malice and he is also a veteran of the war. Maybe he even was present during the Dirge, but we didn't try to spot him there. Estelar would most likely burst with pride and try to impress Kasvarina, the High Matriarch. He'd also try to make sure that everyone adheres the proper protocol so the powerful matriarch would see him favorably in the future. Kalaren... well, he'd love to cross blades with Kas. He knows very little about politics but he has heard about her legendary combat prowess. He'd also have loved to spar with Carlyle if they just had more time in Pallita. Oh and yes, Nic coming along would have really unsettled Auryn here. Pallita is very much a secret and her family is her weak spot.)[/COLOR] We stay in Pallita for one more day to let Kasvarina breathe in the atmosphere of a wholly different Eladrin enclave. We use the time to also tell Galadin all that we've learned from the visions in the Sanctum of Ingathan. We also discuss the plan of the Obscurati and the possible transformation of the world and of course the Matriarch is very worried about the possibility of losing the Dreaming in the process. Auryn also shows her the Arsenal of Dhebisu, to which Galadin adds that nothing happens without a purpose, especially not when the gods are involved. Gabriel uses this opportunity to point out that following the path of fate and destiny doesn't have to be a bad thing. After this conversation, we risk another teleport, this time without Kas, to go to Sid Minos to meet up with Ottavia. We end up in Alais Primos at first, but manage to hop to Sid Minos from there without causing too much ruckus. Then we don our disguises and go to pier no. 4 and look for Pretorians on patrol. We manage to find said ninth Pretorian who is clad in all black leather and she asks us to aid her in searching for illegal substances in an abandoned warehouse. As soon as we are inside, the Pretorian drops her hood only to reveal that she is actually Ottavia Sacredotte. She promises us that this place would be safe from prying eyes. She is also very glad to see us doing well since she didn't know what happened to us after the events of Mutravir. After she and Luc had been evacuated, the two were separated and she doesn't know more about Luc's whereabouts. Which is why she is extremely worried what the Obs could have already planned for him. Ever since that day, she was sent to join the Pretorians, but she doesn't really plan to spy on them as she has very much internally broken up with the organization. After hearing that, we carefully ask her for her opinion on the most recent events. Ottavia explains that she has had her doubts ever since their “recruitment” of Andrei while Luc was quick to believe their stories about Andrei being a willing vessel. “I have seen what this man has done for you. He cared for free will and freedom and never would he have given up on that willingly”, she says and adds that she feels extremely guilty regarding his fate as she was the one who told Nicodemus about that fabulous man who rescued a whole train from a group of bandits with his bare hands. Bringing the subject back to Mutravir, she explains that Luc is not a bad person, but rather very impressionable. That, and he was merely following orders when it came to the incident with the lanterns. He and her were also told that the island and the lighthouse weren't safe anymore and so the two of them got evacuated. We get the impression that Ottavia is being really honest with us and so we tell her everything that happened between the Obs and us from our point of view, starting with the alleged abduction of Andrei. We explain that Isobel, the woman she once saw by Elanor Yanette's side is his companion who misses him very much, so yes, Andrei would probably do anything to break free. Which is what had briefly happened when Nicodemus tried to fight us. We also tell her all about we had learned during the Obscon, including the planar seal, Nicodemus' plan and our efforts to save as many defiant Obscurati as possible from Nicodemus' murder attempt. Lastly, we tell her about our terrifying vision of the far future and hint that this is what might happen should Nicodemus' and the Obs' plan succeed. It seems like Ottavia actually believes everything we said, but alas she doesn't know how to contact Luc and educate him on his mistakes. She'll try to do her best to find and reach him though. She also has more information for us regarding Crisillyir: She did her best to keep an eye on the Obs officers who were sent back to their home nation after we had captured them on Mutravir. Officially, she explains, they just vanished and are marked as missing people. She doesn't know much about their status and we hint that they might be questioned as the Clergy might not be too happy about the existence of a conspiracy within their ranks. But when she also mentions a certain Vitus Sigismund and that he's being accused of disobedience and that he will be summoned to the High Pretorian to testify, we explain that this man's trial will most likely be a farce for the public and a chance for the Clergy to learn more about the Obs as we know for sure that Crisillyir is happy tho have their Godhand back. Either that or the High Pretorian is actually an Ob in disguise, but that would be something that Ottavia would be better suited for to find out. We also agree to send Vitus a message to ask him about his whereabouts in the not too far future. Before we say goodbye to Ottavia, we hand her two sending scrolls so she may contact us should she need our help or find out something of importance. One we advise her to use for contacting Luc. We also mention a certain trusted contact for the Clergy we might use in Flint (who is of course Morgan Cippiano even if we don't mention his name). Lastly, we ask Ottavia to stay safe and keep a low profile as we don't want to cause her trouble. She appreciates our care and promises to stay in contact. [COLOR=rgb(65, 168, 95)] (That went far better than anticipated. Seems like at least one half of the duo still has some sanity left. Ottavia is very brave and we were really happy to see her again in this episode. She, too, will have a role to play.)[/COLOR] [/QUOTE]
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