The day had been long and hard. Much had been lost. As much as the Logizombies seemed to exhibit some tactical sense, there were a few amongst them that had not stayed with the 'army'. These zombies were not beating at the gates of Venezzia.

They had came upon the city in the dead of night. Most of the gates were shut. The north gate, however, was not. It had been left open for any late Dwarven refugees. The swordsman in the guard post was slumped in a collapsable chair. Half drunk-half asleep. A volunteer like all the others. Alixenus and his forces had returned, but they were recovering in the barracks from their journey. So the Militia was still on duty. The guard never heard the zombie. Everyone heard his screams.

Within 20 minutes, Alixenus had been awokened by a herald with news of the zombies. Within 30 his dressed and armoured. Within 35 he could see the houses all along the North wall ablaze. Some of his troops had been sent off to the Dwarven lands and the desert in case the war dragged on. The ones that were left were the ones that Alixenus wanted to be here. Like the all-merchant units. Like the 2nd heavy horse. The very unit that Alixenus led out of the gate at a full gallop into the zombie hoarde. The gates closed again behind them as they powered through the mass of claws and teeth. Crossbow bolts rained down from the walls, more and more as the professionals arrived.

Alixenus drove his lance through a dwarven zombie and pinned it into the earth. But in that time a dozen more came and overwhelmed his steed. Alixenus swung wildly with his sword as he struggled to get his still-wounded leg free of the stirrup. Tumbling off in a metallic heap, he would surely have been trampled to death had his shield not been on his back.

Venezzia's new ruler awoke several ours later in a daze. The sun was rising, he could tell that much and he could hear something tapping on his helmet. Looking up, he saw it was a carrion crow testing his palatability. Alixenus shooed the Crow off and rose to his feet. Utter horror greeted his eyes. The ground all around him was littered with dead. At least the ground that he could see. The air was thick with acrid smoke from the burning houses and incindiary weapons. The rising sun turned this into an inpenetrable, bitter smog. The outlines of defensive fieldworks resolved themselves around him. Ditches, Gabionades, Timber command posts. The Tattered banner of the 2nd heavy horse stood in front of him. A plate-clad arm still hung onto it, a trail of blood indicating where the owner had gone.

Alixenus checked his shield. Shattered. He dropped it. Next his sword. Gone. Unarmed save for his gauntlets. Then his hearing came back to him. The discordant instruments of war still played around him. The dead were still groaning. There was the crackle of burning wood. The ripping and tearing of flesh. He gazed through the smoke. The command post was too far to go without a weapon. He was still searching for one when a zombie came upon him...

OOC Okay Brutus, essentially there's been a zombie apocalypse brewing for a while and it's finally spilled over. Now Sandromin and Thanatos fixed it in a previous post, but my subplot is running slightly behind their's. So we just have to hold out until the Zombies are suddenly roasted in a blinding light from heaven. I was planning on wrapping up this battle in the next post. any objections?

OOC alright then let's save Venezzia!

"No time to explain now Brutus", Alixenus yelled to his lofty companion as he scooped up a flanged Mace, "Just get me to that hut over there!"

The yelling attracted yet more of the living dead and it was now obvious that fighting their way to the command post was going to be a heroic struggle. But Alixenus was far from a heroic level of health after his ordeal. So, using logical that only a Giant can concoct, Brutus picked up Alixenus and threw him (Under-arm!!!) to the command post.

"Plate armour. he be fine" and with that he proceeded to decimate the surrounding necrotics with his horned helmet.

Alixenus had a relatively pleasant landing: chest first into half a horse. When he picked himself up and got the taste of offal out of his mouth he saw a pack of zombies beating on the door of the command post. He could see no signs of resistance from inside. But then he heard the whoosh of fast flowing water behind him. Turning about he saw one of Venezzia's many 'flood gate' cannons blasting away a pack of zombies: some were disintergrated by the torrent while others were carried away in the deluge. Alixenus could see gunners pointing at the beleagured command post. That cannon would wipe it out. There might not be anyone inside but he had to try.

Charging into the back of the group beating on the door, Alixenus smashed his flanged Mace into the skull of one of the larger specimens dressed in a loin cloth. It twitched and quivered before turning around to try to eat him with what was left of it's mouth. Alixenus struck again and turned most of it's head to pulp. It now wandered aimlessly whilst it's cohorts now seeked vengance. This was no time for artistry or virtuosity. Alixenus attacked with brute force, using himself and the Mace to break limbs and knock down the dead at every opportunity. Mace to the knee. Elbow spike to the eyes. Fist to the nose. Boot to ribs. Severed arm to the arm still attached. and all the while he could hear the cannon slowly filling with water.

Using the remains of his last opponent as a springboard, Alixenus lept onto the roof of the command post and started waving frantically at the cannon. For an eternity it seemed to stay aimed at him. The gunners peering at him with curiosity through the mist. The zombies he just fought through were getting back to their feet. At last Venezzia's defenders turned their bile upon another group of undead. Alixenus slumped over on the roof, exhausted, not caring about the many hands clawing at him.

Brutus casually walked up to him, a tree over his shoulder like a club. He looked at at Alixenus curiously.
"Friend dead?"
"Friend tired"
"Oh, but still fight?"
"Yes"
"fight now?"
"Hmm.... may aswell"

So he heaved himself to his feet, grabbed the Mace and lept off the roof at a human zombie. But as the blow was struck blazing fire came down from the skies, blinding all present. When they felt they could open their eyes again, they found the dead were vanquished. Alixenus found his mace was deep in a pile of ash. He looked puzzled for a moment, then he shrugged, dropped the mace, took off his face guard and sat down on that half a horse.

He said to himself, "Not bad Sandromin, not bad at all. But, I don't think we did too badly ourselves... Yup, Thanatos may have all his fancy magic and such, but I think we did alright"

The smog lifted, it was midday. The birds were singing. The walls had held.

OOC: for simplicity's sake, the memory modification of the logipriests during their transformation back from zombie form only effects identity. That is, we're still speaking English. On a side note, thank god we didn't decide to make up whole new languages yet. Anyway. Identities. This means we don't know who we are, who you are, proper nouns, mostly. We recognise villages, but not their names. If we see a sign saying Venezzia, for example, we will no longer recognise it as a trading, water oriented race of people recently undergone a revolution, but we will then associate you guys as venezzians once more.

END OOC.

-

"Who are you?"
I turned, and a woman was staring at me. She was naked but for a loin cloth and on her body ran the same golden runes over the same greenish skin. The others gathered around and stared at each other as well.
"I... I do not know."

"Why are we here?" The smallest of us squeaked.

"I can't answer that either."

"You know", began a bald, wizened man, the golden lines of runes broken by folds of old skin. "I was looking down at the village, and I saw some who looked similar to us. However, you might not like how they looked."

We all strode over to the edge of the tree line and peered down the hill. I gasped. Strewn across the plain before a coastal town were piles upon piles of ashes, and scattered along the ashes were bodies. Green bodies, with gold runes. They were all dead.

After a long silence, I regained my senses.

"It would seem we are not welcome down there, at least. I assume those were our kind... And we're slaughtered by whoever resides in those towns. Brutes, I'd wager. Look, I see no one else dead besides those who look like us. It did not seem as if we wanted a battle at all."

I turned.

"Friends, I do not know your names. I do not know our purpose. All I know is if we reside here any longer, we will not be treated warmly. We must go."

And with the ringing sense of finality and adventure, I took a step forward... then was paralysed and fell to the ground, unconscious.

OOC: SCP Foundation your inspiration? I love that wiki.

Although the building is collapsing, I keep an eye on Xavier...

"I will go, but once outside, I must detain you to ask some questions. Do not worry, I shall release you after done with my questions; it is simply for information purposes. Now, let us go!"

We begin running through the corridors towards the exit. Every door is shut, but we run through holes in the walls, hidden passages, and finally reach the exit.

Once outside, there is completely new welcoming party.

>Team-R99 Leader reporting. Capture attempts unsuccessful. Targets appear to have a defense unit outmatching any of us.
>Overseer-R99 responding. Describe defense unit.
>For the Collective's sake, man, I don't have time for this. Here, I'll take a photo ans send it to you.

The team leader's optics flashed as he took a photo of Brutus, after which he broadcasted to his other teammates:

>New squad order: RUN THE [EXPLETIVE REDACTED] AWAY!

The robots then began a strategic retreat towards base, which of course means to say they ran like the cowards they were.

Alixenus sighed at the sight of Brutus running over yonder.
"I'd better get after him before he starts another war"
he grabbed a smattering of weapons from a passing corpse wagon and then lept on a wandering horse and proceeded at a canter after his giant...guest. After he some time he passed through the outermost village which was surrounded with logipriest corpses. Cresting a hill he saw Brutus standing over a group of unconscious Logipriests and smashed suit of armour. Alixenus carefully rolled over the one nearest to him and was seized with a tumult of emotions.
"You..."

It seemed so long ago, an expedition with four ships, colony plans, a career on the brink of ruination. All because of this one. The leader of the Logipriests! Of course, he couldn't kill the logipriest; Brutus was acting as protector. He is the third member of the alliance, so diplomatically this would be a disaster. But what nation? These look to be the last Logipriest. And what a joke they were anyway! Living in trees wearing loincloths! But he nearly ruined me, destroyed our ships, ate my people, summoned Golems and tried to run our choclate industry into the ground.

The city's honour demanded some penalty be exacted, but perhaps, perhaps, not in the conventional way.
Several hours later a prisoner wagon arrived with some doctors for the Logipriests. Brutus looked on suspiciously whilst Alixenus tried to hammer out a dent in his helmet with a broken pole hammer. The last Logipriest had been loaded up when he felt a stinging sensation in the back of his neck. Reaching around, Alixenus found a tranquiliser dart. He was able to get half a blast out of his horn before he fell backwards off of his horse...

...and saw the automen coming out of the trees.

Venezzia's interim administrator wasn't setting a very good example to everyone else. At present he was sitting in a Tavern, nursing his umpteenth glass of wine and contemplating his ill fortune.

"Truly, the universe must have it out for Venezzia," he thought, "First we suffer a reverse at sea because of those damn logipriests, Then Golems and zombies and a civil war ! Then we find out that we're technologically outclassed by everyone and that machines have risen up against us.... Why? The answer is obivous. They smell the scent of death on this nation. They're just going to let us exhaust ourselves swinging for them and then they will make the kill."

Alixenus paused to order another bottle while peasants looked on in concern and merchants whispered about him at the next table.

"Venezzia power was only good as long as we were fighting savages. Sure, sandmen raiders on our land caravans gave us a run for our money, but we held our own. I bet Sandromin smells death on us too. He wants us to just conveniently forget all we lost to raiders like Armok? He wants this city too. They all do. You don't just suddenly reveal your civilisation to another and then just start a military alliance. This is all a trick. Well, if they want Venezzia, they will have to come and take it"

OOC Please bear in mind that these are my internal thougths, I wasn't making a public address or anything like that.

Ooh sorry Brutus, no need to worry. I'll edit in some exposition to that post. You haven't botched anything :)

OOC: Alright then, here are the current situations in the plot threads of the Collective:

Meanwhile, at the Collective main city...
A loud buzzer went off in a white room, waking the large figure of Brutus lying on the floor. A mechanical voice said through an intercom:"Welcome, Subject 89, to your test chambers. After you complete your tests, you shall be released. Proceed to the next room. Failure to comply with orders will result in a reprimand via your shock collar."

In another testing chamber...
The buzzer woke up the six logipriests in a test chamber, with the same instructions issued.

In a negotiation with Sandromin...
The Engineer stood before Sandromin a few hours after their alliance was formed. "The Book was in our possession at a previous time. We had uncovered it in the tomb of the previous Archnecromancer, and were researching its properties. The one called Xavier stole it and you know the rest (OOC: Can we retcon this into the story?). If you require assistance in locating and capturing him, we would be more than able to dispense any number of squadrons to provide reinforcements." the robot said.

OOC: Vyzion, D&D is the mother of all RPGs. It's been around since the 70s, and has gone through four editions, with the 5th being in open beta. It's a table-top pen and paper RPG that's primarily fantasy-based.

Thanatos, is it okay I don't edit that part of the post? Let's say it was a database glitch, but at some time, the Collective had come into contact with the book, and had tried to study any data gained. Because according to the words Sandromin put into my mouth, the collective was at some point involved with the book, and since these guys are allergic to magic, this is the only way I can explain that.


At the logipriests' test chambers...
After the priests proceeded to the next chamber, an iris aperture closed the room they had come in through. They stood in a room outfitted as an obstacle course. The intercom went on again, as the voice said:"Complete this course, starting from the designating starting point." This was a test of strength and agility, and every element of the course had sensors installed.

At Brutus's test chambers...
After a few shocks, Brutus was finally greeted by an obstacle source, of course larger to fit his size.

The course enraged Brutus, a farce of the wild, every single moment that he interacted with the metal beings he began to hate them even more. But they had him on a literal leash and he knew it. The first thing that he thought of was the that and obstacle with gravity would be a problem considering his weight, the soncond was are the fact that he knew the green people were here and the third was if his friend Alixenus was safe. This last thought enraged him the most and with that rage he carried him self through the course not faith finesse, not even with his rage or strength, the thought that carried him through was loyalty. For the green people, and for his friend Alixenus. He made it past every obstacle almost in a trance like state. Until he reached e end the metal voice buzzed around him " we'll done subject 89, perhaps you're not as stupid as you look after all." And it was with this statement Brutus lowered his head, the once defiant giant knew that he had become something that he hatted more than the metal men...he was their play thing....

"Good, good." the voice said to Brutus. In the next room, a screen stood behind bullet-proof glass, along with a microphone. "This is a standard test of mental aptitude, given orally. Try to answer questions correctly when prompted." the intercom said. The screen started a pre-loaded mental aptitude test, divided into sections of reasoning, memory and concentration.

OOC: You're doing fine. Break out if you wish, though good luck finding your way through the maze-like Collective city.

At the logipriests' test chambers...
>Surveillance program to Overseer A89. Subjects seem to have teleported out of their chambers.
>Any sign of them in the city?
>Negative.
>Inform the Engineer.

Meanwhile, at the negotiation with Sandromin...
The Engineer was read the message sent to him with puzzlement. "The logipriests seem to have escaped from our custody Should we pursue them?" he said to Sandromin.

In Brutus's test chambers...
"Now, a test of your abilities..." the voice said, as a captured human and a tiger were dropped from a low ceiling. The tiger did not appear hostile to Brutus, but instead began to close in on the helpless test subject, who cowered in fear.

In the conversation with Sandromin...
"We're doing some behavioral tests on Brutus too. I'll inform you when we get any results." the Engineer interjected.

In Brutus's test chambers...
>Interesting. Subject seems to minimize damage done to individuals when possible.
>He is a member of his nation's council...
>What? Why doesn't anybody tell me anything?
>We're at war with them anyway.
>Oh. Then I suggest we release the subject anyway. There's no use in holding him for ransom: Venezzia'd probably turn their water jets on us.
>OK then.

Chutes opened under the feet of all test subjects, leading to the hold of a large helicopter, which flew a hundred miles or so before dropping off the tiger close to a forest, the other subject close to a city of [DATA EXPUNGED] (which means the writer was too lazy to write something), and Brutus in the middle of the desert, a brigade of sandmen scrutinizing his every move, undetected.

The conversation with Sandromin...
"We have just dropped off Brutus in the desert. Your people are watching him closely to see what he does. He is at your mercy, a person of high importance in Venezzia. Here are his test results." A strip of paper issued from his arm, containing Brutus's physical test results (the mental test results were listed as non-applicable due to uncooperativeness on part of the test subject), plus notes about his general reaction to disputes.

You know... Golem from the Hobbit?

Stands flabbergasted in the middle of the dessert, saddened that the other two subjects weren't with him. And that the green people were no where do be found. " failure" rage and sadness and many other emotions washed through his head, but failure was what he thought of himself the most, he started repeating "failure" over and over again as he slammed his fist into the shifting sands. Failure...he knew he was, he failed in protecting his long dead family, he failed in protecting the green people, he failed in even protecting a tiger and some random human in captivity...his anger subsided into sadness as his swings become less and less powerful, and tears streamed through his great helm. Sobs of names long forgot to time echo through the many dunes. Sobs of helion and heliana and herana. His sadness echo's across the entire desert, reaching even to the capital...

ooc: Yeah, I noticed. I'm going to insert a major plot twist soon, so get ready.

Hint: It'll involve a new map, immigrants, and a new military force.

Brutus tired off his weak display shakes his head and stretches. He begins to walk, not toward anywhere in particular, but his general direction would be the capital of the desert region. Hoping he'll find something, some one to help help back to his friend Alixenus, and the green people.

After walking for hours not stopping to rest once, at the same pace, even his "escort" of sand men become winded at to the never ending stamina and pace of the giant, who still hasn't noticed them. As he reaches the top of a particularly high dune he looks over the horizon. Nothing for miles around...or wait...no, a light dim in the dark hours of night, but there none-the-less. Light means civilization, civilization means help, help means getting back to his friend, Alixenus and the green people. Elated Brutus charges down the dune laughing heartily, until he stops suddenly at the bottom of the dune... The realization of a few things stopped him.
One. He realized he was being followed.
Two. Not many people are comfortable with a ten fot tall heavily armored giant
And three, he didn't know what to do when he got to the city/village/ town or what have you.
But he did know one thing, he wouldn't be captured again.
Brutus turned to the hiding sand men and bellowed a challenge to the possibly hostile, possibly friendly "escort" readying him self for anything.

Brutus tried with all his will to stay calm, these sand people had families, brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers and lovers. Each strike against the sand people was only enough to break bones at the hardest, and knock out at the weakest. The sand men weren't pushovers by any stretch, many scimitars and daggers flashed through his field of vision before a sharp prick was felt at one of his joints, just enough to get through his armor and just enough to hurt him, quite badly. He could tell the sand men weren't trying to kill him, they wanted him alive. He wouldn't allow that. If he was losing this fight he'd lose dead in a pool of his blood, not chained up as an attraction or test subject. He'd already knocked out or incapacitated at least half the brigade, but his strength was failing him two hours of sustained fighting was his maximum. Maybe he could kill these last few..."NO!" He shouted to reassure himself. He couldn't kill these men. Even as they tried to hamstring him, he couldn't...wouldn't...kill these men.he counted 15 more. He cursed himself for rushing into this fight. These were highly trained soldier's not shambling corpses, or machines. These were effective raiders, marauders...human's. a weak swing to his rightmost opponent missed and hit open air. He needed to end this fight quickly. Another swing, this one caught two who were unwary, new to this probably. 13 left, and all veterans probably. Three rushed him at once,he rushed back;shoulders down as battering rams. Knocked down two of them, the third side stepped and stabbed into the joint of his left leg. Searing pain shot up thigh as he kicked out behind him to catch the third in the stomach. Ten left. brutus you damned fool, why do you always rush into everything? That's why helion and...
"SHUT UP!" Was the last he knew he said before he blacked out.

Angel Eyes drew his Laser, but Bojo had already quick-drawn his trusty Scrambler Pistol. Bojo managed five shots before the laser had become active. However, the damage build up was significant, and when it winged Bojo, he fell to the ground in agonizing pain. It had managed to create the smallest breach in his armor and fried his skin underneath.

Bojo's repair unit quickly went to work, mending the damage. Angel Eyes' footsteps could be heard as his massive boots hit the ground. Dust began to pick up.

Angel Eyes rounded the corner and fired his laser. But Bojo was not there.

"Damn, cloaking" he grumbled.

The pitter patter of light footsteps could be heard just behind Angel Eyes. He whipped around and fired his beam. But Bojo had done some serious squats.

Bojo's cloaking deactivated and revealed Bojo nailing a Remote Explosive to the breast of Angel Eyes with a custom Nova Knife 40 cm in length. Bojo leaped off of Angel Eyes and onto a balcony above the courtyard. Angel Eyes tried to get his beam on him but Bojo was quick.

Bojo detonated the explosives and a loud explosion occurred. Dust that had settled on the ceramic tiles of the courtyard were whipped upwards. Bojo hopped down from his perch and approached the body of Angel Eyes.

A large hole was blown off of the armor and blood oozed outwards. Bojo unmasked Angel Eyes, watching the grotesque miracle of death. But then something caught his eyes. Angel Eyes' mustache was slightly askew. Bojo investigated. Upon touch, a fake mustache slid off the lips of the sweat drenched body.

"Oh shi-"
Two projectiles pierced Bojo's chest moving with incredible velocity. Bojo laid there on the ground, looking towards the direction of the shots. A figure, high up on the roof of the palace revealed itself.

Brutus tried with all his will to stay calm, these sand people had families, brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers and lovers. Each strike against the sand people was only enough to break bones at the hardest, and knock out at the weakest. The sand men weren't pushovers by any stretch, many scimitars and daggers flashed through his field of vision before a sharp prick was felt at one of his joints, just enough to get through his armor and just enough to hurt him, quite badly. He could tell the sand men weren't trying to kill him, they wanted him alive. He wouldn't allow that. If he was losing this fight he'd lose dead in a pool of his blood, not chained up as an attraction or test subject. He'd already knocked out or incapacitated at least half the brigade, but his strength was failing him two hours of sustained fighting was his maximum. Maybe he could kill these last few..."NO!" He shouted to reassure himself. He couldn't kill these men. Even as they tried to hamstring him, he couldn't...wouldn't...kill these men.he counted 15 more. He cursed himself for rushing into this fight. These were highly trained soldier's not shambling corpses, or machines. These were effective raiders, marauders...human's. a weak swing to his rightmost opponent missed and hit open air. He needed to end this fight quickly. Another swing, this one caught two who were unwary, new to this probably. 13 left, and all veterans probably. Three rushed him at once,he rushed back;shoulders down as battering rams. Knocked down two of them, the third side stepped and stabbed into the joint of his left leg. Searing pain shot up thigh as he kicked out behind him to catch the third in the stomach. Ten left. brutus you damned fool, why do you always rush into everything? That's why helion and...
"SHUT UP!" Was the last he knew he said before he blacked out.

[OOC] Yes, attend, Xavier. This will be interesting indeed.

[/OOC]

Whilst Vyzion slowly stood up, gazing around at his home, the Logipriest jungle, he wondered where his companions were.
As he was wondering...

On a popular beach along the Venezzian coastline, a body was washed up onto shore. It was a woman with pale green skin and golden runes, her hair fanned out along the sand, unconscious.

In the tunnels of Lucia, a dwarf stumbled, calling for help. A few friends answered his cries, and came running. They followed him back into the tunnel to a tiny alcove mined out for ore, and found an elderly man, pale green with golden runes running along his skin, sleeping peacefully.

A white room, pure white, was suddenly tainted by green, red and gold. Lying on the floor of this white room was another woman, similar to the other, except her skin was red: soaked in her own blood. She was unconscious, but the microphones installed in the room picked up her faint cries. "Hayde... help..." The Collective was stunned for a moment; no-one should know where their facilities were based, so how did this woman get in?

Two sandmen who were drawing water from an oasis, their faces covered by cloth and their eyes by primitive glass googles to protect themselves from the raging sandstorm, shouted to one another in surprise when what they assumed to be a cactus on the other side of the body of water moved. They went to investigate and found a man, staggering in the direction of the Collective's testing facilities, holding his back as if it were injured, and calling out a name. "Layla,", he was muttering. "Wait for me." They knocked him unconscious and began to drag him back to the capital.

Brutus, sitting on a sand dune like a bean bag, looked wearily upon the sandmen he was dragging along. Some were stirring; they were surfacing from the sea of unconsciousness. He stood up, picked up the ropes of his makeshift sleigh, and began plodding on. He looked behind him for a moment to check on the sandmen and stopped, stunned. The sand shifted as he stood up from the dune revealed a greenish tinge. He jumped over and dug out a small boy, the golden tattoos on his skin partially masked by the sand pouring off his body. He was tossing and turning in Brutus' enormous hands, plagued by his own nightmares.

-

The message of the Diyadians began to spread. A meeting. All nations represented. Venezzia.

Each would take their respective logipriest, believing only they had one, believing only they had a clue to the mystery, a piece of the puzzle. Brutus and Sandromin, once they unite, will have two.

-

I did not know what to do. My companions were gone. Layla, Hayde, Dariyls, Conyr and Natyli. I knew their names. My memories were restored.

I was the leader of the Logipriests. Exactly what the voice had called me. But there was no more nation, there was only six of us left.

And now I was alone. I realised that surely I would feel something if one of them died... an influx of power, perhaps.
I also knew that if they were not here, they would come.

They would return or die in the attempt.

So I sat and waited, and hoped.

Brutus knew his problems could only grow from here, one of the sand men, the first one who had awaken and help with Brutus' task, came to his side. The sand man said something, but Brutus didn't hear it. Brutus stood up slowly with the young logipriest in his hands still, he was trying not to wake the young one, waking someone from a nightmare was a bad omen in his people's culture. An extremely bad omen. So he did something that was a surprise to the sand men, and even him self. He began to rock the child back and forth gently, and started to hum in a lullaby, and not to bad either, he continues this this until the young one stops stirring in his nightmare state.he then lays the child down on one of the smaller armor pieces that was considered relatively comfortable. Going back to the tangle of ropes the tired Brutus, was energized. He had found one of the logipriest.. With a new vigor Brutus began trotting along the desert at a brisk pace, the sand men trailing behind him, and along with the logipriest, Brutus was actually laughing , he was the only one laughing until the company of sand men saw their city in the distance only a few hours away. They had almost made it. And with that the conscious sand men began laughing with the giant one of them even patted Brutus on the back, and with that the company of sand men, a giant and a sleeping green child, began to quicken their pace.

Warm welcome didn't describe what happened when Brutus and the now fully awake group, sand men and logipriest include, entered the capital.mothers, sons, daughters,brothers,wives,fathers,cousins essentially entire families came out of their homes when the group was spotted on a nearby dune. Brutus' armor shined as bright as sun, which nearly blinded some of his new companions, whom he had grown quite fond of. They made him wear the tarp like a cloak, but he didn't mind, everything was finally going his way. His new found allies were reunited with their families, he had found one of the logipriest and finally had a way to get back to Venezzia. Brutus felt alive and happy until he realized that he'd been walking for days, only resting when the sand men needed to. His strength was nearly gone, he'll his strength was completely gone by nowhere could barley take a step forward. But just as he thought he was finally clear to rest a large group of armed sand men, and the collective converged upon him. Brutus protectively stood inform of the young logipriest. Brutus braced himself for conflict, hee knew he couldn't do much but he'd die for the logipriest child. And just as he thought his time had finally come one of the sand men, the one named, Sandromin, stepped forward and began to talk, and at that moment Brutus fell unconscious.

Conyr looked up at the giant, craning his neck far back. He saw in the rough face eyes that expressed emotion. True emotion.
Very rarely does someone express themself so freely, Conyr though with remarkable wisdom at such a young age. I think it will be safe to stay with this big one, Brutus.

"Hi, Brutus. My name is Conyr. I think... I think we'll be good friends."

OOC: By the way Brutus, Sandromin added after your post that you were already part of his caravan, and therefore you're at or near Venezzia.

,

Conyr looked up at the giant, craning his neck far back. He saw in the rough face eyes that expressed emotion. True emotion.
Very rarely does someone express themself so freely, Conyr though with remarkable wisdom at such a young age. I think it will be safe to stay with this big one, Brutus.

"Hi, Brutus. My name is Conyr. I think... I think we'll be good friends."

[

Brutus nodded at the young logipriest, " Conyr. Good name" Brutus closed his fist and hit his chest with it " strong,name." The young logipriest smiled at that, which made Brutus happy In turn. Brutus was content to until he realized it wasn't scolding hot out side or inside. "Where we at?" He looked to Conyr In befuddlement. Conyr simply said" uh...the leader of the sand men, Sandromin brought us In a caravan. I....thought you knew." Brutus felt embarrassed at his lack of knowledge. But was glad that Conyr hadn't scoffed at him. This boy would be something great one day. Brutus then looked at the sand man who had opened a window to show Brutus where they were, and where they were, was Venezzia. Brutus' day was getting better and better. He looked at Conyr then back at the sand man, who he would from now on call sandy, weather he knew his name or not. Brutus hurried around the room looking for his armor which he found under his bed. He quickly put it on and hurried his companions out the door to see the the great city. The giant the logipriest, and the sand man all stood astounded. The city was magnificent. "We find Alixenus. Then" Brutus looked over to Conyr, " we find your family." Conyr smiled gregariously, and asked Brutus if he promised.to which Brutus swore he'd protect Conyr with his life. And with that the strange company set off toward where " sandy" said a meeting was about to take place

"She struck you? My Lord this is intolerable! She must be hanged at once!"
"No! The Priestess is not to be harmed."
"But she is a mere refugee, one that lead an army of Zombies against us at that! Honour demands-"
"I do not care what honour demands, Chamberlain! She will remain unharmed. Surely it is more chivalrous to not exact revenge like a child? Is that not enough to convince you?"

The Chamberlain took the hint. He bowed and scurried out. Alixenus rubbed his now brusing face as he stood looking out of the window over the Palazzo de Venezzia. The Priestess had earned a modicum of respect with that kick. But was it just a kick? He could still smell that, scent, on his face where she had connected. Had she enchanted him somehow? Some form of non-magic trickery? That would have to wait until later. The delegates were arriving for Thanatos' conference, though Alixenus was suprised when the Diyadian envoy arrived without Thanatos and he felt no small measure of sadness when he learnt of the King's passing.

"Sergeant of the Pipes?"
"Yes my Lord?
"Sound the Horns of Venezzia, it is time to summon the diplomats"
"Very good sir."
"And have the magical prisoner brought into one of the Private rooms downstairs. I want her close at hand in case the diplomats demand to see her"

A few minutes later a mighty boom echoed across the city signalling all men of import to the Council complex.

Darilys was oblivious to anything else. As he turned each page, wonder poured through his body. The runes... The runes were so familiar... He looked on his body.

They were one and the same.

He flipped, saw more runes, saw runes on his body that matched those runes. But Darilys did not care. He was absorbed by the book, all he wanted to do was keep reading... Reading... A noise disturbed him, he ignored it. A man, shouting to search a ship... Darilys did not care about ships... He just wanted to read... Be quiet, he thought. Everything went silent. Darilys smiled; the book agreed. The book wanted to be read. It would do anything to keep being read. Darilys heard footsteps behind him and a cry: "Intruder in the hull!". He heard the metallic zing of a sword being unsheathed, still he kept reading. Go away, he thought. Nothing hit him.

Xavier was thrown with the force of a charging elephant backwards and slammed against the other side of the hull, smashed through inches of thick wood, and splashed into the water. He arose, gasping and furious, to watch the rest of his dwarves sailing from the boat in similar trajectories, shock on their faces. He swam back to the dock and stood there, watching the boat warily, pondering his next move.

-

Natyli glared at the two men as they unshackled her hands and reshackled them into other bindings, also inscribed by runes. She struggled as they hauled her out of the dungeon into daylight. Curious people watched as she was hauled to the palace.

The men were strong, but they could not resist the perfume. She had bathed in it for years; all female logipriests did. The effect had dulled on people of their own race, but prolonged exposure to it by others caused infatuation, especially to the opposite sex. Only the strongest resisted it.The men now glared back at her, hungrily, and Natyli felt fear. She was bound, unable to escape... They started salivating. Instead of continuing towards the palace, they turned down a dark alleyway.

-

Conyr watched Brutus lope away. He felt wrong; the giant's company was extremely comfortable. When he was sitting on Brutus' shoulder he had felt like a giant himself, the land was open to him. He had seen over rooftops, and using this knowledge of the city's layout, he knew Brutus was heading for the port. Scrabbling up a nearby building with incredible agility, Conyr decided to follow his giant friend.

Soaring over rooftops, he felt like he had wings. Conyr laughed as he chased Brutus' upper torso, the only part visible to him from his position. He could see the masts of ships ahead. Suddenly, a scream rent the air. Conyr slowed and looked down. He couldn't believe his eyes: Natyli was being assaulted by two men, intent on tearing off her rough clothes. Conyr was unaffected by the perfume and still too young to understand what was happening, so he watched, confused, for a while. Of course, he had seen the older logipriests mate, but never so roughly. One of the men actually punched her to her knees, throwing her head up. Then she saw him.

"Conyr, help!"

Galvanised into action, he acted without thinking and launched himself straight from the roof onto the shoulders of one of the men. He heard a crack as he leapt off, and turned to see the man on the ground clutching his knee. The problem was, thr man with the broken knee had fallen on Natyli, and he had a sabre pressed against her throat. They were no mercenaries, these were experts in their field, and they had just turned a surprise to their advantage. The other man turned towards Conyr menacingly, drawing two sabres. Uh oh.

-

I was standing on top of a roof, staring at the ship with a dwarf shaped hole in its hull. The dwarf responsible for the hole, Xavier, was silently watching the ship, dripping wet. Entry into Venezzia had been easy enough. The crowds swarming in, all conversing about delegations, representatives, kings, lord lieutenants, and a great meeting, a great conference. He blended in, and sought the source of his discomforting feeling. This is where he found himself.

It must be Darilys. The old man was always too smart for his own good. I remembered when he used to host riddle competitions for the children, tell tall tales of great heroes and villains. I loved his stories. Behind his elderly guise, though, he held a yearning to be younger. His powers used to be great before the inevitable progress of time weakened him.
I knew I'd find Darilys in that ship.
I knew he would have to die.

"What on earth is going on in my City?"

The bells signifying general quarters were sounding near the Western dock. Civilians seemed to be fleeing in a blind panic from that area. He heard no fire, no swords. This wasn't a raid, it was something else. Alixenus rushed to the armoury and grabbed a suit of 'musterfield' armour (A nickname for light armour desgined to be pulled on quickly) and a broadsword.
Rushing to the docks, he found Marines from various ships began to congregate around him as they made their way to their respective ships. City guards were scrambling onto rooftops to get a better view of what was going on. But a few streets from the Port, Alixenus saw the strangest scene being acted out in a back alley. Freezing to the spot to see what was going on, most of the marines passed by him, a few staying to check he was alright.

When the street had cleared , he saw two city guards running from Brutus, past a sandman and an elderly looking Logipriest. Next to Brutus was a pair of Logipriests. One young and male and the other... was the Prisoner.

"Oh seven hells, this going to go bad very fast" Alixenus subtly made the hand signal for "Be ready. Use spears" before approaching Brutus with genuine friendship, hoping he could diffuse this before Brutus turned him into paste.

"Brutus! My friend! It is so good to see you! Where have been all this time?"
Brutus slapped his chest in greeting and said "Brutus...has been all over" He let out a mighty laugh and moved to pick Alixenus up.

But Conyr, being perceptive, had seen the emotions etched on Natyli's face when she saw Alixenus.
"Wait!" He yelled at Brutus. The giant stopped, perplexed.
"Why stop?"
"Ask him why Natyli is in chains and was attacked in his city"
Brutus almost looked hurt at Conyr's near-accusation. He turned to Alixenus and said "Why?"

"There is no point in lying to you." Alixenus said as he slowly loosed his sword in its Scabbard. "Natyli is a prisoner of the Republic of Venezzia for crimes perpetrated by the Logipriest nation, which include a raid by Golems and a full scale Zombie siege"
"You chain her?" Hostility was evident in Brutu's voice.
"Yes, to prevent escape and prevent her use of Magic. I was having her brought from a secure Dungeon to the South to the Council complex for the Talks"
"Where guard? Why was she attacked"
"Those idiots that ran off were her guard. Wait! WAIT BRUTUS! They were under strict orders to bring her to the talks, they weren't supposed to be in this alley. Now, granted Natyli is young and Men have their evils, but those men were too disciplined to risk throwing their careers away by defying my order not to harm her."

The tension in that alley was Palpable. Brutus, conflicted over his loyalty to the Logipriests and Alixenus. Conyr inspecting every inch of the chains to try to free Natyli. The old Logipriest, looking highly suspicious and the Sandman keeping a careful eye on everyone.

"So Brutus, what happens now?"

Xavier, after he recovers from the dock and follows the Giant,




"There's the brute!"

Xavier sprints toward Alixenus and the logipriests. And toward the crying, pitiful giant. His men followed him.

Xavier, dripping wet, speaks:

"Alixenus! Please do not tell me this pitiful worm is your ally. He insulted me by ramming me off my own ship, sinking it, and assisting these thieves," he looks at the logipriests, "in stealing my book!"

He points his shining blade toward the woman.

"You wicked harlot! Where is your friend, hmmm? Your friend stole my book! But I bet you already knew that. If you were in my lands, I would have your head."

Xavier lowers his sword from the shaken women, and looks to Alixenus.

"But these are your lands, comrade. Or should I say Supreme Leader?"

He chuckles to himself. The burning in his heart is still present, but albeit dimmed.

"I hope you didn't decline the job? It 'tis a simple one. My people are doing well anyway. But on to the subject at hand.

He then scowls at the giant and logipriests

"These people have stolen an important artifact to the Lucia, destroyed my ship so I cannot return home, and attempted to murder the Grand Liberator. Now, what do you say about that?"

Little did the two Logipriests know, they had passed the large airship that transported the Secret Council of Diyad. They were met by two Alkhemist Knights, not just any, but the most elite Diyadian force know as "The King's Men". There alkhemical abilities only surpassed by the late king. One should not take them as common idiotic foot soldiers, for they are also Diyad's greatest scientists. Their armor of shiny white and gold. Their gold helmets completely covering their faces. Their eyes each a glowing blue. They grab each by the arm gently. One begins to speak:

" You shouldn't be causing so much trouble during one the most important events of the 3rd Era. Luckily we were able to defuse the stir you caused in the pub. The last thing we want is a war. Especially considering Diyad plans to work in your favor. Please come with us to our airship. We will have meals and baths prepared for you both."


.

OOC 3rd or 4th? Bravo everyone. I reward you with 9000 internet and my eternal and undying suprise at this success.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Uhhh, well Brutus, that is certainly a valid suggestion, one that I am suprised was not voiced earlier. In this respect I do not mind. If we decide their fate for them my vote is already cast. I abstain from any vote about Brutus' suggestion and hereby retire from deliberations for the evening. If you need me I will be in the antichamber enjoying some Port" As much as he wanted to chase after Natyli, Alixenus wished to honour the Diyadians secret request that he remained on hand after the day's talks were over. So he waited, as calmly as he could.

Brutus nodded,and thanked his friend for telling him all the answers to his questions.
"Brutus find go for walk now, like city, remind Brutus of home."
Alixenus seemed confused at Brutus' comment.
"Brutus tell latter." And with that he and Conyr went for a walk.
The unlikely pair strolled through the city, and to Brutus' astonishment no one seemed to care that a giant was trudging around with a green child.the two walked in silence, or Brutus walked while Conyr sat on his shoulder's. Brutus was happy, ecstatic more like it. He had found Alixenus, stopped a bar fight and found several of the logipriest. Speaking of.
"Conyr" the giant started.
"Vyzion, Conyr's father?"

We'll just have a filler Arc. I think that would be best. Just technological updates with the sometimes random battle or something or other.

"No one knows, Brutus."

Conyr smiled.

"When logipriests make babies they do it in what my friends call 'giant orgies'. I'm not sure what it means but it all new children are cared for by the whole community. I think it's quite fun; we're never bound to a few parents, or solely responsible for younger siblings. A giant family, that's what we used to have. As giant as you, I dare say."

Conyr didn't continue, and lapsed into silence. Children below we're looking up at him, some scared, some afraid, some jealous.

Conyr knew the others had left him, but why? No matter. He had Brutus.

That was another thing not having parents instilled, Conyr realised. Independence. Freedom.

"I didn't know he was that unstable." the Collective amvassador said after Xavier stormed out of the room. "Good day." it said as it walked out and joined the rest of the delegation.

---

The robot that had nearly fallen prey to the magnetic baton looked up at Brutus. "Thank you." it said with some surprise. "You're one of the delegates, right?" it continued, faintly recognizing the giant.

OOC: I've been ardently following this thread for some time, and I just have to say; Brutus, you tell one kitten of a heart-crushing story.

As he makes his way back into Venezzia Brutus is passes by a large flying ship surrounded by Diyadian soldier, alkhemists and representatives. The group seems to be having a problem with ship repair. They immediately forget this after one of the worker notices the giant. Grown men and women are reduced to bubbly children in awe of the sight of an actual giant. They begin to crowd around him asking him if he was a real giant. It would seem that Diyadians are naturally fond of giants. Their history may be more deep that Achyr had let on. One of the workers approached Brutus.

"Excuse me kind fellow. Do you think you could help us with a matter of importance. You see our ship is damaged, those large rubber tubes over there have been torn and that huge gear has fallen off. Our more elite alkhemists are too busy protecting the council members, and we are not strong enough yet to manipulate such large objects. Would you be so kind as to help us fix our ship, for we would be eternally grateful."

The alkhemist maintains a grin from ear to ear. Though one could only tell by his eyes... for he wore a helmet.

"That's simple. Even with iyo we aren't quite strong enough to fix those. But being a giant, not only do you have a resistance to its toxic effects, but giants are naturally adept in alkhemistry. Plus you're large enough to already maintain a good control of it. Usually a novice alkhemist has a small box filled with iyonic energy that fits in the palm of his hand. You're so big you might need to grab one of the large containers over there. All you have to do is hold it out and concentrate. You should be able to see the tube molecule by molecule. Do you know what a molecule is? No matter. If you don't you will know. Once you are fully concentrated it's as easy as willing those molecules back together. It shouldn't be too difficult for you!

//OOC: Thanks Brutus. Somehow, mage-type characters have always appealed to me, and in most RPGs, my first choice would be playing as a mage. I guess that's why I've decided to introduce my race as the Ashborn.

By the way, the introduction of your character (a giant!) really surprised me and seems even more unique. Not only that, but you did an amazing job fleshing him out quite deeply in the emotional aspect. //End of OOC\\

OOC: Sandy just made me realize that this story has been having a severe lack of comic relief lately...

OOC: Sandromin Sandy is one sandy sand man...

The man reaches from his backpack a goblet and a container filled with port and begins pouring himself a glass. He also reaches out out a rather large pouch filled completely with gold coins. He tosses the pouch to Xavier. Another he hands to another delegate to deliver to Sandromin. He speaks nonchalant, as if nothing is wrong, as if he is speaking to an old friend.

" Of course, of course, no discredit to Alixenus. I suppose what I meant was, I who prompted him to hold this Assembly in Venezzia. By the way here is your payment. It is quite a hefty sum and weighed me down during my travels. It should be more than enough considering the profitable trade options that were settled between us."

The giant asks him a question. The man looks to himself confused.

" A name you ask? I suppose I do need one. Or do I? There was once that I had one. Or at least I'd like to believe. But I am someone else now. I am a friend to those who seek to help others, and an enemy to those who seek control over them. I am death. Death is definite for all, gods and mortal alike, and I am most definite. I'm sorry if this is hard to follow. In time you may understand. Speaking of which, I had a question for you too. You helped fix my ship and my friends seem to adore you. It would be an honor giant, if you would join me on a small expedition. What say you to this?"

.

I am King Thanatos of Diyad!

"Err... yes. My apologies. Don't mistake me calling you that for formality. I was adressing you as Sir Giant in a more playful manner. I often call on people with made up titles and names. If it truly offends you so, I will cease this."

All this Brutus is confusing me

Xavier anger intensified. An unintelligent giant dared to threaten the man above all? The man who was supreme beyond any other?

"Is that so, you pitiful whelp?! Go ahead, make my day! The day you dare strike me if the day I will cease to speak my mind! Go on, strike me! Please do. You know why I want you to? Because..."

Xavier tapped his head.

"I have memorized a lot of things. Things that will make a normal man run for his life. Strike me, so I can purge your existence from this earth!"

And with that, Xavier walked back, expecting a charge. He opened the book, and it conveniently seemed to flip to the page he really wanted.

It is about time I tried this spell.

//OOC: Darn, things are escalating pretty quickly at the Assembly. I have to say, I feel a bit jealous because Nexhawk is not directly involved in these events. //End of OOC\\

//OOC: @Sandromin, only Ashborn have affinity to fire; different Praecantarian nations have powers over different elements. And, as I've mentioned before, it seems very strange to me that there are no magic users whatsoever, except Sandromin, even because of the history with the necromancers and the such.

This is why I would also like everyone else's take on this topic. Would it be more logical to have literally everyone being able to use magic, whole no one on Mediterra actually wants to? Or should it originate in few select places, such as Praecantaria, and cause everyone there to be attuned to magic? Personally, I think this is a question that can only be truly resolved by total decision, not arguing between me and you, Sandromin. //End of OOC\\

OOC: Brutus, I don't want to question your strategic sense, but are two Platoons of Pikemen really going to be enough to save your homeland? Or get your people out of it?

"Oh my word Brutus! Well at least he looked before he leaped. Bring this contraption down! We have a man uh, overboard."

OOC: I did, and dumb me decided to follow you. If you weren't a giant I'd say you died.

OOC: Yeah now I see. Seriously Brutus? Can you try to stay with the people who want to help you for once?

//OOC: If you are referring to the Embershard, it is still a water vessel. Otherwise, I have no idea how I've possibly missed the fact that Diyadians had two airships. O.o //End of OOC\\

//OOC: Well, why then did you jump from the Embershard? I think things are getting interesting on the airship. //End of OOC\\

OOC: //Sorry to interject with the story. I've been following along, but was a few days behind.

I know you all have fairly settled the matter of the Dark Arcanum, but I had a thought that might mesh the disparate stories a little better, without stepping on toes.

I see it as the DA was originally crafted by Fate as a tool for the Deathlord (capital D marking the master from the servants), and as such she imbued part of his soul into the book, along with the stolen soul of the betrayer.

This imbuing of combative souls granted the book exceptional power, and a knowledge of magic far surpassing any normal means, but also engendered an oily film of insanity as both aspects battled for eternity inside the tome.

If you'll pardon the Harry Potter reference, I see the book as a Horcrux of sorts. It functions as a part of the Deathlord's soul, and remains highly potent while disconnected from the source, but exponentially strengthens the Deathlord (AN) if/when he is reunited with the book.

This could play into the suggestions floating in Xavier's head, the book wants to be whole, even at the cost of the bearer's life to get back to the Deathlord.

Intrinsically tied to the fact that the book is a horcrux, as long as the book exists, the Deathlord will find a new host to infect with an aspect of himself, until he slowly rises to prominence again. This would give a purpose to the roving deathlords (lower case d to indicate the slave kings), as they are prowling around looking for their risen master, and performing nefarious feats as well to bide time.


As to meshing the history, the book was created by Fate, stolen by the Five, returned by the betrayer, and bound to the Deathlord. Deathlord fled Precantaeria for the other continent where he eventually died at the hands of the first hero under Freedom. Unfortunately for this hero, he was much like Isildur in his ignorance of the danger a mere "trinket" could pose, so he did not ensure that the book was destroyed. Since the book is part of the Deathlord, it willfully bonded itself to one of the hero's retinue, and became immaterial, hiding in the soul of the poor retainer. The book waited many long years before deciding the danger had passed and elected to re-materialize, crafting the idea that the scribes had "created" the book recently. The book influenced those present to decide that it would be best to spirit the book away, to keep it "safe", when in fact the book was having them move it away from the greatest danger present, the king. Thus it came to be hidden on the logipriest island long ago, and it slumbered while awaiting the rise of the true host, the next great AN.


I am not sure if this conflicts with any of the established lore, this is just what I took from reading the different origins of the book. After all, as was stated before, history is written by the victors, and in this particular instance, the real victor has been the book for an unknown length of time.

As I am not a contributing author to the world, take my suggestions with a ton of salt.



Also, everyone's story here is awesome. I would definitely pay to read your work in hard-back format. //End OOC

//OOC: I must say, this is pretty self-explanatory, and I, for one, have no questions left for now. Thus, I guess, Galrick was right - it's time to land that ship already. //End of OOC\\

I know what you mean Brutus. Remember I'm almost always at my computer or at my desk. i also always have this Dust tab open. I can't do anything because I'm supposed to be having a conversation with two leaders...

However I agree with Alixenus, and I have a side character to introduce. Bringing life to at least Diyad. Stay tuned.

OOC: This story takes place the final day of the Assembly. I'm still deciding on whether or not it will hold any relevance to our main arc.

---

The sun has just risen. The Snake of Illusion slumbers, coiled in his cave of darkness. Shop owners begin to open their stores in Arcade. That's the central district. By day a bustling market place, by night, the hot spot. You'll find plays, pubs, festivals and anything other entertainment. There's also a brothel, to satisfy your needs, if you catch my drift. A large balloon arrives at the east gates of the city, filled with noisy passengers, looking to live new lifestyles. Some people simply don't like balance, and when you don't like balance you come here. Out of all the cities in Diyad, this one is considered the most... well for the sake of avoiding coarse language let's just say unique. You won't find your emmaculate, Venezzian inspired architecture of the golden capital, nor it's upstanding citizens here. Instead you'll find the Slums, the western district of the city. There you'll find your bums, your alcoholics, poor families and the occasional unknown street gang. In Yabavi, The eastern factory district, you'll find, you guessed it, factories! Hard workers who make decent pay. They can support their families as well as grab a drink at a pub. Not much else over there. In Arka's your southern residential district. Or more like the middle class. Nothing particularly bad around here. We enjoy our lives for the most part, and that's all we need. Now Dorado is another story. If I say the poor are the poorest, I mean it. And when I see the rich are THE RICHEST around, I'm talking about the Dorado folk. You see it hasn't been too long since the king took office down below, the nation's still suffering from the power struggle. A lot of the cities up here were independent from Diyad for a long time. We're one of the last ones. The families in Dorado run this city, some are really nice people, others aren't. They keep us afloat, literally. They own everything, they employ the maintenance workers that keep us from crashing into the capital. Dorado also privately owns the police force known as "The Briggs". You'll find more of them there than anywhere else. Right now you may be asking yourself, "But who is this Snake of Illusion and where is he?" To answer, no one knows. No one except me. At the center of Arcade you'll find the tall clock tower. Outside, at its base, you'll find the occasional group of loitering runaways or beggars. Not for long, as the Briggs show up very quickly. Inside you'll find the application offices, where people look to start small businesses or to find a job. Farther up and you'll find the minute men, responsible for making sure the clock is operating correctly. At the very top however, through a small hidden door, the Snake of Illusion sleeps. A fog starts to roll in. A man with a fancy red vest escorts a group of passengers off of the balloon. With he moves his arms in a swirling motion while bowing.

"If you were planning to leave soon, you're out of look. If not, Welcome to Gran Arcadia!"

The stage now set, the Snake of Illusion has awakened, the game has begun.


" You own nothing here..."

OOC: The whole city is a floating city.

//OOC: I don't think there is any need, your posts are always enjoyable! //End of OOC\\

OOC: For the last time, guys, there is no person called "Galrick" in Dustia. So please call my characters by their names (shouldn't we be doing that for all characters?) instead of my player name. I know it's minor, but it somehow gets on my nerves. Or maybe I should make the Engineer's unit designation "GL-RK-MK".

OOC: Oh Brutus that's created so much tension I want to know what happens next...and I'm the one writing this! Well of the ones, but you get my point. Would it be too much of a spoiler to ask who the single man who mourned for all of them was? I notice Conyr wasn't one of the dead, but then neither was I.

And Sandromin, I had a question about the novelisation of this thread. Everyone here has their own style, are you smoothing them over into one to make it more coherent or leaving them as they are?

OOC: @Nexhawk: It was more of an assumption. Thanatos is naturally gifted at reading expressions. Ironically, you could almost always read his expressions very easily.

Thanatos looks slightly disappointed.

"I-I see. I assure you that I have not even communicated with him in a very very long time. Her death is not on HIS behalf, nor MINE. Her death is on behalf of all living things. For those who do not know what lies beyond the vast sea of space. Does that answer your question?"

Thanatos speaks as if he had not heard the lies spread by Xavier. Because he respected him nonetheless.

---

After entering the facility, passed many long corridors and offices, Vektor and Galrick make their way to the labs. They reach a large door which seems to have no way of opening. Vektor places his hands at its center. After a few seconds of deep concentration the alkhemical runes that were once invisible, light up. The door seems to cascade into the ground. The room before them is large. There are several mysterious machines all surrounding one large table. Vektor, warns Galrick of the repercussions, should he document any of this technology. He leads him to the large table. At it's center there is a yellow liquid-like orb suspended in the air. It is surrounded by different floating structures that constantly orbit it(basically like a dyson sphere).

"This is it!"

---

OOC: @Brutus: I see now that I missed something. Because you said you landed on a floating city, I assumed you meant Gran Arcadia. The palace is not a floating city. It is in a large canyon. Also I'm afraid that that jump is way too high. It would kill you. Seeing as I don't want you dead, let's say you merely escaped the Briggs. Plus I kinda want to add you into my side story. Considering now you play an important role.

OOC: You don't Brutus, you just stay at that level. I think I'll continue my lore bombs on Venezzia tommorow, a nice hustling bustling city to contrast Brutus' necropolis.

I agree

I've also been waiting on Sandromin but I suppose I can think of something.

"Well my information is never wrong, their is indeed a giant. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Franklin Bertrandium III, Franklin if you have no concept of formality. And you... y-you're... This can't be, Sara!?! What in blazes have you done! Do you realize who you have brought along with you to Gran Arcadia? She isn't supposed to be up here. This little girl is under the protection of teh Snake! I hope you'll be able to explain yourself..."

Franklin led the two to a small building. It looked nearly abandoned. From what Brutus can tell it only looked a little better on the inside.

"You know where it is Sara,"he gestured her to walk in."


Brutus reluctantly let her down from his shoulders. She hurriedly ran inside. Franklin's smile broke the moment she was out of sight.

"You should not have brought that girl here. I was serious. There are people in the city who want her, for unknown reasons. The Snake of Illusion has worked very hard to protect her. To keep her down on the surface. The next transport doesn't arrive until tomorrow morning. And it's very hard to find a place to hide a giant on a floating city. The Snake of Illusion will not be pleased."

OOC: Good news everyone! I have created a device that forces you to read this in my voice! Also, we are officially the most popular forum thread made by a non-dev out there!

OOC: Hey Brutus, does the tent city back onto a beach or a cliff on the Ocean side? Also, are we going to have a language barrier or just stick to all races having a universal language?