zenderael_mmo | [Guild Leaders] This Is It, Boys, This Is War

Entry tags:

[Guild Leaders] This Is It, Boys, This Is War

Who: Ezra, Gabe, Jordan, Lera, Rhys
When: Friday
Where: Mianeh
Before/After: After Lera and Ezra talk.
Warnings: N/A

QUICK NOTE: feel free to do side threads before/after the briefing!

[So the announcements were all sent out: it was time to discuss war plans and the plans are getting moved up. A location in Mianeh was secured, thanks to French contacts; they have a conference room in a hotel and the Saftan embassy sent over a few guards to keep an eye on things and one of the Earth ones swept it for bugs.]

[Lera is standing at the front of the room. She isn't obviously the Mazda; she has regular Saftan civilian clothing on to give her a surprise. The exception, of course, are those sharp golden eyes.]

[There are also some chocolate chip cookies, soft drinks on ice, and shrimp with cocktail sauce. She's waiting for everyone to arrive -- and is here early, like she always is -- before they start the spiel. Besides, they all need to get to know each other first. Of course, Ezra and Gabe probably came with her.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Lera takes a few steps forward when the Mano and Ahura show up. Both get long looks; thanks to Virelai, she knows that Rhys can't speak, which is really something to be grateful for. That could have lead to an awkward moment. The Mano she sort of recognizes. After Gabe finishes the introductions, her face screws up for a moment while she looks at Jordan.]

Weren't we in home room together in ninth grade?

[She just blurts that out. Then she reddens and smiles awkwardly, lifting a hand to the back of her head.]

I -- ah, I mean, um -- my name is Lera Savinkov. The Mazda. It's a pleasure to have faces to go with the text.

[ why is jordan here.

no, seriously, why is jordan here.

he doesn't stand immediately, just because he's got a blank, confused look on his face, staring first at jordan, then at rhys, then back to jordan.

for a moment, he is transported to a whole other realm of thought, which is interrupted by lera's voice. he shoves the thought process aside, hopefully never to see the light of day again, because .... because.

so he knows lera, he recognizes gabe- though it took a little while to remember where from, until he remembered the riots during the meetup- and he knows rhys and he knows jordan.

he doesn't know if this makes the whole thing better or worse.

he does stand then and makes his way over, settling into a more straight-backed folding of the arms in front of him, even though these are all people he'd feel comfortable slouching in front of ]

We've got some information to sift through. I received some intel- admittedly questionable intel, which is why we redirected Villiers' group- which makes it clear, at least to me, that we need to settle this sooner rather than later. Thus the meeting. We'll need to go over our resources on your ends. Obviously it wasn't something we could easily discuss beforehand.

The Mazda and the Asha- and, somewhat more distantly, the Khshathra- will have to confirm for themselves the readiness of their guilds. But I can say for certain that the paladins and clerics are ready.

[ For whatever that's worth. ]

[ so uh gabe's the asha, huh.

o-k then. lera's comment grabs her attention.

she squints, then her eyes widen. seeing lera in person is wa-a-ay different from seeing her in a small photo. ]

Oh my god, you're right. [ she sounds like she's bitten into a rotten pickle. ] How does this even happen?

[ and then ezra is diving right into business. ok then. jordan shrugs to lera, then turns her attention on him. ]

Think of us as appetizers. We haven't got enough power to main course it.

[this meeting is still technically unofficial, and rhys has spent the past week uncomfortably with assassins after losing the place he called home. some friendly faces are more than welcome, so guess what gabe you get a hug anyway. it's tight, but brief.

he pulls away and catches ezra's look, not quite glancing to jordan before keeping his attention on ezra with a weak shrug. it was news to him too.

once the talking starts, he puts on his business face and gives ezra his full attention.

rhys types on his phone and offers it to ezra, though anyone who tries to see won't be stopped.]

The berserker guild is at half strength.
But we are always prepared for what we do best.

[battle.]

[Eee! Hugs! Rhys gets a hug back, too.

And now that he looks at Jordan, he finally realizes she looks familiar, too, and he kind of feels like an idiot for not realizing it sooner. It really is a small world for them...

He's momentarily distracted by cookies, though. Something fun, and then he'll start talking shop. It's how he's been dealing with the Asha stuff lately, and he figures if it works for him, he shouldn't mess with a good thing. He takes a minute to nibble on his cookie before speaking.]

I need to keep some of my mages at the World Library for defensive and maintenance purposes, but we're ready whenever you are.

[He glances over at Lera]

Tell me we have a plan, because at this point, it's only a matter of time before he comes here, and I am not letting him petrify part of Safta.

[Not that he could stop it or reverse it if Aerveas tried. He's been looking in the World Library since he found out about the petrification, and he's come up with nothing.]

[Her and Ezra went over this a lot. None of this is news; she ran everything by him, because she expects he'll be helping run the war. She's nervous about that (he hasn't done it before) and terrified of the idea (she was just a sergeant). She manages to not let that show.]

[Gabe gets a look. She nods at him, a small smile on her face. It vanishes as she speaks.]

That, in fact, is the intel we have. [Lera crosses her arms behind her back.] As the Spenta said, we moved Villiers to corroborate some information we got. Aerveas has promised lands and titles to people who accomplish goals in an invasion of Safta, such as the Spenta's or my murder. He has also recruited armies promising our wealth. This is, in short, an effective declaration of war.

[She lets that sink in. She has a power point for the strategy she stayed up all night going over, and that's the easy part. Justifying it is the harder.]

Safta can either sit and wait for him to bring a war we know, without a doubt, is coming and will rob her people of their belongings. Or we can bring him the war now. The Amber Gaze is as ready as we can be, because we suspected it would come to this.

We intend to march south next week.

[ cue uncomfortable moment of watching rhys hug gabe. right, they knew each other on earth. roommates or something, right? he looks aside to lera instead because while it's awkward, it's a different kind of awkward, or the same kind but it's not rhys so that's fine.

that just reminds him that they have similar hair. he feels like he knows a lot of redheads...

...jordan did you just say that or did you mean to refer to god organs because that is somewhat awkward phrasing. ]

We've already been working on helping to outfit the berserkers, and by extension the hunters, though leatherwork is nowhere near as good here as it is in Pakerion.

If the hunters need anything, we'll do our best to accommodate. We can send groups out to look for things if need be- Villiers' group isn't the only one out there, and with the help of hunters, there might be even more possibility to speed up that process.

[ it's awkward to group himself in with Safta, though in reality that's what he's had to do. everea will be paying back what it's been using for awhile yet, but hopefully it will only be a small price to pay on top of everything else. ]

Paladins will be going in with the Amber Gaze. We've had them training together almost since our arrival at the spellsword HQ and the results have been favourable. Setting up mixed units have made the low numbers on our side less noticeable. Mine have already worked with the berserkers, so it shouldn't be too hard to integrate them if need be, but we can talk more on that going over the Mazda's strategies.

Edited 2013-03-18 02:50 (UTC)

[ next week?

one week. that was about right. one week and then the assassins, hunters, and berserkers...

her eyes narrow as she stares at the floor away from her. no, still unwise to mention the assassins' involvement. unwise, but if the paladins were to see them, then confusion would surely arise...

one week. she, rhys and malachai have one week to address this with the armaiti. ]

Ammunition. [ she lifts her eyes to look at the group again. ] Arrows, bolts, rounds. Those, along with healing supplies, are the hunters' greatest needs.

[a week. rhys stills, eyes not quite focused. he knew it would have to come to this, but that's so soon. so direct. safta's neutrality will be gone. if he doesn't like it, he can blame aerveas. if the armaiti doesn't like it... they'll deal with her when they return. he does not risk glancing to jordan.

this time his phone is for gabe, though again, unguarded.]

How much enchanting can you offer?

[between the loss of dragons and the war, he can't be sure the mage guild supplies are what they used to be.]

[Next week. So soon? He doesn't like this, but he knows they don't really have a choice, either. It's either that or Aerveas shows up on their doorstep and takes them over, too...

Gabe eyes Rhys' phone and shakes his head.]

Probably not as much as you'd like me to. I'm not sure we have enough to enchant an entire army. Maybe three-quarters of it, but don't quote me on that. My math may be off.

[Math always was his worst subject. Sorry, guys. :( That is, however, why he has Beatrice crunching the supply numbers at this very minute.]

I'd say we could probably make up the difference with modern firepower, but he has the Vairya. If I know the rogues, they've been collecting our firearms since the merge started.

[Lera catches that glance from Ezra. He gets a brief, small smile that's an attempt to be reassuring; she's not sure what's up there. She's stressed and it shows. She doesn't mind talking in front of groups, but this is too important to not get nerves about. She takes a deep breath, before she looks back.]

The rogues have, yes. [She nods at Gabe.] We, fortunately, have stockpiled ammunition -- most of it arrows and crossbow bolts -- for our guards in the towns. We can get some of that sent your way, along with potions. We'll get the French to send spare ammunition your way, too. Villiers can serve as a contact, for coordinate drop-offs over the weekend.

[She skips a beat.]

We're doing things in three stages. You'll have some time.

[She brings up the power point. It outlines everything on the first slide, which is actually just a much condensed version of this. Minus the places where it doesn't work out as planned because Lera is not omniscient.]

Ahem. Don't mind the names. I figure in times like these, we could all use a little to smile about.

[Operation Fellowship: Combined French-Saftan army invades Pakerion, creating a distraction to force Aerveas to stop them. Berserkers, hunters, and Day's End attack Enghelab during confusion. Saftan commanders: Morvarid, Asha.]

[Operation Two Towers: Saftan army with paladin support invades Everea, tries to pincer Aerveas's forces with forces used in Fellowship. Saftan/Everean commanders: Mazda, Spenta.]

[Operation Return: All forces link up, push on Bastan, and take it. Guild leaders will deal with Mezzron, except one (Spenta?) who goes directly after Aerveas. Second may be necessary to handle the Vairya.]

We have printouts with the full details, which you're welcome to take back with you.

Edited 2013-03-18 16:18 (UTC)

[ he nods to jordan, but overall seems to fall back from talking. he glances again at rhys' phone, interjecting only to say, ] The clerics are also on hand for healing and to bless weapons and armour. Not as permanent as a good enchant but it'll do the job.

[ he doesn't react much to the timeframe. there's nothing more his side can do. he's already tempted to get into methods of flushing rogues and druids out of bastan and outerlying everea once they've won, but it's dangerous to be presumptuous. mezzron hasn't been seen- so what? gods pop in and out like that.

his eyebrow twitches up a little at the namings, not having been a part of this but apparently not looking surprised. ]

Some of these things will probably end up varying in their final form, depending how it pans out. Ideally, this is what will happen. We have to be prepared to shift things around if it isn't.

[ she narrows her eyes at operation return. ]

Sending the Spenta to fight Aerveas one-on-one is unwise. He has far more experience in battle than any of us, and that is not taking into account his position as Vohu or the possibility that he'll not be alone.

The Spenta relies predominantly on close combat. The Vohu can switch between the two. I suggest someone with range abilities accompany him -- a hunter or a mage.

[ and that's not even addressing the plan to deal with mezzron because WHAT THE FUCK, you want to take down a GOD? ]

[there's not enough time to offer to gather supplies. they'll have to ration what enchanted gear they have, then. but those details can be worked out later.

power point. printouts. huh. but there's a plan, except, like jordan, he hesitates looking over return. not mezzron. some part of him doesn't mind that thought-- welcomes it, even. most of the other parts tell him no.

but he won't let anyone send ezra in alone. he nods firmly with jordan's words. a hunter would be ideal to take versus a druid, but jordan and ezra... they're guild leaders. he can't throw himself in front of them because he's scared.

he looks to ezra, mentally urging for some kind of agreement for an ally.]

[Plans. Gabe likes plans. He'll be taking copies back to the Library with him for people, no worries about that.

And since when is Aerveas the Vohu? :| He really needs to work at being kept in the loop, apparently.

He sighs, glancing over at Jordan.]

Hunters are the compliments to druids, though. You would have a better chance at helping the Spenta than I would, and that's only if he's agrees to do it. Besides, if we're going to be crazy and take on a god, I think they'll need me there.

[What the hell... A god? Really?! Well, he wasn't sure he wanted to live forever, anyway...]

[There's a faintly guilty look on Lera's face. Of course she knows what she's suggesting Ezra do. She already feels guilty about it. Maybe she was trying to show a little too much faith, though. Maybe seeing him in action left her a little too impressed.]

[She decides they're right.]

Let's send someone with him, then. [deep breath] I'm not--class abilities were never my strong point. Your judgment is better than mine.

[She looks at Ezra.] What do you think? I imagine any of us would be willing. [Because the rest have to fight a god.]

[She could get them all killed. This is absolutely terrifying to her.]

[ he's read it all through already. he wasn't quite sure what to say to being put up front like that. is that- is that what people expect? he wasn't sure, so he didn't say anything, wanting to wait until now, to see who said what.

but it's not that he doesn't want the chance. it's not like he doesn't want to collapse aerveas' face with his fist. but to do it alone...?

it's not especially strong, but it's there, a small relaxation, a relief that seems to smooth out his features a little. he glances briefly to rhys, and there's a slightly sheepish grin lifting one corner of his lips before he wipes it off of his face, looking back to jordan. ]

It's short notice- for some of you, really short notice- so while I'd like to say whoever's comfortable with the idea, we'll go ahead with it, we just might all have to be prepared to do something. If I had a choice, Ahura- we're familiar with one another's fighting style, plus overpowering him isn't a bad idea- or the Mano, for distance.

[ he looked at gabe consideringly ]

Asha can work. I'm worried about any elemental he could summon, though. They'd probably be as ruthless as he is. Anyone else would have to be able to defend themselves for a time.

[ and it's not that he doesn't want to help with mezzron, it's just... mezzron is so distant to him. aerveas is right there.

he remembers acher's words clearly. he'll bring himself to aerveas. and he'll see who breaks who.

...but, speaking of mezzron. ]

Whoever is left goes after Mezzron. So maybe the Ahura should sit this one out.

[ sharply ] Don't assume we'll have the opportunity to take them separately.

[ she turns her eyes on gabe, unaware of the intensity of her gaze. she is in a certain mindset now, similar to the one used when -- hah -- deciding the outcomes of battle rp, only now it's real, and it's their own lives she's taking into account. ]

How comfortable are you with magic? Have you had to use it to defend yourself?

[ a mage -- the asha -- has the potential to be the most lethal of them all. but it is just that -- potential. if he were battle-oriented and ruthless, he would be capable of terribly powerful things, and terrible things, too.

but he isn't. anyone could see that from a mile away. ]

[he straightens with his title and looks to ezra. both already know he'll agree to follow him straight to Hell-- or the Dark, or whatever it is. he and ezra know each other well, but they're all going to by the time this is over. and jordan's right. if they break defenses down enough to smoke either one of them out, he can't imagine they wouldn't be paired with the other.

the elementals...

this time the phone's slid to the middle, addressed to all of them. it's difficult otherwise not to feel like he's passing notes during the meeting.]

Do we know his spirit companion?
Dragon's Bone.
We can set up an elemental advantage.

[she couldn't overwrite monster caches if she was fighting humans.]

[There's a part of him, a very small part of him, though, that's a little miffed that Jordan's looking at him like that, and any other time, he would have been hurt. However, thanks to the time he's spent with the former Mazda, he's gotten infinitely better at not shying away from stares like that.

It's still kind of intimidating, though.]

Not yet, no, but I can do it if I need to. Don't you worry about me and my magic, honey.

[It doesn't change the fact that he'd rather not, though. He just doesn't want the others to think he isn't capable of dealing with any of this.

He pauses to look at Rhys' phone and frowns. Times like this, he misses the slate. Still, the only thing he could say in response to that question is speculation, and he figures someone who actually knows might be the better choice. So he waits.]

[She looks at Ezra and nods.] Yeah. All of us will have our hands full.

[Then it's back to Jordan. She is right, of course: there is a fair chance they will force the confrontation where Aerveas and Mezzron can support one another. That will make things that much harder.]

I know. We need to be ready for both. Either way, we'll want good enchantments and blessings. I'll have every buff I know of prepared on everyone, if at all possible.

[She'll probably spend the next week casting them repeatedly, just to be sure that she has them right. Then a final glance at Gabe -- if he said he'd be ready, there wasn't a lot they could do. Rhys, though... ooh, she likes you Rhys.]

I don't, but let's see if we can find out. Maybe we can arrange to have someone attack him, if he takes the field before hand. Or maybe we can find rumors of that out there, somewhere.

It can still happen. [ he glances at jordan, almost casual in comparison to her own glare ] ... But there's that to consider too. If we're all comfortable in our roles, it should make it that much easier to sort ourselves out. If it comes down to it, I don't care if I bring Aerveas down or not. But he needs to die.

[ the way he says it is strange, calm and matter-of-fact, as though it weren't the thing it is. inside, just thinking about it, his stomach is burning hot. he's angry, outraged- but he can't do anything about it right now. he has to be satisfied that at least this is happening. ]

No one's seen it, or commented on it at least. Like I said, I have an informant, but... he's questionable, shall we say.

[ she turns her attention onto lera after gabe has answered, flicking a glance at rhys' text, and then onto ezra as he speaks. yes, aerveas needs to die. and the druids-

the womb...

she doesn't comment on setting up an elemental advantage, not eager to give any openings as to their location. venom wyrm, hydra, warhound. the wyrm had no element, but was poisonous. the hydra was also poisonous, but was a water innate. she still needed to get rid of the warhound.

she folds her arms over her chest. ] He seems like the fire sort... I'll try to get the main elements.

[rhys' eyes go grim. aerveas should have died at the tournament. it would have been for the wrong reasons, but maybe the greycloaks knew this would happen. it doesn't matter now.

he nods to jordan. he can help her get what she needs, and they don't have to discuss that now.

a week. still so short. barely time to prepare or practice... but he puts more faith in improvisation than plans. they sound prepared for the idea. he takes a deep, silent breath, then nods with no further protests.]

I'll prep anything I've got to counter whatever he has, then.

[Gabe frowns. Preparing an magical arsenal ready for whatever Aerveas throws at them is kind of daunting, and, honestly, he'd rather know what he's dealing with. Not that something like that will be easy with Mezzron.

Speaking of...]

What about Mezzron?

[He looks at the other guild leaders, concerned]

Can we really do that? Take on a god? I mean, I know we're pretty powerful, but say we somehow manage to take him down. Are we going to be upsetting some sort of balance here?

[Gabe's not the Vahishta. Gabe's never met the man. Still, considering what the mages work with, he figures it's probably better to try to keep the core of the world together and not potentially ripped apart due to god-death. He's not sure that's something that can actually happen, but he's never really given it much thought before. It's a little weird thinking about it now.]

(no subject)

firecracker_hopping - 2013-03-21 20:28 (UTC) - Expand

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only