13org

Orbis: The Liberation of Gyrland

Klara couldn't help but raise her eyebrows a bit surprised with Edward's words. The commander wasn't the only one who made no effort to hide his... opinions about her. Many were the stares of hatred or disgust Klara received since she chose to volunteer as a member of the Phantom brigade. Sure, Klara herself was never fazed by those, but in a certain way, she could still understand their feelings... Klara Weiss, Sanngridr, the cruel Valkyrie that would lay waste to anyone in her path... Those were only some of the tales that spread through the battlefield due to her cruelty and ruthlessness. If those weren't already enough to paint Klara in a bad image, she was still someone who fought for the empire for pretty much anyone else that was working for the Phantom Brigade, an 'enemy' and to make it even worse, she was a traitor, someone who turned her back to her nation.

Whether they were deserved or not, the reasons for Klara's infamy were many and despite all that, Edward still believed that they could prove the commander was wrong about not trusting her, that her reputation wasn't entirely deserved.

"No wonder why your call sign is 'Saint', you are incredibly sweet, Edward." Klara said with a smile and a chuckle.

Just as that moment, Rimau's voice sounded through the main channel, asking the each team's status as the mission was about to begin.

"Sanngridr here, we are in position and ready to move in." Klara said, agreeing with Edward after he replied to Rimau on the general comms.

"Don't worry, you can count on me. Even if the other stories are true, I am not someone who backstabs her own allies... Like the Empire did with me." Klara said with a cold tone, just as as Aurelia alerted them to the silhouettes of the enemy frames appearing on the distance, clearly excited about the oncoming combat.

"Aurelia's suggestion sounds quite... exciting. I am starting to like her more and more. I might get quite used in having her assistance." Klara said on the general comms, with a chuckle after hearing Aurelia's suggestion and the playful way she brought it up.

"Understood, Saint and Outlander. Engaging active camouflage and activating data link with allied units. Outlander, you and Aurelia should have total access to the Wraith's radar, detection systems and accurate position at all times, regardless of the jamming and disruption systems used by the Wraith." Klara said as she heard both Edward and Arnfinn's words on the comms, activating the active camouflage which made the Wraith's image distort for a moment before gradually becoming transparent then almost completely invisible.

"Getting into position." Klara said as the frame began to move.

With almost no visual indication of the Wraith's position due to the active camouflage and how frighteningly silent the unit was while moving carefully, it quickly became evident of the reason why that prototype unit had that name. Despite being restricted to melee weapons, It's capability of moving unnoticed and getting close to the enemy was frightening to say the least. The only reason why they knew where the Wraith was as she got away from the main unit, stealthily positioning herself for the assault was the data link, which displayed her position in real time on her allies' radars.

"Sanngridr in position. Saint, Outlander, waiting for your signal to engage." Klara said, her voice quivering with excitement as she said so.

The Eye of the Needle (where Fantasy and Sci-fi collide)

Nellara couldn't help but let out a chuckle as Ixtaro raised the wooden mug, mentioning that a few more of those and she would be the best company Nellara ever had. While she wasn't really knowledgeable, at all, about human physiology, Ixtaro's words suggested that they were also affected by alcohol in a similar way the species from Kanth-Aremek were. The idea of having a bunch of drunk humans mingling with soldiers was a very strange one, although it might help them to know and get used to one another.

"It seems like regardless if we are on your planet or ours, no festivities are complete without alcohol." Nellara said with a smirk and a chuckle, noticing how Ixtaro's words were starting to sound a bit different, enough so even the translator seemed to have a few issues in accurately translating them.

Ixtaro's explanation about how different humans could be from one another, mentioned there were even some from different 'worlds' made Nellara quite surprised.

"Even from different worlds? But in the end, you are all humans, right? From the same species." she asked, curiously as she heard Ixtaro's words.

"And yet, despite all that, you are still able to work together in such a well coordinated and remarkable manner to build such marvels like the Jotunheim." Nellara said, taking a glance at the big ship behind them once again.

When Ixtaro mentioned that the humans from the ship might be able to play some music, she reacted with a clearly curious expression. The words she used to describe the music made Nellara quite curious.

"I am undeniably curious to how this such songs praising 'death and metal' would sound like. Electricty and metal, from what I understood, seem to be the very core of human technology, so it's not surprising that an entire genre of music pays homage to it, but why death in particular?" Nellara asked, thinking about the human music Ixtaro mentioned.

While it was quite noticeable that Ixtaro was definitely a bit 'happy' after the few mugs of alcohol, the translator still worked decently well for most things she said, with only a few words getting lost in the translation and even then, Nellara was able to accurately understand what she meant by the context of her words. Such was the case with the strange expression of Mythadia and the Ascension having 'bad blood' between them, which was quickly clarified after she gave a few more examples.

"Hm... This is quite a complex question... While I can definitely agree that there is some animosity between our nations, it's not exactly to the point it becomes a conflict." Nellara said after thinking for a bit, hearing Ixtaro's question.

"Most of the animosity between us come from the differences between our societies. The Ascension is a heavily logic and meritocratic society. Concepts such as 'nobility', 'kings' and 'religion' are considered to be absurd, nonsensical concepts that directly hinder the development of a nation. Meanwhile, the very core of Mythadian society is based on these very ideas... Many of which are inherited by the old tyrannical, warmongering kingdoms that once conquered and ruled over Kanth-Aremek." Nellara explained.

"But despite this... 'animosity', conflicts between our nations were rare and almost nonexistent, since both of our nations respected each other's territory according to the old treaties signed by both kingdoms. The plains and marshes are Mythadian lands and the hills and mountains are ours. Contact between our nations was scarce and there was never any reason for any invasion... That is until Silbermine simply walked inside our territory with a small army and went as far as establishing a military encampment inside our territory and even assemble a full army." Nellara completed with an exhausted sigh.

At the very second Nellara finished explaining Ixtaro's question, she noticed as Kerchak suddenly ran away from the party towards the bushes, his skin and body shifting into a strange form then back into a Tekeri every now and then. While such scene might look grotesque and deeply disturbing for the humans, Nellara was quite aware of how... dangerous the mixture of alcohol and mages were. Due to their powers, intoxicated mages were very unpredictable and often a danger both to themselves and those around them... depending on the degree of intoxication, that is.

"It seems Kerchak had a bit too much to drink..." Nellara said with a disappointed sigh, shaking her head. Such thing was the reason why she avoided drinking anything like alcohol, that could cloud her judgement or hinder her powers. It was also the very same reason why mages were strictly forbidden from using any magic whenever there was a party with alcohol involved.

"Mages and intoxicants are known to be a very... 'volatile' and unpredictable mixture. Controlling your powers with precision becomes quite a challenge when you can't even keep your own balance. The outcome for life mages if they try using any spell while intoxicated tend to be rather... disturbing for those that aren't used to how life magic works." Nellara said.

"Some mages tend to be quite prideful about their magic, so we should give him a few minutes to calm down and control his powers, but if he doesn't come back by then, it might be a good idea for us to send someone to help him. Another life mage would be preferable, but since we don't seem to have any other, a conventional mage would also be quite a good idea." Nellara finished. By the words she used, Ixtaro would likely notice that there was a very good chance that she was excluding herself when she mentioned a 'conventional mage'. The reasons for so were still unknown for her though.

The Hunt, A Modern Fantasy Smorgasbord RP

^{Interactions: Amanda @Kumbaris, Micheal Crane @BigPapaBelial, Scarlet @AWACS}

---

"No collateral damage... At least for now, got it" Faye replied to Scarlet, opening a few portals around Amanda to catch stray shots and send them back in the direction of the shooters on the second floor, trying at least to help Amanda a bit due to the terrible position they encountered themselves in at the moment.

Bullets continued ricocheting off Amanda's axe and around them. It was only after Faye began redirecting a few of the shots that came for them and Scarlet began shooting back that the enemies stopped focusing them too much, giving them some space to breathe.

At that moment, Faye felt a surge of magic being weaved from behind, noticing only now that Micheal was preparing a ritual. If they weren't in such a tense situation, Faye would have definitely enjoyed watching the process of such spell being created by Micheal and his friends. Defended by conjured shields, Micheal continued preparing the spell, the magic beginning to take form and fill the area around him, conjuring heavy clouds on top of them, which soon became a storm and began to shoot down bolts of lightning, going first towards the ground, before being redirected towards the shooters on the building, shattering windows and anything the shooters were trying to use for cover, exposing them to Amanda and Scarlet's shots.

Amazed, Faye watched the storm swirling on top of them and the lightning bolts being redirected, fueled by Micheal's magic. Once again, she was reminded of how similar his magic was with the Fae magic and at the same time, how different it also was. For a moment, she forgot about the spells as she appreciated the flow of the spell, until it was finally over.

Faye followed Amanda and the others as they entered the apartment complex, slowly clearing their way until they finally arrived on room 214. The moment they entered the room, they were greeted by a sight none of them seemed to be expecting. Not even Amanda herself. A complete command center, replete with high-tech military equipment and a rune on the center of the room, similar to the ones they had found on the other warehouse earlier, no doubt it was used to teleport all that equipment there.

Before they could even start analyzing the room though a fist coming apparently out of nowhere suddenly hit Amanda, throwing her through the window, breaking it and sending her flying to the courtyard outside.

"What?!" Faye said, alarmed. Not even Faye had time to react to the attack. The moment she noticed something was going on, the huge beast was already swinging it's fist towards Amanda. The corrupted magic he exuded was very familiar to Faye. Having him in the same room as her was enough to make her feel visibly shaken.

"It has the same disgusting corrupted magic as the abomination..." Faye said, breathing heavily as she recovered herself from the surprise and the shock of feeling the aura of the beast so close to her.

"We need to go help Amanda... Now!" Faye said with an alarmed expression after she took a moment to recover, finally opening a portal to the courtyard where Amanda was so the team could reunite with her.

Even for Amanda, it was evident that the beast was a very difficult opponent. It's strength was enough for it to throw Amanda around easily with punches and kicks. Even Amanda herself didn't seem to know a way to defeat it.

"If we can't defeat it... we at least should find a way to restrain or imprison it!" Faye said, with the expression of someone that just had an idea.

"Amanda! Do you know a safe location, maybe a bunker, an armored safe or something that could hold this creature? It will take some time due to the interference of this corrupted magic... but I can create a portal to this place. We would have to find a way to push this titan to the portal though." Faye said through the radio, keeping the portal open so the rest of the team could go to where Amanda was.

The Eye of the Needle (where Fantasy and Sci-fi collide)

Nellara listened to General Kvarr's words in silence nodding as he finished. Nellara was never someone to lose her composure, regardless of the situation, but she still found it hard to stand silent when someone disrespected her nation. No matter what happened regarding Silbermine though, Nellara would keep her word regarding the warden. As long as they maintained a civil behavior and respected the Ascension, no hostile words would be said or actions would be taken.

Nellara's posture or expression didn't change as General Kvarr greeted the S'tor Warden. Cold, serious and unyielding. Her piercing eyes could be clearly felt, watching everything that happened and undoubtedly, listening to everything that was said.

Despite General Kvarr treating Silbermine with much more respect than he actually deserved, his posture was still undeniably arrogant, as he clearly showed by his response.

"Greetings, Warden." Nellara replied, with a stiff, inflexible military greeting, much like her very posture.

"I was responsible merely for the small group of soldiers that were initially brought to scout the crash. The one who should receive the honor for the army's discipline is General Kvarr." she replied after the warden asked her about the discipline from the soldiers that came with the general.

After the greetings were made, the feast proposed by General Kvarr started, with the Tekeri soldiers bringing meat and the Mythadians bringing a multitude of vegetables. While the tension in the air seemed to drop by a considerable degree, Nellara still seemed to be on guard as she ate some of the meat brought by the Tekeri soldiers, her eyes still sharp as she watched every single movement made by the Mythadians.

"Ixtaro." Nellara said, greeting the human with an amicable nod as she turned towards her.

"The circumstances... Much like at least some of the company, could be better..." Nellara said, clearly referring to Silbermine in specific.

"But the soldiers certainly seem to be enjoying some time to rest and relax, at least. Besides, it is a good opportunity for them to start to get used to the humans and know more about them." She finished with a satisfied expression as she looked to the Tekeri soldiers.

When Ixtaro mentioned the Glen's... 'peculiar' taste in music, Nellara seemed to agree to her, nodding before she replied.

"Taste in music is largely cultural... Although I do have to agree with you regarding the Glen's music. Personally... I find it hard to see beauty in the lack of order, rhythm or melody the dissonant chaos they call music seem to have." Nellara said.

While Nellara didn't define her preference in music, the words she used would give Ixtaro the feeling her taste was closer to classical music, complex and technical scores and arrangements that required harmony and precision to be performed.

Avalia

Time: Morning
Location: Forest near Guarav Village
Interactions: Cyrus @Helo, Ophelia @princess, Dante @FunnyGuy Darius @Samreaper Menzai
Equipment:

Steel Dagger of Unbreaking

Cannot break or become dull.

243 Amas

Despite the clear attempts from one of the strange 'elves' and even Ophelia herself to defuse the situation, Viola's expression didn't change. Nodding at Cyrus' firm words as he also said they wouldn't be made prisoners, Viola kept the protective perimeter the vines formed around them, with the vines ready to strike if Ulysses or his subordinated advanced.

While seeing Ophelia put herself in front of Cyrus and her did make Viola feel a bit better, the situation still didn't let her lower her guard. That was at least until the wolf who had lost his arm spoke up with a commanding voice, ordering for Ulysses and the others to stand down.

Despite being gravely wounded, it seems he was still the one in command and as soon as he spoke up, the other wolves followed, backing down despite their complaints. To think that they, which were nothing more as mere obstacles to Viola, had the audacity to complain despite their actions made her very annoyed, but due to their connection with Ophelia and also wanting to avoid creating any more problems to her brother, she ended up retracting the Blood Rose's thorns, although it did take a good few seconds longer after the wolves backed down though.

As the rose's thorns retracted, once again embracing Viola's body, thin droplets of blood could seen rolling down from the holes the rose had left earlier, marking her immaculately white skin with thin crimson lines before the vines returned to gently apply pressure to them.

"Definitely not elves. Not with those powers..." Viola said, agreeing with Cyrus as she glanced towards the brothers, analyzing them for a good few seconds before she turned back to her brother.

While Viola did not say a word more, it would be clear to her brother to imagine what she was thinking. Cypress knew how difficult it was for Viola to trust others, how her time at Daka Island made her see shadows lingering at every turn and suspect everyone who approached her. Even if they truly were the beings told on stories of long ago, capable of changing the very course of history with the powers they wielded... Even if they interceded for them and spoke on their defense in front of the other wolves... It was still too early for Viola to completely trust them.

"The wounded wolf... Do you think he will trust us enough to talk about... 'Phia'?" Viola asked as she looked towards Cypress, using the name her sister seemed to call herself now.

---

Time: One week after Zora arrived into Avalia.
Location: Riverbloom, Daisy Bakery
Interactions: Aurora @mole, Barrock @Conscripts, Rowan @GingerBobOh
Mentions:

---

Soon after her small talk with Aurora, both of them made their way to the forest where Rowan went earlier. Even though Zora had agreed that they should at least try to understand each other if they were going to work together, she wasn't really looking forward trying to put some sense in Rowan's head... Especially how intent he seemed to be in 'controlling' and 'molding' her to his wishes. Regardless of how annoying the situation was, unless Zora was willing to try her luck around Avalia by herself instead of continuing with Rowan and Aurora, she would have to at least reach an agreement with Rowan.

Arriving at the small clearing Rowan went before, Zora noticed that both the elf and the orc were sparring against each other and instead of interrupting, she simply sat down on a tree root and waited. For a few minutes, Zora did nothing but watch as both of them sparred against each other, noticing how wildly different their fighting styles was and how they moved and reacted to each other's moves. When it finally appeared they were finished, finally stood up and approached them.

"One's fighting style is more than the training they received. It often is influenced by their personalities and their experiences, both in combat and in their life. It was quite fun to watch, both of you sparring, I mean." Zora said as she approached them, greeting the orc with a discreet nod.

"The act of sparring is not that different from a debate or a conversation to be honest. At it's essence, sparring is the acknowledgement and exchange of said experiences through one's blade... or their very fists instead of just words. Regardless of the means this 'conversation' happens, respect is necessary." Zora continued, clearly referring to the previous argument she and Rowan had.

"If we are to travel together, Rowan, regardless of our differences, we need to respect one another. Respect and acknowledge each other's experiences, choices and who they are. To learn with one another instead of seeing yourself as being 'superior' and try to 'mold' the other to be what they see as being 'better'. Don't you agree?" Zora finished, looking directly into Rowan's eyes with a serious expression, waiting for his reply.

The Eye of the Needle (where Fantasy and Sci-fi collide)

Despite everything she and the general talked about, Nellara still stood firm on her opinion that they shouldn't lower their head that much to the Mythadians. Respect and courtesy should only be given to those who treated them with the same respect and courtesy... And not to people such as Silbermine, whom invaded their territory, stepped on their pride and authority, simply doing whatever he wanted while hiding behind a title, a 'rank' that was unbefitting and undeserved for someone like him.

Regardless of her opinions though, Nellara simply nodded her head in silence as the general asked her to accompany him to the Mythadian encampment to speak with the Warden. Even if her ideas and thoughts were different from General Kvarr, the amount of experience he had, the amount of wars and conflicts he had been through were undeniable. Besides... Nellara had no doubt that even the incredibly patient and tolerant General Kvarr would lose his patient if pushed too far... But that would depend on how the Warden would behave after their arrival...

Even though General Kvarr had chosen the more tolerant and patient approach to the situation at hand, Nellara's posture was still a cold, harsh and militaristic one. While not outright showing any signs of hostility, her posture and sharp eye were enough to make it clear that Nellara wasn't treating that situation lightly and was more than ready to act... If necessary.

The moment the Warden kneeled in front of Silbermine, Nellara found it hard to hide her disgust, which might have been apparent in her expression despite making a 'moderate' effort to hide it. Despite that, it would still be quite evident that her disgust and harsh stares were more directed towards Silbermine than the warden, who had just arrived.

"Honored guests, only not 'yours'." Nellara added as Silbermine spoke, with a cold and harsh tone, clearly indicating that she would not give ground regarding to whom that territory they were standing belonged to.

Orbis: The Liberation of Gyrland

Klara quietly listened as the other members of the Phantom Brigade made a small introduction each, coupled with their respective call signs. To call their little group 'diverse' was indeed quite an understatement but regardless of that, Klara could clearly see that quite a decent amount of effort was put into the Phantom Brigade, both regarding equipping them and the entire operation. The expectations for each one of the pilots should be quite high. Due to that, even if they didn't really trust her, she knew she could at least expect them to be competent.

"Regarding my call sign... I have no problems in using my old one... 'Sanngridr'." Klara said with a proud smirk. Even though she knew that the name would likely bring some terrible memories to people who had seen or heard about her on the battlefield, she didn't seem to care at all about it. Instead, she seemed to almost be proud of such call sign and by extension, the terrible histories that were told together with it.

"It would be quite exciting to have the very same call sign that once terrified their enemies, the pilot they once threw away, back into the battlefield, now slaughtering their own forces..." Klara said, the very brief excitement in her voice before it suddenly went back to the calm, polite tone from before only made her words even more unsettling.

The very moment the commander started briefing them on their mission though, Klara stopped speaking and paid attention. Unfortunately, it seemed that the enemy frames wouldn't be the real threat about that mission, with their forces mostly consisting of older models. Instead, what they would need to be worried about was their fortified positions. Heavy caliber guns and bunkers would their worst enemies. The plan seemed to be quite solid, with the pilots being paired with each other carefully by the commander, before he finally gotten to Klara. Upon hearing the disdain on his voice, Klara couldn't help but let out a mischievous smirk.

"Yes commander?" Klara replied, clearly teasing him as a reply to the disdain on his voice.

"Understood." Klara said, satisfied after hearing the role the commander had for her.

After that small briefing, the commander gave Edward permission to show them the AI he was responsible for and would be assisting them on their next missions. As soon as he finished saying so, Klara's screen lit up as the avatar for the IA showed up, introducing itself. Apparently, it was Vinland's first AI designed for combat support.

Edward's explanation followed soon after the IA's introduction, mentioning that she would be helping to link their systems and assist them in many ways.

"Oh, not only doe she have a sense of humor, but also quite a sharp tongue!" Klara said, laughing as Aurelia replied the commander, after he mentioned Edward's lack of a sense of humor.

With the Captain giving the last few words before the hangar doors started to open, Klara gripped the controls tighter as she began getting ready to exit the Crawler.

"Good hunting... I like it." Klara said to herself with a chuckle as the water flooded the hangar, followed by heavy rain and wind.

To call that weather harsh would be an understatement. Fighting in those conditions without the assistance of advanced equipment was simply impossible. Fortunately, the frame she was equipped with seemed to be perfect for those conditions. Equipped with advanced detection systems would make it able to see it reasonably well in that weather and the fact that it specialized in close combat made such low-visibility battlefield perfect for it to move around without being focused by enemy fire.

Both to Klara herself and even to other pilots close to the Wraith, it was almost frightening to think a battle frame was able to move the way Wraith did despite not using any thrusters and more importantly, doing it so almost completely silently. It's small profile and light weight made it incredibly hard for anyone who wasn't marked by it's systems as being an ally to spot it, both with visual and other detection systems.

As Klara and the other pilots reached the beach, Commander Kas gave a few words, reminding them of their objective before the mission formally started.

"Saint, do you copy? It seems you and Aurelia will be my 'handlers' for this mission." Klara said with a discreet, but still noticeable 'acid' tone on her voice as she changed to the frequency she would be using with Edward, clearly referring to how the commander seemed to not trust her and paired her with someone he knew he could trust.

The Eye of the Needle (where Fantasy and Sci-fi collide)

Nellara nodded in silence as she heard General Kvarr's advice. Truth be told, Nellara knew she would find it to be considerably hard for her to show courtesy to someone as Silbermine, who simply invaded their territory, giving them no semblance of respect while doing so. and if the reinforcements Silbermine called were even a bit similar to him, Nellara would likely have problems in keeping silent while being disrespected.

"I hope the reinforcements Silbermine asked will show us the respect and courtesy that is expected of a guest inside our lands. Hopefully they will understand the fact that bringing an army inside our territory is already an offense." Nellara said with a heavy sigh.

"But I warn you, General... Should they not understand how grave their actions are and how damaging they might be to the diplomatic relationship between our nations, calm words might not suffice to show them we demand to be treated with respect." Nellara said with a harsh expression.

With the general changing subjects and asking more about the humans, Nellara pushed those thoughts about the glen reinforcements aside for a moment as she reported what she knew about their new 'neighbors' to the General.

"Indeed, General. Their arrival wasn't intended and seemed to be caused by a malfunction on their ship. Even now, their crew seems to be working tirelessly to repair it." she replied.

"Despite the... issues with Silbermine, the humans seem to be quite receptive. I believe they would have no issues with accepting to met us in a less 'formal' meeting. Some of them have already shown a desire to do so, wanting to know more about this world and our culture." Nellara continued.

"In fact, they will probably find such proposition to be quite pleasant... Considering the political issues and the tension the last meetings had due to Silbermine's invasion of our territory and his goals regarding the humans' ship." Nellara finished as she looked to the General.

Just as Nellara finished explaining, a loud horn made her immediately stand up, alert. Her expression immediately hardened, knowing that the glen reinforcements had finally arrived. Their way of announcing themselves already left quite a bad impression on Nellara, which immediately killed her hopes that they might understand how delicate that situation was to the diplomatic relations between both their nations.

"It seems the army Silbermine called to invade Ascendancy territory have finally arrived, General Kvarr..." Nellara replied, with a furious expression as she turned to the General.

It was exactly at that moment that Shirik entered their tent, announcing the arrival of the so called 'warden' the glen talked about, together with the fact that Silbermine was already talking with Zeynep about it.

"Thank you for the warning, Shirik." Nellara said, nodding to Shirik before she turned towards the General again.

"We might have to give the warden an equally 'firm' reception in order to reinforce our position, general. Courtesy aside, it seems only appropriate to greet their army with our army as well." Nellara suggested, intending to do as the General himself said earlier and be sure to show the Warden and Silbermine that they would not give them any ground.

Avalia

Time: Morning
Location: Forest near Guarav Village
Interactions: Cyrus @Helo, Ophelia @princess, Dante @FunnyGuy Darius @Samreaper Menzai
Equipment:

Steel Dagger of Unbreaking

Cannot break or become dull.

243 Amas

While the wolf warrior and his subordinates continued showing quite a bit of hostility towards Viola and Cyrus, his other companions, particularly one of the two 'elves' that held strange earth magic was the first one to speak up. Surprisingly enough, not only he tried to deescalate the situation, but he also interceded for them, confirming to the wolf warrior that they were in fact, allies and had helped them against the roc.

Despite being somewhat surprised by how quickly he decided to speak in their defense. Viola maintained her cold expression towards the wolf warrior, who was called Ulysses, according to the elf. After one of the two strange elves decided to speak up, Ophelia also expressed her dissatisfaction with Ulysses' actions. Despite the situation, Viola couldn't help but notice that Phia there was a noticeable authority in her voice... An authority that was more suitable to a princess than to a random fairy.

"I did, brother Cypress." Viola said as Cyrus pointed the way Viola spoke.

"I hope but... It's still too early to tell, brother..." Viola replied with a sad, distant tone as Cyrus mentioned that her tone of voice was a signal that deep down inside, Ophelia still remembered who she was.

There was a part of Viola that hoped Ophelia remembered her past and who they were but the other part... The part that always inflamed the doubts and negative thoughts in her mind found it hard to believe... Hard to trust that her sister was still there and even if it was, it refused to believe she still cared.

Unfortunately, there seemed to be little time for inner reflections, as despite the elf and Ophelia's words, Ulysses and his subordinates continued advancing towards Viola and Cyrus. The moment Ulysses gave a step forward, the blood rose's thorns, which were already shifting uncomfortably, started moving much more rapidly and violently, shooting into the ground around Viola and Cyrus, breaking the ground with an audible noise as they quickly spread outwards. Moving under the ground like serpents, they stopped just in front of Ulysses and his warriors, the cracks and the vines that rose up from ground every now and then clearly indicating that if either Ulysses or his warrior crossed that border, Viola would attack.

At first, this area was quite large, but when Cyrus got in front of Viola, she quickly understood that his words were also a subtle way for him to tell her to stand down and so, the thorns retreated to half of the previous size, visibly more relaxed than they were a moment ago.

"I will not be made prisoner again, brother." Viola said, looking to Cyrus with a cold, menacing tone. Cyrus would know well how she felt regarding the very idea or possibility of being a prisoner and being thrown in a cell. If any one of the villagers insisted to do so with her, Cyrus knew Viola would rather kill every single one of them before she even thought about the idea of spending a single night on a cell.

Orbis: The Liberation of Gyrland

Adapting to her new 'life', showed not to be as difficult as Klara previously thought. The crew's rooms in the crawler, while not as luxurious as the ones she had back in the Empire, were still much better than the war prisoner cells and the interrogation sessions she went through just after she was captured.

With that said, Klara did notice a rather evident difference in treatment compared to how she was treated on the Empire. Despite her skills and contribution to the Empire, a stock lancer was all she was given, with the custom modifications that were made to it coming directly from her family's pocket. Here, not only she was given a frame despite being technically a defector from the empire, still under probation, but the frame she was given was an experimental prototype. Something that normally would be kept under absolute secret... Especially from someone with ties to the enemy. Still, Klara wasn't as naive to think that there weren't other motives for her to be given an experimental frame... Such as avoiding losing one of their 'loyal' pilots due to a frame malfunction... Regardless, it still felt good being recognized by your skills. Something that the Empire didn't do that much, especially with their tendency of looking at their forces merely as numbers.

Unfortunately, the trip in the crawler was far from a pleasant one. More due to the terrible monsoon they were facing than the stares she received from the other crew members. Being pummeled by waves and shaken by the stormy waters was enough to make even Klara, who was used to being inside a fast-moving frame feel a bit nauseous... Even if Klara was good at disguising that fact... Which was mostly thanks to the cheap chamomile on the crawler's kitchen that she kept taking small sips from, while sitting on one of the kitchen's chairs, being as quiet as she could to avoid the rocking caused by the waves. Again, the flavor was nowhere as rich as the teas she had back in the Empire. It was at best a bland tea, hot water with a faint taste of chamomile, but it was more than enough to help her with the constant nausea... Besides, the tea's aroma helped to distract Klara of the other crew members' constant visits to the bathroom to vomit and the resulting smell whenever someone opened the bathroom door.

Fortunately, it didn't take long until orders started being shouted by the captain and soon after, the commander. The shaking of the Crawler as it hit a sandbank served as an additional warning both for the crew and the pilots, urging them to move and take their posts.
Those orders were received by Klara with a satisfied and excited expression. Having a chance to go out to the battlefield and have some fresh air was a very welcome change compared to being stuffed inside the crawler, continuously being toyed and thrown by the waves.

"Regardless of the weather, a chance to go outside and have some fun is a very welcome change... It's definitely preferable to having to stay stuck inside the crawler." Klara said to herself with a smirk and a satisfied expression, finishing her tea before calmly walking to the hangar to enter the frame that was given for her to use.

Even though it definitely wasn't Klara's first time seeing her frame and by now was already more than used to it, she couldn't help but stop to admire the frame for a few seconds whenever she saw it.

The IRISU-002X - Wraith was a very brutal unkind frame, reacting in a terrible way to any errors made by it's pilot but if one was skilled enough to tame it, the frame was capable of moving exactly how the pilot wanted it to. Thanks to her talent, Klara didn't take too long to get used to the frame and by the end of the training, she had already became quite attached to it.

Klara quickly got inside the cockpit, which, despite simple, was still somewhat comfortable. One of the few places in that frame were some degree of luxury, although basic, was present. Whenever Klara got inside it's cockpit, she couldn't help but be grateful for whoever designed it. Controlling that frame was already something that required extreme concentration and even physical effort. She had no doubts that it would be much worse if it wasn't at least comfortable.

Klara was still in the middle of checking the frame's systems when the commander shouted through the comms, making her flinch and hastily lower the volume, adjusting after the commander stopped shouting.

"Pardon me, Commander Walter, but wouldn't it be equally as effective to use a direct channel to yell at the offending pilot?" Klara said through the comms, with her ears ringing and a slight tone of annoyance in her voice as she readjusted the volume.

"As my first operation as part of the Phantom Brigade, this is Klara Weiss, reporting. All systems are warmed up and ready. The IRISU-002X - Wraith is ready to go." she said with a clear note of excitement in her tone, formally indicating all the systems were warmed up and ready for combat.