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Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

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Éliane had already seen a lot of shit on this –technically still short—journey outside of Skael. But between the unexpected revenant that turned out to be Izayoi’s master, who had nearly killed everyone, and then the Valheimian airship returning and then blasting an hole in the sandy ground, revealing a cavern occupied by a hermit cleric…

Well, the Skaelan officer was just about as incredulous as Izayoi.

The fact that she was alive was nearly a miracle itself.

The fact that everyone, including herself, were still alive at the moment was incredible. Team Kirin was not a team of dragoons, after all, and while Éliane liked to think her skills at jumping were far better than the average person or fighter, it was still a long fall. It was still clear that others were injured, either from the battle or the fall—and she knew that Miina would have her work cut out for her.

The pink-haired woman heard Esben’s weak voice as he fumbled for his canteen, catching her attention. She frowned at his appearance. Éliane quickly decided that the others could do the talking for now, and a moment later, she was by her fellow countryman’s side as she knelt down.

She blinked as she realized what exactly he was asking.

Yes, it was misshapen. Broken, probably. But… really?

“Yes, it’s broken. Shouldn’t you be worrying about your arm, and the battle?” Éliane pointed at his shaking arm, which looked worse for the wear. “Lie down and wait for Miina to come back around to you,” she commanded.

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

Mirie Agustria of the Grand Bank,

Duchess of Caelin

---

Hathforth\\
@Estylwen@Donut Look Now

Duchess Agustria agreed with Duke Grimhand. Willowsteel had been dealt a bad hand when it came to the geography and nature of his land, but it was clear that the current duke did not have the temper, nor the wits to properly take advantage of the advantages that he did possess. Gold-Touch Wine might be one mere product, for example, but its ubiquitous presence in nearly all noble households in the province, including as the centerpiece of the queen’s gala meant more than the shortsighted man might actually think.

With the duel that was but about to happen, and likely lose, and the calls for his imprisonment, Mirie began to suspect there wasn’t much more of a chance for him to turn things around.

Seeing the other duke trying to catch her attention, she smiled. “I would not be arrogant enough to agree, but as a host, I do make an effort to ensure my guests enjoy their time.” Mirie did actually have a high opinion of the parties that she herself threw, but this was the queen’s gala. Of course, her own parties had the same problem that royal galas and other functions suffered from, and that was the inherently political nature associated with any party that a high noble threw. She made a genuine effort to go above and beyond, but in the end, it was the same—it was always business or noble politics as usual, with the party as the façade. Her smile broadened at ‘Rhinecliff’s’ comment, which she kept when responding to Grimhand.

“It is business as usual, and I see little problem with that.”

-
Rhinecliff Estate\\
@Estylwen@ERode

Mirie nodded along at Laurent’s reply, reaching out to enjoy some more of the food that had been set at the table. “That is heartening to hear.” Her face shifted into a bit of a teasing smile as she spread a palm out. “Ah, but that is the beauty of business. If I do not pay them well, they would not come. With the city doing as well as it is, I would remiss to not be a generous patron.”

The topic quickly shifted away from their own cities, though, and naturally back to Hathforth. With Rhinecliff still on the edge of a break from the queen, no doubt he wished for all the information he could get from the Queen, and the state of her city. Mirie had restrained herself in the presence of the twins, who had a strong affiliation with her, but now that they had been caught in the act, they were being surprisingly honest.

“That does align with what I’ve seen,” she agreed, after some thought. The city did look better—even someone as paranoid at reinforcing her position would know to not neglect the appearance of her base of power. She raised an eyebrow and snorted as the duke once more shifted the topic away, but she internally shrugged.

They both knew the tax situation quite well, and she shared his look. Mirie, and thus Caelin itself were unusually shielded from the severe taxation levied upon most of the other ducal territories, but she was the exception, rather than the rule, and only because of the unique economic situation she cultivated. Even then, the Queen was getting her money, although in a way that benefited the Duchess of Caelin a little more than the way she taxed the other duchies.

Nonetheless, she was aware. In fact, being an almost neutral party to this, she was able to look at the situation with some proper detachment, and was all the more aware that the Queen’s policies would not be sustainable.

The question was when the music would finally stop, and who was left with the biggest hand to deal when it did.

She eyed the venison as Laurent cut into it. The aroma of the meat, cooked to perfection with its accompanying sauce was salivating, despite the so-called dreary topics—she had to suppress a chuckle at how casually the duke treated situations like this. It always amused her. The duchess turned towards the children, curious for their answer.

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

Was sorta checked out the past couple days-- I'll try and get a post up in the next couple hours.

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

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In that one moment, Éliane knew, she had come closer to death than anything she had experienced in the past. Not the battle she had gotten into on the rooftops of Solitude, not the attack on the Edrenian castle that had killed most of her countrymen, not even the frantic prison break just days ago that really had no right to have gone that smoothly –And wasn’t that a thought, that most of her biggest fights had taken place in the three national capitals?—but here, out in the desert, in the most random of encounters.

It wasn’t the Blight, nor some Valheimian general or officer, but some twisted experiment.

And then the moment passed, with Izayoi’s desperate intervention that left her on the brink of death.

The initial barrage of team Kirin had not amounted to much, despite the firepower that all of them had brought to bear against this Revenant, but Izayoi’s counterattack and whatever the hell Rudolf had did gave them a second chance that they likely wouldn’t have again. Even as Éliane moved, the rest of her party acted, surrounding the wounded thing as they cut into him with swords and magic. Unfortunately for Éliane, her own barrage had left her out of ammunition in her rifle.

So without hesitation, she drew her gunblade again and closed the distance, fully aware that range meant nothing to this opponent. Eve’s attack made finding a good opening difficult, but Robin found an opening and Éliane exploited it right after the other woman made her move, coming in right after her. She took a shot point blank right where Robin had pierced at his armpit—and followed up with a slash from another angle at the same time as the hero-minded girl, banking on the armor breaking under the repeat point assault.

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

Oh hey, Est, do the twins have any resistance to poisons/drugs?

@ERode

*concern*

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

Mirie Agustria of the Grand Bank,

Duchess of Caelin

---

Hathforth\\
@Estylwen@Donut Look Now@Irradiant

It only took but a few moments for Duke Willowsteel to completely reverse Duchess Agustria’s opinion of the man and what he had to offer. There were precious few things one could do at a function like this for the famously amenable duchess to turn on someone like a fellow holder of a ducal seat, but he somehow managed to cross a line for her.

In response to everybody’s attempt to calm him down, he had taken it upon himself to consume enough wine to knock out an ox, and then began a verbal campaign of the highest slander and conspiracy. The Court Jester, using human sacrifices to fuel her simple illusions? Mirie wanted to scoff. That was not how magic worked, especially the type that woman used. She was wary of the Court Jester, yes, but not for a reason as absurd as what Willowsteel suggested.

“Patently ridiculous,” she agreed, deigning to respond to Willowsteel’s accusations only with two words and a degree of separation.

With how clownish the gala was becoming, perhaps it was in her best interest to accelerate her little intermission.

But not before seeing the outcome of the challenge from Duchess Altina. She leaned over towards the fake Rhinecliff. “This should be, if anything, entertaining.”

-
Rhinecliff Estate\\
@Estylwen@ERode

Mirie raised an eyebrow at the twins’ immediate surrender, to the point where they were prostrating on the ground, groveling for forgiveness from her host. The duchess had accidentally played a part in this and thwarted what was a fairly obvious scheme in hindsight, but she was glad that she did. A penniless Rhinecliff would not do for her own plans and the balance of power in Arrowfell, and that was not to mention the issues with the economy that would cause.

She had decided not to intervene here, but she doubted that she would be disappointed by Rhinecliff’s judgment, either. In the end, they were still kids, and he was famed for his magnanimity, even if he was in his full rights to strike them down as they stood for the insult against him and his seat.

And indeed, he would not ruin the day or the table setting with anything nearly as ominous as punishment.

Duchess Agustria moved on as if nothing had happened, switching her goblet of wine from the gala for the tea that the Duke poured.

“The Queen has made some effort to restore the city," she allowed. "It’s not yet to the former glory that it was previously, but I would say that the city is well on its way there. And what of Odenfield? It has been some time for me, too. The architecture of your city is always a delight to behold.”

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

I'll try to get one up by tomorrow evening.

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

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Éliane decided she had been too arrogant.

Foreigners generally supposed that of Skaelans, given how truly superior Skael as, but she meant that in a different way. She had thought she could deal with the heat, even though she was from a cold and snowy land. What had she been thinking?

She had made her best attempt at modifying what she had in her wardrobe to better suit the heat and the ever present sand of the desert. She kept the main uniform, naturally, but she had shed her heavier undergarments and shirt, replacing them with a far, far lighter piece of fabric she picked up back in the city. Unfortunately, even that bit of foresight still meant suffering, but at least she wasn’t wearing heavy armor like Galahad.

For once, the woman was not thinking of combat. Between the heat and Arton’s revelations, it was too much. Rationing the water as-is was difficult.

Unfortunately, not all things could go smoothly, and they found something more than just sand after three days. Moments blurred together as they encountered Valheimans once more, and Éliane found herself with her gunblade drawn, fighting against the strongest foe she’d seen yet on this journey.

She was aiming at the abominably large samurai when she suddenly found it amidst their formation.

“Shit—” Barely able to react, she was instead thrown back by Galahad as he interceded on her behalf. The Skaelan woman frantically rolled out of the way, glancing back in time to see Izayoi in turn rescue Galahad from his own untimely demise. Clicking her tongue at her own negligence, she kicked back to create more distance, switching to her rifle just as Galahad came to the same conclusion as they watched the two samurai play off of each other. She met his eye, and nodded, quickly finding an angle and then bring up her weapon.

“You heard him!” she repeated. “Surround him and shoot him!”

The bolt of her rifle smoothly clacked into place as she took aim and concentrated. She had not bothered to load her regular rounds for this. She went straight to explosive. A crack went out as Éliane pulled the trigger, followed by an explosion and another crack as she worked the bolt again as she poured on the lead on the giant man. It was not the glorious combat she liked, but against Valheimans, more high explosives from long distance tended to work best…

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

Mirie be like "This bitch needs to read the room!"

ArrowFell: The Wizard Queen's Court

Mirie Agustria of the Grand Bank,

Duchess of Caelin

---

Hathforth\\
@Estylwen@Izurich

Duchess Agustria nodded in acknowledgement of the Wizard Queen’s words. “Indeed. But for now, I shan’t take up all your time.” She raised her glass of wine in toast, before stepping back to mingle and allow the Queen to speak with the other guests, happy that she seemed amenable to allowing her to attach some minders to the expedition.

Although Mirie continued to mingle among her fellow dukes and duchesses, her attention was momentarily taken when the Court Mage’s apprentice approached nearby. She gave an interested glance in her direction. This was certainly an interesting development in court—and there was something about the young woman that had a certain pull to her. No doubt this Melisande would be someone to keep an on later. Blackthorne did not take random apprentices, after all.

Her interaction with the Duke Willowsteel had about as much intrigue, but not in any pleasing way. He was an attractive man when he wasn’t too deep in his cups—but it was apparent that the man already had too much to drink. She grabbed the pole of her cane at the midway point, and then, with some force, but not violently, smacked it against his chest. “Get a hold of your senses, Willowsteel! There is more to these parties than whatever you intimate.” She swirled the cup of his gifted wine in her other hand. “Sitting down to arrange a very fruitful renewal of some deals, for example.”

She gave a nod at Nyx in her Rhinecliff disguise. That was more backbone than she had expected from the duke’s shapeshifter, but it was what she needed to say. Willowsteel still had value as a card on the table of the great game, no matter how sodden down the man was these days.

---

Rhinecliff Estate\\
@Estylwen@ERode

With some amusement, Mirie led the young boy down to the courtyard, who followed along as if he were going to the gallows rather than a pleasant garden tea service, which was what awaited. The hidden panic between the two twins, caught up in whatever scheme they were attempting, no doubt for the queen, was as plain as day.

She smiled lightly at Viscountess Skybound. “Indeed, Viscountess. Likewise,” she greeted pleasantly, as if there were nothing suspicious afoot at all. With the four of them now sitting at the table, she set the wine glass from the Queen’s gala down on the table, and plucked at a piece of fruit.

Delicious. Rinecliff’s eye for quality was as sharp as usual.

Meeting his eye, she smiled back. As delicate and unplanned as this was, this could still play in her favor, and how amusing it was at the same time! Given that this was his house, she would defer to him and allow him to take the lead, here.

“Impressive indeed,” she followed on the Duke’s words, giving an appreciative nod at the boy even after hearing his whole spiel from earlier.

“Oh?” she inclined her head at Laurent’s tale. “That is a frightening tale! The other lords and ladies shared many stories, and I did myself, but this is new to me,” she responded, making a small show of pondering. “What a curious tale…”