Stern Algorithm

Scion: The Prophecy of Anani

Sara, Daughter of Aliya

Ionna @Mcmolly, Theobald @Xiro Zean

Sara's moment of fervor was short-lived. With Ionna's help, they had quickly dispatched the two enemies waiting outside, but her detect heat spell was almost unnecessary as the quiet of the woods outside drew her attention immediately to the sky and loud, rhythmic thrum of the helicopter making its way southeast. Sara reached a hand towards the vehicle in a futile gesture, cursing herself for not having the courage to learn a ranged fire spell. Of course, even if she did, assuming Nadine was on the helicopter, she couldn't risk attacking it. And as the endorphins wore off, as the zeal slowly left her body, Sara felt suddenly very cold despite the heat emanating from her gauntlets. In dejection, Sara turned to Ionna, knowing it was impossible for the two of them to catch the helicopter. "We should...regroup with the others."

Sara and Ionna were the last to arrive at Stern Hill. Sara quickly scanned the group, making sure that all besides the lightning pair were present, until her eyes fell on the hostile and disappointed frame of Theobald. She approached him, initially to make sure that he had not come to harm, but it soon became such that she approached him to receive her punishment. Was he going to kill her like he threatened? Probably not, not with this many people watching. But whatever it was, Sara felt she deserved it. She was already disappointed in herself for failing to save Nadine, so this would only add injury to insult. Sara looked up at Theobald with determination and defiance in her eyes. She had tried her best in an impossible situation, but she was ready to face her responsibility regardless. Though the slap rocked her, turning her head and upper body to the side, Sara stood her ground until Theobald turned away from her, after which she followed him through the rock face illusion and onto the train in silence. Throughout the ride, Sara did not dismiss her armor, not because she was still worried that they would be attacked, but because she did not want to reveal her fresh burns, knowing that such a hideous sight may be too much for the more sensitive among them to stomach. Yet the pain in her arms was catching up to her as the color left her face. Sara felt herself swallowing repeatedly to suppress a visceral disgust but couldn't tell whether this was from the disappointment of her failure or the fever that she was beginning to develop that left her body cold. Throughout the train ride, Sara sat upright, emptying her thoughts and trying to maintain composure, though she hoped in her mind that there was a medical facility at the end of the tunnel.

Duchess Bachmeier's introduction came and went like a blur as Sara realized that her fever was beginning to incite delirium. Afterwards, she shuffled off wordlessly to the medical team to get her arms treated. Only behind the privacy of a medical curtain did Sara finally dismiss her armor, allowing the medic to inspect her injuries. Seeing the severity of her burns, the medic offered a special procedure involving a salve and the use of casts that would allow the burns to heal with little to no scarring though the healing process would take significantly longer, so Sara insisted that he use the simple burn cream and bandage her arms; after all there was still work to be done. And a part of Sara felt that she should be 'branded' for her failure. She did however pop a few fever reducers before leaving.

Afterwards, Sara made her way to the ballroom, where she handed in her crystal without a fuss. She would understand if they never gave it back to her. Not only had she abandoned her duty to protect Theobald, she had failed to save Nadine and disobeyed Irina's orders to retreat. If her title of templar was revoked, perhaps it would be for the best. Theobald could have a new templar he could be proud of, and Sara could return to the orphanage and resume her life as a humble sister of the church.

The Central Dogma of Xenoarcheology

Happy New year. What did you need help with as far as backstory?

The Central Dogma of Xenoarcheology

I can help you brainstorm if you want

The Central Dogma of Xenoarcheology

Now that you have some more context of the world, come up with a backstory for Ryuuto. For example, was he originally part of Project Myrmidon in which case he'll be familiar with some of the CETM personnel already and Major General Tsukamoto would have been his former superior officer. Or maybe he's a complete newcomer from the actual JSDF or even the US military, possibly with secret orders to spy on CETM. Let me know if you need more setting info, I'm happy to help brainstorm.

As a pilot, Dr. McCulloch will be Ryuuto's direct superior. Your mech will also be directly linked to the supercomputer, Omniac, who will provide technical support.

Feel free also to suggest your mech's (referred to as a 'Colossus') load out and provide an image if you would like.

The Central Dogma of Xenoarcheology

Glossary of Terms:

• CETM - The Committee for Extraterrestrial Threat Management, created to combat the impending alien threat through the establishment of four branches/projects.
• First Branch: Project Olympian - The CETM project utilizing Hyperians.
• Second Branch: Project Colossus - The CETM project utilizing giant piloted robots.
• Third Branch: Project Titan - The CETM project utilizing space monsters.
• Fourth Branch: Project Myrmidon - The CETM project utilizing existing military, intended to support the other projects.
• Space Monsters - Alternately known as 'kaiju', 'aliens', or simply 'monsters'. Refers to the gigantic extraterrestrial entities that have begun attacking Earth. Conventional force does little against them, and the repeated use of nuclear weapons is not a viable strategy.
• Hyperians - A species of seemingly benevolent space monsters. So far, two have been encountered, dubbed Hyper Man and Hyper Man X. The first Hyperian, Hyper Man, has defended Earth from space monsters, giving humanity time to prepare our own defenses. Hyper Man X arrived later to continue Hyper Man's mission.
• The Central Dogma of Xenoarcheology - ██████████████████

Public Timeline of Major Events Concerning CETM:

• 2095 C.E. - An enormous alien vessel is discovered, hidden deep within the Mariana Trench. Research on it begins immediately as mankind attempts to reverse engineer the technology and decipher the language. The aliens to which the vessel belongs are named 'Hyperians' by the researchers. A preliminary study reveals that Hyperians seek out budding civilizations in order to protect them from 'ravenous' threats, and that this vessel and its 'inhabitant' were sent to Earth thousands of years ago to protect us.
• 2100 C.E. - At the turn of the century, a sealed chamber within the vessel is finally opened. Inside, the inhabitant, Hyper Man, is discovered, having locked himself in the chamber alongside a 'space monster', the Vega Alien, to prevent its escape. Surprised at the chamber door opening, Hyper Man is dealt a mortal blow by the monster, who proceeds to leave the vessel and head eastward, wreaking havoc on the surface. Weakened, Hyper Man explains that he requires the life force of a 'pure-hearted' human in order to reinvigorate himself and finally end the Vega Alien once and for all. One of the children of the research team, Shigeru Kawakami, volunteers and merges with Hyper Man. Hyper Man leaves the vessel and destroys the Vega Alien but not before it has devastated two United States' cities, Los Angeles and San Diego.
• 2101 C.E. - In the aftermath of the first extraterrestrial incident, CETM is founded. With the knowledge and guidance of Hyper Man, the Hyperian Vessel is relocated to Tokyo, Japan.
• 2115 C.E. - In the intervening years, space monsters begin to attack regularly. Hyper Man explains that, during its escape, the Vega Alien destroyed the 'Civilization Dampener', a device in the Hyperian vessel that hides the presence of young civilizations from monsters, and that the device can no longer be repaired. Fortunately, the invading monsters are aware of Hyper Man's presence and are drawn to him, allowing humanity to choose where Hyper Man is to engage these creatures. With this knowledge, Tokyo is transformed into the fortress of Meta-Tokyo, the site of extraterrestrial research, the headquarters of CETM, and the battleground for all subsequent fights with space monsters.
• 2116 C.E. - The second Hyperian, Hyper Man X, arrives on Earth to check on the status of Hyper Man's mission. The Hyperians have a secret meeting in the vessel and Hyper Man X agrees to swap places with Hyper Man, allowing Hyper Man to return to their 'home' to recuperate.
• 2123 C.E., Present Day - Hyper Man X has protected Earth since, but CETM is finally ready to unveil the fruits of their research.

The Central Dogma of Xenoarcheology

Important NPCs

CETM Command

Oleander, Margaret

Name: Secretary Oleander, Margaret
Position: Director of CETM
Gender: Female
Age: 67
Personality:

Professional, rational, cold. Secretary Oleander is calm, commanding, and sometimes intimidating. She is not afraid to take risks and is always weighing the pros and cons, always considering whether the expedient approach or the long-term plan is better. Some say she is too cutthroat, too willing to sacrifice the few for the many, but the way she sees it, she will do anything to ensure that mankind survives. Secretary Oleander was an unassuming, but efficient aide to the United States Defense Secretary. After the Defense Secretary's untimely death during the first extraterrestrial incident, Oleander assumed the position briefly before she was nominated for her current post. Oleander oversaw the founding of CETM and the Four Projects, showing enormous success during subsequent extraterrestrial incidents. Not one to sit on her laurels, and with the foresight to anticipate more dangerous incidents to come, Oleander plans to build on her success and innovate the Projects even further.

Ning, Nicole

Name: Ensign Ning, Nicole
Position: CETM Command Center Communications Officer
Gender: Female
Age: 17
Personality:

Kind, earnest, detail-oriented. Nicole doesn't speak very much, mainly due to shyness, but she likes to help others. She likes to bake, which she picked up from her father who runs a bakery, and loves stuffed animals shaped like desserts. Has horrible, horrible aim. Nicole was enamored with the concept of CETM, so she studied and worked hard until she was granted the option to transfer to CETM.

Project Olympian

Kawakami, Manaka

Name: Dr. Kawakami, Manaka
Position: Olympian Project Lead, Chair of the Department of Sociology
Gender: Female
Age: 40
Personality:

Empathic, cheerful, observant. Manaka is one of the few humans privy to the Hyperian social theory known as the central dogma of xenoarcheology, and though her primary interest is learning how Hyperian civilization developed as a way to forecast how human civilization might also develop, the space monsters also intrigue her.

Kawakami, Shinobu

Hyper Man X

Name: Kawakami, Shinobu
Position: Hyper Man X's human host
Gender: Male
Age: 20
Personality:

Shinobu is a gentle soul burdened with the responsibility of protecting humanity. Haunted by dark secrets of the universe, Shinobu tries his best to live up to expectations. Shinobu keeps others at arm's length out of fear of divulging confidential knowledge.

Project Colossus

McCulloch, Helen

Name: Dr. McCulloch, Helen
Position: Colossus Project Lead, Chair of the Department of Physics
Gender: Female
Age: 45
Personality:

Sullen, callous, alienating. Helen is a workaholic who expects the same commitment from her peers and underlings. A purist, she is skeptical of employing Hyperians and monsters for protection, and worries about what horrors that space monster-based research may bring, and therefore feels that her position as a naysayer within CETM is crucial to keep things from getting out of hand.

Project Myrmidon

Tsukamoto, Yuu

Name: Major General Tsukamoto, Yuu
Position: Project Myrmidon Lead, Major General of the Japan Self-Defense Force
Gender: Female
Age: 31
Personality:

Strict, disciplined, scrutinizing. Meta-Tokyo is protected by a branch of the JSDF under Yuu's command. It is not only her duty to ensure that the city defenses aid the CETM Projects in their tasks, but also to subdue them should they ever turn on the humans. She does not know if her small army is up to such a task.

Project Titan

Park, Raymond

Name: Dr. Park, Raymond
Position: Titan Project Lead, Chair of the Department of Biology
Gender: Male
Age: 38
Personality:

Laidback, easygoing, genius. Raymond is surprisingly young for a man in his position. To many, he may appear lazy, but most of his greatest ideas come to him when he is relaxing, making him more of a 'creative' and 'inspired' scientist than others who tend to 'brute force' their way to scientific progress. Unfortunately, Raymond's proclivity towards less-than-ethical scientific practices has gotten him censured in the past, but his intellect earned him a place at CETM.

Ryeong, Mu Myeong

Vega Titan

Name: Ryeong, Mu Myeong
Position: First Titan
Gender: Female
Age: 17
Personality:

Mysterious, clingy, agitated. Mu Myeong has known only CETM for her whole life and views its members like an unstable family. She finds it difficult to gauge social distance, wanting emotionally to be part of something greater, while being forced to maintain professional distance due to what she is and her role.

Tokyo University Faculty

Yunus, Selim

Name: Dr. Yunus, Selim
Position: Chair of the Department of Engineering
Gender: Male
Age: 74
Personality:

Jovial, curious, philosophical. Selim is an accommodating man who collaborates closely with Meta-Tokyo's defensive infrastructure. The existence of extraterrestrial life challenges his beliefs, but that has only led him to be more welcoming of aliens than many of his peers, as he wishes to ask them about their beliefs in an attempt to find some common, higher, metaphysical truth.

Nihei, Iori

Name: Dr. Nihei, Iori
Position: Postdoctoral fellow, Department of Chemistry Liaison to CETM
Gender: Nonbinary
Age: 27
Personality:

Calm, practical, level-headed. The actual chair of the chemistry department refused to work with CETM, and offloaded his responsibilities onto one of his postdocs, Iori, who has done an excellent job so far despite being under tremendous inter-departmental pressure. Iori recognizes the dangers that empowering space monsters can pose, and cautiously weighs the benefits against the risks, while being cognizant of what safety precautions may or may not be in place. They recognize that CETM plays fast and loose when it comes to risky experiments, but understands that such loosening of standards is for confronting the looming crisis.

Sekigahara, Manabu

Name: Dr. Sekigahara, Manabu
Position: Chair of the Department of Psychology
Gender: Male
Age: 43
Personality:

Reluctant, non-committal, overwhelmed. Manabu has been tasked with psychologically profiling and providing emotional support to the CETM combatants, a seemingly monumental and absurd task, which he will tackle as part of his job, but his belief of his odds of success can be plainly seen on his face. Given that some space monsters have displayed the ability to control minds, he worries that he will be the first to be manipulated.

Omniac

Name: Omniac
Position: Chair of the Department of Computer Science, Meta-Tokyo Information Network's SSS-Class Artificial Intelligence Administrator
Gender: Non-gender, Male
Age: 50
Personality:

Utilitarian, pedantic, restricted. Development of the city-wide supercomputer known as Omniac began long before the arrival of Hyper Man, but has been commandeered by CETM to run the city of Meta-Tokyo. Over time, it has developed a human-like sentience, and has been given a physical, mechanical but human-like body with which to interface with humans. When the previous chair of the CS department retired, Omniac was appointed to the position. Though he does not do his own research, his high-level administrative capabilities have secured him the position term after term. Though Omniac has massive control over the city, he worries what will happen to him if he makes a mistake or oversteps his authority

The Central Dogma of Xenoarcheology

Feel free to post your character in the characters tab!

Scion: The Prophecy of Anani

Sara, Daughter of Aliya

Ionna @Mcmolly

As Sara punched her way through the ballroom, her glowing gauntlets drawing disproportionate attention from enemies, she tried to seek out the unaccounted-for Scions. Suddenly, she felt a wave pass through her, and she immediately knew that something was wrong because the heat from her gauntlets began to sear the flesh of her arms, causing her to drop her chain to the ground where it started burning a line into the carpet. Gritting her teeth and fighting back a scream, strangling it in her throat to a gurgling groan, Sara's first instinct was to dismiss her armor to make the hot gauntlets vanish as she had done in practice whenever her 'resist heat' spell had failed. But she was in the middle of a battle, with bullets and blades flying everywhere; dismissing her armor could mean death. So she spent the extra few seconds while the skin of her arm boiled to force herself to concentrate and recast the 'resist heat' spell. She could only tell that the spell worked because she could no longer feel the radiative heat from the glow of the gauntlets; her hands couldn't tell if the gauntlets burned anymore because now, they were simply in constant pain due to the damage they had sustained for even just a few seconds of contact with red-hot metal. Sara swallowed thickly, only now realizing the sweat that trickled from her brow from the pain she had endured.

Sara didn't know how long she stood there, grappling with the pain, trying to push it down so that she could continue with her mission. She saw the chain on the ground had dimmed slightly. Of course, whatever had canceled her 'resist heat' spell had also canceled her 'heat metal' spell, though the thermal energy that had been infused into the weapon and her gauntlets would take a good while to dissipate. As she bent down to pick up the chain, she had to try to ignore the spikes of pain whenever her fingers moved or whenever the open burns of her arms contacted the insides of the gauntlets. Sara wanted to throw up, but she had a mission, though one that was almost immediately dashed when she heard the Scion of Time announce Sir Ulysse's demise. Looking towards the direction of Lucas' voice, Sara saw the Templar of Metal dash out of the window in pursuit. Looking back in the opposite direction, she saw Scions Dom and Kaspar together. If Ionna was leaving Dom's side, then was she abandoning her duty, or did she deem them safe enough? Sara also saw Theobald near the Scions, though his focus was on the wall of ice, clearly the Scion of Water's location, and she understood. Ionna trusted Theobald to protect the others, as did Sara. With Sir Ulysse dead, Nadine was the only unaccounted for Scion. How did they manage to obscure her bright flash? How did they manage to muffle the thunder? Of all the Scions, she should have been the easiest to locate.

Did Sara now follow Ionna to search for the Scion of Lightning and disobey Dame Irina? Or was her duty to Theobald? Of course, if Nadine was lost, Sara was sure Theobald would find some way to pin the blame on her and brand her a spy or a traitor to have her dismissed, or at best, executed. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. But as much as Theobald would probably love to think that his threat cowed her into obedience, Sara's ultimate decision to pursue Nadine was not because of the order he had barked at the beginning of this chaos, but because she truly believed in the holiness of the Scions and valued them above all others. Sara was grateful for the light of Incepta. She did not see her life as one of difficulty. Hardship and proximity to the church had been her greatest teachers, blessings that many overlooked in favor of the glitter and comfort of the material. Life could have been worse. She could have been born in goddess-less Kaudus; she could have been born a weak, arrogant, and spineless noble, steeped in sin and excess, ignorant to compassion. Her life was blessed, she thought to herself, as she felt a sickening slickness slip into the space between her gauntlets and her hands which continued throbbing in pain. Was it blood or pus? She didn't care.

Making up her mind, Sara swiftly followed Ionna out the window, dashing after the lither woman. "Dame Ionna!" Sara called out to get her peer's attention, almost, it seems, in revelry, "WE HUNT!" This. This was Incepta's true gift to humanity that all had access to, the gift of zeal, for the heart of a believer could overcome all obstacles, all woe, and come out stronger for it. As if inspired by Incepta herself, Sara suddenly recalled another spell she had been practicing. If she was to be a good Scion, she needed to be able to keep track of Theobald under any circumstance. Fortunately, he was a large man with an imposing silhouette and a high body temperature, and she could track him, even in darkness, by casting 'detect heat'. Though she stumbled over the lines during practice, Sara's fervor allowed her to recall the spell with clarity and chant it, allowing her to peer into the cold, dark forest for signs of human activity. "These infidels cannot hide from me." Now she just needed to look for anything that appeared like a person carrying another person.

Scion: The Prophecy of Anani

Sara, Daughter of Aliya

Theobald @Xiro Zean, Hollyhock @OwO, Jannick and Maya @Obscene Symphony, Edmund @webboysurf, Tyler @Scribe of Thoth

Though Sara was not familiar with the tragedy of Ophelia, she meditated on Holly's suggestion, that maybe Sara needed to protect Theobald from himself, that war has dehumanized him. perhaps, but she doubted that the man would take such advice from someone he considered the spawn of his enemy. Holly's next statement drew Sara's gaze towards Sir Edmund and...Catherine? Sara wanted to shake her head, but she didn't want to express disapproval of a noble in front of Holly, who was a noble herself. Even though Holly herself had called Caralynn a 'wench', it wasn't Sara's station to join in on vocal criticism.

They were soon joined by Jannick, who slurred Sara's name, though this only elicited a friendly smile. If he could barely remember her name, it likely meant that the controversy of her 'origin' was even further from his mind, and for this Sara was grateful. Sara could guess from his intonation that he would rather she continue to watch over Holly and temporarily relieve him of his duties, which she was happy to do, as Holly had been nothing but pleasant. Besides, there wasn't much to do at a party besides enjoy the amenities. Though that 'complaint' soon turned to ash as chaos erupted.

As the lights dimmed and armed assailants came crashing into the room, Sara heard Theobald's order bellow above the racket. On the surface this was a conundrum; the only Scion Theobald would allow to come to harm was himself, yet he is the one Sara was charged with protecting. On the other hand, of all the cions, Sara could rely on Theobald to take care of himself, so they were of one mind. As a caretaker of an orphanage, Sara knew that when it came to wrangling children, sometimes one had to determine which children were mature enough to maintain order and watch out for themselves, and which needed particular attention. Of course, the Scions were not children (save for one) and most were more than capable of taking care of themselves, but she had to prioritize, and she trusted leaving Theobald to his own devices.

Sara turned to Jannick, a look of apology in her eyes, as watching Hollyhock for the rest of the night in his stead was no longer a possibility. "Gather at Theobald, and then at Rosemary," Sara suggested. Getting all the Scions and Templars in one place seemed the safest, especially next to the royals, who undoubtedly would have the most protection. But Theobald was the largest and easiest to spot, so the easiest to gather at. It was a classic technique as a teacher, one chaperone goes looking for missing children, while one collects and protects all that had been found.

Sara tapped the gem at her chest and allowed her armor to form around her, revealing slightly over-sized gauntlets. During her training as a knight, Sara found that she had a poor aptitude for magic and since becoming the Templar of Fire, realized that the chaotic nature of pure flames was not something she controlled easily. So she focused on perfecting and honing two spells, heat resistance, so she could weather whatever spells her Scion cast as well as resist the heat from her other spell, heat metal, a way to concentrate the destructive power of fire into a solid form that she could wield more easily. Reaching towards her waist, Sara undid a clasp to reveal that the 'belt' that she had been wearing was a length of steel chain. Sara slammed her gauntleted fists together with a loud 'clang' while initiating the heat metal spell. The temperature of her gauntlets rose rapidly as they began to glow red hot. Due to the darkness, the typical mirage-like shimmer surrounding her arms could not be seen clearly, but the heat soon transferred to the chain as well, turning it into a fiery whip.

before she plunged into the fray, Sara heard a familiar, desperate cry from above. Looking up, she saw Maya, standing on the ceiling. Fortunately, her attentive Templar responded quickly and ensured her safety for the time being. "EDMUND!" Sara called out, "Get her to Theobald!" At that moment several red-robed figures attacked, so Sara but her forearms in front of her, allowing her gauntlets to shield herself and Holly from a spray of bullets. With ferocity unexpected of a schoolteacher, Sara lunged towards the assailants, every punch leaving an unpleasant hiss and a cauterized scorch mark on a limp body. Her mind ran through the Scions. She knew approximately where Rosemary and Theobald were. She also assumed Isabella was with Rosemary. She had told Maya and Holly to rendezvous at Theobald. She could trust Justinian, as a monster slayer, to defend himself. This left Nadine, Dom, Kasper, and Lucas unaccounted for.

her head turned on instinct as one of the ballroom doors was pushed open. Expecting to see more enemies, Sara was surprised when Sir Tyler fought his way back in, dragging Lucas behind him. Tyler seemed to be drawing attention to himself. perhaps this would be a good idea, if it were not for the Scion behind him. She thought of leaving Tyler to his own devices and ferrying Lucas back to Theobald herself, but with her fist glowing red, she stood out like a sore thumb in the darkness, and she could not hold the Scion's hand safely to lead him. Dispatching a few more enemy soldiers that had their attention drawn by Tyler, Sara made her way to the Templar of Time. "Glad to see you both safe. I've been telling every Scion I've met to meet at Theobald and Rosemary. I think it would be the safest, with all the power of the scions concentrated and surrounded by royal guards. I'm still looking for the Scions of Lightning, Metal, and Shadow. Have you seen them?" Sara asked, but even if they hadn't, she had at least relayed her message. Running things through her head again, she hoped that Kasper could defend himself, what with the darkness, but it might be wise to search for Dom first. Nadine would, hopefully, reveal her position the moment she tried to defend herself. With that, she leapt back into the fray.

Scion: The Prophecy of Anani

Sara, Daughter of Aliya

Theobald @Xiro Zean, Hollyhock @OwO

The rest of the ceremony proceeded without a hitch; Sara received her crystal and walked behind Theobald, wishing the whole time for the pomp and circumstance to finally be over. But the night was still young, and they were whisked away to Gile Manor. Though Sara knew how much Theobald fought to contain himself, she sometimes wished he were less obedient, that he would burst from his social fetters and flee off into the night, and that Sara would be 'forced' to follow him. That way they could both escape the tedium of social events. Expectedly, he dismissed her as soon as they arrived, and Sara obliged, trusting the soldier in him that he wouldn't do anything untoward, though she secretly wished he would. Left to her own devices, Sara pondered on the supposed 'high spiritual honor' of being a templar. Though she was glad to serve Incepta by being a protector for one of her Scions, she wondered if all this...fluff...was really meant to be a part of it. She thought back to part of a conversation she had heard during the anointing of Sir Tyler, how Incepta selecting young Rosemary to be a Scion has robbed her of her childhood. Sara shook her head. No, it is the expectations of the royal family that has robbed Rosemary of her childhood. Nowhere in the scriptures did it say that the Scion of Light had to be a monarch, nowhere in the scriptures did it mandate the establishment of the nobility. No, unworthy humans who wished to greedily suck from the teat of Incepta's blessings crawled out of the woodwork and surrounded the Scions, using their proximity to the Scions to elevate themselves above others. Sara wondered if all this was Incepta's plan. This was a theological question to be sure, but as someone of Kaudian descent, not an easy one for her to ask of the clergy for fear of seeming like she wanted to tear down the foundation of the Estoran Federation. And she did not, to be honest, have a strong grudge against the nobles, but she did wonder if they were necessary, if they should be entangled with the scions, and if there was a better form of government that could do without them? Of course, the various states ruled themselves differently, so maybe it was fine, maybe the social experiment is ongoing, and Sara simply needed to be patient.

Of course, it didn't do to engage in deep introspection at a party, and as a 'celebrity', Sara figured that she should at least make herself available for interaction at this dog-and-pony show; at the very least, she should partake of the amenities so as not to appear rude. Sara found herself at the buffet table, holding a plate with one hand and adding food with the other, though she did so sparingly; rich foods did not suit her palate, and overindulging would only cause indigestion and regret. As Sara was taking her time, someone else in the line caught up to her, Hollyhock, the Scion of Wind. Her hands full, Sara tilted her head in greeting and said, "Your Holiness. I hope you are enjoying the festivities." Remembering Holly's penchant for giving her Templar the slip, Sara added, in a tone that she hoped came off sounding more teasing than critical, "Sir Jannick is taking quite the risk, leaving you out of his sight. Though I do find myself sometimes wishing that my Scion was a bit more...adventurous. Who do I protect, when my charge not only never gets into trouble, but is also more than capable of protecting himself?"