Teyao

Regalia

_{[Location] ?, ?
[Time] ?, ??:?? ??
[Interactions] @?}

The Flame loomed.

Taller than the ceiling and as boundless as the sea -unconquered, unblemished, unmarred. In his hands, a fragment of starlight lay ignited, a small sun kindling the space in radiant heat. His hands shook, an emotion slipping through him too swiftly to grasp, vanishing before he could decipher it. Tempting whispers went ignored as he focused, a single mistake would mean death.

The Flame struck before the thought had even settled.

It moved with the speed of storms, its strike weighted as a mountain, he braced, and the Flame’s illusion shattered.

He rolled, his vision blurred by the murder weapon slashing above him, a breath, then he rolled again as his ribs cried upon feeling the searing kick the Flame delivered. This is pain, the fire inside him purred, delighted at his struggle. The Flame waited, content in its power. Why would the Flame rush, when it knew all things would eventually be set ablaze?

Air filled his lungs in gulps as he righted himself, steeling against a blow that would not come. Time stretched, and the fire inside him roared, drowning every other sound.

The piece of coal in his hands let out a few sparks as it collided with the starlight.

The starlight cast him aside.

Once, twice.

There was never a third.

This time pain split his stomach as a blow found its mark. He crumbled, the piece of charcoal falling from useless hands, then kicked further away by a quick flick of flame. He forced his gaze upward, locking onto a face emerging from the fire, vibrant emeralds glinting from behind empty sockets as the figure cast judgment.

"Burn"

And as darkness folded over him, the same unknown feeling bloomed at his center, faint and precious.

It was happiness.

---

[Location] Landow, Estren
[Time] Sunday, 07:00 - 07:30 AM, September 15
[Interactions] @TokyoPewPew

As he made his way toward the next Shrine he couldn't help but observe the security standing around the Festival, their silent vigil was curious in its own right but what drew his eye was the equipment each sported. This was perhaps the first time he had seen such a quantity of advanced arms ever. The flame roused a little higher at the thought but just like with the Regalia he pushed it down, they were just people doing their job and were not looking to prove themselves, to test someone who isn't looking to be tested is not something he is eager to do.

Although, considering what he was seeing perhaps he may be wrong.

It was a subtle shift in posture, no doubt using one of those fancy ear devices that he heard so much about, whatever was conveyed to them was enough to light some tenseness on their frame, much like a cat who heard a predator. Slowly the security started to herd the masses towards downtown, it was subtle, so much so that he doubted most realized it but there was no doubt some were quick on the update.

It wasn't long before he could hear the sounds.

As he looked around he came to a decision, with quick steps he made his way toward the harbor, the location of the locker where he had stored his sword along with the rest of his pack, he didn't need to be some sort of seer to see the way the fire was blowing. Conflict was calling to him like a sweet siren song and he was going to be prepared to meet it.

Before long he was in front of the locker, sheathed sword in his hand as he fiddled with the accessory to sloth it on his belt.

Then he stopped.

It was but a glimpse, nothing more than a shadow at the very edge of his visual range. The fire roared, unrestrained like it hadn't in a long time and he moved.

That was how he found himself barely a couple of meters before a woman painted like a corpse, sheathed sword in one hand with the other beside his hip, curled almost like a claw. There was a curious aura around her, but what really caught his attention was the thing on her back.

A sword

Ah, it seemed that his reckless tendencies weren't as burned as he thought they were.

"...Hello Miss"

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

He couldn't help but let out a chuckle at Adam and Kass' words, despite his own disagreement with the statement.

"Oh stop that guys, you are gonna make me blush"

And oh boy was that true, despite his rough exterior he had a sweet stop for compliments. More than once his cousins and friends used honeyed words to get him to do something stupid, now granted, most of those times he would have done so regardless but it was those little conversations that enhanced the experience.

As he sat and listened to the conversation a doubt began to drip from his brain.

The fact that people were still arriving was concerning, several scenarios could happen, maybe there was still an 'opening' for more people to drop in which, well, he would prefer not to have another person with a situation similar to Fenna on the team. Nobody deserves to be separated from their family and forced to fight in another world. There was also some worry that something could cross to their side and oh man was that a nasty thought, he just hoped that whatever was causing people to drop here (Cough, Gods, cough) would be kinder to any person from Earth.

As he was thinking Mac gave a question to the rest of the party, he listened to some of the answers as he pondered the question for a second before answering.

"I don't see why there would be a problem" He gave a small shake of the head to accompany his words "Adam has the right to it, if nothing else I am sure the Grandmaster would be happy to get another person registered on the guild" It was an interesting thought, he couldn't say he had as good of a read of the Guildmaster in comparison to her girlfriend but if there was one thing that could get Clarissa Shields to break the cold exterior was Lucinda Bottrill.

It wasn't long after that Frederick appeared with their food.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+

This was nice.

Recently it felt like he hadn't that much time to just hang with the rest of the entire party, maybe this was something that was lacking in his life lately. God(s) know back in Mexico he had a meal with his entire family at least once a week, and it was definitely better than eating in some seedy tavern or in the barracks where he knew at least a few people were waiting to stab him in the back out of jealou -wait a second, was that a genuine thing or was it an effect of that sword?. Sudden revelations aside, he was genuinely enjoying himself.

Particularly this juice thing Freddy was offering, he especially liked the sweetne-

"Hey James... have you ever ridden a horse? Something tells me you'd be a reckless bastard on one. Just a hunch."

"Ha, that reminds of this one random time that I had to save my dumbass mate. The idiot had fallen down a well."

The snitch

"Cough, cough"

With quick motions, he hit his chest to ensure the juice went in the right direction. Then he gave the taller man a halfhearted glare, damnit he had already forgotten that ever happened, play it cool, play it cool "Oh yeah? Sounds like the kind of idiot that would steal a horse"

Nailed it.

Hearing Kass's comments he decided to start a conversation.

"I ain't no great cook but I think the flavor on these is all Freddy here" He gave praise to the man "My people tend to rely on spiced dishes most of the time so it's interesting seeing what Freddy comes up with"

An idea came to his head "Speaking of, what is your favorite dish Kass? I heard of a couple recipes since coming here and I am curious if I know your preferred one"

Deal with Devils (An occult take on Magical Girls)

Seems interesting

Regalia

[Location] Landow, Estren
[Time] Sunday, 07:00 AM, September 15
[Interactions] @Mirandae @Vietmyke

The man was boisterous, his laughter feeling larger than life, he wondered for a second how would such a man fight, his large frame would be terrifying as a grappler but the way his posture always seemed secure to the ground spoke of excellent footwork, any punch thrown would have the weight of a mountain behind it.

She was different, more agile. A quick style with a smaller blade, or ranged maybe, she was a little trickier to imagine. He pondered for a second then his gaze slipped back to the man at her side, this time with another perspective, slowly he looked at the large number of people surrounding the temple of Gaia and the pieces fit a little better.

Then they seemed prepared to give their answers and he found himself focusing on them.

...Then he blinked as the answer to his second question registered in his mind. Unbidden, a smile formed on his face, and a small chuckle escaped his mouth before he raised a hand to cover it, taking a couple of seconds to get back under control he responded "My apologies Miss, I must confess it has been some time since this happened to me, to answer your question where I am from people tend to refer to the Dominants as 'THEY' or 'THEM' out of respect and I think I slipped into the old habit out of respect"

"As for your other answer, fret not, an honest answer given freely is worth more than I can pay you" Then he looked in the direction of the Regalia of Titan "I must say, your answer is especially deep Mr. Lafaele, 'your worth is seen through your every action, and in them you see Titan', indeed that is a powerful statement" A hand went to stroke his chin as he digested both answers.

Originally he had approached his fellow Regalia out of curiosity but now he was overjoyed to find someone who thought akin to him. Maybe it was fate that brought him here after all.

"Ah my apologies Miss Genevieve, I forgot to introduce myself" Calmly he brought his right hand to his chest while the other was firmly at his side, just like the old man used to do "My name is Mathias Voss" He paused for a second debating before deciding to proceed, anything less would be too much like lying "The Reg-"

Alas, before he could share enthusiastic exclamations and calls sounded all around him, making him turn around just in time to see the skies falling above them.

It was a beautiful show, the way the lights danced across the sky like a flowing river of comets, however as much as he found the show pleasant his attention was eventually brought back to the shrine, reminding him of the other people waiting their turn to speak with the Regalia in front of him. Time he was hogging for himself despite already getting more than what he was hoping for.

"I must apologize again, it appears I have been quite selfish with your time" Again he bowed towards the two Regalia "Thank you for sharing your wisdom with me, may you have a good day, I hope we speak again one day" Gifting them a nod he signaled to the next person that his turn was done, then moved towards the next shrine. If he was not mistaken it was Leviathan's wasn't it?

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

Okay I have returned! I was away for some time due to a sudden opportunity to visit some relatives I have not seen in literal years, sadly they live in the boonies so their internet connection is spotty at best.

Still, a lot has happened since the last posts.

James reaction after learning about Fenna's adventure

In lieu of recent events

Part of the gang

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

He looked at the ceiling of his room.

He had awoken a couple minutes prior, and he slept little, for the first couple hours he had been plagued with ceaseless thoughts over and over again, even when he managed to drift to sleep his dreams had bordered on nightmares. The events from the last couple of days playing through his head in repeat and the general situation brought his mood down, so here he was, just staring upward in search of answers.

He was surprisingly... calm wasn't the right word, unperturbed sounded cooler. Perhaps it was the part of him that came from that bastard but his general disposition to bad news after the fact was to just shrug and move on.

Still, the other idiot made a habit of contemplating things when he was alone and this was a prime opportunity for it, the lunch was a couple hours away if he didn't misremember and he had no previous arrangements until later, he may as well use the time.

First of all, who was he?

He felt like he was James, he felt everything James felt before the whole blessing incident happened... but if someone were to call him Zigmund it would feel equally natural. Maybe that was the problem, he still was trying to be one while leaving the other by the wayside, not that it was that uncommon he felt, people only showed a facet of who they are after all and frankly, after seeing things from both perspectives there was little push to resume Zigmund usual attitudes, a lot of him had been steadily erased by the Black Sword for a couple of decades by now, all those negative traits of his youth pushed to stupid extremes with his survival only happening thanks to his not so fortunate encounters and opportunities. Zigmund could see that now and it provoked a spot of deep anger inside of him. Fuck Baphomet.

Yeah, on the second topic, fuck Baphomet and that fucking sword of his.

Even after Zigmund death, it continued to haunt him, he wanted to rip the head off the oblivion prince and shove it down his throat, after all it had taken from him death was too quick and not satisfying enough. At the very least the ritual should prove useful after Kass has his conversation with Zell and for that James was thankful. He didn't deserve to have such a great party, even if half of them threatened to give him gray hairs early.

And how could he forget about the last couple of incidents of course?

Zell being overtaken by that Fucking Sword™, Clive dying and coming back to life, Adam's self-recrimination tendencies appearing at the worse of times, and Fenna's sudden decision to take a dip on a motherfucking Source Well of all things. Only Kass and Mac had proven they weren't troublemakers so far. And even there he was crossing his fingers.

And that went without mentioning the group dynamics, he left HR because he didn't want to be subjected to stuff like that godamn it.

---

Before long it was finally time for him to go downstairs, his steps were lethargic but little by little he made his way until he found himself sitting at the same table as Fenna and Adam, from the voices he could faintly hear the rest of the party was still on the floor above and by the gods were they loud, whatever they had going on was rambunctious as hell. Shortly after Freddy came to take their orders and he asked for something light, after the last day he had his appetite was in shambles.

It only turned worse when the rest of his party came down.

Clive and Mac? Spotless as he could expect of them and he even returned their greetings, but the other two? Battered and bloody, almost as if they had been, no, not almost, they had been in a brawl, and seeing how unbothered the other two were acting, as well as his last conversation with Kass he could make an educated guess of what had happened.

Silently he started to categorize the injuries on both men, bruises, some lacerations, a slight limp, and winces on certain motions likely from strained muscles, from the looks of it neither was suffering from broken bones or grave internal injuries, oh it would likely hurt like hell once the adrenaline wore off but for now it seemed like neither man was in fatal danger aside from the concussions but really, what was a concussion to someone with brain damage already?

Yeah, Kass was going down the list, no matter how necessary this whole thing may have been.

As a stranger entered The Mended Drum he struggled with a new question.

Should... should he heal them? Common sense told him yes, Kass was an intelligent man and if he decided this was the path he settled on then it must have been for a good reason. On the other hand the injuries were not life-threatening, and with the natural healing Melee Classes like they possessed, it wouldn't take more than a day or two for them to go back into shape.

'In the current siege that is just a bad idea' said his common sense again and before his pettiness could argue back it continued 'You also don't want to see them hurt'

Then as he debated the man himself gave him a nod and signaled to Zell.

...Damn his bleeding heart.

Without a word he moved towards Kass and started treatment, meanwhile, he kept an ear to the conversation, his hands paused as he revised what he had heard, then he resumed his work, another one like them or not there were injured people here. Though it meant he missed his mark to introduce himself.

As he patched him up he remembered Kass's introduction and he couldn't help but murmur under his breath "Normal my ass, you could punch a tank and win" Making sure to bandage the laceration and apply some ointment, which should help dull the pain and soothe the swelling.

As he worked he listened as she talked about herself, finding herself alone must have been rough, Mytheria wildlife is not exactly harmless and the fact that she managed to make her way towards civilization and thrive was something to be lauded.

Finishing he turned towards Zell and started treatment.

None of the injuries he sported merited something like stitches or sutures, despite the bloody show they were pouring. Still, in the great scheme of things he just needed to repeat what he did for Kass.

Then when he was sure the other man was mostly fine he finally took the time for the first time.

"The Guild offers a variety of services such as the mentioned magical email, as well as rooms, affiliated institutions, and contractual regulations. The ranks are based on the criteria of merit and capability, with some of the aforementioned services tied to specific ranks" He tried to give a grin then settled for a light frown "Sorry to butt in, I was occupied when we were presenting ourselves, my name is James Sirius, from Mexico, and I am the current leader of Second Chance, nice to meet you"

Regalia

[Location] ?, ?
[Time] ?, ??:?? ??
[Interactions] @?

The world was bathed in muted shades of grey, the air still simmering with the heat of fading embers. There was a charred lump beneath him, it may have been once a rock, or a stump, or even an engine, it mattered not. Now it was little more than a convenient seat. He sat quietly, a bloodied eye closed as his hand ran a whetstone down the length of his sword, his movements methodical and precise as he traced the battered edge. At his feet, there lay a burned man looking at the smog-filled sky, his body broken and his gaze dazed and vacant but there was an undeniable spark of life within, flickering and persistent.

Silence stretched between them like a sanctuary, a strange peace that almost made the violence of mere moments ago feel like a dream. The particles drifting down from above gave the scene a surreal, almost sacred air, the battlefield seeming more reverent than any temple could.

"You always come back for that sword, don’t you?" The burned man's voice was soft, with a faint rasp. His eyes had changed course, fixing themselves on the weapon in his hands.

He didn't look up, all his attention focused on the task "A blade" He began "isn't just steel. It’s a reflection. A reminder"

"A reminder...?"

"Of its purpose"

"I see" The burned man nodded and returned his gaze to the sky "Like us, I suppose. Our path is never really done, is it? Always in need of… sharpening" The way he intoned the last word was slow, almost like he was savoring it.

Scrape, scrape, scrape.

He said nothing, his whetstone moved in the same steady rhythm, scraping softly against the blade. The man seemed to find comfort in it, as though the sharpening of the sword was a prayer in itself.

"I wonder" The man continued "If this is what He intended. Every time we rise against you, it feels like another step closer to something… higher. I feel it, even in our failures"

"Perhaps" He mused absently "Failure is just another form of progress"

Scrape, scrape, scrape.

The burned man chuckled softly, though there was no humor in it "Failure sharpens faith, doesn’t it? Makes us more resolute" He paused, his expression growing more introspective "I've always believed that each battle, irrelevant of victory or defeat, brings us closer to understanding His will. And through you, we commune with the divine"

His hands never faltered, his eyes still focusing on the sword "You look for meaning in every strike, in the outcome, that is the nature of faith"

The burned man closed his eyes for a moment, letting the warmth of the residue seep into his skin "Sometimes" he said softly "I wonder if I’ve misunderstood. If maybe it’s not about the battles at all, but about the waiting in between. About the quiet moments like this"

Scrape, scrape, scrape.

For a moment he didn't say anything, his hands pausing and bringing the sword closer to his face, his good eye examining the edge before finding a flaw and renewing his efforts "Waiting can be more difficult than fighting, it’s where you find the true test, only when you truly understand the hunger is that you finally learn to savor the feast"

The burned man lay still, absorbing the words, his thoughts heavy with contemplation. The fire within him had burned fiercely for so long, but in this quiet moment, in the aftermath of defeat, there was only reflection -no anger, no bitterness. Just the persistent question of what lay ahead. The burned man turned his head slightly, his gaze settling back on him "Tell me..." he hesitated, the question appearing to catch in his throat before he could give voice to it "Do you ever wonder... if this is the right path?"

Scrape, scrape..., scrape.

His hands slowed before eventually coming to a stop, again he brought the sword to inspection but this time he nodded at what he saw, then with a smooth movement he sheathed the sword on the scabbard at his side before getting to his feet and showing the burned man his back. He took a single step then froze before half-turning and looking at the man for the first time "My apologies, I wasn't talking to you" He gave the man a slight bow in apology then resumed his walk without looking back.

"Until we meet again, Aiden"

The Burned Man watched The Regalia's retreating figure, his presence fading into the swirling ash. His body felt heavy, worn from the battle, but his mind was oddly light, as if the weight of certainty had lifted, if only for a moment. The question he had voiced lingered in the air, unanswered. He closed his eyes, listening to the echoes of The Regalia's words, the scrape of the whetstone lingering in his mind, rhythmic and purposeful. For a moment, just a fleeting moment, The Burned Man wondered if, perhaps, this conversation wasn’t between the two of them at all.

Maybe the questions had never been Aiden's, nor the answers Mathias's

Aiden 'The Burned Man' Halloway
Scorched Warden of The Ashen Disciples

---

[Location] Landow, Estren
[Time] Sunday, 06:30 AM
[Interactions] @Mirandae@vietmyke

He followed her instructions and sat down beside her, the grass was comfortable and he briefly wondered if this was some sort of blessing inherent to her station or if the organizers had just prepared everything in advance. Before he could start talking she asked him to wait, which he did with curiosity. His reward was the boom of laughter and the stroking of the embers in his chest. The man was tall, tanned, and ripped, his muscles resembled stone with their firmness and he was sure that the earth would shake the moment he wished for it to happen.

He was Akamu Lafaele - Regalia of Titan.

He watched as the two countrymen interacted, it was rare for him to listen to any news, usually he learned most of the happenings in the world through gossip between locals but even with his lack of intention, he was well aware of the relation between his fellow Regalia. But even then something caught his attention, in the large figure's grasp lay a stuffed doll, pristine and admittedly cute but there was a detail that required his focus.

It was charred.

Was it a coincidence or a signal? And if so from whom?

After a few spins and some light conversations, both figures turned toward him, sharing their apologies but he waved them away "Do not worry, I am not vexed" He shook his head "Quite the contrary, actually. It’s not every day one gets to talk with both the Earth Mother and the Landshaker himself" He imagined it was a rare privilege to get such an honor.

"I originally approached Miss. Genevieve to ask her a few questions, but may I ask you to hear your answer too Mr. Lafaele?" He waited for a signal of approval before continuing "Very well, my first question is thus: What do you think is your purpose as a Regalia?"

"Did you see THEM? When you drew THEIR Gaze?"

Regalia

@Aeolian@vietmyke@Tlaloc@Teyao@Aku the Samurai@TokyoPewPew@Silly@rabidbacon
So here's a question for everyone: do you want a discord server for this roleplay? Yay or nay.

I've been ripping my hair out for the past few days over this, going through pros and cons. So, I'm just going to straight up ask and leave it to democracy to decide.

@Mirandae

I am pretty neutral about it, I tend to check very rarely in discord tho, so in here and PMs works perfectly fine

THE WAR FOR MYTHERIA - Isekai Adventure

He answered the question as they moved.

"Yes and no, it would depend on what is most cost-effective, keeping the barrier to offer protection for the city or using the extra firepower. If the big brass decides to keep the barrier it will hold for a while but I doubt the enemy doesn't have something prepared in advance to break through, remember this was a siege, which means time is in their favor, not ours, and if they got half the preparations I think they did then they likely waited this long because it was easier" And knowing the paranoid old man he probably had anticipated that the wait would make them fight all the harder "

Their arrival at the guardhouse was quick and perhaps they still had some luck left as the guildmaster was fit to see them right away.

Once pleasantries were exchanged Adam beat him to the punch and spoke first.

“Unfortunately, I messed up, and I'm sorry for that. First, I never mentioned to anyone that the enemy can see Source Mail messages and interfere with communications. And second, I overlooked that fact when sending my letter, so now the Witch Queen knows we knew when they were going to attack. Frankly, they probably have a new plan now. Again, I apologize for the mistake.”

Adam

He wasn't very good at it.

Once more he was reminded about this particular habit of his friend and not for the first time he felt some faint irritation, it was... frustrating to hear Adam talk like that sometimes. He was a good man and an even better friend but this was one of his traits that needed sometimes got out of control.

But that was okay, this was one of the very few things he could help with.

Giving Adam a few pats on the back he signaled to him he wanted to speak, then took a step forward "I am afraid that the Witch Queen has access to Hacking, I am unaware if she does it herself or if she has a specialist to do it" He gave a few shakes of the head then resumed "Back when we received the message we found it to have been tempered by her, even now I don't think my party knows about 'Hacking', I only know because special circumstances regarding a Blessing from Lathop"

Use the 'we' to signify the whole party, making it clear Adam wasn't alone, explaining they were ignorant but leaving enough rope to involve him.

"At the time we were extremely distraught by the contents and I think we subconsciously pushed the matter aside, the aforementioned Blessing had certain consequences to my physique which resulted in a pathological fear of the Witch Queen" He gestured towards Adam "It wasn't until my teammate here realized he had been using the guild services to send a message that he made the connection that if She could temper with our message, she may be spying on all of Valhaim's"

Involve them, it was their service that was tampered with, also elevate Adam's contribution, he was the one to discover it. He wasn't good at politics, not really, but even he wasn't blind enough to ignore how valuable they were to the whole city during the attack, with all the contributions they had made it was unlikely they would be punished, if he was a betting man he would say the matter would be swept under the rug. Still, it was better late than never, he doubted Adam was the only person using the service during these last days, and sure he may be the only Druid to do so, but there was no telling what other secrets were leaked.

After some further questioning, they were released and back to the Mended Drum.

Mac news was something that he would have welcomed any other day, but in this one in particular he was just silently waiting for one last kick in the nuts to end the day.

It was just one of those.

However, before he went to sleep he made sure to impart some last words to Adam.

"Hey Adam, Tree-Man, look, this may have been a fuckup but it was a collective fuckup, any of us should have reported the entire thing the moment we found out about it, hell I doubt you are the only one who send messages, there are a lot of Adventurers around and I bet a couple of them have friends and family outside" He took a couple seconds to think the right words "Look what I am saying is don't beat yourself too much over it m'kay? I know you are your harshest critic and truthfully thoughts like that will just make you suffer for nothing. Better focus in what is to come"

He gave the man a couple pats on the shoulder before biding him goodnight and then retreating to his room.

What a shitday.

Regalia

@Teyao I demand a bromance-valry between the Regalias of Fire and Water

@rabidbacon

United for a single purpose

I have done part 1 and 2 of my post. Hope to have part 3 done tonight, then it should be posted after that most likely.

On a random side note, Teyao, I have never had a good experience that started with the words "Hello Miss" ! I might have had Nia in character get the ick if greeted that way. 😃

If that was something down the line if ours ever met, if you wanted to lean into it or avoid.

@Silly

That would be extremly funny, though it was my intention for the words to be slighly weird, he just thought about creating a mess for no other reason that because it would be glorius conflict and is restraining himself.