VitaVitaAR

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

"Sir Fionn, what are you---"

Fanilly could not quite help but stare in wordless shock, wide-eyed, at her knight's actions.

He had just decided to start playing along with Duke Thedric. Leaning entirely into the parody-like madness being expressed by Brennan's lord.

The Duke blinked, and then his wide, bright eyes seemed to take on an entirely different glow.

"Ah-hah! You're right! My marching uniform...!"

Hurling the baguette to the side, knocking several nearby items to the floor as it landed uncerimoniously, the Duke marched over to his dresser and picked up what appeared to be a spare maid uniform.

Without removing the dress he was already wearing, the muscular noble proceede to pull it on, fabric audibly stretching and tearing as he did.

"I apologize for my uncouth behavior! Now, to conquer the Kingdom of Pudding! To strike down the tyrannical Rectangles!"

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

"It would be best if you didn't refer to Duke Thedric in that eway once we've arrived," Fanilly commented with a wince. Not that she necessarily expected the coarse-tongued mage to listen, but she had to try, if nothing else.

"Though, given they've already sought the assistance of mages, I'm certain they'll allow to you cast on him, as long as it helps to discover what happened."

If it was as she feared, Fanilly wasn't certain there would be any way to cure Duke Thedric's mind. At the same time, however, there were no reports of any kind of violence.

The fact that the madness suddenly emerged abruptly, with no prior signs of any sort of mental decline, when he awoke one morning...

Was it possible the shard was being used in some sort of plot targeting the nobility?

Fanilly had to confess she doubted that possibility, moments after it rose in her mind. It wouldn't be a very efficient way to try and remove them from power.

But it certainly seemed as if something strange had happened.

The stone-and-wood walls of Brennan loomed ahead, now. It wasn't as large as Aimlenn, certainly, but even from outside it was clear that Brennan's healthy trade had granted it a great deal of resources.

There was a shout from atop the walls, and the great doors opened ahead of them.

A young man with dark hair and green eyes, clad in fine blue-and-orange clothing with a sword on his hip and a cape on his back was there to greet them. Behind him stood an entourage of Brennan's garrisoned soldiers.

"While I can't say I expected it, I'm glad you've come to offer your aid, Knight-Captain," the man said as he stepped forward, bowing his head, "I am Sir Aglan, and I wish I could welcome you and your knights to our city in better times."

He let out a heavy sigh.

"You may take your horses to the garrison stable, after that---"

He hesitated a moment.

Fanilly took a moment to glance past him. Brennan hardly seemed to be in a particularly unusual state. The stone path lead deeper into town, the buildings here near the gate made primarily of wood. But past them, she could see larger, stone buildings, and in the distance the second set of walls around the Duke's manor.

There were people visible, too, going about their daily business.

If she had to guess---

It was almost certain the matter of the Duke's madness had been kept from the people of Brennan.

"---After that, it's best that you come and see the situation for yourself."

---

"---And that's the proof that I am Prince Erion, and by my word, it is time to begin baking the cake that will reach the heavens!"

Of all the things that Fanilly had expected, upon hearing of Duke Thedric's madness, this was nothing like any of them.

His manor was a tall, stately building, surrounded by a small garden. It took up less space then a castle, but it still spoke of its lords' taste in natural surroundings and greenery.

But the lord within...

He was as Fanilly remembered him. Older, of course, but still tall and with a muscular, robust body. A thick, dark beard tinted with grey was matched by a full head of hair, and his blue eyes were bright.

But he was wearing a bright pink dress, stretched over his muscular form, and thrusting a baguette into the air.

"Now, come with me, comrades! We shall conquer the Kingdom of Pudding! We shall celebrate with the Lamplighters every day! And I shall sing the Song of Lythenne!"

Did Duke Thedric even know the Song of Lythenne's untranslated high elven lyrics?

"... As you can see, it's almost like a parody of madness," Sir Aglan said with a heavy sigh, as Duke Thedric lept onto his bed. It creaked audibly, "But nothing has worked to recover his wits. He simply woke up and began acting... like this."

Fanilly hesitated. What did she say? This certainly wasn't the work of a shard of Angroron, but---

"I... I see," she began, "Did anything unusual happen, er, the night before?"

"I wish you were the first who asked that, because then we might have an answer," Sir Aglan responded wearily, "Alas, no-one seems to have seen anything. There was a party late into the night, Duke Thedric retired to his bed afterwards, and awakened having gone mad."

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

Red Light District

---

"Mmm?"

The Red Light District was certainly... something. Indeed, it was kept clean, and the shining, expensive buildings and large windows displaying brief glimpses of what was inside behind thick curtains spoke of a great deal of money and upkeep rather then squalor. But the dubious air of the entire district couldn't be ignored.

Perhaps these things were just what should be expected.

"I suppose I'm not surprised that you're not excited to be here," Qing'e said, her lips curling into a small smirk, "A maiden such as yourself lusting for a night out in a Red Light District would be quite the shock indeed. I expect you keep your less-then-appropriate desires locked away inside your mind."

Her unseen gaze drifted, now settling on the Knight-Witch.

"And you... have the air of a married woman, so I can't imagine you've been to a place such as this. At least, not for quite some time, if ever. Still---"

She gestured to a group of finely-dressed young women as they passed.

"No matter how this place might appear lavish and decadent, there's not many people who can protect the ones who work here. And they're suffering, even if it doesn't look like it."

She paused a moment, catching sight of an overweight middle-aged man in flashy clothing whose eyes were lingering on Sanae rather closely.

If someone were looking closely at Qing'e, they might have noticed her hand twitch.

If they were looking at the man, they might have noticed him suddenly looking down as something tugged his pantleg.

They might have noticed the brief look of horror on his face, eyes bulging in their sockets and a cry escaping his throat, as he saw something down at his feet. He stumbled back, slipping, and fell heavily onto his backside.

But no-one passing by seemed to spare it much thought, and it was difficult to see what was there.

Qing'e continued to lead the way.

"Ahead is a brothel that was thriving, and from my understanding cared quite well for its workers. But customers and courtesans alike suddenly started to fall ill, becoming drained and exhausted. When a customer died, his body shriveling up like rotten fruit, it shut down, and everyone fled. But this strange illness and exhaustion has started to creep into the surrounding buildings. If this keeps persisting, more people will die."

@FujiwaraPhoenix@DracoLunaris

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

@Chronic: That's fine if you can do a sufficient description.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

@Chronic: Then we'll see when it's done.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

@Chronic: I'm going to have to see your intended character concept first.

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

Heir to the Konpaku

So her opponent deflected Cherry Blossom Flashing just like that?

Really, it was only to be expected. But the fact she had to respond to it purely defensively meant that Youmu was making progress.

A smile crossed the Half-Phantom's lips.

Getting serious, then? So far, she'd only showed off a few of her techniques.

If her opponent was getting serious---

"In that case, I'll just have to get serious as well."

It was only to be expected from the legendary Miyamoto Musashi, even if she came from another world.

With a faint hiss, spiritual power flowed along Youmu's limbs, passing from her body and across the edges of Roukanken and Hakurouken.

She'd slash through the space between herself and her opponent, through hesitation, confusion, and anything else in the way of her victory. A sparring match shouldn't just be taken lightly, so she was going to give it her all and---

"Eh?"

Wait, her opponent was just leaving!? The Legendary Miyamoto Musashi was sheathing her blades and turning tail? Where did all these people come from, for that matter?!

The audience for their duel had kept their distance, which only made sense. No-one wanted to be caught up in a duel at home, either, but quite a few people enjoyed watching them.

Youmu couldn't help but be incensed at her opponent's sudden departure. Their match had just been about to swing into full gear. A demonstration of the skills passed down through her family line, versus those of a legendary samurai whose impact was felt throughout the world of martial arts.

But now she was just running off?

"But... but what about our match?"

Youmu's shoulders sagged. She couldn't help but be deflated, her phantom half drooping in the air too.

---Aside from that, though, what was with all these people? They were some sort of town guard, that was certain, but why were they interfering? This might be a different world, but a friendly duel wasn't anything violating the law, was it? It certainly wouldn't have been back home in Gensokyo.

"I'm not handing over Roukanken or Hakurouken," Youmu protested, a frown crossing her features as she narrowed her grey eyes, "If you really want me to, I can re-lay the cobblestones, but I was only engaging in a friendly duel."

Laying stone was something easy enough, given her experience as a gardener, but that clearly wasn't the only thing they were angry about.

@FujiwaraPhoenix@Raineh Daze

---

The Church

The priestess's eyes widened for a moment on the mention of Lavielle.

After a pause, she let out a sigh.

"Lavielle isn't enshrined here. I don't know of any church that is a place of her worship," she replied with a frown, "If that's what you're looking for, you're only going to find ruins."

She seemed to consider her next words for a moment, before continuing.

"You really must be from far away. While I can't say I'm fond of Lavielle's worship, there's no prohibition against it. She is a goddess, however diminished and distant she might be. Personally, I would instead recommend offering a prayer to Valitys, but if you really wish to seek out Lavielle then you may be able to find a shrine with the merchants."

Her gaze drifted to the small, silent girl.

"As for the fae girl, it's not that only another fae could assist her," she continued, "The fae don't experience disease or aging. They can be killed by violence, but their bodies aren't composed of the same sort of matter as we are. Since I don't see any injuries, if anything is wrong with her... it's likely something spiritual, or something weighing upon her mind. In the former case, a mage might be able to help her. In the latter---"

She hesitated for a moment.

"I can't say for certain. Despite her looks, she's probably older than any of us here, but the minds of fae are difficult to understand."

@Lugubrious

Final Fantasy: Lightseekers

All of these treasures---

There was so much money here, all sucked up by this woman like she was some kind of leech. The sheer amount of wealth in this one room was more then Robin had ever seen.

There were some people who suffered terribly. Some people who were constantly on the verge of starving.

And yet this enormous amount of wealth lay in this room, horded by criminal greed.

Didn't those people left in the slums deserve it far more? Didn't the people living from day to day, desperate for a full stomach, desperate for a secure tomorrow, deserve it beyond anyone else?

These were the thoughts playing through Robin's mind.

Wouldn't the only acceptable action for one who called herself a hero to be distributing this wealth to those who needed it most?

Not that heroes didn't claim treasure for themselves. There were plenty of stories of heroes finding wealth and taking it for their own. But in this case, when there were so many people being crushed by poverty---

There was only one response that Robin could even fathom.

After all---

Hadn't she suffered in just the same way?

She'd have to speak to the others about this as soon as possible.

---

---But there was no way she could even mention it. Not now.

She hadn't seen what happened, not exactly. But she'd learned plenty in the past few moments.

Robin wasn't sure what to say. It was kind of overwhelming, but Esben had laid out Ciradyl's entire history.

She'd done so many things that Robin had never even begun to expect. Working within Valheim's structure wasn't something she felt as if she could condone. A hero didn't do such things, did they?

---Did they?

What would she have done?

Robin couldn't say. She couldn't know.

It wasn't something she'd even thought of before.

If these actions were to try and shield innocent people, the very same people that Robin desired to help, could they be called heroic, just as the stories she envisioned in her head at those words?

But she threw away the lives of others who opposed Valheim to achieve her goals, didn't she?

"I---..."

Robin hesitated. Could she even speak about this? Did she know what to say? She wanted to say that she did. She wanted to speak confidently. She preferred to project that kind of image. To feel certain of every action she said, every word she spoke. It was a the root of her behavior.

Her confidence, her assuredness. It was the way in which a hero behaved, after all.

But at the moment, she couldn't find such confidence. Not in the face of a situation that was so knotted up in on itself.

But she did know one thing, at least.

She couldn't agree with Arton's approach.

Robin took a deep breath.

"I don't know if I can say I agree with anything you've done," she began, "Not really. It's not the sort of thing I can claim that I'm alright with. But if it was for the sake of innocent people who could have suffered, I---"

Robin's gaze shifted downwards. She had stepped into this conflict so recently, could she really say anything?

"---I don't know if I can say they were wrong, either."

Her head hung.

"I don't know if I can say I know anything about this at all. But trying to help people who are weak and suffering is something I can't condemn, even if I don't know if I agree with how it was done."

Robin's words faded into silence.

She wasn't sure if she'd helped. She wasn't sure if she'd achieved anything at all. This was so far out of her expectation, so completely overwhelming, that she didn't know the first thing about what to do.

But she had to say something.

Blades of Iron Roses: An Anime-Inspired Knight RP

---Normally, this was not something the Iron Rose Knights would have been contacted for.

Normally, such a situation would be better handled by the assistance of the Mage's college, or perhaps the Court Mage himself.

In fact, it was purely by coincidence that the Knight-Captain even learned about it.

The loss of the Lord of Brennan's wits.

Brennan was situated on the edge of the forest bearing its name. It was considered positioned in an excellent location to serve as one of the Capital's chief lines of defense in case of attack. But on top of that, it was thrived on supplying wood and game to the rest of Thaln.

The Lord who commanded Brennan was one of the King's cousins. Fanilly knew little of him, though she had once been at a party where he was present. She remembered a tall, boisterous, friendly man, who nevertheless did not have much time to interact with children. Still, he'd seemed kind.

And yet, reportedly, a strange and unnatural madness had suddenly afflicted him. The utter loss of his wits.

Both clergy and mages had already been sent. Logically, it was their duty to handle such matters. If it was the work of a demon, or some sort of spell, then they were best equipped to deal with it.

---However.

A strange and sudden madness could not be ignored by the Knight-Captain any longer.

If there was any possibility it was related to a shard of Angroron, if there was even the slimmest possibility that it could lead them closer to discovering the culprit, then they had to take it.

It's for this reason that Fanilly volunteered the services of the Iron Rose Knights. If nothing else, they could bolster Brennan against potential attack during this period of odd, supernatural madness that afflicted its lord.

Confused as he was, in their correspondence, the Lord of Brennan's son had gladly accepted their assistance.

It was two days' ride from Aimlenn.

By now, Fanilly could see the stone-and-wood walls of Brennan looming, flanked on either side by the sea of green that was Brennan Forest.

"Sir Aglan will receive us when we arrive," called Fanilly, to her knights, "From there, it's our duty to assist in any way we can, but also to try and learn more about the Lord's loss of his wits."

She couldn't be certain if this truly had any connection to the Angroron shards. But at the same time, a sudden loss of all sanity that seemed to stem from a supernatural cause---

She simply couldn't ignore it, either.

From Realms Beyond — An Isekai Crossover RP (Now Accepting)

Heir to the Konpaku

She had no real idea of her opponent's capabilities. So, when that brilliant rainbow trail lead Miyamoto Musashi directly towards her, Youmu had little choice but to break her assault and put up a defense.

Steel met steel, ringing out across the lightly-damaged street and echoing across the buildings. Her muti-pronged assault had failed entirely.

But it was only a brief setback. When it came to dueling, all she had to do was adjust the manner in which she slashed at her opponent and try again.

She analyzed her position as quickly as she could. Her opponent could close the gap faster then she expected, but at the same time Youmu firmly believed her agility was still superior. She'd simply been taken by surprise.

Just as swiftly as they'd flashed, Youmu stepped back and disengaged, alleviating the resistance against Miyamoto Musashi's blades as she did. She only needed a little bit of distance---

Pink light, the same shade as cherry blossoms, spread over Roukanken's blade, coating the edge as she channeled spiritual energy down through her limbs. A high-pressure technique that would allow her to push her opponent into a corner was what she needed.

The flashing light grew brighter, engulfing Roukanken's blade entirely, and---

"Cherry Blossom Sword - Flashing Scattered Flowers!"

Roukanken moved, as Youmu leaned forward and sprang forth to re-engage. Her flashing blade sliced the air, but not directly targeting her opponent.

Rather, with Roukanken's movement, a flurry of slashes of pink light spawned around her target and moved inwards, attacking from multiple angles simultaneously.

@FujiwaraPhoenix@Raineh Daze

---

The Bookstore

"Ah, thank you," Qing'e replied with a friendly smile, flashing her blue nails as she did, "I'm afraid it'll be somewhat difficult to obtain the polish for yourself, however, as it comes from my homeland."

She paused for a moment, inclining her head towards the book and scanning the passages for a few moments alongside Sanae.

"Honestly, though, the mages of this city are so close-minded. Hording knowledge for themselves. I'm certain they may have better historical texts then this shop, but they wouldn't allow me to peruse their library and reject the petitions of many others as well. Rejecting a scholar's desire to expand her knowledge---it's the height of rudeness, if I must be frank."

The hooded woman let out a heavy sigh.

But then, she tapped a finger to her chin, leaning back against the shelves for a moment.

"Ah, another matter you may be interested in," she began, addressing Sanae now, "You are a priestess, aren't you? Not of this land, of course, but your clothing stands out to me. Given I offered my assistance, would you consider offering yours in turn?"

Without waiting for a reply, she continued.

"A strange condition seems to have struck some of this city's people," she said with an idle gesture, "I'm not talking about an illness, in this case. It appears to be a more spiritual affliction. A curse."

Her shoulder slumped, slightly.

"It's not as if I want to bother you with it, but if you're able to help then I figured it might be worth asking."

@DracoLunaris@FujiwaraPhoenix