Whoami

Falling Skies: Reboot ver 2

On the Eve of Leave

(Mood Music)

Aurelia stood outside of the door to the officer's lounge, staring at the steel bulkhead and weighing her options. She took a deep breath through her nose, pursed her lips, and let it out in a long sigh. There weren't any other options. She didn't want to break it to the pilots but she needed them if she was going to continue her mission. A mission that could change everything for every soldier on the front line, UEE or Coalition. With another huff, Aurelia held her hand over the door's control panel. The panel chimed and lit green, accepting her authorization to be in the room. Not that any room was really off limits to her. The door opened and she was glad that it was empty. She didn't have to deal with any awkward entrances.

---

Aurelia stood behind and to the side of Ingram as he delivered the grim news. Her lips were pencil thin as the news was received about exactly as she had predicted it was going to be. She could never relate to having her leave taken away since all she ever had to do to take a break was wave her hand. But she could understand the frustration of having plans dashed. As Ingram briefed the pilots of the Direwolves on their next mission, Aurelia paid attention to the extra details. The plan was risky, as things always were with covert operations. But it was vital things went off without a hitch here.

Then he ordered the ship VI to stop observing the room and lock the door. The real talk had come. Ingram explained the possibility of an insider- no... The reality. The movements of a royal were on the same tier of security as the UEE's weapons of mass destruction. Which meant to Aurelia that whoever was leaking her movements to the Coalition was very high up in the command structure. Then the far worse possibility came to the forefront of Aurelia's mind.

When there was a moment to speak, Aurelia stepped forward and looked around to all of the pilots. "It was always my intention to meet Coalition delegates in neutral space. My plan was to make those movements happen after I had control of the 5th Fleet and after every serviceman in the fleet had gotten their much deserved rest. Evidently the assault on Cerol and attempt on my life has forced me to change the order of my plans. But since my arrival at Cerol was top secret, there's only so many people who would know I was there..." Aurelia paused to take a breath, just enough time for Abigail to speak her very candid mind. "My family holds the throne because our dynasty has kept the Empire afloat in this war. Their success in leading the Empire through these dark times has earned them legitimacy and no small amount of public favor. Which means... There are some in my family that would see this war be perpetuated out of fear that our dynasty would become weaker for it. It's no secret that I have a distaste for this conflict, and that hasn't earned me any favor at my family's dinner table from my elder siblings. My father is getting old, and he is the only one who ever supported my endeavors for peace. Once he hears about what I am doing in the FEZ, he will get over the inherent risks."

Her eyes moved around, watching to see if what she was implying had been picked up. "I need to keep my focus outward from the Empire, on the enemy pushing into our territory and occupying our worlds. Which is why I can't simply take this ship, and you all, to your homes. I have good reason to assume that if this ship did the predictable thing, we'd find ourselves in the face of another Coalition ambush, and another, and another after that. We need to keep a low profile, and I need to reach people who are loyal to me to get in contact with the Coalition delegates I have cultivated good standing with. If we can accelerate the peace talks with only the parties that truly matter, even if it only sows the seeds for peace, then I can look inward towards our homes. But until then, in order to mitigate the risk of another attack, our movements and actions in the coming weeks need to be discreet."

Rise of the Shield Hero - From Another World

Still waiting on Rivia, yeah?

Rise of the Shield Hero - From Another World

Cole hasn't done any dancing so far though. He's asked Rivia to dance and pointed out all the other people dancing to show Rivia how people dance in human society.

@vancexentan

Oh! I misunderstood the scene lol

Rise of the Shield Hero - From Another World

Auriel entered, saw Cole and Rivia dancing, approached Fer while the other two danced

Diablo 2: The Rogue Companion

What do you mean by "original characters"?

@Blaster Babbet

Mainly just characters that don't fit the 7 classes provided by the game. Like your run of the mill warrior, etc. But they'd still fill the role as the main hero of the story. And I don't mind a druid, though my preferences are leaning heavily toward the barbarian or paladin types. That said, I am open to what you might have in mind!

Diablo 2: The Rogue Companion

Sparking this one back up! Been playing D2:R and I've never managed to get this one off the ground! Been wanting to give it a go!

Rise of the Shield Hero - From Another World

Posted! Auriel is finally at the party!

Rise of the Shield Hero - From Another World

Late to the Party

(Mood Music)

Auriel left the powder room with a frustrated sigh. The blood had taken so long to come off, and it hadn't even entirely come out! Thankfully, the blood stain would be noticeable on her white dress if somebody was really looking for it. And with all of the motion causing her dress to sway, it'd at least be hard to pick out. Auriel had one other advantage to keeping the bloodstain hidden, and that was because she was so late. The party had gone on long before she would arrive. People would likely have had more than one drink, and surely the frivolities of the upper class will have dulled the senses of all of the party-goers too much to notice a small thing like the blood spatter of a broken nose.

Auriel stood in front of the great doors leading to the throne room. She reached for one of the door handles and looked around over her shoulder again, double checking to make sure she wasn't about to get another rude interruption. Seeing that she was clear, Auriel took the handle in her hand, and pulled the door open. She stepped through the doors to see the center of the room was host to a large swirl of dancing couples. Dancing was never her thing, not because she didn't like it, but because her wings were rather clumsy and required too much room to allow others enjoy a shared floor. That often meant that when Auriel was on the floor, she and her dance partner were the only ones of the floor, and such things usually led to Auriel being very self conscious and nervous. She would avoid the dancing.

Auriel was very quickly intercepted by a well dress man, a butler and one of the hosts of the party. He bowed and held out a large platter with glasses of wine neatly placed on it. Auriel smiled and took a glass of wine before the man stood straight, turned his full body to face the ballroom, and cleared his throat. Auriel was in the middle of sip when she realized what he was about to do. She quickly swallowed her sip of wine, "Mm- No-"

"Introducing Lady Auriel! Holy Warrior of the Church of the Four! The Guardian Angel and Companion of both the Sword and the Shield heroes!" he said, his nasally voice was clear and loud enough to echo across the hall.

Auriel had her face planted firmly in her palm when all eyes turned on her. She never got used to being announced. Even after all of these years, it always made her feel like she had to give some speech or perform some sort of trick to keep up with the magnificence of being announced. Auriel took a breath and lowered her hand from her face before smiling to the party-goers. "Erm... Greetings, my lords and ladies. Apologies for my tardiness. Heh... Eh..." Gods this was awkward! "Please! Don't stop the fun on my account! I am glad I can finally partake!"

There were some chuckles here and there and it seemed the energy was returning back to normal. Auriel let out a long sigh of relief and sipped her wine. She glanced sidelong as the butler who had announced her, "Thank you, sir. Er... Perhaps next time we can make my arrival a little less... Significant?"

The butler laughed and nodded, "Of course, milady. Please, enjoy the gala- but first, could I interest you in another glass? T'would seem in your attempt to catch up with the rest of the guests, your glass in nearly empty already."

Auriel blinked and looked back at wine glass. Did she really drink that much already? Oh heavens... Auriel's mind snapped back to when she had gone to the tavern with Cole and Fer before they left to help the farmer with their bandit problem. She was such a lightweight, and she could already feel the wine. Auriel cleared her throat awkwardly and blushed, a sign of embarrassment that was always easy to spot on her fair cheeks. "N- no, thank you. One glass is more than enough for me to catch up, it seems."

"Very well, milady. I believe I have accosted you enough for tonight. I will leave you be. If you change your mind for another drink later on though, you'll find I answer to summons quite quickly." he said jovially.

Auriel nodded slowly at that, "Ah, yes. Well that makes one of us." How late had Auriel been? Two hours? Three? With her mother's remorseless training, Calder's romantic pursuits, the gate guard's unshakable sense of duty, and Bander's childish rivalry and ensuing staining of her favorite dress with his blood, Auriel's luck couldn't have been much worse for finding interruptions. Not that all of it had been bad.

Auriel straightened her white dress a bit and scanned the crowd with her golden hues. It didn't take long to spot Fer standing on his own. She followed his gaze and found Cole among the crowd of dancers with... A demi-human? Who was that? She had never seen her in the palace before, and she had spent a lot of time in the palace growing up. Was he some demi-human nobleman's daughter from Shieldfreeden? Not likely with Zeltoble's general air of distaste for demi-humans. A slave then? More likely, but why would someone's slave be dancing with the country's nobility? She was a guest then. Not a slave. But also not a noble from Shieldfreeden... She had to be a guest's 'plus one' then, or perhaps part of an entourage. Or perhaps... No? Yes? Did they have a new member in their party that Auriel wasn't around to greet?!

Auriel made her way into the crowd, smiling, greeting, and being trapped in small bouts of gossip. As she maneuvered through the social minefield, she finally made her way to Fer's side. With the host announcing her arrival, she didn't need to tell Fer that she was finally at the party. She cleared her throat and let out another long breath, "You look charming." she said to Fer, noting the attire that the king's staff had no doubt put him in. He actually looked like he belonged to this world, even though Auriel knew he was entirely foreign. "Truly a member of Zeltoble's highest aristocracy."

Auriel brought her spear behind her and nestled it horizontally against the small of her back. She held it with both hands and did a curtsy in her white dress. It was difficult to tell if she was being ironic or genuine with the noble mannerisms, especially to a man who was very much against high born tyrants from his own world. When she straightened out, Auriel rested the butt end of the spear on the marble flooring and held it straight up. She brushed some of her golden bangs from her face and pouted a bit, "I'm sorry I'm so late. What was supposed to be one thing turned into several... several things, all in quick succession of one another. Did I miss anything important? Notably an introduction to her?" she cast a sidelong glance at the demi-human girl with a slight nudge of her head in Rivia's and Cole's direction.

Rise of the Shield Hero - From Another World

I'll be doing some post stuff this weekend :D

Rise of the Shield Hero - From Another World

Thanks everyone! It means a lot!

And I hope you all enjoyed that last post! It feels good to be writing again. :D