Why Are You Doing This?

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Location: Kora Mandira
Region: Q3

I remain at the Kora Garha with Adrian as he conducts his meeting with the village and tribal leaders of the region surrounding Kora, both Q2 to the north where Josa is coming along nicely as well as Q4 & R4 regions where I am anticipating an escalation of matters. A recent act of aggression in the southern regions has lead Adrian to formulate a plan to remove the threats from that region. The meeting here is an attempt to reach a peaceful solution in order to protect the weaker villages. Settozai, Serani, and Samud all sit in for this meeting as well. Listening to the back and forth, I say nothing, but I hear myself mentioned quite often in this. I feel a new arrival outside of the room and close my eyes while my mind reaches out to theirs.

"You bring a report?"
Operative: "Yes, Master. News from the northern regions of the Desert Lands. We have confirmed that there is in fact a new demon gaining territory in the Q11 region. He actually controls all of that region, Master. I also have news that he plans to move against the military stronghold in S11."
"This stronghold is a threat to Mandira how?"
Operative: "Not to Mandira, Master. The stronghold belongs to the Lord of Domenance. Its defenses will not hold out against a full siege. If he conquers the stronghold, it will bring a war of higher order beings and put him in a position to solidify control of S11 to Q11. If he is able to create an army of his people from all three regions that can pose a substantial threat to the order that you are trying to institute here."
"How many men does this demon have?"
Operative: "About two centuria worth (200), but they seem more like bandits and mercenaries than an organized fighting force. What are your orders?"
"Send word to Artillia. Find out if Lord Loki has returned yet. If he has, have him informed of the situation and ask him to meet me here in Kora. I will get word to Domen Yun of the pending attack in case his spies have not informed him of such."

The mental link is broken and the presence vanishes. No more than thirty minutes later, a runner would be dispatched to Artillia from Kora with a message for the Lord of the settlement. Inside the meeting, I look at Samud and speak into his mind. I bring him up to speed and he excuses himself. A column of light forms around him as I teleport him to Domenance to meet with General Paco and ensure that he is aware of the situation. It would be several days until the demon in Q11 is supposed to march on the stronghold, so there is time to prevent such a folly and Samud is given instruction that that is what I plan to do. I rise from my seat at one head of the table and everyone falls silent.

Tired of the bickering, I end the talks swiftly, "Let me make this clear as I am tired of hearing reference that Mandira and Kora are only safe because of me. You have two options and only two options. You will cease your aggressions in the Q4 AND in the R4 regions and you all will coexist or ignore each other. If I return from my trip and hear otherwise, it is not me, but the Mandiran Military that will put an end to your aggression for you. These talks are over. Q2 will remain independent and we will continue our trade as it has led to mutual prosperity between Q2 and Q3. You have your options, gentlemen. Consider them wisely for if you choose chaos, I promise you that you will receive no mercy and no quarter. I would prefer to avoid such a course of action, but your targets are on very good terms with Mandira. Now if you will excuse us, Lord Nygard and I have pressing matters to discuss."

Samud would be arriving shortly in Domenance looking for Paco or Hakim.

700 words

OOC: Valkrist will be joining us later, so we will proceed with the 3 of us until he joins up.

This is one of those times that I kinda wished I could not read minds after all. It would prevent me from picking up on Sanzon's thoughts. Thoughts that bring a single thought to the forefront of my mind. Well more an image than a thought and that is him on his knees clutching his head in pain until the proud spirit learned where he stood in the grand pecking order. While that brings a smile to my face, I instead elect to share his feelings with the rest of the class. Well, that's a lie... not everyone. I look over at the demon as Sanzon's thoughts flow thru me to Domen like a conduit of his beloved electricity. The thoughts are both amusing and insulting to me, yet they are also expected. Sanzo obviously wished to get a rile out of me, so I would deny him such a thing and in the process make Domen appear to be more resourceful than he was. It was a win win for me. My gaze turns to the skies for a moment. Sanzo's question brings my attention fully back to him. "You go on ahead. I will help in the preparations here. I'm sure that you can handle a single demon. I am looking forward to watching the armies battle one another." I must admit that I am curious to see how Sanzo does against this unknown aggressor. Perhaps, I should attend. Turning to Domen, I inquire, "How long will your army take to assemble?" Pausing, I realize that no discussions of strategy had been discussed, which would lead me to hope that he has a solid plan for all of this.

The member 'aѕceпxion' has done the following action : Roll!

#1 '[ ! Lvl ] Honed' :


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#2 'One Hundred Roll' : 53

The member 'Antifreke' has done the following action : Roll!

'[ ! Lvl ] Perfected' :

Oooh. Things were getting interesting now. Still, we had other matters to attend to before Sanzo could learn that it is folly to be so carefree when disrespecting those whom you call friend and ally. To a warrior, among the worst insults is for an ally to think that you are a coward or a weakling. I doubt he would ever think either Domen or I weak, but the thoughts of cowardice drew annoyance. Upon what ground did he stand to think such a thing? On second thought, I should probably allow Domen to inflict some pain upon him first. I exhale slowly and look at them. "Domen, now is not the time. Sanzo, if you truly think us cowards, you and I shall have words on the matter. Ally or enemy, such disrespect can never be condoned." Perhaps, I was overreacting to all of this, but for me, it was the principle of the whole thing. I begin harnessing energy to me... enough to make sure that neither of them could attack one another. I decide to use some of that energy preemptively to ensure that my powers suffered no delay passed the harnessing phase. Within my own mind, I would chant, "Ageus... strike first and strike last." {Ageus activated.}

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'[ ! Lvl ] Honed' :

I look around the area feeling a sense of deja vu, but nothing seems to be out of the ordinary, so I ignore it. Sanzo can be such a simple spirit at times as I look at him chuckling and shaking my head at him. Things progress once again as they had before. Nodding to Sanzon, "I agree. I am looking forward to encountering this demon and seeing what could make one so stupid." I look at the scattering men of Domen's army assembling and they don't really look all that organized, which leads me to inquire, "Domen, how long before your army is ready? Also, what is your plan of attack? Do you wish to lure him into some form of trap or devise a strategy that will divide his forces and allow your men to overwhelm the halves." I refrain from offering the aid of the Mandiran military as this was his training exercise and as long as he didn't tell me that he was taking 25 men against 200 or something equally ridiculous, I would have no reason to broach the matter.

For me or Sanzon, this would be no more than a military exercise for us to train our troops with, but for Domen and his forces, this was a true battle. While my original plans were to utilize two Centuria to aid his forces, I question the basis upon which I had planned to do so. Was I truly doing it to aid my friend or did I just wish to flex my military might in order to force the Oni to do the same. It was beginning to feel like I was once again craving something that I had not had in such a long time... a reason to grow stronger. Looking over at the demon lord, I nod. "Valkrist, return to Kora and tell Adrian to send the visiting Centuria to take up camp in the northeast border region of Sector Q11. They are wait for instructions from Aria.” I doubt Valkrist would oppose such a request as it freed him to move around and I know how much he loves his interactions with Adrian. With that being handled, all that was left to do was to prepare to depart for battle. Waiting for an army to march across several sectors was not in my plan for the week, so I offer to Domen, “If you would be so kind, please assemble your troops in an open area like the town square or outside of the city, so that I can teleport them easily. Humans can be such slow moving creatures.” Now that I sincerely meant. My army was generally teleported everywhere off island or outside of my territory. It makes things move MUCH quicker.

Sanzon had requested me to send him ahead. While it takes minimal effort to transport a single person, I saw no reason why I shouldn't make him fly on his own. Still, his "reasoning" is sound as to why it would be a benefit for me to send him in advance. I pause for a moment in thought, "Wait... you're still here? I thought you were leaving to go and aid or rescue the Fairy General, Paco, and do advance recon. You should get to that now." With a dismissive wave of my hand, a dark silver beam of spatial energy would attempt to engulf Sanzon. My thoughts center around a location maybe 400-500 yards away from Samud saw the army. That would be a good enough staging point.

After Sanzon is gone, I would fly casually at Domen's flank. I am not really used to being the flanking party, but in this engagement, I am merely here to help. As soon as the group is assembled and Domen requests it, a MASSIVE column of light would appear in the sky above us. It would continue to grow until it covered the entire army as well as myself, Aria, Domen and his entourage that would be traveling with us. While the Void was mine to command and control with ease, this feat was indeed a strain on me. I was not attempting to merely sustain a portal to allow an army to pass thru it, but my plan is to teleport everyone in one giant move. A true feat of prowess. Once it was ready... Domenance would be a memory. Our reality would soon be the same location that I sent Sanzon to.

Entering the Void, I gasp as I attempt to recover quickly from the strain that I had placed on myself. I would remain inside the Void until I was sure that all of Domen's troops made it safely. I had done my best to stabilize the portal so that they would not be discombobulated when they exited the portal. The fairies should be fine. If Domen's subjects seemed weakened, I would use my divine presence (Sakura Shower) to bolster them. Once I exit the Void, the portal closes behind me and I scan the area around us to check for threats or Sanzon. The sky is a dead give away as to where he is. I remain with the army and Aria remains on my shoulder. I was fortunate to have her as a companion. She sings a beautiful song that amplifies the recovery effort to make sure that everyone in our group was ready for whatever may come next. Turning to the other higher order, I inquire as to his condition and readiness to engage, "Domen, are you ready? There is the enemy and there is Sanzo."