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Post by King Roxa Hiaten on Feb 26, 2012 13:09:02 GMT -5
Roxa ignored all that was going on around him, Grey was one of the few Saints that Roxa had yet seen properly fight. He took part in the sparring with some form of hand-to-hand combat that Roxa himself was unfamiliar with, but when it came to the larger battles? Kain always pulled him back to stay at his side. He didn't so much find it unusual that Kain wanted to keep his 2 i/c so close... But he couldn't understand why it was Grey.
Back then, Grey's comments over Alessia hadn't bothered Roxa, Ave had always been quieter back then. As far as the young blonde was concerned, Grey could fawn over her as much as he so wished. If anything it might keep her further away from Roxa, or 'Soga' as he had been named by Sonorc, he didn't have a clue where the name came from, perhaps the older man had known someone like him by that name. Either way, it served him well in concealing himself from Alessia. Right now it was only Kain who knew that Roxa was Roxa.
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Post by Brea Cao-Wei on Feb 26, 2012 13:57:06 GMT -5
"Best keep your eye on that one Kain..." Brea said as Roxa turned his back on them and moved towards the rest of the Saints. "Like you say, he may not look like much... But there's something about him, his swords are definitely blooded and souled, I can tell that much just from a first glance." A sword being 'souled' was an old and almost religious term used by the Itan-Sha swordsmen. They were raised from childhood to have no gods, they cherish their swords and those who live amongst them, when a warrior of note dies, his soul passes on to his sword and in turn makes it stronger. The more souls a sword has, the more potent it's strength, in history, some swords became so strong that they controlled even their wielders.
From simply looking at those swords, Brea could tell they were badly souled, to be badly souled means that they have rather than absorbing the soul of their wielder, they absorbed the soul of multiple wielders in quick succession somewhere down the line. It made Brea uncomfortable. His own katana was badly souled, and he knew that such a weapon was hard to master. "There's something about the boy as well, he has a dark presence constantly looming around him... It is... Unsettling..."
Brea shook the thoughts from his head "But enough about the green boy, we need to discuss battle plans."
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Post by Kain Angelo on Feb 26, 2012 18:11:43 GMT -5
"As of right now I believe Roxa can control his demon," Kain assured him, motioning for him to step away from the group so they could plan, "But unless he puts down that demon soon I fear it'll gain more strength..."
"I believe Duo is prepared to launch it final assault onto the last free nations, I believe he'll launch a two theater war against Santo-Luce and Nerezza, using both those forces to crush down onto Crepusculum." Kain frowned, "We already know for a fact that Duo's army outnumbers and out powers Nerezza and Santo-Luce... on the other hand if we were to combine the three armies, what we would get... well that might be enough to fight off Duo."
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Post by Brea Cao-Wei on Feb 28, 2012 6:34:04 GMT -5
"You're proposing that Nerezza and Santo-Luce fight alongside one another?" Brea said with a small frown. "It does seem like the only plausible action, and I feel that a lot of the Santo-Lucians might comply when Duo's at their gates... But the Nerezzians? I have a friend from Nerezza and they're as stubborn as they come. It will take some persuading to get them to fight alongside their mortal enemy." Brea followed Kain as they moved away from the others, Alta initially went to follow as always but a swift motion of the hand from Brea stopped her in her tracks. She looked somewhat glum about that considering she rarely left his side but he knew she was a big girl, she'd get over it.
"The Itan-Sha has brought 100 swordsmen to the field with me, alongside 30 mages and 200 raw recruits. The recruits have been told how to hold and use a sword but I doubt that they'll last long. When Duo's vanguard charges, most of them will break, and they'll break hard. The 100 swordsmen are some of the finest warriors that I have ever seen. I can guarantee that for every one that falls, they'll kill at least 100 enemies. A lot of my men don't trust mages as healers, so we have none of them, but our 30 mages are led by a good friend of mine named Quentin, he hopes that this will be his shining moment and will allow him to take charge of the group." He glanced across at Kain "We're yours to command, I suggest using the swordsmen as your vanguard myself, they're brilliant shock troops and their raw killing prowess will then throw the recruits in to muck it as normal soldiers with the other armies and have my mages supporting the attack." Once they were sufficiently far away from the others, he stopped. "Unless you had other plans, of course."
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Post by Kain Angelo on Feb 28, 2012 11:51:52 GMT -5
Kain absorbed the information given to him, nodding along with what Brea told him, "You know your troops better than I do, if you believe they will do best on the front line then that is where they will go..."
He closed his eyes, "But here is the thing, I'm not just asking Santo-Luce and Nerrezza to fight together, I'm asking them to pull out of their country and retreat to Crepusculum." He knew his plan was insane, so he went on to explain, "Crepusculums terrain is perfect for defense, and with the three armies put together we can out move, out number, and outfight Duos' invasion force."
There were flaws in that plan, sure, the biggest would be convincing them to leave behind EVERYTHING to fight in another country. Kain held some influence with their leaders, but he did doubt they would listen. Which would leave Kain with one other option: assume control of their countries through the use of force by dislodging reluctant Generals and Politicians.
It was cruel, cold and completely unbelievable, but this was their last chance to stop Duo. If they failed then there would be bloodshed beyond anyone's wildest dreams would commence.
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Post by Brea Cao-Wei on Feb 28, 2012 13:32:29 GMT -5
Brea spoke as if reading Kain's mind. "You'll have difficulty forcing most of them to leave, I know what you're like Kain, you're ready to remove the tumors that hold back the rest of the body..." He frowned slightly before an idea hit him "Let me be the scalpel to remove them if need be." He said bluntly "People know of the Itan-Sha, they fear us, if you send a Saint to those who oppose leaving as a messenger but then reinforce him with an Itan-Sha guard, many will swiftly get the gist that they either prepare to march, or it will be their own necks personally on the line." He nodded slightly "Generals have a habit of leading from the rear and tend to crack when placed under too much pressure."
It wouldn't be the first time that the Itan-Sha had been used as assassins or finger breakers, Brea himself had done a lot of these jobs himself when he had first been assigned to Faharia Infernus and his band of the Itan-Sha. If given the chance, Brea would lead the operation himself, he loved getting his hands dirty and it had been a long time since he had the opportunity to do as such.
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Post by Kain Angelo on Feb 28, 2012 14:06:11 GMT -5
Kain smiled, Brea was incredibly smart and he knew exactly what Kain wanted him to do. He nodded in agreement, "Technically the Saints are against all uses of force on friendly governments... but considering the Itan-Sha are not part of the Saints, I think it'll work just fine..."
"We don't have a lot of time, we need to set off to Santo-Luce and Nerezza right away."
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Post by Brea Cao-Wei on Feb 28, 2012 14:33:46 GMT -5
Brea smirked slightly "So long as your messenger doesn't get involved with the dirty work everything should be perfectly fine." He said before waving a hand, motioning for Alta to come over. "But I agree, we need to begin moving as soon as possible, I'll make sure to have a team constantly on standby for as soon as you need them in case the negotiations fail." Once Alta had finally approached them he gave her a warm smile.
"Alta! I want you to get in touch with Quentin and Crasa, tell them both to be on the ready and to assemble a team as soon as possible to be prepared for a blade watch. There's a chance that we may have a fair amount of killing to do..." Alta simply nodded at him "Sure!" She said with a small smile, before making her way back towards the Itan-Sha camp. Brea turned back to Kain and gave him a solid nod "We'll be ready to leave whenever you are... By the way, who will you be using as a messenger? Someone you can trust, I hope?"
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Post by Kain Angelo on Feb 28, 2012 15:38:00 GMT -5
"I trust everyone of my Saints," Kain nodded, "They're like family to me."
He scanned along the area, looking at every Saint and judging which would be best to send. His eyes stopped on a Saint that had been with them for awhile now, he trusted him with his life.
"Nathan, come over here!" Kain motioned for the Saint to come.
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Post by Nathan on Feb 28, 2012 15:44:25 GMT -5
Nathan was a most unusual Saint, he hated Duo with all his heart, but he certainly wasn't as brace as everyone else. His stomach was sick with worry of death, seeing his friends dead was just something he didn't want to think of.
"Yeah?" He quickly ran towards Kain when he called him, "What do you need?" He questioned, his eyes darting between Kain and Brea.
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Post by Kain Angelo on Feb 28, 2012 15:55:40 GMT -5
"Pack your bags, you'll be going to Santo-Luce to convince them to pull their armies back to Crepusculum. This must be completed at all costs, if they attempt to say no than leave it to the Itan-Sha... meaning: Take a step out of the room, close your ears, and wash your hands of it all, understand?"
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Post by Nathan on Feb 28, 2012 16:00:16 GMT -5
He glanced between the two once more before nodding, "I understand, sir..."
The Itan-Sha were scary, up until now he was sure the Itan-Sha were just stories, but facing them now it seemed like they were as human as he was... yet they weren't, they were godless men of blood and war.
Well, at least they were on his side.
"I'm ready to move out when you all are ready."
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Post by Brea Cao-Wei on Feb 29, 2012 10:59:11 GMT -5
Brea looked across at the Saint that was brought forwards. He seemed scared of Brea himself but he also seemed happy as hell to get away from the prospect of his friends dying, in Brea's eyes he reckoned that this Saint believed that the Itan-Sha were pretty much despensible."
Brea couldn't help but give a small chuckle.
"Okay then, I guess we should leave now whilst we can then!" He had one more piece of business to take care of before they left though. He held out his sword hand (Itan-Sha always shook with their sword hands, not to was a sign of disrespect) "My name is Brea Cao-Wei."
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Post by Nathan on Feb 29, 2012 14:47:43 GMT -5
"Nathan, Nathan Firefly..." Nathan responded while shaking his hand, "I suppose we'll be traveling together for awhile, so that'll be fun!" Nathan laughed nervously, "Erm, well, I'm ready when you are!"
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Post by Brea Cao-Wei on Mar 1, 2012 14:49:12 GMT -5
"It will indeed Mr Firefly, it will indeed." He looked across at the horizon, seeing Quentin come towards him followed by a few warriors, including Crasa, whom he and Quentin had grown up with. "We'll be ready to leave right away, Nathan, so I hope you have everything with you that you'll need, because we won't be coming back for a fair while."
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