The Isle of Elysium (Invite only, TFL welcome)

[The City State Rhydin]

Admiral De'Raz Vlos Elemmiire of the Rhydin Imperial Republic Navy, had not yet spoken. He'd been as if a statue, simply observing those gathered. A slight close of yes as a contraption attached to the right side of head, seemingly apart of his temple offered a muted azure hued blinking light for a scant few moments. His booted feet carried him across the threshold and he offered a slight bow of head towards Yanna. Where she was alien beauty wrapped in some sort of body fitting apparel, it was obvious that De'Raz was apart of the military services of the Hegemony.

He wore the standard of the RIRN, a dress uniform worn with a ribbon bar, dagger in place of full sword, a white service cap, and standard epaulets. Said cap was currently within the crook of right arm, so as to expose his partially shaven head. A trio of thin stripes of slightly buzzed hair sections ran like warrior stripes. The trousers were then tucked into boots. The outfit of dark blue in color, trimmed with a soft white to vaguely mimic the table. Your grace, we are ready for you. He spoke, then raised head, placing the officers cap atop head at, cocked to the right slightly in its seat.

Unmoving from his position near the exit, General Garen Hallas Daist, of the Rhydin Imperial Republic Army, his uniform was of an ebony hue, and a contrast of sorts to the naval officer. He himself was also such, a stern individual, full of genuine dislike for any outside of the Hegemony, a zealot of the superiority complex that Rhydinian's had concerning the rest of the realm. He had intense seawater blue eyes, and barely if ever smiled. Gloved hands grasped each other behind his back, and perhaps a war wound, his nose appeared to be metal, as did a portion of his right jaw, grafted to the skin, perhaps as a replacement. It was dulled in it's gleam, and barely registered against the light when it shown upon it's surface.

This was not the territory of the RIRAS, and as such, he opted for a less confrontational persona while within a stronghold of the RIRN. Their rivalry could be had another day. As De'Raz approached the ambassador playing Yanna, he grumped inwardly. To be at the woman's beck and call was aggravating. She played the voice of the Empress well, but he knew that it was folly to think she was but just that, his own digging had turned up a darker career. It was hinted, though not verified, at least until now, that she was an administrator or other high up within the Hegemony Ministry of Intelligence. The HMI had it's own agendas, and since it only answered to the Empress, he had little idea what it might be. Another reason why he was here. The HMI was up to something, if this summit was any indication, a vast something.

Yanna smiled for a moment, then bade the admiral to ready the path chosen for travel. Arranging of the guard etc, as she turned from him back to the wonderful young woman from Ghant. Indeed, someone who would play the game with her had sprung from the conservative pool belonging to the elder Iron Eagle. Interesting, it may well be the best idea of such, though it may not happen soon. Perhaps it will be wise to wait until your power is secure, or another who is gullible and easily manipulated is. I would like to speak of this more, though at a later date if you would be so willing Princess Cassandra. She used the young woman's title and name, though she did fancy the other title, The Eaglet, quite a bit.

To the others, especially those offering support. Your pledges have been noted. The Hegemony shall offer it's thanks to your support for this and the campaign to come. To the morroi present, though more towards the Sulesartyr representative, did her gaze so slide to. Recompense shall happen, our coin shall go through the bankers, to you. This is to protect ourselves as much as it is to compensate your clan for it's losses. Mostly because Rhydinian currency is digital, and because a direct shipment, however secure into another country, holds the risk of being found out. With an intermediary that has no reason to be suspected, and could be written off as any reason or another, is the best way for us. And in the end of things, for you, should the Batory have reason to suspect, and or investigate.

She moved, with an almost ethereal grace out of the center of the table area, arms flowing outwards, fingers splayed a moment as she continued to speak. I invite the delegates to walk with me, the navy has decided to give a showing of technology, and of course my own ministry, has decreed through the Empress's wishes, to showcase the force that shall be sent to a nation of friendly ties to the Xukuthites and the Batory. It shall spurn them to make haste, and focus their gazes elsewhere for a time.

With that, she passed the still seated guests, weaving about back and forth as a serpent might upon the ground towards the exit into the hall of sorts. The door slid upwards. Yanna strolled languidly through it, and as she did so, the ivory outfit became a shade of pale red, with a pattern akin to a cherry tree blossoms of a sort on whatever the fabric was that she wore. Even her nails, the lipstick, had all changed in a few moments. She waited some meters past the edge of the door, in the corridor for the entourage to be, to gather.

I promise an interesting moment, beneath these waves, the chance of a lifetime to view that which lays hidden beyond the eyes of most.

[Takhisia]

When in underwater Rome

Colonel Valerian slowly rose up from where she'd been sitting and gestured for her aide to do the same. Lieutenant Colonel Henog quickly ascended to her booted feet and the pair looked at the rest of the delegates, the plotters, schemers, and other things that made them compatriots in arms. " Shall we not see what our fair host has planned? Or do the rest of you have somewhere to be?" A smirk cresting the Northern Takhisian woman's face as she rounded the corner of the table, slipping past those of Havani and Ghant alike. Hands clasping each other behind and to the small of back as she strode with languid purpose in pursuit of the synthetic appearing Yanna.

For her part, Miya Henog simply offered a polite tip of head to the rest still seated, before moving with long strides to catch up with her superior and comrade, Streka. A faint glance to the RIRN and RIRA officers that made their presence known. She was familiar with both of them, as per they had contracts with the Northern Arms Military Services in the past. It seems they would be apart of this effort as well.

A faint nod in either's direction as the past the they would take, led out of the meeting area and into the artificial light of the exterior and yet still interior of the odd floating city they had boarded. Not as odd as their host, but definitely beyond the scope of what was thought to be possible for many a people and technology that some possessed. Still each had their quirks to be fair, in Havani's case they were master botanists, with very few equals to speak of. The Xukuthy and Batory clans had a savageness about them, and access to some technology the others might not have otherwise were it not for this gathering.

As far as she was aware, those from Ghant were royalty, and had all that comes with such. The Infernalites had a version of the Asahiian veil technology, and of course were well and truly in bed with the breakaway HIA corporate colony. Calussai hardly needed a reason to be present, but as they were, they were formidable in the banking industry. Everyone here had a place, a thing that they excelled at above all others. One need only know that the Takhisians had a formidable air power, and a military that had been well versed in combat before even becoming a known quantity. Also it was for sale, that alone was something these others did not have.

Miya was confident about the future, but this underwater business nagged at her. If the winged goddess had wished them to delve into the depths of Zeboim, surely she would have made it known to her followers large and small. Glancing over at Streka, she saw her beloved commander with not a visible worry to be had, no nervousness or sheen of sweat to be sure. Miya thus steeled herself, and followed suit after the other woman. If the colonel could not show it, then she to must be as granite while they parlayed with the Rhydinian and these others present.

[Salto de Victoria]

Santo leaned back when he heard the “warning” from Yanna, truly these people had no idea how large and powerful the Imperium truly was. Santo was not one of the fanatics that believed the Imperium was all powerful, he did however know what the Hegemony’s strengths were and the lieutenant governor knew the Imperium could likely hold it’s own against the underwater race. With the shadow of war that had fallen over the “Lands beyond the Mist” the Imperial war machine had begun to ratchet up with one of it’s focal points being the Hegemony and her power bloc, the other obvious focuses being the Xukuthites and the Moroii.

Rosa suppressed a scoff when she heard the Infernalites and their corporate friends offered their full aid and support. She couldn’t shake the feeling all of the representatives were happily leading their countries straight to the slaughterhouse. The other side of the coin was being ruled over by the beasts of the other power bloc. Living here and having to deal with the ever present threat of aggressive action from any of the monsters she supposed she could understand some of the people here trying to pick the “lesser” of the two evils. Perhaps one day the Imperium could bring the light of peace and prosperity to the affected her. As quickly as she thought it though she cast the thought aside, the Imperium’s only concern in the area was the Colony and only the Colony. Beyond that it could care less if everyone slaughtered themselves there.

Rosa had to make sure her mouth was closed though when she heard the proposed plan from young girl from Ghant. Truly the entire delegation from the Colony was stunned upon her offer to just serve up her Empress as a sacrificial lamb. Santo leaned towards the table as he listened intently to what Cassandra was saying, her plan would likely end in the destruction of her nation if it was executed. From what Santo remembered of the dossier on Ghant he knew their prowess in the diplomatic arena was virtually unrivaled by any others in the world. Her military prowess however was fairly lacking and Ghant leaned heavily on her allies. Santo knew that the for the plan to succeed quite a few “ifs” would need to happen.

The diplomatic event host’s reaction was equally curious. Instead of discussing the viability of the plan they instead decided to complete dismiss the girl. Rosa smirked at this, she was fairly certain the girl would take the dismissiveness poorly. It was not however in the Imperium interest’s at this time to cultivate any sources of information from the other parties attending the event. Rosa however thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea for her to speak with Princess Cassandra if the opportunity presented itself. Perhaps she would make a subtle approach during the tour.

Almirante Espinoza however, who had for the most part remained expressionless and quiet, suddenly perked up. Here was the reason he had been brought along, to study the naval prowess of the Hegemony and to see if the new technologies the Imperium had been developing as of recently would be effective against the Hegemony’s naval forces.

[The Batorys]

At first Eneth had laughed at her captor’s apparent intentions, thinking it madness. A siege of Sulesar in the dead of winter? What monumental hubris. The Batory army would surely freeze in their tents or starve well before her home city ran out of supplies, and she had told Sarkany so. The grim enemy matriarch and only smirked in response. While at first the Sulesartyr hadn’t been worried at all about her city’s chances, given the punishing blizzards that tore across the plain every year, now she wasn’t so sure. True, in the first days of the investment, there were deaths from the cold, the enemy army’s engineers quickly went to work forming windbreaks around units’ encampments out of the snow and ice itself. This accomplished, they had replaced these crude and somewhat comical structures with wood as soon as they received timber from Sarkany’s infuriatingly effective supply lines. Now the besieging army’s camp consisted of a series of neat groupings enclosed by palisades that had the dual benefit of protecting them from the elements as well as any sorties from the city. These continued in a ring that fully encompassed the city, including crude but serviceable wooden bridges spanning the river in several locations, the entrances on both sides also eventually protected with palisades. It seemed to Eneth’s eyes that her enemies had gone to considerable expense, but then, they’d acquired ample plunder with which to finance this operation, hadn’t they? And the practiced way in which they’d gone about it all made her suspect that it was just that… practiced. After all, they had done it before. Ceckesar had fallen, or rather, surrendered, soon after the battle where she’d been captured, as the crushing defeat dashed all hopes of a relieving army. It seemed likely, in fact, that these same timbers had come from that previous siege; hence why they didn’t look at all fresh. The Batorys had simply dismantled their fortifications there and carted them here to be erected anew. She could only imagine the dismay with which her kin watched the ongoing preparations.

There had been early sorties, true, but these had been repulsed. No assassins came, either, for the first thing Sarkany had done was to state explicitly to the city’s defenders that should she fall to an assassin’s blade, the life of Eneth, now technically the Sulesartyr matriarch and Queen of Sulesar, would also be forfeit. This, in addition to standing orders that would ensure an ignoble end for the city. Privately her captor had informed her that the same would occur if she ended her own life to deprive the would-be conqueror of this leverage. So each side waited.

Eneth’s captivity was not altogether unpleasant. She was held in Sarkany’s own compound, on the slope of the low hill one of her family’s large, circular tombs had been built on. A grim omen, albeit one with a commanding view. To the east lay the embattled city of Sulesar, while the tombs of past queens stretched into the distance along the western side of the river. A large cage had been built around her own tent, with guards both within and without; at least if she was inside, she could pretend it wasn’t there. Upon request, she was allowed to walk around the compound under guard. Quickly she had surmised that these guards were no regular soldiers of the Batory army, but rather members of the feared and hated Dragon’s Claw, Sarkany’s special corps of murderers. At first they’d made Eneth shudder, but now she’d grown used to them.

Once the rapid flurry of construction slowed as fortifications were completed, the siege had settled into a tedious routine. The sorties from the city had come less and less often as the palisades and towers rose, surely due to the mounting casualties and apparent ineffectiveness of attacks against the Batory lines. From time to time, her captor would leave, sometimes for days, sometimes weeks. Presumably this was to command other armies, subduing more of Eneth’s homeland.

The day after Sarkany returned from a particularly long absence, an entirely new group arrived. Dozens of robed individuals, probably moroii by the way they carried themselves, all wearing masks. From her palisade prison, Eneth watched as the Batory matriarch met with them, appearing to discuss the walls of Sulesar at great length.

A day or two later, Eneth stood with her captor, after a discussion on philosophy and rulership, watching more construction materials arrive, as the masked newcomers seemed to fuss over such and direct said supplies this way and that. “Who are they?”

“The Zarathul clan.” Sarkany paused. “The best siege engineers I could hire.”

The Sulesartyr laughed. “You wasted your money. Sulesar’s walls are too high for catapults to get in range without us shooting their crews with arrows!”

The only response was a nod… and troublingly, the slightest hint of a smirk. Something about that immediately silenced Eneth’s laughter.

Over the next few weeks, she became more and more concerned. As she watched, the Zarathuls divided into several groups, each staking out a location where they piled their materials and began building… outside of arrow range. The defenders on the wall quickly discovered this, as their arrows futilely fell short. All while construction continued on the very large devices, which even unfinished, were unlike any siege equipment Eneth had ever seen before. Her Sulesartyr kin and their soldiery eventually had some success disrupting the work crews by bringing a ballista to bear on them. The captive smiled as she watched the bolts kill several of the builders and damage the incomplete engines. Work stalled as the work crews retreated out of ballista range, where they helplessly watched as flaming ballista bolts set two of the machines on fire.

A few nights later, however, there was quite a bit of noise far behind the lines. Eneth’s heart sank as she watched the Zarathuls and their work crews bring massive hide covered wooden shields forward to place ahead of their works, protecting them from further ballista harassment and freeing these masked westerners to continue their work. These were not the only defensive structures, either. Over the next few days and nights, with workers and soldiers toiling both night and day, palisades and wooden towers rose around each contraption to protect from any sorties mounted by the Sulesartyr forces in the city. Every night as she walked the grounds of her makeshift prison, the engines appeared to have grown larger and more complex in their workings.

Then one night they began their first test shots. Eneth could make out Sarkany observing the proceedings, with seeming disapproval as the stones fell short of the city walls. One of the new catapults, bizarre in its construction, its main arm apparently secured only by ropes, fell apart under the strain. Unfortunately, it was rebuilt by the next night, and the test shots were getting closer and closer to the city walls. Finally there was a great crack in the air as a stone hit one of Sulesar’s walls. One by one, each of the prototype trebuchets achieved the range.

Eneth watched as the Zarathuls and their subordinates adjusted each vile device, apparently to aim them. More stones were hurled, now squarely at her home city’s defensive towers. After some time, the projectiles found their marks. The next sunset, the Sulesartyr was awoken by the sound of stone upon stone impacts, and screaming. As she looked out toward the city, she saw that the dreadful weapons were now hurling their ammunition after it had been soaked in pitch and set alight. Even the missed shots often landed where they could explode and inflict burns upon the defenders. Some poor soldiers, on fire, jumped off the walls to their deaths to shorten their agony.

The defenders attempted a counterattack out from the gates, but Batory crossbows and archers cut them down as the remnants of the vaunted Sulesartyr cavalry struggled to cross the besiegers’ maze of earthworks and palisades, some brave defenders pincushioned with arrows beneath the siege engineers’ towers. It was all for nought; the clamor of the trebuchets and the impacts of their projectiles continued unabated now, day and night. Until finally the earth beneath Eneth shook as one of Sulesar’s towers fell. Then another. And one by one, the teeth of the city’s defenses were meticulously pulled, each trebuchet re-targeting either to the walls or over them to spread terror throughout the city.

Now another, new sound could be heard… the groaning of mammoths and oxen… and the almost imperceptibly low rumble of something very heavy being pulled over the ground, almost felt more than heard. As Eneth gazed towards the source, she could see a massive dark shape being hauled towards the gates. She was aware of a presence by her side, and glanced over to see Sarkany, arms crossed. “What is it? A ram?” The city’s walls had been built to withstand such tools, but the Sulesartyr didn’t mention this, as she was all too aware of how she’d been mistaken about the siege engineers employed by her enemies before.

“No,” her captor said quietly as they watched the enormous machine slowly creep forward. As it came to the limits of arrow range, forward progress stopped and the mammoths appeared to be detached and led away. “The Zarathuls determined that a simple ram would not be effective, so they built something else.”

It resumed its forward movement, albeit more slowly. Eneth squinted and could make out that the oxen appeared to be under some sort of plated wooden shelter, now assisted by regular soldiery as well. Arrows bounced harmlessly off the roof as it approached the gates. Once nestled up to the gates, soldiers with large shields seemed to be carrying lengths of chain out the back of the enormous engine, as defenders poured boiling oil on it, though the fire seemed to have little effect other than frightening the oxen. From hatches in the roof as well as a small, centrally mounted wooden tower, Batory soldiers poked out just long enough to fire arrows up at the defenders. They rarely hit, but kept the wall’s defenders from being able to pelt the machine with impunity. The captive could see that outside of arrow range, the mammoths were being hitched to the massive chains that streamed out the back of the machine.

She heard a loud ‘thunk’ sound, and then a grinding that went on for several long minutes inside the contraption. The mammoths, captured from her own very clan and those of the Korvinas, were sent pulling at their chains, away from the city. At first this puzzled Eneth… until she heard the piercing groan of metal bolts being pulled free from their moorings, and the cracks of splintering timbers. Her jaw dropped. Her city’s great gates were being ripped outwards, torn from their hinges. It took quite a while longer, the terrible noise no doubt serving also to demoralize those within, but eventually there was a great snap and the gates seemed to explode out and off of their mountings as the machine pulled them, the chains slackening once again. Rather than rushing in, the besiegers pelted the wound in the city’s defenses with arrow and bolt thrower fire, as the trebuchets continued their work, some targeting sections of wall, others landing shots within the city, starting fires just behind the gates as the Batory army finally rushed in.

As the night wore on, another section of wall fell, and siege towers and ladders carried the attacking army up to the parapets of the wall that still stood. The fighting seemed to taper off at daybreak, with Sarkany in possession of the gates and part of the parapets, as well as the area around the collapsed section of wall. Rather than pour headlong into the city, her army seemed to be consolidating their position. For the next two nights, it was oddly quiet, as both sides took stock of their positions. The third night saw fighting at sunset, but after a series of failed counterattacks, all was quiet once more. It was at that point that the black clad Batory Empress once again visited her captive.

“Come, Eneth,” the enemy matriarch said, her battered armor showing signs of recent fighting. “Your kin have signaled their intent to parlay.” This was the end. “So it is time to negotiate their surrender and entrance into my realm, for which you are a vital part.”

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Silent for a time, regarding that which had been spoken, Nikara withdrew what appeared to be a miniature fireplace poker, smaller than a pen, and prodded at her pipe with it. She then put the implement away, leaning back and blowing circles of smoke above her head, before speaking. “This method of compensation would be acceptable to my clan. Access to technology of equivalent value would also be acceptable.” Her voice remained clear, and despite the exoticism of her attire in comparison with her Harthy counterpart’s subdued business garb, the Sulesartyr was clearly no stranger to negotiation, and apparently had orders to drive as hard a bargain as possible. The last point was no accident; while the rivals of the Batory clan themselves in prestige, her clan did not have access to the mad scientists of the Zarathul clan or their advanced works. “While of course my dear hosts knows that lives are priceless, I’m sure that the compensation decided upon will be of a sufficient value to cool the flames of vengeance that burn in the hearts of my kin and the clans aligned with us.” She drew on her pipe again and exhaled, glancing at Semtiya ever so slightly, as to indicate that the latter could now speak without fear of interrupting the eastern moroii and causing a loss of face. While neither moroii would necessarily acknowledge the other as superior in rank, both were aware that undermining the other too heavily would weaken the position of both. Gentle teasing as Nikara had applied earlier seemed to be acceptable, but interruption would not be.

“These provisions seem acceptable to my clan,” the Harthy spoke. “The failsafe you propose hopefully won’t end up being necessary,” she said of Yanna’s suggestion that in the event of catastrophe, her clan and Nikara’s could find refuge within Rhydin. “However if the worst should occur, your country’s business climate seems quite agreeable, given the success of Rhydinian firms internationally; in fact, one of the sad things about the present state of affairs is that we are unable to invest as we would like.” Semtiya smiled. “I imagine that this will change if our plans succeed, yes?” Perhaps then they could remove the thorn that their hated rivals, the Sorviks, those northern communists, comprised. Why had the Batorys thrown in with the League in the first place? Clearly far more wealth to be made from close relationships with Rhydin, at least from where she was sitting.

The Sulesartyr seemed, as usual, more skeptical. “Equal standing to the Canini or to what we currently enjoy in Hyperborea?” She smiled. “While what the young Ghantar proposes stands a greater chance of success than what I expected initially, there is still a high chance of things falling apart.” She crossed her legs. “My clan sits in a somewhat peculiar position… on the one hand, due to the number of times we and the Batory clan have come to blows over primacy in the past, their glaive sits just above our neck, as they have made it clear in the past that further open attempts to unseat them will result in our utter annihilation…” she said this with a disturbingly casual and cheerful tone. “Yet at the same time, we are not just equal citizens of Hyperborea, we rule a province of our own. We decide Sulesar’s laws, its policies, confirm or dismiss its provincial government. Within Sulesar, we have power. Would we, in Rhydin?”

Her counterpart spoke, this time to the elder of the Ghantar, Albert. “It is entirely possible that you insulted my colleague without being aware of it. Easterners can be very particular and esoteric in their interpretations of ancient unwritten codes of honor and so forth,” Semtiya said, attempting to smooth things over.

“It is nothing,” Nikara said, waving her hand as if to brush the matter aside. While she found him lacking in social graces, it was too much to expect much from non-moroii from far to the west even of the western clans that her own found a bit uncouth. “I don’t doubt the sincerity of your belief, and while we chafe under their rule, I find the claim of false friendship odd… the Batorys are brutes… they lack the sophistication to feign anything,” she said with a laugh. “Perhaps it is more that to your eyes it seems their manner is like that of a human petting a dog?”

The moroii had both remained respectfully silent while the younger of the two from Ghant, Cassandra, outlined her plan. More aware of political realities within the Batory Empire than the elder, it would seem, and less clouded by ideology. Semtiya nodded. “This idea is both novel and bold. It is true that the Batory clan enjoys a close relationship with Empress Sophia, and have visited many times. While it is also true that Ilona would succeed her mother as Empress, this would disrupt the dynastic union with House Hiendor and Xukuth, at the very least.” Furrowing her brow in thought, she clasped her chin, a finger tapping on her pale lips. “If combined with other moves elsewhere, it could cause even further destabilization.”

Smirking, and watching Cassandra again, the Sulesartyr waited for her Harthy counterpart to speak first. “You know quite a bit more about the intricacies of the moroii people than you claim, my dear,” she said. “It is a funny thing that you so hate the Batory clan, for you seem to have much in common… and that is not meant as an insult. Such an ambush would be beyond even them, though they have used less impressive of such tactics many times before.” She drew again on her pipe, and exhaled then as she spoke, smoke accompanying her words. “However, while Albert may seem overcautious, he is correct that if said plot fails, even partially, and the Batorys are not occupied elsewhere, Ilona will descend upon us all in a righteous and vengeful fury. While most here have not met her, I have. She is far more vicious than her mother or her eldest daughter. Ilona is sadistic, and her vengeance would be both meticulous and cruel. It is also rumored that she’s a member of the Dragon’s Claw, although I cannot confirm this.”

“Thus,” Nikara gestured, blue lacquered nails glinting in the light, speaking to the entire room “Princess Cassandra’s position would have to be fully consolidated before this attempt.”

“And ideally,” the Harthy then chimed in, “the Batory military would be distracted elsewhere, with little support within Hyperborea for an additional war.” She looked back to Yanna. “I believe that there are plans afoot to just that effect, though.” The pair rose and made ready to follow their hostess to whatever spectacle lay in wait.