Kratos Aurion (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
simulsimul) wrote2016-11-02 07:40 pm
simulsimul) wrote2016-11-02 07:40 pm
a thing; w/ ruinsprofessor & conductingresistance
canon
breached
confessed
dadly
future
grigori
mercenary
MEover
origin
reversal
titans
scenario list
canon: Kratos needs to stop running off
confessed: wing reflex
confessed: actual wingpull
confessed: turning Renegade
confessed: son meets father
dadliness: confrontation
dadliness: awakening
dadliness: illness
dadliness: a fundamental lack of understanding on the word 'abducted'
dadliness: updating parameters
dadliness: assassination assignation
mercenary: hiding in the library
mercenary: aftermath of librarian saviour
reversal: oracle destroyed
titans: storming the tower
titans: safety in the canyon
titans: night horrors
canon
- combo of Kratos and Zelos ending
- Zelos does the stupid thing, but not so far as his death, and is still the eighth member of the party to Derris-Kharlan.
scenarios
scenario one: Yuan tracks Kratos down at Dirk's.
breached
- canon right up until after Botta’s death
- no one uses Yuan’s name around Mithos so Mithos walks right into the Triet base with them
- cue an epic OH SHIT in which Yuan gets a lil bit beat up while covering the evacuation of the rest of the base
- until Kratos appears to intervene and have the Chosen group get Yuan out of there
- Mithos gets Kratos tho and he’s a bit mad cos, yanno, traitor and all
- time to be locked up and punished and need to be rescued
- kind of puts a crimp in the creation of the Eternal Ring plans
- mostly cos Mithos turns Kratos lifeless, with some armour to regulate his mana so he remains a seraph. can't have the seal becoming less powerful, yo
- it does mean he can only obey orders tho
- the first rescue fails miserably but at least no one dies and they know they need to reforge his key-crest
- the second rescue attempt (circumstances of canon-point under percolation) goes a little better, though Yuan almost gets killed by Kratos trying to attach the key-crest
- luckily that and the first telepathy in a while gets through and Kratos manages to break out a la Colette, and heal Yuan enough for Raine to get there
- after which, angreh father-son beatdown on Mithos.
scenarios
None yet.
confessed
- almost successful assassination lands Kratos as an injured stranger in Iselia (1-2 years pre-canon)
- recuperation leads to accidental-on-purpose 'holiday' in Iselia
- doubts result in a request for Dirk to make a key-crest like Kratos' own
- oracle room undergoes some stealth sabotage
- regeneration journey is slightly delayed, prompted by Genis and Lloyd being discovered at the ranch
- Triet is awkward. so very awkward. for the Renegades -- whose side is Kratos even on these days and why was he vanished for two years?
- initial overall journey similar to canon, save that Kratos is a bit less circumspect about advising Colette on how to cope with angel transformations
- there are more overt Dun Wanna Feelings
- then Luin, wherein things happen and the group is in town during the Desian attack. the others naturally want to fight but tis a mite difficult against an army and building-destroying magitech. luckily, angel on their side. unluckily, wingpulls in order to muster the power to cover the townspeoples' retreat
- questions and confessions ensue
- Colette rejects the key crest (for the moment) so there's still hopefully maybe ambiguity about Kratos's position re the last seal
- it wouldn't fit anyway, it's modelled for the hand like Kratos's is because he was a derp and did not specify otherwise, so Lloyd needs to make a thing to make it fit
- slow protective retreat toward Asgard.
scenarios
scenario one: Kratos confesses before Salvation; Raine wants to follow up.
scenario two: Raine's examination of an angel; and also Kratos realises how far he's put his foot in it.
scenario three: Kratos goes to taunt Yuan a little, and also ask for his help.
scenario four: in which Raine makes Kratos tell the children all the things, and Yuan takes too much amusement from it.
dadliness
- Kratos retires in Iselia under the name Irving to raise Lloyd after the death of his wife
- no exsphere. ageing occurs! so does a beard and a braid
- teaches Lloyd swordplay, but on the sly, to avoid the other villagers noticing. his daytime job is weaving
- Lloyd finds the box of their exspheres and wants details. after some prodding by Dirk, Kratos explains how exspheres are made and that one is Anna's life. Lloyd is too young yet, but when Lloyd comes of age (~15) Kratos lets him make his own decision re wearing it
- Lloyd chooses not to wear the exsphere
- Genis befriends Marble and Lloyd meets her, as in canon; this happens before the journey begins, with the fallout
- difference being that Colette is still in the village so they can't be too horrible, so they just demand Lloyd be turned over for a flogging
- Kratos stands in his stead because natch. luckily, they're only mooks and don't recognise the bearded weaver as anyone important
- gives Lloyd his guilt complex early tho
- the oracle happens much the same way except Botta doesn't quite recognise the weirdly familiar bearded swordsman
- he does when he's reporting to Yuan tho
'there was an exceptionally skilled human'
/brief physical description/
/did x other faintly recognizable thing/
and both he and Yuan are aware that Kratos has been awol for a while, so there's a moment of pure silence and dawning 'no, it couldn't be'
- but then obviously one of them has to go make sure
- cue an interruption just out of Triet.
scenarios
scenario one: Yuan feels the need to investigate; this results in Kratos injured and abducted.
scenario two: Yuan realises he can't kill Kratos with his own two hands; Kratos gets mothered.
scenario three: Kratos gets sick on the heels of his recovery. Yuan mothers him some more. Botta disapproves.
scenario four: Kratos recovers and makes an escape attempt. Sort-of.
scenario five: Kratos recovers more and talks to Botta, when not needling Yuan about his lack of preparedness.
scenario six: Sheena's contract takes a slight shift into undercover instead of assassination work.
future
- Aselia is Earth ~10,000 years in the past
- all is peachy-keen except the tree is now underground and the elvens/half-elves/some humans are in hiding in the centre of the planet, hidden thanks to the summon spirits
- Colette is working with humanitarian aid in various impoverished nations
- Zelos is a diplomat in West Asia / Middle East trying to keep the peace
- Yuan is a crotchety lecturer at Cambridge who's also HUGE into environmentalism
- Lloyd and Kratos are having family time in space
- occasionally the trio on Earth meet reincarnations of people they used to know
- but rarely at the same time and almost never in a position where they meet
- but then they start meeting them
- lots of them
- all in the same span of years
- they're starting to think something's hinky
- until the space-elves attack
- and then they know something is hinky.
scenarios
None yet.
grigori
- at some point significantly before canon, Kratos actually calls it quits
- the Church's institution calls him a fallen angel of vengeance
- really he's just going around trying to help people and avoiding being taken back to Cruxis
- assigns himself to the Chosen parties whenever he can, up to Colette
- ????? idk some kind of profit somewhere
scenarios
None yet.
mercenary
- when Yuan visits Kratos at the beach when Lloyd is 3 months old, he does not manage to escape before Anna and Lloyd return
- accidental attachment to this kidlet who likes pulling his hair
- three years later, Yuan can't stand to hold back while Kratos fights Kvar, so he throws caution to the wind to help
- Anna is still killed but they rescue Lloyd and Noishe and both are branded as traitors
- Lloyd is raised as a Renegade with Dad, Uncle Yuan and the extremely reticent Uncle Botta (how dare)
- meanwhile in Tethe'alla Yuan infiltrates the castle as the library archivist
- stays out of sight, mostly, but has a good ear around the politics thanks to recruiting Princess Hilda
- also happens to stumble on Zelos hiding in the library right after his mother's death
- look he's got a 'nephew' he can't just do nothing (even if all he meant was to recommend a book)
- unwittingly accidentally 'adopts' the Tethe'allan Chosen by virtue of being the only one who doesn't treat him like the Chosen
- sometimes Kratos brings Lloyd to visit and basically they're all separate pairs of exasperated bros
- by canon Lloyd and Kratos are wandering mercenaries, helping people on the sly while gathering intel to send back to the Renegades
- Yuan and Zelos are actively building resistance to the Church using inside knowledge
- the ninja are all Renegades
- Colette is escorted by Raine and by the priests
- yes the 'chain up the Chosen and drag her to every seal if necessary' priests
- she meets Lloyd randomly in Triet but Lloyd doesn't know her as the Chosen. they're a bit out of touch on the Journey of Regen timeline
- stuff happens and they keep missing each other up until Palmacosta, which is a warzone between the Desians (and Dorr as their figurehead) and the Renegades (with Neil as their leader)
- Colette wants to help; priests say no
- out come the chains
- Raine objects, but she has no exsphere so what can she do
- btw Genis got caught in the Iselian ranch and tossed in as a traitor to be made a host
- he gets sent to the Palmacosta ranch
- right after Neil manages to take the city, after Colette and Raine leave it, Botta takes the Palmacosta ranch and rescues Genis, among others
- Genis becomes his little shadow and is much preferable to Lloyd, in Botta's opinion
- Lloyd and Kratos are still trying to catch up to Colette to rescue her when they drop by
- Genis hears what they're trying to do and insists on coming along.
scenarios
scenario one: in which Yuan accidentally adopts a Chosen instead of a book from a library.
scenario two: in which Yuan is accidentally-deliberately adopted by the Meltokio Castle Knights.
MEover
- Mass Effect crossover someplace in the realm of 15,000 years after TOS canon
- except started before then, cos elves are really from Feros, planet of the cranky telepathic plant
- got decimated by the protheans trying to assimilate them into their empire
- elves objected, got killed a lot, fled Feros and got stuck in Aselia's orbit
- kinda forgot a few things but planted a seed from the Ferosian mother plant on Aselia
- Origin hasn't forgotten tho, kinda has a grudge against grumblegrumbleprotheansgrumble
- the entirety of TOS happened, and then some
- Kratos, Yuan, Lloyd, Colette and Zelos are the only ones left, but tis okay, they have each other
- somethingsomething natural space disaster, Aselia is destroyed but they manage to move Yggdrasill onto Derris-Kharlan and do a quarian by becoming a roaming ship
- mana is a variant of eezo lbr
- Derris-Kharlan's too big to use the mass relays, but c'mon it generates its own mass effect field so they develop tech to do hops on their own
- they're in no hurry tho, i mean lbr primarily angelic, elf and half-elf population
- so they're just bumming around their local clusters doing thorough investigations on all the things
- so much eezo on their ship
- so much
- suddenly the Normandy running from a reapers comes along to hide behind them
- reapers start shooting
- everyone on Derris-Kharlan objects
- JUDGEMENT IN SPACE
- so much profit and judging of reapers.
scenarios
None yet.
origin
- Kratos tells Lloyd the dad thing in Triet
- dad and son feelings ensue
- they culminate at the Tower of Salvation in Kratos stabbing Yggdrasill in the back
- unfortunately he does not quite die but impales Kratos against a wall and goes berserk on the Chosen party to the point of Yuan stepping in to help
- that is, by threatening to stab Kratos in the back while he's vulnerable (with Kratos's permission)
- Yggdrasill calls his bluff and fails, and Yuan does the thing
- while Yggdrasill is distracted the Chosen's group nail him but good and he retreats
- luckily while heart-stabbing happened, Kratos's cruxis crystal is still intact, and between Raine's healing and Yuan's mana transfusion he survives long enough to be taken to the Triet base and a refresher
- stuff happens in some fashion or other up until opening Origin's seal
- as it turns out, the mana tranfusion has fused the lock, so to speak, and Kratos can't unlock the seal even voluntarily
- only way to get Origin out at this point is to let him fuse with Kratos, so Kratos becomes Origin
- stipulation of this: Kratos refuses to let go of his humanity
- luckily Yuan already has a literal bond with him thanks to the mana transfusion, so with him as his summoner Kratos can keep his humanity, and only use Origin's powers when Yuan summons them
- commitment like woah for a literal eternity
- but hey, they messed up but good and it's the only way they can reunite the worlds.
scenarios
none yet.
reversal
~ 2000 years in, Kratos and Yuan conspire to kill Mithos and succeed, sorta
- he's stuck inside his exsphere, possessing people
- but he manages to survive and while Kratos and Yuan claim Derris-Kharlan for their base, he takes most of the angels as 'fallen', as well as the Eternal Sword
- most of his bases are hidden behind dimensional slips created by the sword - Iselia included
- Origin refuses to trust either Kratos or Yuan with the job, anyhow, and they don't have a summoner
- instead they're forced to fight Cruxis, embroiling the worlds in an angelic war between Cruxis and the new organisation of Chayim
- the Chosen bloodlines are more important to Cruxis than Chayim, but Mithos seals the seals so only the Chosen bloodline can flip the mana switch. Kratos and Yuan need someone to do that until they can reunite them, so the Journey remains an institution, just without compulsory death at the end
- there is angelification tho, if only so Chayim gets more soldiers and so the Chosen can defend themselves against Cruxis
- Kratos sends Anna and Lloyd to Iselia, because even though enemy territory, it's the safest place there is for them
- Anna get word to Kratos that the Desians are using Iselia as a long-term cruxis crystal cultivation location, and that the sword is held there
- her spy succeeds but is intercepted, and Mithos locks down the dimensional slip to prevent exit and access by angels for ~15 years
- Lloyd grows up in a town with a heavy half-elf population and believing he's training to help the good guys
- he has his own cruxis crystal as a host, but doesn't tell his mother due to the faith-based propaganda encouraging hosts not to bring it up or risk the powers not taking
- he wants to help though, so he steals a key-crest to ensure he can fight
- Yuan and Kratos plan to assault the town and shrine but Mithos uses the sword to interrupt travel between worlds, keeping Yuan in Tethe'alla and forcing Kratos to attack Iselia alone.
scenarios
scenario one: Iselia is attacked by Chayim to claim the sword, with the sword already gone
titans
- Yggdrasill captures Kratos before Kvar finds Anna and Lloyd, but after Kratos makes an Eternal Ring
- Yuan figures hell no and raises the Renegades to try and take Derris-Kharlan, rescue Kratos and solve the split-world problem
- the attack fails. a lot.
- Renegades are wiped out, Kratos is still in Cruxis's hands, but Yuan manages to escape with the Eternal Ring
- Cruxis follows him to Triet base, which gets destroyed and the few remaining Renegades scatter
- Botta is still around tho, helping out how he can
- mostly Yuan just goes searching for Lloyd and Anna
- doesn't manage to find them before Kvar does tho, and Kratos hears from Yggdrasill that they're dead
- this is slightly inaccurate, cos Lloyd still winds up rescued by Dirk in Iselia
- where Yuan eventually finds him, not knowing that he's 'supposed' to be dead
- so Yuan settles in Iselia for a bit to watch Lloyd and the Chosen
- cuts and dyes his hair, the whole shebang
- learns how to carpentry, invents a new use of magic
- winds up being Genis's role model just because scholar and magic-user and half-elf who can pass but also takes no shit from people
- is one of Colette's companions on the Journey when it starts
- he's been challenging their understanding of the Church's institution this whole time lbr
- Sheena is still a thing because the ninja have taken over the Tethe'allan base, which has survived, somewhat
- a grilling ensues
- sometime just after the Asgard Ranch Yuan does have to drop the bombshell
- about how the Journey is just a front, he and his bestie are angels, btw his bestie is Lloyd's dad
- how they're out to topple the institution of religion
- forget sacrificing Colette for the Regeneration, when they get to the seal they can do that without anyone dying
- and then move straight on to rescuing Kratos in Derris-Kharlan
- then they get to the Tower and realise Yggdrasill has Kratos under a Prometheusesque punishment a la 'impaled on the Eternal Sword to suffer the Seed's pain and watch the Chosen get murdered'
- luckily this does not happen, as they manage to rescue him and escape Yggdrasill instead, barely
- retreat to Botta's hiding-place in Asgard so Kratos can recover
- and also find out that Lloyd is actually alive
- the Chosen group goes around to make as many pacts as they can while in Sylvarant
- they get up to Aska when Yggdrasill sends his angels to attack Asgard
- cue Yuan and Kratos being unstoppable battle gods together
scenarios
scenario one: in which Yuan leads the Chosen's party to the Tower of Salvation to dismantle all the traditions ever, and find Kratos waiting for them in serious need of a rescue.
scenario two: in which being in safety reveals that Kratos is not precisely unscathed, but he's doing his best.
scenario three: in which Kratos is emphatically not okay, but with Yuan's help, could be.
no subject
[She stops, hesitating, for the barest of moments when Kratos casts. Most people would need to stop even for a little while. Most people would not be so casual about it.]
[But: that Desian soldier would not have cared for the innocent lives in the village, would he? Raine looks away from the rock -- grave has never been so appropriate a name for an arte -- and picks up her pace after Kratos once more.]
Yes, that seems... more likely than is optimal.
[He might have been better off with Genis, if that's the case, given how close Lloyd and Genis often seem to be, but-- no. Raine isn't about to allow Genis into that kind of danger. She will manage.]
With any luck, all of them will be willing to listen to me. Do you know where you're going?
[A little late to ask it, but Kratos has been moving like he knows the area. Raine isn't sure how.]
no subject
[This moment is the second. He doesn't even falter to see why Raine has.]
Yes. Anna told me. There's fighting just past the gate.
[The brisk knowledge Anna has given him is direction enough; but he can sense the mana, and they're approaching the gate even now. The fence has partly broken, but past the timber Kratos can see the movement of combat. It's a squad of his angels engaged with a dozen young men around hastily built barricades -- humans, but all with crystals, and all with that particular spin of unmanaged mana -- except one.
[Lloyd's dual blades flash toward one of the angels whose guard is open from defending against another of the young men. Kratos's wings flash and he's there in an instant, blocking that strike without retaliation. Lloyd spins off it and comes back for another, and only then does he see Kratos's face. His eyes widen as Kratos blocks again, and this time Lloyd doesn't follow through.]
Please put down your weapons.
[Kratos speaks low, but forceful -- carrying enough on mana and breeze to be heard over the clash of steel across the path. A few of the young men falter. Not all of them do.]
no subject
[--and then, too fast for her to even say anything, Lloyd and Kratos have their blades crossed. Raine recovers her equilibrium and steps forward, snapping automatically.]
That's enough.
[It is precisely the tone of voice she would use for someone caught sleeping in class. Lloyd gets a stern look, though he's hardly paying attention to Raine; the others who have not yet lowered their weapons get the same in quick succession.]
The village is being evacuated. The angels are not here to harm us.
no subject
[It's just as well he has certain physicalities turned off, or he might well fall into a mess right here and now.
[As it is, he isn't sure what his face looks like; and he doesn't dare move. But after a second Lloyd draws back to pull his swords away, and his emotions are written large across his face -- suspicion, hope, mingled fear and uncertainty and a special kind of awe.]
Dad?
[Kratos exhales slowly, and only then shifts to sheathe his own sword for the first time that day. He steps forward, once and slowly, as if Lloyd will break for the trees if Kratos moves too suddenly. Lloyd doesn't. After another step Kratos grips his shoulders to look down at him; when he speaks, his voice is rough, and yes, there is a blazing kind of joy in his face.]
Lloyd. My son.
[The rest of the young men, he has no attention for -- but their faces register their shock, their uncertainty, and the shift, in some of them, to pull away from the rest, as if Lloyd is suddenly someone they cannot know. None of them attack again, however -- yet. The angels are watching.]
no subject
[She looks away from them, and taps her staff on the ground, as though to call the attention of the other young men back to her.]
Use your minds, all of you. My companion has already shielded several of us at cost to himself, and none of you have come to harm. The primary destruction is coming from Cruxis. If you cannot trust that much, then trust that I would not ask you to lay down your weapons without good reason.
[Raine hopes. Their trust in her is why Kratos wanted her with him in the first place; it's almost all she has to trade on. But she knows these boys, has taught them over the years, and they should remember at least some of what she has said about observation and logical reasoning.]
[Should.]
no subject
[My dad's an angel.
[Before, he'd looked forbidding, with the light of his wings casting his face into stark lines; and even though now he's not exactly soft, the look on his face is so far from forbidding that it puts a lump in Lloyd's throat and makes his eyes blur.
[My dad's an angel.
[Lloyd does hear Raine, and almost reflexively he drops his swords, but he can't quite move to do anything else.
[Around him, the other young men exchange uneasy glances, but the majority of them also move to disarm; either because they trust Raine, or because Raine's teachings about logical reasoning have sunk in. But a few don't, and these are the ones whose mana is most out of whack, standing with hard defiance and blank eyes.
[It's that which makes Kratos look up, sharply, before one of them lunges at Raine without so much as a tell; but they are not alone, and there are angels there to intercept.]
no subject
[Have things been this terribly wrong all along, and she just didn't notice? She's frozen for a few moments, simply staring, trying to reconcile everything that's happening.]
Everyone, please--
[They aren't going to listen to her, are they, if they haven't already. Raine plants her staff solidly on the ground, takes a breath, and looks to Kratos. Surely he has some plan for what to do from here.]
no subject
Please. Wait.
[The angels take the boys down without undue injury, wrestling them to the ground; the rest of them, even with hands on weapons and blades drawn, hesitate to attack again in light of that. Some of them look murderous, though, and Kratos doubts that this will be enough -- but then Lloyd finds his voice.]
Guys -- he's right. Something's wrong. Aden likes Professor Sage just the same as the rest of us. Why'd he do that? Is he okay?
[This last is to Raine directly. After all, she's the healer. She'd be able to tell if something's wrong.]
no subject
[At Lloyd's question she shakes herself, comes forward to the nearest angel who's holding one of the boys.]
I'm-- not sure. Give me a moment.
[She nods to the angel, who returns the gesture peremptorily, without any real emotion but the intent to continue restraining the boy. Raine forces herself to focus on him first -- Aden, of course, who was closest by virtue of having attacked her the first. His eyes are curiously blank, and when she bends her senses to him more thoroughly he doesn't feel right on the level of his mana.]
...I believe there's something wrong with his mana circulation. To answer your question, Lloyd-- no. He isn't okay.
[And Raine isn't entirely sure what to do about it. She's let her students down.]
no subject
[Lloyd takes another breath and blows it out, hard. He's never really seen himself as a leader. His closest friend is a half-elf six years younger, which gets them both strange looks from humans and half-elves, and the Chosen. Maybe it's because of the Chosen that the other boys his age have a tendency to follow him anyway, he reckons, and while he sometimes wishes they didn't, right now he's hoping they will. Which is why he turns to -- to his dad -- to ask:]
Do you know what's doing that to them?
[His dad nods, once and short, and though his face is forbidding again, his eyes aren't.]
It's the cruxis crystals. Without a key-crest, they turn their hosts into puppets who can only follow orders or defend themselves when attacked.
[Almost automatically everyone from Iselia and wearing a crystal reaches to clutch it close, or look at it if they can. Lloyd looks down at his, worn on the back of his hand, his heart thudding. So that's why Mom told me about Dirk.]
Can you -- can you do anything for them?
[His voice is raw. His father's is gentle.]
We have spare key-crests. It will save those of you who haven't lost your hearts. For those who have -- it might, given time. With your permission, I will summon one of the healers who carries them.
[With his permission. As if Lloyd is the one who should be making those decisions. Automatically, Lloyd looks at Professor Raine, his expression torn between resolution and uncertainty. It sounds good -- he so badly wants to say yes. But he's not the best at logic and reasoning, even when they seem to indicate in the direction of what he wants anyway.]
no subject
[So she glances at the boys who are the worst off, and then to Kratos, and sharply, almost jerkily, nods.]
[She trusts Kratos to have their best interest in mind, if only because of Lloyd, and she wants her students safe above all.]
Right now, while we have little real choice, I still believe it to be the best option.
no subject
[Kratos sends the request out immediately. The healer shouldn't take long, but they shouldn't linger, either. Still -- it would be best if Kratos waits until the healer arrives. A glance at the uncertain young men tells him that leaving them alone with the angels at this point is only asking for trouble.
[In the meantime he does turn to Lloyd, ignoring the sound of the mana cannon firing. They're safe in the trees, now; the cannons will keep the angels from the air, but not from moving through the forest.]
What can you tell me about the path up to the shrine?
[Lloyd, relieved that Raine made that choice, is subsequently startled by this question. Like his information is worth something. It takes him a moment to find his voice.]
Uh -- w- well, there's other groups of Desians guarding the paths and shrine itself, but the factory is on the way, and a lot of the Desians live there. But -- um. I think they've got people in the shrine, too. There's -- there's a dwarf in there.
no subject
[She doesn't have the tools she needs to really help. There is no arte she knows to fix mana; but she does know how mana should flow, and if she's careful, she can nudge a little bit here and there, trying to correct the circulation. Some of them resist the efforts, but she does experience some limited success.]
[Only a little bit of her attention is given to Kratos and Lloyd talking, but it's enough to hear that Kratos is treating Lloyd as though he has his own authority. It's a good thing to hear.]
[All told, it isn't that long before the healer arrives, and Raine gladly welcomes the help as one of the other boys chimes in with details about the terrain.]
no subject
[The angelic healer salutes with her staff.]
Healer Sage. Have you attached a key-crest before?
[She barely waits for a response to the salute, but reaches for the belt across her chest, running an eye across the young men to count. There's a flap running the length of it, hiding the rows and rows of pockets where the key-crests are being kept. These, she starts handing to Raine.]
no subject
[There's no doubt in her voice: Raine is a very quick learner. She takes what's handed to her, stacking carefully in one hand with her staff in the other. The salute gets only a nod in return-- there is more to be done than to worry about formalities.]
I know something of exspheres, but clearly not enough. Where shall we begin?
[Her inclination, naturally, is to start with Aden; but she follows the healer's lead with the key crests at first, observing a method before splitting off to apply it on her own. Raine mimics precisely at first, till she understands more precisely, and then begins to refine it for herself. Fortunately, however, there are not so many afflicted that she is about to gain extensive practice. And all the while she listens to Kratos and Lloyd, most valuable for the sense it gives her of Kratos, but with no small note of pride for Lloyd as well.]
[He handles himself well, even in a crisis. Now if he could only apply that to his academics... well, that's neither here nor there. Not right now.]
no subject
Are they going to be okay?
[The ones who had attacked Professor Sage still seem disturbingly blank. Kratos puts a gentle hand on his shoulder.]
Some of them will need some time, and should see our healers. We can protect them. But I'm going to need your help, Lloyd -- and yours, Professor.
[He nods toward Raine, then looks toward the rest of the angels, either covering the young men or covering the trees.]
We can make our way through the forest now -- but we can't take the shrine without taking the factory, and we can't take the factory as long as they're covering it with the mana cannons. You know the area, and there are likely to be wounded at the shrine. We're going to coordinate. My angels will cover the factory. When the three of us reach the shrine, I will take out the mana cannons while my angels take the factory.
[He looks back at them both, his expression set and impassive.]
The two of you are going to infiltrate the shrine from the cliff-side, where Lloyd sneaked in to meet Dirk. Rescue him, and whoever else is being held there. You're a human and a half-elf; neither of your mana signatures will be considered out of the ordinary. While they're focussed on me, you'll be able to get anyone still imprisoned out. Is there a location near the shrine which will provide a safe fallback point?
no subject
I believe they'll be fine in time, yes.
[Granted, she is new to this dynamic of healing, but given what she's observed so far, she can't think any of them are permanently lost. She refuses to think that, and turns her attention to the logistical problem Kratos presents.]
A location near the shrine... hm. There are several sheltered locations along the cliff wall, but they're shallow-- not good for long-term concealment.
[She's also stopped questioning Kratos's plans for now. He knows what he's doing; he obviously has Lloyd's best interests at heart; and he's trying to help. At least for now, he's someone she can put her trust in, whole-heartedly. Any reassessment can happen afterward.]
Do you intend to destroy the shrine entirely once we've evacuated the prisoners?
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[That's the medic, reassuring the remaining young men and glancing toward Kratos for approval at once. Kratos nods toward her.]
You'll need some additional warriors for escort -- but I believe you'll have plenty of willing volunteers about?
[He glances toward the young men, and Lloyd leaps on it.]
Yeah! Guys, you've gotta make sur the healer and the others get back safely, right?
[Some of them are a bit reticent. Others are determined. While Lloyd talks to the ones who aren't so sure, Kratos turns to Raine to answer her questions.]
With luck, you won't need to hide there for long -- just until more of our forces can come through the forest to finish securing the area. But I don't intend to maintain the shrine, no. There's no telling what Cruxis has hid in there, and it's too dangerous to scout in the name of reusing it. We've lost people from their booby traps too many times before. Once everyone is out, we'll reduce the place to ashes.
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[She wants to say something about the historical value. What her students have been through, and the lives doubtless already lost, stop her, as much as she'd like to argue.]
... you're sure?
No, you're right. I suppose we'll have to be exceptionally certain we leave no one behind, that's all. How shall we signal you?
[She still misliked the thought of the loss of all that could be learned from the shrine, but those who were here right now had to come first.]
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Do you know any non-healing attacks? You're light-aligned, aren't you? A bolt into the sky should suffice.
[There wouldn't be any angels in that immediate area for them to mistake as someone else -- even if there were, such a signal could only mean a request for help.]
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[She's put more practice into healing and teaching. Now, of course, Raine is wishing she'd studied toward Photon with a little more determination. All the same, what she has will be enough for now.]
[Even if she'll be more or less unhappy about the shrine's destruction, at least they'll get the people out. That's what matters most, in the end. Raine nods, and swings her staff up behind her, out of the way.]
All right. If that's settled, we should go.
[And she looks to Lloyd.]
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We're good. The guys will help escort Aden and the others back to the evacuation point. Right?
[He looks at his peers, his gaze open and earnest; and though some expressions are a bit reluctant, everyone nods. Kratos nods back and turns to issue orders to the angels. The healer and two knights will guide the young men through the village. The rest are on the team to take the factory. Within moments, the evacuation group has moved out, leaving Kratos, Lloyd and Raine with the squad of angels. Kratos nods to the angels.]
Move out slowly. We'll go ahead of you. When you reach the ranch, remain in hiding and wait for my signal.
[Then he turns to Raine and Lloyd. They know these woods better than he does, even with Anna's hurried telepathic map. He still rests his hand on his sword, intending to stick close to defend them both if needed.]
We'll need to move quietly. Lead on.
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[This isn't something that had ever occurred to Raine as a possibility.]
[Now, though, it makes perfect sense.]
Lloyd knows the woods slightly better.
[Which is not to say that Raine doesn't, but she'll follow Lloyd's lead if there's any question.]
[As they head into the woods she's mindful of her staff, swinging it less than she ordinarily would, and she's alert to the many sounds around them, half her thoughts for mana signatures and the presence of other life.]
[Genis will be fine. Colette will be fine. Her students are well protected. This, too, is to protect them.]
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[Lloyd takes the lead, guiding them through the forest among the smaller hunters' tracks which the young men follow. It's faster than the main road, and more secure, especially now. Every so often they can hear the sound of the mana cannon firing overhead, but it's quieter in among the foliage.
[The factory sounds come loud as they bypass it, and they catch glimpses of those tall metal walls; but Lloyd leads them easily around its perimeter, and Kratos can feel his angels slip into positions among the rest of the mana-signatures belonging to the forest's denizens. Soon, they reach the shrine, and the stairs up, and the ledge on which the mana cannons sit.
[There's two, monstrous metal things nearly as tall as a man; both are aimed toward Iselia, the exspheres on their sides glowing as they charge. Kratos examines them, and the numerous guards, and the way the shrine's entrance is closed and barred; then he turns to Lloyd and Raine, speaking with telepathy. Just in case.]
Don't answer out loud. Nod or shake your head. Lloyd, can you see the path to the hidden entrance?
[Lloyd nods.]
Is it unguarded?
[Another nod.]
Do you both know the path to the bolthole from here?
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[But all the same, nothing comes upon them, so it must be simply the pressure of the situation making everything too loud in her ears.]
[She studies the cannons with an analytical eye, or tries to, but the feeling of them and what they mean is trying to turn her stomach. Eventually Raine's grateful for the distraction, such as it is, of Kratos's voice in her mind.]
[To the last, Raine nods. She can find her way, though doubtless less elegantly than Lloyd.]
[There's no way to inquire if he plans to leave now without speaking, so Raine holds her peace. It will likely become apparent in a few minutes, anyway.]
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