a thing; w/ ruinsprofessor & conductingresistance

[simulsimul]

universe list
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 lightning and light can totally become a laserbeam amirite
- 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.

Comments

pls ignore reference to Flamberge, i keep forgetting he shouldn't have it yet

[simulsimul]

[It's close and brutal fighting, with a fraction of the Sylvaranti force. They're fully armed and dressed, and the Tethe'allans are caught off-balance -- but not as off-balance as the Sylvaranti expect. They rally fast, semi-armoured even abed; enough to steal the Sylvaranti's edge of surprise.

[Kratos is in the thick of it, barking orders and boosting the lines to contain the Sylvaranti inside the few hundred yards they've managed to claim inside the wall. Kratos knows it when the Sylvaranti realise who they're facing -- not the words, but he catches his name amidst a warning shout.

[Even still, containing is all they can manage, at first; the Sylvaranti take cover in the latrine pits to press back enough to let in their shieldbearers, who push back against the Tethe'allan line. The mages up on the wall start firing down and the Sylvarantis' hold loosens; but the shields go up, and mana fizzles against polycarbonate, and that provides enough cover for some of the Sylvaranti to break for the prisoners' tents.

[Damn it. Their line doesn't extend far enough to cover this side of the tents -- only the other. If the prisoners rise up --]

Lieutenant!

[Leda covers him and Kratos breaks off, pulling back to run back into the camp, calling for more troops to cover the tents, angling to come around the other side, to Ka-Fai's tent. Flimsy fabric cut easily; it didn't look like the Sylvaranti were bearing any extra weapons to their captured comrades, but that doesn't much matter. This commander doesn't care about casualties; that many extra combatants inside the wall could lose them the camp.

[If Kratos is wrong about the commander.

[If Kratos is wrong about Ka-Fai.

[And if he's right, he doesn't much like Ka-Fai's odds of not being killed at the hands of his 'Tethe'allan captors', so this other commander can take control of the Sylvaranti forces who remain.]

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan is encountering a difficulty.]

[Cloth isn't difficult to cut through. He doesn't know if his is the first tent that the Sylvaranti soldiers attacking the camp have come into, but now that there are others present, there's a tension in the air nearly audible. Some of his own people are on their feet immediately, sensing rescue.]

[Many of them are eying Commander o Duirnín like they don't know what to make of him. And, in all truth, Yuan doesn't either. He wouldn't have expected to see the Commander here, specifically in this tent. Unless perhaps he was looking for Yuan.]

[Which means one of two things: either Yuan has vastly misjudged him, or o Duirnín plans to make sure he's out of the way. Yuan doesn't care to place bets as to which.]

[The other Commander is quick on his feet, a whip-thin movement of a man now eying Yuan with something that seems to be covered distaste.]

There you are, Ka-Fai. Come on, there isn't much time.

[Yuan goes that way, but with slow measured footsteps, and he stops a few paces away. Out of arm's reach.]

[He told his people, of course he did, about the backup that never came. The decision for many of them hangs on a knife's edge. Yuan wonders. If he refuses, he's almost certain o Duirnín will call him traitor and use that as excuse to attack. If he goes...]

That bombardment didn't make me think you thought to find living prisoners.

[An impatient movement from o Duirnín, balanced on the balls of his feet.]

Is now the time to debate this? Come on.

[If he goes, perhaps Yuan can get the drop on him. It'll do something for Kratos's trust in him, naturally; but when did he start caring about that? If he chooses to stay, it can be repaired later. Yuan takes a step closer. Hesitates.]

[simulsimul]

[This is turning into a mess. More troops bear down on the small square of ground the Sylvaranti are holding, but before their line can be completely established one of the tents collapses under a rush of rioting prisoners. A quick assessment tells Kratos it's not even everyone in that tent -- but it's enough to make things difficult.]

Secure the other prisoners!

[Kratos's voice roars over the din as he cuts down one of the prisoners, shelving regret for later. He knows the names of some of these people, and they're being thrown away like so much fodder.

[Sylvaranti come out of the other tents, but they're not prisoners -- invaders seeking to hold the tents until their commander's convinced the prisoners to lay down their lives. Adrasteia meets him halfway and they flank the enemy, covering the knights who'd been on guard. The Sylvaranti are just enough of a match to stall them but not for long -- and not enough. They fall back into the tent, where they'll be supported by dozens of their comrades, unarmed or not.]

Secure the entrance and the other tents. Have the mages ignite them if I'm not out within two minutes, or if the second tent falls.

[This is something Kratos barks over his shoulder before making to follow, and Adrasteia cries out behind him.]

Master --!

[It's foolish, he knows that. But the Sylvaranti should know they've been betrayed once by this commander, and if he can talk them out of joining their fellows, that means fewer unarmed people his own soldiers have to slaughter. Either way, the Sylvaranti guards don't expect to be followed so stupidly -- in their startle he has one of them down before they can blink, and the other with a bleeding slash that has her backing off deeper into the tent. This time, Kratos doesn't immediately follow.]

[conductingresistance]

[The moment still holds Yuan, barely closer, and the tension is broken not by a choice one way or the other but by Kratos.]

[Yuan thinks Kratos, you idiot before he does anything else. It's an instinctive reaction. Who follows guards into a tent that he knows will be full of prisoners from the other side?]

[Kratos-- changes the dynamic. Instead of two Sylvaranti eyeing each other up, trying to decide whose is the hand to take, suddenly there's a Tethe'allan commander in the midst of something which very much resembles a prison break. And he has no backup.]

[O Duirnín sees the same opportunity Yuan does, though he reacts to it very differently.]

On him!

[Yuan finds himself abruptly shoved aside as o Duirnín goes for Kratos, clearly taking an opportunity where it's offered and expecting any number of the Sylvaranti in the tent to back him up. Damn it all--]

[His choice is made, really, when he starts after o Duirnín, the intent shaped full in his muscles before his mind has even caught up.]

[simulsimul]

[Well. Now Kratos knows what the commander looks like. That's all he gets a chance for before he finds himself engaged in combat once more, and this time it's not just two startled guards. No, this time it's the commander, the injured guard, and three of the prisoners. And, behind them, Yuan also lunging.

[Kratos's gut shrivels with something close to disbelieving hurt at the sight of Yuan lunging, but it's a distant feeling, like the regret; set aside by the needs of the moment.]

Stand down!

[Kratos roars it, just in case the other prisoners get ideas, and the last word is clipped by lack of breath as he blocks and parries. One of the prisoners is run through within moments; but the commander and the guard keep enough of his attention that their being unarmed save their manacles is not such a disadvantage.]

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan repeats his mental cursing once or twice for best measures, because there are not sufficient other words to describe how poorly this situation has gone, and how very quickly.]

[He cannot handle everything at once. On the upside, o Duirnín won't be expecting something from behind.]

[How fortunate being unarmed says nothing for his magic, and how readily lightning comes to him, even now.]

Stand down!

[His harsh furious rasp of an order seconds Kratos's, only some few bare moments after, and Yuan, not at all resolved to apologize later, flings himself into the melee to target his strike only to those immediately involved in combat. A breath. Lightning comes when he calls, a rush of mana leaping near already-formed into his hands, as much as Yuan can hold before he shoves it out. It leaps out, sparking raw and rushing from metal to metal, person to person. Those prisoners who catch it stumble, convulsing.]

[simulsimul]

[Kratos hears the order, even hears it shouted in Yuan's voice, but he doesn't have the space to consider whys or whats. He hears the crackle before he feels it, but lightning is faster than even him; it strikes him through his sword, sweeping down his arm. His polycarbonate mail snuffs out the force of it, but the purely physical spark still rattles him inside his armour, leaves him gasping and his heart skipping.

[Not enough to knock him off his feet. The hostile prisoners go down; he firms his shaky knees and lungs for the Sylvaranti guard. She manages to block his sweeping blow, and then block again, but she's wounded and he's not -- inside of moments he has her dispatched and turns, expecting to have to meet the Sylvaranti commander's sword.]

[conductingresistance]

[Good. Kratos's armor did include some element of polycarbonate. Yuan was fairly sure it did.]

[--He doesn't know what armor o Duirnín is wearing. Yuan turns on the spot, or tries to, and isn't fast enough to avoid the sword.]

[His twisting changes the target, at least, and the blade spears through the side of his abdomen instead of his spine. It's probably survivable, Yuan considers with some detached thoughtfulness, looking at the red across the steel. Then o Duirnín jerks his sword free, to the side instead of simply pulling it back, and it's an abrupt lance of agony that briefly clears everything else from his mind. Yuan sways, but knows he needs to move.]

[He manages a few stumbling steps away. Go down and it's over. Stay up. Stay on your feet. One hand at his side, warm and wet, Yuan reaches out with the other, in no position to shape complicated mana-patterns, but lightning always, always comes when he reaches for it. It's sluggish, now, but still coming. Perhaps he can yet do something.]

[...o Duirnín yelling something about traitor really isn't promising.]

[simulsimul]

[No sword falls. Instead what Kratos sees is the commander tearing his blade from Yuan's side in the most damaging and painful way possible. The sight sends a surge of righteous fury through him; this man should have been Yuan's comrade and instead --

[And he calls Yuan the traitor.

[Kratos leaps forward to take the descending blade with his, bashing the commander with his shield instead. The commander reels back and Kratos's foot slides forward, turning his sword to thrust.]

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan did strike at him, after all. He's probably some variety of forsworn now, even if he's too tired to really figure out which one. He squints at the fight. It is mostly in focus, thanks to the clarifying power of pain, but it won't be long before he's fuzzy-headed and collapsing, probably. Which means the fight needs to end soon, and it needs to be Kratos that wins, or Yuan is a dead man.]

[Can he aim finely enough from here to take one and not the other, is the question. Anything powerful enough to overwhelm the armor that blunted the blow from o Duirnín in the first place would also be enough for Kratos, more than likely. Yuan holds the mana where it is, intently watching the patterns of the fight.]

[As a mercy, this does mean the movements of the other prisoners have virtually halted, save for the one who comes to bear Yuan up, cautious of the flashing swords. She tries to draw Yuan backward, but despite his weakness he's having none of it, shaking his head and focusing determinedly despite the wound. She makes an effort to staunch the flow of blood instead, also to little avail.]

[O Duirnín has teeth bared and bloodied sword a flurry of motion. It doesn't seem odd to him, exactly, that he's fighting Kratos. Of course he's fighting the Tethe'allan commander. Ka-Fai is another matter. Only partially expected.]

What've you been offering them, Aurion?

[simulsimul]

[Kratos's thrust is diverted, but he pushes his advantage of even that momentary stun, pressing hard. Fury doesn't cloud his judgement. Not this kind of fury. Instead he's grim and stone-faced, steel ringing again and again. It's not the kind of pitched battle which happens all that often. There isn't usually the space for it.

[He doesn't answer that snarling demand. He doesn't answer to this man. Instead his face is nothing but hard resolve, his sword darting and shield distracting. He already knows he's going to win -- but will he win in time for Yuan? Two minutes is far too long; and he doesn't know what's happening with the other tent.

[For once, he's grateful that Adrasteia occasionally tests how much autonomy he prefers in his subordinates. He feels her more than hears her, the light tap of her step as she rushes through the tent-flaps, sword already flashing. The second sudden combatant is enough; the commander turns to block her as well, and Kratos draws his eye with his shield, and runs him through under his arm.

[His sword scrapes on bone as Kratos yanks it free and he's already turning on his heel, leaving Adrasteia to guard his back as he moves for the tent-flaps.]

Bring in a medic! Tell the mages to hold off on this tent.

[He needs Ka-Fai alive, if only to stop the idiots in the other tent from rioting.]

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan watches o Duirnín crumple, dazed, and can't even bring himself to be too sorry about it. Only that going home -- inasmuch as it's home -- will be impossible now. Perhaps it wasn't much, but it was his.]

[He's going to miss his plants.]

[Then again, he might not have time to miss much of anything. He casts eyes down at the soldier supporting him -- he knows her, though can't summon her name right off -- and decides that probably losing this much blood is not, in fact, a good sign.]

[The others of his people remaining, at least, show some common sense, and either draw back from the entrance with hands clearly visible and empty or, in some cases, come to him. Someone is stripping off an undyed tunic to press to the wound. Yuan feels peculiarly warm, and can't quite tell if it's the injury or some nebulous emotion.]

[Belatedly, he remembers to let go of the mana.]

[simulsimul]

[Medics have already been distributed, and one's already nearby, tending wounded; he comes in seconds after Kratos's order, and on his heels are three knights to guard their commander and make sure the prisoners are biddable. Kratos ignores them to follow the medic, standing over Yuan, in the arms of one of his people. The tunic being pressed to his side is already alarmingly red.]

Will he live?

[This is brusque, because he needs to know; and convincing the other prisoners that their commander was betrayed will be hard enough without Yuan still alive to confirm it. The medic's hands glow white, his answer equally terse.]

It's too soon to tell.

[Damn it. Kratos jerks his head at Adrasteia, in Yuan's direction.]

Oversee it. Tell me as soon as you have an answer. Who here is trusted by the majority? I need someone to vouch for me at the other tent.

[This last is raised over the sounds of battle and toward the Sylvaranti prisoners, in the only tongue which shares any commonalities between nations these days.]

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan doesn't think he's losing consciousness, but he's only catching bits and pieces of what's going on around him, in between pain and dizziness and something a little like relief.]

[There's a brief, perfunctory discussion between a few of the prisoners before a stocky woman with a short braid takes one step forward.]

Chen An-Lin. I'm one of his lieutenants.

[There's a brief, considering pause.]

Sir.

[He's trying to save their commander. And they all saw what just happened. Things have changed.]

[simulsimul]

Fine. This way.

[Kratos takes the Sylvaranti commander's badge of rank from Adrasteia and turns to leave the tent, expecting An-Lin to follow; his step is intent, his gaze focussed, in that combination of towering resolve which he doesn't realise makes him seem like an inexorable force of nature just as much as Yuan with the Swallow.

[There's still fighting going on, but Kratos delivers An-Lin to the tent whose loyalty is still uncertain, leaving her with one of the apprentice knights and orders to go to those prisoners who hadn't joined the riot in the last tent, and talk them into remaining wise. Then he moves to the lines still struggling with the Sylvaranti foothold, his voice cutting through the din to shout that their commander has fallen. Surrender, or die.

[Some choose to die. Some manage to retreat. Others lay down their arms. Regardless, the incursion is ended and the gap is closed, and Kratos sees Lirea on the wall, her bow still strung, as she barks orders to repair their defences. The artillery still has not stopped.

[Kratos sees to the recovery of the prisoners, has Leda and his platoon captains report to him on the status of their wounded. It's the usual post-battle maintenance to which he has to attend before he can look into anything else. Somewhere in there, the artillery stops. Possibly whoever was second-in-command decided better than bombing a camp with so many of their own still living.

[Notably, Kratos does not hear from Adrasteia. As soon as he has a moment, with sword on his waist and shield still on his back, and still in the same clothes and armour, Kratos goes back to the Sylvaranti tent to check in. He's a bit startled by the trembling in his knees -- but he shouldn't be; it's not the first time he's felt the sting of Ka-Fai's lightning. It just doesn't usually catch him so off-guard.]

[conductingresistance]

[It's the first time An-Lin's witnessed Aurion on the warpath and been behind him. It's a novel experience. Concerning. But novel, and more than a little interesting.]

[By the time Kratos gets back to the Sylvaranti tent, Yuan's conscious, though not sitting upright, and looks pale but irritable as he tries to argue that he should be allowed to get up, that they'll need assistance getting all of the Sylvaranti in order, whether they're still prisoners or have, by virtue of living and remaining, made the choice to become Tethe'allan. He is not actually winning this argument, but he's making an effort.]

[He quiets -- briefly -- and slants his gaze over when Kratos comes in. He'd know Kratos anywhere, without having to look, really.]

Heh. You don't seem to have suffered any lasting damage.

[simulsimul]

[The tent's a bit of a mess, Kratos notes, but the prisoners have done their best to get things in order and make room for both new prisoners and the guards now inside the tent. Including clearing the bodies, thankfully. Ka-Fai has been spared one of the cots originally brought in for the wounded, of which only a handful had been left before this night. Now there'll be more.

[When Kratos sees Yuan awake and capable of a semi-reasoned argument, Kratos feels some of the tension ease out of him. Ka-Fai being alive will make it much easier to keep the prisoners under control. It seems almost as though Yuan senses him there before he even sees him. The comment, almost against Kratos's will, makes him tip his head with something like exasperated amusement, for all that his expression doesn't change.]

No thanks to someone trying to turn me into a lightning rod. Where's Adrasteia?

[This last is to one of the knights, but nearly as soon as the question is out he spots her braided blonde hair on the opposite side of Yuan's cot, resting back against it. A few steps nearer and he can see that she's out like a light, naked blade propped up by -- or possibly propping up -- her hands. On guard, and yet. Kratos sighs and shakes his head, but he can't blame her. The artillery made it difficult to sleep, and she's been on double-shifts with the other apprentices to cover for the knights guarding the Sylvaranti; and it isn't as though she was guarding alone.

[He decides to leave her there, for the moment; he'll wake her when he leaves. Instead he looks down at Yuan, all trace of amusement gone in favour of an impassively examining gaze. The shade of Yuan's face would be alarming, if Kratos weren't already familiar with his skin-tone; but the fact that Yuan is still prone despite his argument tells Kratos more than Yuan might wish.]

Lieutenant An-Lin has the rest of your people under control, and extras besides. There's no reason for you to rise.

[conductingresistance]

I needed to be fast. Precision was optional at that point. You were wearing polycarbonate, weren't you?

[This is still not an apology, or anything like it. Just an explanation. Yuan frowns under Kratos's study, not entirely comfortable. He isn't fine, not really, but the Tethe'allan medics have been using magic, and he's not as badly off as he might have been normally, with this kind of a wound.]

[...perhaps, though, given the way Kratos is looking at him, Yuan shouldn't try to get up. He stays put for the moment. He can always change his mind later.]

She's been with me some time. What do you mean, extras?

[What in the world else is An-Lin controlling? Are there new Sylvaranti prisoners?]

[simulsimul]

[It sounds very nearly defensive. Strange; Kratos wouldn't have taken Ka-Fai for the defensive type. It certainly isn't something that needs an explanation, regardless, so Kratos lets it pass without comment.]

Some of the invading platoon surrendered. About a third of the tent on the end rioted -- about two thirds of those were killed. All told we have fewer than before, but some aren't from your regiment.

[He does feel a bang of regret, for that; but a stirring of anger as well. The invading commander had treated the prisoners' lives as convenience. Kratos lets Yuan have a private moment to internalise that by glancing at one of the knights, who salutes as soon as Kratos acknowledges her.]

How is he, actually?

Medic did a half-strength healing, sir. Wound is still present. He'll live, but he has some recovery time ahead of him. Pending a tally of medical resources, further healing might be possible to shorten recovery.

[And that's Kratos's decision to make, once all the casualty reports are in. For the moment, it's enough that Yuan will live.]

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan closes his eyes for a moment, thinking on faces, and those who might have been lost. He assumes his lieutenant will have an accounting for him. People who didn't plan to flee will have been killed for the foolishness of the others, caught up in it.]

[Damn.]

[A few more lives may not be all that much more by the numbers, but Yuan certainly feels the weight of them.]

I'm fine enough. ...still, Lieutenant An-Lin can handle most of what you'll need.

[Since she's apparently amenable. Yuan sighs, then winces at the abrupt movement, and finally focuses on Kratos again.]

Is there a list of the dead?

[simulsimul]

[Kratos reaches into his overtunic to remove the tally An-Lin had given him. The script is the common tongue, which Kratos takes as an assent toward showing Kratos the Sylvaranti are not attempting to hide; but the names are typically Sylvaranti. He gives it to Yuan.]

We'll be shifting around who's in which tent. The lieutenant has already accounted for the changes in supplies required. There is nothing for which you will be needed.

[Save resting, but Kratos assumes that goes without saying.]

[conductingresistance]

[Yuan, in a show of wisdom, does not try to lean up to take it, only waits for Kratos to put it in his reach before taking it.]

[...he shouldn't snap at Kratos, when the commander has saved his life and is taking steps to look after his people, but Yuan can't for the life of him figure out what Kratos is doing here. Or still doing here, accounting for the simple decency of just trying to make sure Yuan knows the fate of his people.]

[And he doesn't know how to phrase that question politely, either.]

Then why are you here?

[simulsimul]

[Isn't it obvious? Kratos tips his head, his expression unchanging, but there may be an air of bafflement in the action.]

I didn't know whether you'd survived, or would. Someone was meant to come and give me an update.

[His gaze flickered with pointed amusement to the gold-haired woman still dead out on the other side of Yuan's cot.]

Now that I can inform Lieutenant An-Lin of this fact, I'm hopeful your people will avoid any further internal trouble.

[conductingresistance]

[Apparently it wasn't. Yuan follows the direction of Kratos's gaze and then nods, expression clearing. That makes significantly more sense than Kratos simply having an interest in his health; he hadn't been aware he was quite so close to dying.]

[He didn't entirely feel like dying.]

I can't say for o Duirnín's people; I don't know any of them, and can't say if they match him in attitude.

[So his survival doesn't mean all that much for the newcomers, probably.]

Her judgment's good, however.

[There are many worse things than leaving Lieutenant An-Lin in charge of people.]

[simulsimul]

[O Duirnín. So that's the name of the commander who would throw over his own people for the sake of bigotry. Kratos bears the burden of people he's killed, but in this case, the burden is not all that heavy compared to the alternative.]

I believe the plan so far is to separate them among the rest of you so they aren't able to plot among themselves.

[And to, hopefully, expose them to more tolerant expectations. Even so, Kratos intends to speak to the captains to ensure their half-elven service troops don't deliver food and supplies alone. Just in case. There Kratos pauses, because that's really all that's relevant to Ka-Fai; and yet he's reluctant to leave. At least he shake his head.]

Is there anything you need, in the interim?