Return of the Emblem Chapter Fifteen: Alliance

[Xinnidy]

"<Why am beating self? Well... look at us, how got here. Amon did something and took a whole ship. With magic. Haruhi is learning to do life-steal magic. Hoshi probably know even more. Have Avians and all the people... and here is Thales. With bow, arrow... and poison from some store.>" In his head, it really didn't add up. Thales was starting to feel out of place, and whether it was some paranoia fueled by the ebb-and-flow of his ego or had actual validity to it...  simply put, it sucked. "Hmm."

Thales wasn't about to drop on the floor and think of life --floors were hard and gathered dust--, but he sure wished he had some more room to recline. "<When retreat from losing battle and people you care for never come back, is the worst feeling. Make you feel hollow, useless, coward. All this.>" Reminiscing was a bad hill to die on for that topic... but it did bring Thales closer to understanding his own feelings. When did the fear of loss and the hatred of self become this correlated...?

"<Amon and others have war to fight, so...>" No, that was it for that topic, Thales had been drained enough for that day. "<...Nevermind, just... thinking too hard.>" 'Maybe if I were stronger' did nothing but frustrate him at that point. "<Not worry. Was not you... Am not bothered by earlier today, Haruhi. People have said worse.>" Thales tried to alleviate the topic, smirking back at her. "<Did not slap me, good enough.>" Getting physical like that brought far worse connotations to mind.

[Nanami Touko]

"<Eva's just a woman on a wyvern. Take away the wyvern and she's just a woman with a sword. Surely she can't fit her lizard into every battle, so what makes having you around so bad? Sometimes a bow and arrow is all one needs to take down someone horrible. Just need to make the arrow hit. You're undervaluing yourself before you even get into combat. How do you know my magic will work against what we're going after? Or Hoshi's? Or Amon's boat stealing whatever? You don't. Don't be foolish.>" Haruhi huffed, this swing from Thales was so far out of left field on how he'd been the past few days. Were all Ursian men like this? Maybe the Kigenese ones weren't so bad... No, they were.

"<I wouldn't ever hit you. You're a man. It would be wrong of me to strike you, especially over something so... Unrelated to me. So don't worry about that, just...>" Haruhi sighed, face turning the faintest shade of red. "<You're a really nice guy. You put up with my antics. I'm lecturing you and you aren't telling me to be quiet. Don't... Don't think so little of yourself.>"

[Phoenix]

Emblem Neutrality

Amon nodded almost immediately at the start of Daichi's summary. The best he could have come up with was that the gods didn't know where the pieces went when they were scattered, but that sounded arbitrarily limiting, somehow. The next part Amon was less sure about. How had Raquel fused with more than one piece of the emblem when they were scattered all over the place. It was also awkward to think of taking Valdimarr's emblem piece as a rescue mission. Whether they were thinking of it as Raquel herself or just a piece of the emblem, it was giving the sovereign his power, and as far as they knew, that couldn't be forced. For better or worse, the emblem was helping Valdimarr as much as it was helping ...

...

Amon glanced at Ra after Daichi asked if his retelling was correct up to that point. "Valdimarr is no danger to her; he is leaning heavily on her power. Nevertheless, we will separate them in time."

"So she is neutral," Malik glared at Ra. Amon finally realized what the sancturan had been worried about. He'd just realized it, himself.

Joanna was concerned about the discussion starting between the sancturans and Ra, but tried to quickly answer the question Daichi addressed to her. "The Goddess can commune with anyone she wants, but it's true that normally, the only person in the wider world she or any of the other gods would speak to and through is the Archbishop. I've been given an important mission by her, aside from guarding the emblem, and that's why I can speak with her ... occasionally." She nearly shrugged. The Goddess hadn't spoken a word to her, lately. She could only hope she was doing everything right. "What the fallen are about to do concerns her that greatly ..."

[Xinnidy]

But she has a wyvern, that's the thing. Thales would argue, but that line of thinking would only bring more arguments from her. It was a fair point to not stress himself too much about the details, he guessed. "<...Alright. Just not...>" Don't want to be useless and watch a group fall apart helplessly, again. He winced, those thoughts were way too dark to be stuck on for so long... "<Sorry. All the guards, and army following us. Not good thoughts for me.>" It was a bit more than that, Thales' confidence had slowly drained over the course of the day, and he hadn't given himself much time to rest as he usually did, what a sorry state to be in...

The roof was suddenly the most interesting thing on the room to observe, though at least Haruhi's topic change gave him some fuel to work with. "<Ah, women not really care that I am man, really. Some think am competition. Not think I really am, though.>" When it came down to it, he really couldn't compe-- Dark thoughts, dark thoughts, please stay away~ "<You are not bad, Haruhi. Just trying to help, not mind that. But you do not hold back with... 'antics', though. Pent up from men you can not complain about~?>" Thales had a mind to say she drove him a bit too much, at times, but that had no place at the moment.

[Mercakete]

Good; there was confirmation, there: they really didn't know their gods' motives for this particular choice. The following revelation brought a grimace to Daichi's face, though. Not being in danger because she was important to the demons was one thing, but actively and voluntarily helping their leader was something else entirely. Even his own, flexible mind was having trouble not equating her to an enemy simply because of that. <Perhaps we do not fully understand the situation...>

The Avian woman cleared up his confusion on the other point, meanwhile. That was good to hear; even if it was occasional, it was an advantage. It was also good to hear that the goddess Mercy was opposed to the demons. He smiled calmly at that, unable to not think of Daphne, at least a little bit. <I knew that I liked that one. She was a good choice, Daphne.> "If your goddess Mercy is helping us, then we have an advantage. It is good to know that she will assist us against this dangerous threat. Though, I have another question. It sounded like you said that you have another mission besides protecting the Fire Emblem pieces. What is it?"

He could come back to the troubling questions of the emblem itself after this little detour.

[Nanami Touko]

"<Something like that, I guess. So thank you for putting up with me. I haven't been able to speak freely to a man in... This is the first time, I think. It's a good feeling. Don't be so hard on yourself.>" Not that bad... She didn't really agree, but delving into that would likely upset him again, so she kept it inside for the time being. "<If you have anything to take care of, probably should get to it now. I don't think we'll be staying around much longer after the meeting with the Hikibain ends.>"

[Xinnidy]

"<Eh, were you not saying the Hikibain might slow things down more before?>" Thales threw Haruhi a confused look, but quickly shrugged it away. "<I hope it does not last that long... Wanted to talk with Amon to know where we are going next. No idea now.>" But there wasn't much point in idly sitting trying to not let his thoughts get the better of him. Surely there was somewhere Thales could prove himself useful. He quickly picked himself up from the floor. "<Right, take care too. Do not let stranger men yell at you.>" Thales waved, accompanied by his usual wink, and made his way down the hallway. First things first was checking up on the room he was sleeping.

[Phoenix]

Both Sides

Right, Joanna thought to herself ... the vision. Not to mention what the Goddess instructed her to do. Explaining that aloud sounded even more difficult than helping Daichi understand the emblem, especially since she didn't have any actual details. The Goddess gave her instruction and told her the results. That was it. Joanna decided that she would simply have to do the same. "I have to confront the fallen in person. If I'm able to do that, the Goddess will remove the corruption from them, and turn them back into avians. I ... don't know how exactly, but I refuse to question her any longer. If she says she will do something, she will do it."

Amon vaguely recalled that part of Joanna's new avatar status, but it could definitely help them out in the war if being transformed was a big enough shock to disarm their opponents. None of that would help with the emblem situation, though ...

"How are we supposed to trust Raquel to help us if she's the one giving Valdimarr his powers? She's not actually on our side ... or at the very least she's playing for both sides."

Ra's eyebrow crept up ever so slightly at Malik's question. The apparition pointed a finger down hard at the table. "I told you, did I not? Raquel and the Fire Emblem are united in both will and purpose. When was the Fire Emblem set on the destruction of the gates or Valdimarr's defeat? That is your purpose, not hers. Nothing has changed ... to defeat Valdimarr will require both the power to withstand him, and the intellect to overcome him."

"But she's trying to turn us all into wielders," Malik countered, "which won't help us take down Valdimarr."

"Foolishness, Malik," Ra came back stronger, the light in his eyes intensifying, "Do what you had in your heart to do from the very beginning. Destroy Valdimarr with your own two hands. Raquel will not aid you in taking his life, but neither will she interfere. So it is exactly as I told you: Nothing has changed ..."

"Neutral, right," Amon nodded to himself. Literally himself, not Ra ...

[Mercakete]

Daichi was a bit dumbfounded, questioning whether or not he translated what Joanna said just as continuously as his mind tried to wrap itself around it. Her certainly hadn't expected to hear that. He tried listening to the other conversation as his mind worked on what the Avian had said as well, but progress on that front was significantly hampered by trying to understand Mercy's intentions. After much stalling out and staring in blank shock at Joanna, the Hikibain finally spoke again, albeit haltingly at first. <"Wait...> The...goddess Mercy...wishes to...destroy the evil within the demons?"

[Phoenix]

Divine Cleanse

"I honestly don't know if she is going to change what's in their hearts," Joanna admitted, "but avians and the fallen have different natures. If their nature changes, an idea like 'war for the sake of war' wouldn't be appealing to them, anymore. They wouldn't have a connection to the Goddess, I don't think, but they wouldn't want to fight any more than the average avian ... well, dark avian."

"The darkened ones have taken a great deal after humans," Ra noted, looking to Daichi, "It is an interesting possibility. Should a fallen one become like them, they would begin to behave in a way quite familiar to us."

[Mercakete]

Ra's wording was...peculiar, if Daichi was understanding his turn of phrase correctly. It was a tricky one, "taken after." Did he mean that the demons had become like humans, or that they'd acquired a taste for them? Or, simply that they hunted them? The latter two, Daichi was well aware of. The former didn't make much sense. From what exposure he'd had to the winged ones, the Dark Avians were the most similar to humans behaviorally, being almost indistinguishable in their varied (but generally middling) ideals, interests, and values. But most of this came from second-hand information, since not many Dark Avians passed through Kigen… Ah, no, he understood, now. "Darkened ones" meant "Dark Avians." So that had been where the confusion lay... Yes, now what he said made sense. Now to focus on what the winged woman had said.

Daichi tilted his head ever so slightly to the side as he addressed her, light intrigue or curiosity in his face. "To us, the demons are evil. All of them act in that way. I cannot imagine a demon honestly wanting to help humans. If one seems to be kind, it is because it is treacherous, and is using you or trying to earn an opportunity to attack. It is what they are. If 'what they are' changes, however..."

Daichi paused with a frown, and turned his eyes up and to the side as he considered something else. When he returned his gaze to Joanna, his eyes had turned sorrowful. With a light shrug and a sigh in his voice, the Hikibain disappointedly finished, "I thought that if they turned into Dark Avians that they would stop being evil because they stopped being demons. But there are evil Dark Avians and evil humans, too. Perhaps nothing will change after all..." a smile devoid of happiness then came to Daichi's face, and suddenly, he seemed a lot older and more weary than he usually did. "It would have been nice...for all of this killing to finally end."

[Ether]

Angelica had mostly been listening along to the conversation at this point, turning the points given over in her head enough to translate the into Kigenese, if need be. Kazemi seemed to have it mostly down, at least based on what he had said in response... and luckily Amon had addressed the whole clod point, so she no longer had need to. Without much to contribute to the current talks, both Raquel and Mercy were relative unknowns to Angelica specifically, the others could more adeptly explain their nature than she could, the mage offered what she could to the exchange, at least as it went presently.

"Is there anything you're unclear on, Kazemi-san? At a glance, you seem to understand, but if you need anything explained again, tell me."

[Mercakete]

No one said anything after Angelica posed her question -- polite of them -- so Daichi pushed his downtrodden feelings aside for the moment and thought back. There had been some words since the start of all this that he didn't understand, but he couldn't recall how to pronounce them. One in particular had been tossed around a bit. How was it said again...? <"There was a word used to describe your group that I do not know the meaning of. 'Anozodok,' was it...? It was a little while ago, so I do not remember it clearly. I am not certain if it is necessary to understand that word in order to understand the important points of the conversation, though.">

[Phoenix]

(Pending)

Edited June 18, 2018 by Phoenix

[Ether]

"<Anozodok?>" Angelica replied, turning the word over in her head. What had they said which would roughly sound like that? Oh...

"Unorthodox. <It means to be somewhat strange, or different. To do things in a way that isn't normal. In this context, it meant that we are an unknown factor, would operate in a different way than the fallen are used to dealing with.>"

[Mercakete]

"Ah." Daichi thought back to when he'd heard the word. Ra had been using it to contrast...being skilled. Or at least, to partially contrast it. So, they were unusual by others' standards, then, and perhaps, not simply in how varied this group's members were. <Unwise, unfair, and unusual... That is the opinion Ra-san and Emblem-san have on this group.> It wasn't exactly encouraging... They weren't even finished preparing for the upcoming conflicts. The emblem was neutral to this conflict, as well, for reasons they were uncertain of. The goddess, Mercy, was opposed to the demons, and wanted her follower to change them into Dark Avians...but conflict was still a very real possibility. No, they could not rely on the goddess removing the evil from their foes. They would need to prepare for harsh combat, just as they had been ready to only moments ago. <"Thank you, Angelica-san.">

Daichi took in a long breath through the nose, and slowly released it, recentering. When he opened his eyes again, they were sharp and focused, looking to Ra again. "Those from this group who choose to fight the demons when the time comes will be prepared for it. We Hikibain are sworn to defend our people against the demons, so you will have our assistance, unless we are given different orders. I hope that the emperor rallies us to this battle... That is all already understood. But, Ra-san...I still have questions. What is it that you are? Your appearance does not make it easily understood."

By now, the explanation Amon had been on had been interrupted, so, Daichi had decided to simply get the questions rolling again. He was looking forward to hearing just what that light show earlier had been, too, particularly since it had involved his son. But one thing at a time. And if Amon continued the explanation he had been working on earlier, all the better.

Edited June 25, 2018 by Mercakete

[Phoenix]

Amon Ra

"Surely the resemblance is not lost on you," Ra grinned, before indicating Amon with a brief, irritated look, "Amon and I are one and the same."

Almost without thinking, but definitely without filtering himself, Amon jumped in right then and there. "The emblem gives people special powers if they spend enough time around it. I thought the Regalia was mine, but it's actually ... him." In hindsight, better Amon explained the important part, rather than let Ra do it and use the opportunity to put him down, again. Maybe ...

[Mercakete]

Daichi let his eyes idly study Ra as he went over the implications of what had just been stated, giving it a thorough churn to ensure he understood it. Despite its care, it didn't take too long. How odd it was... Ra had come from this emblem, then...and yet, also from Amon. Ra was the ability that the emblem gave to Amon, by being near him for enough time. So...following that line of thinking... "This Fire Emblem Raquel is quite unusual...but perhaps, it is not so unusual for someone to send someone else to guide those one wishes to assist."

He turned his attention back to Amon. "She has given you a good gift." Then, he looked back to Ra, though he continued speaking to Amon. "Ra-san has insight into many things. He understands your group at least as well as you do, and he has knowledge of our foes. Raquel-san must have told him, even if indirectly, about the demons and their progress, which she can see because she is with them. It is as though he has seen their soldiers for himself, and receives reports about changes in their plans. Ra-san even has the ability to train you for combat against the demons. He is doing everything he can to help you prepare for them because he cares about you, and desires your victory. Because of what he knows...he may even want you to succeed more than your group wishes it for itself. Though Raquel-san may be unable to favor one master over another in action, now being an item, she certainly is doing all that she can to prepare you in the ways that she is able to while she can. Of course, it is possible that I am misunderstanding the situation again... This 'Fire Emblem' is still foreign to me...though I hope that I am beginning to understand it. Please correct any misunderstanding I have, Ra-san, Amon-san."

The Hikibain looked back to Angelica, <"And if there is something I do not understand because of the language barrier, of course, I appreciate your correction as well, Angelica-san.">

After that, Daichi returned his attention fully to Amon, something of a sympathetic, light smile on his face. "The circumstances are very unusual, I understand...but you should appreciate your son more. He is doing his very best for you on behalf of his mother, after all. I know that he is not quite your and Raquel's child, but...he did result from your combined bodies, as the emblem has become her own body. He does have aspects of your appearances, with your form and her glow. As a father myself, it is difficult for me not to think in these sorts of terms, even though your relationship is very different from what is normal...but, <really> you should appreciate him more; everything he does is for you and your friends, after all. Wouldn't things go better if you worked together towards your goal instead of always seeing your allies as your foes?"

Edited June 25, 2018 by Mercakete

[Phoenix]

Kind Words

It was just short of alarming to hear Ra receiving praise after endangering some of them, but strictly from an outsider perspective, Amon could ... kind of see it. Ra was result oriented, and Daichi was one of those unfortunate souls that had to oppose the demons from a more cynical perspective, thanks to Kigen's long history with them. No one was dead or permanently injured, and that made the suggestion just slightly more palatable. Still, it would have been much easier to think of Ra as an ally if he acted like one more often.

It seemed like Daichi understood enough to work with them without any serious issues ... wait. Son?! It should have been inconceivable, but the Hikibain actually framed the Ra situation in that way, equating Raquel to Ra's mother just to make things more awkward. Amon wasn't even sure what to say at first. Between imagining a son as haughty as Ra and that strange version of Raquel being the mother, he was at a loss.

"Such kind words," Ra chimed in, clearly not having any issue with Daich's advice, "Perhaps she is a mother of sorts. Without her intervention, I may have simply faded away in time."

"I wonder where he gets his arrogance from," Malik cut in, leaning toward Ra and staring him down. He didn't get the response from Ra he was expecting. He didn't get any response. The golden apparition was deep in thought, hand on his chin, eyes narrow, focus distant.

[Mercakete]

Well, that was settled. Daichi was happy that his words seemed to reach Amon and Ra -- though Amon seemed to be taken aback by the suggestion. Well, his questions weren't quite answered, so it was time to move on.

"I am happy that you have such a good relationship with your mother," Daichi told Ra. Then, he asked, "But was not the queen of the south also mentioned? What does she have to do with all of this? I do not remember hearing that the demons are planning to attack the southern lands."

[Phoenix]

The Queen Is In Danger

Aisha ... now that was a painful reminder of just how bad the situation really was, at least for the Sancturans. "We were going kill Valdimarr and take his piece of the emblem anyway," Malik chimed in, again, "but now we have to do it as soon as possible. We need that piece to help her." Any piece would probably do, but the situation with Joanna and hers was getting increasingly complicated. "Hopefully the avians don't have some kind of claim to that one, too."

Joanna shook her head to that, which was a relief for Malik.

"Hmm, do you know about Obelisk?" Amon asked Daichi, "It'd be hard to get into the details, but he left her powerless. She needs an emblem piece to protect herself."

Ra sighed. "Did I not tell you that Osiris would protect her?"

The sancturans made their distrust of that man known with a pair of unimpressed scowls. "Like I said," Malik shrugged, "we were going to take Valdimarr's piece anyway. Now we're in a much bigger hurry."

[Mercakete]

"Abelisk? Hmm... That is the one some people think the demons worship... I suppose that those northern ideas are true, too, then...and he has already attacked the southern people... I am sorry to hear that your queen is in danger," Daichi seriously informed. A bit of confusion came into his expression after that. "But...why would your queen need a ship? Also, who is Osiras?"

[Phoenix]

Protexecution

"He is the leader of a group of assassins that call themselves the Tide," Ra explained, "The Queen seems to be under their protection for the time being."

"I'm pretty sure," Malik chimed in irritably, "they're only keeping some other group from killing her until they can put on a big show for the rebels and do it themselves. They're not really protecting her in the end."

"If they will keep others from taking her life in the meantime, then it makes little difference."

[Mercakete]

Well, the ship wasn't explained, but it sounded like the situation in the south was quite complicated at present. The southern queen was in danger and needed a world-creation-device in order to protect herself from the god of the demons, and she was currently being tenuously protected by a group of assassins. She also needed a Neviskotian flagship for some reason. After momentary deliberation, Daichi decided not to chase that dizzying set of events. It would have perhaps been at least somewhat handy when explaining to the Ursians and Neviskotians just what happened and why, but it was most definitely a tangent. Best to keep at least loosely on topic. <If it becomes necessary for me to understand, they can explain it to me later. This sounds like internal affairs for the most part, though. Even where it isn't, this doesn't involve Kigen, so I should leave it to Amon and his people to deal with any problems that arise from having taken the Neviskotian ship.>

Now, back to the matter at hand. "I believe I understand what is happening much better, now," Daichi informed those gathered on the whole. Then, he looked back to Ra. "But I still do not know what happened outside of Arugai Minato."

[Phoenix]

Trials and Emblemations

"Angelica and your son received Raquel's gifts ... first one, then the other," Ra explained simply, "Though the trial was difficult, they did not disappoint."