Wes looked back at the other knights in his company, this Hyperion would bring them to that city reliably, and without having to go on horseback or such.
Agi had a comically huge backpack with him, having emergency packed and thrown an inane amount of books, clothes, and other "essentials" into the backpack. He had a feeling it was bigger on the inside than on the outside, given how much Agi put in there.
Wes looked at the operator, and asked, "Is there any sort of snack we could get?" He just needed something small to sate his appetite for now, he did not really need much else.
Shirley sat and waited. She didn't want to continue her experimenting in this place. People always seemed to get worried when she was handling her things in the middle of some transportation. She wondered why, She wasn't as careless as some of the other bishops who tended to make something prematurely explode even if it wasn't meant to.
"Ah, I don't know if I should go get it myself or it is stored somewhere were I should not enter... but I need my other two Sheaths and my armor. They should have been sent to this wonderful transport sometime earlier" said Elena from the comfort of her seat, though after that her train of thought led her to add something else "Sincerely, getting in and out of armor is such a pain... however I can't request for another Sheath to take care of that besides some other effects... I already have four and the last time I went to see the my assigned Bishop he rather rudely threw me out of his workshop and said that if I asked him to build another one he would make me target practice for the Rooks"
After that she leaned back on her seat, resting her head on both of the palms of her hands as she smiled with her eyes closed "Ehehe he's such a temperamental man, though that does make him a bit cute in how flustered and twitchy he can get"
It was a fine day, and Faris agreed. The yellow sunlight of noon, the refreshing breeze. Veril was never a region blessed with the beauty of nature. The overwhelming contamination of mana turned even the sunlight cobalt blue. It was pretty in its own way, but ultimately unnatural. To be here, a refreshing change.
The lady knight chose her seat seemingly at random and ended up on the seat directly opposite to the Silver Chevalier. Come to think, all of the knights in this new company of hers are titled with Handles that sound at least indicative of their prowess, if not outright heroic or intimidating. The Silver Chevalier, the Blood Crow, the Siren Sword; admittedly she's quite envious of them, knights who bear their titles with pride.
Her, she's given, and chosen, a name not as pretty.
'Heretic.' Even in her days as a Pawn, she's always been associated with the word. Though not uncommonly heard amongst the ordinary folks, the word usually holds little to no traditional meaning within the Guild, an organization that is virtually beyond any religion body. To be called such, it's both a great honor, and a grievous insult. An irony.
A few minutes after Faris, dressed and geared in her usual silver plate gauntlet on her right hand, a pair of steel plate greeves, covered up by a light blue bishop-like robe, successfully and rather comfortably established herself as the new mistress of the cozy seat, and listened to Elena in silent, she smiled, and spoke.
"The weather, the day. Truely shouldn't we be less concerned of our Sheaths and enjoy some scenery, my fellow knight?"
"
On the foundation of glass a dream is built. And, like glass, it shatters.Agi looked over at Faris, and smiled a little, looking out at the scenery, "You know, its kinda pretty this way, this sun without the Mana influence."
He then said, "...we have a lot of really famous knights with some intimidating handles here...there must be a bigger purpose behind this."
Wes nodded, and said, "It is important that we get this done, mostly so that people know they are safe from the demon horde. We need to safeguard humanity's future." He did, though, wonder if, at the end of the day, The Kings would ever let go of the huge power they had obtained through the Exorcists. Agi's King was a kind, virtuous man, but he had to wonder about the other ones.
edited 7th Feb '12 8:38:36 PM by NickTheSwing
Valon leaned back in his seat with his eyes closed, listening to the rhythymic hum of mana through the train as it mixed with the different melodies the knights carried with them. How nice it was, to feel the sun on his face, be out in the world again...still, he couldn't forget about the demons. After all, The Guild was his life, was all he had known for what seemed like an eternity.
"No...no, the bookkeeper is right. Even though the Guild hasn't seen real, heavy action in years the higher ups would never allow this many mid-level knights for what amounts to a mere show of force. Not even against Kaiza's broodlings. They certainly wouldn't have allowed people like Wes, La Dame and the only person to warrant the label "Heretic" in at least a decade to volunteer either. Not for the same unit, anyway. I don't want to distract anyone with pointless suspicions, obviously" Valon said with a light-hearted smile on his face "But it can't hurt to be cautious, right?"
He absentmindedly adjusted his hat and began observing the scenery with a fascinated eagerness usually reserved for children, somewhat ruining the cautioning effect.
edited 7th Feb '12 9:13:54 PM by Dblade26
Wes nodded quickly, he supposed the suspicions were ultimately pointless, as his group had but one objective, and that was not to ruminate on pointless philosophy. It was to kill the demons, and eventually kill Kaiza herself.
"You are right, Valon. We need to be alert, but we also cannot forget our duties..."
Agi nodded, and said, "You guys are so admirably determined, when I'm just a book keeper that freaks out over tiny demons..."
Shirley shrugged. "People do what they can, if you're a book keeper, then keep books. Being a former Cardinal myself, I can say that it would be a tougher life without their developing technology". Despite her earlier thoughts, she absentmindedly continued her work on the prototype explosive. She didn't need real thought into it. She could practically work on them in her sleep if she wanted to (and she did on occasions, much to the chagrin of those nearby).
edited 7th Feb '12 10:33:54 PM by Runekn
"Precisely, Miss Manser. Never hurts to be prepared, that I have learnt."
Faris looked out the window. The thought that only demons are allowed to live amidst such beauty, while mankind, her, has to hide behind walls of bricks and wards, that alone is enough to warrant hatred. As she remained immobile and content, a gentle smile on her face as an evidence, she heard Valon calling out her Handle. Perhaps he's read her file? A possibility. One must know their allies as well, if not better than their enemies. Still, to hear it spoken by someone else, it simply is something she can never seem to get used to. But then, there wasn't much she could do. She turned to him, and before the woman could say anything, Agi commended the knights for their bravery and determination.
"Demons are demons, my dear Agi. The tiniest one can turn ten trained soldiers to ashes in mere seconds. There's no shame in fear. I've been fighting ferals for seven years, and still, in the presence of one, I'm frightened."
"The key is not to be fearless. It is only human that we fear. Never fearless. Never."
edited 8th Feb '12 11:15:01 AM by arreimil
On the foundation of glass a dream is built. And, like glass, it shatters."Fear, if properly controlled, is a weapon."
McCeol continued her trend of interupting other's conversation. "It sharpens the senses, lets a person perform feats that would leave a lesser man dead. As long as one has a hold on the darkness in their own heart, then fear is nothing to be ashamed of."
Her face was an unreadable mask, her eyes unseen through the red lenses she wore, which seemed to glow all the brighter in her black ensemble. "Demons feel fear. Different from us, true, but I have smelled it. They don't fear men, nor gods, nor light, nor darkness. Even if one demon is absorbed into another they feel no fear, for a part of them continues to live on in the strongest. They fear oblivion. Non existance."
Then a feral grin appeared on her face. "That's why we exist. To show them their worst nightmare."
Agi smiled, considering all of this, and he looked at Faris. She was a very wise person, yet she given the Handle of "Heretic". Such was the way the Exorcists were conducted and brought in.
"Hmm, I suppose such is true. After all, in my view, there is no reason to fear Light or Darkness...Good or Evil...for demons, or humans. Both of the above...were only defined as different by we humans."
Wes considered this information, demons feared nonexistence indeed. He had seen that fear in a number of their eyes. Those savage monsters were afraid of complete nihilism, of the negation of their existence. Wes supposed this made him, someone who saw no real value in anything but fighting, a nihilist and one of the greatest weapons against the demons.
"The duty of an Exorcist," Valon said in a tone that suggested words long ago committed to memory "Is to act as the sheltering hand of hope and security for humanity. A Knight is the hidden blade that hand clutches."
He paused for a moment, thinking
"In short, we Knights do the diry work of the Kings in order to stabilize humankind, whatever that work happens to be. If demons stopped being a disruption today, we'd be putting down human rebellions tomorrow. Good and Evil, Light and Dark, Humans and Demons are all irrelevant. What really matters is stability and order versus chaos. But it doesn't help to contemplate the job too much."
Let the Bookkeeper put Knights up on a pedastel, but he should at least know that the pedastel was built by the kings with centuries of corpses, demon and human alike, even for a good cause.
Agi smiled, thinking about Valon's words and how it sounded like he memorized them. It was true, he and Valon had a very similar belief system. And, for that matter, he and Wes. But then, he was a friend of Wes, "Indeed. Knights are quite important people, being trusted to maintain order. But I have to wonder, doing the Kings' dirty work...I wouldn't know since my King is quite nice, but...were there any times you doubted the Kings?"
Wes could not help but feel a chill at the thought of displeasing the council of the Kings. While the highest of them, the one Agi served, Lord Haya, was a decent man, Wes could not stop himself from thinking...the dirty work of the Kings. What if some of the dirty work did not have a good explanation and a proper, good end?
"We're humans."
"It won't do for us to discard a part that makes us human, however small, however much a burden it is."
There was subtle change of tone in her voice that suggested a shift in her temperament. Faint, but certainly there. She turned to Wes and Valon, her gentle smile faded. She managed to put it back up almost immediately, though this time, the smile was less sincere, less prominent, less present.
Why'd they put so much thought on what was given to them as duty, she wondered. To Faris, the only thing that matters is that she advances, that she climbs higher. Demons, of course, are her dire enemies, and deserve to be eliminated from the face of the earth, but if there is something to be gained from slaughtering them, something that is very real, why wouldn't she reach out and take hold of it? The Kings may rule, she always thinks, the Kings may live to become the vilest of dictators of the world, and may use the blades of the Knights to oppress innocents, as long as they favor her.
But such contemplation exhausts the lady knight.
"Aren't we being a tad too grim for such a lovely day? We're only hours from killing demons, anyhow."
"Agi, would you care to enlighten me on the matter of demonlord Kaiza? I've read, but I don't think I know all there is to know."
edited 8th Feb '12 9:11:51 PM by arreimil
On the foundation of glass a dream is built. And, like glass, it shatters.Agi kept the smile on his face and took out from his bag a paper, his glasses seeming to shine as he started his report. He had done a lot of research on Demon Lord Kaiza, and her brood.
"Demon Lord Kaiza might be an unassuming target, largely because of her appearance as a ten year old girl, but do not be fooled, she is calculating and capable as a demonic leader. She is known as the Mother of a Thousand Young, but this is probably an understatement. Whenever she needs an army, she spawns one asexually." Boy he was glad for that. He did not need to think of demon on small girl-looking demon, "As far as abilities, there have been few who survive a fight with Kaiza herself, but what can be reported is her use of two particular spells; Two Star Sword - Moon's Prayer, which sends down many heavenly blasts from above, and Lightfall Rain, which brings down hundreds of lightning bolts. Should we find her, we must find a way to counter these deadly attacks."
Wes grimaced. He knew she was formidable, but just these two spells were damned deadly. He knew of only one human master of the Two Star Sword, and Lightfall Rain usually required many Rooks...
"Well, it's a good thing our direct target at the moment doesn't seem to be Kaiza, then."
Valon seemed to have a confusing mix of gallows humor and legitimate optimism, as if the two had gotten in a horrible Hyperion accident which fused them together.
"But both of her favored attacks seem to be heavily damaging, widely dispersed air-to ground techniques. Not exactly an easy thing to counter. A swift enough fighter might be able to dodge between the strikes but it would be exhausting and leave one open to further attacks, and those with appropriate spells or sheathes might be able to tunnel underground unharmed. Other than that, I'd say our best bet is to locate her first and launch a pre-emptive strike."
He had read up on the files of a few of his new allies, but he wasn't fully aware of the extent of their abilities. It was possible that one of them might be able to come up with something better based on what they had available.
edited 9th Feb '12 7:14:04 AM by Dblade26
Wes nodded, dodging Kaiza's attacks would likely get tiresome and leave one open to further attacks, and given that was going to be his strategy when dealing with her, he decided to re-evaluate things. He would need to think of something a little bit better in order to deal with such a target. However, it was definitely a good thing Kaiza was not their target today.
"I agree, while it is good to plan for an eventual showdown with her, we should, for now, look at enemies right in front of us." Inside, he did feel a little bit frightened of Kaiza now, but banished his fears.
Agi smiled, and looked around at the others as the Hyperion kept moving. This would be his first mission in the field, and he did wonder which direction his new friends would be taking, following this mission.
"Informative as expected. Thank you, Agi dear."
A humanoid demon is never a good thing. Even the ones not a demonlord or not affiliated with any brood are not to be underestimated. Demons are never to be underestimated, as the absence of her natural left arm always reminds her, but the humanoid ones, each can almost take on an army of Rooks all by itself. One did, and it killed half of her squad.
Kaiza will not be an easy target.
For now, however, Faris looked back at Elena. She seemed rather excited when asked a question not related to her works, most of which involve killing. It would be a difficult question for her; after all, most of her time is devoted to hunting demons, or training to hunt demons more effectively.
"Well, I... I usually sit around in a garden and have a cup of tea, if you could call that an 'activity,' that is. And I, uh, read. There weren't all that many things to do with the Gargoyle. We moved around quite constantly, so we couldn't set up for much entertainment."
"And, truly, the tomes that belong to the Guild are quite interesting, if only for the absurd content you'll likely find in some of them. Some tomes are written by people who are long dead, so the information provided tends to be not so different from these authors; dead and irrelevant. And sometimes hilarious, I might add."
"Though really, there isn't much to do. Demonhunting will have to suffice as my primary source of amusement."
"And you, Miss Manser? I see that you have a companion horse with you. I assume you are quite an exceptional rider, in battle or no, yes?"
edited 9th Feb '12 8:43:59 PM by arreimil
On the foundation of glass a dream is built. And, like glass, it shatters.Agi blushed yet again, looking down. The books in the library were indeed very informative, and he made sure to often check certain ones within his interests. He had to say, Faris was, as far as he could see, a determined woman who considered it her future to continue hunting demons and serving the Kings. An admirable person with few faults, unless one counted excessive loyalty a fault.
Agi said, "Yes, quite a nice looking horse...so, Miss Faris, you like to read the more absurd tomes. I have to admit, some of the misconceptions of the old and dead can be quite funny. Which one do you like the most?"
Wes was still silent. He was just waiting for that guy to return with the snacks, and so he could quench his appetite. He had to admit, the thought of fighting and killing weighed heavily on him. Every day, he thought of killing a demon. These others were like him in some ways...
edited 9th Feb '12 8:23:42 PM by NickTheSwing
Click
Shirley finally found the piece she needed. Too bad it required something else from the lab. She made a sigh and pocketed the bomb. She stared at the other knights, having nothing else to do. They were discussing about the mission, and themselves it seemed. She didn't feel like saying anything anymore unless someone asked her anyway, common courtesy and all that.
At that question the Silver Chevalier chuckled slightly before answering "I don't know if exceptional but I manage. I do have the advantage of having the greatest horse to have ever been born on this world"
"And yes, I do like to ride on my off duty hours... There are some nice trails with incredible views if you know how to reach them. Apart from that... well, I like to try a lot of different stuff"

Renly saw the group entering the docking station as he smoked his cigar, puffing out smoke as they saw him and made their way over to him. Renly looked back at the dark blue machine that had been his life, A Hyperion, the fastest machine known to man and the best way to travel to each of the ten free cities, and the travel master's was an 8th generation Hyperion, the most reliable of its kind and second in speed to only the 12th and 13th generations.
A Hyperion was the culmination of years of work and research between Cardinal and Priest a perfect fusion of mana and machine. It was operated via two mages or mana batteries working in shifts to supply "power", various mechanical devices and the like distributed the power under the long tube like Hyperion and made it virtually frictionless and weightless, the remainder of the mana was pushed to the back and mixed with coal generated heat and provided the Hyperion with thrust, this allowed the Hyperion to travel twice the speed of even the fastest horses. The only problem was it ran on rune imbued tracks that worked threefold; guide the train; maximise mana effeciency; and ward off demons. The 20 carriage Hyperion was still an engineering marvel and Renly was proud to be one of the few travel master's to actually own theirs.
Renly opened up his treasured mana-clock from his pocket and checked the time, grunting he looked up to the see the knights being harried by a ticket collector.
"Damn it man," Renly growled, cigar wobbling up and down in a sea of black bristles, "What in Hell's blazes is taken so long?" The ticket collecter eyes widened and he stammered something incomprehensible, Renly's muscle from the time he was a mana battery and coal shoveler had turned to fat with age but he was still a big man and easily intimidated his underling, "They don't have the right number of tickets..." he managed to splutter.
"By the Gods man, look at them they're knights, I don't care if they've got no tickets, 'cos right now you're stallin me Hyperion and the Kings' business!" Renly waved him off and turned to the group, "Travel master Renly, achure service." He said with a flourish, "You'll all be in the third carriage, folla me."
Renly waved to both ends of the train signalling they were ready to leave, entering the third carriage the group found space of about 3metres wide and 10 metres long, decked with uniform rows of seats and and tables, panes of glass letting light in.
"Right now that..." the floor shifted up about 6 inches and the Hyperion started creeping forward,"...we're all here," Renly continued, "I'm gonna say this once: wreck me carriage and I send you out to play with the ferals, Kings' business or no. I know how rowdy you Knights get and I ain't haven't it on me 'Perion, 'stood?" Renly barked staring at all of them.
"Gud." Renly straightened and his tone softened slightly, "Now is there anythin' I can getcha?"
edited 6th Feb '12 12:54:36 AM by Hevchenko
"Insert philisophical/funny rambling here"