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COLONISERS: Season 3!!! (Colonisers of Krystel)
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Featuring the next entry:
To the Merfolk of Ixalan, we present to you a gift.
In the near future, you wish defend Orazca and bring peace to the plane and your people. Let our magic aid your defence.
We kind of need your input now to have the Slipspect-Eltan War storyline continue. Asriel has still asked for audience with your leader, and your responses are needed before any actual warring happens.
“Lady Kren,” One of her scouts said. “I think we’ve found tracks of a group of vampiric stragglers. They were dripping blood just a little ways down the road.”
“Very well, let’s pursue.”
That was another thing that didn’t sit well with Lady Kren. She had seen the devastation the Dusksnare had wreacked across the land. She should have been there when he was slain. She should have been holding the blade. That creature-
By the time Lady Kren realized she was under attack two of her woman were already dead. By the time she drew her sword a third one was felled. The light glinted off her foes bloodstained teeth as she bore metal against metal. Vampires definitely, but unlike any she fought before. Unlike the turned peasants and slaves, these vampires were disciplined, well versed in tactics and swordplay.
The fight was furious but short. They were outnumbered, they were surprised, and they stood no chance. Lady Kren was helpless as two vampires held her still. She had know recourse but to watch as her foes fed on the blood of her fallen soldiers. They dragged her to her knees as a handsome vampire with lightning white hair stood infront of her.
“Remove her helmet,” he said.
“By the devil,” said one of the vampires. “What happened to her face?” He spoke as if she were the abomination.
“This is Lady Kren,” The Silverhaired creature pretending to be a man said. “I suppose now we know why she was passed over in the line of succession. The squirmy townfolk would never accept such a visage as their ruler. Of course, that can be fixed.”
Then, in a blinding motion the vampire whipped back Lady Kren’s head and began feeding on her. Lady Kren grimaced and struggled as she felt her humanity excape through her throat. But wait… That wasn’t quite right was it? Nothing was being taken away from her. No this was a gift. To finally be who she was truly meant to be. After all she always knew what needed to be done. For herself. For the people. And yet these foolish old vows and empty words of honor had tied her hands. As the bloodstained vampire withdrew his teeth she knew the bindings of honor had been severed, and she was all the better for it.
The two vampires released Lady Kren and as she stood up, she felt her face. It was smooth to the touch. The fabled regeneration of the vampiric cults had worked it’s magic.
“Tell me Lady Kren,” said the white haired vampire, “Are you worth your blood?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I am the true heir to Lady Elta, hero of the family and shepherd of the people. My daughter the pretender sits on my throne. Grant me victory against the Fey and I and my loyal soldiers will be recalled to the capital where we can take what is rightfully mine. Do this for me, and whatever you desire in my kingdom will be yours.”
(I have two endings for this in mind, one if a win the challenge and one if I don’t. My main submission is Lady Kren, Unleashed.
*speechless*
@kandra127
I hope you don't
I'll admit that Kadi's title is more than a little prophetic in terms of how I feel about my chances of getting through this round, but hey. Sometimes there's nothing you can do but hope.
Dust off those wings, try to remove as many bombs from random trees as possible, and HEAD HOME.
It is sincerely I say that you will be missed.
The map and ehh... As you can see, House Elta has a bit of an edge.
Since never before in this series a faction been so dominant, I am going to do something interesting.
The other factions, I ask you a simple question, CAN YOU TAKE DOWN ELTA?
The challenge is very simple.
@Derain2 Make 3 CARDS symbolizing your push on each of the other factions.
@AxNoodle @MemoryHead @Lujikul You each have to make 1 CARD symbolizing your defense and counterattack.
IF HOUSE ELTA WINS: @Derain2 shall be named the sole champion of Krystel
IF HOUSE ELTA LOSES: They shall be eliminated, and then we will have a three-way battle like in S1.
Since this is, perhaps, the most important challenge in this season, you will be given UNTIL NEXT SUNDAY.
Good luck!
"U-Um, well... There's no use in beating around the bush, here. Our former allies, House Elta, have expanded rapidly, overtaking much of Krystal. None of the land remains neutral, all flying under one of the four banners."
"Tell us something we don't know, Sigfried," snapped an advisor, a remarkably thin woman.
Aishel remains motionless, only her eyes moving to look at each person as they talked. These were supposed to be among the most intelligent minds in the whole of the Flamebearers, yet they had a habit of stating the obvious and practicing disrespect. What fools.
"R-Right. Well, unfortunately, as I've heard from the spirits that currently wander the land, a member of House Elta has turned. Lady Kren, one who once was devoted to the cause of slaying Dusksnare is... no longer human."
This announcement is met with a collective gasp and whispers of "Impossible!" and "How can this be?" Aishel shuts her eyes and clenches her teeth. These fools and their theatrics. If it's happened, it's happened.
"Surely there's a simple solution." The advisors hotly debated, searching for an answer. "The sun, like before." "They're smarter than that." "We must assume all of Elta is under the vampire's control." "If it's Kren, she'll be leagues more powerful than Dusksnare." "We must keep doing what we have been, it's the only way."
These fools and their constant rambling, it's enough to give one a headache. Not like they're getting anywhere anyways.
"Any better ideas?" "My inventions would do nothing for us." "Miss Aishel was the one to figure out how to eliminate Dusksnare." The group turns to look at their leader. they're just like scared children, looking elsewhere for an answer to their problem. Like it wasn't already enough to deal with the vampire menace and govern the Flamebearers, now she had to babysit grown adults.
Aishel stands up, and opens her eyes. It was about time they shut up for a few minutes.
(Snap is not my entry and is a story card.)
Uh-oh. That cardname in this context does not sound good.
It was nice having you on. Round three in S4, perhaps?
She wouldn't be able to forget the screams of her former associates anytime soon. She couldn't remember what they were saying, though. A scream is the purest representation of the truth of how one feels, the most primal of reactions. Words are simply a veil to hide one's true intent. Words hold secrets and lies.
As did the building before her. It once held many secrets: The running of the territory, the debates of the advisors, the circumstances of Anesthylia's death, and the loss of the advisors within. But this... this smoldering mess was a thing of beauty. No longer did it conceal the darkness of her crimes. It laid bare her terrible actions and decisions for all the world to see. She had no more secrets to hide, no more lies to tell, and it was liberating.
Reason was a prison, a holding cell for the truth, and a breeding ground for secrets of all manner. Lies and secrets couldn't be abolished with the simple eradication of the night. As long people continued to think and interact, they would lie and create secrets. This was Anesthylia's downfall. She stayed rational, and doomed herself. Aishel needed to fix this before her people suffered the same fate.
Just as this broken house exposed the truth, so would a broken mind. And she would be the one to save this world from the tyranny of rationality.
(The next story post will have my actual entry. Probably.)
That was... amazing!
Jeremy wasn't feeling like himself. In fact he hadn't felt like himself in quite sometime. Since the war between fae and man really. At first he thought it might have been guilt, or regret. Brokering the tentative peace between the fae and his fellow townsmen had been one of his finest accomplishments, and it all fell apart.
But it wasn't guilt or regret. After all he was instrumental in reaching out to the crown loyalists that turned against the fae usurper. Peace was once again reigning between man and fairy, and he had no small role to play in that. There was even talk about making him, a simple tavern keeper the new ambassador to the Fae tributary nation.
But still, something was wrong. He was having dreams. They came to him in flashes. Waking, sleeping. They felt almost like memories. Him in the forest the day he met the queen. How did he get home? That night, he had another dream. About a talisman he found hanging from a tree over a brook.
In that dream he took it back to his bar, and placed it under a loose floorboard. All the while he heard whispers, taunts and teasing in the back of his head. He began nailing the floorboard back down, and with the final wack of his hammer, he woke up covered in sweat.
He looked out his window. The moon hung lazily in the sky, but he felt wide awake. He tossed and turned in his bed for a whole hour before he got up. He could use a drink.
The trek to his bar was simple and uneventful, it possessed none of the mystical qualities and whispers of his dream. He stepped in, uncorked a nice bottle of whisky and took a long swig. As his head snapped back to the upright position his eyes fell on the patch of floor where the loose board had been in his dream.
Of course it was just a dream. There wouldn't be anything down there. Jeremy took another drink. No. Of course it there wouldn't be anything down there. It would be madness to check.
Fifteen minutes later, the board was removed, and Jeremy held the dream talisman in his hand.
"Well," spoke a voice Jeremy had only heard once before, but would never forget. A voice of mischief and laughter. "That took you long enough."
Lady Kren was able to stop herself from smiling, but it took constant effort. Her fangs weren't noticeable if she talked carefully, but a smile was a dead giveaway, if you'll forgive the pun.
Things were going perfectly. Her order couldn't have provided a more perfect cover if it were designed for it. Each member of was expected to live out the rest of their lives in armor. No one would ever know, or even think to check that vampires were walking around under all that metal. It only took single month to convert all of Lady Kren's order. With the other vampires aid she was able to quickly crush the fae forces on the mainland. Now there was only one last loose end to cut before Lady Kren was ready to seize the throne.
The House of Dusk had already slain one vampire more powerful (albeit nowhere near as clever) than Lady Kren. The nation was literally founded on the principles of vigilance, investigation and light. Lady Kren would not be safe until they were brought to heal.
So far the infiltration was going extraordinarily well. Kren and three of her best woman had manged to sneak into the capital with ease. Apparently a fire had broken out in the center of the city, distracting many of the guards. Another stroke of luck. The Ancient God must be looking out for her.
Kren kept her eyes peeled for mirrors or any other reflective surfaces. This city was no place for a vampire to lower her guard. The plan was simple. Turn the nations counsel members, and use them to turn Aishel herself.
More and more people were running towards the fire. The crowd was large. So large in fact that Lady Kren felt moving in closer, despite the guards presence.
By the Gods, it was the capital building itself. This was too good an opprotunity to pass up! Lady Kren and her three followers pushed their way past the crowd and dashed into the building. The guard protested, but none of them were foolish enough to chase after them into the building. They still had to breath after all.
"What are we looking for, my lady?" Asked one of her knights.
"All the nations most powerful people work here. If anyone is still alive, we must find them and turn them."
"There may be valuable document in here as well," Volunteered Dame Mulveer. "I'll go search for those."
Lady Kren lead her other two knights into the center of the building. Eventually she came across a pair of scorched, ornate, and oddly enough, barred doors. The fire was bad int he approach, but in this area it was mostly ash smoke. The fire might have originated from around here. Lady Kren ripped aside the barrier and pulled the charred door open. Several corpses tumbled the now open passage. From the claw marks on the door, they must have been sealed inside.
Kren began to laugh. Oh what a joy it was to laugh. It had been such a long time.
"What's funny my Lady?"
"This is the council chamber! Look at their burnt clothes, their jewelry. These are the people we came to turn!"
"But if they are dead, we can't turn them," pointed out the other knight.
"No, we cant." In one swift motion Lady Kren drew her sword, and cut the throats of her two companions. "We can do something much better."
Healer Gulvan had grown so used to the Hive's presence, he actually missed them now. They were straightforward, meant what they said, and said what they meant. None of the so called societal niceties or veiled meaning. They were a fascinating people. There explosive resurgence had allowed House Elta to sweep across the mainland in record time, and in nearly every southern city you would find both human and hive living and working together.
They still insisted on being called the Hive, despite their transformation. Even though their last queen was hardly beloved, it was clear they found their seperation lonely, and sometimes even unbearable. Their lonelyness evoked something deep in healer Gulvan's psyche. He had always felt somehow apart and separate from his species. He couldn't imagine how terrible it must feel to have felt like you belonged together with everyone, and have that feeling taken away.
And so Healer Gulvan had spent the last few years dedicated to making the Hive whole again. Those who still wished to remain independent could remain so with the aid of the Mind Locusts, but rest would be reunited.
At least that was the dream. It was never going to happen at this rate, with Dame Ellor dragging his ass across half the continent. Apparently she had found some sort of strange machine near the center of the mainland. Something she and her fool knights couldn't wrap their heads around. Idiots would rather use their blades than their minds. Healer Gulvan was resolved to glance at the machine, deduce it's purpose, than return to the work that really mattered. It shouldn't take long.