Fire Emblem On The Forums: Ashes (IC)

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"I really don't get you sword users at all. Lances are the far superior weapon." Meredith had learned the basics of all the weapons commonly found on the battlefield. Gerson had made sure to teach her, as he himself was highly skilled in all of their use. Meredith only really ever had aptitude with the lance however. Spears were the weapon that felt the most natural to her, as if she was meant to use them. She didn't really understand the appeal of blades. They felt, wrong to her. Perhaps they just weren't meant for her. She wondered if the way she felt about lances, was how they felt about their swords.

"Anyway... I suppose we have room for another swordfighter, considering we have but one. Consider yourself a part of the group. Just pull your weight around camp and in battle and there'll be no issues with me.~"

[Zetaark]

"I see," Ecquis responded to the comment about their relationship. It seemed to him that Anna would have preferred Ian to have said something else. Perhaps Anna had feelings for her fellow merchant? Ecquis couldn't say, since he hasn't been around enough people to say that he had any idea on how people felt around one another. One of the side effect of his roaming was that he had very little human contact most of the time.

"And yes, I'll make sure to join you for that family reunion. It would be very interesting to meet the rest of your family," Ecquis replied, rather eager. At this point, he noticed that two of his wyverns had come nearby.

"Oh, Cynthia and Mira decided to show up. I'll be talking to you two more later, for now I'll be making sure none of my wyverns have gotten into trouble," Ecquis said before walking away from the pair, waving back with the hand without the bow.

After going back to where he had initially went towards, he saw that only Ziona was still there, sound asleep.

"Well then, time to find out where the rest of you went."

Seeing the wink that Meredith gave him, the red wyvern made a sort of grin before continuing to try and hide from the others.

Edited October 6, 2016 by Zetaark

[Stalkerkain]

"For me, it wasn't a matter of a superior weapon or not. As a child, I needed something easy to wield to defend myself on the road, and it just so happened that my savior imparted his sword to me," she said, once again moving her hand to the handle of her iron sword. With every swing, she could feel the sword wear down, and no matter how well she maintained it, time would soon prove to be the victor. "I had no access to lances, or any other weapon, not to mention they would be too heavy for me to wield. With enough practice, even other swordsmen said that I had potential. So I stayed with the sword."

The sword was the only weapon for her. She would wield it proudly, and protect the life she had been spared.

"In any case, welcome to our little group Radburn," she said cordially. "If you ever need a sparring partner, let me know. I'd love to see the technique you're so proud of."

Edited October 6, 2016 by Stalkerkain

[Code: PIRULUK]

Serene scoffed.

"Please. Mere metal cannot hope to compare to the romantic beauty of fire."

She extended a hand to Rosalyva.

"Since we're already being cordial and friendly and nice, name's Serene. Burning pleasure to meet you."

[Chevaleresse]

Hoshiko blanched at Klaren's suggestion.

"N-no, please don't do that. . . Wait, why can't you just call me by my actual name? Koko sounds like something you'd call your pet, and I am NOT your pet, I am a hero of justice!" She thought for a moment, then continued. "And I'm pretty sure that meditation isn't supposed to involve knives, unless you're carving artwork in her honor or something. Now did you actually need something? I'm . . . A hero doesn't have time for idle chit-chat like this, you know!" She had about to claim she was busy, but that would have been an outright lie. She wasn't actually doing anything other than stewing in her own irritation - something Klaren was rapidly finding himself on the business end of.

[Stalkerkain]

"A pleasure indeed, Serene. It's good to have another person with us," she said. "Forgive me for overhearing, but what made you decide to join the Dragao army, of all people? You don't seem to have an interest in Dragao's politics or agenda."

[Zetaark]

After making sure Mira and Cynthia stayed put and were comfortable, Ecquis started to look around for the other two wyverns. It didn't take him too long to find Morgan resting next to Maya. Well this is certainly interesting, Ecquis thought to himself, not overly surprised that Morgan would seek her out. The pair had seemed to become rather good friends, something Ecquis hadn't seen in quite some time.

"Hello there Maya. I see that Morgan decided to come by while I was away. How are you?"

[Bfroger6]

"I can't do that, Koko. It's beyond my power to call you by your actual name, especially since you're a friend before you're a hero of justice! And, like, there's not many nicknames I could have come up with for 'Hoshiko', so be glad it's 'Koko' and not something like 'Shiko'~ Also, for instance, you call me 'Klaren' because we're friends. How is that any different~? Maybe you should start calling me by my actual name before making any silly requests like that~" The man giggled. Hoshiko was funny. How had he never noticed that~?

"Oh, but I am carving artwork, Koko~ In whose honor though, that's the question~ Still, it doesn't undermine my faith in the Goddess, I'll have you know! Just as I'll have you know that 'you know' is my catchphrase, you know!"

Klaren had to raise an eyebrow at Hoshiko's attempt to shoo him away. "So you're saying walking around in circles aimlessly is a heroic endeavour? Or were you meditating~? That's weird in a really cute way, Koko~ But do tell what you've actually been up to. Now you've interested me~"

[Chevaleresse]

The girl opened and closed her mouth at the question, somewhat caught off balance. "I was patrolling the camp, obviously! Someone has to be watching out for villains coming to ambush us, and I have better eyesight than anyone else in the group." The latter part was probably true, anyway. Archery required keen vision, after all, and she was used to hunting in frigid Yukihana winters. And it was going to take more than that to get her to admit her actual reasons for wandering around like this. "Why do you ask? Don't you have a journal to scribble in or something?"

[Code: PIRULUK]

Serene laughed out loud as Rosalyva asked for why she joined the army.

"Politics? Agenda? Nothing so noble. It was just a means to an end. I joined the army because it let me learn fire magic and gave me access to fire tomes for free. My family's finances could only afford so much magic education, and the school didn't particularly take kindly to me after I accidentally set a classroom on fire on six occasions. Left with no other options to learn, I turned to the military. Of course, this was before I knew they were going to shove me into a thunder battalion. Still, at least basic training taught fire magic."

[Marcello]

"The palace tutor and chef helping with the cleaning? What a strange place Dragao is." Terrin just laughed a little bit. He wasn't even close to royalty and he, like most of his siblings, had had his own personal chefs, tutors and cleaners growing up. "How long ago did she... Was she taken from you?" He asked, before glancing over at the recently arrived Ecquis, gasping slightly as he hadn't even noticed Maya had been joined by a wyvern. "She's beatiful." He mused a little as he looked at Morgan, before returningto facing Feri.

[Sutoratosu]

"Well enough, I suppose....given recent events. Morgan was just looking for some company is all," She patted the wyverns scales as she looked up at Equis, right on the spot under the chin she knew from last time the beast had enjoyed most. She couldn't help but notice the large armament he toted with him... looking far more regal and potentially devastating than even a common archer would sport. "Where'd you get such a bow though, Ecquis?" She asked, nodding at the weapon "I doubt even Hoshiko would be able to properly handle that thing..."

[Zetaark]

"I do doubt that Hoshiko could really use this bow. Besides being rather heavy it can also be considered a cursed bow," Ecquis told Maya, recalling what Alvis had told him about the bow and the stories of the people that used it. Even his own experience with using the bow came back to him thinking on it.

"As for where I got it, a friend gave it to me before I left Yukihana for Caelum. He was one of the only two friends I had before coming here," Ecquis said, thinking back on his time in Yukihana.

Edited October 6, 2016 by Zetaark

[Sutoratosu]

"Cursed?" She said "How so? I've seen a few things boasting that same claim over the years, only a few of them actually turned out to be true...I'd be one to know..." Hell, I'm one of them in fact... She let her gaze pan back to the fire, winching a bit as the sound of the Crossbows cord going slack and the bolt whistling through the air filled her mind, the wet sound of rent flesh and spilled blood with a surprise gasp in pain coming immediately after "If it's truly tainted, why'd this friend give it to you in the first place? what, for safekeeping? Why_not just keep it locked away instead?"

[Pyon Pyon Kyuu!~]

"Swords are the coolest weapons! The go like woosh and slash and swordsmen look the most handsome." Radburn looked incredibly childish motioning slashes and attacks along with his sound effects but the grown man didn't seem embarrassed at all. "It's the weapon of a true hero. Maybe the Dragon King used a lance but every hero after him used a sword. I will follow in their footsteps and master the sword. You'll be glad to have me on your side!"

Radburn joined the party

"I'll see you later dear! Take care!"

"Both my wife and I loved to help out around the castle. We did everything we could for the king." He was starting to serve the stew into bowls. "She left this world about 10 years ago. She couldn't handle the new king and... The events around that time."

[Zetaark]

"Actually, the reason he gave it to me was because I seemed to circumvent the curse. Sort of. I should explain a bit about it," Ecquis said, standing nearby Maya

"The bow as it is now actually would be a regular longbow, if a bit heavy. However, this isn't exactly how it normally acts. Allow me to demonstrate," Ecquis said before focusing. He became very silent for a few moments. "Glow, Stellaris," he whispered silently. With the words said, the bow itself began to shine brightly, with the string glowing a bright gold and magical energy swirling around the bow and Ecquis himself.

"Under normal circumstances, the bow would act like this if picked up by others. Apparently a certain family had crafted a bow meant for their use. It also had the added curse that anyone outside of the family that used the bow would drain their life force over each shot, eventually dying. For whatever reason, using the bow like this was never able to kill me, though it is very draining to use. I also seem to be able to put the bow into a neutral state where it isn't affected by its magic," Ecquis stated before deactivating the bow, causing it to lose its grand luster.

"Since Alvis couldn't use it, but I could, he decided it would be better to let me hold on to the thing. It was also sort of a parting gift, seeing as how I haven't run into him again. Perhaps he's still in Yukihana somewhere," Ecquis said before trailing off towards the end.

Edited October 6, 2016 by Zetaark

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"Yes, but the spear is the backbone of any good army and unit. It is the simply the most versatile weapon on the battlefield simply due to it's superior reach. They're cheap, effective and quite amazing. Nothing is more satisfying then piercing ones foe with the full force of their passion! Besides there's much more competition in the running for best spear users. Of course, It will be I hands down one day, but I've got the much more satisfying climb to the top." She said triumphantly slamming the butt of her lance into the ground. It hit with a satisfying thud that went up her arm. "The spear is the True Hero's weapon, because it is that of the common man! Anyone can relate to a hero that wields a spear!"

"As for you, Firecracker, I can imagine there's something to it, but, I prefer how personal a strike from a weapon is. I like the blood on my face and armor after I strike. It is just the superior way.~ At least for a warrior such as myself. I suppose you get the same rush from the heat of the flames though, I can respect that."

[Code: PIRULUK]

Serene grinned.

"Indeed. There is something every satisfying about feeling enemy flesh fold beneath a point, I'll give you that. I still prefer the pure exhilaration of the heat of a fire, though."

She held out her hand, palm up, clearly requesting to try out Meredith's spear.

"It's awfully rude of me, but mind if I look at that for a bit? It's been a burning long time since I've held any weapon other than my tome."

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"Hmmm, sure. Just... don't hurt yourself. We've apparently had issue with a... certain entertainer somehow firing an arrow into their shoulder. I'm sure our Sister would prefer we don't have anymore accidents in camp." She neglected to mention that she was sleeping at the particular time when it occurred but, she didn't want to seem careless. Regardless, this would certainly be interesting she supposed. She placed the shaft into Serene's hand, firmly. She made sure she would have a good grip on it before she let go and let Serene handle it on her own.

"Well, here ya go Firecracker, just don't burn it to down to embers. I need that for fighting after all and it's already a bit battered from my forceful passion."

[Code: PIRULUK]

Serene grimaced as Meredith let go of the spear, allowing her to feel the full weight of the weapon. As expected, it was heavier than it looked. Serene was not of the right build to wield such a weapon. Still, there were ways that she could use it. With the spear in hand, she took a few steps away from Meredith, making sure there was nobody in her vicinity. She swung the spear, circling it once around her head before bringing it down in a wide arc. Although she lacked the strength to use it as it was intended, she leveraged on the imbalanced weight of the weapon, swinging it like a halberd, letting the heavier shaft guide the weapon and adjusting the path of motion accordingly. As such, she was able to manage a number of heavy swings, but would not have been able to use it for shorter, quicker attacks.

She moved through a number of swings, taking care to keep the weapon clear of anything that might contact it. To match her rapid footwork, she quickly changed hands, adding just enough force at critical moments to alter the direction of the weapon's path. The weight of the weapon necessitated adjusting the altitude with each swing to maintain balance due to her footwork, but the resulting fluid motions simply made the routine look more graceful. Finally, after one swing which brought the weapon high in the air above Serene's head, just as the weapon began to fall downwards, she let go of the weapon, turning her body such that when the spear, continuing its downward path, met her hand, it was with a different grip, returning to her neutral position: hand gripped close to the tip, shaft tucked away along the length of her arm. Adding one last spin to dispel the momentum, she walked back over to Meredith and held out the weapon, smiling.

"Thanks. It's a blazing good weapon. Well-maintained, too. I can feel the care that you took in its upkeep."

[InnocentSerenity]

Luka felt the last of his emotions settle down, realizing what he had done. Darn it... I was hoping I'd never do this again.

Luka searched through his mind, reaching for something to say. No matter how many times it’d happen, he’d never learned how to really ask for forgiveness. Before he had always accepted it, simply resigning himself to losing someone. Perhaps it’d happen again. Then a thought came to his mind.

“If you hurt someone’s feelings, sometimes, all you can really do is apologize. But it’s certainly a good start.” Advice Luka never really did take before. Took a lot for him to actually decide to follow it.

Trying to find a cloth close by, Luka only found one on his person. Unwrapping the scarf from around his neck, he handed it to Saffron. “I’m really sorry...” Luka tried not to look the princess in the eye, resigned to whatever would happened. “I, um, tend to snap at people when something hits a bit hard or when I get a bit stressed. I… really hate when I’m rude to people.” It didn’t feel like enough, but it was all he could think of to do.

"Is there something I can maybe do to show how sorry I am?"

[Bfroger6]

"Ah- Patrolling. How silly of me not to realize that~" Klaren played in with the archer's lil' white lie. She was so obviously not patrolling, one wouldn't even need her great eyesight to see it from a mile away! The monk just had to giggle at this thought.

"You mean this journal~?" Klaren pulled out the small book, smiling. "Well, I was counting on getting some material from you, but you seem to be doing boring UNHEROIC everyday stuff so I'm pretty disappointed and am not gonna write anything! You know, here I was really hoping I could write about your heroic exploits for the generations to come, but you're just meditating and patrolling around camp... Nobody wants to read or write history books about people patrolling camps!" Klaren raised an eyebrow after theatrically swinging his arms around disappointedly, his shoulders slumping as low as they'd go.

[Sutoratosu]

"Hmmm... I see," She muttered as the bow began to burn with it's eery light, "Quite a nasty bit of black magic to it then....odd that you seem immune to the more drastic effects. Perhaps the goddess has bestowed some sort of protection on you, got a certain task she needs you here for, like Hoshiko constantly boasts during battle about how she's a chosen hero and is going bring justice."

Yes. She had indeed heard the young archer's shouts a few times; the girl was so damn loud alot of the time that voice could carry well across the field. She certainly seemed an... enthusiastic servant of the Goddess though, and she definitely meant well, Maya gave her that much... but she'd yet to notice anything about the girl that exactly constituted a form of potential divine designation or intervention...

Meredith on the other hand, had miraculously survived a blow that, regardless of her legend or title, should've ended her rightly that very instant, and even now, here was Ecquis with his ability to wield a life-sucking weapon with resistance to the most ill of it's effects...

"Who exactly is this Alvis friend of yours though?" She continued "A mentor? fellow traveler? Perhaps just someone you happened to bump into on the road?"

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

"Well, it's my lifeline on the battlefield, Firecracker. It is the thing that allows me to protect others. It allows me to do my duty. To protect, to serve. I know many a man from my old regiment in Dragao called me an unapproachable woman, for I was already married to my duty, my spear." Meredith chuckled to herself rather abruptly after saying so.

"It worked for me, seeing as half of them were boors, and the other half much to full of themselves. So, I didn't feel like correcting them on the matter cause then they left me the hell alone. Win win for me. It is more akin to an extension of myself, my will, my resolve and my passion though. I'm sure you feel the same about the flames you wield." she neglected to mention she wasn't really all that into men. It wasn't something all that accepted in Dragao, so she tended to keep it to herself. It was her business, no one else's. It wasn't like she couldn't like them, just... she had a preference that went the other direction.

"You handled that quite well though despite struggling with the weight. Most wouldn't have been able to move that well even having the strength to wield a lance perfectly. I commend you for that Firecracker, you dance like flames, I'll give you that much~. If it were another life I'm sure I could teach you to wield them, maybe even better than myself."

[Zetaark]

"I can't say for sure what makes me immune to the worst effects. And its not just the bow either, since other cursed items don't have normal effects on me," Ecquis told her. "Most of the time, curses don't tend to do anything to me, and in a few instances they give me the opposite effect of what they were meant to do," Ecquis said, recalling a particular incident in Caelum that tipped him off to this knowledge.

"As for Alvis, he was someone I met during my travels in Yukihana. He became one of my traveling companions for a while and one of my few friends. It was more in the last year I spent there if I recall, though we certainly didn't meet on the best of terms," Ecquis stated, chuckling a bit at the memory.