Prelude to Madness

[Sprite]

Snake grinned as it seemed his little ploy seemed to have worked beautifully. No goat testicles were ingested, and their host seemed more pleased at the turn of events than offended. Luis slithered around Snake's arm and rested his head on the back of the prince's hand, watching Vaelaris with coal black eyes. The zoan was of course in half-whip state, as to not simply break off the Prince's arm with sheer weight.

Scratching the anaconda whip between the eyes, Snake nodded in acknowledgement of Vaelaris' praise.

"Personally consuming a Devil Fruit seems far too costly to me and mine, better to use it to make yourself a nice weapon, and in some cases a trustworthy partner. Luis here was a gift passed onto me from my mentor."

Thoughts of the dry old Raenar brought a wry grin to Snake's face. With a final scratch and a slight hiss, Snake had Luis retreat to his original form as a snakeskin whip, tied around Snake's waist. Frowning slightly as Vermillion persisted in his meeker ways, Snake had to repress a sigh. The warrior was very skilled, a genius that only came every so many years, but he was still so young and so very careful. He needed to be bolder, prouder.

As the wagon rolled up, the three Ravunyans climbed in along with their host, settling down comfortably. Snake carefully studied the passing landscape of Coryphaeus as the wagon raced along. Vermillion had settled the wrapped lance he carried against the far side of the wagon. Rusty Dusty seeming a bit bored attempted to strike up some conversation with their host.

"So, Vaelaris. How did you lose your tongue seventeen years back, if you don't mind me askin'. We can trade stories on our way to see ol' King Aclys!"

The Ravunyan general was probably the most relaxed out of the three ambassadors from the warrior nation. Snake was obviously on guard despite his relative success thus far, Vermillion was of course being extremely careful and courteous, but Rusty was leaning back comfortably in his seat with his hands behind his head. His odd shovel leaning against his seat beside him.

[Mise™]

When the three Ravunyans and their host entered the wagon it soon started moving towards the royal palace with a steady pace. The seats inside the wagon might seem massive for normal people, but their size made sense when you would think who they were made for, the owner of this wagon.

"A cat got my tongue." The general responded to Rusty Dusty's question. "It was quite a big cat... Maybe four or five times bigger than I am. It's definitely the second biggest cat I've ever seen. When it did that I got angry so I punched it."

The neighborhood the wagon was taking Cophinus and the Ravunyans through was quite a peaceful one, for Coryphaeus, that is. During the trip they would only pass by two fights and some citizens competing less violently in what appeared to be a marathon. Other than that it was mostly one fancy house after another in this upper class area of the city.

It didn't take more than a few minutes to the wagon to reach the gates of the royal palace. There were some guards there guarding it, but none of them did anything to stop the wagon, they knew who it belonged it to and that person was always allowed to enter the palace.

"Before we go in, I must warn you... Acyls is very ugly." Cophinus gave the Ravunyans another warning, he sounded as serious when he warned them about standing behind him and after that he left the wagon as they were in the courtyard of the palace, in a beautiful garden, similar to that the Cophinus mansion had, but it was much, much bigger. In this garden also there were slaves hard at work. There was also an around ten meters tall ivory statue of a man holding a spear and on the pedestal it read: 'Karalisk Valdiensk I - The First King of Coryphaeus'. Then there was the palace itself, it was a massive and majestic building that appeared to be made mostly out of marble, it made Cophinus' mansion from earlier look tiny. Further away there were some smaller buildings on the palace grounds.

"Well then let's go in, shall we?" Cophinus said and opened the huge main doors of the palace. Inside there were was a long hallway with chessboard like pattern of black and white marble tiles on the floor going on for seemingly forever and on the roof there were windows where the sun could shine through and bring light to the hallway. There were dozens of large doors in the hallway each of them going to different parts of this massive palace. It would be quite easy to get lost in here if someone were to explore the palace on their own, without a map.
The hallway was decorated with statues and paintings of the current and former kings of this land, the most notable of them being a solid gold statue of the one armed genius, Karalisk XI. That statue was simply perfect, so lifelike and detailed, no man or machine could craft something like that. There were also items that the Valdiensk family had gathered through the ages, very rare items, some of them so rare that the outside world considered their existence to be just rumors. Many of these items were treasures from the countries conquered by the Corypheans, as well as their flags. Aside for that there were also personal items from the previous rulers like Karalisk XI's other hand, made out of silver and heads of several rare beasts that were hunted by Karalisk IX. Interestingly there were hardly anything of Karalisk XIII, only one painting and even that was in quite poor condition.

"Honey, I'm home!" Cophinus yelled out all of a sudden after walking for a moment. Soon afterwards a large, bald man covered entirely in scars, wearing black shorts and a crown, walked out of one of the many rooms of this castle. [King of Coryphaeus - Aclys Valdiensk I, 'Scar King', age 20]
Like Cophinus had warned of them before the Ravunyans would notice that Aclys was indeed very ugly due to having all of these scars on top of scars and on top of them were some more scars, which made him look more like a monster than a human. It was common for people to have hobbies and for Acyls that something was collecting scars.
With him Aclys had the most powerful spear in the world: 'the Spear of Kings'. It wasn't the most powerful because of the craftsmanship of the spear itself, but rather for the fact that whoever was the rightful owner of this spear was the king of Coryphaeus.

"What the fuck you want, Vaelaris?"

"Oh you look a bit less hideous today, did you get a new haircut?"

"Not this shit again." After a brief and insightful discussion with his general the king of Coryphaeus noticed the guests that Cophinus had brought along.

"Oh. You must be from fucking Ravunya. Welcome to my fucking home. As you have probably already fucking figured out, I am Aclys Valdiensk I, king of Coryphaeus." Aclys happily greeted his guests. Like Cophinus before Aclys as well tried to shake the hand of each of the Ravunyans.

"Now then let's go to the fucking conference room and get down to fucking business." Aclys said and walked forward in the long hallway.

A bit further away there was a woman sitting on a chair, which was one of these rare items on display in this hallway. If the Ravunyans had paid attention they might have noticed her as soon as they entered the palace. The woman herself had not noticed the group quite yet. Compared to Aclys and especially Cophinus she was quite small; it was a bit hard to tell right now as she was sitting, but she was only a little bit taller than Snake. Even her muscles were of more realistic size, though clearly visible. The woman looked like the typical Coryphaean with dark skin, hair and eyes and scars all over her body. Her hair was kept in a ponytail and about shoulder length. She wore mostly light brown, a sleeveless shirt that showed her belly and her abs, and some more of her scars and a pair of biker shorts, which were also the exact same shade of brown. Her sandals were also brown, though of a bit darker tone than her shorts and shirt. She also wore a long, mostly orange scarf that had an odd green pattern all over it. The scarf covered the lower half of her face, which included everything below her nose. If someone were to look closely it would appear that she was chewing on something, possibly gum. [General of Coryphaeus - Marite Censere XXI, 'the Banshee', age 36]

Only when the group were getting close to her, would general Censere notice them and get up from her chair to look at the Ravunyans in the group and to introduced herself. However she didn't speak, no rather she communicated with hand signs. Not only would some of the Ravunyans need to be able to read the hand signs they would also need to realize that she was talking with them very quickly as she did this all without a warning

{"So finally the group from Ravunya arrived. I have been waiting for you. Call me Marite."} Unlike Aclys and Cophinus she was not going to shake their hands, unless the Ravunyans themselves took the initiative.

"Oh yeah I should tell you... She is deaf and mute." Cophinus explained and then though it was a good idea to demonstrate his colleagues' disability as he smiled and said: "Just watch... Marite is a dumb bitch."

Things didn't quite go Cophinus' way as Censere just punched him in the gut immediately after getting insulted. The huge general fell on the floor and after struggling for a few seconds got up. "She can read from lips though."

"Okay we are here this is the fucking conference room." Aclys said as he approached one of the many doors of the palace.

[Kyubey]

Sindri listened carefully to Huxley's words, chin rested in his hands. The rest of the group did the same, leaning in closely as the messenger explained herself and her people. As she spoke of keeping the chains as a symbol of the past, he seemed particularly solemn. The leader of the Laverna was the sort of man who did not want to dwell on such things. His dream, after all, was to see a day when he could erase all reminders of the old rule forever, and look beyond dark ages of Galatae and back to a time when the Laverna were the true keepers of the island. The memories of oppression and misery, that had lasted for eight hundred sorrowful years, were far too painful for him to ever be brave enough to keep. Still, he could not help but feel a deep respect for Huxley and her perspective, as did Valdis, whose views were slightly more grounded than that of her cousin.

"I see. If only our own symbols were of the kind that restrained just the body. No, the scars that our people must bear are embedded in our history and in our blood, and have left their mark on the land itself. Galatae, more sacred to its children than anything else, used to be proud, beautiful and untarnished. The Laverna tribe kept it as it was, as the Gods intended it to be, but when the invaders came they tore at this island, shaming it and butchering those that lived here. The great forests used to extend even to the shores, but they were cut as cleanly as one might sever a hand. In the place of the trees and wilderness, they placed their castles and their wars and their monarchies. The cliffs that you passed to get into this island used to be silent and dignified. Now, men live there like cockroaches would. It will take far more than eight hundred years for the wounds they left to heal. I'm sorry, Huxley, for going on about this."

"Our people might have different natures and motives, but I can see there is much that unites us. All we heard before today was rumors, but now we all know just how noble Vengeance is."

Several of the people nodded in agreement to Valdis' words, and seemed to have slowly calmed down from their initial excitement. From when she stepped in, Huxley had the attention of Sindri, Valdis, and their allies. Now, she, and by extension her nation, had won their admiration.

"To hear about our land, was that what you wanted? Well what would you like to hear about, the revolution when it was or the way things are now? There's always the stories about Crying Hill or the Red Road, even the early beginnings, back before we had help from others. Then again most people want to know about Vengeance as it is, how the situation is now, and how we do things since the war..."

"What I want to hear is the full story of Vengeance, from the day of its birth up to now and maybe even beyond that. But I'm sure that's a tale that would last far longer than our meeting here would allow, and I would not ever force our guest to tell such a long story right after she came all this way. Telling the whole story at once might not be possible, but we can at least get a start. Begin from where all stories must begin, at the beginning. How, precisely, did you manage to bring freedom to your nation while still kept by chains? That's the part I want to hear more than anything."

Sindri did indeed intend to keep a lasting friendship long enough to have heard all that Huxley could possibly tell of Vengeance one day, perhaps even more than that. A bond, perhaps even an alliance, between his people and her nation, was a prospect that stirred up a great many things inside him, and he was far from letting that go. He saw the encounter as more than just a chance meeting with a somewhat unfortunate messenger. To Sindri, this was the true beginning of an uprising of his own. The aid of Vengeance would be what would allow Sindri to take control of his birthright.

"Listen carefully to this now, my brethren," said Sindri to his surrounding followers, "This right here is key to our own futures."

[Sprite]

Rusty gave a low whistle of amazement hearing Vaelaris' story of the cat. Imagining such a huge beast, Rusty couldn't help but wonder if the native wildlife of Coryphaeus could rival the dangerous beasts that roamed Ravunya. There appeared to be a slight rustling movement towards the chest region of his coat, placing a hand gently over it, it stilled and soon disappeared from sight again.

Luis lifted his head and looked hungrily at Rusty, but the weathered old general merely winked at the snake and settled back again as he admired the scenery.

---

Upon reaching the palace, the three Ravunyan disembarked and looked about, familiarizing themselves with the surroundings. Snake raised an eyebrow at Vaelaris' warnings, but he did not completely doubt him. Not everyone in the world could be as good looking as himself.

Grinning slightly from the vain thought, Snake lead the way into the mansion following Vaelaris as Rusty and Vermillion followed behind.

Upon finally meeting Aclys, Snake had to resists the urge to give a whistle upon seeing the scarred Coryphaen king. Was there any real skin left underneath all those scars? Shaking Acyls' hand firmly, Snake watched as Rusty and Vermillion returned it in kind. Despite his rather meek and respectful nature, Aclys might find that Vermillion had a respectable handshake.

Vermillion after shaking Aclys' hand stared at the Spear of Kings, an open and honest amazement on his young face. For a second, there seemed to be a hungry expression that flitted across his features before it vanished once more. But Snake smiled to himself as he realized that Vermillion was getting fired up.

"Fucking good to meet you too, Aclys." said Snake with a bemused smile on his face. It didn't seem he was trying to mock the king, but simply that he found his way of speaking rather...refreshing.

As the three Ravunyans filed into the room and saw Marite, Snake and Vermillion seemed to visibly struggle with interpreting her rapid hand gestures. It was Rusty that nodded as he seemed familiar with the method of communication she used. Sweeping his arm across his body in a gentlemanly bow, he spoke on behalf of the other two confused Ravunyans.

"It is an honor to meet you Marite, we've been waiting a whiles to meet you all as well."


Snake and Vermillion nodded cordially to Marite, placing their right fists across their chests and bowing slightly as was the custom in Ravunya. Following after Aclys, Snake nodded in agreement and acknowledgement, "Let's get this meeting underway then."

[Mise™]

After the introductions the Coryphaeans made their way to the congress room and the Ravunyans were supposed to follow them there.
The congress room was white. That was truly the best way to describe it, there was not much in there that was not colored white.
In the middle of the room there was a large square table, which was, surprise, surprise, all white and at the end of the table stood a majestic looking chair, which was also mostly white, with only the cushions having some color. There were also twelve slightly less fancy chairs around the table, six in the left side and six in the right side.
In the room there were three chalkboards, out of them the largest one was on the left of the majestic chair, while the other two, slightly smaller chalkboards, were on the right of the left of the rows of chairs. There were also chalk there so that people could write and draw on the boards, if they wanted to. The smaller chalkboards were empty, but on the larger board there was text, written in massive letters, that was left from the previous meeting held in this room: 'HIT THEM UNTIL THEY DIE!!!!', which had been the strategy of the Coryphaeans in the last war they fought. If someone were to look closely enough they might notice another message hidden there, written in very small letters: 'Aclys is an idiot'.
There wasn't a whole lot else worth noting in this room, a large window and that's about it.

On one of the less fancy chairs in the room a man was already sitting. This man wore large black robes that hid most of his body, with only his hands and the lower half, which was mostly covered by his long white beard, were visible. This man was clearly very old, his skin was dry, wrinkled and scarred, of course. The old man was surrounded by what appeared to be mist, smoke or something similar.

"..."

The old man did not seem very interested about the Ravunyans, only quickly glancing at them.

"Don't mind the old man. He is always grumpy."

[Hero of Coryphaeus - General Visai Vecs XIII, the Immortal, age 214]

While the Coryphaeans were usually quite unknown to the outside world, the Ravunyans might have heard of general Vecs. In his prime he was known across the seas as an invincible swordsman, that was a long, long, long time ago though.

Aclys took the fanciest seat while Cophinus and Censere sat next to their senior colleague. The Ravunyans were free to sit where ever they wanted to, though it would seem like the chairs on the other side of the table were meant for the guests.

"Okay then, let's fucking begin." Aclys said as he looked at his chalkboard, and wiped of the previous messages, stopping for a moment as he noticed the one that called him an idiot.

"Vaelaris, you fucking asshole!"

"What?" Cophinus was very confused about what he had done to annoy His Majesty this time, until he noticed the small message on the chalkboard. "It wasn't me. I couldn't have written that as I just arrived here. And besides I would just tell you straight up that you are an idiot... Which you are."

Aclys seemed very annoyed, but quickly dropped this subject and was now ready to start writing something on the board. However he immediately got interrupted as a loud sound could be heard coming from the hallway. It sounded like someone was riding a horse there. And soon the door opened as a young man, dressed like a cowboy, rode a horse in to the room.

[Horse - Fortuna, age unknown]

"Acutus, haven't I fucking told you not to ride your fucking horse in the fucking palace!" Aclys was visibly upset about this.

"..."

"I will make fucking salami out of that fucking horse of yours, if you do this fucking shit ever again. Also you're fucking late."

"But Saule isn't here yet, either."

"...You're fucking right... Where the hell is that fucking asshole? He was here fucking half an hour ago."

{"He told me that he had important business to attend to."}

"Why the fuck did you not stop him? He fucking never has any important business."

Celeste did not reply for a moment and just kept on chewing on to that something she had been chewing all this time. After a moment though she messaged: {"I'll go get him."}, got up and then took a few steps towards the door, but was quickly stopped by Aclys, who grabbed her shoulder.

"Fucking forget it. We don't need that fucking lazy bastard anyway. He would just fucking complain about everything again: 'Why would we do that?' 'My feet hurt...' 'Why is breathing so hard?'" Aclys changing his voice when imitating Saule was completely pointless, considering who he was talking. Soon afterwards, both Aclys and Celeste sat down back to their seats.

While all that happened Velnius had gone to greet the Ravunyans. He was glad to see them there, especially Vermillion. The young general offered a high five to each of the guests and after that took a seat, turned his horse in to a bullet and loaded it in to his revolver.
Aside for Vecs, all of the Coryphaeans sit very casually, but Velnius was certainly the most casual of them all; once again he had his feet on the table.

"NOW THEN, let's fucking begin." Aclys said and was just about to write something on to his chalkboard, but then just stopped. He wasn't interrupted by anything this time, His Majesty just turned around and then looked at the Ravunyans, smiling. "Actually... Our guests should fucking explain why we are all here today."

"Can I do that instead?"

"Hell no."

"Can I?"

"After the last time I'll never fucking let you do that again." Aclys said and then turned towards his guests again. "So let's begin."

[Shark a' Pult]

"Very well. I accept your challenge. Coordinates of the demonstration will be given to you later. I expect to be given the full support of Ibaia, which means that after the demonstration, you will not ration your help to me, just as I will not to you. Do not worry, Miss Sable. Arkady Industries will not disappoint."

"Please understand your Highness, there is no ration to speak of. This is simply all I was able to take without anyone noticing, and I will be needing it back. Most anything could be taken from the Metal Vale without it being missed, for we are only too happy to give, and we can always make more. Except this..."

There was no test to speak of, though that was how Slythe interpreted it, and already Sable knew everything she needed to know about him and his. The intent was simply to supply him with the metal, and see what he did with it. He perceived it as a challenge however, and she had a feeling that on the scheduled day of the test, she would be shown some new battle robot or a state of the art cannon. Some creation of war and destruction, for that was all Slythe knew, so she didn't expect anything else. In a time of war however, his was the mindset that prevailed.

"...for a country as great and powerful as yours, I am certain that gold is not your most valuable resource. Everyone has something worth more to them than wealth, and for us it is this. Ibaia was created for the sole purpose of guarding the founder's work until she returned, and though she never did, we continue that role because it is all we have ever known."

In her studies of her own country and its history, Sable had learned about as much as the greatest scholars on the subject, of the founder and her life. The reason for this was, simply that very little was known about the founder, beyond what could be learned from the creations she left behind. Stark reminders that there once lived a person who shaped her surroundings to make her perception of the world a reality, and to whom was merely a temporary workshop, became a country for countless others. The people whom gathered around her took it upon themselves to guard her work after she was gone, and the children she left behind took it upon themselves to lead the people in their efforts, but the truth was she never trusted any of them. The founder knew that the greatest treasure of all, was that which guarded itself.

"It is not a matter of rationing, it is simply how much I can afford to give to you before anyone notices, before the country notices."

"And just what is it you would want from us besides our protection and assistance? Of what importance is that box to the state of a world power and a nation of the finest crafters? Please do tell."

Slythe's change in focus towards the box drew Sable back to the unfortunate truth, that she needed his help. Not in the coming war, for protection or support. No, she needed his help, because he had a stronghold in line with the greatest fortresses in the world. If Ravunya had something to compare, she would have allied with them instead.

"We want neither your protection nor your assistance, that is not the reason for this alliance. If that is your offer then we are appreciative, and know that we would devote our efforts and our lives to your cause. No, my interest is in Victoria, and its walls. I don't know what is beyond them, and I am not interested in finding out. I only know that one would be hard pressed to find a more secure place."

At that, Sable lifted the bag and moved forward. Placing it before the chairman, she lowered herself to one knee and held out the small box in her hands for him to take. Was there any point in trying to see behind the mask? Probably not, but she searched the complexion of the chairman for any sign of understanding, for it would be easy for him to tell how important this little box was to her for whatever reason.

"Take this box, protect it as you would your greatest treasure. Never give it away and never try to open it, only keep it safe. That is all we ask. For this, we would join you in war."

---

"Telling the whole story at once might not be possible, but we can at least get a start. Begin from where all stories must begin, at the beginning. How, precisely, did you manage to bring freedom to your nation while still kept by chains? That's the part I want to hear more than anything."

"The chains are what helped us most. People saw them, and they understood that we knew what oppression was, how we had suffered from it. But we never let it defeat us, we wore them like medals of honor, let everyone see and know that the only weight we felt from them was responsibility. We had known freedom better than any of them, because we knew life without it. Even now, you can look at me and see I spent time in an asylum, where they confined me. Roderick, he takes a bit more from a wider range, and that slave collar fits him in more ways than one."

It was true that hardly any of the original rebels shared similar leftovers from their imprisonments. Huxley, they locked her up in a madhouse rather than a prison, and Roderick... well, he had shackles of confinement from even before being imprisoned in Myrysaea. The bonds of slavery and the mark, those never go away, so how much harder was it to wear metal reminders of that?

"To tell you the truth, the people were not all that unhappy with the way things were before we showed up. Myrysaea was a strong country, a progressive country, and a happy country. But there were cracks in it, there are always cracks, because nothing is perfect. We found them, and we pointed them out. People began to see that Myrysaea was not so strong, and not so progressive and even if they couldn't see it, they believed it. Still though, they were happy, and that wasn't about to change. For us though, the monarchy imprisoned us all for pointing out the cracks."

She spoke on this matter to the others as though it was the most simple thing in the world. At least in theory, it really was not that complicated. In a country with a monarchy, only one man was king and no one else. Surely though, if given the chance, everyone would like to be a king? At the very least, no one was ever completely content with their lot in life. Even if they did not want more in life for themselves, then surely they wanted more for their families, their children? This was always the case, and if it was not, then Huxley had never met such a person. So then, in a land where only one man was king and everyone would like to be if given the chance, then it was simple to just point out the ways in which they could be. The ways in which the king was able to live the way he lived, and why the people could not.

"If what we were saying wasn't true however, then why would the monarchy fear what we had to say? Surely we had been wrongfully imprisoned? When people tried to speak up for us though, to help set us free once more, they too were imprisoned. The monarchy couldn't afford to have our ideas spread, and suddenly the people were not so happy anymore. Unfortunately we had not anticipated this, and though we were made martyrs, there was little we could do to help the people free themselves while we were all locked up."

And then the king struck back. Turns out, not everyone liked the idea of being equal, especially not those who were already above everyone. Perhaps she was being a bit too cynical, and she was sure that when they were imprisoned, it was not because the king wanted to keep his lifestyle or that he did not want to help his own people. Either way though, they were imprisoned, because they made it look that way at least. This was never part of the plan, and Roderick had always assumed that by singing songs of freedom and equality for all to hear, the people would free themselves. Unfortunately for them, this did not happen, and their songs were silenced. Perhaps forever, were it not for her.

"That was when an outsider happened along. She... well, I probably shouldn't be saying this, but she's the reason the revolution happened and was a success. She's the reason Vengeance is what it is today, and why you know of it. See, we all talked about freedom, but she actually fought for it. We were content to stand on our soapboxes and voice our opinions while hiding behind the people, but she fought right alongside them. Gave them ambition, hope, drive that we never could. She led the people in revolt and she gave them their freedom, and though she later died in the War of the Best, there's a reason they treated her like a hero. Nowadays everyone flocks to us, they shower us with praise and want us to run the country, and they even say how Roderick was the hero all along. Sure, we may have gotten the ball rolling, but we didn't create Vengeance from inside our cells. If she was alive today... well, you can bet it wouldn't be us who the people wanted in charge."

She seemed to have lost herself in her own story remembering back, and even though she clearly had not wanted to talk with any of the people there and just spend her time alone in a room in peace, this subject in particular carried some meaning for her and there found emotion to her speaking. Whether the light in which she viewed the past was good or bad was unclear though, and eventually she looked back to Sindri and responded as plainly as ever.

"Does that answer your question?"

[Kyubey]

A still silence crept over the Prenzie Guard after Huxley finished her story. Each member of the crowd had been enthralled by the messenger's words, and though the story was a relatively brief one, it looked as though all of them were, for those few moments, swept away, in their minds they were in Vengeance, witnessing the revolution take hold. Even the patrons that weren't surrounding Huxley had become silent, as though, for a moment, they had forgotten their own loyalties, and had been a part of Sindri's own little clan. The thoughtful quiet hung over the space, and then vanished as Valdis spoke in response to Huxley's question.

"Indeed it does, good messenger," she said, before raising one of the forgotten glasses of ale to her lips. "Well told, storyteller, well told."

Sindri, meanwhile, had stood up abruptly around the middle of Huxley's recounting, shaking with a strong passion. He was silent like all the others, but it seemed that he wanted to speak at several points. In fact, he wanted to cry out, to grab his weapons and gather his forces, and bring hell onto the oppressors on his own island right at that moment, though he knew he couldn't. Huxley's words had drawn up an image of his own goals, and he felt deeply validated. Not only could he give his clan freedom, he could give them hope as well. He too might have a country as strong and as known as Vengeance, if only he could rouse the people, not just his loyal followers, but the whole island, to his side. The answer truly did lie with the unknown land on the outside.

"Do you think," he said, his voice trembling, "If the right words could be spoken, and there was a hero to fight for them... do you think the same thing might happen here?"

It was then that the door to the inn creaked open, and the sound of armor rattling could be heard. A single soldier of Acis stepped inside, sword at his hip, peering with disapproval at his surroundings. Several of Sindri's group stepped forth to confront this most unwelcome intrusion, ready, after Huxley's speech, to greet any sign of monarchy with their wrath, but they were stopped with a hasty quieting gesture from Valdis.

"Is the foreigner here?" said the soldier, loud enough for the whole inn to hear.

"Perhaps she is," said Valdis, "But I must ask what a soldier of the Queen wants with our guest."

The soldier glared at the barmaiden, a low growl escaping, unbeknownst to him.  "I'm here to deliver a message," he replied, holding up a letter, "From Her Majesty the Queen. I was told the foreigner would be staying at this inn."

[Kuro]

Slythe's eyes seemed to narrow at the mention of Victoria. When Sable rightfully bowed and offered her country's prize, he looked down at the thing before him with some interest or piqued curiosity in his eyes. He snatched the box up as if it was another treasure to be his and inspected it in his hand without any attempts to open it.

"Hm...Ibaia would offer its services in duty to this small box? How amusing. Nevertheless though, you can rest assured that I will not open it, for I have no need to and know better than the destroy an alliance through such a petty and meaningless act. It will stay safe behind Victorian walls, which no living or non-living being has ever come close to breaching. Your object will be put into my personal vault until you want it back, which means that it will be behind the impenetrable wall of I, the impenetrable wall of my primary building, and the impenetrable wall of Victoria. Walls upon walls to hide your secret. Simple." The grin behind his mask could clearly be seen in his eyes. "With that, your place by our side is assured."

Slythe pulled out a card and handed it to Sable before turning for the door. "Those are the coordinates and time for the upcoming demonstration. As you can see, I already know that it won't take very long for us to adapt to the new material. You will be most impressed once you see what we can do. Ta-ta."

The chairman walked out of the huge, lifeless room with Vezenore by his side. The two of them walked out with their steps, Slythe's as clacks and Vezenore's as clanks, echoing loudly throughout the empty air. It all ended with the sound of a door quietly opening and then closing with a thud.

---

The coordinates had led to an small island in Arkadian territory, not officially acknowledged as a Sector since no one lived there. Once Sable docked, the first thing she would probably see besides all of the snow was Slythe's airship waiting for her. The chairman stood in the open doorway, waiting for the Ibain to come onboard. Once she did, he closed the door behind her and the ship began to start up. The propellers started spinning, faster and faster, while steam blasted out of some ends of the ship with hisses and screeches. The propellers were now a blur and there was now steam being blasted directly from the bottom of the ship, melting all of the snow underneath and helping to move the ship upwards. Soon enough, it was aloft and more steam and now some smoke continued to come from the ship as it flew forwards to its destination.

---

Sable, Slythe, and Vezenore sat in large, comfortable seats topped with lush pillows inside the main portion of the ship. The room was rather big, with a contained fireplace in one corner and the walls covered in shelves filled with books. A dark-brown desk was in the center with the chairs surrounding it, each at an equal distance. The chairman sipped from a small, glass cup of red wine as the airship flew without a bump, with even the small hum of the engines inaudible through the sound-proofed walls of the room. Surprisingly enough, the C.E.O didn't say much for trip. It was a rather short distance after all, and it didn't take long for Slythe to eventually and calmly rise from his seat.

"The ship has stopped moving, although the propellers are still spinning to keep us high in the air. I do think that it is time to show you just what Arkady Industries can do with twenty ingots." He walked to the door and staircase that led to the open main deck, where the snow raged as always. The propellers were not in any danger of cutting anyone in half, but they were, of course, very loud along with the sound of the wind. But in this case, the sound did not matter as much as the sights.

Below the ship, at just the right distance so that they could be easily seen and differentiated, were ten soldiers and two tanks. The soldiers were each very tall, probably seven feet or so, and were covered from head to toe in heavy metal armor. Their arms had no hands, but turned into miniguns starting from the elbow and were pointed forward. Several large pipes stuck out from their backs and bursts of steam came from some of them while others spewed a continuous stream of black smoke. The tanks were large and also seemed to be sporting very heavy, seemingly impenetrable armor. The long barrels of the tank's two cannons were on the top, ready to annihilate whatever was in their path. The treads it had gave it no trouble from the snow and there wasn't any sign that anything was wrong at all with any of the products. In fact, it could be said that like the tanks, the soldiers were standing quite still.

"Ten androids and two tanks. We looked at the materials you gave us and found ways to use them efficiently. We found ways to use as little as possible for each unit while still maintaining the material's unique properties. Once we are actually given something to work with, we will be able to create entire new armies full of...well, just observe."

The hum of the engines were now audible, but very hard to hear over the new sound: A roar.

In a matter of seconds, the roar intensified and then died as the bomber plane flew right past Slythe's ship and over the demonstration, dropping hellfire in its wake.

The sky rang with the sound of the shattering of the earth as the tanks and the soldiers were quickly decimated. They were lost admist the explosions that hid every part of the demonstration behind lights and flame. In the bomber's wake was naught by shrapnel and debris.

All of which soon came back together.

Not soon after the bombs had finished, the pieces of metal scattered across the snow began to move. One by one, all of the pieces crawled back to where they were supposed to be. The parts stacked on each other as they constructed entirely new tanks and soldiers out of nothing but themselves. The robots and tanks were, for lack of a better word, regenerating. And they were doing it in impressive time.

"Now...that is only with twenty ingots. If you could tell me what you think of the little demonstration..."

[Shark a' Pult]

"Do you think, if the right words could be spoken, and there was a hero to fight for them... do you think the same thing might happen here?"


"I think it could happen anywhere."

At about that time the soldier entered into the place, startling the messenger a little. When she heard what it was all about though, she went to get up, having to lean over the table to push the chair out with her legs before she could. Making sure she wasn't about to get her head chopped off for something, once she saw the letter she closed the distance.

"I'm the foreigner, I'll carry it. If you would be so kind as to affix it to my back, please."

As before with the general, she turned away so that the soldier would be able attach the letter to her back if he felt so inclined. The letter she had delivered had been stuck on with tape, but there were a few safety pins stuck through the material of the straightjacket which the soldier could easily take out to use. Such was the price, of not having the use of arms.

While waiting she looked to the others, noticing them on edge, though they wouldn't be able to tell whatever she was expressing.

---

"Now...that is only with twenty ingots. If you could tell me what you think of the little demonstration..."

"That was... most impressive."

Sable had to try her hardest to force a smile and give a compliment through her teeth. Things had gone exactly as she had anticipated, it was almost sad, how accurately she had predicted it. Why even for a second, had she believed that Slythe might create something other than destruction. Was he really going to make a door, or the supports to a building, or a vase? Even a sword, but no, this was the result. For a second she lost herself in trying to find the meaning in the creations and learn about their process, until she remembered that there was no meaning. If this was all a test, he would have failed miserably.

But it was not a test, and he had taken the box as asked. He could have made a giant hand giving her the middle finger out of the metal, and things wouldn't have been any different. They were in this war now, together. She just hoped that if she could supply more materials, he would do more than simply make tanks and mechanical men.

"I am certain that in the coming conflict, your... creations will prove to be quite disruptive."

[Kyubey]

"I'm the foreigner, I'll carry it. If you would be so kind as to affix it to my back, please."

The soldier motioned to do so, but stopped. He was a very traditional, military sort of person, the kind who was excellent when it came to barking orders at citizens or fighting in wars, but when it came to doing simple, human things like gently affixing a letter to a woman's back, he had no idea what to do. There was nothing in the soldier's laws, nothing in his training or tradition, that told him how to go about this act, and without that, he was as good at lost.

"Er... ah..."

"No need. I'll do it."

Valdis, rolling her eyes, quickly stood up, approached the soldier, who was now frozen with nervousness, snatched the letter from his hands, and carefully used one of the pins to stick the letter to Huxley's back, before patting it a couple of times for good measure.

"There we go. Would that be all, soldier? Any more of your duties the Laverna can assist you with?"

"No. That will be all."

The soldier glowered at the insult, turned around, and marched out at a faster rate than any of the men in the inn had ever seen.

"I guess you'll be needing to go shortly," said Sindri to Huxley as soon as the door was closed. Still standing, he approached the messenger and with a smile, tilted his hat upwards so that his eyes could at last be seen. "I do wish I could go with you, back to your Vengeance, and see it for myself. If fortune is kind, I will get the privilege to step onto your shores soon enough, yet still, it is so tragic that we only ever even knew about each other because of this blasted war. If you wouldn't mind, might I ask you to take another message back home, for this Roderick fellow you spoke of?" He leaned forward, and faced Huxley at exactly eye level. "I don't have any parchment on hand, so I will make this short. If you'd be so kind, tell him that regardless of whatever the Acis Kingdom may do, that Sindri, future chieftain of the Laverna, true heirs of the land of Galatae, wishes to make an official bond of friendship between our people. That is all."

[Shark a' Pult]

The messenger nodded to the people in the bar after the letter was attached to her back.

"Ok."

[CJ]

The small island getaway was unimpressive to say the least. It was clear why the Regalan Royal Family had used it for generations. No one would guess this small conservative house at the end of an island full of identical little houses was the summer living space for royalty. With very few rooms but expensive furniture and hidden security.

Even the guests were given typical vacationing attire to wear as a sort of disguise, though it was their choice to wear it. Passing through streets of houses in whatever means they chose, they would notice the island was flourishing with life and happiness. It seemed the attack on Regala had not reached this place. Most of the families who were here when the attack happened, stayed.

One of Matthias' attendants waved to greet them as they came to the house. With purple curled hair and a blue and white striped bikini top with swim trunks, she was the picture of relaxation. She looked like she was ready at any time to jump into the ocean.

"Come on in, folks! Let's get you in the shade. My name is Stacy. If there's anything you want or need, just let me know! K?"

Leading the guests into the house, they walked past two "guards." One was a weak looking dark haired boy with thick glasses. The other, a bombshell in a one piece with fierce eyes. They stared down the visitors as they came to the main room with a low table and pillows for seating.

And there he was at the head of the table, the boy so filled with sadness and anger now reduced to quietness, tapping a pen repeatedly on the table. A blank orange t-shirt and blue shorts made him otherwise look like an average kid. He might have seemed rude by not greeting them, until closer inspection would reveal even more white scars about his body. They seemed to drape over his eyes and botch his throat.

The purple haired woman knelt down to him and whispered something into his ear. His eyes seemed to light up and a brief smile came over his face.

"My apologies, dear guests," she continued. "As stated in our letter, my King can hear spoken words but cannot respond to them conventionally due to the misuse of his... gifts. I will be his medium for anything he says from now on."

Matthias looked down and away in shame.

"He wanted me to initially thank you for your kindness in this matter and is grateful that you have come. So give your stuff to Fusao and Kiyoko and take a seat wherever! We'll have refreshments and snacks soon."

[Kyubey]

Elvia looked disapprovingly at her surroundings. When she was instructed to accompany her mother to the meeting with Regala and Vengeance, she wasn't sure what to imagine, but it was definitely something more grand than what was before her. For most of her young life, the princess had been used to living in only the most lavish and fanciful environments. This island was a definite step down, and the rustic nature of the island failed completely to charm her.

"So. This is what your friends have brought us to," she said coldly to the Queen as she kicked at the ground beneath her, "Are they insulting us?"

"No. This is good," Claudia replied, walking a few paces behind her daughter, "Our enemies would not expect us to meet in a place like this." She cast her attentive gaze onto the rows of houses that surrounded her, not at all fond of the coastal town. It was too merry, and far too innocent. Not at all what she had pictured of Regala, and it made her wish she could have seen the main island, the one that had been attacked, even more.

"I don't like it," Elvia stated flatly, "Too bright. It hurts my eyes."

"Remember, we are here to discuss political matters. Try at least to act dignified in front of our hosts."

"When we're so obviously above them? We should be showing off just how great we are."

"Acting like a child will not aid you in any way in that regard."

"Neither will allowing ourselves to be seen in any little place like this one. I'm a Princess, for the God's sakes."

"I do not have any feelings for this environment," said Sir Gotz van Hallstatt, who followed respectfully behind Claudia, towering over his Queen, "But why must we leave your guards at the ship? I do not feel safe with only we three on these distant lands."

"Are you saying we're so weak as to need more protection than this? You, Sir Hallstatt, should be more than sufficient protection for this visit. Unless you have reason to doubt your own abilities as a knight?"

"No, that is not it. I am only concerned about how we will be viewed by the other nations."

"Oh trust me, they will not appear to be much better than this. Remember, the topic of discussion will be alliances. These are not our enemies."

"Perhaps Leberecht would have been better for this than me..."

"Is that how you feel? Then I should have given him more consideration for command as well."

Elvia quickly clamped her mouth shut, and kept walking on.

"Come on in, folks! Let's get you in the shade. My name is Stacy. If there's anything you want or need, just let me know! K?"

"Told you," said Claudia slyly to Gotz as they walked in. All three of them were irritated and put off towards this strange woman, both for her carefree manner of dress in the presence of royalty, and her amazingly loose manner of speaking to them. Elvia and Gotz in particular were both visibly moved to anger, being unaccustomed to the informal ways of foreigners, and had to be stopped by a swift look from the Queen.

Claudia simply could not get rid of the feeling she had seen this Stacy woman before, or at least heard her intensely grating voice.

"He wanted me to initially thank you for your kindness in this matter and is grateful that you have come. So give your stuff to Fusao and Kiyoko and take a seat wherever! We'll have refreshments and snacks soon."

"It is no matter. I am simply glad we were invited. Matthias, when I left you at the meeting, I said I was interested in seeing what you would do next. You have not disappointed me." The boy's sudden lack of vision or a voice notwithstanding, Claudia was pleased to be able to see him again before the war began, although she was a little disappointed that his powers had to have such side effects. She was hoping to be able to use him more in battle. As for the others, they both had their own image in their minds of the King from what they had previously heard, and both were equally far from reality.

"Allow me to introduce these two. This is my daughter, Princess Elvia Iduna von Acis. She will be leading the frontlines during the war." It was good Matthias could not see, for he thankfully was able to miss the look of complete disgust on Elvia's face. "And this is Sir Gotz van Hallstatt, Captain of my elite band of lancers."

"It is an honor, King Matthias," he said, bowing deeply. "I must apologize on behalf of my son, Oskar, for his actions during the previous meeting."

Like the gathering at Arkady, the Galateans did not relinquish their weapons, stubbornly keeping them at their waists as they waited for the formalities to end and the talks to begin.

[Shark a' Pult]

"Am I in the right pla- whoah!"

There was the sound of rattling metal as Roderick Liberccio tripped through the doorway into the room. This time around he was late to the gathering, as it was not nearly as easy a place to find as a castle on a mountaintop. That, and he got distracted along the way. This was such a pretty location, and there were people he ran into along the way, and just like on Jubilee he got sidetracked in performing magic for them. Only this time, he did not have Matt or his ward to remind him of a meeting, and so he was late.

"Ah, sorry I'm late, I hope I didn't miss anything. You all know me, I think, though I don't know all of you... but I'm sure that will change soon enough!"

As before he went around to shake everyone's hand and stare them plain in the eyes, except Matt. Assuming he was allowed, he extended his hands forward and shook them a little, so Matt could tell it was him and that he was there before taking the boys hand.

"Here we are Matt, for better circumstances or worse. We're here for you, to fight beside Regala."

Not that Matt would be able to notice, but Roderick was wearing a button Hawaiian t-shirt and shorts, with the typical top brand sneakers. As was always the case, he had those characteristic shackles around his wrists and ankles, and that explosive collar around his neck.

[CJ]

Matthias lowered his head at Claudia's comment. He shook his head slightly. After a brief moment, he smiled and breathed in deeply.

He seemed to look in their direction again when Claudia introduced Eliva and Gotz. He deeply bowed his head to Elvia and Gotz respectfully. However, he shook his head and bit his lip at the mention of Oskar. He placed his hand by his eyes and then pursed his lips.

"Oh, we have never thought anything wrong of your son," Stacy commented with a flinching smile. "Don't worry yourself."

Matthias raised his head when he heard the rattling of chains enter the room. A bright smile came over his face, likely the happiest they had seen him in a long time. He hesitated at first but then gripped Roderick's hands tightly when he presented them. He looked directly into Roderick's eyes; his left eye seemed to have less discoloration than his right, with hints of his brown iris showing through. Only until Stacy touched his shoulder would he let go.

"Come on, King," she said softly then looked to Roderick. "King Matthias was very concerned for your well-being, Roderick. He thanks you for coming."

Tears rolled down Matthias face and he tried wiping them away with his bare wrist. He sighed again and kept smiling, mismatching the dark circles under his eyes.

"If you would all take a seat, we can begin our discussion," Stacy addressed them, "My name is Stacy Kane and, as I've said before, I will be representing King Matthias and Regala. I can assure you we've been working very carefully to hone the King's abilities so that he is not harmed further."

Stacy shifted around on the pillow for her seat. She seemed like she could never bothered to stay still.

"It seems using his abilities with ration and logic diminishes any damage on his part. So long as he is instructed beforehand, he should be fine. He's, like, the perfect weapon, don't ya think?"

Matthias's eyes widened. He pulled and tugged at his fingers from underneath the table. Stacy's eyebrows raised and she grinned widely at the King's reactions.

"Whoops, I got a little carried away there. Now, where should we start?"